I truly admire Rebecca Gompert’s efforts to provide abortion pills to those who need them. I think it’s ridiculous that she has to do that in the first place, but still, it’s heartwarming. These readings and the video just prove that women should be able to have abortions if they need one. After reading the readings, I started to look up which countries banned abortions. I was actually surprised to see that Jamaica was one of them. I was broken-hearted to see that my country was one of many that refused to give women the right to an abortion. I shouldn’t have been surprised, though. While the country is very beautiful, it has many faults, and its views on the LGBTQ and women are the biggest. I’ve seen everyone’s true colors since it was revealed that the case might be overturned. I’ve even unfollowed a few people after hearing them spew nasty things about women who choose to have abortions. 

Amidst this whole case, I fear for not only my future but for the next generation of young girls and women. This must be a frightening time for them. I think of all the young girls who were molested and would be forced to carry the baby full term. How is abortion a moral issue? Why should rape victims have to bear the children of their attackers? Why should a woman have a baby if she doesn’t want it? Why should women who suffer miscarriages have to get their past dug up? Doesn’t all of that sound immoral? As I was watching the video, I kept thinking there should be federal funds allocated to planned parenthood. I think this shouldn’t be a discussion. 

When I was reading this week’s reading, I realized just how inspiring and thought-provoking art can be. Some of history’s most important events have been depicted through art. While we have books and papers from that era, I believe art speaks for itself. Art lives on in museums for all time, to be examined by future generations who may interpret it differently. For example, in the Renaissance, The Catholic church was always depicted in art, and during that time, people began to depict various aspects of life. It weakened the Catholic Church’s position. Taboo topics and new ideas are sparked by art. That’s what makes art so influential.

I was mesmerized by the art pieces shown in “10 Female Performance Artists You Should Know.” It was unusual, but I liked how different they were. I found it interesting when Caroline Schneeman said, “Art history is dominated by images of nude women, created by men.” Then the article said her art was controversial because of her nudity. It reminds me of a discussion I had in my media class about the male gaze. Men love to profit off of women’s bodies, but it’s not okay when a woman does it. What makes the male gaze or voyeurism so appealing is that the women are usually unaware. My professor pointed out that many nude portraits of women do not show them looking back. They’re looking away. We talked about how it was because it gave men pleasure to know they were seeing something they shouldn’t for their own sexual pleasure. If the women in those portraits were staring right at them, it would intimidate them. I think that is why Schneeman’s art was considered controversial: it intimidated men to see a woman use her body as art.

This week’s articles made me think about a Seinfeld episode I watched years ago. One of the main characters, Elaine, went to the doctor, and she read in her chart that a previous doctor complained about her because she refused to put on a gown. Throughout the episode, we see her visit multiple doctors to see the mole that she was concerned about, but she was turned away. all while they wrote new things about her in the chart. While the episode was hilarious, it’s a very real problem in the healthcare industry. I think it’s ridiculous that all the doctors in the city could just turn you away because of one little thing written on a chart. Doctors have way too many liberties. This is someone’s life that they are messing around with. This reminds me of when I was in 4th grade. We were talking about possible careers. The usual “what do you want to be when you grow up?” question. Many kids said they wanted to be doctors or nurses. My teacher had a very serious conversation with us after that. I didn’t think that much of it, but as I grew older, I realized how right she was. She told us that if we wanted to be doctors, we couldn’t be biased. Being a doctor, you have another person’s life in your hand. You could even come across those who have wronged you or people you just don’t like. Then you’re faced with the decision of whether to help them or not. Doctors and nurses are faced with these problems every day. So she told us that if we aren’t capable of letting things go and we would consider letting someone we don’t like die, then we shouldn’t pursue a career in healthcare. A lot of kids changed their minds after that class. Hatred, pettiness, and vengeance have no place in a hospital, she said. If you think about how much power doctors have, it makes you wonder why they aren’t checking to see if these future nurses and doctors are biased.

I was intrigued by the article “Too Latina to Be Black, Too Black to Be Latina.” It acknowledges how many mixed people feel as if they have to be one or the other. And how they sometimes realize they won’t be able to fit in with either side. I think this is definitely why we need identity politics, so people like Aleicha Willaims will have people who have the same experiences right alongside her fighting for justice. So they can have a voice. In Jamaica, I noticed that this occurs with so many different minorities. Like the Chinese and the Indians, a lot of them get treated poorly over there. even though most of these people have lived there their whole lives. They’re Jamaican, but they are still treated a certain way because they don’t look like everyone else. There are so many stereotypes that are said about them.  Slurs are also used against Indians. One in particular that I’ve heard my family use casually. I even started using the word until I found out a few years back that it was a slur used to describe Indian people. I believe it is simply ignorance and what we have learned from those around us. In the article, she describes how New York was different and paid no mind to her being different, but that in South Carolina, they saw you only as “Black, Mexican, or White.” Certain people in certain areas aren’t used to seeing people who look different, so they torture them for it instead of trying to learn more about them. 

After this week’s reading, I thought a lot about how people treat black women. Something I noticed that’s very common in black households is the shaming of young black girls. When a black girl reaches a certain age and begins to develop her body, her mother becomes more hostile towards her. I’m not sure where it came from, but I’ve noticed the pattern. We’re often told to cover up, especially when certain family members come over. This is probably why there are so many black women who were “touched” as children growing up. When I was a preteen, I wasn’t even allowed to wear tights because people might look at me. That never made any sense. The problem wasn’t me. It’s the grownups who think it’s okay to look at a child’s body. Black girls are often taught to be ashamed of their bodies. When I got my period, I was always told to hide my box of pads or pretend that I was sick and not on my “period.” For years, “period” was a dirty word among guys, and my family frequently tried to hide our menstrual cycles from the men in our family for fear of making them uncomfortable. But periods are normal, so we shouldn’t have to hide them. Many of my friends had the same experience too, being told that their cycles were shameful. I find it rather ironic that we get treated that way growing up because it’s the complete opposite as we get older. Nowadays, a black woman has to be sexualized to be deemed attractive. Especially if you are dark-skinned. By society’s standards, we have to have voluptuous curves, big breasts, and a big butt to be pretty. We have to have a buss down weave or an afro with loose curls. We have to look perfect all the time. We can’t do messy buns. The world is very biased towards black women, and they need to do better. This isn’t a society that I would want to raise my future children in. I hope we see more movements fighting for us in the coming years.