Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

How this week’s reading by Garza and Williams expand my understanding of identity politics because it shows how everyone’s perspective and sense of self have a big effect on others if it has to do with ideology, ethnicity, nationality, religion, etc. It expands my understanding because my not knowing what identity politics is at first and then learning it based on the discussion and readings made me have an open mind about identity politics. When reading “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina” I learned about how Aleichia Williams dealt with her identity. From getting mistakenly raced at a young age and the way others would identify her in ways that were very disrespectful. She shows us how people can be inconsiderate of one’s image or portray them in a way that is incorrect and not valid. But she shows us how everything she has experienced and is still experiencing just makes her embrace who she is and her roots of where she is from. She shows identity politics in a way where many of us colored people can understand what she is going through. Garza also explains how politics plays a huge role in identification not only based on one’s background but with how society and biased views are based on what others teach one another. Identity politics shows how when grouped a certain way by others or even systems can have a huge impact on someone and their way of living so instead of teaching how to judge others based on how society views different cultures, ethnicity, religion, ideology, and nationality. We need to teach others how to embrace everyone’s background instead of separating.I think we should learn more about embracings our backgrounds.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

The patriarchy has existed for a long period of time. Some would argue that it arose by nature if we were to go back to the hunter/gatherer days. However, it is important to understand that patriarchy is a system and not an individual identity. In order for it to become an individual identity, it can only affect the sole individual. The patriarchy affects everyone as a whole since it affects how people interact with each other, do business with each other, and much more interactions. Men being the head of the household or the economy, this affects not only women but everyone else as well. Ideally, a masculine man of today’s time will consider the feelings and opinions of women in the workplace. However, they’ll always continue to work to provide for their own families and generations ahead. Systematically, the women see this as their role to let the men provide and support them in their ventures. This was the original way of how the system was perceived as. It can’t be an individual way of thinking if this is how people are actually living affecting everybody. If men choose to be lazy, and careless over their morality and health, women would need to step up and take over. In a way, it’s not about being oppressed unless you feel oppressed. However, the reality shows that men have been shown to be the backbone of society with a woman’s support. This idea is constantly changing with the way cultures change the way men behave towards women and vice versa. Women, on the other hand, are gaining education and have shown extraordinary feats of success in the business world, science field, medical and so much more. As the rise of education changes, both men and women can confidently become the backbone of society. However, oppression will always exist with both an Oppressor and the Oppressed. Clearly, if both exist, oppression won’t cease to exist. If one of them disappears to change their perspective on life, oppression wouldn’t be much of a problem. On a personal level, oppression would become less towards a woman when we consider the realities of our changing society. Interpersonally, behaviors change with new cultural changes and beliefs. Patriarchy would change the way these women and men feel when working together. Institutionally, men and women will grow to work together as individuals qualified to provide for their country when it comes to legislation and more.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

I believe that women should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies. I don’t understand why it is complicated or why people are making it more difficult to accept. We were all born one, one with decisions, one who decides for themselves we especially don’t need others telling us what to do with our bodies. As a woman who is currently going into adulthood, I like that I can make decisions for myself when it comes to if I want a baby or not. Not only that, younger girls who make mistakes shouldn’t be having a baby forcefully if they don’t want to keep a baby it’s understandable they are babies themselves they don’t need to be forced to do something they don’t want to do. We have human rights and taking it away just blows out everything we women have done to come to where we are in life it’s like a slap in the face. What about kids who are victims of sexual assault they can’t abort because it’s illegal now what has life come to? Kids shouldn’t be going through more than what they have experienced in life. The article” Telemedicine Abortion Provider Rebecca Gomperts Gets Abortion Pills Into the Hands of Those Who Need Them: ‘It’s a Privilege” Gives a clear view of women who want hope for the future of women for instance Rebecca Gompert the video connected to the articles shows how they build a mobile clinic so they can sail international and help women abort in the safest way possible by giving them pills for self abortion. It’s crazy that it has come to that point that places deny women the human rights that people have to travel to help them. I am truly upset about how they treat us women within topics like this because abortion should be allowed for women because, at the end of the day, it’s their body their choice.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

An artwork I would like to present is an artwork I saw outside a house in Mexico City. Mexico City is known for its beautiful art outside of buildings and houses they all have a meaning and its unique in their own way. But what caught my attention was the ones I saw around my house in Mexico City that show how many feminist women live around my area. In Mexico, there is a lot of gender violence and women are tired of people taking advantage of women people and not doing anything about it. Sexual violence increases every year in Mexico.INEGI estimated that more than 70% of 50.5 million women and girls aged over 15 have experienced some kind of violence, up four percentage points from the last time it ran the survey in 2016. Women are fed up in Mexico so they all join together and march for the rights of women for instance “The Glitter Revolution” is one of the many marches they’ve done for protecting women. There are many stories that I have heard when I went to Mexico that things are crazy for young girls and women around Mexico and how it’s never safe to be alone. I have experienced my share of sexual assault here in America and seeing that in my home country, they’re fighting for the rights of protecting women who are victims of all these negative acts shows that we are all strong empowered women who we will stand together when it comes to protecting our bodies and we are all in the same page no matter where you are from.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

