“Paris is Burning” showed no pretense when it came to portraying drag culture in 1980’s New York. It showcased the glamorous fun parts and the sad underbelly of sex work. I found myself wishing I could have experienced life in Manhattan before it transformed into more of a playground for the rich rather than the misunderstood artists and freaks. I don’t want to over-glamorize that era because I know that there was so much pain and suffering that came with it, but there was also an undeniable soul to the city. 

The sense of family and belonging that the queens had with one another was truly heartwarming. Pictured in Enrique’s snapshot is a photo of The Ballroom. I loved the D.I.Y. bare bones feel of The Ballroom. I’d like to think if I was alive back then I would have been hanging out there too. I enjoyed seeing the huge variance in age amongst the community. You had the young lost 13-year-old boys, you had the older seasoned queens who were probably in their 40’s – 50’s, and you had the “children” in between. 

         The documentary made it seem as though drag arose from a place of wanting to feel beautiful and powerful, which is the opposite of what mainstream society made gay and trans people feel. The existence of gay and trans people was unacceptable to the majority of society, who would prefer to see the gay and trans community stay closeted. By emulating these powerful actresses and super models, the drag queens got to taste just a slice of that glamour and power that they were never allowed to feel as gay men. 

         It’s interesting that during some of the interviews, especially the interview with Venus, it becomes clear that although these people were seen as living on the fringe of society, they had pretty normal hopes and desires for the future. Venus wanted to get married in a church and settle down with a man somewhere in Florida or the Poconos. She had traditional desires but was forced into sex work to survive. She was murdered by strangulation. She never got to grow old. She never got to get married in a white dress. 

         The other reading for the week was “The Combahee River Collective Statement”. In this statement by Combahee River Collective, Black feminists address their unique underserved position in society, and the intersection of different forms of oppression that they face. The statement, “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,” expresses a compound oppression specific to the experience of Black women. Black women have borne the brunt of the oppression yet received the least amount of support from white feminist allies and Black men. “The Combahee River Collective Statement” is a banding together of Black women in order to address the unique issues that Black women face in social justice movements, including forms of oppression within the movements themselves. 

         The film “Disclosure” was an emotionally evoking and eye-opening film for me to watch. Trans representation in media throughout history is not something I knew much about prior to watching this documentary. The most upsetting part of watching this for me was the fact that trans identities have historically been represented as something to laugh at. Every human being deserves respect and recognition. We all want to be seen. It takes so much courage and strength for trans people to come out and transition. I can’t imagine how much it hurts to be invalidated no matter what you do. 

         Sadira Mohammed posted a snapshot this week that said “Be true to who you are”, featuring a picture of a trans man who had recently undergone top surgery. I love this snapshot because at the core of transness is a desire to be true to yourself and your own identity. Choosing to deny your truth in order to maintain the status quo is no way to live. To not accept a trans person’s identity is to deny someone their truth, and that is not a decision that anyone has the authority to make. 

         I don’t fully understand why our society is so transphobic. I assume that it all stems from the patriarchy and its golden standard of gender norms and gender values. I also assume that it stems from the tendency of people to minimize and erase experiences that aren’t their own. Just as some white people will do everything in their power to invalidate the experiences of people of color. Just like there are people out there who say the Holocaust didn’t happen. Sometimes it feels like we will never escape the invalidation and erasure of others. 

         In the LGBTQ+ community it feels as though getting the majority of people to accept the trans community is the next frontier. Although being gay is nowhere near being accepted in the way that being straight is, it’s still lightyears ahead in its social acceptability when compared to transness. I have been dating a trans man for a short period of time and the transphobic comments that people have made to me about it have been really eye opening. I can’t imagine what it’s like to be trans and have to deal with the transphobia of others. 

         I’ve realized that most people don’t “get” being trans. I don’t understand why people think that they must fully understand another’s experience before affording them respect and validation. I don’t understand why people who consider themselves to be accepting, loving and open-minded are unable to apply those traits to the way they think about trans people. Oftentimes trans people are either laughed at or hyper-sexualized by the media, and both are a form of dehumanization. Trans people are often written off as being confused about who they are. The truth is that trans people are so in touch with themselves that they have actually set an example for the rest of us in how to be true to yourself and confident in who you are no matter what others try to tell you or take away from you. 

“The Abortion Divide” documentary by Frontline was a gut-wrenching watch for me. As someone who had to have an abortion myself, I can relate to the pain that these women were going through. They were so brave to agree to be featured in this documentary. I think that it’s important for people who have had abortions to share their story if and when they feel comfortable. Doing so destigmatizes the procedure. Many people who have had abortions keep their story to themselves due to all of the shame and judgment that society places onto them. 

