Jess S~

GWS 101 was definitely one of favourite classes. I learned so much about various topics, including slut shaming, rape culture, school to prison pipeline and body image.The first thing that I will always remember and hopefully also teach others, is that feminism is intersectional. Race, social class, religion are all factors contributing to feminism. Also, I like the definition of feminism as ending the oppression based on gender. Moreover, I learned that oppression on base of gender can also affect men, as I discussed in my blog project, boys of color.

9th Post 

 Suggested solutions to the problem

Education is the major solution because when females are highly educated, it will help them to not perform the procedure.

Awareness can be a good solution to FGM because when people are aware of something,  then they can make a positive move towards it.

Health providers also should take an action in order to solve this problem.

2nd Post

Religion has its own culture. People are expected to practice and perform their religion in a certain way. For example, in the Eritrean Orthodox Church, women are supposed to wear a long dress to their ankles. They are also expected to cover their head separately inside their scarf and they are expected to wear a white scarf called a netsela. No one reminds the women what to wear everyday. It is a cultural expectation. It’s the culture of the religion. Sometimes culture within the religion can get very complicated. In my opinion, it is okay when people ask and are aware of their actions or their expectations. At times I believe we are like animals in following a culture. We follow it just because it’s expected of us. People tend to be unquestioning and, as a result, we may end up positively supporting actions and practices that harm us or our loved ones. 

For many years, the practice of FGM has been practiced within Ethiopian society because people have accepted the idea of “purity”. People associate the word “purity” with the FGM procedure and as a result Ethiopian young girls have been victims of the procedure. According to Weiss, “ Scholarly review of Biblical passages with a scientific surgical background reveals three fascinating findings regarding Abraham, Moses’s and Zipporah’s actions that substantiate the thesis that circumcision emanated from the Hebrew’s desire to prevent disease”(729). From the quote, it can be easily concluded that staying pure is healthy and to prevent disease and stay healthy someone needs to go under circumcision. I believe the idea of purity evolved from the ancient people of the Bible and over time evolved to Female Genital Mutilation.

The interesting part of the action is that people have been approving of this practice even though they don’t have evidence from the Bible that supports the procedure. Weiss explained the biblical interpretation of FGM. Weiss states that, “ In the beginning of the Holy Scriptures it is recorded that Abraham at 99 year of age circumcised himself and Ishmael his 13-year-old son. Subsequently Sarah after many barren years with Abraham, her husband, became impregnated by him and bore their son, Isaac” (729). However the Bible does not say that Sarah was the one who got circumcised. If Sarah is not the one that got the procedure, it is complicated and difficult to get an answer on how the idea of religion is applicable to FGM.

ANALYSIS OF SECOND SCHOLARLY SOURCE

Breasts: Our Most Public Private Parts, by Meema Spadola, breaks down the barriers that keep us from admitting our deepest feelings about the female breast. The book is a collection of women’s own words, describing their breasts and how comfortable they really are, or aren’t about them. It is broken into seven parts: childhood, puberty, identity, sexuality, motherhood, health, and aging. Each part of the book gives insight about things like early changes in the body during adolescence, learning to love our breasts for what they are, our views on other women’s breasts, reclaiming our breasts, the importance of breastfeeding and owning our confidence during motherhood, and living with breast cancer. Needless to say, the book is quite empowering. There are three chapters that stand out to me the most. Other women from the “Identity” part, Mastococupiscence from the “Sexuality” part, and Dining Out from the “Motherhood” part.

