Hi All,
For your make-up assignment, I would like you to think more about the meaning of feminism and what it is about. I would like you to keep in mind some the discussions we had in lecture on Tuesday and to try to incorporate the key terms "subject position/positionality" and "intersectionality" into your response, even if you are just trying these terms out for the first time.
Please read these two articles that discuss feminism from a wide range of opinions and perspectives, political opinions, and in relation to oppression, and share with us how you understand the meaning of feminism now after we have read about it and discussed it a bit more. Has your understanding of the term "feminism" or "feminist" shifted, and if so, how? Did anything surprise you or stand out to you and why?
Please write at least two paragraphs. If you would like to comment on another student's post, you are welcome to, but it is not a requirement for this assignment.
This is DUE by the time your normal section would end on Friday 10/6. Add your response in a comment below this prompt.
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2017/02/21/515799019/today-s-feminism-too-much-marketing-not-enough-reality
http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/a21728/feminism-political-commitments/
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10am: POST #3
For your final blog post, I would like you to read and respond to the poem "I Want a Dyke for President" written by artist and act...
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For your final blog post, I would like you to read and respond to the poem "I Want a Dyke for President" written by artist and act...
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ReplyDeleteBefore taking WMS, I wasn’t quite sure what feminism was. It was brought up to me as a mixed and controversial subject with how media and people in school portrayed it, especially when one of my teachers said she was a feminist and all the guys were like ‘Oh god no.” After reading those two articles, lectures, and reading the book assignment, I have a better meaning of feminism. I would define feminism in my own terms as a fight for not only equal but equitable rights amongst all classes, races, and genders started by women. It represents intersectionality through reaching a wide audience.
DeleteSomething that surprised me or stood out to me was that women started this movement in the 1900s and how much they’ve accomplished since then. The things we find absolutely normal today such as voting, women in politics, or abortion rights were fought for by so many women. I think we should all be able to learn more about them and further educate ourselves on how important women are to society today. I feel that women who are against feminism are simply not understanding of the issue or fully educated on the subject that’s why we have classes like this one!
After reading the two articles that discussed feminism in various perspectives, my personal definition of feminism is still blurry. I was born and raised in Guangzhou, China, and had moved to the U.S when I was in 4th grade. Growing up, I never really experienced discrimination towards women in China due to the fact that I was born into a middle-income family where my mother worked as the head of one of the branches of Bank of China, and my grandmother who worked as an engineer for a major construction company. I had the privilege of having these two independent and successful women as role models in my childhood, which shaped my beliefs (career wise and how to act as a person) subconsciously. Although there was the notion that women are “weaker” than men in the Chinese culture, the women that I encountered focused on reaching their life/career goals and paid less attention to what other people said to them. Because of this, my perspective of women had always been that “work hard and you’ll get what you deserve”.
ReplyDeleteI think these two articles had great points and insights to different women’s perspective in regards to what is happening in the third wave of feminism in contemporary society. I agree with some points in the Today’s Feminism: Too Much Marketing, Not Enough Reality article, where Amy Alexander had stated about women today promoting all these idealistic reforms more than trying to change related legislations to the problems they face. It is true that it’s extremely hard for any major reforms to take place in society today because there are so many women with different backgrounds, chasing after different goals. My mother who now works as a housemaid would struggle to keep sufficient, healthy foods on the table for my younger brother. From my perspective, it is hard for the majority of women today to put down their daily duties to go after legislative reforms in the name of feminism. Like Alexander stated: “While the symbolism of the "Day Without Immigrants" is certainly valuable, for the immigrant and women workers who got fired for participating, and who now must find new jobs, you have to wonder if they now genuinely believe they received appropriate return on their investment.” I can understand why one would think that feminism today is not realistic enough to impact daily lives of women. I also loved what Alexander had stated about the core aspects of women of color’s experiences which are resilience, self-love, and fundamental understanding that one’s self-worth is not defined by the same markers of success that have defined white male status. I think these elements should be what all women strive for to have in life.
I couldn’t really find myself agreeing completely with the second article written by Evette Dionne. From my view, I accept and understand what she is saying about how everything a women does is not inherently feminist because she deems it so and the weaknesses of lifestyle feminists. But it feels like to me that she is trying to define every detail of how a feminist (in her eyes) should act like. To me and my own experience in encountering feminism as well as from the experiences of women in my life, I feel that a feminist should know what is good and possible for her/him realistically and should be motivated into achieving what is best for her/him by overcoming the legislative/societal challenges in life. I don’t feel like it is fair for a person to define another person’s definition of feminism/feminist. We all come from difference backgrounds/class, being aware of intersectionality we can better acknowledge the ground differences and to compromise without violating each other’s rights to believe what one wants to believe.
