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Final Plenary

Today’s plenary led by the mentors was different than the rest, but nonetheless very enjoyable. It was very creative of them to create a political debate skit and humorous to watch “Ronald Clump, Milary Minton,” and others. This sparked the rest of the discussions about feminists issues and everything else we have learned in class. The rest of the conversations were about micro aggressions, something so common most women have experienced. I was amazed to see how many courageous girls spoke up and shared their stories. It was very engaging to hear about everyone else’s experienced and the different perspectives that were shared. Even on political correctness, there were various viewpoints among the audience. Personally, I think it is key to be respectful towards other people’s opinions, ideas, thoughts, and more especially when they come from different cultures, genders, minorities, sexualities, or other groups. Overall, today’s plenary brought together a lot of the concepts we have discussed in class and gave everyone the opportunity to contribute their opinions to the discussion. 

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Poverty and Sexuality Symposium

Attending the DRC Poverty and Sexuality Symposium really gave me a better understanding of different the rest of the world is than where I reside. While women are a minority and considered to be inferior to men all over the world, even in the United States, in this country women are privileged over women in other parts of the world. Global poverty is a sad occurrence that is very difficult to fix. In third world countries, there are many men, children, and women who die from starvation and malnourishment, or by untreated diseases, due to their poverty status. At least in the United States, women have more opportunities to getting jobs than in countries like the Middle East or South America.

Furthermore, while women are not 100% safe in America, they are better protected as compared to other countries. In India and many countries of Africa and the Middle East, rape is extremely high for women of all ages, especially young ones. It is very tragic that is has become a norm, where women are not really protected by the law or are blamed for being “provocative.” Only a small percent of rape cases go to trial, or even win, in America, but in other countries the rapist is never even accused or prosecuted. These norms need to change for the safety and well-being of women all over the world. Even when America is not perfect or equal for women, other countries should at least adapt the laws and norms we have here to protect women. As a whole, society needs to change from victimizing women. 

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The truth about the F-word

Feminism is a heavy and negative topic for most people, as it has become the new “F-word,” being criticized and misunderstood. Due to the negative spread of Feminism through social media, most people, including myself, believe Feminism to be a radical movement or lifestyle about women hating men. Although my opinion of Feminism wasn’t as extreme as that, before this class I thought Feminism was to help women achieve equality against men. However, I have learned Feminism isn’t just for women to be helped, and it isn’t against men. It is an all-inclusive movement for any gender, class, race, ethnicity, to have their basic human rights. Feminism is the ongoing fight for equality, autonomy, and empowerment for all.

Feminism can be seen through many factors, not just in protests, riots, or groups. I was amazed to hear about “Feminist technology.” The first time hearing that term I thought it would be any device to help women against men. While “feminist technology” does include tools for protection of women against any attacker, it is also just any device to help anyone. Technology is defined to be “items that are created to facilitate human interactions with each other and their environment.” Similarly, feminist technology facilitates and helps women, men, the elderly, the disabled, and everyone around the world! Even commonly used items like elevators, wheelchair ramps, handicapped parking spaces, are feminist technology because of the help they provide to people of need. There are also inventions specifically for women, like the diva cup, bionic bras, shocking bras, medicine, birth-control, self-protection devices, and more, that help the overall well-being of women of any race or class. It is incredible how necessary Feminism is, not only in technology, but in all aspects of modern life, for the inclusiveness and equality of all people. 

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Privileged minorities

In the United States, even today, there is a clear distinction between the class that is powerful and dominant, and minorities. These separations occur based on economic class, race, gender, language, education, physical capabilities, and more. The dominant race is white men, making everyone else a minority--such as women, African Americans, Hispanics, Foreigners, disabled, and more. 

