Just like at the beginning of the reading states, when I thought of patriarchy I thought of men and the unjust balance of power between men and women. That’s what you would see in the media. As Allan G. Johnson states that blaming things on the “system” is not right. Because the truth is that everyone is part of that system. Johnson also mentions, like how I believed, women would point towards men when they heard patriarchy because they were men, and automatically in our minds they were part of the issue. Johnson states “Looking at things in this way, the tendency is to think that if bad things happen in the world and if the bad thing is something big, it is only because there are bad people who have entered into some kind of conspiracy”. This tells us that there are bad individuals with our own societies that lead to this big issue. Johnson’s examples include racism, and how it starts off because of how there are certain individuals who hate racial and ethnic minorities. Johnson states how blaming things on the system takes responsibility off the individuals that do the actual harm as well as us, ourselves, are avoiding responsibility. I like the snapshot from Allena McKenzie, because it shows how there are individuals who are doing something for a change, to “dismantle the patriarchy” as the image on the snapshot states.  Johnson states “‘the system’ serves as a vague, unarticulated catch-all, a dumping ground for social problems, a scapegoat that can never be held to account and that, for all the power we think it has, cannot talk back or actually do anything”. And Johnson is right, it is so much easier to blame the responsibility on something that does not exist as if shouting it in the air, but never doing anything to actually fix the issue. Just kind of putting it out in the universe

            In the reading “There is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” by Audre Lorde, she discusses how she is constantly being seen as inferior in many of the groups she identifies with. She states, “As a Black, lesbian, feminist, socialist, poet, mother of two including one boy and a member of an interracial couple, I usually find myself part of some group in which the majority defines me as deviant, difficult, inferior or just plain “wrong.””. With these experience Lorde figures that in terms of oppression, it is all the same at the end of the day, it is just packaged differently. Because she is part of all these groups she is constantly exposed to the same disrespect and maltreatment. No matter if its sexism, heterosexism, or racism they all come from the same source. Lorde states “Within the lesbian community I am Black, and within the Black community I am a lesbian.”. Thus, there can’t be a hierarchy of oppression, because every other individual who aren’t white straight males, will face oppression. And for Lorde she states that if there is in issue against the black community, it also becomes a lesbian and gay issue, because there are thousands of black women in the lesbian community and vice versa.

After reading Alok’s ” Beyond the Gender Binary”, I seem to understand more of Gender Binary than before. The reading brought up situation’s that are unjust for a person to experience. Such as when Alok stated “Like if you remove our clothing, our makeup and our pronouns, underneath the surface we are just men and women playing dress up”. There has always been that stereotype in the world where men are the breadwinners, are emotionless, must be brave and sharp, while women on the other hand are gentle, softer, and dependent. However, as we all know this isn’t the truth. the truth is we are all human beings and are able to choose what we want to be, how we want to be. This has only become a problem now because it is no longer fitting into the old stereotypical narrative. Alok states, in the reading, how they are continuously afraid for their safety when stepping outside. Why should an individual like that? In fear they will be attacked for going out and living their lives. In fear that they will be targeted that day. In the reading Alok states “Take, for instance, when the department of justice announced trans and gender non-conforming workers are not protected by civil right laws”. The reading demonstrates how the non-conforming have a target on their backs by the states and the legislation. And how they really only have themselves to rely on because they continuously be discriminated by even the system. If the own state won’t hold their backs this would only encourage the target they have on their backs. Furthermore, according to Alok “the gender binary is set up for us to fail…the gender binary is more concerned with gender norms than it is with us”. Alok explains how, as we know, for many years there was the belief that there are only two genders. These were “man” and “woman”, and that these two genders are the only acceptable genders and by fulfilling the stereotypical role assigned to the genders would be the only form acceptable to live. However, it is not true. People are free to express themselves as however they please and they feel is right with who they are. Yet those expressions are shut down and would often not be accepted. People would have a problem with the way people would use creativity to express themselves. They are, if I may say so, afraid of how people are no longer being neatly categorized in this box or the other. Alok brings up an interesting statement which is “if we allow people to self-determine their genders, then pretty soon people are going to start identifying as frying pans or anything, you name it.”, to which Alok’s response is that this sort of mentality was a strategic move that was used against movements by derailing the conversation. This sort of statement kind of seems like they are trying to corner these individuals in order to try to silence them.

