I’m furious. First off, I’d like to point out how ridiculous it is to let such an important draft be leaked. It’s irresponsible. Government officials have no right to be upset about the backlash from the public.

Preventing abortion is a pipeline to more poverty. With the baby formula shortage, prices will most likely go up. I believe the government wants to make things harder for women, but won’t dare to do the same for men. I haven’t heard any conversation about vasectomies. Im nervous for my future and for others. There are so many women who were raped or don’t have the health conditions to carry a baby. What will they do? A women Ohio lawmaker recently said it’s unfortunate for women who have to suffer the scars of being raped, but the scars wont go away regardless. When I heard that, I realized some women in politics aren’t on our side either. Yes, the scars wont go away, they will only get worse. That baby can be a constant reminder, not to mention she has to deal will the mental trauma of the assault and the mental stress of pregnancy all at once.

I believe government officials avoid the conversation of how the women is impacted because they don’t care and they know there is a lot of trauma when women have babies against there will. Whenever I see people being rude or protesting in front of abortion clinics, it screams hypocrisy and irony. You call us inhumane and bad people but cant even treat humans with decency yourself. Since there’s so much conversation about banning abortion, I want to see solutions on what will happen when these children end up in poor households, shelters, or foster care. What will this country do with them now that they’re here?

“Period. End of sentence.” Allowed me to understand how women are barely prioritized in places other than the U.S. Part of me feels like the men are so ignorant, but I have to understand they are taught about women’s bodies very differently than we are. When one of the women said the goddess she prays to is also a women, I found that very powerful. It’s almost irony to tell a women that she can’t pray while on her period when who’s she’s praying to is a women. Their lack of resources show that menstrual cycles are viewed as something that is their fault and dirty. They are shamed for a natural process. After watching the video, India feels like they’re behind in progressing with modern times that they lack education about something that is extremely important. At the same time, being from the U.S means I cant say much about being behind. I come from a place where the government regulates if women can have an abortion or not, unfortunately.

A Birth Story makes me feel extremely bad. The trauma she experienced, along with many other black mothers, hurts. The nurse not cleaning the blood from the air conditioner is so unsanitary. It’s like they wanted her to not have a peaceful birth. It’s time for people in the medical field to have human decency towards minorities. We are not toys. We deserve the best care, especially if we’re about to deliver a baby after holding them for 9 months.

“12 reasons” was shocking to read. The nerve the government has to make laws against trans people as if they’re not dealing with enough already. Being rejected for basic health assistance is very dystopian. Caring for people should oversee your personal views and beliefs of people.

Untold Stories of Black women in the suffrage movement show how courageous women are. I cannot imagine how Ida B. Wells felt when she moved to the front of the parade where the white women were. What I liked the most from the video is how black women made their own associations. They didn’t let the fact that many white women were not accepting of them stop them from fighting for their rights. Even though most of them were in the back of the parade, those young girls were present the whole way through. I feel like their fight was more difficult. They had to deal with oppression along from other women, when everyone should’ve been united fighting together. Black women should’ve been in the front along with the rest. The Seneca Falls convention is mentioned so much In schools, but the impact that Wells and other African American women made aren’t really touched on. It’s saddening that many white women felt it was right to have them in the back, disregarding the oppression they’ve gone through and are still going through today. The timeline of suffrage was interesting. The fact it took so long shows how long America has been treating women like we’re beneath men. I know that we most likely will never get our voting rights taken away, but it makes me think about the government considering overturning Roe v. Wade. Abortion rights also took a long time for us to have, and now we have to worry about not having them anymore? Im grateful for all the work women did from 1776-1923, and the work we continue to do as a collective to gain full equality. There is more to be done.

“The Combahee River Collective Statement” gets in-depth about feminism. It mentions how feminism threatens black people as a collective. In order to have equality on an individual level, such as in our homes, social constructs and gender roles have to be questioned. Men are usually the leader while a women is beneath him. It is rare that the power dynamic is the opposite way around. Black men have such a negative feeling towards feminism because they are afraid it’ll change their role as a man. They don’t want to be seen as equal, but instead want to feel in power and have authority. They also don’t want to stop oppressing black women. Many women in these relationships agree that it should be equal, but are afraid of speaking out. They don’t want to lose the economic and sexual arrangements in their lives. I really enjoyed,”Paris Is Burning”. I generally like vogue, so to get a glimpse of its history and how it was before was interesting. Its empowering and a safe place for people to be themselves. Everyone has their own identity and flaunts it with confidence. I noticed that the categories at the ball were very different from the ones today. Most of the ones I see now, are more so “dance competitions” with no theme. They felt that the ball was a glimpse of fame on a small level. It’s crazy to see how it’s evolved and how mainstream it is now. We have to give credit to the ones who truly started this movement! It’s beautiful to see different identities form together to do something they’re passionate about.

I like the reading “Sex and Gender 101” by Kyl Myers because it explains the difference between gender and biological sex. We are categorized by a social construct from young. Boys are taught to be masculine, narrowing what they’re allowed to be interested in and do. Girls are taught to be feminine, also narrowing their interest because anything outside of liking pink and care taking does abide by societies unwritten rules. None of this is based on science, unlike biological sex that cannot change. Whats important to note is that gender assignment and gender identity don’t always match. I believe this is why society has trouble accepting the lGBTQ community. They cant grasp this concept and believe people should live with what they were assigned at birth.

Sexuality doesn’t stay stagnant, but instead can change overtime. From personal experience, people are usually more comfortable when women explore their sexuality, but are against men doing it. I believe its unfair for anyone to feel like they cant be flexible with who they are attracted to. Due to societies unwritten rules, yet again, men who are gay will identify with heterosexual to avoid backlash and to feel secure in their masculinity. Myers calls this a “Choose your own adventure” and I love that. Who we like, what we identify as, should not cause an uproar by society.

Bell Hooks explained feminism like no other. She differentiated real feminists from women who simply use the movement to hate men. We want to end sexism, oppression, and inequality. I believe if men understood our purpose, they won’t have a bad stigma around feminism. They may even want to join us In defeating the patriarchy and toxic standards society holds women to!

Why Artistic Activism? from the Center for Artistic Activism is very interesting. It notes that it has been used throughout history, and it immediately reminded me of political cartoons. Similar to the one in my discussion response, I think they were one of the best forms of artistic activism. Without social media, those cartoons got the message across because it activated emotions. People began to feel towards the drawings, whether it was angry or sad, and decided to make a change. It is the most creative forms of activism in my opinion also. People are able to express how they feel about a topic through something other than words.

The first painting I chose in my discussion is a controversial piece, but it invokes feelings in people. The article notes that artistic activism is overall peaceful. Although I agree, I think its more so the intention of the artist that is peaceful, not peoples perspectives. Art that portrays men in weak positions or going through women’s struggles usually strikes a nerve. Thats what I love about it. Something as simple as a painting causes an uproar by who the art was targeting. The cartoon I posted was important to me because the babies symbolized the generations coming up. With only men at the time having a say in politics, the next generation would be ruled under the same sexist society. Womens suffrage was in desperate need and i’m glad we have it, but there’s more that needs to be done!

With social media existing, art has opened up endless opportunities for progression. We are in the age of using art and aesthetics to get our points across and I love it.