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Talking Back Taking Back -Post 10  

The reading “Can I get a witness? Testimony from a Hip-Hop Feminist” by Shani Jamila focused on tokenism, microaggressions, and code-switching. I think that the overall message the author is trying to convey is the importance that comes with fully understanding the implications of feminism. As well as understanding what has influenced the construction of various types of feminism, especially Black feminism. Jamila states the importance of Hip-Hop in feminism and how it has influenced feminism just like feminism has influenced Hip-Hop. Something that had stood out to me was when Jamila describes her interactions with some of her white classmates as they call her "different" to other black people. Another thing that caught my attention throughout the reading was the consistent expression of code-switching. Code-switching is something that many if not most people of color experience as they enter professional fields or interact in predominantly white spaces. Here is a video that further explains code-switching. 

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Talking Back Taking Back -Post 9  

The reading Angry Transsexuals by Lexi Adsit begins by highlighting the importance call-out culture had on them through their journey of self-discovery and accountability. I think one of the main points that were made throughout the reading was that of accountability, open-mindedness, and the ability to grow and learn from one's mistakes. Throughout the reading, many aspects stood out to me. One of these aspects is when they define what feminism needs to be and how it needs to create a culture in which we “live, learn, and adapt from our mistakes”. I thought this was powerful as call-out culture is many times rooted in hatred and anger as it is used as an outlet to cope with a system created to exploit people of color. Adsit is stating that feminism should create a culture that accepts one's mistakes and provide an environment that allows people to learn from their mistakes. This then creates a space for mistakes to be made, accountability to be taken, and allows for personal growth. This is something that many scholars within feminism would agree with. Feminism is a journey of self-discovery and self-examination as Anderson (1999) describes. 

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Talking Back Taking Back -Post 8  

The reading “A Native American Feminist’s Guide to Survival” by Natani Notah discusses how the author has been able to build resilience and resistance through their father's stories. It was through storytelling by older generations like their father that Notah learned how to survive. Something that stuck out to me was how her counselors were always trying to undersell her with colleges. This is something that I experienced as my counselor would only talk to me about community colleges when my GPA was the same as those who she was encouraging to apply to private and ivy league schools. Another aspect of the reading that stood out to me was when Notah mentions she was constantly told that the only reason she was at Cornell University was due to the quota that they had to fulfill. This made me think of the ways successful people of color are looked at. When a person of color is successful it begins to raise questions about their credibility or how they were able to achieve what they did. The overall theme of building resilience through storytelling is not a new concept when it comes to class material. Most of the time the stories that we are reading are in efforts to build resilience and learn from the experiences of these individuals. It teaches us about experiences we may or may not be able to relate to in hopes of one-day building a coalition. 

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Going Through Customs -Post 7  

In the reading “Organizing 101: A Mixed-Race Feminist in Movements for Social Justice” Lisa Weiner-Mahfuz highlights different ways of assimilation due to racism, harassment, and ostracism. This reading caught my attention since I was able to relate. My parents made me go by my middle name Nathaly pronounced “Natalie” for me to be able to better assimilate. Nevertheless, since the spelling was in Spanish I still struggled. It was not until college that I began to claim my first name, Dulce. Even though I knew I would still struggle I no longer felt the need to assimilate to the name Nathaly. Through the reading, something that caught my attention was when Weiner-Mahfuz stated that Feminism challenged them to see how deeply they internalized assimilation. This made me reflect on my own life as I have tried to navigate this white society with brown skin. This has unfortunately been the story of various women of color as they try to understand themselves in a country that consistently tells them they are not good enough and do not deserve to be here. This connects to the way women of color try to assimilate into a professional setting to be taken seriously or with more credibility. 

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Going Through Customs -Post 6  

The reading “Our Hermanitas’ Heroes” by Andrea L. Pino focuses on the concept of heroes and what it means to be a hero. I think that the main message Pino is trying to convey is that actions can have a large effect on people as they can both help and hurt. This reading caught my attention due to the constant action that was taken by Pino to combat systems of oppression and injustice. Something that caught my attention within the reading was when Pino was describing their yearning for a hero that looked like them, that could understand what they were going through. This is unfortunately the story for many women of color with various marginalized identities. Another thing that stood out to me was when Pino was calling out white feminism. Pino mentions that to be considered a feminist one must be white, straight, and able-bodied. Pino then goes on to mention that white feminists tend to use the word “intersectionality” without truly understanding the implications of intersectionality. White feminism was prevalent for me as I grew up in a very white rural town. I always felt left out or felt like I did not identify as a feminist because much of the problems I was facing were similar to thiers but much more complex. I felt as though I was never heard or taken seriously as if my opinion did not matter or was less than. White feminism is something that has been talked about in class as we discuss how women of color with other marginalized identities are not represented within white feminism. We have also discussed how white feminists prompted women of color to create more inclusive and holistic feminism. 