Other Women is about women’s views of each other’s breasts. Meema believes breast positivity should be encouraged among women: “We may find ourselves evaluating other women harshly, based on the size of their breasts… we need to remember that our comments can be just as hurtful as cat calls from men” (91). Women will never be comfortable in their bodies if we are constantly being visually poked and prodded by other women. One waitress Meema talks to tells her, “Breasts are aggressive- men feel compelled to look at them, so sometimes I feel like it’s rude to other women to show too much breast” (92). Women are often intimidated by each other’s bodies. But, again, intimidation is not necessary, rather we should encourage each other to love what we do have, as our own bodies are more important to ourselves than anyone else’s could ever be. A movement in New York City called “The Strong Breast Rebellion” was created by a group of women who were simply tired of their feelings of self-consciousness about their breasts, and formed a feeling of solidarity with each other through their powerful bodies. They’ve gone topless in public, exercising their right to their bodies. Maya, the cofounder of the group, stresses how important it is to, “gather together in solidarity. To be comfortable being with each other; to take off our shirts, our bras, and feel what it’s like to sit in the grass and have the sun on them, to get sunburn on your tits” (93). But it isn’t as it easy as it sounds, being comfortable in your own body, let alone around dozens of other women. Leigh and her mother Jane proved that in sharing their story to Meema. “Mom asked me to close my eyes when she dressed. It kind of irritated me that she wasn’t comfortable with me seeing her breasts. It made me feel like I was supposed to be more self-conscious about my breasts” (Leigh, 94). Jane never intended for her daughter to feel insecure about her body, or to give off the feeling that she was insecure herself. This is why where women often struggle to communicate with each other about our bodies. It’s simple to say “Love yourself! You’re beautiful!” But it isn’t as easy to follow through with it.

Mastococupiscnce, according to the book, is defined as a strong sexual desire for breasts. The erotization of breasts is a long-time norm now, but we have the choice of how we react to it. One woman, Nina, and investigator in legal aid, often visits prisons to interview inmates. On her way to an interview, she was stopped by a metal detector that detected the underwires in her bra. She offered to take off her bra so as to get through the detector without trouble. The female guard replied with “Honey, these men haven’t been with a woman in twenty years. You can’t go in without a bra” (130). Nina was behooved that this assumption that her bralessness would cause a riot among the men, when she knew that she could walk in wearing a sack and they would still be aroused. Even so, would the hundreds of guards in the facility not be able to tame them? Nevertheless, she complied and removed the underwires from her bra in a bathroom before being let through.

Dining Out addresses public breastfeeding. New York only recently (in 1994) legalized public breastfeeding. One mother shared a story of her sitting in a park and feeding her daughter. A man next to her scoffed and his wife scooted him away from her. The incident caused her to tense up and interrupted her lactation. Two women share the different reactions of their families to them breastfeeding in front of them. One woman family got up and left the room mid conversation when she lifted her top to feed her baby, even though everything was discreet under there. Another woman covered her feeding baby and her breast with a scarf in front of her family and her grandmother scolded her for it, saying, “You do not cover your baby’s head. This is not a shame; this a wonderful thing!” (161). One quote given by a woman sums up this chapter: “If somebody has a problem with me nourishing my child, they should just go somewhere else” (161).

ANALYSIS OF SCHOLARLY SOURCE

In her article, The Constitution and Societal Norms: A Modern Case for Female Breast Equality, Brenna Helppie- Schmieder exposes all that is wrong with the censorship of the female breast. She breaks her article down into three parts: the history behind the fascination and censorship of the female breast, the cost of censoring the female breast, and the laws that the censorship of the female breast and not the male breast in fact violates.

Brenna first breaks down the history behind the female breast in the public eye, referencing all the way back to before the Greek Empire. She follows a quick timeline:

Pre Greece, statues of naked women are admired and looked at as true art.

The rise of the Greek Empire brings with it a new a form of art- the male body. Now, the penis is idolized more-so than the female breast.

During 6th century B.C. through 1st century A.D., the old and new testaments view women as child bearers, and in a way honor them for it.

The Renaissance sexualizes everything about the female body

The 17th century views the female body purely through a biological perspective, making it inappropriate to sexualize the female body in any way.

Finally, the 18th and 19th centuries accumulate a societal censorship, sprouting from Sigmund Freud’s idea that a child’s first activity is sucking on a breast, as well at the starting point of their sexual life.

Fast forwarding a bit, Brenna takes note of the first few attempts by women to exercise their bodily freedom. In the 1960s and 1970s, bra burning and breast implants were a way for women to take back their bodies. Women who burned their bras found it a way to express their right to free speech; their actions expressed what their words couldn’t. Women who chose to get breast implants just as equally were expressing their right to own their own bodies and to do with them what they wanted.  This new-found body awareness brought forth a revised gender-neutral anti-exposure statute in New York. The new law specifically restricted the exposure of the female breast in public. One step forward for women had quickly caused two steps back.