My definition of feminism before I read these two articles and before our class lecture was that feminism was defined as equal rights for men and women. After reading these articles and listening to my classmates definition of feminism during lecture, made me realize that feminism is more than just equality. It's also about equity because giving men and women equal amount of resources does not mean they are both going to obtain the same opportunities because people's needs are all different. I also learned about the term intersectionality, it's true that women of color not only get racist remarks from people but also sexists remarks. When I would hear about feminism the first thing that would come to mind was equality for women, but feminism is also about men.
ReplyDeleteBoth of these articles mentioned how feminism is not inclusive to transgender women, queer women, working class women, women of color. Often when people talk about feminism they're talking about middle class white women wanting to obtain equality. To me it's no surprise, because as a Latina women I learned at young age that I did not have the same opportunities as a white women, even though we are both women fighting for equality we were still not in the same position. The most interesting part of this article to me was when the author discussed about women protests and how sometimes she feels as if these protests are only targeted to upper class white women who do not have to worry about missing a day of work, or school. I can relate to this because my mother and I had the same discussion about how we cannot afford to miss a day of work because of rent, and bills, and how I couldn't afford to miss a day of school to participate in these events but that didn't mean that we didn't want to, we just couldn't.
Before sitting in on the the first lecture in the gender studies class I did only have a broad understanding and definition of the meaning of feminism. I did believe that feminism was just on the basis of the equality primarily for women. Additionally, present society has shown the extremities of feminism and for lack of a better word have only shown the “feminazis”. This is discussed in the article by npr that states “…’feminism’ in 2017 is more concerned with promoting superficial trapping of genuine equality than doing the tough work required to address the hard, cold facts of gender and racial inequality.” After discussion and reading the articles, my understanding of the meaning of feminism has shifted in a more focused way. Feminism and being a feminist are advocating for equal rights for both men and women. Also there is not one “type” or “version” of feminism; according to the Harper’s Bazzar article, there is feminism called lifestyle feminism which allows feminism to fit in a woman’s existing lifestyle and for them to not be forced into “interrogating their beliefs”.
ReplyDeleteThrough the lectures what stood out to me was during the waves of feminism and what is still being surfaced today through present feminism is racial separation. The writers in the two articles are similar because they are speaking from the same racial background and their experience with the feminist movements. The feminist movement was and is lacking intersectionality, where it was grouping all women into one subject, but there are women with different racial backgrounds, economic statuses, and social rankings. Intersectionality well defined in the npr article states that it is an “intellectual trait, the ability to recognize the multidimensional layers of inequality…”. Feminism should be a movement that should take part in all of the oppressive systems of men and women; it should not just cover one element of men and women but must be all of them. These points stood out to me because I was unaware that the feminism could cover all these aspects of oppression and I would like to continue to become more educated in the history and understand the shaping of the feminist movement in present day.
The word “feminism” to me is the view that all women should be equal to men. This view should take into account the issues that arise within every women (working class women, women of color, queer women, trans women, disabled women, etc.) and not just one type. No two women are exactly alike and therefore will have different subject positions, affecting their views, beliefs, and morals. I think that it’s important for people in the movement to recognize intersectionality and that no one can strip themselves of their overlapping characteristics that make them who they are.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding of the word “feminism” has shifted since this class has started. I always thought of the word to mean equality of the sexes. I had never realized there were struggles within the movement to unify and to have their members be able to stand together with one common goal because of the different background and positionalities of each individual woman. I think that the “f” word very often evokes a unique emotion out of people because it is heavily associated with this image of a non-ideal, man-hating woman who isn’t submissive or pure. These two articles along with the class has helped me realize how wrong that idea is and how the struggle for equality for all women is still a prominent issue in our world today.
Before, I interpreted feminism more of just a woman’s rights movement for women of all backgrounds who feel like there should be more equality between the sexes. Now that I have been exposed to what this term a little more, it’s more than just equality for women. Just like in the article by Evette Dionne states that Environmental racism, police violence, and transgender rights all become feminist issues. I’m really surprised at myself that I know little about feminism or what it means to be a feminist when it’s a really huge deal today in which women still continue to fight for their deserved rights.
