Identity politics focuses on liberation for a specific identity. For example, In “The Power of Identity Politics”, black lesbian women formed a politic based on their own experiences and is shaped specifically for them. As a latina, I sometimes feel that the fight against oppression for women is too general for me. When I see white women fighting for our rights, they don’t understand how it’s much harder for a minorities rights to be obtained. Our experiences are much more complex due to our history. The story Garza begins with is an example of how some white women don’t understand our fight. When the blonde said she’s tired of everything being about race and color, she didn’t understand that it keeps being brought up for a reason. Representation is still important, as the white guy mentioned, because POC are still not being casted in roles due to their skin. It’s almost as if some white women are the elephant in the room because they see things from a privileged stand point. Are they to blame? Maybe not, because their experiences are much more sheltered and different from a black women’s. At the same time, this is why identity politics are important. Only we can understand our struggles and progress as a race. Some topics i’d like to explore for the remaining of the semester are the different types of pronouns, history of latin women, and women’s rights movements throughout history. I feel that these are all important in getting a deeper understanding on women.

The liberated women is different from women’s liberation because liberated women bring “sex without marriage” and has a career. They have much more freedom and don’t follow traditional roles. Women’s liberation calls for housework. The issue is why is women’s liberation a thing to begin with? Why are there gender roles on who does the housework? It begins with men and their entitlement. Mainardi uses her husband as an example. He agreed that they should equally be doing house chores at first, but he changes this mentality over time. Naturally, she was left to do the chores herself because he turned his head away from them. Throughout the text, she translates what a man really means when he communicates with his partner about housework. For example, “I hate it more than you. You don’t mind it so much” really means those chores are below me, but are perfect for your standards. Being a liberated women isn’t only being equal to a man, but breaking the misogynistic behavior that is rooted in our history. The reason behind why men feel entitled to say these things to a women is because they are accustomed to being above us in society. It breaks a man with fragile masculinity to perform a task that is “meant” to be done by a women. Liberated women can be significant for women’s liberation because they are pushing towards liberation in our personal lives also. Doing everything in the house by yourself because a man has limitless excuses (such as the ones translated In the text) is misogny in our own lives. “The personal is political” is true because even debates can arise in your relationship with a man over household roles. “The myth of the vaginal orgasm” connects to men brainwashing women, even in sex. Men have made women believe that a vagina is soley meant to please a man and because of this, an orgasm comes from the inside of a vagina, which is false. They have trouble viewing us as human beings and only look at how we benefit them. This results into women being confused on their own anatomy, being labelled as frigid and lying to please a mans ego that they received an orgasm. Our personal sex lives have become political because men don’t understand a women’s anatomy and instead care more about their ego. Liberated women are great for women’s liberation because they don’t allow a mans ego to control their relationship. They are more open about how they feel and shy away from the traditional roles that are here because of what men decided was “appropriate” and “correct”.

Suffrage, labor rights, and the equal rights amendment are all related. They all affect mostly  women and have caused controversy throughout history. Fighting for labor rights is significant because of the discrimination of women in the workplace. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory is an example of why labor rights cannot be overlooked. The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory was a sweatshop. Women would work there under poor conditions and extremely long work hours. The infamous fire that occurred is why labor rights matter. There were no safety measures in place, and only two exits. One of the exits was blocked so the women couldn’t steal or take breaks. Because of the lack of safety measures, the majority of women died in the building. Although this happened many years ago, the workplace is still unsafe and lacks equality today. Labor rights are needed in order to ensure women are being paid correctly and are treated fairly. The Triangle tragedy could have been avoided if people cared about the safety of those women. This raises awareness for gender justice because till this day, wages aren’t as high for women as they are for men. Women are still being overlooked. Sweatshops are still here, even outside of America. The equal rights amendment is similar to labor rights because its purpose is to protect people from being discriminated against. Labor was a concern for the people because they believed if the ERA was passed, the number of hours women can work would be limited. Alice Paul, who wrote the ERA, also pushed for suffrage. She tried to apply techniques from the British suffragist movement, such as civil disobedience, on Americans to create a suffrage movement in the states. Overall, each of these factors have one thing in common: equality. The intention behind wanting to be able to vote and have better work conditions as a woman comes from men having all these rights “naturally”, whereas women have to make a statement in order for these factors to be considered. Many may make the argument that this was something of the past and women are no longer oppressed by the system. This would be false because these issues are still enacted today in society. Although the average working woman may not be in a sweatshop here in the states, women are struggling to still be treated on the same level as men, even if they’re in the same position of work. 