The first amendment, the right to free speech, includes the right to symbolic speech as well. U.S. v. O’brien challenged this when young men exercised their right to burn their draft card in protest to joining the war involuntarily. Nudity then was only protected under this law if it were expressive, which meant that women had to have a political agenda in order to bear their breasts. The fourteenth amendment, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall… deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”, means that it is illegal to make different public exposure laws for women and for men (the female breast is clearly indicated in many state laws as indecent exposure, but the male breast is not addressed).

Some cases that Brenna takes note of are People v. David, Williams v. City of Fort Worth, and People v. Santorelli. In the case of People v. David, a group of women were arrested in New York for bathing topless. In Williams v. Fort Worth, a night club owner sued against a zoning ordinance in his night club, claiming it was unconstitutional. In People v. Santorelli, a group of women took off their tops to express disagreement with the law in New York which criminalized the public exposure of the female breast and not of the male breast.

In part two, Brenna lists the three major costs of censorships:

1.       Encourages the male definition of eroticism

2.       Enforces dangerous body image issues

3.       Deprives women of the choice to be comfortable

Brenna writes, “female breast censorship ensures concealment which makes it more difficult for female breasts to shed their sexual character” (26 ). She believes that the eroticism of the female breast subjugates us as a class simply because we are downplayed by only being allowed to show our breasts for male pleasure. Our bodies are really only fully accepted in strip clubs, topless bars, in porn, or in the bedroom. Not only are we not entitled to our own bodies, but we have to hold the responsibility for how men react to our bodies. It is up to us to silence men’s urges. Ultimately, we are restricted based on other people’s perceptions of our bodies, which is what Brenna believes enforces dangerous body issues for women everywhere. Brenna argues that the deprivation of a choice to be comfortable for women is the most obvious and most simple cost of censorship. The option to undress in warm weather is given to men and not women. Women must face the law and harassment if we undress, or even breastfeed in public. We are caged. Brenna stresses the importance of taking advantage of laws that don’t abide by breast censorship; we need to exercise our rights and bear our breasts.

The third part pleads for the world to see that female breast censorship laws are unconstitutional; they violate the equal rights protection clause. Not only that, but they are outdated; communities do not need to be protected from breasts.

Brenna’s explanation for the need for breast exposure acceptance is spot on. Making public female breast exposure legal does not force women to act on this right, it just gives us right to choose to. Breasts are ours to take care of, they should not be be up to the judgment of others. Not only is it morally wrong to discriminate against women for exposing their breasts, but it is simply unconstitutional. It is unbelievable that even though the 14th amendment strictly prohibits unequal protection under the law, states are still able to provide unequal protection and get away with it. Again, agreeing with the right to  expose the female breast isn’t as if you’re signing a contract that says, “from here on out, i will never wear a top again”, it’s about knowing that if you wanted to, you could, because of the crazy notion that equal rights are important. Why do exposure rights get lumped into a category of things that aren’t as important to have? Why should we fight for equal wages and women’s voting rights, and not the right to equal protection under the law? Why can’t breasts be taken more seriously?

HerStory Screening and Panel Discussion @ UIC :  April 7, 2015

The event I attended was the screening and panel discussion for “HerStory” series. The event started with the screening of “HerStory,” and it was exciting to see some of the main actresses sitting in back, viewing it with us. I also remarked that the director of Body Courage was there! It just brought a bigger sense of community for me. The series/movie ran about 45 minutes long, and I could describe it as comedy/drama, but it was more educational for me. After that, they brought out the guests of honor and then there was a panel with prior questions and then questions from the audience. There was a lot of laughter, tears, and good vibes at this event.

Mainly, I learned of the struggles that transwomen (and transgender people in general) go through on a daily basis. The threats, the harassment, the disrespectful comments and questions, and many more that I may be missing. This really gave me a better insight and just broke the wall for me about transwomen, as it was my first event about transgender people. I’m really glad I went and saw the screening.

Thursday, April 7th UIC hosted a series screening and dialogue of Her Story. Her Story is a web series that follows the lives of two transwomen in L.A. at intersects the worlds of gayness, dating, addiction, all the while bringing in day to day pleasures and struggle of trans life. The series was wonderfully written and produced. I felt that it was intersectional and witty.

