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I agree, this class also helped realized how bad the world really is. Before taking this class I didn’t know anything that was going on in the world around me. I have realized that there are still a lot of issues on adapting to the world we live in now.It is important to educate others, as we educated ourselves by deciding to take this class. 

7th post: Reflection

This class was my favorite one this year. All of the discussions, the laughter, and the realizations are priceless. I also wanted to take this class to educate others that haven’t received this education like I have, like my friends or boyfriend. I’ve learned that feminism is not just for women, its for everyone. It benefits women especially, but men too. I’ve also learned that not everyone completely benefits from the mainstream definition of feminism: “To make women equal to men.” There are men and women who live in poverty, and those women wouldn’t want to equal to those men.

Another huge concept I’ve learned that I can share is the waves of feminism. The first wave was women’s suffrage by being able to vote. The second wave was women being able to live out of the house, and go get a job like other men. The third wave of feminism is equal pay, slut shaming, and rape culture. I’m also proud to say that I convinced my boyfriend that he is a feminist. He actually said two weeks ago, “I am a first and second wave feminist.”

This class has also helped me realize just how messed up the world is, especially politics, and the legal system. It is set up so that the “failed” can fail even more, and the “superiors” just keep on rising up. For example, with the prison to pipeline system. Black students are getting the short end of the stick by doing the same things other students do, but getting into worse trouble because of it.

I will continue to educate myself after this class is over, educate others after this class by keeping involved in events at UIC or somewhere else, or keeping with everything on social media.

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I agree with you. Taking class came to be a huge benefit because I learned many things I didn’t know. After taking this class I feel confident about passing on the knowledge that was passed on to me by our professor and peers. I hope your right, and soon enough we will have world where equality exists. 

7th Post: Course Reflection

Gender Women Studies (GWS) 101 was a course full of issues and key terms that I was familiar with, but had very little knowledge towards it all. In other words, GWS expanded my knowledge. As a consequence, I am now comfortable with sharing the knowledge that I acquired, if it ever happens to be relevant in a certain conversation with others. GWS caused me to feel much more confident about ever sharing my point of view towards relevant issues that pertain to feminism. 

Taking GWS 101 was by far a great learning experience because I learned so much. For example, before I enrolled into GWS 101, I had no idea what a feminist was or even what the definition of what feminism meant. I right away found myself to be very interested in learning every single topic that was spoken and talked about in class. The articles and the stories that my classmates shared in class kept me intrigued. 

I hope to continue the feminist struggle by speaking up to the people that seem to lack knowledge towards the feminist struggle. After taking GWS, I am confident enough to educate or to at least share the knowledge that I was able to obtain, hoping to give others a different insight at the end. 

My point of view towards the world has slightly changed because I know that women are no longer shamed or seen as less as they did years ago. Now, society has somewhat accepted the women are just as valuable and capable as men. The sole fact that certain groups and determined, feminist activists are fighting for a change in society as to how women are perceived causes me to believe that there is hope in this world for equality.  

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My family is the exact way. Ever since I was little my parents would always go separate ways when it came to going to shop for clothes. My mom would tell my dad to take my brother with because she was going to look at clothes for her and me. My brother and I grew up very close to one another because we were almost the same age, and we shared the same room. My dad would hate it when I asked my brother to play dress up or dolls with him. There isn’t a lot of girls in my family, so I asked him to play with me all the time. My dad always told him dolls were for girls. Until this day, my dad is still like this.

Post #1

The problem I have identified is the affects of Machismo on young children in Latinx families. This is a problem that contributes to oppression on the basis of gender because it instills a sexist mindset from the beginning of a child’s life. It is a problem because it becomes a continuous cycle. Children grow up and become accustomed to a sexist mindset. It becomes something they teach their kids and their kids teach their own. Personally I think that Machismo is more prevalent in more impoverished countries, therefore I chose to focus on Latinx culture (also because I am Mexican myself). Although I didn’t grow up in a Latinx country, I feel that my family has brought many of the Machismo ideas with them. They are embedded in them like they are for many other immigrants. I am interested in the topic not only because of the insight I will gain on the affects it has had on me, but to be more conscious about it as well and to use this information for my future and of others; to break the cycle.

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I agree with everything you said. Besides it being an issue on the basis of gender, I also think it is a race issue. Latinas and African American women are the one who get payed less compared to white women. This is because white women are seen as superior than the rest. Everybody who do the same work should be paid the same. It doesn’t matter what color their skin is, their race, or gender. 

