alelespacio

[alelespacio]

Thank you all for reading and engaging with my posts if you have throughout the fall. I hope that I was able to provide useful and essential resources and information that regards women and gender studies. I will likely keep posting throughout the Spring semester as well. If you have any questions or comments don’t be afraid to get in touch with me. I would love to share stories/artwork by anyone who wishes to express themselves. This blog has provided me with a lot of opportunities and exposure. I have been able to discover and raise money and awareness to community organizations that have a story and goals aiming to build women up and strengthen their identities. Throughout my course this semester that has allowed me to create this space, I have learned many concepts and topics that relate with the perspectives of women and how we can best resist patriarchal forces and effectively gain awareness of how important and powerful we are. 

[alelespacio]

Its getting closer to the end of the semester and I wanted to share with you all another film that was presented to us in class. "The Bystander Moment" was very informational and really exposed me to concepts that are essential in transforming and taking about rape culture. This film talks about the #MeToo movement and the power that it gained among social media. It also sheds light on sexual harassment and abuse and the importance for gender violence prevention. It presents models that are currently in play within our educationa systems and social spheres as it explores their effectivity and use. I really encourage you all to engage with it and talk about it! It is available on Kanopy, which usually lets you stream free as a college student.

SITE LINK: https://www.kanopy.com/product/bystander-moment

[alelespacio]

DOMESTIC ABUSE

I wanted to share with you all a resource located in Seminole County FL. It is a Domestic Abuse safe house that provides women with the necessary resources to help them get through situations of abuse within their lives. It has domestic violence center programs with leadership, advocacy, education, training, technical assistance and dedicated support, that represents the needs of abused women and children in the public policy arena. 1/3 off all women who are killed in the U.S.A are murdered by their partner. This is a very sad truth and I think it is crucial to share with other women the resources that are available for them to be safe and free. This association provides women with events, news, hotlines, and other resources for them to reach out to. I wanted to share with you all some information regarding domestic abuse, it was explored in my course and I think it is necessary to share in the public sphere. Our advancements in technology make it so easy for us to share our stories and make connections with other women, we should use this tool to make one another stronger, “Several recent publications related to violence prevention have highlighted the importance of creating connections across silos in this work. Hamby and Grych (2013) describe empirical support for aweb of violence, characterized by research showing that different forms of violence co-occur and many forms of violence share common risk and protective factors” (Coker) Intimate partner violence or (IPV) “includes any threatened or completed acts of physical, sexual, or psychological abuse committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, current or former boyfriend or girlfriend, or dating partners” (Saltzman et al., 1999). These acts are a form of gender based violence and women make up the majority of victims. By highlighting emerging issues of domestic abuse and offering responses for the complex system and emotions that women experience, it’s very important to talk about these topics with our friends and family. I feel very lucky that this class has provided me with a lot of resources and knowledge regarding issues impacting women greatly in this nation. I hope you can check out the website and donate if myopic have the mean.

Site link: http://safehouseofseminole.org/help-for-abused-women/

[alelespacio]

MISS REPRESENTATION

This post is dedicated to the film ‘Miss Representation’ that was presented to us in my ‘Women’s Studies’ class. I wanted to share with you this film since I found it so important and full of information that depicts the impact that advertising is having on women and young girls. In the film “Killing US Softly 4” Jean Kilbourne is critical of the advertising industry and its power, she states that the ad industry is a “$250 billion a year industry in the United States” and an average American spends “2 years of their life watching television commercials”. Ads do more than sell products they sell concepts that are damaging to the images that girls and women construct of themselves. Young girls and women are constantly objectified and sexualized in the media, this objectification and sexualization perpetuates violence. The flawless body and beauty ideals portrayed in ads and throughout social media are practically unattainable as the bodies we see in ads -“only fewer than 5% of women have”, this has led to an epidemic of eating disorders and the deterioration of confidence in women. In the pictures attached you can see the title and poster for the film in case you decide to watch, which I hope you do. I also included my notes that were required for the class on this film, I encourage you to take notes on concepts and aspects that stick out to you! Remember that we are so much more than what society tells us we should be, do not let social media negatively control you or your thoughts. Reach out to me if you are struggling with anything or wants to share your stories.

