This week’s reading and movie taught me about new perspectives. The reading “How To Think Like An Activist” by Wendy Syfret,  ties into the film “Girls Connected” by Koen Suidgeest. The movie was both powerful and inspiring. The plot revolves around five teenage girls who use their individual strengths to tackle gender discrimination and violence in their respective communities. Each of them inspires their own people to transform his or her personal lives.

            Josi is from Peru, and when she was a teenager she witnessed numerous teen pregnancies. She wondered what she could do to prevent these situations. Along with her friends, Josi Invited her community to a park where she gave advice and spoke on how they can take care of themselves through informed decision making. She speaks on the importance of using protection to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Furthermore, Josi emphasizes the equal responsibility that women and men share, encouraging education around this topic.

            Latifa is from Bangladesh and when was twelve years old her parents tried to coerce her into an arranged marriage. She told them that she would rather die than get married. Latifa believes getting married as a mere child puts an end to their dreams. One of the mothers in Latifa’s community admitted that the reason she tried to marry her daughter off was because she doesn’t have a father, brother, not to mention a house. Her mother feared for the worst, ultimately coming to the decision to marry off her daughter. However, Latifa put a stop to all this, saying that instead of marrying prematurely, the daughter will marry later on in life, and it will be of her own will. If anyone bothers them, they can call Latifa immediately and she will personally take aggressive action towards the harassment. There are girls in Latifa’s community who are married off before the age of sixteen. They are forced into marriage by the poverty of their parents. She empathizes with their struggle, knowing firsthand how miserable it feels when to not have anything to eat. About two years ago when Latifa was in sixth grade an attempt was made to marry her off because her family was suffering financially, and thus were faced with a food shortage. But, her mother defended and stood by her because Latifa’s mom was once a child bride herself. Her mother came to realize that she didn’t want her daughter to go through what she did. She wants her daughter to learn how to be independent before she gets married. Latifa made a call to her teacher and around 10 PM the administration came to her house and a court was set right in front of them. The administration announced that Latifa wishes to continue with her studies, and if, before the age of 18, anyone tries to marry her off without her consent they would be arrested. Latifa come to the realization that if she could stop her arranged marriage then she could help others in need as well.

            Coming from Jordan, Ghazal doesn’t believe that her community truly understands the impact of what she is trying to accomplish. As being liberal is associated with danger, everyone around her accuses Ghazal of encouraging other girls to overstep boundaries. In Jordan, women’s rights and their freedom is simply out of the question. Ghazal was always first when it came to doing things differently, going against the social norms. She is passionate about recycling, was the first girl to play football at her school, and interests such as these set her apart from the other girls in Jordan. Many of the girls set limits and boundaries for them to adhere to. They participated in activities deemed to be acceptable for women, and strayed away from doing things considered to be more “masculine”. However, Ghazal believes in breaking gender norms, that anyone of any gender can do anything.

            Ayesha states that back in India, girls are not allowed to go anywhere and are confined to their homes. They are are not allowed to do anything. But, Ayesha hopes that together, they can prevail with an improved confidence. The future that she sees for India is a future wherein girls can strive to better their lives without fear. With that determination in mind, Ayesha began boxing. Inspired by her brother, Ayesha has loved Karate ever since she was a child and took an interest in learning.

            Back home in Kenya, most girls feel like their place is in the home and nowhere else. Society tells girls that they shouldn’t study engineering, that that’s unbecoming of them. Girls are taught to stay at home, take care of the kids, cook. In spite of it all, Michelle was able to brave these stereotypes, and that persistence is what she wishes to pass on. To be a girl in Kenya is to be told that you should not be outspoken for that is unbecoming of a lady. Girls should not express their ideas and opinions for that would be talking out of place. Michelle believes that these restrictions have been perpetuated due to a lack of role models, a lack of people to look up to when faced with these conflicts. The girls have it within themselves to move forward and get ahead in life, but they need the conviction and drive to do so. Michelle is a teacher who helps women from age twelve to thirty to achieve their dreams. There was a point in time where her family was put through financial hardships, sometimes going to bed hungry, but overcoming that obstacle made Michelle even stronger than she was before.

            My classmate Hillary posted a photo that sincerely moved me. The post was captioned, “Girls just wanna have fundamental human rights.” And that is a statement I fully stand behind. Our world is vast, with an array of cultures and traditions, but protecting fundamental human rights, regardless of gender, is not an evil we should be fighting. There is power and unity in human rights, and though we are different, we can all come together to better our communities.

I have been intrigued by both of the readings this week and particularly by “Patriarchy, The System An It, Not a He Them, or a Us” by Allan Johnson. In this piece, the author Allan Johnson talks about how a society controlled by man can have a toll on both genders in our general public. Some may be curious as to what a patriarchal society might be. A patriarchal society is a society where the social framework of the society is designed and controlled by men. Men would hold control of all essential infrastructures such as government and political leadership roles, societal privileges, moral authority, and the control of all land and property. This is a basic model of a patriarchal society; however, there are also patriarchal societies that can be modified to be a little more different. Some patriarchal societies can also be patrilineal. What this means is, land and property, political and societal roles, and moral standards can be passed on from Father to son. In this system, the women, such as mother and daughter, are left out. I was born in Taiwan and raised in a Chinese household, and in Asia, society tends to be more patriarchal. Most of Asia, as of today, still tends to be mostly patriarchal. Nothing much has changed. Taiwan, however, is leading the charge in change in this area. In East Asia, Taiwan is the most forward thinking country. The government is constantly pushing to be more progressive. In this piece, Allan is telling people to fight for gender equality and this is important because people shouldn’t be held back based on their gender. In a society where all genders are equal, that will only benefit the society. With equal opportunity in all area, that will stimulate growth in the economy, rapid improvements on infrastructure, and, overall, keep the government moving in a powerful direction. Some may ask, “Why does all this happen when genders are equal?” My answer to that question is, quite simply, because there are more people their minds onto the problems. Two brains are better than one! Things are not perfect in today’s society, however, we can see there are lots of change happening. With more women in the workplace today, productivity and capital gains keep rising. Granted, there are still problems like unequal pay for women in the work place or the issue of maternity leave. These are all issues that still plague our society today, however, I am optimistic that we will reach a solution in the near future. We are all human beings and I believe that everyone only wants to go good for their country and their neighbors and loved ones. Fair opportunity and getting rid of oppressor is what we need to move the society to the next level. 