1st Post: INTRODUCTION

Title: The Wage Gap Between Latina Women and Men. 

Website to the statistic above: http://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/workplace-fairness/fair-pay/latinas-wage-gap.pdf

The problem here is that most, if not all, Latina women are paid much less than men. According to nationalpartnership.org, “Latinas in the United States are paid, on average, just 55 cents for every dollar to white, non-hispanic men” (2015). The statistic above makes it clear that this is a problem that contributes to oppression on the basis of gender because women have to work twice as hard to earn what men earn. This salary issue caught my attention because I immediately thought about all of the single Latina mothers who have to support their children. It is not fair that they are not paid the same because of their ethnicity. 

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I agree. In my ED 135 we are talking about the school to prison pipeline and it’s just horrible what students go through. Once a student does something bad, they are labeled ad the “bad student” and they continue on getting in trouble for any little thing. In my class I read about how students get in trouble for things such as chewing gum, not wearing the appropriate uniform shoes, etc. Some schools just set students for failure, instead of helping them. Black boys are portrayed as being “bad” and many people believe so which makes them be at more at risk for failure than any other student. 

Blog post one: Introduction

I’ve moved to the US two years ago, and while I was aware of racism I now realise that I lived in a bubble before. I chose this topic to educate myself as well as spreading awareness. My blog post is about the school to prison pipeline for boys of color. Race and social class are factors contributing to the problem, but so is gender. Instead of dealing with problems in school and receiving additional aid in counselling or educational services, students are punished and funnelled into the criminal system. Boys of color are especially at risk.

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I agree. The way we view our body has lot to do with the way society shows what the “perfect” body looks like. Most of society believes that the perfect women has big boobs, a big ass, is skinny, with no stretch marks, and with a small curvy waist. Not everybody has the same body, and some people get that body by surgeries. People should be happy with the body they have, and should feel comfortable with it. If we’re happy with ourselves, who cares about what anybody else thinks. Women and men are both affected with this. Some women want to have what society shows them because they want to have what they believe men are most interested in, and some men are the same way. Men in society are portrayed with having a nice muscle tone body, but many don’t have that and it makes feel bad about their self image. 

Introduction 

How we perceive our body has a lot to do with society’s appearance ideals. Body image is ones’ own opinion of their body. Body image is subjective and can be negative or positive. Mass media has put together a certain perception of body image for men and women. Women are expected to have a thin and lean figure where as, men are expected to be more muscular. When people do not meet these body image ideals, they go through extreme body image disturbance that may eventually lead to eating disorders. It is human nature to compare ourselves to other, which is why we often find ourselves trying to meet the society’s standards of what we should look like. In this research, I will be analyzing eating disorders’ relation to body image. I will be focusing on answering the following questions: How does gender play a role when it comes to self-scrutinizing our bodies? Do men or women both feel the pressure to conform to society’s appearance ideals? Does one gender feel it more than the other? Are eating disorders more common among men or women? And finally, what does this information tell us the difference between the pressures that women versus men feel? I am very interested in this topic and I feel that after thoroughly doing my research, I can distinguish the similarities and differences between how eating disorders effect men and women. 

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7th post-Reflection

Having taken this class has made me feel aware of the world we live in. Taking this course made me knowledgeable of terms and topics I always heard and read about on social media. Taking GWS 101 this semester has taught many things. It taught me the difference between sex and gender. I use to think sex was just the act of intercourse, and gender was a label of being a boy or girl which depended on being born with a penis or a vagina. In this class I learned that sex is the gender you were born as, and gender is the way you identify yourself, a boy or a girl. Also, I learned many terms I didn’t hear of such us gender typing and gender roles. I feel happy and confident that I can pass on my knowledge to others to make our world a better place.

My view of the world has changed due to class readings and discussions in class. I knew the world wasn’t the best it could be, but I never thought how bad it actually was. We’re in 2016, and women still earn less then men, and are treated and seen less than men. I’ve seen women work in jobs that used to be only for men which made me believe society was fine with women doing what men do. There are still people who are not okay with this, and this is why women go through sexual harassment at work because some men are mad about having women work with them. 

Once this class is over I will continue in feminist struggle by sharing what I learned with people(friends, family, neighbors, classmates etc). I could help people change the way they view things, and then they can pass on the knowledge I gave them to others. Theres still many grandparents and parent out there against same sex marriage, and with transgender people, but it is because they are old fashioned and used to the how things. These kinds of people just need someone to inform them and understand what going on. 

