Author Archives: Nasser Ali

Nasser Ali – Reading Reflection 10

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I loved reading both articles this week as I feel like I see examples of these things all the time. It is incredibly difficult to be mixed, and people will constantly invalidate you. It is sad that people would gatekeep you from your culture in such a way. In a sense, if these people were right and you aren’t really a member of the ethnicity you’re mixed with, then you belong nowhere. It’s sad and doesn’t make any sense to me, but that’s how mixed people are treated. You cannot be a true member, but you can still experience all the racism.

The article covering identity politics reminded me of all the times I’ve heard people talk about race in the sense that if you bring it up, you’re part of the problem. It’s an awful way to feel, especially coming from a white person who doesn’t have the same experience and benefits from a lot of their ancestor’s actions toward people of color. It’s essential to talk about and recognize these things if we want to make anything better. If you claim to not see a person’s race or do not want to see their race, you’re not seeing them for who they are if they identify with that.

Nasser Ali – Discussion 11

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I really liked this week’s readings, as I feel like they really taught me a lot more than what I knew before about identity politics. I wasn’t aware that it was made by Black feminists, I’m really happy to have learned that, but it sucks that it feels like another thing that Black feminists have done that I personally feel goes under the radar, but I’m honestly not sure if how I feel is what’s really known. I love the context and intentions of them creating identity politics, and it’s something that I will hold onto going forward.

I hope to learn more about gender and identity politics going forward, including the deep dives into feminism. I really love learning about it and I feel like it is really important to understand, especially right now when so many people refuse to get behind a lot of these things, regardless of them being genuinely good for everyone.

Nasser Ali – Reflection 8

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This week we covered the liberated women and Women’s Liberation, in addition to The Myth of the Vaginal Orgasm. I thought these topics were really interesting to learn about, and I feel like I have seen examples of a lot of these values and perspectives in people I’ve met before. It’s so true that men are not used to doing a lot of the housework that we see people expect women to do, and I feel like that starts from a very young age. When I was a kid, I would help my sister with a lot of the housework as my mom would always assign things to her without assigning them to my brother and me. It was frustrating and unfair, and honestly, I feel like that’s the reason a lot of the men in my family don’t know how to do a lot of basic things, or at least not well. It’s unfortunate and I think it’s a great thing for women to bring up, especially when they are married. There is really no reason that their husbands shouldn’t be able to learn how to clean just as well as anyone else. I’ve also seen countless men talk about women and their orgasms as if they know their anatomy so well, which is just incredibly frustrating.

Nasser Ali – Discussion 9

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To my understanding, a liberated woman is a woman who pushes for equality not just for the group, but for the individual at home. I think that the liberated women would be important for women’s liberation as it expresses how a lot of the politics behind these things are not just present on a group scale, but affects the individual and their life at home. It pushes forward a lot of the values even further so that a lot of the problems that are fought for in the first place don’t continue to bleed into the household.

I believe that these two pieces show that the “personal is political” by representing issues that affect women as individuals rather than as a group, and explaining how they are tied to society and patriarchy. The articles do a great job of breaking this down and showing us exactly where these things come from, and how it is not just things that have to do with women or are women’s problems alone. Bringing this issues to light helps us show people that politics end up affecting women in even the most personal ways.

Nasser Ali – Reading Reflection 7

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This week we learned about suffrage, ERA, and labor rights. I remember learning about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire a few years ago. It’s incredibly disturbing, especially knowing how preventable it was. Honestly, it reminds me of a lot of other instances where there were disasters, in which the deaths were preventable. One consistency I’ve noticed between a lot of these events is one thing; the disregard for human life. It’s awful that things like this have to happen for change to occur, but unfortunately, it makes sense. It’s difficult to fight against oppression, and sometimes, horrible things need to happen before people fight for their basic human rights. However, even with a lot of the changes in the last century, a lot of these problems are still present, practically worldwide. I feel like there needs to be a new movement, something that can impact people’s rights and general well-being on an international level.

Nasser Ali – Discussion 8

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I think that suffrage, labor rights, and the equal rights amendment are all related as they are amendments fought for the purpose of giving women and working people the rights they deserve. They are also all related as when one was obtained, it paved the path for the others to be obtained as well. Labor rights are a gender-related issue as well because you can be discriminated against based on your gender, even regarding your work and labor. It’s no question about how poorly women have been treated in the workplace. This hasn’t only been true in the past, but it’s true today, especially in male-dominated workplaces. I’ve known many software engineers with an abundance of horror stories of their sexist experiences with their peers and their bosses. I feel that any male-dominated workplace is a nightmare for not just women, but anyone who isn’t a man.