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Going Through Customs -Post 5  

The reading “Migrant Organizing: A retelling” by Sonia Guiñansaca discusses the struggle they went through as an undocumented individual during the election of 2016. I think the overall message that Guiñansaca was trying to convey was that the majority of the activism that was happening within the undocumented community was primarily led by mostly queer women of color. This reading stood out to me since I identify as undocumented. Throughout the reading, I was able to connect a lot to what the author was mentioning. Something that stood out to me was the narrative of the "good" and "bad" immigrants. This narrative is something that I have fed into as I always tried to embody the “good” immigrant as a Dreamer. Now I understand the damage and implications of that narrative within the undocumented community. Something else that caught my attention was when Guiñansaca mentions their identity was solely built around their lack of status, and therefore their identity was a construction created by the U.S government. This was particularly intriguing to me because it is something that I have struggled with as I try to define who I am. Many parts of my identity stem from my status or lack thereof, but as I continue to grow my consciousness I have learned much like Guiñansaca that my status does not solely define who I am. My joys, pleasures, characteristics, and overall personality should be my defining factors. The idea of having multiple intersecting identities is something that has been talked about in class. As we have redefined intersectionality to its complexities of being unable to look at one identity without considering the others.

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Our Mothers, Refugees from a World on Fire -Post 4  

The reading “Becoming an Abortion Dula” by Sandra Kumwong is about the author’s experience as an abortion dula and the disparities they have seen firsthand. Throughout the story, Kumwong highlights the importance of affordable, safe, and assessable abortions. Something that stuck out to me was when they were describing their dislike for the term “Pro-Choice”. Kumwong mentions this gives the false assumption that everyone who gets an abortion gets one because they want to, it gives the illusion of autonomy when in reality that may not be the case. This made me think of women that have been forced to go through with an abortion because of their circumstances and or partners. Another thing that caught my attention was that the majority of the patients that were being seen were low-income people of color. This made me think of the health disparities that are faced within these communities and are constantly dismissed by others. This essay connected to what we have been learning in class by discussing the various forms in which women of color have been oppressed. This essay focused on how women of color including queer women have been oppressed when it comes to abortion. 

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Our Mothers, Refugees from a World on Fire -Post 3

The reading “Love Clinic” by Soyon Im highlights the harm that is done by limiting and essentially demonizing sexuality. Overall I think that Im was trying to convey the importance of being open to sexuality regardless of traditional costumes and heteronormative standards. Im shares the experiences she had with her mother who ironically enough is a gynecologist. Something that caught my attention throughout the reading was how Im described sex and how it was a key to her identity. I found this to be interesting as sex for many women of color who grew up in traditional households is a taboo subject. Another thing that caught my attention during the reading was the relationship she had with her mother. In the reading, she stated that she felt as though she was one of her mother's clients as her love/sexual life was kept confidential and essentially shameful. This is something that is seen within various other cultures, including my own. My grandmother would always tell me that the first time I had sex had to be special and with the man I choose to marry. I think that this is still the narrative of many women, especially women of color that have more conservative families. 

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Family and Community -Post 2 

The essay “Resisting Sterilization & Embracing Trans Motherhood” by Luna Merbruja discussed the transition process and the unnecessary sacrifices made with the process. This reading caught my attention as it was the first time I was reading about the sterilization that comes with hormone replacement therapy. This reading was very eye-opening and enraging as Merbruja later found out that there was a way in which trans people under HRT could keep their fertility if they wished to do so. One of the parts I found most interesting was when Merbruja highlights the effects of HRT on younger individuals. It is mentioned that it is unknown what HRT can do to individuals who have yet to fully develop their gemmates when thinking about fertility or the lack thereof. I thought this was quite interesting as I assume this is a large area of research that has fallen through the cracks. This is prevalent in present-day society as there are large areas of research that need to be explored when it comes to trans people, especially of color. There tends to be little to no research done on trans people of color, this is causing a huge negative impact on the community as people are being treated as test subjects for something that is not fully understood. This could potentially cause greater health disparities in later life.

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Family and Community -Post 1 

The essay “Colonize This!” by Cristina Tzintzun, touches on interracial family structure, and the conditions faced in their life. Overall I think Tzintzun was trying to convey the contractions and complications that come with living in a family made up of the colonized and the colonizer. There were many things throughout the reading that caught my attention, one of those being Tzintzun's journey in developing feminist consciousness. Something I found most interesting was the fact that Tzintzun’s father was the one to introduce them to feminism. It was also interesting to see how they described their father as the complete opposite of a feminist. Tzintzun described the experiences with their father as the source of their feminist practice as they strived to be the opposite of him. Tzintzun reminded me a lot of Gloria Anzaldua's work as they both touch on their experiences as part of interracial families and how it has shaped their feminist consciousness.