The discussion was very  much the highlight of the event for me. Seeing how the chemistry unfolded off screen was something that made the show that much more appealing. Jen Rishards, Angelica Ross, and Fawzia Mirza all gave such rounded and inclusive answers. They talked about the origins of the show and how the show was writing from real stories, produced by a lgbtq crew, and overall drew on the community. When asked about the way that the themes were chosen, Jen said when they never sat down with the idea of putting certain things into the show, “when we recognize the gasps, we fill them.”

As a queer Chicana, it made me eternally happy to see of color women playing important role. This intersection is something that when creating the content like this can often be marginalized. The idea that a white character was replaced by Fawzia because she was valued so much is interesting. Although I am happy that she was included I wonder whether the characters were written as mostly white to begin with?

In the reading We’re All in the Same Boat by Rosaro Morales discrimination is discussed vey heavily. Many aspects of racism and discrimination that sometimes we fail to see in our daily lives are brought to our attention in this reading. Morales does a good job at expressing how we are all individually responsible for our own feelings and ideas of racism. Just because we identify as a certain race or gender doesn’t mean we don’t make the mistake of being racist or sexist towards that identity.

What I liked about this reading is that it was brutally honest. It talked about everything that we were thinking and feeling but were afraid of admitting. It is not easy to step out and express that sometimes you are internally racist against another race or people, Morales however, was brave enough to express that.

Body/Courage, written and performed by Danielle Pinnock, was the fist one-person show I have seen and it was excellent. The show was not only the story of Danielle and her journey in search for her acceptance of her beauty, but the story of many others as well. Throughout the show, Danielle introduces and impersonates the story of a variety of people she has interviewed. She shows how beauty is an issue that everyone struggles with in a variety of ways, and how it takes courage to learn to accept ones self. She includes interviews of people who struggle with beauty issues including age, gender, skin color, weight, etc. Just like the show began with Danielle’s story, it ended with hers as well; only this wasn’t your typical happy ending. Her ending showed that beauty acceptance is a personal process, which takes a lot of time. Through the show we see that not only may it be a difficult process for ourselves, but for many others as well.

Body Positivity

In four videos, Annie Elainey talks about body image, the corresponding disorder, Body Dysmorphic Disorder and body image healing and peace.According to Annie, she started being conscious about her body when she was ten, due to her fathers negative comment about her nose. Starting from that point, she felt worthless and self conscious. Body dysmorphic disorder means obsessing over one’s body, and (imaginary) defects of ones apprearance. Risks include low self esteem, anxiety and  depression. According to Annie, society puts pressure on people to be beautiful, or to feel worthless instead. Cutting negative people, magazines and social media out of her life improved Annies situation, as well as replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and phrases. Saying positive things about your body, into the mirror for example, will eventually make you think and be confident about your body.

In her third video, she deals with intersectional body positivity. She is explaining to her YouTube audience that body shaming is not acceptable, whether it is attacking fat, old, disabled or colored people. In addition to body shaming, she states that the mentioned groups are underpresented in media which made her question where she belonged when she was young. Bodies and health come in a different forms and sizes, and it is not our job to judge or evaluate either. Annie gives a few great examples on sexism and other mentioned intersectional topics such as disability. In her last video, Annie shares how she learned to find body peace. In general, body peace doesn’t include hating your body. However, body peace can range from acceptance to loving your body, as well as just seperating your true value from apperences and not caring. Annie explains that she was able to separate her true self, her brain, from her physcial form and not think about her looks for days. In addition to that, she developped a phyosohpy that looks aren’t everything, “big and fat? So what?” and would go on with her life.

I learned a lot about body peace and self acceptance in those four videos. Even though I know that it isn’t true, I always deep down believed that self love means reaching the point in your life when you fully accept, love and appreciate your body and wouldn’t want to change anything. I never imagined that body peace could go so far that one doesn’t even think or bother for days.In addition to that, I appreciate the attention she gave to the intersectional body positivity. Even though I think that LGBTQ, disabled people and people of color are being more represented on TV  than ever, there is still so much more improvement for having role models and representaions in the media.

