Transgender representation in film has developed throughout many years in the industry. “Disclosure” captures an eye-opening raw and honest outlook of Transgender people and their lives in film. These group of people have often had to fight for their place in any particular area but as you look into Disclosure, it offers a better understanding at the history of Transgender representation and how they’ve seen themselves develop. Celebrating the importance of transgender representation is extremely necessary and they’ve earned it for so many decades. They lack appreciation and public consciousness in the eyes of film and television and although it is sometimes overshadowed by the reflection of other groups, transgender people have longed for success and media attention. Gender identity and expression of transgender people can collectively be overlooked or ignored but they work to receive recognition from the public. Disclosure also underlines a clear perspective of how this has always been an ongoing development, even before the topic reached big sources. 

The history of Trans representation in cinema will always remain important, necessary and should be seen as equivalent to any other group. Sometimes it may make you question how film-makers feel towards transgender people specifically and how they plan to include them in their own shows and movies. Researching and learning about this topic can enhance your understanding on transgender lives and how they are often affected by these situations or possibly sometimes feel rejected and like they do not belong. As unfortunate as that sounds, it is the reality of our society and the transparency of how transphobic some film-makers may be. Due to constant discrimination towards transgender people, it is a rare sight to see them participate in big roles or have big control in film making. Some film makers even think it’s okay to showcase transgender people as the “joke” of their movies. This is never okay and misinterprets the true importance of transgender representation, as I previously mentioned above. They become seen as insignificant and many directors / writers are inconsiderate by not keeping them in mind and creating something much more important for them to feel heard and seen. As we’ve continued to see and discuss the patterns of transgender representation in cinema, they do not deserve to be treated as comedy for the public. That belittles their significance and chances of experiencing a good role in film. In contrast to other groups of people who receive bigger roles and brighter spotlights in the media, transgender people continue to earn and fight for more representation and that is still in the works to this day.

As stated in many articles I’ve read, Reproductive Justice is the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities. Throughout many years and decades, Indigenous women, women of color, and transgender people have always fought for Reproductive Justice in our unfair system and world. It is very important for all women to be able to freely control and make their own choices about their body, sexuality, work, gender, reproduction, etc. 

Throughout this heart-wrenching documentary titled “The Abortion Divide” it showcases the true raw emotions surrounding the topic and experience of abortion. It is a very honest, unfiltered film of what truly goes on as society has broken down and criminalized women getting abortions. This offers an experience at how women overcome and ultimately face the difficulty in decision making with unplanned pregnancies and discusses the group of people are happen to be against abortion as well. It is very important to acknowledge that making abortion illegal would not make it happen any less and instead there are better ways to avoid unplanned pregnancies in the future such as better birth control, allowing women to keep their jobs if they get pregnant and so many other options. So many people across the world always have mixed reactions and feelings when it comes to abortion and as women visit the abortion clinic in this documentary, it really supports the fact that it is their decision to fully make and they can enter a room that offers respect and dignity. Some may get an abortion due to not being financially stable enough to support themselves and a newborn of their own, others do not feel content being a single parent and others simply did not plan for the pregnancy whatsoever. It is a very scary situation and a lot of women are always hesitant on getting an abortion due to common fear of being misunderstood and judged. Society has often looked at abortion as initially being wrong, however, that is a dark way to look at it. As it is coming from a woman’s body, they should have the ability and the right to freely do as they please with it, especially if they were unprepared for the long pregnancy experience. 

Furthermore, according to the hobby lobby short video, the opinions being expressed about the laws being followed or ignored have been vocalized several times. This incident and video can be a clear example of how corporations often pick and choose which laws to follow and which to ignore. The big discussion being talked about in the video can be identified and it is “Do corporations have religious rights?” John Oliver disagrees and breaks down the multiple ways in which corporations can become more like people. Many also agree with the statement that corporations should not have the right to choose what they believe is appropriate healthcare and how Hobby Lobby does not have authority to force anyone into submitting to their religious practices. This decision and topic has caused a lot of controversy and debate within the public. 

