The reading THE POWER OF IDENTITY POLITICS by garza expands our understanding of identity politics the concept of identity politics is broad and has been explored and expanded upon by various scholars and activists. Identity politics is the recognition and analysis of how intersecting identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, and class, shape an individual’s experiences of oppression and marginalization. It involves centering the experiences and perspectives of marginalized groups and using those insights to challenge and transform systems of power and oppression. The reading THE POWER OF IDENTITY POLITICS by garza expands our understanding of identity politics shows us what the power of IDENTITY POLITICS

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.

Identity politics is not a difficult idea, but because of how “American conservatives” have corrupted it, it has become somewhat of a “hard-to-define” idea. Power is the root of identity politics, which, as Garza points out, is in no way comparable to what it means to feel empowered. I became aware of the gap between power and what it really meant to feel empowered as I read Garza’s reading. When he compared empowerment to the ability to select what to eat for breakfast, Garza provided a straightforward and relevant analogy that really hit the mark. Power, on the other hand, belongs to those who are in charge of making these options available to us (or not). This expands my understanding of power and demonstrates the need of identity politics since, as Garza writes in her piece, “A lack of understanding of power is central to how power operates.” Our power is not as profound as I formerly believed it to be. During Garza’s reading, she made a strong statement that caused me to pause and consider where power actually exists in our daily lives. This is the statement, “Power prefers to operate in obscurity; if how power operates was fully transparent, I suspect many of us would rebel against it.” Is everything we believe to be power, in particular, a created and managed illusion? Do we really have the ability to make decisions that are solely in our best interests? Identity politics are really important because of this. 

Discussion 11

• How do this week’s readings by Garza and Williams (and Anzaldua if you did the optional reading) expand your understanding of identity politics?
• What topics would you like to explore as a class in the remaining weeks of the semester? Optional: Why these topics?

I feel like identity politics has to do with freedom and equality.The message is trying to give us is to those who feel like they don’t fit in because of their gender or race, everyone is the same and nobody is more than the other because of their knowledge of politics or systems. If anything we should help each other, teach each other to end oppression. Individuals should feel comfortable enough to come out and talk about their stories, their experience,s and what we should work on. Alicia Williams tries to tell us that we cannot judge others by the way they feel or express themselves if we had not experienced the same, we should try to comprehend in other to develop a group of change

How do this week’s readings by Garza and Williams (and Anzaldua if you did the optional reading) expand your understanding of identity politics?

Identity politics is a significant aspect of the size of feminist groups, but it does not explain the importance of how it should be Updated. For example it needs to be updated because it needs to be shown that freedom is for everyone and that feminist groups aren’t here to try to be higher in the patriarchy it just stays how feminist groups want space for everybody, but identity politics started way before I was born and the core definition of identity politics was that it was based on a specific race gender Or social class for it to have a change in society, but I feel they shouldn’t be based on those things it should be based on wanting freedom for all, but in some ways, this movement has excellent stuff because it does seek for people who feel that they are less than or in other words oppressed to feel like they are apart of something that is going to change society but from my understanding it needs to go more in detail on WHO these oppressed people are But identity politics does help enforce change and Improvement in society when it comes to sex and gender and one of their common goals is to help people who feel that they have been discriminated or have not been given a  fAIR  Shots at life for example in the workplace. 

What topics would you like to explore as a class in the remaining weeks of the semester?

The topic I would like to explore and the remaining weeks of the semester is how abortion rights came to be. For example, I didn’t look into the whole case on abortion rights, so I would like to know how it went down. Also, I would like to take a deep dive into gender stereotypes because I feel like when it comes to men, women put stereotypes on men that if you as a man don’t fit those stereotypes, you are deemed feminine, which I feel that’s not the case.

• How do this week’s readings by Garza and Williams (and Anzaldua if you did the optional reading) expand your understanding of identity politics?

The concept of political identity is brought out clearly so that the reader understands the approach and can relate it to fighting agist oppression which has a direct impact on you as a group, and not fighting to end the suffering and oppression of others,identity politics is all about fighting for the rights that affect you as a group with similar problems and not for other people’s suffering. Anzaldua also understands that her individuality has isolated herself from her community. In her culture, women are often expected to fulfill a rigidly defined subservient role in the patriarchy. Anyone who resists this destiny faces ostracization. She describes how she was mocked for studying and how her queerness was considered to be “the ultimate rebellion.” This means that her sense of self is indelibly linked to a culture that rejects central tenets of her being.

• What topics would you like to explore as a class in the remaining weeks of the semester? Optional: Why these topics?

I would like to explore about male early childhood education teachers, because when I was doing an assignments from another class I noticed that the poucentage of women working in the early childhood education field is higher and the pourcentage is really surprising high. 

Kat Gawin 

Prof. Hollis Glaser

GWS 100-1300

Garza and Williams show a complex understanding of how politics are implemented in life. The power that controls. 

Intellectual examples and everyday situations are equally important for understanding Identity Politics. I feel that the movement – Identity Politics – is a part of something that has existed for a long time, but now we put a name to it. We will turn it around for an advantage to help people, not to take away from underrepresented individuals. 

Politics can narrow or take away people’s possibilities. Since power can make decisions about the life of an individual and a group, to be free and happy, people need to state their expectations, tell their stories and represent their lives. Women’s rights and gay rights must have social fairness and be protected. In “The Power of Identity Politics” by Garza, the ignorant white girl in the bar states that the political corrections went too far, and she doesn’t understand that identity is an integral part of politics. She only sees her perspective. She is privileged and pleads no guilt to the history white men made by controlling everything around them. It must be frustrating and infuriating for a black person to hear comments about history that is fake and unfair -like it’s normal. We read, “…identity politics is the radical notion that your experience and history shape your worldview and that those experiences will vary according to the power of a group or individuals in the economy, society or democracy.”

How do this week’s readings by Garza and Williams (and Anzaldua if you did the optional reading) expand your understanding of identity politics?

In order to prioritize freedom for everyone and an extension of inclusion without contrast to biased emancipation that benefits some while enslaving others, identity politics had to be reshaped within feminist groups. A political movement known as “identity politics” is one that was started by a specific group, race, nation, culture, or social class in order to effect change. I believe identity politics is a movement that seeks to freely embrace all oppressed people without excluding anyone or opposing the liberation of the oppressed, according to my understanding of the term. Identity politics helps enforce the power to bring improvement for all, regardless of their race,age, sex, social class, religion, and but not limited to gender. This also everyone to achieve a common goal free from prejudice and discrimination.

What topics would you like to explore as a class in the remaining weeks of the semester? Optional: Why these topics?

A few topics I would like to explore in the remaining weeks of the semester will be the following:

-Abortion rights, Same-sex parenting, Same-sex adoption rights, and Gender stereotypes.