The readings have presented the ideas of sex and gender and the idea of feminism. When it comes to feminism, before learning about it and all, I used to believe anything people would tell me about it. For example, people would say how feminists are just going overboard with their demands. This would confuse me because when I thought of feminism, I thought it meant women supporting women, which was right. However, hearing how people would give vague descriptions on how women who were into feminism were red flags I was put in a tough spot, until I have done my own research. In the reading “Feminism politics: Where we stand” by bell hooks, hooks states “When I talk about the feminism I know – up close and personal- they willingly listen, although when our conversations end, they are quick to tell me I am different, not like the “real” feminists who hate men, who are angry”. This excerpt really shows how people, primarily white men, would ignorantly view feminism as a negative, however if people were to closely pay attention, feminists are only fighting in support of equality for women. The reason why I was so confused with the terms of feminism is because instead of going with my gut and trusting that feminism wasn’t a bad thing, I stood and listened to the complains of those who were ignorant. As the reading also stated “Males as a group have and do benefit the most from patriarchy, from the assumption that they are superior to females and should rule over us. But those benefits have come with a price. In return for all the goodies men receive from patriarchy, they are required to dominate women, to exploit and oppress us, using violence if they must keep patriarchy intact”. Being educated on feminism as a young woman feels like it needs to be necessary because women from a young age will face discrimination and should be taught how women feminist politics will benefit women.

            Growing up the idea of sex and gender for me was one. However, as I grew older and thanks to the experience of those around me, I became aware of how sex and gender are not one in the same. Sex can be defined as something biological, while on the other hand gender is a socially constructed self-being. In the reading it states that in sex it can be identified by their “sex chromosomes, sex hormones, sex organs, and external genitalia”. While males have XY chromosomes, females have XX sex chromosomes. Basically, from what I understood, sex is a biological characteristic of an individual and as the reading states, it is universal. This is because biological sex continuously remains the same throughout time periods. Gender refers to a cultural construct, that according to the article can shift through societies and time. What this means is that “Gender refers to the social and cultural roles that males and females are expected to subscribe based on their biological sex. Gender can be broken down into three main categories: gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression”. Gender is not a continuous thing that will remain the same. On the contrast, gender can be changed. I grew up with the stereotype of girls where pink and act cute, while boys where blue and act rough. The sex of a person will determine what gender assignment was applied to them and they were told to follow these roles assigned to them, however now a days, the newer generations have begun to break that, and have no longer applied that old way of thinking. Nowadays, people can assign their gender assignment, gender identity and gender expression on their own and are not forced to be in one particular box.

            The discussion of abortion seems to be a tricky discussion. There will be individuals who don’t believe in abortions, while others believe that abortions are needed as an option for women to be performed safely. I remember when I was younger, I learned that in older times, women in Mexico would have to use strong teas and herbs in order to have an abortion. Abortions were looked down on and were not accepted. However, now that I’m older I know there are safer ways to have abortions and that they should not be looked down on. It shouldn’t be something a woman should be shamed on. In the documentary, “The Abortion Divide”, it discusses both sides on the topic of abortion. It shows women who decide to continue with their pregnancies and others who decide to have an abortion.

            In the documentary it showed how there would be primarily older white men, who would stand outside abortion clinics to try and persuade these women they are making the wrong choice. In the documentary it says how women would freeze and be flustered as to what to do next. I honestly find this horrific. I understand if women don’t want to have an abortion themselves. However, this does not signify you could shame a woman for getting one or shaming them to the point they don’t get one. I think that the one thing that shocked me the most was the clinic that answered, “we don’t do abortions, but we are glad you called”. That felt so wrong for me. I understand they are trying to support these women and are giving them various options before taking the decision to have an abortion. I saw in the documentary how hard it was for those women to get the abortions, because they know it is not fair for them or for the baby if they had decided to continue the pregnancy, if they are financially, emotionally, or mentally unstable. However, I feel like the way they are promoting their clinic is wrong. Another thing is that they don’t offer contraception. If they are against abortions, in my opinion, the least you can do is promote safe sex.

            One thing about the documentary I thought was moving was when the women living in Mother’s Home in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was that the women who had no support on where to live, and who decided to keep their kid, were actually being helped. A lot of times there will be individuals who say they are pro-life, yet they don’t make a change in order to help, they’ll only shame against abortions, but will not help women who need help, or will help children in need. So, I liked that there is a support system for women who decided to keep the baby. I think that Snapshot of Shavoya Easy is a good image as to how I feel about the topic on abortion. It is a women’s choice whether or not they want an abortion. Pro-choice is there to give women a choice, to allow women to support other women for whatever they choose to do with their own bodies.