ReplyDeleteI feel like nowadays the term intersectionality is used more often to discuss feminism because back then, it was mostly one type of race/class who were able to fight. Today we have other groups in which feminism can be taken accounted of since feminist come from different background like the Black Lives Matter movement stated by Amy Alexander in her article. Another thing that surprised me about the term feminist is how men can also claim to be a feminist in that it’s not just about women, but also about everyone else. Both these articles really opened my eyes when learning how feminism plays a role in today’s society ,and also made me reflect how important it is to know what you are claiming when people call themselves feminists. I can see how this word can be interpreted in many ways which is why some are against or think negative about the term today.
Feminism is a lot more than just advocating for yourself and what you need. Feminism is about continually being aware of the changes in our country and the world that need to be made in order to create a world where people (yes, woman is the focus in feminism but not the only focus) can live without fear and with the right to choose how they wish to live.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the two articles, it has become more apparent to me that a lot of issues aren’t being taken into account, at least from what social media is showing us. The first article focuses on intersectionality. Fighting for woman’s rights is important, but it’s even more important to make sure that all women are included in that fight. i.e. the focus has to include woman that aren’t just white. Every woman is a woman, however every black woman is black and a woman, every poor woman is poor and a woman. The second article’s point is to make it clear that if any if your beliefs are oppressive, then you are not a feminist. I believe that an important aspect of feminism is fighting for a woman’s right to choose and to make the choices that she wants to make without being criminalized for it. It is important to realize that an individual can personally have their preference on how they think someone (themselves) should act, however it is not their right to make important life decisions for other people and make people feel bad for what they choose.
My understanding of feminism did not change drastically in reading these two articles, I have just become more aware of what feminists need to be considering during their fight.
After reading these two articles, I now have a new understanding of what the Women's movement has struggled with in the past and even still today. It has broadened my view on feminism and some flaws in the movement. One of the major flaws is that the movement is still geared mostly toward straight white middle classed women who don't have the same struggles as many other people. White feminists sometimes fail to see that there are other women with more struggles that are sometimes forgotten about like Muslim women, black women, trans women, and poor women. They are all women who are struggling in many different aspects. This concept of intersectionality is so important for all feminists to understand because we cannot disconnect our religion, color of skin, or sexuality from our gender. There are many different types of women who should all be included in the feminist movement. Feminism should be geared towards helping all women and not exclude or forget women with different struggles.
ReplyDeleteWhile reading these articles, I was actually surprised that intersectionality and inclusion was still a big issue because I had not really heard many people talk about it, so it was something I was more uneducated on. However, after reading, it began to make sense because there were so many valid points brought to my attention. Therefore, my view of feminism and feminists did shift a bit because now I see more of its flaws and things that I can try and make better as a feminist like including all women and all of the struggles we face. Overall, I feel more enlightened about how feminism should be, and I see now how it has left out so many women because they do not share the same struggles as straight middle class white women. This is something we need to fix as a whole collective group so that we can grow as a more effective movement geared towards all women.
Feminism is the movement that strives for the equality of women and men.
ReplyDeleteThat was the first definition I was ever given about feminism. Being a self-identified feminist, I thought I knew all there was to know about feminism. I was most definitely wrong about that. Walking into class that first morning was a wakeup call for me. It really emphasized the fact that although I am a person of color, there are a lot of things that I still don’t have to worry about because of the color of my skin and the family that I was born into. Although feminism was meant to be helping everyone, the movement only focuses on the struggles of the middle-class white woman. That is not okay. Feminism needs to be inclusive and realize that every group has their own story that needs to be included in the narrative.
Out of all the things we talked about during class, I really felt that two things are essential to feminism. One is intersectionality. It is so important for people to understand that to be “colorblind” or to “not see race” is not helpful in allowing people to truly embrace their identities. Everyone should be able to be who they are and not have to ignore a part of themselves to join a movement they feel strongly about. Not only should women be able to get a seat at the table, other marginalized groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community, the African-American and Latino community, and the economically disadvantaged should also be represented at the table. The other essential thing is understanding the difference between equality and equity. I’m so glad we got to talk about it during the lecture because equity was talked about a lot in my high school and I realize it is not something that many people are familiar with. Equality can only be effective if everyone is at the same starting point. However, that is not the reality of the world. There are many factors that determine where you will start in life and what struggles you will have to endure, and since that is different for most people, it means that giving everyone equal opportunities and support will not result in everyone arriving at the same place. Equity accounts for the fact that people are different and that some will need more help than others to reach the same point. To me, that is what feminism should be about. It shouldn’t just look good on paper. Feminism should be about providing the help that people need, no matter what that might entail. It should be welcoming to all people from all backgrounds and giving them a voice in the movement. Feminism might be a flawed movement right now but I do believe that it will continue to change for the better.