[alelespacio]

WRC

Today I wanted to share wit you an organization called, Women’s Resource Center of Central Florida. This institution aims to serve as a networking center, to provide a place to cross-reference women’s concerns and to act as a resource for women living in Central FL area. I urge you to explore their page in order to gain awareness of this establishment. I find it very interesting to see organizations that are attempting to aid women of all ages, we are all so important and worthy!

SITE LINK: https://www.wrc-online.org/about-us/

[alelespacio]

Culture Jam

Today I wanted share with you the collage piece that I submitted for the ‘Culture Jam’ assignment in my Women’s Studies course. I thought that this would be  important to share because any knowledge of certain concepts and their significance in our society and life as women is worth communicating. Culture jamming is a form of protesting that aims to disrupt media culture and corporate advertising. It works to question the presence and damaging influences of advertising and consumerism in our society. Culture jamming manipulates images in order to question the relationship between the message and it’s audience. Manipulating the focus that the power of mass media has over our values, expectations, behavior, and subconscious. My culture jam is presented as a collage that has manipulated and is resisting the messages and ideals found within a beauty magazines. I encourage everyone to try your own culture jam and share your stories and opinions. I hope that one day our society will not regulate and dominate our beauty and worth, as we are all so so unique and important. 

[alelespacio]

Girls Space

One of the first organizations that I want to give a shout out to is, ‘Girls Space’, in Gainesville FL. This organization empowers young girls to become strong, independent, and fearless women.‘Girls Space’ offers after school, athletic, leadership, and academic programs and resources. They are diverse as they touch upon intersectionality within their ideals. If you feel like their missions goals are something you would be interested in, check out their page! The have volunteering options for locals and a donation tab if you would like to contribute to their cause. I believe that exposing our young girls to all of their options and opportunities in our society is the foundation to stabilizing the instability that exists among society and women.

SITE LINK: http://girlsplace.net

[alelespacio]

Killing Us Softly 4

Hello, today I wanted to share with you another film that was presented to us in my Women’s Studies course. I think this documentary does a great job at exposing the damaging effects that advertising has on women and girls. The body dysmorphia is causes and the awareness of our capability to reject and resist the patriarchal forces. If you give it a watch, don’t hesitate to send me a message with your thoughts or opinions! I wanted to share with you my thoughts on our bodies, and first thing is first they are all beautiful and worthy. I also want to express that resisting binary gender notions is brave and if you ever need a safe space to talk about your identity in our current social atmosphere, I am here. My pronouns are she/her and lately I’ve been becoming more and more aware about the fluidity of self! We should all be able to learn and explore more about ourselves. I am glad that media exists that helps us connect and learn about the forces surrounding us.

Kanopy Link to the film: https://www.kanopy.com/product/killing-us-softly

[alelespacio]

Introducing this blog

Welcome to my blog! Hello, I am creating this blog titled ‘Espacio’, which translates to ‘Space’ in Spanish, to share with you an environment in which I am able to express my thoughts on all things women and gender. A little about me; I am enrolled in my senior year at the University of Central Florida where I am majoring in English Literature and minoring in Women and Gender Studies. While pursuing these fields of study, my passion for understanding the experiences, influences, and factors that impact women within our society have escalated. This fall semester for my ‘Introduction to Women Studies’ course, our class has been allowed to engage in a ‘Service learning project’ that allows us to invest ourselves in our community and provide ways to increase our awareness on social issues. I am a Mexican American first generation ‘soon to be’ graduate, and I feel very lucky to have a space to share with you my thoughts and knowledge. I will provide certain organizations that aim to aid women and girls. I hope you will engage with and donate to some of these causes, if you have the means, I will do my best to explain their goals and story. I will also share with you information from my course, as I wish to spread information and resources to anyone who wants it!