21st century identity politics joins in making our American society unite, however there are many levels of division to it. Using Identity politics allows recognition and attention shined on different groups surrounding the topics of race, gender, ethnicity and more. They use this method to exceed in prompting their interests, issues or concerns. More examples of topics in the past that have been discussed in the media when people are usually referring to identity politics are same sex marriage, gender fluid, transgender people and more. The importance of identity politics still stands and rises to this day because when groups feel belittled or threatened as opposed to others, they resort to this common topic to help bring attention to it. Although, many see identity politics in the 21st century can have both a good and bad effect across the world. 

The Power of Identity Politics speaks volume because of how impactful and evident the message is as I read throughout the article. As stated, identity politics has become so demonized by American conservatives but it still remains and holds significance and impacts the lives around us and our futures constantly, in ways we may not realize. Identity politics is a call for help “for people who aren’t white, heterosexual, cisgender men.” This describes the experiences of how it feels to live outside the normalized living standards in the United States and instead encourages struggle and how important it is to help these groups that are suffering. It has been proven time and time again that white people, white groups and white culture hold some type of superiority over everyone else and further hold more control in our society. It is most often that the upbringing in African Americans is ignored but they face one of the hardest problems and white people don’t realize how privileged they are. There are several different types of identity politics in this article but this one shines out the most to me because Black people have cried out for help for as long as America can remember, constantly being degraded and seen as less of a human solely due to the color of their skin. It is a shame some people in the world still live and think this way towards them and do nothing to change when in fact, we are all the same. Not just Black people but that goes for every struggling group as well. Everyone should acknowledge that we’re all human and everyone deserves the same amount of rights and respect.

This next article discusses the struggle of not fitting in the particular stereotypical standard of being Latina and being Black. The woman in the article recalls her first race crisis as a young girl, in school, being talked badly upon by the other students due to “not fitting in with the other students.” Her experiences further shows how it is a difficult task to face being Black but being Latina as well. She goes on to state “When the violence broke out in middle school between the African-american gangs and the Hispanic gangs and the students spoke among themselves on who was best I could remember screaming “I don’t know who to side with!” When I got into high school and a classmate told me “You’re the most Mexican black girl I’ve ever met!” I could remember thinking ‘Is that a compliment because my family is from Honduras?” She often feels restricted with her identity and people often attempt to classify her as one race but not the other and that is an extremely deteriorating environment to grow up around. She has taught herself that just because she doesn’t fit into one specific mold, does not mean she is any less of herself. Everyone should have the same mindset, despite what you identity as, no one can take that away from you. 

The struggles of being an African American women have been both visible and inevitable over time. They are treated poorly, not only due to the color of their skin, but also due to the stereotype that women are suppose to serve their supposed feminine duties. Women, more specifically black women have been constantly degraded and looked down upon while also facing the troubles of discrimination given towards African Americans in general. Women have often fought for their voices to be heard and for their rights to be as equal as men, but constantly get shut away and their capabilities are further diminished. Black women can be known to possibly face the most discrimination in our society and many look down on them and speak poorly of them for not fitting the normalized standards of a woman in this day and age. It is very obvious which group of people hold their privileges high and belittle these African American women. Due to the way they look and have been raised and what they’ve been taught, this is not something that should be held against them and certainly not something that should cause them to be looked at negatively compared to everyone else. The color of their skin should not be seen as criminally dangerous or offensive in any scenario. A large capacity of people can agree it is unfair and wrong for African Americans to feel like they’re a threat to others because that’s what has been planted in their minds for so long. They are just like everyone else, wanting the same opportunities, the same rights and the same freedom.

