When I first learned about the leaked document regarding Roe v. Wade, I was left in complete shock. To learn that the Court is planning to overturn a decision that protected women’s rights to have an abortion was, literally, gut wrenching to me, and all I could think of were the many women that would be greatly affected by this. Although the draft that was leaked does not reflect the final decision by the Court, yet, I feel that their intention to even revise it was, for lack of better words, a slap in the face. One could only wonder why, mostly men, in a courtroom, could justify the need to violate any woman’s rights, but just as Rebecca Gomperts simply stated, “Because if you can prevent abortion, you can keep people poor, and when you can keep poor, you can control them”. I myself, and many of the women I know, mothers and not, openly speak about how difficult it is to survive in this world by just taking care of oneself, so I can’t even imagine how those who struggle on a daily basis to meet basic living expenses would feel if they didn’t have a choice to do what they personally felt was right. By banning women’s rights to have an abortion, they are not only going to harm the woman who needs care herself, but the child’s upbringing as well. There are various reasons for why women make the choice to have an abortion, and it’s definitely no one’s busines; especially the business of men in a courtroom who will never have to make such a tough decision in their lifetime.

This week’s readings, and video’s, were extremely insightful and I got to learn so much more about they many different kinds of abortions there are, as well as the choices one can make if necessary. The videos, especially “The Abortion Divide”, gave me abbeter understanding of what the abortion process is like and how over the last many years, they were able to care for thousands of women from each year who all came from different financial backgrounds, ethnicities, religious, and ages. What I appreciated most were the many women in the video, The Abortion Divide, who shared their stories with the world. I think that many times, people often forget the emotional side and the physical/mental state women are in when making such a tough decision. When thinking about what I think is important to keep in mind right now during these horrific times are the women we are failing to provide care for. To remember that the rights that they are trying to take away from us are OUR rights, that pertain to OUR bodies, and to fight for not only ourselves, but for others.

This week’s readings regarding medical/health concerns affecting different groups were not only surprising to me, but also disheartening. In “12 Reasons It Should Be Illegal for Doctors Not to Treat Trans People”, Diana Trujèe, shared a few comments/opinions that many have against the new rule that the Department of Health and Human Services proposed. This new rule makes it extremely difficult for groups of people, that are already discriminated against, to receive the medications and medical attention that they deserve. What surprised me the most about this reading, in particular, was the lack of empathy that the DOH and “Human” Services have against innocent human beings that have the human right to receive medical attention regardless of gender/race. A comment that stood out to me amongst the rest was written by Reta Leaphart, she stated, “Homelessness and suicide rates for teens are directly linked to sexual and gender identity and it is our responsibility as a society to make these kids feel safe, included, and celebrated. Some studies show that as many as half of transgender teens have attempted suicide. We know that family rejection, discrimination, and violence lead to large numbers of transgender teens becoming homeless. These realities are failures of our humanity and American values.” It’s shocking to think that those in power are choosing to turn the cheek on too many of our own for unreasonable reasons.

 Similarly to this reading, “A Birth Story”, written by Dr. Dana-Ain Davis, shares the birth story of a woman named Leconté J Dill, and how one of the most precious moments one can experience, such as childbirth, turned out to be something unfortunate, and quite traumatic, in my opinion. What was most surprising to me in this reading, was learning about the term obstetric racism. It was a term I had never learned about prior and it was even more shocking learning its definition. For LeConte to have been treated so poorly after asking for the medical attention she deserves, such as the women in this week’s film, and transgender people with the DOH’s new rule was not only unacceptable but inhumane. After thinking back at our lesson on oppression and privilege, obstetric racism is a new low and one that made my jaw drop. 

