In this week’s assignment I want to talk about the reading “Feminism Is For Everybody” and how we still fight for women’s right and laws on them till this day . Abortion laws made by men in the government on women sexual organs. The right of a women’s sexual organs should be decided by her and not men that know nothing of the struggle. We are still as seen as delicate and weak women that we should not have control of our own bodies.

After watching the video and reading the article I define the term activism is a way people fight for the change of their rights economically, socially, and politically. Activism is the start of a movement to fight or change the rights for a group of people that feel they might betrayed different from others. I watched the Netflix documentary “Crip Camp, A Disability Revolution” which was the start of an activism film that shed light on people with disabilities. The film recreates the lives of people in Camp Jened, a disability camp that fought for their right to be seen and heard. It shows a major historical event that came to bring light to the Disabilities Act. This film goes into detail of Judith Heumann, a camp counselor, she led the disability act movement. Judith was an incredibly strong that she confronted government officials when they try to give little support with “separate but equal” when they made accessible bathrooms, she made it know it was not enough. Judith’s hard work held pave the way for fight of 1990 of the Disabilities Act. These past year have come with a rise of different movements such as Abortion Laws, Black Rights Movements and Movements to Stop ICE. I have engaged in witnessing activism back in the summer when I walked to Planned Parenthood in Astor Place. When walking into the building you could hear the people outside early in the morning, screaming “murderer, “baby killers”, and “you’re going to hell”. This was a form of activism that I don’t agree but in today’s society it has seem too have worked due to the laws the government is trying put out with saying states can change the laws of abortion rights. Another time I engaged in activism was when I walked in the Black Lives Matter walked, it was such a great feeling of knowing I was fighting for something that was right. Activism is the fight of knowing what you believe is right.

Patriarchy is a social system put into society from the very beginning of time. Patriarchy is not an individual identity because many people in society have conformed to the ways as a group instead. In the early years of society it was never fought the idea of patriarchy until a later time when women though they should have the same equal rights. Patriarchy on a personal level creates a narrative that men are superior to women. The idea that women’s role in life is to have children, cook, clean, be quiet, be docile and be emotional. Patriarchy in a cultural sense is that women are meant to be seen as girly and delicate while mean are supposed to look strong and hard at work. Cultural sense of patriarch goes hand in hand with patriarchal society because society bring on these ideas from people cultural views. Institution patriarchy is all levels of politics are male dominated. Women function here within the structures laid down by men. There are laws made by men on women bodies. Such as the abortion laws being set today meaning once again laws being put on their bodies instead of letting women have a choice. This is the patriarchy we still have to follow to this day, that is institutional patriarchy.

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Privilege is an advantage for a person or specific group of people. Privilege in my life is being a first generation hispanic woman in the United States. In Ecuador, I would have lived a life that most girls have over there, I would have been in school then gotten pregnant and have to find a way to support my child over there. The city my family comes from that is the way many of the young girls live and they must cater to their husband. I am very privileged due to the fact I live in New York with amazing opportunities for education and income. My life in the United States is privileged because I have a room over my head, my parents support me, and there is alway food. Oppression is being treated poorly or prevented from have the same opportunities as others. Oppression in my life was portrayed to me at a very early age in my life when I was just 8, I went to a scholarship meeting in the city for colleges and I felt I was not welcomed in like other students being the only hispanic girl in my group. I felt as I was ignored and invisible in a way. This was not my experience but I had a classmate that was told by my catholic all girls school to not wear her headscarf which was part of her religion and they suspended her for a week because she would not go against her religion. This was a huge form of oppression due to the fact they wanted push their beliefs on her or push her away from hers. New York is a “melting pot” for many different races and religions but still so many everyday feel some type of oppression. The video has risen my views for oppression to be for many people not just one group. Many people may feel that they have been oppressed at one point of their lives. After watching the video and reading the articles, oppression and privilege are very much similar just in different point of views. As in when you are privileged you see yourself as above someone due to your circumstances and in oppression you are seen as beneath someone due to what they have that you don’t.

In the essay “Feminist Politics Where We Stand” people have many different idea of what feminism is such as gender equality, freedom to have abortions, rape, domestic violence, equal pay, and equality in a workplace. In my experience coming from a hispanic household there is high amount of people that believe in a machismo way of life. This way of life brings on men dominating their wives, women having to serve for their husbands, women having to take care of children, and husbands choosing the life they want for their wives. As a Latina women, I have seen women being criticized on whether or not they cook for their husband, if they go out with friends, or if they have a job that requires long nights, this is all seen as negative. Before reading the article, I had a clear understanding that feminism is the way women fight for their right to make their own decisions with their body, mind and person to this day. The type of sexual organs you have does not define whether or not you are a value to society or should be seen as someone less then. Gender equality is also a big form of what feminism really is, wanting to be seen as equal to men. In the reading “Gender 101” helps explain the difference between sex and gender and the different details that goes into determining. Before reading the article, I believed that gender is the way someone wants to be seen or referred to as, and sex is made up of your chromosomes at birth and your sexual organs. I now see that both sex and gender are much more complex and very different. Sex of a person is the genetic makeup of their chromosomes such as XX for female, XY for male, and intersex. Sex is the appearance of the external genitalia which can be changed with surgery, hormonal supplements, and suppressants for puberty. Gender is seen as changeable within the groups of gender assignment, gender expression, and gender identity. This brings in the idea of LGBTQ+ which lets people choose how they want to be seen and perceived by others and that is gender identity. Gender expression has to do with the way people style their hair, dress and their makeup.