According to the reading, several moves in organizations have been made collectively. As I discussed previously, these group of Black feminists talk about struggling racially and struggling with sexual, heterosexual and class oppression. She continues making very important and impactful statements such as “Black women have always embodied, if only in their physical manifestation, an adversary stance to white male rule and have actively resisted its inroads upon them and their communities in both dramatic and subtle ways.” This can clearly define the harsh issue in discriminating Black women, especially when it comes to White men seeing them as competition. Many Black women wish to see change in this area of debate and want to spark in a better, more understanding and less controversial direction in order to gain equal support and opportunities. Groups of Black voices and feminists have existed for a long time now and their ambition remains, they continuously fight for change. There have undeniably been times where they might have felt discouraged but to this day, never has the fight for their equality stopped. The reading also states “As children we realized that we were different from boys and that we were treated differently. For example, we were told in the same breath to be quiet both for the sake of being “ladylike” and to make us less objectionable in the eyes of white people.” making it visible that young Black women have commonly faced a form of physical and sexual abuse.

As the video “Paris is Burning” progresses, it looks further into the communities of African Americans, Latino, gay and transgender people. It is an exploration of the struggles these groups of people face in America due to their race, class, gender or sexuality. Of course anyone can fully admit the idea of being able to be yourself and embrace every part of you is unimaginably a good feeling. However unfortunately, not many groups of people can experience that feeling without being degraded and having their own differences be pointed out as “wrong.” So many people in this world hate the idea of transgender people, African American people, gay people, etc. These are all ongoing issues which take place in our society and we may even see it happening to someone else in our day to day lives. It is a disheartening feeling to face when you know and unfortunately have to acknowledge there are people who do not accept you. This film touches upon these topics and provides a sense of realistic understanding and how these groups of people are often shut down by society and anyone else around them who does not support who they truly are.

The feminine mystique describes a powerful message about the importance of women constantly being dissatisfied. The idea that women could find fulfillment through housework, marriage and other things of the sort has become normalized for years and years. Simply assuming women have no desire for higher education or to participate in a career field is presumably the thought departing women from men. Throughout time, this term has developed differently in several ways however many people and men believe this objective still applies. Friedan maintained her critique and voiced her opinion on the feminine mystique affecting women personally due to identity being massive through career and success. This expectation has been studied and women have always been looked at to perform feminine motherly activities, while men handled the bigger jobs and participated in masculine fields. She defended her claim with statistics that illustrated the feminine mystique. 

The media and people often perpetuate the feminine mystique to be true, as many may continue to believe nurturing feminine activities are for women and the masculine jobs are for men. Furthermore, according to the article, it articulates the idea that women would be happily satisfied as a housewife and mother, only concerned about her husband, children and home. It also states fifteen years after World War II, the mystique of feminine fulfillment became the self-perpetuating core of contemporary American culture as women lived the picture perfect life of kissing their husbands goodbye and doing chores around the house. For over many years, women began to question their worth and question the intention of their tasks, yearning for more and feeling neglected in the bigger fields. This problem was unspoken of and for a long time, no one did anything about it because of how normalized it became. Being raised and brought up as women centuries ago, that’s all you were taught to be. A simple housewife, cleaning after your husband and children and how to keep them from dying young and their sons from growing into delinquents. 

This idea had a major impact and spoke levels, to this day women are still fighting to break the barrier that marriage and children is sufficient enough to make a woman happy. More and more women have come forward being in these situations and not feeling happy at all, as the video states. Women have constantly been trying to figure out how exactly to fulfill their needs and break out of this idea that has always been so heavily influenced. There are still many battles to fight for women and their equality in America and these issues should no longer be foreshadowed or be ignored. Men shy away from women working in the stronger fields alongside everyone else due to fear of competition. If women continue the idea of being housewives and working inside the house, as men work outside, there would be no “competition.” In our society, many have voiced their concern and empathy towards this topic and it is still something women face everyday, where people stereotype them to do house work and work in the kitchen constantly but that is not the case and should have never been.