Posts

Jasmine Maldonado: Introduction

Hi! I’m Jasmine, 20 yrs old, originally from Houston, TX. I moved to New York a little over two years ago to follow my love and passion for performing (I’m a musical theatre kid through and through). I graduated from a performing arts conservatory in the fall of 2019. Of course, with the pandemic’s start, I would soon realize that my plans would change and steer me on toward another path. I knew that I would eventually return to school, but I never thought it would look like this or be quite so soon. Nevertheless, I am thrilled to be back in a learning environment, and I hope to have the opportunity to connect with yall through this class.

I have found that staying creative through this time has really been the root of my personal comfort these days. Knowing that even though performing may not be possible right now, “my voice” is not lost. Feeling as though I can still be heard through simple things that I enjoy like photography, music, or painting has allowed me to witness that my own personal creativity is limitless. I have grown more confident and courageous.

Jarlyne Zuniga: DB1

Coming into this class, what are some of your initial impressions of the terms “Feminism”Sexism” and “Gender women studies”?

Some of my initial impressions of the term “Feminism”Sexism” and “Gender women studies” were that, women fights for their equal right(equality) such as same pay rate as men, or career. Sexism is where a person believe that a men because they are muscular and have a penis are superior. where as to a sexist men believes that a woman was made to cook, have kids and provided for man.

This week readings explained these terms by really making me under the meaning of what is women studies. Dr. Guy-Sheftall defines women studies by stating “The simplest way, I think to define it is to say that its like black studies, Chicano studies, gay and lesbian studies. It actually is the study of women and issues surrounding women such as: race, class, gender, sexuality.” before coming to this class I didn’t think how deep we will be getting into women studies. we will also be learning how when women get together , they create an empire . Nothing is more amazing when females are getting along and helping each other.

Reminder! Discussion Board Introduction and Post #1 due by 11:59 PM tonight

dear all,

Please try to post your Discussion Board introduction and Post #1 by the end of the day.  We will go over posting and other details about the site tomorrow in class so bring any questions or problems you are having.

See you tomorrow at 2!
Professor Munshi

Annabeth Stoll: DB1

In “Feminist Politics: Where We Stand Now” by bell hooks, the writer mentions that because feminism was made more acceptable, women no longer needed to fundamentally challenge or change themselves or the culture. I think this is particularly resonant because It is always the easiest option to stay in one place, to fall victim to our “creature comforts.” Without asking questions or raising our voices, there is no path to any actual change. Why are so many women comfortable with being comfortable when there are so many women who aren’t? I think that if you are aware of an inequality or injustice and you have the means, status, class ranking, etc. to use your privileges to lift those without them, feminism truly means that you use them not to your own advantages, but to better the “women’s experience” as a whole.

In Audre Lord’s piece, a concept that I also found interesting is that of social control: that women have only been encouraged to recognize differences between themselves and men. This is ingrained when we are children in elementary school, even with something as innocuous as cooties. Young boys and girls are given the impression that there are imaginary lines between the “two genders.” This is not only detrimental in development for children who do not fit into the gender binary, but gives them the impression that there should be a line in the sand separating male/female. I have found that this has only snowballed the older I get.

Claudia Domfeh-osafo : DB1

coming into this class , what are some of your initial impressions of the terms “Feminism” Sexism” and “Gender women studies”?

When coming into this class my initial impression of feminism was that it meant females fighting for equal rights, they are fighting for the same treatment , pay, career as men. They don’t want to be limited to things because their females.

When it comes to the word sexism , my initial impression of it was being treated differently because your either a female or male.

At first when thinking about gender women studies I really wasn’t sure about what i would learn about or what it’s really about , but when I tried getting more into depth with it , I believe its about females who empower other females and changed certain things in society.

