#sp16s04

The topic of poverty is always humbling, but the perspective of a child is even more so. Dana's story is tragic, because from childhood, it seems like she doesn't have a chance. The article talks about her potential so much, but from this article alone, it doesn't seem like Dasani has much of a chance, not because of a lack of ambition, but because she has no resources to take advantage of. Her school is suffering from budget cuts and will likely suffer the same fate as her elementary school, PS 67, which failed after sharing the same space with a charter school. The absence of a stable home environment, or even a home, makes for an all around unstable life. No money, parents addicted to drugs, and a heavy burden of responsibility to younger siblings all add up to poor outcomes for Dasani's life. I'd like to read the second part of this article to find out what happens to Dasani at home and in school. I feel myself rooting for her, but I don't know how much of that is genuine hope and how much is just delusion. I can't help but think of the stress that the parents must be under and how that in turn stresses out the kids and I honestly just can't imagine living the way Dasani and her family do. From being hungry all the time to all sleeping and eating in the same room on mattresses on the floor, Dasani's way of life is something that no child should have to experience. And yet, thousands do. The health disparities in the world's most bustling city is baffling, and it's hard to picture it unless you see it. This article is a look into the disappointing and truly heartbreaking epidemic of homelessness in NYC, but it is not enough to read it and think one knows everything there is to know. Part of me is glad I've become a bit more informed, but most of me is glad and thankful that I don't know the true extent of a life of homelessness plagued additionally by drug abuse and violence. Dasani's life is something of nightmares, but I hope that she keeps her resilience and somehow finds a path that leads her and her family out of Auburn and out of the lowest extreme of poverty.

Miss Representation was highly informative, but I felt like there wasn't much said there that I didn't already have an idea about. The objectification of women is so rampant that there isn't anywhere you can go without seeing it. While I feel that women are allowed to express themselves how they want (whether it's dress or types of art they make), it does upset me that most of the images that we see are aimed at men. I feel this constant internal struggle with judging women, because they should be allowed to present themselves however they want, but would they present themselves in the way we see if it weren't for the male gaze? This struggle bothers me, and I thought this documentary would make things clear for me, but it didn't. It saddened me really, because the narrator was bringing a child into the world, and she wanted to make it a little better for her, and that's inspiring, but I didn't feel like I could do the same. In fact, after watching it, I was even more adamant about not having kids, because I don't know how to mold a human being, and there's so much that could go wrong, especially with girls. The Lagos Journal article explained how thinness started to replace full-bodiedness as the standard of beauty in Nigeria, and while it's nice to know that more body types are being accepted and little girls who are naturally very skinny can see themselves as beautiful thanks to the influence of Nigerian beauty queens, it's also a bit upsetting to know that adolescent girls try to strive for model-like thinness that isn't easily attainable. Wanting to be fit and healthy is a completely understandable reason to want to make a lifestyle change, but the extremes that some people, especially adolescent girls, go to emulate the images they see is disheartening and really unnecessary, especially since the images are Western and their cultural images are being skewed by the Western advertising. "Love Your Fat Self" is an ode to beauty of all shapes and a call to reflect on personal prejudices, however subtle and "harmless." The more pressing point, I feel, is to discuss the fat-hatred that pervades Western society, but I felt that towards the end it became more about the personal reflection of the author and how complimenting her friend Gareth and trying to see her in a new light made her feel content with herself. True, releasing prejudices builds character, but the solution to the problem isn't that one person feels better about themselves after doling out compliments. I was under the impression that the article would be more about Gareth and how she deals with the hatred that is literally spewed at her, as a way to show how fat phobia affects the people it is directed at. Instead, it was an attempt to show that fat phobia can be defeated slowly with individuals' changing perspectives. Unfortunately, I didn't think it was that effective. I found it interested that Alison Bechdel's original comic was just a joke about lesbians, as attempt to reclaim the stereotype that lesbians try to disassociate themselves from men altogether, and it's become a legitimate mainstream tool of analysis. It's still sad though, that so many popular movies and tv shows fail it, and the ones that do pass it are few and far between, and they aren't recognized by the big award presenters i.e. Tatiana Maslany who plays a multitude of multi-dimensional characters on the show Orphan Black not being nominated for an Emmy. She is one person in a large network of people who work on shows and movies that feature strong lead women and that should be recognized. I'd like to see these movies and tv shows as praised as those that fail the Bechdel test.

I really appreciated Hilton-Morrow's "Studying Sexual Identities," because too often people's identities are erased or worse, demonized, because of pervasive ignorance. This article does a good job of explaining how sexuality is fluid and can change and that there's more than the two orientations. The term LGBTQ+ should be a window into that, but many people refuse to acknowledge the existence validity of sexuality that doesn't align with their own. Unfortunately, many people simply don't know of all the variations and therefore, if questioning don't know where they fit. Even more unfortunate is that media has an impact that can often fuel bigotry. Thankfully, however, as Hilton-Morrow explains, there are socially prominent figures, such as celebrities, who use their media platforms to educate on and express their own involvement in the spectrum of sexuality. As someone who often has and is still questioning their sexuality and sexual orientation/preference, I can really appreciate Hilton-Morrow's attempt to educate her audience on a matter that society has yet to embrace.

I attended the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities GAYpril Opening Ceremonies earlier this month. This relates to our course, because it celebrates the LGBT community and what they strive to accomplish in the social justice arena. This was a major topic in Knowledge and Power during the Sexualities unit. The event itself was a playful celebration of love and happiness, which I feel like I need more of in my life. Anyone who feels uncomfortable around these topics should go out to the CSJE events, because they are super welcoming and offer tons of information, but also because tolerance is born through exposure to unknown ideologies and such. I like to think my fellow Douglass women are tolerant and open-minded, but anyone who isn’t should try to see what it’s about and inform others who work to strip Americans’ rights.  

The plenary on the film Intersexion was my favorite plenary of the semester, not only because it was a nice change from the traditional lecture style we had been exposed to up to that point. I really enjoyed the fact that the topic was something that people really don’t know about, and that is what I really hoped to gain from this course: exposure to things I didn’t already know. Intersex isn’t spoken about in public because of the extremely personal nature of the condition, but I really appreciate the filmmakers and all the stories of all the people in the film who shed light on something that is considered taboo. One person in the film said that intersex people are trained to be ashamed of their bodies from birth, but that she has come to accept herself, and I hope that any intersex people who watch Intersexion gain a little self-acceptance from it. This sort of enlightenment is what I was hoping for with the plenaries, and this was the only one that provided that for me.

I didn’t think that the mentor plenary was as informative as it could have been. The portrayals of presidential candidates was humorous at points, but it wasn’t exactly the most detailed explanation of social issues. I understand the point of the skit was to evoke discussion from the audience, but it’s not as effective when the audience is as large as it was and not everyone wants to disclose their personal anecdotes for whatever reason. I think the discussion on micro aggressions could have been handled in the classrooms, but I appreciate the effort put into the plenary by the mentors.