I was really shocked when I learned about and read Roe v. Wade. I felt like I shouldn’t have been too surprised as talks of banning abortions have been present in politics for so long, however, it was still surprising nonetheless to see something like this on such a high level of government. It’s really concerning, and I hope that most of our states will hold onto this right. It made me curious about specific states that have allowed abortion for a very long time. Will these decisions affect those states as well? I know that just because this is present on the federal level, I’m not sure how it will affect different states. However, it is still terrible that this will make it that much easier to remove this decision from people’s lives.

For this week, I’m happy that we are referencing back to Bell Hooks. I think that the quote chosen in the Week 14 Announcement was perfect to keep in mind for this week, and is very relevant right now. I was not aware of the depth of the history behind abortion. I understood that it has been present for a very long time, but I had no idea about the first laws against abortion, why, and by whom. It’s awful to learn that this was another way to pursue medicalization in this way, but I’m still very happy I’m learning this. I feel that this is a very important issue to understand, and bleeds into so many other issues. This topic spurred me to learn about abortion in other countries, as I feel like we can learn a lot from the different circumstances.

My choice for art that I believe is activist is a piece named Straight, by Ai Weiwei, a Chinese contemporary artist, and activist. It is made up of 90 tons of steel that were destroyed in the Sichuan earthquake of 2008. This steel was retrieved from the many schools that were obliterated by the earthquake and were thoroughly straightened to create the piece. The steel is sorted to portray the fault line that lies under the province of Sichuan. The aim of this is to commemorate the lives lost, particularly the lives of over 5,000 children attending the schools. Ai Weiwei also directed the purpose of Straight to directly criticize unregulated construction companies and corrupt officials of the Chinese government as the schools were not only poorly built but also built directly on these fault lines that caused the earthquake.

Ai was persecuted for the piece and was detained for several days in prison.

Personally, I think that the quote explores how Black women are victims of oppression in every form that it comes in. Therefore, if Black women were free, then every form of oppression would have to have been nullified. It would mean that all of the people that are oppressed by the same systems that oppress Black women would also be free. The Combahee River Collective explains how identity politics emerges from our individual identities and often creates the most profound and radical politics. This is in juxtaposition with the idea of working to end another person’s oppression. This concept of identity politics is present in many ways in the film Paris is Burning.

The film features ball competitions, Drag, Vogue, and many individuals of varying and diverse identities. They push to show how the gay and drag subculture can be shed in a new, more positive light. A lot of words are given new meanings to help them accomplish this. The film deeply explores how many of these individuals who are a part of this scene deal with things such as homophobia, racism, AIDS, violence, and poverty. Regarding capitalism and the role that race and gender have with it; capitalism commits itself to economically oppress certain groups of people and groups of certain races and gender. Capitalism is known to exploit labor for private profit and is done so through racial and gender oppression. This results in greater control over the working class.

It’s really interesting to see how the history of Women’s Suffrage is a perfect example of concepts we learned last week, primarily with the article “How to Think Like An Activist”. So many people’s efforts over the course of 100 years contributed to the right to vote for women. While reading “100 Years toward Suffrage: An Overview” I was really invested in seeing exactly how many events and actions had a part to play in this history. The article really delves into everything that led up to the Equal Rights Amendment.

After reading the article and watching the film, I feel that activism is best defined as the continuous act of fighting for equity and equality for all. The film I watched was titled “CRIP CAMP: A DISABILITY REVOLUTION”, and I’m really glad this is the film I chose. I feel like I didn’t learn very much about how the American Disability Act and Section 504 were actually brought about. It’s so important and there was so much activism at play to make it a reality. The film revolves around a groundbreaking summer camp for teens with disabilities and the group of alumni that joins the radical disability rights movement that leads to historic legislation changes. It goes into detail about all of the activism led primarily by Judy Huemann, and even mentions more activism before the events of this documentary. In 1970, Educator and Disability Activist Judith Huemann was denied a teaching license by the New York City Board of Education. The reason was that they claimed that her wheelchair was a fire hazard. This led her to sue the Board of Education, which jumpstarted her activism. In 1977, Judy led demonstrators to take over the Health and Education Welfare (HEW) office in San Francisco, California. They protested HEW’s secretary Califano, as he was refusing to accept regulations for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which would make the discrimination of people with disabilities at the hands of federal agencies, public universities, and other public institutions illegal. It was the longest take-over occupation of a federal office by protestors in the history of the United States and lasted 25 days. This paved the way for the 1990 passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The film even brings up Brown vs. Board of Education, which took place in 1954.

I feel that there are many meaningful ways to engage in activism with gender justice. You can advocate for new legislation against discrimination based on gender, protest against gender injustice, make donations to groups that support people of marginalized genders, start social media campaigns, and support those running for office who understand gender issues and gender inequality. You can even bring these attitudes into your personal life by bringing these topics into the home and educating those around you.