My father is religious and tends to have a lot of viewpoints based on Christianity that reflect that. Once he saw me go through my abortion, he became adamantly pro-life. He understood why I made the decision that I made and knew that it was the right one. In the snapshot posted by Mohammed Ahmed, there are protestors on both sides of the abortion argument holding up signs. Signs from the pro-lifers read, “The future is anti-abortion”, while sides from the pro-choice protestors read, “My body, my right to choose.” Oftentimes pro-lifers are seen protesting outside of abortion clinics. 

When I had to have my abortion, there were protestors outside of the clinic I went to. I remember an old white man, just like the ones in the documentary holding up a sign. I can’t remember exactly what it said but let’s just say it was burned into my brain for a while afterwards. At the clinic, I chose to receive a medical abortion. The process was traumatic and devastating. Even as someone who has no desire to have kids, I felt as though I was going against some sort of motherly instinct by terminating the pregnancy. 

I always knew that if I ended up with an unwanted pregnancy that I would have to terminate it. As someone who is pro-choice, I didn’t know how guilty it would make me feel. I don’t believe that it’s an easy decision for anyone, as shown by the crying women and couples in the video. There is this misconception that people who have abortions are callous, selfish, and cold. This documentary proves the opposite. 

My favorite quote from the documentary was, “There’s this idea that women simply can’t make moral decisions on their own. The state has to intervene and tell them what to do.” That sums up much of my distaste for attempts by the government to control women’s bodies. In the short Youtube clip, “Hobby Lobby: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, John Oliver discusses whether corporations should be able to claim religious exemption from paying taxes that go towards providing women with contraceptive care. It’s easier for me to understand why pro-lifer’s get emotional at the thought of dead babies, but it’s unfathomable to me as to why anyone would want to limit or prevent people’s access to contraception. Hobby Lobby really takes it to the next level with imposition of religious beliefs, and in my opinion religious extremist beliefs on others. 

         In her essay, “The Power of Identity Politics”, Alicia Garza discusses a conversation she overheard taking place at one of her favorite bars in California. A white woman essentially expresses that people need to get over the whole race thing, because she’s sick of it and feels like it’s dividing society rather than helping us grow closer. This seems like such a lazy and half-baked thought. It’s as if the woman in the essay decided to think about race for all of five minutes and decide that it’s no longer an issue because she doesn’t see herself as a racist.

         The reality is that, as the Garza discusses, “Power prefers to operate in obscurity”. By failing to acknowledge the issue at hand, the white woman doesn’t have to acknowledge her own privilege. This way she never has to reflect on the ways in which she is complicit in a system of oppression. Most people have a hard time admitting when they are wrong, and admitting wrongness involves taking responsibility for your own actions. Many white people think that just because they aren’t members of the KKK that their work in the fight against racism is done. 

         Thanksgiving is coming up, which is often a time when white people from major cities unite with their more sheltered and conservative relatives and have awkward conversations at the dinner table. Oftentimes no one at the table thinks of themselves as racist, but the difference is that those who tend to be younger and more politically progressive have hopefully contemplated and acknowledged their white privilege, while the older and more conservative family members often have not. It’s easier to pretend that it doesn’t exist. As Garza has written, for white people to admit that we are the oppressor race involves the negation of what lies at the core of conservative American values. 

         In their snapshot, Samantha Martinez posted a quote by Audre Lorde which states, “The failure of academic feminists to recognize difference as a crucial strength is a failure to reach beyond the first patriarchal lesson. In our world, divide and conquer must become define and empower”. Identity politics are most important for those whose identities the patriarchy has attempted to whitewash. In the article “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina”, Aleichia Williams shares her experience of moving from New York to North Carolina as an Afro-Latina woman. When she sits with the Hispanic girls at lunch, they immediately shun her for her dark skin. Her article speaks to the fact that people love binaries, and it’s much easier for people to digest their surroundings in black and white than to take in all of the nuances. 

         I have experienced a similar, but different thing as a queer bisexual person. I’m too gay for the straights and too straight for the gays. Rather than treating sexuality as a spectrum, people want to place you in a box so that it’s something they can relate to. There is something about being bisexual that seems to threaten the sanctity of people’s own ideas about what it means to be gay or straight. Instead of having your identity respected you live your whole life with people not taking you seriously, sending you the message that you either need to come all the way out of the closet or go back inside and hide. 