Racism

The Barbara Cameron’s piece discusses the issue of racism that she has experienced during her lifetime as being a gay Native American. Whether the racist commentaries came from the whites or the gay organizations, Cameron points out the exclusion and the hate Native Americans go through in the mainstream atmosphere. She uses the term “third world people” that indicates the oppression of the minorities in the U.S. It includes black, Asian, and Native Americans, however many like the Third World Gay Conference of 1979 defines the term to be relevant towards mostly blacks. By having no regard for other minorities these types of interactions “alienate” people of different backgrounds. No wonder the oppression caused by society leads to high suicide rates in Natives Americans. Feeling like outsiders in their own country can damage anyone and respiring different stereotypes or racist remarks towards such a race does not give them chance to be uplifted.

This relates to gendered oppression by understanding the struggles a Native American who is also gay female. She has heard from people “You don’t seem like an Indian from the Reservation,” which implies being in reservation make a person less than others. Cameron discusses her childhood “feeling great sadness and helplessness” due to the whites doing whatever they wanted to her people. The oppressive impression came in the forms of killings, rape, and other forms of insults. This has been taking place ever since people of the Old World entered the Americas and had no regards of the natives of the land. However, in contemporary times racism has its complexity, as the whites pit minorities against each other, then their views cause division. Cameron’s uses this example of the U.S. government in this case.

Relevant to this book, in the contemporary period gendered oppression people experience now is present mostly everywhere, taking in the “traditional” role of women being the caretakers and men as the breadwinners is visible. As Bornstein describes in Naming all the Parts, that society has put categories on gender, based on which role application merges. Women in the workplace today are paid less than men; an example from Emily Baxter’s article gave the statistics of such a gap. Baxter says just in the last two years full time working women have on average have made only 78 cents for every dollar that full time men have earned. Therefore being a Native American it must be hard to find success in the white dominated world, no wondered many do not leave the reservation and the ones who do never find the sense of home anywhere else.

Cameron says due to all the oppression of the past and now makes her a political activist and it is her responsibility to point out even the gay community that does not respond to its racist assessments of  “lesbians of color.” This is significant to feminism and intersectional feminism in particular because not every female feels the same towards the causes that feminism represents. In Cameron piece the gay community or the Third World Gays do not address the importance to her as a Native American, as it excludes them based on stereotypes.

These topics are relevant to our contemporary period and the gendered oppression people have now because people still go through these problems. Some people are still oppressed just because of how they look. People still have that conflict within them wondering if they should be open how who they are, or keep to themselves because they know how their family would react just from growing up with them. These are current problems that people have and it can be so hard that some people take their own life, because they feel that the way they are isn’t right because someone keeps telling them that they are wrong. These topics are what feminism is fighting to end. There shouldn’t be a fight between dark skin and light skin, or a division between women when they are all still perceived inferior to men. These topics shed light on what needs to be fixed in society. These readings are personal stories of what women went through and the issue is that these stories happened in the past. However, even in this day and age, women are still experiencing these issues and people don’t care.

Internalization/Invisibility

Another topic in this section is internalization. As described in the reading when something is unknown, mysterious or dangerous it is often referred to as dark or associated with negative characteristics of women (Moraga 58). Moraga describes that after living with negative images of gay women all around her (Moraga, 59.), she began to hate herself for being a lesbian and her partner for loving her all because society taught her that it was wrong.

When people are grown up in a society that is saturated with negative images of people like them, they begin to believe what they are told. They began to think badly of themselves because they were brought up taking in information that tells them they are wrong, incorrect, a mistake. Women in the 50’s were told it was there job to just be a good wife. They internalized this and when it no longer fulfilled them, the blamed themselves and sought questionable medical advice. Internalization is a scary and demoralizing thing because it means one no longer needs to be told, they already believe that the problem is with them and you can’t separate yourself as easily as you can from others who may have negative things to say.

The problem with internalization in the feminist movement is that society never seems to be short on negative or stereotypical imagery to send the message to women that they are thought to be second class citizens. When a negative message becomes internalized it can sap the motivation out of someone because they no longer believe that the problem is something they are able to change because it is their own fault. In intersectional feminism, women may make comments that may propagate the negative emotions and cause one to internalize it. Yamada explains that she overheard on several occasions making racist remarks (Yamada, 61). When women pass along or ignore these messages that are negative in terms of another group, different classes or races or such, they weaken the women in those spheres and thus weaken feminism as a whole.  

