#sse28

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Feminist Definition Reflection

At the beginning of the semester, i defined feminism as a theory that aims to equate two sexes by allowing equal opportunity to any individual regardless of the stereotypes made against them. 

As the semester comes to a draw, I can only add onto this definition by broadening the spectrum behind the word: sexes. Feminism is not about sex. Its not about gender. Its not about orientation or identity. 

Feminism is about learning to look at someone as a human being.

This class has taught me more than any other course in my life. It taught me to evaluate someone’s worth for their character and what they do for the world. Feminism taught me that everything we thought makes us up, has just been a card we were dealt. My tools in life are only mine because of chance. I could've so easily been born into your family, your neighborhood, your world, but I wasn't. So I was raised differently, I was treated differently, I was assigned value differently, and I take this with me wherever I go and attempt to navigate through a world that was clearly made for a straight, white male. When I struggle, they ask me why I make poor decisions, but they don't see I have none of their privileges. These poor decisions are the only ones I have available to me because you see, I never had a life that was a meant for anything more than poverty.

K&P has taught me how to respect and listen to others. All our lives, we were taught respect one another, but you don't see what respect means till you experience its absence. So to those who are reading, thank you for respecting my words enough to care what I have to say. Feminism is based on consideration and a desire for reframing society to where we can all obtain our own goals. teamwork makes the dream work. spread positivity. we got this ladies! thank you for a wonderful semester 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Slaves to an Industry Encouraging Faux Empowerment

Jessica Valenti in Pop Culture Gone Wild inspired me and my group mates to redesign the structures of frat parties at college. She writes, the pop culture that surrounds us is becoming increasingly “pornified.” The “raunch culture” that media stimulates within our society encourages a sense of faux empowerment. Ok, so no big surprise, I get prettied up to go out and enjoy being validated by the guys that choose me to dance with. I admit I’ve done it. It happens. By why does it mean so much to me to be objectified by a man? Why does it matter to me that a guy finds me attractive? Valenti answers these questions by identifying the media as the source that commercializes sexuality to women even more than men. Redesigning structures of frat parties would alter the power dynamic between men and women in these oppressive relationships. Our goal is to dissolve the ideology of women as currency, also known as “ratio,” in order to manifest a new structure of society that evens out the hierarchy created by generations of patriachy.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Letting go of goals

Bobby Ridgely at the last plenary identified how throughout her career, she never had defined career goals, and the things she did want for her life, she had to give up. Despite this, she conveyed the idea that life inevitably worked out for the best because of these hinderances. Since she never set goals, she let herself explore all avenues and possibilities that her academic career could lead her to. Claiming an education in the spirit of curiosity and experimentation allowed her to apply engineering to humanitarian work: a career she never could’ve imagined herself in. She further illustrates the importance of acknowledging one’s reality. Once Bobby accepted that she couldn’t be the mother she wanted, she explored alternate arenas to be the mother she could actually be. Often times as a woman, I feel the need to plan for myself, my future, and my family. Bobby demonstrates that priorities fall into place with life no matter what, and just as much as she loves her family, she loves the life she made for herself because she never had to sacrifice her freedom of education.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Inherent suspicion: another tool of patriarchy

Pooja Gehi, a fantastic speaker at the Sexuality & Poverty Symposium this past Thursday, outlined the injustices in our society that aim to over-criminalize minority groups: specifically trans individuals. She identified that this concept of “inherent suspicion” exists within heteronormative roles as a reason to isolate this group. Suspiciousness is defined merely as what deviates from the norm. Whoever claims this inherent suspicion is identifying with what society deems to be a threat. So to an observer, someone who had no say in their designated XY chromosomes with a purse isn't viewed as their own individual and entity as they express their gender, but instead classified into one of the two binary categories we’ve created. Inevitably, the needs of individuals that identify with society’s norms trump the needs of anyone who might make them feel uncomfortable. Said “quality of life” crimes such as loitering, seem to be affecting lives of white, wealthy men. The use of “inherent suspicion” too frequently against these minority groups demonstrates patriarchy’s inability to allow expression and freedom to groups that deconstruct the hierarchy set up against them. 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Avoiding Materialism

