The equal rights movement the labor rights movement came about for a change. As women, we need to fully understand what the movements are about and how we can equally help each other make change happen. Then there was Phyllis Schlafly, who opposed the ERA movement because she described ERA as “an attack on the rights of a wife.” Schlafly was conflicted because she believed the ERA movement would threaten traditional gender roles. She also thought the movement would promote abortion, same-sex marriage, and the possibility of women being drafted into the military. Schlafly to me seemed to be a woman stuck in her old way and what she believed only. There was no thought of possibly looking at this amendment as a benefit for other women that have yet to see a change. The movement was for the reason to change to see it for women that believed there was more than just being a housewife a choice. In the end, she still campaigns for Trump, which tells you a story.

The labor rights movement, which was more of a gender issue, was placed for women exploited by factory owners who took advantage of these women who came to the country not knowing any English. These women endured grueling hours of labor. On March 11th, 1911, a fire broke out in the triangle shirtwaist factory. The fire killed 146 people, the highest death rate at the workplace before 9/11. There were preventable measures, but the factory owners did not look after their workers. After the deaths, there were protests held on 5th avenue, with about 350,00 protesters asking for safer work environments. The factor owners were indicted for manslaughter but later declared not guilty. The fire helped change the American industrial workplace and supported labor unions’ growth, especially the “International Ladies Garment Worker’s Union.” The union helped install sprinklers in the workspaces and pushed state and national workplace safety forward. Even after all of this, my mother worked as a seamstress in NYC around 34th street. In the early 80s, there was a lot of factory work. With this came many employers ready to exploit all immigrant women who needed to work to support themselves in an unfamiliar country. My mother worked long hours and barely made 50cents per garment and not to mention she was pregnant with my older brother. Employers don’t care; they need work done quickly and efficiently. Long hours not break and no raise. I remember my mom telling me she was terrified to ask for a raise because of the fear of being terminated. Equal rights, labor rights, should have been addressed a long time ago, but America loves its cheap labor so they can see their highest income gross. It’s despicable if you ask me. Women should encourage women to help fight for what is right, but sadly there will always be someone that doesn’t understand the entire picture.

Reading through the articles thus far has truly helped me better understand the struggle for equality. From the “one hundred years towards suffrage” To the “untold stories of black women in the suffrage movement.” The stories of these women fighting to be heard and given the right to express their opinion. The accounts of women just being settled as homemakers isn’t all that they do. There is much more intellect in women. Black women that were slaves turned activist is genuinely inspiring. After all the mistreatment they faced, they still managed to find a will to try to change what they had experienced. They were placed in a predicament to be oppressed, but they did not do it. Women like Sojourner Truth delivered one of the most famous abolitionists and women right’s speeches in American history, “Ain’t I a woman?” She was later turned away from voting in 1872. We have another inspiring women Harriet Tubman who was known as an emancipator who led hundreds of enslaved people to freedom along the underground railroad. Tubman was a supporter of women’s suffrage, giving speeches about her experiences as an enslaved woman. She was the first to push forward the women’s right to vote. Women need to continue to inspire each other and join forces to seek the change that needs to be done to find equality to live a prosperous life.

How do I define activism after reading and watching the film? I define activism as a group of individuals pushing through their fight for justice in what they believe in to make a change.