In the film, Period. End of Sentence was incredibly inspiring to watch. I remember this film winning an academy award the year it was released and was happy to finally get around to watching it. The film takes its viewers into rural India where many women, unfortunately, cannot afford something as critical as pads to have during their menstruation. As a woman myself, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it is to not have the necessities one needs during their menstruation and how even more uncomfortable it can be to even speak about it. What was most shocking to me about this film, was how empowering it was to watch these women get together and make pads, helping many of the women in the village, and gain financial independence while doing so. This week’s reading and films, all describe and show the many ways different groups of people are affected in regards to receiving the medical attention/supplies they deserve. What these different groups of people ask fr, are things that should not be asked for since they should be recognized as human rights. Even when I feel that I’ve heard it all, or learned it all in regards to oppression in relation

This week’s readings, “The Power of Identity Politics” and “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina”, furthered my understanding of identity politics on a more personal level and also, gave me a better understanding of how the adage, “the personal is political”, and the movement that came along with it, wasn’t inclusive to all women. As Garza stated in chapter 12 of her book, “Black women could not and still cannot afford a women’s movement that sees gender oppression only through the lens of white women. This has been an underlying principle of Black feminism—the notion that the experiences of black women are unique and complex and must be seen as such to achieve the goal of eradicating those differences”. When we first learned about “the personal is political” a few weeks ago, I thought it was truly inspiring to see women come together and rally against those who oppressed us into fitting the molds they wanted to squeeze us in, but after these two past readings on black feminism, it was disheartening to learn that this wasn’t the case. To better understand the definition of identity politics, one of Garza’s statements stood out to me: “Thus, identity politics is the radical notion that your worldview is shaped by your experiences and history and that those experiences will vary in relationship to the power a group or an individual has in the economy, society, and democracy”. This statement, or definition rather, also goes hand in hand with what Aleicha Williams was saying in her reading Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina. Similar to the white girl at the bar in Garza’s reading and the Hispanic girls in Williams’ reading, people tend to separate people into “boxes” that have nothing to do with who they truly are without realizing they are being offensive. People often do not notice how big of an impact their words can have on someone and it happens too often than not.

The Combahee River Collective Statement, written by the members of the collective, is made up of powerful and bold statements in regards to the inequality, sexism, and racism they face daily. They call our attention to the many indecencies that continue to recur over and over again throughout history. To me, the quote “We might use our position at the bottom to make a clear leap into revolutionary action. If black women were free, it would mean that everyone else would have to be free since our freedom would necessitate the destruction of all the systems of oppression”, expresses the fearlessness and eagerness that these women have to acquire the basic human rights that have been owed to them for a long time. Not only would we have to eliminate one form of oppression in hopes to liberate black women, but ALL systems of oppression. These systems include racism, sexism, heterosexism, transphobia, and even capitalism.
Race and gender have a big influence on capitalism. Capitalism is defined as, “an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.” As many of us know, these private owners, or private property owners, pass down their inheritances from one generation to another, and they are mostly made up of white males. Although it is said that capitalism “reduces oppression of societies that imposes hierarchies of gender”, that is simply not true. As the Combahee River Collective stated, “Our economic position is still at the very bottom of the American capitalistic economy”. Unfortunately, this does not come as a surprise to any of us who are aware of the inequality that has taken place in this country for decades.

The Combahee River Collective defines identity politics as focusing on their oppressions as those seen and suffered throughout history and rejecting any form of inequality and racist/sexist behavior. In their statement they state, We believe that sexual politics under patriarchy is as pervasive in Black women’s lives as are the politics of class and race. We also often find it difficult to separate race from class from sex oppression because in our lives they are most often experienced simultaneously. We know that there is such a thing as racial-sexual oppression which is neither solely racial nor solely sexual.” When you are constantly beaten down and preyed upon due to your race and gender, it is hard to pinpoint which oppression is which. In their statement, they also state, “We are all damaged people merely by virtue of being Black women. We are dispossessed psychologically and on every other level, and yet we feel the necessity to struggle to change the condition of all Black women.” These struggles are oppressions that no single person should ever have to endure. We can also see this operation in Paris is Burning by the bond that the drag queens create after coming together to battle against the many oppressions and racist/sexist actions that they all experience. Similar to the Combahee River Collective, the houses in the film experience exclusion and rejection, not only from their families but also from society for their gender expression and sexual orientations.