Elba Leon: Introduction

Hello I’m Elba Leon, I’m 19 years old and this is my last semester at BMCC. My major is in psychology, I’m taking this course because I would like to familiarize myself with the subject. I’m a first generation college student in the United States. I’m from a Mexican household and I’m bilingual. I was born in the city and raised in Queens and still reside in this borough. I love New York City because of how incredibly diverse it is.

I usually spend a lot of my time with my small immediate family and my close circle of friends, that usually recharges me, but I also enjoy being left alone as well. Im very much a people person and due to covid-19 it has in a way affected me because I use to interact with others so much.

 My interests included doing nails for myself and others. Which means I could build a nail with polygel and do aprés gel-x and some nail art. In the future I would really want to work as a professional nail technician on my spare time. Im even considering saving up and opening up a nail salon with my friends, who are brilliant!

During the pandemic I have been riding my bicycle, since May 2020, I stay safe and wear my mask correctly any time that I do. I stopped biking in October because it was getting chilly and I managed to rack up 720 miles.

one of my favorite bike trip, from Sunnyside–>Forest Hills–>Fort Lee, NJ and back into Queens.
some polygel and nail art!

Jason Huang: Introduction

Hi guys! My name is Jason and I am a freshman here at BMCC. One thing that is very important to me is Music since I love listening to music and singing. I hope that someday I will be able to perform on stage and make a living off of that. With that being said, a song that brings me comfort is Serendipity by Jimin from BTS. I listened to that song when I was having a hard time in my life and its now something that brings me great joy. Other than music, I also love video games and spending time with my friends. Im pretty basic and while those are my only hobbies as of right now, I think im a pretty fun person to hang around ?. I hope to have a great semester with everyone and lets all pass with an A!

Discussion Board #1 (due 2/8)

Post on Discussion Board #1 (due 2/8)

This week’s readings ask us to think about feminist politics and the politics of difference. We also begin to learn about the formalization of gender and women’s studies as academic fields. For this week’s post, please answer any (not all) of the following sets of questions:

    • Coming into this class, what are some of your initial impressions of the terms “feminism,” “sexism” and “gender and women’s studies?” How do this week’s readings define or explain these terms? Use specific quotes or examples in your response.
    • Both hooks and Lorde address the ways that differences can operate to bring people together or further divide us.  What do they each have to say about ideas of “difference?” How do you see this operating in your own life and/or the world around you?
    • What do this week’s readings have you thinking about? Select a quote from each reading that caught your attention. Discuss the author’s meaning and why these lines stood out to you.

**Instructions on how to post  can be found here.

Please title your post: First Name Last Name: DB 1 and select “DB 1” as the category for your post.

Ashley Concepcion: Introduction

Hello Classmates and Professor Munshi!

My name is Ashley Concepcion, and I am 21 years old. I was born and raised in the Bronx. This is my 4th semester in BMCC, and my major is Liberal arts. In the future I am hoping to graduate with my bachelor’s degree and let life take it from there. During these very difficult times that we are currently enduring I learned to appreciate the little things more than I already did and because of this I find comfort and joy in a lot of things. So, when I’m not doing homework and or studying you can catch me going for long walks, cooking, listening to all types of different music, group FaceTime calls with my best friends (that sadly I haven’t seen in a long time), and spending quality time with family.

I’m thrilled to know I will be learning lots of new things in class, and I wish you all good luck this semester!

Annabeth Stoll: Introduction

Hi Professor Munshi & class! My name is Annabeth Stoll and I’m 27 years old living in Brooklyn. I’m originally from New Jersey but I’ve lived and worked in the city for the past 7 years – time flies!

It’s hard to narrow down what brings me joy in such weird times, because as I’m sure you all have, I’ve had to adapt my everyday drastically in the past year. The things I’d say are keeping me sane are my dog, trying out new recipes (yes, I jumped on the bread baking trend when quarantine started), and Facetime movie dates with my friends. If you ever want to know what my top 5 are, I’ll be glad to talk your ear off about em. 🙂

Here’s a photo of Millie as dog tax – she’s an absolute nut and you might hear her on camera from time to time.