#sak275

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Class discussion - LGBTQIA+

 I think my favorite discussion we’ve had this semester has been on the LGBTQIA+ community. In recent years, our nation has seen a significant increase in activism and education about the community, but I feel like there is really a lot that has been overlooked and ignored. For example, I’m really glad that we spent an entire class on Transgender and Intersex, because this is something that a lot of people really don’t know about, or if they do it’s something that is mocked and ridiculed. Sexuality and sexual identity is something that is very hard to come to terms with, and for a lot of people, discussion about these topics is something they have never experienced before. I tend to speak about these issues a lot with my friends, but being able to share ideas with a larger community was a really impactful experience for me. I just think that there’s a big problem with stigma in this community, both those who oppose it and those within the community who antagonize another part of it. While I don’t condone it in the slightest, stigma and ridicule against the LGBTQIA+ community from those on the outside of it is more or less understandable, because a lack of education makes it difficult to accept something that seems so wildly radical to a lot of people. However, the groups within the community who attack each other make it even more difficult for people to understand and accept what it means to be a part of this community. For example, bisexuals are considered to be “not gay enough” for the community, but also are “not straight enough” to not be a part of it. This seriously undermines the validity of bisexuals and makes it much harder for them to feel safe in their sexual identity. This was something that we talked about in class, and I’m very glad that this issue is getting more attention. My hope is that people, including myself, can take what we learned from this discussion and bring it to the outside world in order to fight the stigma against this community.

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Lauren Rankin plenary

So this was a really long time ago but I kept forgetting to write my post about it.

Growing up in a home where the only choice I had was to be pro-life, this was a talk that really made me question my upbringings. Since I’ve moved out, I’ve become wildly more liberal and more willing to accept what it truly means to be a feminist. One of the things that has been very hard to learn was accepting that women should have the right to choose to have an abortion. It certainly is a process of unlearning and understanding why abortion and other reproductive rights are so crucial to women around the world. While abortion is still something that makes me a bit uncomfortable, I do wish that it were a right that was safe and accessible for all women, and that it should always be a choice for women who desire to have an abortion. I was seriously taken aback when Lauren was talking about the protestors who would harass the women going into Planned Parenthood clinics. I think what this talk really brought out was the idea of shame that hides behind abortions. And while it’s something that maybe women don’t feel comfortable sharing about themselves, I think it’s important that more people hear talks like this one so that people can be educated about abortion and that women don’t have to feel so ashamed about having had one. It really is a matter of society, and right now our society is in a place that is not supportive of women at all. Providing education and spreading true, factual information about the processes of Planned Parenthood and other abortion clinics means guaranteeing safety for women and an end to stigma on women’s reproductive rights.

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Designing the WE - IRW lecture series

As a member of the IRW Learning Community, I have had the privilege of attending each of these distinguished lectures and learning about the effects of poverty as they apply globally, but also specifically within our nation. This lecture in particular captivated my interest, as the topic is very similar to what I am exploring for my final research project for the learning community. The presenters talked about the issue of redlining, which is a way of segregating neighborhoods in cities by race. These presenters spoke about the work that they’re doing in the Bronx, where my research is focusing on New York City as a whole, so this was still entirely applicable to me. The issue of redlining began back in 1934 when banks would only grant loans to white people, and the areas where loans could not be granted were “redlined” districts. In the 1940s, real estate investors began to scare the white people in cities into selling their homes and moving to the suburbs, telling them that their homes would be of very little value. These homes were then sold to poor blacks at unfair prices, in what is known as blockbusting. Thus began “white flight,” which was the move of the white people into the suburbs during the 1960s, and then “capital flight,” which was the move of factories out of cities. The result of these two being that neighborhoods were losing an expansive amount of income. “Planned shrinkage” then began, which was when cities would take the resources of the poor sections and give them to the already healthy and thriving sections, thus making the poor sections poorer and contributing to epidemics. Issues were then blamed on the city’s poor, the people who were merely victims of bad investment choices by the city. We then see a bunch of other processes coming up that we think are helping these areas of the city on the surface, when, in actuality, these communities are not being consulted on these issues, and the fixing procedures are really only doing surface work. Gentrification, for example, is the building of new and expensive buildings in poor areas with the idea that they will help build the community. And while they may draw in wealthy families and singles, it makes the cost of living more expensive for the urban poor who are already in the area. I wish to work in New York City public schools when I’m older and continue doing work and research in city development, so this lecture was totally captivating for me. I learned a lot of things that I think are very useful in understand the flaws of our system and really how it’s a system that works entirely against the poor communities.

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Plenary session with Pam Fessler

Pam delivered an incredibly enlightening talk on the role of women in media, and how NPR has become increasingly more progressive in their efforts to make their station a more inclusive environment. Her talk also reminded me a lot of the things that we talked about in class, regarding how media is directed towards women. We looked at several “women’s magazines” and noted how their content was hardly considered educational and written at an incredibly low reading level. This depicts the female consumer as a women who is not capable of understanding, or is not interested in, more thought-provoking topics. However, Mrs. Fessler’s talk shows just how passionate women are about so many different things, and I was especially intrigued about the new story series she spoke of, of 15-year-old girls around the world. I think it’s incredible to hear women be able to tell their stories, and to be able to give us the perspective of what life is like an areas that we can not reach as easily. But she showed just how important representation is, that having women present in the industry allows for change, and for topics to be brought in that are inclusive towards all women. 

While this may not be considered much of a challenge at a place as liberal as NPR, having a woman in such a high public standing is a crucial part of change being made in female representation. Other media outlets have trouble moving past the idea of a female being more than just a pretty side piece to the old male news anchor, and there is certainly much to be said on the validity of these news sources that can’t even treat their own female coworkers with the slightest level of respect. Perhaps we can see changes made to that in our lifetime. But for now, the work being done by Pam Fessler at NPR is very motivating and is truly paving the way for other women in the field.

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Plenary #2

Wendy Cai-Lee delivered what I thought to be one of the most inspirational talks that I’ve heard. Her method of lecturing through telling stories was incredibly impactful, and allowed us not only to learn about her, but to discover something about ourselves. I don’t plan on going into business, but that did not make me any less interested in Wendy’s talk, nor did it mean that the talk was any less applicable to me. She spoke with so much power, that it was very clear to understand just how determined she is about her work and her ability to succeed. Her words were both empowering and encouraging, furthering the notion that women are so capable of succeeding in this male-dominated society. Even through trials and hardships, Wendy notes how they were stepping stones for her to go in a different direction in her life. In an odd way, her talk was almost discouraging because of this. As someone who enjoys planning and has the next 30 years of her life mapped out, I started to wonder if maybe my life and plans for the future are going to take a sudden turn in another direction. And of course, I realize that they probably will, but I understand that these divergences from pre-existing plans are a part of life, and will only help me to grow stronger as a human and succeed infinitely more. Wendy has shown me what it means to be a strong and successful woman who can do it all, and I aspire to have that same will and determination in my life.