#il148

[drcknowledgeandpower]

The Big Ol Spectrum of Gender & Sexuality

Ah one of my favorite class discussions and topics! Educating people on just how fluid sexuality is honestly one of my hobbies due to the fact that I love seeing the lightbulb go off when they finally get that it’s more than just being gay or lesbian or straight. The spectrum of sexuality is literally one of  the most confusing yet simple concepts we know of in terms of identities. Whether someone chooses to label themselves as this or that, it can always change and they have every right to change it. The little genderbread that was provided to us was also something that fit the nature of the topic. Having each aspect of identity being broken down into separate parts hopefully helped people to understand and differentiate between identity, attraction, expression and sex. It was also nice to jump right into a topic I’m so familiar with

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Job Description: Full Time Mom??

In class today we discussed one of the most talked about issue in the big wide world of feminism, the wage gap *cue spooky music* I always knew that men were paid more than women and that always frustrated me, but what I learned today was that women are actually penalized for being a mother while men are legitimately benefiting from it. Not only is that absolutely absurd, what sense does it make? With the excuse of “Oh she’ll want to spend more time with her children blah blah blah”, many employers are forgetting that sometimes the dad decides to be a stay at home dad, or there are two mommies or two daddies or just one of each. Can employers really expect lesbian parents to survive on an income that is being cut down due to the fact that they are mothers? That just wouldn’t fly now would it? If anything, should both men and women who are parents get a little bump in their paycheck since y’know...there’s one or two more mouths to feed and provide for? But that’s just my opinion...

[drcknowledgeandpower]

The Struggles of Getting Out of the Struggle

One text that I would recommend to every person I love and adore is the little chapter from Linda Tirado’s Hand to Mouth. The one excerpt we read was absolutely phenomenal. My goal to become a teacher who changes the lives of children just as mine did began to tremble as I read about her struggles in trying to pay the bills, maintain her jobs and sanity. It’s always a weird thought to realize just how privileged you really are. I’ve never seen my parents work more than one job each to pay the bills, I’ve always had a roof over my head and I never had to worry about whether I was going to eat one day or not. Just reading how she slept for maybe 4 hours a day and ran on that for more than one job had me speechless. But I loved that she maintained her edge and personality when the systematic loop she was stuck in was trying to bring her down and keep her all the way down. Tirado honestly inspired me to keep on going no matter what and to be a badass while doing it.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Something That Would Have Interested Me...If I Had More Time

One class that had me the most confused and quite frankly upset, was the class where we traveled deep into Douglass (in a monsoon I might add) and witnessed the Poverty & Sexuality symposium. I honestly wished I enjoyed that class more than I did. The fact that we came in the middle of one discussion and left in the middle of another left me feeling quite unsatisfied with the information I was given. The subject of poverty is one I find quite interesting as well so I was left with so many questions that I was too shy to ask due to the fact that I missed more than half of the speaker’s presentation. Having the class come and leave so abruptly and so poorly planned just had me frustrated and ready to head back to my apartment and wait for the next formal class to begin. If we had an introductory class period in order to be somewhat prepared for the information that would have been provided for us, maybe I would have enjoyed the experience more...

[drcknowledgeandpower]

The More You Know, The Better

One of my favorite plenaries was the one centered around teaching us about intersex people from how they became intersex to how they lived their lives. It was a topic I knew a bit about, but the film was not only entertaining and stimulating, it was extremely educational. So many of the older intersex people’s stories had me in tears due to the fact that they felt ashamed of who they were and no one really had the answers for them. Just imagining feeling that alone in the world makes me want to shed a few tears now. The film also provided a lot of insight as to how many intersex people became comfortable in WHO they were and not WHAT they were. I also liked the format of the plenary with it being a video rather than a live person. Early Wednesday mornings can be a bit tough to bare through when you’re somewhat being lectured to...

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Fake It Till You Make It

It was honestly a surprise that I enjoyed the guest speaker, Bobbie Ridgely so much today. As not being a STEM major myself, I felt as if I wouldn't relate to this presentation at all. On the contrary, she spoke many words of wisdom that resonated with my desire of becoming an educator in the near future. The phrase “fake it till you make it” is what stood out to me the strongest and I think it’s because that’s how most “adults” make it through life. I remember thinking to myself many times throughout my elementary and secondary school career of “Wow adults always seem so ready for life! I can’t wait to be one myself!” But as growing up into one of those adults, I see children looking up to me asking me the same things and I have no idea what I’m doing or saying half of the time. Bobbie Ridgely really pulled at my heartstrings when she talked about being the youngest in her department and being the only female and kept it together most days. I really hope that I can emulate her once I enter the teaching field seriously!

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Plenary Numero Uno

I can't honestly say I enjoyed our first plenary due to the fact that I am heavily biased against the savior mentality many people have towards my home country. I got so excited about hearing her say Haiti but then she dashed my excitement by talking about how sad and miserable the country and its people seemed. She painted a picture, much like many other media outlets, that Haiti was such a sad country that needed America's saving and its resources as if it didn't have it's own. It was awesome to hear how she knew how wrong it was to help without helping but she really didn't make it better by presenting this school as the entire picture of the country. I have a lot of pride of my culture and country, especially with experiencing it first hand and just hearing people from the outside speak as if they've been there all along and want to change it to make them more comfortable is just frustrating.