#bjd133

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The topic of poverty is always humbling, but the perspective of a child is even more so. Dana's story is tragic, because from childhood, it seems like she doesn't have a chance. The article talks about her potential so much, but from this article alone, it doesn't seem like Dasani has much of a chance, not because of a lack of ambition, but because she has no resources to take advantage of. Her school is suffering from budget cuts and will likely suffer the same fate as her elementary school, PS 67, which failed after sharing the same space with a charter school. The absence of a stable home environment, or even a home, makes for an all around unstable life. No money, parents addicted to drugs, and a heavy burden of responsibility to younger siblings all add up to poor outcomes for Dasani's life. I'd like to read the second part of this article to find out what happens to Dasani at home and in school. I feel myself rooting for her, but I don't know how much of that is genuine hope and how much is just delusion. I can't help but think of the stress that the parents must be under and how that in turn stresses out the kids and I honestly just can't imagine living the way Dasani and her family do. From being hungry all the time to all sleeping and eating in the same room on mattresses on the floor, Dasani's way of life is something that no child should have to experience. And yet, thousands do. The health disparities in the world's most bustling city is baffling, and it's hard to picture it unless you see it. This article is a look into the disappointing and truly heartbreaking epidemic of homelessness in NYC, but it is not enough to read it and think one knows everything there is to know. Part of me is glad I've become a bit more informed, but most of me is glad and thankful that I don't know the true extent of a life of homelessness plagued additionally by drug abuse and violence. Dasani's life is something of nightmares, but I hope that she keeps her resilience and somehow finds a path that leads her and her family out of Auburn and out of the lowest extreme of poverty.

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Miss Representation was highly informative, but I felt like there wasn't much said there that I didn't already have an idea about. The objectification of women is so rampant that there isn't anywhere you can go without seeing it. While I feel that women are allowed to express themselves how they want (whether it's dress or types of art they make), it does upset me that most of the images that we see are aimed at men. I feel this constant internal struggle with judging women, because they should be allowed to present themselves however they want, but would they present themselves in the way we see if it weren't for the male gaze? This struggle bothers me, and I thought this documentary would make things clear for me, but it didn't. It saddened me really, because the narrator was bringing a child into the world, and she wanted to make it a little better for her, and that's inspiring, but I didn't feel like I could do the same. In fact, after watching it, I was even more adamant about not having kids, because I don't know how to mold a human being, and there's so much that could go wrong, especially with girls. The Lagos Journal article explained how thinness started to replace full-bodiedness as the standard of beauty in Nigeria, and while it's nice to know that more body types are being accepted and little girls who are naturally very skinny can see themselves as beautiful thanks to the influence of Nigerian beauty queens, it's also a bit upsetting to know that adolescent girls try to strive for model-like thinness that isn't easily attainable. Wanting to be fit and healthy is a completely understandable reason to want to make a lifestyle change, but the extremes that some people, especially adolescent girls, go to emulate the images they see is disheartening and really unnecessary, especially since the images are Western and their cultural images are being skewed by the Western advertising. "Love Your Fat Self" is an ode to beauty of all shapes and a call to reflect on personal prejudices, however subtle and "harmless." The more pressing point, I feel, is to discuss the fat-hatred that pervades Western society, but I felt that towards the end it became more about the personal reflection of the author and how complimenting her friend Gareth and trying to see her in a new light made her feel content with herself. True, releasing prejudices builds character, but the solution to the problem isn't that one person feels better about themselves after doling out compliments. I was under the impression that the article would be more about Gareth and how she deals with the hatred that is literally spewed at her, as a way to show how fat phobia affects the people it is directed at. Instead, it was an attempt to show that fat phobia can be defeated slowly with individuals' changing perspectives. Unfortunately, I didn't think it was that effective. I found it interested that Alison Bechdel's original comic was just a joke about lesbians, as attempt to reclaim the stereotype that lesbians try to disassociate themselves from men altogether, and it's become a legitimate mainstream tool of analysis. It's still sad though, that so many popular movies and tv shows fail it, and the ones that do pass it are few and far between, and they aren't recognized by the big award presenters i.e. Tatiana Maslany who plays a multitude of multi-dimensional characters on the show Orphan Black not being nominated for an Emmy. She is one person in a large network of people who work on shows and movies that feature strong lead women and that should be recognized. I'd like to see these movies and tv shows as praised as those that fail the Bechdel test.

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I really appreciated Ruth Padawar's article, because although I am not transgender myself, I have wondered how women's colleges handle students who transition while in school and admitting those who transitioned before enrolling, whether before applying or after being accepted. It's a complicated spectrum, and I'm glad that Padawar was able to shed some light on the situation for me. I have often wondered what Douglass does to include trans women and how the administration handles situations in which current Douglass women feel they must leave if/when they transition FTM. I suppose I should do my research more on the topic, because I'd like to know that my institution is inclusive and welcoming of all.