The film that I watched was “united in anger.” This film shows real-life moments that activists from ACT UP (the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) group together, men, women of all races and classes, came together as a force to change the world and save each other’s lives. The ACT UP group was formed in the basement of Manhattan’s lesbian and gay community center. Their focus was to address the AIDS epidemic. They needed the government to push forth medical research, treatment, and advocacy. Many people were dying from AIDS, and no one was listening. The FDA was not approving medications for patients diagnosed with AIDS. On October 11, 1988, ACT UP had one of the most successful demonstrations when they successfully shut down the FDA to show that they wanted change now because people were dying as they spoke. They demanded the FDA to have the experimental drugs readily available and distributed fairly. The cost of these drugs was high and remains high. The medication cost can range from 1,800-4,500 per month for the patient’s lifetime. The thought of the cost of this medication is mind-blowing; one of the quotes that hit me was when an ACT UP member heard that some of the people against them say, “it was gay people just getting what they deserve.” This statement is revolting. People live their lives how they want and when the tables are turned, they want to judge others because they choose to love who they want to love doesn’t make them less human.
I have never participated in activism. I was invited to join the black lives matter rallies, but I didn’t get the chance to go. One of the reasons for that was my parent’s fear of me being hurt or targeted in these rallies. During the peak of the COVID pandemic, one of the largest rallies in New York City was happening, but many people were being arrested, tased, and pepper-sprayed. It was out of control. The way I saw, I could help post on social media, but I learned then that not many of my friends or family members understood what I was advocating for, and they unfriended me and vice versa. The whole thought about black lives matter vs. all lives matter is true, but the black lives matter stemmed from the oppression of black people in the United States. The fact that black people were being shot and killed around the U.S without being armed or a threat to society baffled me, and I had to advocate for them on social media. Being united for the cause to find the middle ground for everyone is where I want to be. There is so much injustice in the world that, at times, I feel discouraged, but many people are trying to find a way to help and push forth fairness and equality, and it’s truly admirable.

It is essential to recognize patriarchy as a system and not an individual identity because it’s a socio-political system. The framing patriarchy as individual means men are privileged and dominate groups because we live in a patriarchal society. Men might not feel privileged, but they are. The patriarchy is a social system where men control primary power and predominate in political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and property control. In the reading of Allan Johnson, “Patriarchy the system,” he explains that we should see things more clearly, the patriarchy is a system that includes cultural ideas about men and women, the intertwining of relationships that structure social life, and the unequal distribution of power, rewards, and resources that underlines privilege and oppression. We need to be more resistant to society not to force what we do not want.
Audre Lorde speaks about the intersectional thought behind oppression. In the reading of “there is no hierarchy of oppression,” Lorde wants us to know that there is not just one single problem but multiple. She explains that she is black in and within that Black community, she is a lesbian, and any attack against Black people is a lesbian and gay issue. There are just the factors; if it’s not one thing they pick apart, it is another. We as a society need to make the change. I was conversing with a friend who informed me about the offensive terminology that plumbers use to give you an example; there was “female fitting” and “male thread. I did go with the lightest of their terminology. The language is both ways because it is intimate and shouldn’t be used in a work setting. I would consider their vocabulary a form of oppression in a work setting that should be changed. There have been ongoing debates about whether the plumber’s terminology should change or stay the same since it has always been the same. I hope there can be a change because I find their terminology disgraceful.
In the end, we have to find the change we need to have roles be equal to give everyone the right to be respected as who they are and want to be. Given the opportunity of change can lead to many significant events in society. Oppression surrounds our everyday lives without being fully aware. We need to fully understand what we can do to help each other in every possible setting.

As a Mexican American, I experience privilege by the simple fact I was born in the United States. I had access to better education, healthcare, housing, and clothing. You don’t become self-aware of what you have until you take a step back see it all as a whole. Also, making a trip out to the ranch where my parents were born and learning about their struggles allowed me to know how lucky I was growing up. Even now, there are still so many struggling. They worked countless hours of hard labor to keep a roof over our heads. Acknowledging and always being grateful to your parents for all their hard work is a great way to show appreciation. Typically Mexican parents don’t want us to thank them because they did it for our future and their unconditional love.

I have experienced oppression is by not being able to hold a relationship and settling down. The comment usually comes from male family members and not from my immediate family. They come to think if you’re a certain age, you need to be married with two or three kids. If you’re not, something is wrong with you. When I was reading Marilyn Frye’s, Oppression, I felt her words when she said oppression of women is like a “bird in a cage.” You think you’re being set to act and accept what society asks of you; if not, you’re being defiant. They look at the women as objects used to procreate and listen to what they tell you to do. A life that I choose not to live. I can quickly settle, but I want more than that and a partner that truly understands the struggles of women and vice versa. No man should have the right to make you feel less or try to see everything in their perspective without allowing you to see it in yours.

Privilege is defined as a special right, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group. I agree with this definition. I know I have the privilege to work and go to school in America, but I also see the privilege that white Americans receive. By being white, they can get away with a lot in America. You can earn a spot without working hard. I find it unfair because ethnic people have to work ten times harder to obtain a place. Many call it white privilege.