Activism for me has a whole new meaning. Activism is going against the grain to fight for what you believe in. In the documentary,”Vessel”, the women fought relentlessly for abortion rights. Being that abortion is still illegal in many countries, it is legal if it is on international waters. The group of women decided to get a boat where abortions can take place. Something I took notice of throughout the video is how disgusting men were treating them. In Poland, for example, there is a large anti-abortion movement. When the boat arrived, men were lined up in front acting animal-like. At some point, the women were even egged. News outlets were doing everything to make it seem like they were doing something illegal on the boat when they were in fact not. Regardless of the negative feedback, they continued their voyage and even created a hotline for women who are in desperate need of an abortion/abortion pills. The work put into making,”Women on Waves”, shows the dedication from the women. It should not take a ship for women to have freedom of choice, though. It is shameful that society has made them feel guilty for wanting to have rights to their own body. The reading made me think differently about activism also. It mentions how activism isn’t only about being loud, but having a voice at home too. Engaging people at home is how people start to realize what needs change. A few ways I have engaged in activism is mostly through social media. I frequently post petitions and post advocating for women’s rights. I like to spark up conversations to show people why abortion rights should be a priority around the world. For my generation, I believe social media is the best route. The reading notes how gen z and millennials have created a wave of activism through the media. The problem is that conversations aren’t strong enough to start a movement,”The ease with which current social movements form often fails to signal an organizing capacity powerful enough to threaten those in authority.” More has to be done. The average person does not have the resources to build a mobile abortion clinic on a boat, but there are things that can realistically be done. More ways to engage in activism is posters. In the video, women were finding creative ways to post up the hotline number. They even spray painted it on walls.

I experience privilege for the things I experience on a daily basis. Being able to afford food and housing is an example. After watching the video, I realized i’m more privileged than I thought. You don’t realize how lucky you are to be in a situation until it is compared with someone else’s. I sometimes learn to appreciate my privilege when thinking about the conditions people are in across the globe. Being In a major city full of opportunities is where many people dream to be. The video gave me a better understanding on what privilege means because it visually shows how it benefits people. You can be setback in life while others may have a head start because of their family, living condition, finances, etc.. This relates to white privilege, where white people have a head start in life automatically because of their skin tone.In Mcintosh reading, she admits that from a white person’s perspective, it is easy for them to forget how they are privileged. It wasn’t until she wrote down reasons why she is different from minorities that she understood why her privilege exists. After reading her reasons, it also made me aware of ways I’m oppressed. When I have children, my oppression can be passed down to them because of skin color, which is why I want to give them as much privilege as I can.  I’m oppressed in many ways also. Being a women and a minority means society views me differently than a white person. For example, shopping in luxury clothing shops means being followed around sometimes, even if you’re not doing anything wrong. Being turned down jobs that are predominantly white even though you’re qualified. I don’t come from a rich family, so i don’t have the luxury of not knowing what struggle means. In the reading “Oppression”, by Marilyn Fyre, It touches on how being a woman ties in with oppression. We are put in a bind, what she compares to a bird in a cage. No matter what we choose to do or think, we are oppressed for it. “But unlike the case of mens emotional restraint, women’s physical restraint is not rewarded. What do we get for it? Respect and esteem and acceptance? No. They mock us and parody our mincing steps.” (pg.16). Fyre differentiates how men are treated versus women, emphasizing why oppression against women is a way tougher experience.