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I learned a lot from attending this event. I agree with Jessica, I also didn’t know of the struggle it is to obtain hormones, and are even rejected at times. I don’t see why anybody should be rejected of any medication if no harm is going to be done by them taking it. It is an important issue that has to be fixed.

Gender-Related UIC Event

Event’s Flyer :

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12784237/GWS%20294%20Spring%202016/Trans%20Health%20Panel%20Flyer.pdf

I attended the Transgender and Gender Variant Health Panel event that took place at UIC. The event consisted of multiple speakers, including my professor. The event focused on the health care system. Some of the speakers at the event mentioned experiences of other individuals who have struggled obtaining certain medication because of their identity. The speakers confirmed to the audience that it has been a long journey in reforming the health care system, but that fortunately, changes are being made and are continuing to be made for the convenience of the individuals who wish to take the hormonal treatment. 

1. I really appreciated how friendly and welcoming the speakers were. The food and coffee that was provided at the event was very sweet from their part.

2. I learned how it can be difficult for others to obtain hormones. I had no idea that individuals were questioned and sometimes rejected from obtaining the medication. 

3. I also learned that advocates spend a lot of time educating the insurance companies so that this type of medication is covered for any member who wants to consume hormones. 

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I am glad to hear you are a public health major. You have the opportunity to help make a change with the knowledge you learned, and you can also educate others about this. We need people who work in the system in order to make a rapid change. The health system is just so sickening now a days, it should be helping everyone.

6th Post: Trans Health Panel

Transgender and Gender Variant Health Panel

The reason why I decided to go to this event was because I am a Public Health major and Gender and Women’s studies minor so it seemed like a perfect intersection of both my studies. I also helped out Professor Chu by filming the event so I was there a few minutes early to set up my camera. The panel of this event consisted of five diverse professionals in transgender and gender variant health. The questions asked were thought provoking and even created differing opinions amongst the panelists (which is always a good thing.) It was extremely insightful in regards to learning what trans health means and how it works or should work. As a student that in the future wants to be in the medical field, this discussion was helpful in bridging medical knowledge with trans and gender variant knowledge. 

The first and I believe the most important thing I learned is what Trans health is. As many of the panelists concluded, Trans health is everything. Trans health means physical well being, health insurance, mental health, access to medication, access to additional health resources etc. Everything that any human being needs to be healthy is Trans health. As one of the panelists Caprice Carthans said, a trans patient is a full person not a one issue person. The second thing I learned was that one of the major challenges facing trans health in the United States is health insurance policy. Most health insurance companies do not cover crucial hormones trans people need. Medical coding that is sent to insurance companies also needs advancement. The medical code needed by insurance companies to cover hormones is currently classified under “endocrine disorder” which is incorrect as trans people do not have endocrine disorders that cause them to need hormones. The last thing I learned was most helpful to my current situation as a public health student and hospital volunteer. That is, in general how to treat trans patients and make them feel included and comfortable. This could be as simple as using that patient’s correct pronouns to as ”complicated” as hiring trans and LGBTQ+ people from the community. Having printed and digital media that include trans people allows for trans people to feel as though they can relate and are not out of the ordinary and are included. These things are not formally taught to most health professionals so it is important to teach other medical professionals to do the same.

event flyer: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12784237/GWS%20294%20Spring%202016/Trans%20Health%20Panel%20Flyer.pdf

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6th Blog Post: Gender-related UIC Event

Flyer: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12784237/GWS%20294%20Spring%202016/Trans%20Health%20Panel%20Flyer.pdf

The Transgender Health Panel event consisted of six panelists: Margo Bell, Caprice Carthans, Kelly Ducheny, Aiden Harrington, Shay Phillips and my professor Erica Chu. Attending this health panel made me realize that Transgenders go through so much more than just being discriminated, but they also have a hard time with their health care providers due to their identity. The problem just doesn’t stop there, in the panel Shay Phillips said that the care given is not the only issue, but also the experience of interacting with the health care system, such as how people interact with you in the facility, what things one has to go through to make an appointment and how peoples responses are over the phone. There’s also a lot of confusing on people name. If theres a person who was born a female named Sarah, but now transitioned into a male, it is better to ask rather than assume what their identity is. People are working for a better health care polices related to gender. Kelly Ducheny said that it will be years until health care providers catch up. Hopefully it will be sooner than that and people will be able to obtain the treatment and care they want and deserve.

