Women have been fighting for a chance to even be seen as equal to men and I feel like even in the 21st century we still have a lot to prove. It is very important to look back at history because of the work and suffering many women had to go through just for us to even be in the same work field as men. Of course, we have to celebrate the victories we have and the accomplishments of the women who risked their lives or even lost their lives just to give us the right to vote, but at the same time, it is important that we also realize how much progress we still need. In a lot of countries, women are still being treated poorly and have no rights. Reading about how women used to come together no matter what to protest just to have men hit, spit or even throw stuff at them even being arrested and tortured. We had to fight to have a spot in this world and we still have more to go. I do also believe in feminists that can be too overly extreme and start to degrade and push men down and to me I do believe that yes we should fight against men who oppress us but the ultimate goal is to be seen as equals. I used to work at a job that was all outdoors lugging logs around and building gardens and the majority of the people working there were all sexist and made me and other females feel inferior and that was hard because I constantly was seen and treated as a weak little girl. Obviously, I left that toxic environment but we have to do better to have better work places where women feel equal. Where they have a safe space to share, work and be creative.

To me, activism is a movement you create that influences others to want to push or change issues that are affecting humanity. The film I watched is Girl Connected, which talks about how 5 girls from around the world and their goals and inspirations are helping them break down stereotypes and oppression that they face in their communities. For example in the film one of the girls that struck me the most was the girl who wanted to try and stop young pregnancies. I find that very important especially since we live in a world or at least in their world where women are expected to stay home, cook, clean and raise children. This young women named Josi really is advocating and educating young girls to have safe and protected sex. For Josi to do that in the type of community she lives in and influences its very powerful and can make a huge effect on how women live their lives. Something else that stood out to me about Josi’s message is that she is teaching young kids about making decisions and that they have control and power over their own lives, which is super important because living in a society where we put a lot of stereotypes and pressures on young kids can make them feel like they are stuck in a box. But Josi is trying to change that mentality and say that we have a lot of free will and power to decide what we want to do. I would say that for me the way I would make a difference is by doing the same thing that Josi is doing and teaching children especially. Unfortunately a lot of kids don’t have good education and some don’t have any at all. And kids not knowing about sex or pregnancy or even STD’s is very importantant because they could do something that will untimately keep them in that small box forever. Teaching them that there is a life outside of just cooking, cleaning and raising kids can help them be more motivated and want to actually make something of themselves. There are some women who feel like their calling is in fact to be a mother and that is also valid. The main point is that women are well educated in the pros and cons of being a mom and for them to decide if they want to or not on their own, without outside pressure.

In general there have always been standards placed on human genders. We have always been divided for example, we see it in our fashion, our toys that we grew up with and even our work place. Girls are typically given Barbie dolls and boys are typically given toy cars or toy guns. We can even see it in kid shows even to this day. People associate little girl shows when the cover is pink and shows a girl character wearig a dress. For boys the cover is usually green or blue with boy characters and theres usually cars or superheroes. Me personally I have always grew up playing with Bratz and Barbie dolls and pink and princesses, which in sociatey standards fits the gender binary standard. I also grew up gaming, I still game because I really do love it. I grew up with Nintendo and Xbox and Playstation. I play all types of games but I do love first person shooter and unfortunately in the gaming community it is seen as a masculine thing and only boys should be playing video games. I also grew up hating the color pink and wearing baggy clothing because I always felt more comfortable with it, and unfortunately that led me to becoming outcasted by a lot of groups in school. I believe what Alok is trying to spread is that these accessories, fashion, toys, tv shows or even movies shouldn’t label one specific gender. We are simply existing on this earth to enjoy everything and there shouldn’t be a barrier placed between humans just because of their physical appearance. We should be able to go out however we want to dress and not be shamed or questioned for it. Or in Alok’s case, go to the grocery store or run errands without being questioned whether it is a halloween costume. We are already seeing a world where even celebrities and people are starting to break gender norms, even if they don’t identify as non-binary by painting their nails or wearing skirts. We also see it in women as well. This is an example of how even if we don’t identify as non-binary or anything else other than a man or woman we should be able to dress however we like or watch whatever we like because it is our interest. Gender has affected our world so much that we can’t live with basic human rights. Women at one point were oppressed because of their gender and were seen as inferior to men. We live in a society where just how we identify ourselves alone can affect our everyday work life, school life and even social life. We can see history repeat itself now but with non-binary or people who choose to break gender norms.

Hey classmates my name is Naomi, I am currently in my second year of being at BMCC. I am currently majoring in studio art, although I don’t plan on doing freelance art as a career. Art is more of a hobby to me and a form of expression. I chose to do art because I still have no life plans or career choices yet. I am currently on a path to find myself and what I want to do with my life. I look forward to learning in this course and reading everyone’s writing and opinions.