Part of this internalization or a society that propagates stereotypes is a feeling of invisibility. It is explained that sometimes people are invisible to society until they decide to make a stand to be included such as the Asian Americans (Yamada 62). People will stay quiet in a society that is full of racist or sexist remarks, thinking that they can’t change them or that if they try they will be discriminated against more harshly. Then, when they finally decide to stand up or ask to be included, society did not even know they were upset (Yamada 62).

These topics are relevant to our contemporary period in feminism because with a society that so often portrays negative images of women it easy for women to begin to internalize that feeling and those falsehoods making them feel as though they are the problem. Internalization hampers the feminist movement by sapping the will of women to fight to change or to even see the problem and instead begins to make them see themselves as the problem. Since it is these negative images that feminists try to stop, internalization causes a back and forth struggle between women and society.

Division between different groups

Part of this section involves Moraga questioning her right to be able to participate in the writing of third world women. Though she is Chicana, she is light skinned and is able to pass as if she were white and because of this she wonders if other aren’t more qualified, unable to pass as white, to assist in the collection of writings (Moraga, 59-60). She explains that white middle class women hold women’s groups for the discussion of topic and yet no women of color attend. She describes that even though they may claim that the meetings are open to all, they refuse to acknowledge any discrimination (Moraga, 59). They do not seem to mind that the meetings are all white, middle class women. These are not women’s groups. They are white middle class women’s groups and it is this division and internal separation that hinders the strength of the movement.

One of the most important things she explains is that there are different kinds of poverty. Being black, female, gay and poor are all poverties and in the end, it doesn’t matter what their different struggles are. They all get beat (55). She acknowledges that no matter what the specific struggle or what type of poverty one has, they are all connected because they are all oppressed by the powers at the top. Though some may want to try and step over one another to try and be at the top and be closer to white straight rich men. Rather than hold each other down for scraps, people should unify to try and end the oppression of all types once and for all but in order to end this oppression, they must acknowledge, identify and target the specific oppression. Only when people know what it means to suffer from oppression can they understand and truly feel compelled to fight oppression.

Women are not just some group of individuals that can rally together for a cause at the drop of a hat. They are diverse, different in as many ways as there are to divide the human race: Color of skin, language, heritage, education, economic class and many others. Even though women are similar in many ways, they are each affected differently by similar factors and may sometimes view themselves as totally independent from other women. Women of upper classes would likely have different views on certain topics than women of lower class. Today different spheres of women fight for similar goals yet they do it primarily on their own and do not often branch. These groups struggle for the same goals, but their separation minimizes their potential effect.

The effect of this division is that the feminist movement loses so much potential power by struggling separately rather than together. Though different women face different struggles, if they stand in solidarity then they can help each other achieve their own goals. The other factor is that with so many groups segregated with some groups dominating others in certain criteria such as economics and class or education, some groups get left behind. Though women may gain equality with men, there will still be division among lower, middle, and upper classes and races. This solidifies the point that until the culture of domination of one group over another is changed, feminism cannot achieve its ultimate goal.

Sexism

Sexism is often considered to be brought on by man. However according to Aurora, her grandmother and granddaughters taught her to be afraid of men and feel inferior and submissive. On one hand, they all explained that men are all “disgusting and dirty” (p.53), and all men only care about sex. On the other hand, they push her to find a boyfriend. In their view, women have to use their body, since it is the only thing they have to offer. Ultimately, romance and love do not exist, marriage is misery and sex has to be bore. Aurora thinks a lot about the phrase “in the third generation the daughters are free” (p.56). According to Aurora, the relationship between mother and daughter has to be healed to fight not only sexism but also racism. From pages 41-45, Valerio gives a detailed description of her thoughts and feelings of growing up as a Native American and reflecting on her culture as an adult and as an open lesbian. In the beginning, she brings up an example of sexism explaining how in her culture, a woman is only considered “holy” if she has only been with one man. It illustrates how a woman is a “good little piece of property (pg.41)” and isn’t looked at as a person, but this is a cultured value that many women in their tribe are brought up with and taught that as a correct idea. 