I knew what feminism was. Or at least I thought I did.
ReplyDeleteTo be completely honest, I was hesitant on taking WMS 50 because the topic of feminism has always somewhat frightened me. 99% of it was/is because I don’t know much about feminism and the other 1% was that the thought of women wearing pink, with shirts saying “girl power”, “advocating” for all women just seemed like a phase and something that only women with some sort of privilege among the rest, advocated for (at least that’s what it seems like on mainstream media).
I know now, after just reading the first few chapters of Rory Dicker’s A History of U.S. Feminisms, and lectures, that feminism is much more complex than the google-searched definition: the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes. I had always thought feminism was just about equality of the sexes, so it really hit me that what I knew about feminism was absolutely nothing when I read:
“Feminism, however, is not just concerned with “equality.” Many people take issue with the standard dictionary definition of feminism because it tends to reinforce an androcentric understanding of equality: Women will become equal when they have what men have.”
After just these few days of being in WMS 50, I have learned a lot.
I had no idea what intersectionality meant. Nor did I know what positionality meant. I believe this is where feminism is winning: feminists realize that life is perceptible and, therefore, can have more empathy for others’ situations. I especially found it interesting, however, that even in the feminist movement, there are still “privileged” feminists, as noted in the NPR article: “the debate over feminism is similarly stuck in a binary construct, largely defined in middle- or upper-middle-class white-lady contexts.“
I still do not know enough about the topic of feminism to be able to stop someone on the street and proclaim “I am a feminist” with confidence. But, this is why I am taking the class. Education is important to freeing preconceived notions of topics. Even feminism.
Before taking this class, my understanding of feminism was very limited and wrong. More precisely, my knowledge about feminism only consisted of the negative stereotypes about feminists on media. And this class completely changes my mind. I have been always annoyed by being told that mechanical engineering is men's job. For a long time, I kept asking myself if there is any jobs a man can do but a woman cannot. However, I did not realized that my way of thinking and questioning was feminism until I take this class. Now, I have a better understanding of how feminism is important when it comes to fight for the equality between men's and women's rights, the equity between their needs, etc.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite definitions of feminism is that feminism is for all women regardless of skin color, wealth, and sexual orientation. The fact that feminism is for all women, not white, middle-class ones refers to the concept of intersectionality, in which a woman's race and sex cannot be separated because they "intersect and are always present in her lived experience" (Dicker). Although I, as an immigrant, have not yet encountered any racism and discrimination, after reading the articles, I am surprised that intersectionality is still a big issue.
Feminism to me is having a choice, having the freedom to live your life the way you want and being able to succeed just as much as anyone else. I don’t think my definition of feminism has changed but my knowledge behind the subject has definitely broadened over the week. I never really considered racial issues when I thought about feminism, and pretty much assumed that trans women were already included because they are women. I’ve come to realize that my understanding of feminism is even shallower than I thought.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the two articles, I definitely resonate more with the first article Today’s Feminism: Too Much Marketing, Not Enough Reality. Alexander argues that the feminist movements of today don’t consider intersectionality. While the movements fight for gender equality, they don’t fight for equity because the subject positions of women of color aren’t even accounted for. On social media, I rarely see feminist videos that tackle relevant issues, instead I see “free the nipple” videos, which if you consider all the other issues such as the wage gap, seems pretty trivial. The media seems to play down the importance of feminism or reject and mock it by using radical “feminazi” statements to deprecate the whole movement. Initially I didn’t think much about the videos I see on social media, but after realizing that the underrepresentation of women of color in feminist movements means that these trivial issues are being prioritized, I feel like the feminist movement could be so much more so I agree with Alexander.
I’m not sure if I agree with the second article because I feel like the author is extremely biased. The author argues that anyone who has oppressive views cannot be a feminist. However, the oppressing side depends on the side you are on. On every issue there are at least 2 different views and each view is trying to oppress the other, so that view itself is oppressive. Dionne’s aim is to unify and solidify the feminist movement by almost creating a doctrine that all feminists should follow. That would undoubtedly strengthen the feminist movement because you wouldn’t have two or more feminist groups opposing each other and fighting amongst themselves but rather one big group fighting for the same thing. However I don’t believe that’s possible because if that doctrine of Dionne’s beliefs is enforced, there wouldn’t be a big group of feminists left. Everyone has different beliefs and opinions because of their subject positions, to reject all other beliefs except your own is oppressive.
