Identity politics is something personal, defined by the individual’s experience, who then forms a community/ organization based on that experience. I think that it allows food people to self-identify other than what is the norm. Williams ‘ article, gives light to the way in which we are being able to express the growth of William as they do not conform to what has already been placed. And we also see the way that education has changed. For instance, at this moment we are taking the time to educate ourselves on these topics rather than continue being complacent or in the case of Gaza in the opening sounding ignorant (referring to the blonde women). Gaza is right, identity politics can be a rather dangerous concept as there can be extremes that take it to another level. It is something that can’t be defined as one or the other since it offers the freedom for people to choose what then what it is to be given themselves affirmation and a way of creating, reaching their own self-empowerment attempting to release the shacks of oppression. “…identity politics is the radical notion that your world-view is shaped by your experiences and history that those experiences will vary in relationship to the power a group or an individual has in the economy, society, or democracy” (Gaza 190). It makes me think about the AID activism, in which many documented protests had been led by white people and had African Americans participate but only allowed them to be behind them. HIV/AIDS is inseparable from the fight against racism.

Heylee Soto

This week’s reading by Garza and Williams was very interesting. Them introducing their own life experience and things they have been through made the topic much more entertaining. Both readings definitely expanded my knowledge based on identity politics. In the first reading by Garza, she explained how identity politics is a way to make sure that black women are able to freely fight for their rights. Most of them weren’t included when white women were fighting for their freedom. 

IMANE CHAABA
DISCUSSION 11

I liked the article written by Aleichia William and I found this subject of identity politics very common but most people don’t understand the true meaning of it. Most people are living in the same situation as William did but won’t ever get the chance to speak. These people are facing race oppression which means that people will identify their race and origins just by the color of their skin. The case of Alicia is a true reason to prove that this kind of impression is wrong and shouldn’t be normalized in America.

The topics that I would to read about in the upcoming weeks are gender and women, problems that women face because of oppression, and these types of sensitive topics that we don’t normally hear or read about in classes.

I really liked the article by Aleichia Williams “Too Latina to be Black, Too Black to be Latina.” He taught me racial oppression simply because of its origin and how race can be an aspect of oppression. However, your origin does not define who you are, what counts are your values, who you are, your personality and your physique, loving yourself as you are because that way you are unique. They don’t need to fit in or regret being Black because a good-hearted black person is better than an evil white-skinned person.

The “identity” in identity politics shows how America was made by black workers who bore the brunt of all the heavy lifting. How they had a salary that was not enough to eat decently and how they were the ones who went to war to fight for a country that was not theirs simply because having dark skin already meant that you had to be below the white. They sacrificed their lives when they didn’t even give him life insurance as a worker while the white man sat just ordering.

I would like to learn about the rights and the healthcare of Black community.

I enjoyed this week’s readings. By Garza and Williams. I  how they included their own personal experience to explain what they went through. I feel like both readings expanded my understanding of identity politics. In the first reading by Garza, she thoroughly explained how identity politics is a way to make sure that black women are included in the fight for their rights. Most of them weren’t included when white women were fighting for their freedom. 

I’m not sure what topics I would like to explore as a class in the remaining weeks. As of now, I can’t think of anything that I would like to know more about. But maybe my other classmates have some ideas that I would be interested in.

Prior to reading, I had never personally heard of the term ‘identity politics,’ but from the name alone I assumed it had something to do with the debate of how we as humans indentify ourselves via gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, etc. After reading, my understanding is that identity politics is “a politic based on their own experiences and the desire for their own liberation, as opposed to a politic that focused on the liberation of someone else” (Garza 188). It feels like a concept that even after reading is tricky to understand, but I believe it entails zoning in on the fact that even in oppressed groups, there are people who suffer more. The example in the reading that I grasped the best was how black people are oppressed but black women are more oppressed than their male counterparts and even when grouped with other women, they still end up getting the shorter end of the stick. Though it did seem difficult to grasp at first, when reading about identity politics multiple and complex definitions, I completely understood the example about America being based off white identity politics.

I’m not sure what topics I would want to explore during our final weeks of the semester, because I also can’t believe how quickly this semester flew by. I feel like I’ve learned a lot in this class and have actually been able to talk about it in real life to people because it just feels like one big mind opener after the other with each passing week. I honestly don’t feel educated enough to even recommend a topic I would want to take a deeper delve into because I’m not sure what would go best with our class flow.

“Identity politics is both simple and hard to define, partially because it’s been so demonized by American conservatives. Because identity politics is ultimately a political concept, to fully understand why identity politics is important, we should start by defining power”(Garza 186). When I think about the term Identity politics, I think about the way one follows certain “politics” based upon who and how they identify as. I added the previous line from the text because something that stood out to me was Garza saying that identity politics is a political concept. Although there are certain political concepts, set down and applied, ultimately an individual is who decides what they will do based upon what they resonate with/believe in. It got me into thinking about how it influences ones day to day life. Things like religion and culture are playing a role when it comes down to identity politics because they are things that influence ones way of living. In other words, aside from what we decided to live by, it can also be things that society will look at and “paint a picture” of who and how we are as an individual being. A lot of people can often feel out of place when they try to identify who they are. Society could tell them a certain image they believe a person to be while others can paint a different perspective on them. An example could be seen in the reading “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black To Be Latina” where a bi-racial person takes us to see some of the struggles they have faced when it came down to how society can see them vs how they feel.

