Author: Loronda Johnson

• What are the goals of your intervention and why is this intervention needed?

– My goal for the invention is for BIPOC families to become more self aware of their role in their family member lives who are also part of the LGBTQ+ community. I believe the intervention is needed because coming from experience, I feel that BIPOC families are less lenient when to come to the topic of LGBTQ+ community and believe that history has to repeat itself but it shouldn’t have to.

• What “data” or material will your intervention be based on?

-The material the intervention will be based on is research from past articles and surveys but also current zines that can be expressive yet positive when it comes to creativity and information.

• What will you produce? What are you going to do?

-What I will produce is a zine which will be filled with pictures, quotes and information on how BIPOC families can become more aware of their roles in their families whom are also in the LGBTQ+ community, so that if their role is an negative aspect, they can tried to be a more positive role for an better outcome.

• Why is this the form that your project will take? What is the justification?-  Zines is the better form for my project because in my experience, zines are used to express yet also for information to pass on to others so that it can have a better outcome but it’s also another way for people to be creative with what they want to show.

On a personal note, I like the zine that you assigned this week, it was very entertaining yet educational. I also made a zine too in my Gender and Women’s Studies class. But the understanding of the feminist praxis of friendship is simple. It’s about two or more people supporting each other and bonding every day getting to know one another. But there’s the deep bond that can never be replace, especially if you know that person inside and out. Also based on the readings, it showed the similarity that it’s about the understanding of yourself and another person that you see as your equal. But mainly, these readings showed me that there’s people in the world that gonna be there for you and the events that come for the rest of your life, if it lasts that long.

In the readings, “Lessons in Self-Defense: Gender Violence, Racial Criminalization, and Anticarceral Feminism” and “Race, Reproductive Justice, and the Criminalization of Purvi Patel”, they talk about the role of the legal system in the lives of survivors, especially survivors that are part of the BIPOC community. The first reading, “Lessons in Self-Defense: Gender Violence, Racial Criminalization, and Anticarceral Feminism”, it spoke about the gathering of all the BIPOC community coming together for the concerns of isolation, alienation, and racism within RCCs (rape crisis centers) and battered women’s shelters in the U.S. and the second reading, “Race, Reproductive Justice, and the Criminalization of Purvi Patel”, it spoke the case of Purvi Patel, a 33 year-old Indian American woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of feticide and neglecting a dependent. For these readings, I learned that the legal system either does nothing or tries to cover or convict in order to not deal with the  repercussions from the system if they tried to defend the BIPOC community.   What I think about the legal system, all I see is corruption written all over it, especially with working with the government to keep their records spotless. For example, in the second reading, they convicted Purvi Patel of feticide and neglecting of a dependent even though she thought the fetus was dead. All she did was took a trip to the emergency room due to complications of vaginal bleeding and then next thing, she’s being thrown into criminal charges that form to a legal nightmare. And the legal system want to alleged that Patel killed the fetus illegally using pills that she obtained illegally o the internet. Because of the legal system, most BIPOC because became a victim of the prison system just because of their race, culture, ethnicity etc. But I mainly felt that the legal system is threatened because they see BIPOC, mostly black people, our skin and race as a weapon. A weapon of destruction, because they know that we’re powerful when we speak and walk with our heads held high, ready to not back down from a challenge. I believe that the legal system is not doing their jobs correctly as they suppose to, and its because of the white supremacists that are sitting in Congress and the main person who is sitting in the office right at this moment. The one question I can really ask is, when is the world going to get better, not just for the women, but for the BIPOC community in general?

• What do Vera-Gray and Kelly  say about “public space” as “gendered space”– what do they mean? What can you add to their discussion from your own observations and experiences of public space?

According to the article, Vera-Gray and Kelly said that “public space is gendered space has not been a focus of mainstream academic analysis, but such a framing offers important insights”. But also the struggles over space always be about the right to be seen or heard, including new fundamentalisms involving gender segregation and limitations of access of public space for women. I think what the authors means is that there’s a limitation of public spaces between both genders, and that it seems that men feel that they’re the superior gender, so they feel that they can do whatever they please, including sexual harassment towards women in these public spaces. And because of these limitations, women had to become invisible to public eye in order to not be sought out by these men who limit their access to these public spaces, meaning no safety towards them. Based on my own observations to certain places, i see women wearing their  headphones with hoodies most of the time because I believe that they don’t want to be bothered with the outside world, meaning they don’t want another among their space without permission, including myself I can admit.