Personally, I’ve always thought of myself as a minority being a Hispanic woman. However, after being educated in our class discussion of “Race, Ethnicity, Power & Privilege,” I have come to the realization, that the characteristics that make me a “minority,” also make me privileged over others. While women like me, are considered to be inferior to men, I am privileged over those who identify as women but are not considered to be because of their biological sex, like Transgender women. Even my ethnicity allows me to be privileged, because Hispanics are quickly rising to be a large population in America and are less discriminated than people of black ethnicities, muslims, and others. Even my religion is a privilege, because being a Catholic, my religion is recognized and very common in the country and world. Other people are still being persecuted because of their religious beliefs. Learning all of this, has given me a new perspective and allowed me to be thankful for who I am, rather than feeling inferior or “not good enough.” There are always other people who have it worst, and when it is due to their ethnicity, race, religion, or class, it is very unfair. Society really needs to change their perspective and stereotypical classifications. 

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Pancakes more important than Women?!?!!

All throughout the world, but especially in America, Holidays are very significant and celebrated extravagantly. While not all “Holidays” are nationally recognized, there is a special day/event honoring something, every month or so. Not everyone believes and celebrates the same things, which determines the importance on each “Holiday.” For instance, Women’s day is not recognized as a Holiday in America. Most people actually, including women, have no clue it exists and takes place on March 8, dating back all the way to 1914. In other countries, especially in South America, Women’s day is not only recognized, but honored and celebrated. While they may not get a day off work, like for major Holidays, still women are acclaimed, at least for that day.

In our area, however, when March 8 took place, majority of people were either careless or clueless about Women’s day. Ironically, it was also Free-Pancake Day, an event hosted by Ihop, giving free pancakes to its customers. Most people were excited and talking about that, instead of acknowledging Women’s Day. Social media, especially, was raging with posts about pancakes and spreading awareness for people to go to their local Ihop restaurant and claim their pancakes. It baffles me how in the society we are in today, most people care more about pancakes than honoring women on their special day. Women should be respected, celebrated, and cherished, not only on March 8, but on everyday of the year! 

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Plenary: Inspirational Career Advice

Most fields in the workforce are still predominated by men. Especially in areas of STEM, it is unfortunate to see the small amount of women who succeed in areas of science, math, and technology. Bobbie Ridgely is an exemplary woman of STEM, being a successful Mechanical Engineer and a leader of many programs. Personally, the STEM field does not interest me at all, as any science-related topic is not my forte, but I was excited to listen to such an insightful, knowledgeable, and inspiring speaker.

Ms. Ridgely shared amazing anecdotes to encourage young women to aim for success, especially in STEM. She also shared general life advice, from her own personal experience. Particularly, I enjoyed her memories of going through obstacles or failing, like when she crashed her father’s truck. Thankfully she was okay and continued to do her job. The message of this memory, was to never give up even when you make a mistake that may seem too great to fix, or when having a major obstacle or setback. She focused on her goal, and persevered until achieving success. For that reason, Ms. Ridgely’s speech and career accomplishments are an inspiration for us who are still in the process of commencing our career and discovering our strengths and weaknesses. I aspire to become as successful as she is, in my own respective field. I will remember Ms. Ridgely’s message and persevere whenever I want to give up, so that no obstacle can come between me and success. 

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Plenary: Intersex

Before watching this film, I had no idea that Intersex people existed. I was aware of the LGBTQ community, like transgender people, cross-dressers, hermaphrodites, or similar situations, but never imaged that something like Intersex existed. The film was very touching, because not only was it very informative about the biological aspect of Intersex, but also hearing about the personal stories of many people in that situation.

I was surprised about how common it is, and how most intersex people are victims of their parents’ poor decisions due to the pressure of societal norms. I can imagine it is very difficult to be in this situation, as the parent, because most of them were not correctly educated about Intersex and are inexperienced with these types of situations. However, their decision of physically alternating their child’s genitals through medical operations, clearly affects the Intersex person in a negative way. The main message towards the end of the movie is that being Intersex is not “the end of the world” or a “biological mistake.” Intersex people can be happy and carry a normal life and should be able to make their own decision about their gender identity and if they want a surgery or not. After becoming aware of these situations, if I ever encountered myself with an Intersex person I would feel empathetic and try to be accepting of them, as should everyone else and let go of judgmental stereotypes!