Hello classmates and Professor …I think this week’s reading did help further my understanding of identity politics.  THE power of identity politics explains why black women have to have their own political group I believe for example the Combahee River Collective. The Collective feel like white feminist movement and many other civil rights movements were not addressing their particular needs as Black women or even Black lesbians. So, it explains the importance of black femist groups strictly supporting themselves. Interlocking oppression explains how differences amongst peoples (sexual orientation, class, race, age, etc.) creates oppression for black women.

The second story Too Latina to Be Black, Too Black to Be Latina shows a good example of discrimination within your own people. Aleichia Williams the author has a darker complexion then most of the Hispanic people in her school. In her school there is a little gang war going on between the black people and Hispanic. She is not really picking a side, she is neutral. I like how she understands she is black and Hispanic and just because her skin isn’t as light as all the other Spanish girls she is still just as Hispanic and isn’t ashamed to be brown skin. To me it sets the Spanish and black people behind so much to have a gang war against each other. In general, we are supposed to find ways to work together and make things better for one another and learn new things. 

Something that would be interesting to talk about are gender studies on sports like in the Olympics, NBA , or soccer. What do women dominate the most in as a sport … why do transgender men compete with women in sports sometimes. I recognize in some sports mix teams are okay like tennis. A man and women can team up to defeat another mixed team. Was things always fair in sports for women? Is Soft ball the women’s version of  baseball? Do women get the same amount of respect in the WNBA than men? Are they taken care of as much as the men in the NBA. Every year there is a NBA finals why don’t we hear about the WNBA finals.  

Identity Politics matters-it changes a way that we get use to see through people or how society labels them. By defining who you are and what culture influences you so that you can introduce yourself to the world. There are lives for majority/mainstream lifestyles which is also how society considers as normal, usual lifestyle. That’s why Identity politics matters because in this way, you will let other people know besides the mainstream lifestyle, there are other lifestyles; besides straight women and men, there are gay, bisexual, queer and lesbians. And by defining us more clearly, can give us the power also take back the right to label ourselves.

Aleichia Williams’ article “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black to be Latina” reminds me of HAPA group. HAPA is a hawaiian word to refer to people who are mixed races and ethnicities. Among the HAPA reddit forum, I read their experiences like they feel like either of the races group don’t consider as their people since they only have half ethnicity and the race group doesn’t feel like they are pure enough, always think they are different. HAPA kids feel very confused when they were kids because they don’t know why people don’t hangout with them. Certainly once it is becoming common or a city is international enough to see people with different backgrounds and races , HAPA kids would know that they are welcomed too.

For the coming weeks, I do like to learn more economy about feminism, and how society discipline women and other minorities.

In “The Power of Identity Politics” by Alicia Garza defines the term “identity politics” as “a way to describe the lived experiences of people who are not white, heterosexual, cisgender men. The “identity” in identity politics is a way of describing what it means to live outside what has been defined as the norm in the United States” America was built on white identity politics. From the creation of this country, white cisgender heterosexual christian men have been exploiting and murdering all other races. America was built on the backs of Black women, and Black men played a huge role in the war fighting for America’s independence.She shares that the idea of “identity politics” has been demonized by conservatives because it threatens their status quo, power and way of life. She cites the Combahee River Collective for first bringing forth the idea of “interlocking oppressions” as black lesbian feminists. The different layers of oppression interact with each other to shape how we experience the world, and that is why things like race, gender and sexuality cannot be left out of the conversation.

Aleichia Williams’ article “Too Latina To Be Black, Too Black to be Latina” resonated with me because I’ve had similar social struggles as a bi-racial person. I am Asian and Latinx, and I’ve never been “enough” for either side. This was exacerbated on both sides of my extended family because my sister and I were the ONLY mixed ethnicity/race individuals on either side. In school, most friend groups were made up of people of the same ethnicity or race that flocked together. Because I am biracial and ONLY speak English, I was often seen as “Fake Asian/Latinx” and regularly socially excluded/ostracized. Race can be an aspect of oppression and being multi-racial can add nuances to that, especially depending on whatever race you read as to the public and your peers. Like Williams, I am now learning to embrace all parts of my identity, and not let people invalidate it and shove me in a box. 

As for future topics, I would love to delve more further into  gender + disability justice and healthcare discrimination/dismissal of (BIPOC and fat) women.
I would also love to talk more about and hear others’ thoughts on the ideas that “Real Men eat meat” and “Vegetarianism is feminine/emasculating/just for women”
Where do you think this comes from? What are the implications of these gender stereotypes?