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3/2-Plenary #2

Dr. Traci West, Rabbi Esther Reed, and Atiya Aftab all provided great insight on their different religious backgrounds and being women leaders. I thought it was especially interesting how Dr. West was drawn to becoming a minister because of the civil rights movement and her desire to make a change. This showed that religion can play a large role in activism and making actual changes in the world.  Dr. West pointed out that although religion can sometimes be part of the problem, it also empowers and can be an impetus for change. Dr. West’s approach to how she would deal with a woman who was considering an abortion particularly stood out. She demonstrated that her religious approach is not to just tell people what is right or what they should do, but rather to guide them as they figure it out for themselves. Rabbi Reed was demeaned early on in her career by being called “cute” and having a man say he wasn’t sure whether he should kiss the Torah or the rabbi. Atiya Aftab was often the only women in a room full of men. It was inspiring to see how they were able to overcome these challenging experiences and own their positions as religious women leaders.

It is very true how Muslims are often depicted as the “other” in the media. James Morone wrote about morality in American politics and how a “us versus them” rhetoric is very effective in mobilizing people towards a certain cause. People are constantly trying to define themselves and the world around them. They are quick to blame and oppose those who seem to disrupt their lives or don’t confer with their world views. Donald Trump is using such rhetoric against Muslims and immigrants to gain supporters. It is important to be conscious that this is occurring and to combat it.

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Plenary 2/17

Caitlin Kenney gave an insightful and interesting talk. She provided some actionable and relatable messages of encouragement and advice. I enjoyed how she incorporated audio clips from her interviews to demonstrate various points. Despite bumps such as being laid off, Caitlin was still able to overcome and become successful. Imposter syndrome affects women in many different fields. Often times, Caitlin pretended like she knew what she was doing but actually didn’t have any. People are drawn to people who have a plan and women often underestimate what they are capable of doing. A quote by Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist, is particularly apt: “Don’t fake it ‘til you make it. Fake it ‘til you become it.”

Her main message was that people have unique, interesting stories and as a journalist you have to ask the right questions to discover their stories. As a future medical school student, working as a physician is very much like the job of a reporter. Physicians have to conduct patient interviews to determine what the patient is suffering from. You have to ask the right questions, develop a relationship with the patient, read facial expression, read body language, and speak in terms that the person can understand.

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I attended the Start Smart Salary Negotiation Workshop on February 10th. We learned about the gender pay gap where women are 79% of what men are paid. This has enormous implications for families and children who depend on the women’s earnings. The gap can contribute to poor living conditions, poor nutrition, and reduce the chances of the children’s success. There is a need for activism, better policies, and an improved workplace environment to combat the wage gap. One step that we can actively take is negotiating our pay when being offered a job. Women are less likely to negotiate because they don’t want to risk being fired, being seen as arrogant, ungrateful, or pushy.

We learned about specific techniques we can incorporate during the negotiating process such as avoiding naming a number for an expected salary, doing research on the median income for the profession in a specific city, creating a budget to determine what you should aim to receive, and negotiating benefits such as healthcare. Preparation and practice is essential for a successful negotiation. During the workshop we had a chance to practice negotiating which was extremely beneficial. We can often be thrown off guard so practicing responding to difficult statements and questions is great preparation. The workshop provided a great foundation for learning how to negotiate as well as a plethora of resources so that we can earn the wages we deserve.

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“You have the golden ticket”