In the reading Eat, Pray, Spend, Sanders calls out Oprah on her antifeminist ways. She writes, “though Oprahspeak pays regular lip service to empowerment, much of Winfrey's advice actually moves women away from political, economic, and emotional agency by promoting materialism and dependency masked as empowerment, with evangelical zeal.” And I gotta be honest, love ya Ops, but she's right. Encouraging women to splurge on themselves only perpetuates the role society created for us. When the media encourages us to spend our money, we have to be conscious of why we’re spending that money. Most of the tv shows, advertisements, radio shows, and magazines geared towards women suggest that our goal is to be a more feminine woman. In class, we took apart some of the most popular magazines being sold. We all noticed how they centered around things women could to do please a man. Unfortunately, our society uses materialism as a tool to perpetuate the demeaning role of “the pretty wife.” In reality, there is more value assigned to being sexy and well-liked than there is value to being kind, intelligent, and passionate. It is far too commonplace to see a young girl care about what boys think starting at such earlier ages. like honestly. why does it matter? why have we been conditioned to care so much, that we actually go an extra mile to look hot for someone who’s opinion really does not matter. **spoiler alert** it’s because patriarchy says his opinion is the only one that matters. So we’re used to putting energy into looking “cute” and give in to buying makeup, low-fat salad dressing, and high-heels because the only thing we can be is a sex toy so we may as well be the hottest one on the market. C’mon ladies. next time you buy, buy for yourself. please be conscientious of the way you are a consumer. society is expecting you to stay mindless. acknowledge that we are the inevitable products of society and whatever we do end up buying has been pre-selected for us, but you are not a robot and you can make your own choices. start with the little things & do it for you. 

[drcknowledgeandpower]

The screenshot above is a text I sent a few minutes ago to a friend. In the midst of being in college and succumbing to the superficiality of college party hookups, we almost forget what real human interaction is. Once we find it again, we remember the beauty our minds possess. Regrettably, we’ve assigned value to the temporary physical attributes we'll maintain for only so many years instead of working on our intellectual growth. Today my mind has been caressed and someone dared to explore me. To my body, I’m so sorry I assigned value to you by extrinsic opinions. To my mind, I am so sorry you weren’t given time to think freely about fresh topics and challenged to think about more than academia or what outfit to wear that comes off as sexy but not slutty. You deserve more. We deserve more. Each day I grow and mature is an opportunity for you to bathe in my experiences and teach me how to rationalize this world. Now I know your value and now I know you are with me beyond the spectrum of knowledge that was taught to me in school. I am woke.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Neglected History

Few will argue against the idea that history is written by victors. Analyzing the word history even gives us insight to the way it is written. For most of time, our past was written under the narrative of a dominant straight white male (his-story). As you can imagine, our awareness of the past is only as accurate as those taking note of it. Dr. Traci West brought up a significant aspect of American history that far too often is not mentioned by the media. One of the earliest examples of religious-affiliated terrorism is the KKK: A christian organization. Endless counts of lynchings against African Americans identifies the history of terrorism targeting blacks in America. However, this is not recognized by society an inherent example of terrorism. When we observe instances of this caliber, it is important to recognize why we classify violent Muslims as terrorists, but classify violent Christians as mentally unstable individuals. Where is the reasoning behind identifying an entire group responsible for one person’s actions, but giving leeway to the dominant group in society? Id like to remind all readers: recognize who is writing your people’s history. Identify who is writing what you hear in the media. Acknowledge who is censoring out what you hear, and make sure your story is heard to bring representation to your community.

[drcknowledgeandpower]

Guilt-free success

While listening Caitlyn Kenney's speech last Wednesday, a point about embracing the things you've earned in life resonated with me. Often times I question how I've obtained things in my life, thinking can this be replicated again or was this just Devine intervention. For example, I find myself accrediting a good grade to luck rather than a week of living at the library. So often, I've met disappointment in my life. It's so easy to almost predict when reality will hit and things will go wrong. But Caitlyn argues we should celebrate how we got to where we are and recognize the strength we have as individuals. We are determinants of our own fate and we should be empowered to look at our achievements as motivation to continue being successful.