emmadilemmaaa12-blog

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Reflection

  Having the opportunity this summer to take this class has taught me a lot and opened my eyes to many topics I thought I had a good understanding of, but in all honesty, there was so much more for me to learn and that’s why I am thankful for this class. The two topics I really gained a better understanding of were, Feminism and Discrimination, which is why I have decided to center my Commonplace Book mostly around the two. Of course, I also gained knowledge about many other topics so, below you will notice I have shared some posts that I think reflect their meaning best. 

  Before taking this class, Feminism to me was defined as a way of thinking for women who felt they hadn’t been or aren’t as successful as they wanted to be and needing something to blame it on. If I am being honest, I was not someone who really supported Feminism, it wasn’t something that offended me, but it also was not something that interested me either. I realize now, I was so wrong! Feminism is so much more than the definition I had of it was. Feminism is about women supporting women and speaking out for what you believe in and giving women the rights to be just as successful as men or more and acknowledging the women who have been successful as many successful women are Feminists. Feminism is not a group of salty women who are depressed about their own lives or women who have a hatred for men at all, it truly is about leadership and giving each other a chance to be the best we can be.  The media portrays Feminism to be negative and in a way, a form of hatred towards men and even women who have been successful which, is why I believe my understanding was more negative before digging deeper this summer in this class.  

  The topic of Discrimination was also something that I viewed as being overused. What I mean by overused is, I thought people most of the time, claimed a situation was Discrimination when things didn’t go their way and not that they were actually discriminated against or that people were being overly sensitive causing them to overthink the situation. As I started to get more into the readings for this class, I realized my view was wrong and Discrimination is a very real active issue that goes on in society all the time. Women especially, are subject to this kind of treatment and more so when it comes to the business field. Sadly, this is not where Discrimination stops. People of color and different religion experience it frequently as well. One example that always comes to my mind, is when the Muslim people who were shot outside of their apartment in Chapel Hill by a neighbor. He had no reason to kill them other than the fact that they were Muslim, the media has portrayed them to be all like terrorists/bad people, and he was influenced/didn’t like it, so he took their innocent lives. Being from Chapel Hill, I remember hearing about this tragic incident on the news and it sickened me. I could not wrap my head around why their innocent lives were taken until now, in this class, after I read so much about the topic, I realized it is very real and has made people do/commit awful things in this world and it must be stoped. We must make people more aware of what it means to Discriminate and understand that the media has lessened it so you think people are overreacting when, it is actually the other way around. The media is a very powerful place and some times it is used more for bad than for good, which is some thing else I learned more about during this class and will be touching on in my Commonplace Book. I will admit, I am guilty of falling into the bias/propaganda of the media. They create a lot of False Perceptions about other religions and countries that we don’t always realize because it is the media, it has to be true...wrong!  Now that I am more aware, I will be doing more of my own research about a topic/idea instead of just relying on the media for information, and form my own opinions from there. 

  When I first decided to take this class, I never would have thought that I would get as much out of it as I did but I am very thankful. Not only did I learn a lot but I also enjoyed taking the class and the readings that came with it. I am sad to see it come to an end but happy with all my new gained knowledge that I will carry with me the rest of my life. 

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I chose this image because to me this best describes the definition of Feminism because Feminism is a way for women to support each other or another words, empower each other. This statement to me is very strong just like the women who support the Feminist movement. 

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I chose to add this old blog post of mine to my Commonplace Book because Storytelling is a very important part of making changes to the world and is a way to make others understand different perspectives without the bias of the media. 

I chose this graphic because it is true that storytelling shapes us and helps make changes in the world by bringing in many different perspectives-which is the first symbol in this graphic (story as light). Story telling also helps bring people together and create bonds (story as glue) and it keeps us all connected/connects us in ways we may not even realize some times.(Story as a web) Story telling is a powerful thing. 

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I decided to repost this to my Commonplace Book because this was actually one of the examples of Discrimination I mentioned in my reflection as it shows how real Discrimination is and the horrible effects it has on society. 

I chose this photo because I am actually from Chapel Hill and remember when this horrific shooting happened. This incident is a perfect example of the categorical/stereotypical thinking that society has instilled. I was so sick over it and could not understand how someone could kill innocent, law abiding, good citizens because of their race/religion and specifically because they were Muslim. The man who brutally murdered them had extreme hatred of Muslims for no good reason other than from what he’d been hearing from the media and the rest of the stereotypes out there. This is the true definition of a hate crime! 

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This image stood out to me because it represents one of the major things that Feminism stands for, inclusion. Feminism is not just for white females, but all females and it is important that all types of women come together and empower each other. Before this class, that is not something I realized the importance of but now I know that all women need to take part to make a change. 

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This was another post that I had added to the class page. I decided to repost it to my Commonplace Book because this quote describes what Feminism stands for and women should know that speaking up is important if you want to see a change and they shouldn’t be afraid. This is one of the most important things I learned about while taking this class. 

This quote stood out to me because it is true that women should speak up about what they believe and make the changes they want to see. Towards the end of this weeks reading, Bibi finally started to speak out and wanted to be heard, and people started listening. So many women are afraid to speak out in fear of being scrutenized but that is some thing we must over come and show our strength to the world. 

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I decided to add this graphic to my Commonplace Book because it represents that the best way for women to achieve the changes they want is to speak up and that all women of all races are included. In order to reach the changes we want, we need all women to speak out and voice the change they want to see. The voice of women is very powerful which is something I came to realize and fully understand after this class. 

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I decided to add this image to my Commonplace Book because it represents how women are Discriminated against in the business world and are viewed as not being able to be as or more successful than men because of our gender.  This is something that the Feminism movement is trying to deminish which is why we as women need to continue to speak up. Something I  learned in this class is that it so more important to speak up than to stay silent if you feel strongly about something changing. 

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I decided to add this photo to my Commonplace Book post because it represents the definition of Discrimination and Media bias because these men are standing with signs claiming the religion of Islam is violent and in a way a form of terrorism but they don’t know that from experience, they have formed those opinions based off of what they have heard from the media. It also portrays Discrimination because their signs are implying that all Muslims are bad instead of taking it person by person case. The young lady crouched in front is clearly not a terrorist but because of her choice of religion, apparently she is according to the media. 

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This was one of the first posts I added to the class blog and have chosen to add it to my Commonplace Book because it relates to the blindness of discrimination and I have learned a lot about this topic since the start of class

When I searched Kimberle Crenshaw and intersectionality, it came up with a lot of results of her quotes. I read through quite a few of them but this particular quote stood out to me the most because of how powerful and true its meaning is. If we decide to be blind to the discrimination that is all around us in every field, nothing is ever going to change and the people who are going to suffer the most are the ones who chose to be the most bind to it. Often times when some thing is really hard to face, we turn a blind eye but we have to be strong and understand the the reality if we want to see a change in how women and people of color of treated. 

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This graphic stood out to me as something I wanted to add to my Commonplace Book because it portrays all the things wrong with the media and how they influence many people’s way of thinking but with a lot of false or exaggerated information. Something I have learned in this class, is to not fall for the medias propaganda and bias and do more of my own research to gain a better understanding of the issue or topic before forming my opinions.