• What do the authors mean by “safety work?” What examples do they offer? Do you have other examples to add?

According to the article, the term “safety work” means existence in the form of invisible work mandated for women and girls in public. For women and girls doing “safety work” especially in a public space, they do what’s need to be done so they wont become another statistic of the many women who was sexually harassed in public spaces. For example, if not wanting to become sexually harassed, especially going to and from a public space where men and boys are involved, they use strategies to become invisible to the public eye like changing routes, choosing seats on public transportation, using headphones and sunglasses, even physical isolation. With my own experiences, whenever I feel unsafe within my own space, i would do the same as any other woman would, changing my seat, putting headphones on etc. But if I feel that the person or people don’t get the hint, then I would tell someone, authority or not, to witness or help me to have my public space to myself.

• How do you think the praxis models engage in “safety work,” if at all? What other “work” do these interventions do?

The praxis models engages in “safety work” by bringing the problems of public space and gender harassment to light. For example, the website, Stop Telling Women to Smile is an art series that addresses gender harassment by using portraits of women, composed with captions speaking to the offenders who offended their public spaces. And Fenced Out is an documentary about the fight of the Christopher St. Pier, a safe public space for New York City’s youth and low income, homeless, LGBTQ+ And two-spirited youth.

• Do any of these models give you ideas for your own project- and especially about the use of websites, videos, journalistic essays?

The Stop Telling Women to Smile websites gave me ideas of using a website to broadcast stories like videos, journalistic essays, photos etc. of mental health that affect LGBTQ+ BIPOC families to people who are willing to see, listen, and hear about what they can do to help the members and their families.

Paternal Influences on Adolescent Sexual Risk Behaviors: A Structured Literature Review

• What is the thesis, research question, or problem that the literature review addresses? (What is the purpose of the literature review?)  Be specific- quote the article.

The article stated,  “the objective of this study was to conduct a strictest review to assess the role of paternal influence on adolescent sexual behavior and to assess the methodological quality of the paternal influence literature related to adolescent sexual behavior.”

• What do the authors do? What type of literature do they review? Do they review literature in a particular field or discipline?

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos is employed in the Silver School of Social Work and Center for Latino Adolescent and Family Health along with Jane Lee and Katherine McCarthy which is located at New York University in New York. Alida Bouris is employed at the School of Social Administration which is located in the University of Chicago at Chicago, Illinois. And Shannon L. Michael, Seraphine Pitt-Barnes, and Patricia Dittus is employed in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention which located at Atlanta, Georgia. The type of literature they reviewed is about mainly social work with adolescents along with medical care issues. I believe that they review literature in a particular field because based on the degrees they achieved, it’s best to say that they know the certain fields that they went to universities for their intended majors.

• What does the literature review find? You may want to look at how it is organized (e.g. headings) to analyze the different themes or areas of information that the review contains.

Based on the literature review, the authors used methodological research by searching electronic databases. And according to the studies they founded, between 1980 and 2011, targeted adolescents between ages 11 to 18 years old and focused on the paternal parenting processes. It was assessed by an 11 scoring system. And for the results based on the methods they used, they found that paternal factors are associated with sexual behavior related to maternal factors. The most common was emotional qualities on the father-adolescent relationship. The communication was associated within the behavior while fathers attitude were less associated.

• What are the gaps or next steps, according to the author?

According to the authors, the next steps suggested that the fathers influence the sexual behavior on their children. But more research suggested diverse facets of paternal influence on sexual behavior is needed. And the authors are providing recommendations from the primary care providers and practitioners to better influence fathers to intervene into their children lives to reduce their sexual behavior.

Gender Identity in European Family Farming 

• What is the thesis, research question, or problem that the literature review addresses? (What is the purpose of the literature review?)  Be specific- quote the article.

According to the article, it stated that “paper is concerned with representation of gender in research texts. It uses the research literature on gender in family farming as study material in order to pinpoint meanings of gender in the academic literature.”

• What do the authors do? What type of literature do they review? Do they review literature in a particular field or discipline?