This week’s reading, like always, was a very interesting and knowledge filled reading. I was able to learn more about privileges white people get to experience and obtain a bigger picture behind white privilege. White Privilege is just like many other common terms, like cultural appropriation and “Black Lives Matter,” that have been thrown around the past few years. Many times, these terms are overused and misunderstood, therefore causing misunderstandings and the message losing its value and effectiveness over time. For example, when it comes to white privilege, many would think that it means white people being smart and rich partying on a yacht. They would relate the term to a racial group’s wealth. This is, in fact, a wrong definition for whites privilege. So one may ask, what is white privilege? White privilege, or, to be more exact, white skinned privilege, is privileges in society that are exclusively given to white people by certain societies. These societal privileges leaves behind non-white people and benefit white people that are under the same political, economical, and social classes. White privilege does not mean white people don’t struggle in life, but it means they will not have to struggle in life because of skin color. 

Today white people don’t realize that’s the sad part. In our society, when you’re black, Latino, or Asian-American, in many ways, you still have to protect yourself and other people of your group, by yourself. White people are never seen as an asset or a disgrace to their race because their actions are considered their own. No one else’s actions reflect negatively or positively on them. While some white people take every discussion of racism personally and end up standing up for the indisputable, when non-whites talk about racism, they are usually talking about the system and specific individuals, not about white people in general. This kind of pervasive racism is a specialty favored by white people. If white men commit 20 murders in a day, it doesn’t affect how people view white men in general. If a murder is committed by Black, each Black becomes a suspect and target. We’ve seen it happen over and over again over the years. I’m not advocating any crime here, that’s just an example. 

White privilege means not having to fear the police. For example, when a white person sees the flashing lights of a police car behind them, they may worry about being fined and know how to get out of it. They probably didn’t think about losing their lives. That’s the first thing that many black people in the same situation think of. If they panic and act irrationally, it’s because they’re scared for their lives and tired of constantly feeling this way. Whenever another unarmed black person was shot by the police, someone, usually white, would ask why they disobeyed the order of the police and agreed to be humiliated and dehumanized. . Their failure to receive it is a prime example of white privilege. If you don’t have to live your life feeling like a target because of the color of your skin, you probably can’t really understand why black people react the way they do when they stare at the barrel. pistol from the police.

I found this week’s reading to be unique and absolutely intriguing. I really liked this week’s reading. It would be crazy for me to say that after this week’s reading, I have fully grasped the concept of gender identity, helping me answer ‘what is gender identity.” That is definitely not true. However, after reading the excerpts in “Beyond The Gender Binary” by author Alex V. Manon, I felt that I got closer to fully grasping the concept and understanding the definition of gender identity. Gender identity is something we as individuals identify as our own gender. Gender identity can relate to your sex given to you at birth, however, it can also be polar opposites. Gender expression also tends to relate to a person’s gender identity, but, like many things in life, there is not a solid explanation for everything. The excerpts from “Beyond The Gender Binary” tries to provide the readers with the necessary knowledge so they can form a better society in the future that is inclusive of all gender expressions and lifestyles. After reading the excerpts, I was somewhat able to identify myself a little better. I was able to further grasp what I thought was truly my gender identity, which I assume was also a reason as to why Manon wrote these excerpts. In “Beyond The Gender Binary,” Alok also tells readers to try and see gender not in black and white, but in full color. By explaining to the readers using their real-world experience as non-conforming gender artists, Manon shows readers how gender can be bent, changed, and shaped in many ways. Individuals should be able to express their gender however they like. We all belong on this planet and it is our home. We should be able to express how we want in our home. There really is no “normal” gender or gender expression. Cis gender is not the only way of expressing. The whole spectrum should be considered as ‘normal’, not just a small portion. However, what would really be the best option is to not normalize anything. The reason is because, once you normalize something there is bound to be something that is quote ‘not normal.’ And that is what we want to avoid. No one should be abnormal as everyone’s unique expression is beautiful. However, sadly, in today’s America, this is still not the case. Many individuals are still being targeted based on their gender expression, and that is extremely sad. We hear cases of gay bars being shot up in the middle of the night while people are having fun. It is also common to hear about how people who expresses themselves uniquely from others tends to also be bullied a lot in school and many lead to themselves into the dark hole of depression and sometimes worse, suicide. Many still lean towards hiding themselves because they are afraid of what others might do to them if they came out. Hopefully, this will change sooner rather than later. One method that will aid in solving this issue is definitely education. Schools across the country really need to continue the education of gender and sex so all spectrums can be accepted and no one’s lives are put in danger. Education will promote understanding and hopefully we can all live together happily and safely.