In bell hooks’ essay, Feminist Politics Where We Stand Feminism is defined as a movement to end sexism, sexist expoitation and oppression. My understanding of this definition is that feminism aims to repurpose women’s current role in America as the history of the population has withheld an inferior standard when it comes to education, the workforce, and what is expected at home due to the sexist patriarchal ideologies which have caused us to ultimately feel oppressed. Hooks urges for an ending sexist thinking and action which can come about from both men and women. Men have obtained their dominant role in society because of the ideas such as the primarily “Christian” culture that is followed which depicts what households should look like and has set the tone for the insubordination of women. These ideas lend no leeway towards the evolution of what our roles look like today, where women make up the majority of the population that get college degrees etc. Women also have to acknowledge ways in which we can be sexist and therefore oppressive to ourselves by competing with one another and therefore getting in the way of the power in sisterhood that is required for this movement to be abundantly successful in its cause.

As hooks’ mentions in her essay, I was one of the many that had the notion of Feminism regarding mainly anti-men values due to mainstream media so her definition really broadened my knowledge on the topic. Prior to reading I had some knowledge about women fighting for gender equality- equal pay for equal work and sometimes women and men sharing household and parenting responsibilities but the topic as whole felt exhausted by the idea of a movement that seemed to focus solely on the anger towards the patriarchal values thus hating men that clouded the opportunity for me to engage with the feminist idea that I feel hooks’ has allowed through this chapter. In my years as a performer, I remember when actress Emmy Rossum from HBO’s Shameless won a highly publicized battle for equal pay with co-star William H. Macy in 2016 where I felt blown away by her courage as I can admit to feeling small in the business when it came to standing up in terms of finances in contracts because it’s almost ingrained in you to take what you get to a certain extent especially when you’re starting out and trying to make it. That aspect of the business never sat with me well so it made her that much more admirable to me and I remember it feeling monumental to witness how she exercised her feminist right in doing so.

In reading Sex & Gender 101, I again felt a broadening of my perspective of the topic of gender as I associated the word gender primarily with one’s assign sex. I had previously learned in Biology that it was possible for someone to be born with just one sex chromosome (XO) or an extra (XXY,XYY,XXX) but the explanation ended there. This article was able to provide information on the fact that gender can actually be broken down to three categories as opposed to just the one including gender assignment, gender identity, and gender expression and each explanation was very straight forward and appreciated the clarification. As someone that plans on becoming a parent sometime in the near future the topic of sex and gender is something thats always come to mind because I’ve felt unprepared in having to confront it from a parental role and this article initiated a step towards knowledge that I feel is required for knowing how to guide the following generations with compassion and support.

My name is Arianda and this is my third semester at BMCC. My parents are from the Dominican Republic but I was born here in New York. I have four sisters and the pronouns I go by are she/her. During quarantine 2020, I suffered a wrist fracture that would end up changing the trajectory of my life, for the better, as the months spent rehabilitating post-surgery inspired my return to school as an adult-learner at 33 years old towards an eventual Occupational Therapy degree. Prior to this return, I pursued a career in the Performing Arts as a singer, dancer, actor for the majority of my life. Shortly after graduating High School, I was cast in the national tour of Rent the musical as lead- Mimi Marquez. After traveling as an artist for a year, I found it difficult to sit at a desk and attend College as all I wanted to do was perform. With my parents’ blessing, I decided to forego school at the time and hit the ground running as a triple threat. I went on to reprise the role in the 2011 Off-Broadway revival of Rent and was later cast on Orange is the New Black seasons 4 and 5.

I decided to enroll in this course to learn about the cultural and historical production of sexual difference especially women. I would also like to better understand the origin of our rights and footprints in history. I’m looking forward to taking everything that this course has to offer through the readings and assignments. As an artist at heart, I struggle with perfectionism and have to remember to be gentle with myself and accept doing my best. I’m very grateful to have found a new path for my life where I feel so aligned with myself just like I did in the performing arts. I never imagined that I would find something I was passionate about since then so every accomplishment in my school journey is a very big deal to me. My mother migrated from the Dominican Republic at age twenty and worked very hard as an immigrant to not only learn English but also get an education. She became a Physical Therapist’s Assistant and so my journey back to school and with the career goal I have in mind is sort of a full-circle moment or will be when I graduate one day. To have been led towards getting an education in a field where I will one day be able to use my knowledge to help others alongside my artistic gifts is what fuels me to continue pushing towards my dreams.