The NY Times series Transgender Lives: Your Stories is so enlightening, because I feel trans people don't get the attention and consideration they deserve. With celebrities like Caitlyn Jenner and Chaz Bono making public transitions, there has been more publicity, but it still doesn't represent the experience of regular people who undergo the process of transitioning. Denise Chanterelle DuBois's story is fascinating because she is a businesswoman from Hawaii, was married to a woman for 15 years, and transitioned at a late age. All these factors affected her experience, which is much different for someone who makes the change in, say, high school. Her story reminds me of the Amazon streaming show Transparent, which is also about a trans woman who transitions at a late age and faces struggles unique to her status in society and family life. Alexander Walker's story also touched me, because he was faced with a decision to either live as his whole self or keep a job. His profession as a teacher could have kept him from remaining true to himself, since many trans people have been fired from their jobs because of employers' bigotry and ignorance, and that could have been exacerbated since he was teaching children, and people are especially keen to shielding children from anything that doesn't align with their values. However, Alexander remained true to who he is. These words especially touched me. "As a young elementary teacher, the lack of visibility and horror stories I found of trans teachers being fired pushed me further and further from my desire living authentically. I sat at a crossroads; should I risk it all - my career, my family, my relationship, my friends - to be myself or continue hiding and see what happened? With support, encouragement, and a lot of courage, I found my own way to and through transition, finding other trans people with stories similar to mine along the way. Today, no man's land is a distant memory, and I sit here with more confidence than any other time in my life."

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I really appreciated Hilton-Morrow's "Studying Sexual Identities," because too often people's identities are erased or worse, demonized, because of pervasive ignorance. This article does a good job of explaining how sexuality is fluid and can change and that there's more than the two orientations. The term LGBTQ+ should be a window into that, but many people refuse to acknowledge the existence validity of sexuality that doesn't align with their own. Unfortunately, many people simply don't know of all the variations and therefore, if questioning don't know where they fit. Even more unfortunate is that media has an impact that can often fuel bigotry. Thankfully, however, as Hilton-Morrow explains, there are socially prominent figures, such as celebrities, who use their media platforms to educate on and express their own involvement in the spectrum of sexuality. As someone who often has and is still questioning their sexuality and sexual orientation/preference, I can really appreciate Hilton-Morrow's attempt to educate her audience on a matter that society has yet to embrace.

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I attended the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities GAYpril Opening Ceremonies earlier this month. This relates to our course, because it celebrates the LGBT community and what they strive to accomplish in the social justice arena. This was a major topic in Knowledge and Power during the Sexualities unit. The event itself was a playful celebration of love and happiness, which I feel like I need more of in my life. Anyone who feels uncomfortable around these topics should go out to the CSJE events, because they are super welcoming and offer tons of information, but also because tolerance is born through exposure to unknown ideologies and such. I like to think my fellow Douglass women are tolerant and open-minded, but anyone who isn’t should try to see what it’s about and inform others who work to strip Americans’ rights.  

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The plenary on the film Intersexion was my favorite plenary of the semester, not only because it was a nice change from the traditional lecture style we had been exposed to up to that point. I really enjoyed the fact that the topic was something that people really don’t know about, and that is what I really hoped to gain from this course: exposure to things I didn’t already know. Intersex isn’t spoken about in public because of the extremely personal nature of the condition, but I really appreciate the filmmakers and all the stories of all the people in the film who shed light on something that is considered taboo. One person in the film said that intersex people are trained to be ashamed of their bodies from birth, but that she has come to accept herself, and I hope that any intersex people who watch Intersexion gain a little self-acceptance from it. This sort of enlightenment is what I was hoping for with the plenaries, and this was the only one that provided that for me.

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I didn’t think that the mentor plenary was as informative as it could have been. The portrayals of presidential candidates was humorous at points, but it wasn’t exactly the most detailed explanation of social issues. I understand the point of the skit was to evoke discussion from the audience, but it’s not as effective when the audience is as large as it was and not everyone wants to disclose their personal anecdotes for whatever reason. I think the discussion on micro aggressions could have been handled in the classrooms, but I appreciate the effort put into the plenary by the mentors. 

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The Power of the Podcast: How One Woman’s Career Sheds Light on Countless Others’

Caitlyn Kenney is inspiringly young to have such a wealth of experience in audio-journalism. She works in satellite radio doing news podcasts that transcend national boundaries. In her February 17 Plenary lecture at Voorhees Chapel, Kenney spoke about what journalism means to her and played snippets of several podcasts she had previously done, the topics of which ranged from a ring of bicycle thieves to the failure of the construction of a school in Haiti. While I personally have no interest in pursuing journalism, I understand the importance of exploring topics outside of one’s own sphere to be more worldly and informed. I did not feel that I related to Kenney’s experience in entering the labor force, because I have not yet done so myself, and I know nothing about radio journalism. However, I did feel my interest was sparked when Caitlyn discussed her experiences in Haiti and Bangladesh reporting on the construction of a school and the lives of women working in the garment industry, respectively. Her discussion had, at this point, taken a global turn, as her reporting now covered development and women’s agency, which are my key interests and reflect my career aspirations.