In the reading “The power of Identity politics”, it states how identity politics is used to describe the experiences lived out by “people who are not white, heterosexual, cisgender men.” The reading states that the white people and their culture and experience can be considered the control group of an experiment, while the rest of the cultures and individuals would be the group which gets experimented on. Therefore, the control group is a representation of how white individuals are at the center, the core of America. I found it interesting how the reading is able to point out the way society will center whiteness, and have it primarily represented in various brands, while people of color would not be as highly represented. Furthermore, the reading brings up how identity politics were developed by black feminists. These black feminists were committed to fight against simultaneous oppressions that they face, such as racism and sexism. The reading states “they coined the term ‘identity politics’ to mean that they would form a politic based on their own experiences and the desire for their own liberation, as opposed to a politic that focused on the liberation of someone else. The reading is stating how these women had to stand up for themselves because they had come to a point where they realized that no one else would fight for them.

The reading “Too Latina to be Black, Too Black to be Latina”, is a reading that really left an impression on me. I think that on a personal note, I grew up with a diverse community however there would still be issues regarding Latino’s who were Afro-Latinos and those who have a darker skin tone. They would be outcasted and often questioned for their skin and how it related with their culture. In the reading I can see how they faced these types of critics. The author states how “Even now as an adult I find people are constantly trying to restrict me into a specific mold and identity. My home language is Spanish so this must mean I eat tacos. I have kinky hair so this must mean I bang to Meek Mill. For many, I am too black to be Latin and too Latin to be black”. They are constantly being labeled, where society wants them to fit in a certain area. However, that is not the case they outgrow that, and they outgrow the stereotypes that are placed on them. The snapshot of Vanique, shows a picture of Amara, she is a woman who was able to be a voice for the Afro-Latina community, she is able to directly state how colorism and inclusiveness is a big issue. In an interview that I seen of her she talks about how when auditioning for a novella, (show) she was denied because they needed someone who appeared more Latina. Meaning a Latina women who wasn’t Afro-Latina, with a lighter complexion. Honestly speaking, it’s very rare to see an Afro-Latin person in Latino media especially with novellas which is a huge part of Latino media.

In the reading of “The Combahee River Collective Statement”, we are presented with a group of feminists who are African American and part of the LGBTQ. For them as black feminists they mention they have to fight against the simultaneous oppressions of being a woman, a person of color and being lgbtq. The reading states how “Black, other Third World, and working women have been involved in the feminist movement from its start, but both outside reactionary forces and racism and elitism within the movement itself served to obscure our participation”. So even as women supporting each other, they were outcasted. Thus, when the NBFO was formed, it was to aid black women, so that they can have each other’s backs. I really like the snapshot by Jasmin H. because it illustrates how women of color must there for each other when others won’t be there. Furthermore, later in the reading they stated how it’s difficult to differentiate the difference between race from class from sex oppression, since they are a simultaneous experience that these women have faced throughout their lifetime just like how a member of the reading states “We are all damaged people merely by virtue of being Black women”. When I read this, I realized how African American women are constantly fighting for themselves. They are pushed over by men both African American and white and even by other women, white women.

The video “Paris is Burning”, focuses on how the experiences of African Americans, and lgbtq+ individuals. In the video we can see how they have this one event where they truly go out to enjoy themselves. We are narrated how this event was highly looked forward to and in comparison, the everyday life that surrounded these individuals was so difficult, that this event was their form of happiness and a moment to forget and enjoy. In the beginning of the video a narrator states what their father had told them, which goes along the lines of “In life you have three strikes against you in this world, every black man has two. That they are black, and they are a male. But you are black and a male and your gay… if you are going to do this you are going to have to be stronger than you ever imagined”. Basically, his father, was preparing his son. Letting him know that they will always have that target on their backs, and the best they can do is be strong, for themselves. Because at the end of the day, they must fight for themselves. Sometimes, like presented in the video, some parents won’t support their children, and they must stand up and find a way for themselves to move forward, without a parent’s guide. Furthermore, in the video an individual states how certain there will be individuals at these events, that will give out their all, to demonstrate they can be somebody but at the end of the day, they go home and are lost in the real world. Because the real world is unjust and cruel. And they are not able to perform that same talent they can give.