#dna36

As I was growing up in India, I never really heard or known any intersex people. The first time I heard about intersex people was in my AP psychology class, when we were studying the subject of nurture vs nature. At that time, I never gave much thought to it until we had the discussion in our Knowledge and Power class. I realized how ignorant I was when I think I knew what intersex was. Some people in the movie was happy with being intersex was because they chose to be. A lot of frustration that I saw in the movie steamed from the fact that the people didn’t get to choose what they wanted. They felt humiliated, scared, and betrayed by their loved ones when they were not told what happened to them. Now, I feel like the intersex child has the right to chose what they want when they grow up. However, I ask myself what I would do when I am parent. If I didn’t know anything in that situation, I would have trusted the doctor to make that decision. Realizing this, I know that I shouldn’t blame on the parents entirely, but they should have let their children know the truth. Right now, all we can do is educate people on this topic, and make this a topic that should be talked more open. We have to let people know more about intersex people to avoid situations like these.    

I loved this plenary because the speaker is someone who I wanted to be. She pursed her dream to be an engineer and then she chose to leave her job and be with her children. She then went on to do what she wanted to do, which was trying to make the world a better place to live. She is everything that I want to be, and sometimes people don’t understand that. I am scared to admit to everyone that I want to quit my job when I have a baby because they might think that I will not put effort to be a mother and a worker. There is a stigma to being a stay-at home mother that they are either being pressed to leave their job or are not feminist enough to do both. But what people don’t realize is that some women chose to be a stay-at home mother because they want to. We all have different priorities in lives, and being a feminist for me means to be able to chose and not judge on people’s choices. Also, she inspires me to never let go of the feeling to achieve what you want. I am terrified of what the future holds for me. With a STEM major, I always wonder what I will be doing for the rest of my life. But the speaker has given me hope that not every job I take will always be related to my major. Since I was young, I always dreamed to open a dance academy where a variety of dance forms could be learned. When I grew up and decided on going to college, I chose to be in STEM field, and thought that maybe I would have to give up on the dance academy. I did not think I could double major in Biotechnology and Dance, so I decided on a safer route and chose Biotechnology. When I heard her speak so passionately about her current job, I teared up a bit. I wanted to be someone like her, who no matter what, chose to be who she wanted to be. She did not care that she was a women and focused on her goals, and it motivated me to be like her. 

As I was sitting through the plenary, I felt myself being lost. The plenary was great about women and religion, but I couldn't relate to anyone of our panelists because I don't follow their religion. I am a feminist who follows Hinduism. As a Hindu, I wasn’t able to relate to any of the panelists as a woman. In Hinduism, understanding the caste system is important. Although the caste system is illegal, it is impossible to forget about it even in this day and era. As a feminist, I don’t believe in the caste system as I don’t believe that people are born in caste that either gives them privilege or hardships. As a woman, the caste system puts me under men, as I have a lot restrictions during my menstruation period because I am “impure.” Women have a lot of restrictions, and sometimes it sucks to be a Hindu women. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t use my religion for empowerment. Goddess Durga is a fierce warrior goodness, and she is called Shakti, which means divine force. She destroys any evil in the world, and is worshipped to bring light and justice. She shows that women can be powerful, and it motivates me to go against the caste system. As a feminist, my religion motivates me to find justice. I just wished that in the plenary i could ask more question to a panelist presenting more religions.  

Abortion can be a touchy topic to many people, and it is okay if you do not agree with it. Today in the plenary when a girl asked the question about abortion to our panelists,  and it remembered of a Jon Oliver’s segment on abortion. I loved the way they would approach the girl who needed advice. Dr. West’s answer of asking the girl’s faith and her ideas to help her has touched my heart, because Dr. West is indirectly is letting the girl have the power to do whatever she wants. Dr. West isn’t forcing her own ideas and religion on the girl to make the decision, and I believe that this is something that everyone needs to understand. Using political laws and religion to stop abortion can lead to danger as it forces the woman to use desperate decisions. If a 13-year old rape victim is forced to have the baby or have to go all the way to Mexico to get abortion because of state’s abortion laws, and you agree with these laws, then I really have no other words. Abortion, as Jon Oliver has said, has to legal and accessible for everyone. 

I know that I am posting a lot of John Oliver’s videos, but this is too glorious to not be posted here. #makedonalddrumphagain

My dad had always said to me,”if you have no education, you won’t be able to do anything you want to.” And in many ways, it is true. Education gives you power, and power demands an attention from everyone. To be able to do whatever you want can only come through education, as it is the only way to live happily. Many people do whatever it takes to have education because they know that it is the only way to become something ing life. Education also increases one’s self esteem, as a person can get a better job through education. It is important for everyone to have education to have a better understanding of everyone. It is important to claim your education to feel powerful and confident about yourself because education will help you be who you are.