Three things that I learned/ appreciated from the event was:

1.) That individuals go through a rough time trying to obtain hormones. I didn’t think it was possible for a health care provider to reject someone from acquiring medications.

2.) Something that I really appreciated was that even though the event ended at 11am, students were allowed to leave 15 mins early to be able to attend their next class. I really appreciated how nice of them that was.

3.) Something I didn’t know is that to fix the health care system, leaderships have to spend lots of time in meetings with county care on the phone with providers like, BlueCross, Medicaid, with the state trying to inform them, but the providers have no idea what they’re talking about most of the time so it’s their job to inform them.

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I completely agree with you. I don’t why men continue complimenting women and trying to grab our attention as if they were doing us a favor, because they’re not. One day I bought a cute summer dress with floral print, and I was just dying to wear it because it made me feel pretty. I wore it, and about two guys complimented me on it. That wasn’t the reason why I bought the dress. I didn’t buy it to get attention from men, I just wanted it because I liked it. I bought it for myself! Some men just don’t know whats right from wrong. They should keep their own thoughts to themselves and stop making women feel scared of being in public spaces.

Blog Post 4: Course Reading: “Street Harassment: Current and Promising For Avenues For Researchers and Activists” by Dr. Laura Logan 

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12784237/GWS%20101%20Spring%202016/Logan%20-%20Street%20Harassment.pdf

Summary: The topic of this reading is street harassment and Dr. Logan goes into detail about the origins of why street harassment happens, what are the effects of street harassment, and what can happen if we let street harassment incidents continue on without taking action. As stated, mainly women, no matter what sexual orientation, age, race, or ethinicity are victims of street harassment. Women from even at a young age can experience street harassment and that can lead to negative responses like fear, distrust, depression, anger, shame and many other effects. Most harassers are men and it was mentioned at men don’t see their actions as harassment, but as  “harmless” or “human nature”. It was even said that men see harassing people and especially women on the street as a way of bonding with their friends. Throughout the article, Dr. Logan touches of each aspect of street harassment to explain more about the subject since there wasn’t much research done on it to begin with by focusing on the victims, the attackers, the responses, and consequences. 

Response: From all the articles we have read in class, I felt the strongest personal connection with this one mainly because I have experience street harassment multiple times. As an adult woman, being harassed on the street by men isn’t surprising and that’s the scary thing. It shouldn’t be expected to get “cat called” on the street every time you go whether it’s to go to the store really fast, or if you’re going out somewhere; but it is. From reading this article, I felt connected because I know what those women go through when they harassed; i have felt that moment of shame or that moment where you are scared for your life because you think some guy on the street is going to follow you home because he kept harassing you. To think that men harass women on the street as a type of “bonding moment” with each other is disgusting and just proves how women are still objectified by men to this day. Men argue that women are treated equally and all women do is want to takeover and dominate. You think getting harassed on the street everyday regardless of where you are and what you’re wearing is considered equal? To not see women as beings, but as a prompt of amusement or connector to bring your buddies together is equal?  What’s worse is that little girls that experience street harassment don’t understand why young boys or men do this to them. It creates a sense of “danger” that no girl should feel at such a young age. I know I felt unsafe as times waiting at the bus stop and a guy would pull his car up to me and look at me expecting me to get in or honk the horn to grab my attention or stare me down until I noticed him. I hope others read this article and realize that inequality between men and women is still very real in this day and age and come to the conclusion that it’s time to stop blaming women for these incidents, actions or crimes, and start teaching men not to act this way. 

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I agree with you. I hate it when men tell me that I am beautiful. Like, that person doesn’t know me. He is just going by appearance and it shouldn’t be that way. If he knew me maybe his opinion will change. Afterwards, he wouldn’t think of me as beautiful as he thought. Maybe he’ll think I’m a horrible person, nobody knows how someone truly is. What makes a person beautiful is their personality, not their appearance.

“Street Harassment: Current and Promising Avenues for Researchers and Activists.”

For the 4th blog post, I chose Laura Logan’s piece about street harassment. This reading outlined the issue of street harassment. It attempted to define it, give relevant statistics, analyze its effect on women, and overall contribute to a better understanding of the problem.  

I felt that it was relevant because of an experience over the weekend. I was out with a friend, and he began to start yelling “you’re beautiful” at any woman he passed. I told him that it could be construed as street harassment, but he didn’t fully understand why, and thought he was doing something with good intention and helping boost self esteem for people. If anything, it potentially lowers it by making women feel that their worth, and what makes them noticed, is their outward beauty. 

