#md1168

[drcknowledgeandpower]

RUHeForShe event

Today I attended an event hosted by RUHeForShe which is a group that promotes equality for men and women. This group believes that women alone cannot fight for equality and then men have to join in to create a truly equal world. This was originally started by Harry Potter star, Emma Watson, and has recently come to Rutgers as a branch of the organization.

The event was mostly discussion based and we discussed rape culture in college and how women are told that rape is their fault rather than the perpetrator’s. We discussed ways in which we could start to end this and how boys and girls could be brought up more equally rather than telling girls to always be polite whereas boys can do whatever they want. 

We also watched a couple spoken poems on rape culture which were very powerful. These poems really spoke to me because of the energy and emotions behind the words being said. Rape needs to end, but the end’s got to start somewhere and I want to be part of that. I want to help end rape and its stigma of not mattering. 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Knowledge and Power

I really enjoy how this class lets us step outside of the social comfort zone and allows us to speak what is on our minds without the fear of being judged. Being an Indian, cisgender, heterosexual, female, who was born and brought up in this country, I do not get a lot of shade thrown my way aside from the occasional asian stereotype, which honestly isn’t even a bad one. Because of this, I am not always aware of everything that’s going on around me, so this class really helps to broaden my horizons and help me see and sometimes feel things that other people are going through. I enjoy putting myself in someone else’s shoes to see what other perspectives and viewpoints there are in the world.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Racial Caucus Groups

The racial caucus group activity made me feel really uncomfortable. Although I myself am Asian, I didn’t like being put into that group because I felt as though I didn’t fit in. I was the only south Asian person in my group which made me feel very alone.

Being a “model minority” my group wasn’t able to come up with many negative stereotypes which was both good and bad. Good because of the whole positive stereotype thing. Bad though, because that stereotype put a lot of pressure on me growing up. People always assumes i was “smart” or good at math just because I’m Indian. That made me feel below average a lot of times since I wasn’t always the smartest or the best at math in my class. I’m glad I got the opportunity to experience it though, because it pushed me to work hard and really try my best to excel.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Lauren Rankin: Abortion

I thought Lauren Rankin made a very strong and convincing argument on the horrors of reproductive justice. I agree with her fully that women should be able to do what they want with their bodies and not be held back from their freedom becuase someone else dosn’t like the idea of abortion. Especially in cases of rape, it is unfair that abortion is becoming re- illegalized and not giving these girls a way out of their worst nightmare. I was baffled at the fact that there are men sitting in the government telling women what they can or cannot do with their bodies. It is truly horrifying that there are people who line up and screa obscenities at women who choose to have abortions. It’s their lives and their bodies. They have the right to do what they want. I truly enjoyed Rankin’s speech and am definitely 100% pro-choice.