The author, Berit Brandth focuses on the literature based on rural gender studies but also focused on the agricultural media mainly for analysis. I think that Brandth reviewed literature in a discipline matter because of the research he did and the review that’s being read.

• What does the literature review find? You may want to look at how it is organized (e.g. headings) to analyze the different themes or areas of information that the review contains.

The literature review resulted in gender in agriculture presented with a complex and mixed social configuration. The author use three discourses in order to find his results within his research all compromise in the same discursive order, gender in agriculture.

• What are the gaps or next steps, according to the author?

According to the article, the author discussed the conclusion involving the discourses he use to find his results which was examined by the fight for hegemony and the interplay between the discourses.

• Define and discuss “reflexivity” in your own words. What are some ways that you will consider “reflexivity” in your project? How might you “bend back?

– “Reflexivity” is looking at yourself through your own perspective in order to understand the people surrounding you. By looking at ourselves by the similarities and differences between us in terms of the intersectional perspective (gender, race, economic class/status, sex etc.), all people will be aware of their limitations through their perspectives, especially when in part of doing research. In consideration of my project, I’m using “reflexivity” by trying to connect with others who are working through their experiences while trying to reflect on my experience and see if there are any connections to evolve. Another way I’m considering reflexivity in my project is working on what’s need to change and revise while working on myself and looking through mine and other perspective to see what I can do to make it better. I’ll “bend back” to consider why I want to do this certain project in the first place and what I can do make sure that others include myself will be satisfy with the final results.

• What do you think about Tuck’s argument about damage-centered research? What role do “damage” and “desire” play in your project?

– Tuck’s argument about damage-centered research is very interesting but yet not surprising. I love how she talked about her own community that she grew up in and the one she lives in now and how they’re damage-centered especially with the intersectional perspective of how all people are affected. But also she used her “reflexivity” to examine herself within her community and what she can do to work on it making it better for her and everyone else. But also, I like how she talks about how everyone is affected in their own communities because of the assimilation they live in and how its being handled. But overall, I thought how her argument made very good valid points including with research of her own. The role “damage” plays in my project is in terms of what can happen if the research is not up to valid points.  But the damage that can also play is the fact of what is yet to come of everything needed to be said. But the “desire” role is needing everyone to be heard with not just one voice b it all voices. How can the project be made without any people willing to listen or to contribute their own research so that the results will be valid. So even though “damage” and “desire” are different, their need to wanting people to see the end result is the same.

• Describe each of the four methods outlined in Wambui’s article. Add “autoethnography” from the Ellis piece to this list and explain this method. Share your reflections about the podcast.

There are four methods in order to conduct feminist research: interviews, focus groups, case studies, discourse analysis, and lastly auto-ethnography. Interviews are commonly used by feminist researchers. Although they are labor intensive, they are mainly the best way to collect high quality data. But interviews also captures multitudes of subjects’ views in theme so it come to see respondents in the complex social world. Next with focus groups, they are useful in offering two key features that is often suggested as essential. It’s an contextual method, which is to avoid focusing on the individual devoid of social context or to separate from interactions with others. It’s also a non-hierarchy method, when it shifts away the balance of power from the researcher to the participants. But it has the potential to help women to collectively change their consciousness by collecting identities and solidarities. And focus groups mainly facilitates connections by going beyond uncovering existed meanings by constituted subjectives. Next, with case studies, they’re allow the use of multiple methods or triangulation and reflects an attempt to secure a developed understanding of the phenomenon which they questioned. But most likely, it facilitates an understanding of the complexities of the social phenomena under investigation . But it mainly allows women to participate to construct their  own realities and arrives at their own truth based on their own life experiences and their terms. Then with discourse analysis, it both reflects and shapes the way we experience and interpret the world around us, and the way we act upon it. And finally, auto-ethnography, which is the approach to research and writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze personal experience in order to understand cultural experience. But it also challenges the canonical ways of doing research and representing others and treat them as a political, socially-just, socially conscious act. As for my reflection on the podcast, I thought the podcast is very liberating as it stated in the title but also I like how they discussed the issues of how trans people of color are dealing with the problems of employment, housing, and their safety plus how the activists are trying to change the system.

 

• Discuss each method in relationship to your final project ideas– if you had the time and resources you would need: is the method appropriate? How would you use this method to do your research? Who would your participants/subjects be? And, if the method is not a good fit, why not? This is only a thought experiment — you are not committing to any methods here.