Caitlyn started her speech by explaining how she got to this point in her career. She discussed the sexism and ageism that she faced in the workplace at her first couple of jobs and how they led to her self-doubt in a primarily older male environment. She was made to feel “impostor’s syndrome,” which she explained as the feeling that you “pulled a fast one” on everyone around you to get where you are and therefore don’t really belong. To overcome it, she explained, young women must present themselves as “the one with the plan.” We must be extremely passionate and exhibit a drive to do whatever it takes to meet goals in an attempt to prove ourselves worthy of sharing the same space as more seasoned professionals. This felt like a slap in the face, because I thought we were past that gender-based borderline hazing procedure. Sure, millennials are experiencing this expectation to be superhumans who can bring innovation while battling silencing from baby boomers who cry job displacement, but I thought this was the new world order, that all twenty-somethings had to do this in order to survive the first few years of entering the workforce. I refused to believe that women could still be targeted by prejudice rooted in sexism in addition to ageism until Caitlyn Kenney discussed her own experience.

The highlight of Kenney’s lecture was the portion during which she discussed her project in Bangladesh. She followed young Bengali women who found work in the “garment industry” and how their employment gave them unprecedented opportunity. To most, the “garment industry” is just a euphemism for sweatshops. This is a Westernized interpretation. As Americans, we are conditioned to think that anything less than our standard of care is inferior and must be resolved swiftly, but more importantly, by Western actors. True, sweatshops are terrifying, degrading places where the laborers earn too little, but they are sometimes the only means of employment for women in patriarchal societies outside of the West. That is not to suggest that there isn’t room for improvement: in order to ensure the safety and survivability of clothing factory workers, labor laws must be implemented and enforced, including those that prohibit harassment and require fair pay. The point here, however, is that we must not discount the fact that the “garment industry” is important for the advancement of women in areas where they cannot find or are not allowed to work elsewhere, as evidenced by the family of women interviewed by Caitlyn Kenney.

The family in the podcast is made up primarily of women. The eldest daughter was meant to be married off to drive some income into the household. In Bangladesh, like in so many other parts of the world, money drives decisions, so much so that parents, conditioned by cultural standards, arrange marriages that can ease the financial strain on the family, whether it’s in the form of some sort of bride price or the sheer fact that there is one less mouth to feed after a child has left the home. Adolescent and young women have no say in their life course after they are forcibly married, especially if they are child brides, so they must find a way to generate productivity to prove their worth and avoid negative life outcomes, such as teenage pregnancy that can result in maternal mortality. The eldest daughter did so by finding employment in a clothing factory after the rise of the garment industry in Bangladesh. While she doesn’t make enough to satisfy our Western ideals of a living wage, she makes enough to pay for a small apartment and living expenses. She expressed herself that the money she makes gives her control over her own life and the power of choice. Now out of her parents’ home, she can choose to get married whenever and however she wants, and she might be on her way. Now, despite her parents’ disapproval, the eldest daughter feels empowered enough to continue a public relationship with her boyfriend, who does not share the same religion. 

The point here is that we mustn’t discount women’s economic, personal, and romantic/sexual agency when it arises, even if we don’t approve of the method. Sweatshops as we know and understand them are hot, dingy places where the employees are cheated out of fair pay. I won’t argue that that isn’t true. But the institution that we think is deplorable may be the saving grace of a young woman who desperately needs to earn any kind of money. As previously stated, money is power. It’s also independence, freedom of choice, and the means to a stark improvement from very humble origins. In the absence of an education, a job is the next best means of empowerment for women and girls. We cannot invalidate that by insisting that sweatshops must go. We must instead work toward labor law reform that would give peace of mind to and put more money into the pockets of hardworking women who just want a chance to live their own lives.

After reflecting on Caitlyn Kenney’s lecture, I want to make more time for listening to podcasts. There is so much I can learn from them without even having to leave my room. That’s the beauty of modern technology, journalism, and free unbiased media. In Caitlyn’s own words, journalism “reintroduc[es] you to people you think you know.” In this way, anonymous people who may otherwise be invisible become actors with voices and feelings. Caitlyn’s project in Bangladesh gave a voice to the young women she followed for the story. Her podcast reached vast numbers of people, myself included, and therefore those women became teachers for we Westerners who too often glaze over the personal experiences of individuals for the sake of rectifying the big picture, thereby ignoring and even invalidating the individual experience. The journalistic medium of podcasting offers that individualized lens that provides insight, offers worldliness, dispels ignorance, and from which everyone can benefit.