Melissa Valle Discussion #9 

Womens liberation is often thought of as a movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s, one that has been accomplished and is now a thing of the past. Womens liberation is still as impressive today and the women who participated in the movement are still making history. A liberated woman is an empowered woman. She is free to pursue her own interests, ambitions, and goals in her life. She is free to be herself and not be defined by her role as a wife or mother. She is free to be strong and speak her mind. 

These two articles show that “the personal is political” because women were being portrayed as needing to have intimacy in their relationship. “The personal is political” is a phrase use during the 1960s and 1970s to express any kind of power in relations not just in government or elective officials. This is in the article where women must compromise to either fake an organism just not to make their partner feel any less by hurting their feelings.  

In the article of The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm” another example that shows that liberated women are important and show the personal is political if women are not sexually attracted to men these men end up shaming or mentally abusing them. In my psychology class I read that Freud’s recommended the cure for women who were frigid was to put them in a mental institution because they were “suffering” within themselves and failed at being normal woman. This can be based on personal, politics because when a woman broke their roles of being a homemaker society believed that this was a mental illness that needed to be cured. I cannot even imagine living that life.  

The fight for labor rights and the fight for women’s suffrage are two of the most pivotal movements in American history. The right to vote and the right to bargain collectively have the power to directly impact the lives of millions of people. When women gained the right to vote, they leveraged that power to advocate for equal pay, workplace protections, and labor rights for women. Today, women’s labor rights are still synonymous with women’s rights.Women’s labor rights are fundamentally connected to women’s rights. Women’s rights are the rights of women to be free from discrimination, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to have equal rights and opportunities with men. Because women are primarily responsible for providing for the needs of the family, their rights are often intertwined with the rights of others to be free from oppression. Through their labor, women have traditionally contributed to the American economy, which has allowed them to make decisions concerning the allocation of their time and resources.

To many people, the fight for women’s suffrage is synonymous with the fight for women’s rights. It is often forgotten, however, that the women’s suffrage movement was also a fight for racial equality. Many of the white women who led the suffrage movement were outspoken supporters of racial equality who worked alongside Black women to fight for women’s suffrage. Today, we are still learning the stories of Black women in the suffrage movement. 

The fight for women’s rights has been one of the defining social movements of the past century. The story of the women’s suffrage movement, which culminated in the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, has been told and retold over the years. But the story has typically focused on the experiences of white women in the movement, leaving untold the experiences of Black women. This is a significant omission, given the vital role that Black women played in the suffrage movement. 

When most people think of the women’s suffrage movement, they think of Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and other white women who led the fight for women’s voting rights. But Black women played a significant role in the fight for women’s rights, too. In fact, some of the most important strategizing that led to the passage of the 19th Amendment—which gave women the right to vote—was done by Black women. The untold stories of the Black women in the suffrage movement are important because they help us better understand the history of the women’s rights movement and because they can inspire others, especially young women of color, to get involved in the fight for women’ 

Melissa. Valle Discussion #6

How do I define activism after doing the reading and watching the film?  I define activism as a community or a group of people coming together to fight for what they believe in and their rights, in making a difference in the world.

The movie that I watched was Crip Camp a Disability Revolution. It took place in the early 1970’s and it was a camp for teenagers with disabilities.   Who were facing a future shaped by isolation, discrimination and institutionalization.  The camp was named Camp Jened, was located in the Catskills and it was only for handicapped teens.  At this camp no one was discriminated against, because they all were the same to each other.  They all would act just like themselves and have a great time.  Thy felt comfortable at the camp because no one would ridicule them.  The counselors had them all interact in the activities.  When it was time for them to go home they would all be sad because they know they would have to wait another year to feel like they belong and important. Judy Heumann was a wheelchair user she was a counselor at the camp.  She then became an activist for the Independent Living Movement.  She and her disabled colleges risked their lives by sleeping on the floors without medical necessities.  She wanted people with her to demand what they needed.  Judy Heumann has improved accessibility and opportunities for an estimate 56 million people. It’s crazy how they had no way of traveling or anything that was wheelchair accessible she had to get into a van in order to get anywhere with her wheelchair. She struggled and fought to secure disability civil rights in the united states.  Just so they can live a fuller life and have their dignity.  She even fought for the train stations to have wheel chair accessibility.   She even became a disability rights advocate and served in the Clinton and Obama Administration.

I have never been involved in any activism.  But that doesn’t mean that I have no interest in it.  List a few ways that you can realistically engage in activism around gender justice?  We can share and listen to each other try to recruit because we are better in number. Teach the children and adult the meaning of gender justice. We can ensure equal access regarding education.  Empower each other end violence and sexual assault on women. Oh I can go on forever.

Melissa. Valle Discussion #5 

The 1^st reading “Patriarchy, the system” educated and explained to me the meaning of the word.  The understanding is that the word patriarchy is related to men because it identifies that all men are automatically oppressive. Johnson made me realize that there are stereotypes and misconceptions of the word that the world has about the word. T. Maybe because there are many distinct levels of meaning. People will misinterpret what you might be saying. We are all shaped by the system and shaped by society. Knowing that we did not create the system our existence has perpetuated it. We all have played a part in this system without realizing it, subconsciously or unconsciously. I think if we all become more educated and realize what Is going on we can all make a change but only if we speak up about it. How about we educate ourselves and make our own system of educating people on the right meaning? 

“There is no Hierarchy of Oppressions” Audre Lorde is so smooth with her writing.  Audre speaks about oppression and the intolerance that comes in all types of forms and shapes. To be free from oppression one needs to take on all the forms of oppression. Audre states “I simply do not believe that one aspect of myself can profit from the oppression of any other part of my identity.”  Any one of us can be oppressed but that does not make us any less important to be heard. My understanding she is explaining that intersectionality meaning “because you are a minority you get special treatment in the eyes of some” These are all aspects of identify and these identities can overlap. Audre Lorde educates us that all oppression’s must be recognized and fought against. Oppression is all around us, it is important to understand a person’s feelings regardless of what they are.