The author also brings up how religion has manipulated values from over time and people think they know the difference, when really they don’t. The topic of religion or cultural values express gender oppressed values, promoting the idea to accept the stereotypes they create as normal, taking away individuality. From pages 43-48, Naomi Littlebear explains how often, the overall threat of violence is normal to women. Public beatings, sexual abuse, and familial abuse are things that have been a part of life. The author is punished by her own grandmother for getting beaten. Our culture teaches us to blame women for violence against them such as rape. And again, not only men but also women question other women. Our culture supports victim-blaming by not expecting the man to control himself instead of fighting sexism. The man is always provoked-like an animal and is not held accountable for his actions. This then starts the never ending cycle of gender abuse.

Women not only internalize men’s behavior but also what they are taught by other women and by society. So long as women teach girls that they have no power and that their body is all they have to “bring on the market”, sexism and inequality and violence is being passed on. Especially in some parts of the world, girls are still taught that their virginity and body is the only thing they have to offer, that they are born to suffer and serve man.  At the same time, men should be taught to respect and value women for other things than her body and caretaking. One of my friends was not allowed to have a boy in her room because her mother claimed she would be worthless if she gave in to any sexual interactions with him and would not find someone to get married too as a consequence. The value of a person should be separated of their sexual activity or virginity. Ultimately, sexism or anti- gay movements also create distance within communities and families.

What society teaches men and women about the opposite and same gender is essential to fight sexism and fight for feminism.  Women need to support each other and know that they should have a choice, that oppression is not the only option and that men can be different. Likewise, men have to be taught that they are not dominant over women. Internalization of those negative opinions and values are truly holding back feminism and also intersexual feminism since women themselves internalize that they are worth less than men. To truly end sexism, everyone has to work together no matter the skin color, gender, sexual orientation or class.

Separation from one’s own culture

Mary Hope Lee’s poem describes the pain that comes from not being like everyone else from your environment, family, or race. A light skinned girl is not welcomed among her peers in school, and picked on and made to think that she’s not equal to others. She had to leave to a different school, dealing with the issue of her different skin color kept her out of the group. Moreover, as an adult she married a man who thought she was the “next best to white,” and not for who she was.  The light skinned girl was never a part of the two worlds as she was stuck in between, neither black nor white. It only made her a stranger from both cultures, leaving her envious of others around her who fit in. This is an example how society separates people and there is a distance; the issues of race, (gender, and religion) does not unify everyone as a whole. 

Aurora Levins Morales grew up in Puerto Rico whereas her mother was born in New York. Hence, Aurora presented the generation of return to Puerto Rico(p.53). She had to fight there to be considered Latina or else she would be called “Americanita” (p.53). In a way, she fought racism, even though she was a Latina in Puerto Rico. In addition, she says that she had to find allies in Angelo women due to the fact that she was faced with racism and backstabbing by her Latina friends. In Puerto Rico, her light-skinned grandmother pretended to be Italian to find an apartment in Puerto Rican-free neighborhoods. Aurora, after having read the book “down these mean streets”, felt like the only factors separating her from gang fights, prison and poverty was circumstantial luck, her mother’s marital relationship with a professor and fine English. But in the end, she feels separated from her own culture and environment. Moreover, Aurora writes about the separation of Latino women. From her experience, she got support from white middle class women to fight feminism and consequently turned her back on the Latino movement. Women are all different, even if they speak the same language. Everyone has a different fight and strives to find allies in various places. Lee didn’t find allied among her people either, being an outsider.

Women are separated by so many factors, even within their own culture and heritage. Class, education, skin color, sexual orientation and many other factors can cause distance within a family, culture or society. Some women choose to act oblivious to the feminism movement like Aurora experienced in Puerto Rico. The division among women is understandable due to all the latter factors, however they pose a huge setback to feminism. United in what we teach our children and how we help other women, feminism could have much more potential if united. Women are not just some group of individuals that can rally together for a cause at the drop of a hat. They are diverse, different in as many ways as there are to divide the human race: Color of skin, language, heritage, education, economic class and many others. Even though women are similar in many ways, they are each affected differently by similar factors and may sometimes view themselves as totally independent from other women. Women of upper classes would likely have different views on certain topics than women of lower class. Today different spheres of women fight for similar goals yet they do it primarily on their own and do not often branch. These groups struggle for the same goals, but their separation minimizes their potential effect.