While traveling to countries such as Afghanistan, the UAE, Pakistan, the Netherlands and others, I’ve always understood how lucky I, (along with every other American) am to be of American background. I have never had a very hard time getting into a country. Of course there is a discomfort that comes from knowing I, as an American have privileges I was just handed and did not need to work for it at all. While, in other countries lives of thousands are lost for similar causes and they are the same ones who actually worked hard to get the things they have now. No matter where one’s birth place was, the moment a person becomes the holder of an American passport, she or he has the opportunity to go ahead and travel to most countries without TOO many difficulties. I compare our privileges with those of the people who live in countries such as Palestine, who cannot cross into other strips of stolen Palestinian territory without having to wait 7-8 hours for Israeli soldiers to run meaningless background checks. Although the safety in every country is necessary to be taken care of, there is a massive difference between checkpoints in which safety is the primary reason of existence, and the checkpoint that only exists to traumatize the people to the point of never wanting to come back again, even though this is their land that they are being chased out of. Fear mongering is becoming the most prevalent way the “higher powers” are able to commit their actions without any uproar from the general public. While our speaker today commented on how the quote “You have the golden ticket” will always stay with her, this exact thing was said to me in a different language and therefore memories of the past started flooding my memory. I sympathize with those who feel as if Americans have a way more privileged way of living compared to the rest of the world since I personally know so many of my family members had to struggle so much to be able to give me and my siblings the ability to be a holder of a ‘golden ticket’.

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This is a video of Emma Watson giving a speech to the United Nations about feminism.  Her speech brought up some very important issues like child brides and unequal pay that, at the rate we as a society are going now, will not be fixed for many more decades. These points prove how important it is for all people to support gender equality.She also brought up a good point about how she  was lucky enough to always been encouraged by her mentors just as much as her male peers were to pursue her goals,however most girls are not so lucky. This shows how important it is for the older generations to be educated on gender issues, because they are the parents, teachers, etc. who are favoring young boys over girls. Watson has been a role model for young girls for years, but through this speech she proved herself to be a role model for all people everywhere by being a feminist, and more importantly being proud of the fact.

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What I liked about this commercial was that it addressed the bystander in a way that almost put the viewer in the situation. It also has the vibe of the men talking to another man. It enlists the help of everyone because this is a situation anyone can find themselves in. Seeing something wrong and not doing anything about it puts you on the side of the one doing the wrong. The slogan #WhoWillYouHelp is powerful, showing that inaction is still an action even though you will not be the one to face the consequences; your inaction could come at someone else’s expense. The end of the commercial also put the viewers in the situation that they did do that right thing. They get to see how big of an impact they can make just by speaking out to stop a horrible crime. As a whole, this video showed that anyone could be the rapist, the victim, or the bystander and that when you are the latter, you can stop someone from becoming a victim. It’s a very important message that people need to understand. No matter the situation, no one deserves to face rape or sexual harassment.

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The four-year-old girl in this video is an inspiration, and shes too young to even know it. Her response to negative attention from a male peer in school demonstrated the mindset that every little girl in the world should have. Instead of worrying about what her classmates think of her appearance, she is focused on learning and getting an education. This little girl’s confidence is admirable. Instead of getting upset or crying when called ugly, she joked back to the little boy and clearly explained what her purpose is in the classroom.

Not only should all little girls have this attitude about their education, but I believe all young children need to follow a similar example when bullied in school. When another student is being mean to them, any girl or boy should know how to quickly explain that they are there to learn, and be able to go right back to focusing on their lesson, It is no easy task for a young student to ignore negativity from a peer, but it would be a little easier if they were taught to follow the example of the girl in the video.

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In the fall of 2013, I took a class that would forever change my life: Art & Women, an art history class with -- as the name implies -- a focus on women. For the final project, we were instructed to create something unique and meaningful; something that would span beyond the confines of the classroom.

I decided writing an essay just wouldn’t cut it. I decided to instead direct a video on a peculiar interest of mine -- horror films -- and critique them from a feminist perspective. It’s everything you might expect, but with a biting academic edge. (I had really done my research.)

So the plenary with speaker Debra Zimmerman really struck a chord in me. As someone with a love for film, hearing a woman speak on a medium that is wildly overpopulated by the opposite gender was something that was quite inspiring to me. 

In my videos (attached is the preview; the full video is on my channel) one of the issues I bring up is the way women are portrayed in horror films: there is a touch of violence to the way we are sexualized; a touch that in many ways promotes domestic violence and even rape against women. I believe that, if women were directing these films, a lot of these problems would be eradicated.

Think about it. Why is it that a genre of film with a tradition of having female protagonists have mostly male directors? Sounds kinda fishy to me.