Before taking this class, I thought I knew what feminism was; I thought I grasped the concept and I thought it was an identity I could wholeheartedly stand behind and embrace. Now, being a few days into this class, I am starting to question that understanding and commitment. I think it is likely that, by the end of this class, I will learn that I am committed to many ideals that are tied to feminist beliefs, but also that maybe I'm not cut out to be a full-fledged feminist.
ReplyDeleteThe simplest way to describe what I previously perceived feminism to be, in light of what I have since begun to process since reading the two articles, is as follows: I thought feminism was about achieving equality and/or equity (as I think each could be more appropriate depending on the issue at hand) in relation to social and political issues, for all people. Yes, all people - including all races, all sexual orientations, and all gender identities. Now, my understanding of it is shifting towards the idea that feminism is about achieving equality and/or equity in relation to all issues, not just one dimension of issues (e.g. social), for all types of women. For example, I did not know before reading Dionne's article about competing political and feminist commitment that environmental issues are considered to fall under the feminist umbrella because of how they stand to affect women.
Furthermore, Dionne's article made me uneasy because it felt serious and divisive. I understand that members of a movement should have a correct understanding of what that movement is about, and should take it seriously, hence the tone of the article. At the same time, it makes me apprehensive because I worry that it will drive people away. I find the rhetoric of: "if you're not with us, you're against us" or "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" to be seemingly everywhere these days. As a person who often sees the grey areas and tends to sit in the middle on a lot of issues, people/things that present themselves in absolute terms such as, in this case, "you either advocate for all women or no women" make me feel small and hesitant, and ultimately it drives me away. I don't actually foresee myself having any conflicting political ideas, but I also cannot say with certainty that I truly have none and that I would support all women in all issues, period. I can only hope that I am relatively unique in having this issue, and that, for feminism's sake, this doesn't happen to many more people as well.
My opinion about feminism before we started class was the same as it is now. I believe that feminism is about lifting up other women and supporting them in what they need. I also know that feminism is inherently political, it is after all a political movement. Feminism is about equality, however I don't think it is as inclusive as the authors of these articles would have me believe. I think feminism is about political, social, and economic equality between men and women. Just because the definition is brief doesn't mean it's untrue. The definition has to be short because it can't possibly include what feminism means to every single feminist. It will always mean different things to different people, because everyone has their own opinion. I can't believe that if the goals of feminism are achieved, then everyone's struggle will end. Everyone has their own struggles. Even men, white people, and rich people. Every single person has a struggle. Albeit, some people have more struggles than others. But that doesn't mean I get to tell someone that their problem is insignificant.
ReplyDeleteI also have to say that this idea of lifestyle feminism isn't really that big of a deal. Small issues like catcalling, shaving/ waxing, and makeup have absolutely no impact on equality. If a woman wants to walk around with hair in her arm pits, she can. No one is saying that she can't. People might call her gross, but people also call white men gross for smoking. Additionally, I don't think it's a feminist issue. We have to think bigger.
Telling someone they aren't a feminist is not ok, in my humble opinion. Like the author of the second article does. Just like I can't tell someone she's not a democrat if she doesn't act the way I do. A woman has no right to tell another woman she's not a feminist because the whole idea of feminism is about lifting up other women. If you insult other women or degrade them in any way, you're kind of halting our progress. If we're to reach our political goals, we can't display an image of such distaste. We want women to have equal rights to education, equal pay, unrestricted access to abortions, and so many other things. We'll have a hard time achieving those things if we're too busy telling other women they can't be feminists.
One thing I know for sure is that I don't like other people telling me what I can and can't do. So that's part of why I'm a feminist. And if we live in a world where I have to fight to be paid the same as a man, then I'll work for it. Hard working women across the country deserve to be paid the same as their male counter-parts, if not more. I also like to keep in mind that some of these issues are only common to the US. Feminism looks very different in other areas of the world. There are many societies which idolize and worship women. Their are countries where men and women are equal. I'd like to see feminism become a global movement. At the same time, I don't think it's a good idea to place blame. If I were to say that it's a man's fault that I don't get paid enough, it would seem petty and counterproductive to me. I'd rather see women working together to make change happen without blaming others, whether it be men or white women.
