First, I watched the documentary Paris is Buring. I have watched this before as I am a huge fan of documentaries. Paris is burning introduces us to the world of Ball’s Where the gays and the they’s live their best fantasies and are excepted for who they are. They have in a way created their own sense of government, housing, and income. We learn about the house mothers and how they take care of their children who most have been kicked out of their homes due to their sexual orientation and their sexual identities. Many of the house mothers came from poverty and have had to fight for their lives. Learning the in’s and out of the gay community. To be a house mother is the greatest honor, it means that you have looked out for those in need and have steered the children in the right direction. They live for these balls and the competitions; it gives them a sense of purpose and value. They came from nothing and have created some of the biggest movements in dance, which was voguing. Later, we know Madonna profited off the Black and brown communities.  

Now after reading the Combahee River collective, we see how once again Black women must venture off and create their own activist communities. They go into how Black women have always faced adversities, discrimination, oppression. When it comes to Black women and if you are a queer Black person, you get the bottom of the barrel experiences. Black women have had to fight for their right to live and to be able to make a living. The fact that Black women are taught as kids to be silent, so they seem more lady-like in the eyes of the oppressor is truly heartbreaking. They have come together so that the world can realize that the liberation of Black women is just as important as the liberation of any other oppressed group. We can all agree that Black women are the ones who have created huge liberation movements and they are the only ones who can get things done within themselves. They deserve the respect, and the care other groups get. Black queer people are also oppressed, and this is a change that needs to happen. We need Black women and the importance of Black women in communities need to be valued because they are irreplaceable.  

Paris is burning and the Combahee River collective is very much the same situation, communities who have had to pave the way for themselves and who have had to fight tooth and nail for what is rightfully theirs.  

The politics of housework dives into how women are forced into doing housework and Men could care less about putting in their part. duty. Pat Minardi explains how men will say anything to not share the housework, like you do it better than me or when women finally ask for help Men will say I will do on my own time. Men seem annoyed when women feel that housework should be a two-person job.   Women can work a full-time job and at the same time must get home to a lengthy list of things to do while men just worry about themselves and their needs. Men tend to downplay a woman’s job especially maintaining their home. 

A liberated woman knows what she wants and there are no gender roles in the household. To be a liberated woman is to know when you need help and if you want to clean your home alone then it is a choice and not an obligation. Being a liberated woman is knowing that you can to what your heart desires and chose your own path. 

The Myth of the vaginal Orgasm sets another example about women and how our minds are connected to our bodies. Women must feel or be attracted to men and when they are not, they are belittled and mentally abused. The fact that men result to women being insane for not having feelings towards them is beyond me. It also explains the mis information that was spread women’s bodies and how men are not at fault when it comes to woman’s orgasm. It was Freud theory that was problematic because he believed it was up to the woman to transfer the orgasms to the center of the vagina. The vagina is actually not sensitive at all it is only the ciltoris. He lacked evidence and was never really challenged for his thoeries back then because well he is a man who knows best (sense the sarcasm). A woman’s body is very complex and orgasms come in many different forms. Men have always found an excuse to blme women in my opinion. they have never taken the time to actually know women and our bodies.

I am a bit late with my post and I apologize,

First, I watched a video about the ash Building fire also known as the shirtwaist fire. This was known as the biggest deadly event in the of the United States before the 9/11 attacks. In the video they mentioned how the people in charge would exploit the women and girls to work for hours and hours without a break. They would even go as far as the lock emergency exits so that they would not sneak away and take breaks. Then as we know March 25, 1911, a great tragedy happened when a fire broke out and 146 young women and girls perished. It was later found that the building did not have a working sprinkler system. Protest broke out, 350,000 people (about half the population of Vermont) took the streets of NYC. This led to the making of the international Ladies Garment Workers Union. Which was made to protect working women. By 1938 there were no longer any sweat shops in the United States. 

Now the second video also was very emotional for me as well because it was the shirtwaist fire all over again. December 14th, 2010, in Bangladesh a fire broke out and 29 workers died and over 100 were injured. It was also known that the bosses of the factory in Dhaka would lock the doors during fires so that no one would steal them. The families were compensated with only 2,080 dollars, that is how much life is worth in a third world country. In Dhaka, the highest pay per hour is 28 cents an hour. The people of Dhaka protested for a raise of 35 cents an hour! And where met with imprisonment or battery. Companies like Walmart and Gap refused to pay. The people of Bangladesh are exploited and have no workers union protection. 

This leads me to the article about Virginia became the 38^th state to pass the equal rights amendment, which consists of a proposed amendment to the US stating that one may not be denied based on one’s sex. This article explains the concerns and the positive possibilities of having an equal rights amendment. It would have no room for sliding back into the old ways.it would also give us some space for improvement. The article also explains how few people know about the US not ratifying the amendment and it is important that people become aware of this. This is a good step for the future of our working class 

I want to write about the importance of women in society and how we are still fighting for our lives and our human rights. Women have done a ton of work in history, so we have basic human rights. The fact that we are in 2022 and have men running our government making decisions for us women when these men do not even have a uterus is preposterous. I read the waves of feminism explained by Contance Grady, she explains how there is several types of feminisms, I cannot help thinking what if women just understood each other better instead of having groups within a group. What about supporting each other’s causes? We must realize that women must have each other’s back no hidden agendas. I hope to see equality within the group of women. I feel like men view women as dramatic and emotional, but why is that terrible thing. The first wave of feminism was from 1848 to 1920, which was when women came together to fight for voting rights. I learned about one of the few Black feminists her name was Sojourner Truth was an American abolitionist and a women rights activist. She escaped to her freedom with her daughter and proceeded to right for equal rights for all. She is also known for her” Ain’t I a woman” speech. This shows us that there is a lot to learn and change, why have I never heard of her before is insane to me! however I am not surprised our history is white washed. I hope there can be more Sojourner Truth in this lifetime.

Activism was the grand topic of this week. After reading How to think like an Activist by Wendy Syfert, we learned how activism has existed for many years. The French revolution was a bloodier type of protest but on the other hand Gandhi start what is now known as peaceful protest. Protest has been the only way people in history have seen change and implementing new laws so people can feel like there is an inclusion of opinions when making sed laws and rules. Activism has changed in a way that they (the government) no longer see it as peaceful or revolutionary but more like pests who do not shut up. Kids in America are still protesting for guns laws and protection in schools, they are considered rebellious or out of line. I loved the quote from Emma Gonzalez, who is the teenager from the Parkland Florida school shooting, who then became a gun control advocate, she says “Adults like us when we have strong test scores, but they hate us when we have strong opinions.” This goes to show you that yes, we have seen some change in the past but now at the present time it is not enough to pass a bill to protect children from gun violence.  

This now takes me to my next part of the discussion which is what film I picked to watch this week and that is Knock Down the House on Netflix, I loved this documentary so much because it has to do with ordinary people who just want to be the change and see the change and be a part of the change. It is about the underdogs who people never thought would win a seat in the senate. This within itself I would consider a revolution. Having old white men that were born in the 1900’s does not sit well with me. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is someone I admire so much she really did the damn thing! Another woman who is another revolutionist is Paula Jean Swearengin, she decided to run for senate because she got fed up and mad as hell because her neighbors were all getting cancer because of the water contaminated water. She felt so passionate about her state and the suffering of her people that she decided to stand up and fight for what was right. It was the start of the domino effect, It started with AOC and trickled down to the other states. Hopefully, our senate continues the right path of change and supporting activism.