It surprises me to read and see what problems revolve around the medical and health concerns of different groups. The fact that social stigma and oppression are really such a big thing people have to go through, especially in places we are supposed to feel safe in now we cant. I think something that surprised me was reading the article “A Birth Story” It stated, “No wheelchair was provided and she had to walk to another room, pushing her newborn in the mobile crib and her IV, with her husband trailing behind her, carrying all of their belongings.”Reading that not only made me tear up but made me feel sick to my stomach for the simple fact that the hospital workers were not treating these women the way she was supposed to be treated its sad because of how unfair and disrespected she was during her pregnancy because of racism people have and how they have no respect for women of color. I have two nieces and a nephew now and I would never be for my sister or sister-in-law to ever go through luckily they didn’t because seeing this was just upsetting and Leconte was a strong black woman who deserves the world. I felt connected in the way that in the future when I have a baby I want to feel comfortable in the hospital not uncomfortable l or having no professional help. Now what also surprised me was the stories based on transgender people and how they get treated unfairly as well or don’t feel safe. “Transgender people deserve the same rights as everyone else, and further protections when it comes to vulnerable situations for them. This abhorrent proposed rule threatens the lives of my friends, my students, and their families.”The fact that so many suicidal rates increased because of how injustice oppressions are and social stigmas impact their lives and not being heard or treated unfairly leads to so many death rates or attempts. None should ever experience that. Reading and seeing the video opened my eyes more and more to how women of different races and transgenders, and LGBTQ are being treated, and now in places they should feel the safest but the system and people fail them, and it’s like such a scary traumatic thing to go through. The fact that the stories kept on going like so many people go through this unfair treatment and it’s just upsetting to me it makes me just want to spread the message to everyone I know to be kinder to people and do actions from the heart or moreover the kindness of your heart.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

Since this is free for all writing I will talk about a woman who has been a role model to me. That would be my mother Sandra Valera. She not only was a mother to me but she was also a father. At a young age, she had to take on both roles. When we had nothing and we were at a point of being poor when her kids were younger we didn’t feel that we were poor because she taught us how to be grateful for everything we have and because of that we learned to value ourselves as individuals especially that she was raising two boys and two girls. She taught us equality and how to treat everyone the same no matter what race, or gender. I think a part of why she did that was because she was raised in a machismo household. Living in a machismo household means women do all the cooking and cleaning and follow orders from the men in the house meaning cleaning after them and obeying them because men are superior while women are only housewives. She also lived that way with her first husband but she later found the toxic household to not be healthy especially while having 4 kids so she divorced my dad and went to college. She graduated with no support from family and with the little money she had she made the most out of it for us but she raised us in a way where she never wanted us to experience everything she went through during her life. She kept on being true to herself and being strong for us her kids. My mother is my biggest role model and I’m grateful to have her in my life.

Yvette Torres Valera

Prof.Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

Throughout my senior year of high school, I worked at Applebee’s to make ends meet and have money in my pocket to get me through college. Working at Applebees has benefitted me with the amount of money I earned from minimum wage and tips from customers. However, working at Applebees, there were many problems with doing more than the minimum amount of work that I did. For example, I was initially a hostess, and then I was a server and helped pack food in the kitchen at the same time. I was only getting paid minimum wage. Honestly, I’m not sure if it had anything to do with my gender or being a woman. However, I felt speaking up about these issues was pointless since a woman that was managing that place, put me in that position of overworking. Being successful in this type of marketplace is complex. I’ve gained a lot of experience and learned how to work through pressure which is a plus for me. On the contrary, not being paid for what you’ve really worked for doesn’t sound successful. My goal for my career is to finish schooling to become a school counselor. In order to complete this goal, I must complete my associate’s degree and transfer to earn my bachelor’s degree. Then I would need to attend a graduate school for education and earn my degree. I am fairly confident in completing these goals knowing I will put the work in. I understand people’s emotions and find joy in helping other people during their times of need. As a woman, I understand the narratives that float around about not doing well in the workplace merely because of my gender, could make my career path even more difficult. However, I disagree with these ideas of inequality knowing I have to work hard to earn what I want. I wouldn’t need to work harder than men to be successful like them. Instead, I would need to work harder for myself to truly reap the benefits of education to become a master in my career to make an impact on the lives of students. The idea of a feminist economy would contradict the idea of equality. We can’t escape exploitation because people let it happen to them. For example, my failing to own up to my emotions and failing to speak up to my managers about overworking is a result of my lack of confidence and lack of education when it came to labor laws and labor as a whole. Education is what keeps people moving up and forward in life. The lack of education will only leave you out in the open as a weak-minded person. The economy relies on people with an education to earn money for profit, not gender on its own.

The suffrage, labor rights, and equal rights amendments relate to the right for protection within voting and from the government. Suffrage is the right that people get to vote for something like elections and legislation. Labor rights are legislation for equal opportunities and rights for employment and human rigs within between work and workers. Equal rights amendments are equal rights for American citizens men and women for instance equal protections. The thing that all three have in common is that all three talks about the rights people have and make them suitable for everyone. How labor rights issue gender injustice is within gender-based discrimination and inequality. Also within violence and working opportunities. Women were always put down compared to men because of how society viewed women, especially in the old times like around the 19th century. But now things are changed at different timing and have been making more equal rights for women and men. A historical issue we talked about in this discussion was “The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire” A fire occurred in 1911 because of poor conditions women worked in but because of this sad tragedy led to laws being passed like minimum wage for women and made aware of negative working conditions within manufacturing. These labor laws still impact today’s society because we all to this day benefit from these safety laws. The history brought up in today’s society about labor rights, equal rights had made a big impact based on what occurred in past history and how till this day we fight to get more protection over our freedom and rights, especially as gender-based and women of the world.