Nasser Ali – Reflection 3

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I really liked the topic for this week. I felt that the readings and video were perfect to explain and show the forms that privilege and oppression come in. It also helped me further reflect on my own privilege and the different ways that I feel oppressed. Overall I’m grateful for this course as I feel that it helps me think more deeply not just about myself, but about a lot of these issues that need changing. I really loved how the video visually shows you the different levels of privilege and oppression that people experience. It also shows you how these people reflect on that, and how they view their peers in the experiment. I think it’s a good way to be conscious not just of yourself, but other people who may be more or less privileged or oppressed than you are. For a lot of them, it was a cathartic experience that they did not expect to have. It was interesting seeing their different opinions on their own privilege as well.

Nasser Ali – Discussion 4

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This week we watched a video titled “What is Privilege?” by the Youtube channel As/Is. I love these kinds of videos and I think they can really teach us a lot. I feel that there are many privileges that I live with, much more than disadvantages. I would like to start with responses to the questions in the video. My dad definitely had to work, but my mom was able to stay home with us as she had some support from my grandfather. I cannot show affection to my partner in public without fear of ridicule or violence. I was not embarrassed by my home as a kid, it was very nice. I have been diagnosed as having a physical or mental illness/disability. I have been bullied and made of fun over something I cannot change. I came from a financially supportive family but was not supported in other ways. I can go to the doctor when I need to. I am not able to move through the world without fear of sexual assault. I have not had to take out loans for school. I really liked these questions and I feel they are great examples of privilege and disadvantages. I feel like for the most part, I am a privileged person. I think that my oppression comes in the form of racism as a Yemeni person and oppression as a nonbinary individual.

Watching this video and doing the readings is a great help in leading me to have a deeper understanding of privilege and oppression, and the different forms that they come in all around the world. I have a much easier time learning and comprehending things when I see examples, and the videos and readings supply a great amount of those. Specifically, I think that the video this week does an incredible job of visualizing the different ways that you can be economically, racially, and sexually oppressed. It’s a great exercise to figure out exactly where you stand and just how privileged or oppressed you are, and in what different ways.

Nasser Ali – Discussion 3

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This week we are reading the article “Alok – Beyond the Gender Binary” and watching episode 6 of “Getting Curious with Jonathan Van Ness”. I am already familiar with Jonathan as I am a big fan of Queer Eye, and it was really nice reading the article as well. In simplest terms, moving beyond the gender binary for Alok means to be themselves. This comes in the form of being gender non-conforming and breaking gender norms. This comes in many different forms and puts them in a lot of danger. Personally, I feel that my gender identity goes against and falls in line with the binary norm for a few reasons. As a nonbinary individual, my gender identity, for the most part, goes against binary norms. However, due to the fear of backlash from my family and fear of danger in general, I feel like I dial back how I want to express myself in order to not bother anyone or draw too much bad attention or danger to myself. Alok is right, it’s incredibly dangerous to express yourself in different ways, or just be outside the gender binary at all.

To be specific, when I am by myself or I invite friends over to my home where I feel safe, I’m able to be myself the way I want to. Wearing jewelry, wearing makeup like eyeliner and painting my nails, curling my hair, and wearing what I want – I feel that all of these things go against the binary norm. For me, when I go out, I’ll hardly do any of these things and try to present myself as masculine. The most I’ll do is wear earrings or curl my hair depending on where I’m going.

Nasser Ali – Reading Reflection 2

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I’m really happy these are the articles this week. I always appreciate a discussion on gender, and I’ve always been curious about the history of feminism. It’s really a shame that people choose to hold onto their perception of feminism, as it is almost always way off base. I found it really interesting how the different forms of feminism weren’t accepted by all feminists and that a lack of common understanding is one of the big reasons that people have a hard time getting behind it. It’s definitely true that institutionalized women’s studies are a big help in being able to truly talk about this without so much obstruction. It’s sad that when black women and other women of color would bring up the topic of race, it would get backlash. Unfortunately, that’s not too surprising, but I feel that we should go back and reflect on a lot of these things, to appropriately show our respect for the women who did just as much if not more than white women in contributing to feminism. It was also nice to learn that feminism would even tackle sexist characters and ideas in books. I feel like we still see things like this today in shows, podcasts, and many other forms of media. These are definitely things that we should critique as it’s still so present. Overall I really like the articles this week, I plan on saving them and revisiting them in the future!