With my final project idea, I say that the methods would be perfect for the idea will be discourse analysis, and auto-ethnography. With discourse analysis, we will be shaping how we experience the world around us and the way we act upon certain topics. And with auto-ethnography, we will be researching while also writing to describe and analyze the personal experiences in order to understand the cultural approach. But it will also challenge the ways of doing the research while treating and representing our participants as a political and socially conscious act.

 

-What is feminist praxis, according to the text? What makes it “feminist?” What is your definition of feminism? How would you explain to someone who had not heard this term before?

According to the text, feminist praxis are social movements for racial, gender and other fights for equity, mainly for women, made by women. It’s for a system of ideas, practice and it refers to a set of actions which are informed by theory, research and evidence. It’s also a safe place for women who know what they go through and to know that they aren’t alone. What makes “feminist praxis” feminist is that even though it’s mainly for women, it generalizes the theory and practice of equality for racial, gender, and other movements of equity. My definition of feminism is fighting for the equality for all people whether you’re a woman, man, black, white, person of color, gay, straight, lesbian, transgender, etc. For someone who haven’t heard of the term feminism, I would explain that even though it may be simple, it’s more complicated than it sounds. I would explain that even though it may mean female hence the word feminism, it’s not. It’s more than just being women. It’s equality for all people whether they’re concerned with gender equity and the liberation of being a woman.

-What do the authors say about backlash? What are some examples of backlash against feminism that you have seen or experienced? What do you think drives the backlash in these examples and what are some ways to respond to it?

The authors said about backlash is that backlash comes in many forms. It’s either from outright rejection of feminism to “enlightened sexism” to “postfeminism”. An example that I have seen backlash against feminism would be in the beauty community or industry as others would may called it. In the beauty community, there would always be backlash whether be a person would launched their first or newest makeup line or a scandal that happened recently or a few years ago that would surfaced again. Another example of backlash would also be in social media. In social media, whether a person would be launching something different or new to the beauty or clothing community, there would always be one or two people that would comment something bad or say that that the person stole their idea, and it would end up being a feud about who’s right or wrong. And also in social media, whether a celebrity would be living their life while making their material, social media would always bring scandals about that person to the surface and it causes backlash to that celebrity. I think what causes backlash  in these examples is that there will be some people that will always remembered who you were before than the person you are now, will always reminds you of who you were back then in the past instead of letting it go. The ways to respond to backlash are different depending on the situation at hand. But for these examples, I believe that the best way to respond is to respond back to the backlash accordingly, which would mean that you can apologize for the backlash and give some light to it so you can fix it. Or you don’t respond at all, and let all the backlash get to you or not let it get to you at all. No response is a response.

Hello! My name is Loronda Johnson but I preferred to be called Lori because I believe it’ll be much easier for everyone and myself. This is my last semester before transferring to a four-year college. So I used to be a nursing major but it didn’t work out well due to the stress it held, so I decided to go into Gender and Women’s Studies. When I first looked at the course, I was naturally curious because I never knew that college would have this type of course, more so as a major to be exact. So when I first attended the class, GWS 100, for this major, it made me open my eyes more to the world around me. I had knowledge to what women go through in the United States, even all over the world but I know that class was just a taste to what would I be learning more about. After attending that first class of the semester, I decided to stay in that class, even deciding to stay in the major because it made me realize that women, even people who are different go through so much and not much people want to help. Other than GWS 100, I attended other classes that made me question a lot of the world and how they treat women as they are. After that last semester, I still have so much to learn and more questions that still need to be answered. Like why does change for the things we fight for as women take longer than expected? Are people that are close-minded are going to stay like that until someone or something changes their minds? Why do most protests always end up in violence even though it’s a peaceful protest? The concerns I have about the course are why are we doing our course here instead of blackboard? Why did I need to do the E-orientation even though I done online learning before? Is the course much more difficult than the other GWS classes? But with anything else about me, my ethnicity is Trinidad which I never knew until senior year of high school. Another thing about me is that is that I still have a job throughout the whole pandemic but sometimes it can become hectic so I’m hopeful that it won’t interfere with my studies. The last things about me is that I’m studious, hardworking, and very excited about this semester to learn more about Gender and Women’s Studies.