Author Archives: Nasser Ali

Nasser Ali Reflection 4

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Allan G Johnson explores patriarchy as a system that individuals in society unwillingly participate in, and analyzes why, how, and what the system is about. I think this is incredibly important and figuring out how we can interact with patriarchy, as there is no way to escape or be outside of it. This does not mean you It is unquestionable that as a man, even if you do not align yourself with this system that you benefit from it. It is in no way a natural thing. Even if you are unwillingly participating, it does not mean you are benefiting from it as a woman the way that a man does. Allan explains how it is a system that forces participation even though it oppresses them. To change this system, we can only change how we participate in it. I really appreciated this reading as I feel like this mindset can be applied to many injustices in our societies, privileged or oppressed.

I thought that “There Is No Hierarchy of Oppressions” by Audre Lorde was fascinating. I love the way she explored intersectionality, and how complex it can be for an individual to identify with many communities. I appreciate what Audre says about how attacks against the Black community and attacks against the Lesbian community are issues of both. I wish this were treated this way for everyone, as I feel like there would be so many more allies working together, but not everyone feels this way about intersectionality.

Nasser Ali Discussion 5

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I feel that it is important to recognize patriarchy as a system because as individuals will align themselves with this system, believe in this system’s values, and perpetuate and strengthen this system; it is this system and its place in our societies itself that promotes and rewards this behavior. As Allan G. Johnson explains, we want to end oppressive systems like patriarchy, and the way to do it is to identify it, find its roots, and in understanding it we can dismantle it. Identifying the privilege and oppression that exists in these systems is also incredibly important in understanding how we can remove them.

In order to understand this system, it’s important to understand how it affects everyone on a personal level. This shows itself in many different forms. the Levels of Oppression is a great way to identify this and to represent how deeply this affects people. The personal level is present in our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs, conscious or subconscious. This person-level greatly influences the other levels as patriarchal biases will lead people to act upon their said thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. If you have a belief that your wife has specific responsibilities as a woman, you will bring that into the interpersonal level and act on it. If you are in a place of power, this will even influence your decisions on an institutional level. The accumulation of these thoughts, actions, and policies affect our culture and society as a whole.

Nasser Ali Discussion 2

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Bell Hooks defines feminism as: “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression.”. I believe this means that feminism is a movement that aims to end stereotyping, discrimination, and prejudice against women, exploiting women in things such as mass media including sexualization and objectification, and ending oppression, primarily by patriarchy. Before reading this definition, my understanding of feminism was slightly different. I was under the impression that feminism was aiming for equality between all genders. I don’t think there is anything wrong with prioritizing the rights of women. Fighting for rights for one specific group is good for everyone, as it still creates equity. Solving and working on one problem can lead to solving another. This article reminded me of a film I recently watched called “The Red Pill – A Cassie Jaye Documentary”. The film explores the concept of a “feminist filmmaker sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs.”, and by the end, declares that she is no longer a feminist. I want to respect her decision, but I was bothered as I believe that just because there are feminists who do not work with men or are allies for men, that doesn’t mean that feminism does not do good work. There is a lot more to feminism than individual philosophies. Bell Hooks explains that the lack of a clear definition is the reason that feminism is more difficult to get behind nowadays, which further proves that the philosophies of individuals do not represent feminism as a whole. Reading Sex and Gender 101 didn’t change how I feel about gender very much as my thoughts align with the article, but it definitely expanded my knowledge on the subject, which I greatly appreciate!

Nasser Ali Reading Reflections #1

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Reading Reflections – Sex and Gender 101

I thought this was a very informative article! There was a lot that I learned about, such as different variations of intersex individuals, and gender assignment. I also wasn’t aware that being intersex is such a common occurrence. I think this is a very important fact for people to understand, and I appreciate its inclusion in the article. Intersex generally isn’t included in conversations regarding sex/gender or welcomed to a lot of safe spaces for gender/sex minorities. I thought that the article’s exploration of gender assignment was also important. The inclusion of medically necessary surgeries is essential in shedding light on the lack of autonomy for intersex individuals. Gender assignment, identity, and expression are explained very well in this article and can go a long way in educating people on the subject and the differences between sex and gender. The relationship between sex and gender is often misunderstood, and the premise of educating parents to teach new generations would definitely be helpful.

Reading Reflections – Feminist Politics: Where We Stand

Bell Hooks does a wonderful job of identifying the purpose of feminism and how it is misunderstood. It’s unfortunate that its meaning is sometimes lost. However, even so, it’s important to not let those who misconstrue the movement stop others from supporting it. There is extremism in all important issues. I feel that it’s important for the movement to include all women, including women of color, trans women, and disabled women. Women who conform to traditional gender roles shouldn’t always be labeled as oppressed if that is what they consent to. Bell Hooks delves deeply into many different facets of the issues feminism faced. I liked Bell’s exploration of the issues that black women faced in their lack of representation in the movement, their goals being overlooked, the clash between revolutionary feminism and reformist feminism, and the part that racism had to play in it. Bell explains that black women were involved in feminism, however, were never credited to the same degree that others in the movement were. Their goals for dismantling patriarchy and sexism were at odds with reformist feminists, who focused on equality between women and men. The presence of racism also influenced how revolutionary visions were generally not being accepted. Reformist feminism was able to claim more rights for women, however, left working-class and poor women with more to be desired.

Nasser Ali Discussion 1

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Hi, my name is Nasser Ali, but I usually go by Nas with people I know personally. I like to read, and I love art and music! I enjoy writing and playing the piano. I value personal relationships, forming connections, and working to positively contribute to the community. I hope to find a career that fits me, one that supports my dream of making life and the world easier for current and future generations. I go by he/they. I’ve always wanted to take this course and I would like to expand my knowledge and be more conscientious regarding different genders. Some examples of things I hope we cover would be the gender identity of intersex individuals, the sexualization of female ethnic groups in the United States, and the gender spectrum of Indigenous groups. a film that I know of that could be helpful in this course is called “The Hunting Ground”.

P.S: For some reason, my original post wasn’t published, so I went ahead and re-published it.