In her book, “The Feminine Mystique”, Betty Friedan states, “In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens”. Her book was published in 1963, and although we have come a long way since then as women in the workforce, we still have a long way to go. According to U.S Department of Labor’s website, women earn 82 cents for every one dollar that a man earns. I believe this is due to several factors. Without researching it I would guess that women are less likely to ask for a raise and more likely to be undervalued by their male counterparts and superiors. That’s been my own experience, at least.

         Friedan discusses “the feminine mystique” as a step backwards for women. She sees first wave feminists as hanging up their coat after earning the right to vote. Now, women have been brainwashed by men into thinking that their true nature or purpose is as wives and mothers in the kitchen. To embrace this nature is the only way for women to be happy and fulfilled. She also speaks of “the problem”, which is essentially the general dissatisfaction amongst housewives. Women across America were unfulfilled by their limiting roles and lack of autonomy. 

         Pat Mainardi’s “The Politics of Housework”, elaborates on the frustration felt at having to bear the responsibility of doing all the housework, while men do none. She lists all of the excuse’s her husband has made as to why he can’t pull his own weight, which today is referred to as “weaponized incompetence”. Isabella Celentano’s snapshot sums up the way Mainardi feels. A woman is pictured ironing clothes with the text, “Seriously! Am I the ONLY one that can see the trash overflowing, the dirty dishes in the sink, the laundry piled up and the empty toilet paper roll?”

         I’ve made excuses for some men’s perceived inability to see or be bothered by dirt in the way that women are. Of course, the stereotype is not always true but often it lines up due to the way men and women have been socialized differently. The last article, “The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm”, by Anne Koedt was eye opening to say the least. Koedt exposes the fallacy of the vaginal orgasm and explains that women’s sexuality has been misunderstood and ignored by male experts like Freud who have tried to shame women for their failure to fit into a penis centered sexual fallacy that is the vaginal orgasm. 

         Reading about Freud’s description of the vaginal orgasm being something that only mature women are capable of having really made my blood boil because I have read this theory before and had no idea that it came from Freud. It clearly should have been debunked ten times over but somehow, it’s still circulated as fact. The way that Koedt draws parallels between men’s lack of understanding of female anatomy to sexism is something that I found really eye opening. I hadn’t looked at it quite that way before. The sad truth is that men are often socialized to put their own needs first inside and outside of the bedroom.  

The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire was a horrific event which occurred due to gross negligence on the part of the owners. One way that workers are exploited is by not paying them a living wage which ensures they must work 12 or more hour days. No one should be forced to work 12 or more hours per day. The most disturbing part of this week’s videos and reading are thinking about the fact that this goes on today. It is truly multinational corporations who run the world. Modern technology, conveniences, and luxuries that we all use every day were created though exploitative labor practices by corporations in developing countries. In the US, workers continue to be exploited in places like the Tyson meat packing factories and Amazon Warehouses. 

            In the Youtube video, “Triangle Returns”, Charles Kernaghan discusses the horror of the 2010 Ha-Meem factory fire in Bangladesh occurring almost 100 years after the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Kernaghan states that in this economy, workers work 7 days per week, with one day off per month and live in abject conditions. When workers protested, demanding just 35 cents an hour as opposed to the 28 cents per hour wage they were being paid, they were denied this by Walmart and other mega corporations. They were also beaten by local police. 

            Heatherlee’s snapshot perfectly depicts how far we still have to come in our efforts to do away with sweatshops. Their snapshot is a photo of women working in sweatshops around 100 years ago juxtaposed with a photo of women sweatshop laborers today. Why does it take death of workers suffering in these deplorable conditions for sweatshop exploitation to make the news? Products that we use every day were created through exploitation. Factories in China where the Apple iPhone is made have suicide nets surrounding their buildings. For them it’s more sensible to install suicide nets to keep people from killing themselves then it is to provide workers with livable wages and working conditions. 

            Another event that we looked at this week which could be seen as a sign of progress or a disappointment depending on how you look at it was Virginia becoming the 38^th state to ratify the century old Equal Rights Amendment. This Amendment was originally written in 1923. In 1972, Phyllis Schlafly, a real-life version of Serena Joy from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, was the bill’s biggest opponent. Schlafly wanted to preserve the rights of women as “wives and mothers”. 

            It’s a travesty that the Equal Rights Amendment has yet to be passed. The fact that an entire political party prides itself on making sure that the constitution never explicitly states that people can’t be discriminated against on the basis of sex is a crime. If the Equal Rights Amendment were ratified today, we wouldn’t have to constantly fight for the right for safe access to abortion. Laws that are being passed in Texas today are attempts at erasing decades worth of progress in the fight for women’s rights.