I’ve never actually understood what the term “feminism” really entailed. Like many others, I thought it’s a term that empowers and gives positive energy to women regarding their daily life decisions. Even though in modern time women have more freedom and can strive for goals and beliefs that was once considered radical and impossible there’s still a lot of problems that need to be addressed. As suggested by Amy Alexander in the article “Today’s Feminism: Too Much Marketing, Not Enough Reality,” wage disparity, uneven distribution of women and men in high salary jobs, racial inequality unfortunately still exist in our current society. Given these factors, one can’t help but wonder if race and ethnicity also contribute to the unjust and discriminatory situations. As stated by Alexander, “Black and Latin women together make up nearly 18 million of the total number of America’s 67 million working women, they are disproportionately more likely to be heads of households, yet also more likely to receive less pay then white women and white men.” Here we see where positionality and intersectionality come to contradict each other. For example, white, black and Latina women may be in the same position regarding wage disparity but white women are still more like to earn more given her identity/intersectionality as a white female.
ReplyDeleteEvette Dionne, on the other, sees that unification of women is necessary to accomplish the goal of bringing equality to women. That means feminism needs to be more inclusive and I agree with that. Women of all race, ethnicity, background, sexual preference, socioeconomic status, and beliefs need to be united and push for a movement that truly include every single woman in our society. While it is true that feminism is a term that’s often misused and interpreted in modern day. I believe given enough time and never ending passion to push for true equality we’ll eventually get there. To continue the legacy and mission endowed to us by women in from past who fought so hard for a new and different world for women of future generation.
My positionality has always been to identify as a feminist. The more I read about feminist theory I can see more and more why intersectionality is important. Also, the more I read about feminism, I understand and learn about groups and issues that relate to feminist agendas. I think it is important for women to be inclusive of all diverse types of women. In the past,” feminism” was defined with a very narrow meaning, in time this has changed. Now we have all kinds of diverse types of feminist. For example, amongst the liberal and radical feminist, we have religious feminism, black feminism, Latina/chicanx feminism and many more. This is why intersectionality is important because it accepts different viewpoints from all different types of women. According to the articles, this also allows all women of whatever backgrounds or political stance to be a feminist.
ReplyDeleteIn the “Too Much Marketing, Not Enough Reality”, I could identify with many of the issues explained in that article. As a Latina woman, I watched my mother and father work 365 days a year growing up, even if they were sick. And they would guilt trip themselves if they needed to miss a day of work. This is an issue that has been going on for years. So the missing a day of work in order to be part of a collective may not be the best idea for some. I think that there needs to be a better way of getting our point across without jeopardizing the livelihood of people who do not have the same opportunities.
Before I took this class I never really understood what feminism was. Because I heard so many people talk about feminism in their own way I just never really knew what it meant. So many people spoke of it like if it were this really bad thing that no one should be a part of and others felt empowered by it. It was not until I took this class that I realized that feminism was. I now understand that feminism is basically an advocacy of woman's rights on the equality of the sexes. And I now understand that its not just only about equality but more so of equity because saying everyone is equal doesn't necessarily mean everyone is equal. I now understand that everyone has different needs and therefore different actions need to be taken in order to provide equal rights.
ReplyDeleteSome thing that did surprise me from the articles was how women/men are still, in a way, excluded. For example when the A Day Without A Woman and A Day Without An Immigrant protests happened, people didn't really think about the lower class women and men who couldn't afford to miss a day because they are not as financially set to participate. I went to San Francisco when they did both protests and when the Women's march went down. One thing I did notice and heard from many people, including men and woman, was that people who didn't show up and protest with them were some how against them. And I thought that was completely wrong, I believe people should have an oped mind and understand that sometimes people can't make it to things like this
To me, my definition of feminism has now become more clear. Before I started class, I believed that feminism is the belief in the complete equality of the sexes in all elements of society in our world. Now, after reading the second article from Bazaar especially, I can understand how my previous belief is sort of unspecific, in the way that there is so much more to do and think and believe when you're an active feminist.
ReplyDeleteFor example, I thought it was significant that the article added more detail to the concept of intersectionality. In their explanation, intersectionality specifically applied to trans women, capitalist agenda, and the overall hypocrisy that is prevalent among many people who call themselves "feminist", but continue to support or be indifferent toward problematic matters. Such matters include being "pro-life" instead of "pro-choice", Islamophobia, and Zionism.
Because the article discussed what it really means to be a feminist, and especially how to be a feminist in what can be a gray area to some people that are not well educated on the movement, I now have a better understanding on the meaning behind feminism, and the sensible and considerate choices you have to make in order to continue to practice true, intersectional, feminism.