Although it wasn’t the most malicious example of street harassment, I still felt like it wasn’t a good thing to be doing. The women in question probably didn’t find it as flattering as he thought it was, and saying that to random people was ultimately insincere. My hope is to be able to better explain the problem with this should it happen again. 

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“Street Harassment: Current and Promising Avenues for Researches and Activists” by: Dr. Laura S. Logan

For my 4th blog post this reading interested me the most because it talks about one of the major issues many women go through. Every women has witnessed street harassment from men they do not know in public spaces. In this reading theres different real life stories in which women have gone though harassment. One of them was a women who was exercising near a mall and as she was doing so a guy said hi to her and started following her. At the end he raped her and was never caught. Another one was where a women felt unsafe going outside where she was because there was three men bothering her. She went back inside and told the security what was going on but he didn't do anything because he said the guys were on public property and there was nothing he could do. It is very upsetting that many men take advantage already knowing that nothing could be done to them if they’re at a public space. Many men also think that many women dress a certain way because they are wanting to get rapped/harassed. The “SlutWalk” protest also interested me. Women don’t dress a certain way to “dress like sluts” and they shouldn’t change the way they dress just to avoid sexual assult.  Women are free of doing anything they want. We’re not sexual objects.

I made a personal connection to this reading because I have experienced harrasment a couple of times. I know how it feels having to pass a group of men in public. It feel terribly awkward. I walk as fast as I can and try my best not to make eye contact with them. At times I have to take out my phone to make it look like I’m busy. This made an impact on how I think about gender as it relates to everyday life by thinking that men have easier than women. Men are not seen as “sluts” if they are seen walking around shirtless, but if theres women walking around showing a bit of cleavage they are labeled a slut. It’s not only men who do this, but some women who label others. There’s women who love their body and feel comfortable in it. People who judge are the ones who don’t love themselves and just want to bring the ones who are down with them. I hope everyones learns to just mind their own business and let everyone be happy.

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I agree with you shelby. Women struggle in a daily basis trying to accept themselves, its not easy but it is possible. Growing up, my uncle would never call me by my name. He would call me “gorda” (fat). I never saw it as anything bad, I just saw it as a sort of nickname. As I grew older I kind of started hating hearing when he called me that. It started making me feel bad about my body image. He would call me this anywhere. All my family would be around, and I would just get so embarrassed. It has been a few years now that he stopped calling me by that. 

Body/Courage, written and performed by Danielle Pinnock, was the fist one-person show I have seen and it was excellent. The show was not only the story of Danielle and her journey in search for her acceptance of her beauty, but the story of many others as well. Throughout the show, Danielle introduces and impersonates the story of a variety of people she has interviewed. She shows how beauty is an issue that everyone struggles with in a variety of ways, and how it takes courage to learn to accept ones self. She includes interviews of people who struggle with beauty issues including age, gender, skin color, weight, etc. Just like the show began with Danielle’s story, it ended with hers as well; only this wasn’t your typical happy ending. Her ending showed that beauty acceptance is a personal process, which takes a lot of time. Through the show we see that not only may it be a difficult process for ourselves, but for many others as well.

Personally, growing up I had a similar situation as Danielle with her grandmothers. I have one grandmother by whom I have never felt accepted. I remember many instances in my childhood in which she compared me to my cousins who had clearer skin and where much thinner. My other grandmother on the other hand has always been much kinder about my weight. I think that because she had an even fuller figure than I do, she understood the concept and acceptance of different body figures. Like her, I feel that I have not completely become at peace with my body, but I think that I am on my way. I learned that it’s a process and I think that one must surround oneself with the right people who accept you for who you are. I also learned that beauty is something people struggle with in a variety of ways. It isn’t only concerning weight and it isn’t only a struggle that women deal with. Also, as much as it is said by others, I think that I truly learned that others opinions shouldn’t matter to me; once you can learn to accept yourself, you will be much happier.

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I agree with you Yareli. Al everyone thinks about is themselves. We are obsessed on how we look like from the outside, but forget what truly matters is in the inside. Not everything from the media is true. Most of the pictures of women we see out here with the “perfect figure” are a photo shopped. There’s no such thing as perfect, and there will never be. Everyone should just learn to love themselves and stop caring about their outside image. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46-kGMPqDbc

We look in the mirror. What do we see? Some see imperfections and others see perfection. However, some people cannot even look at themselves because of how much they hate their body image. Unfortunately, there are more people who hate parts of their body than those who feel confident and beautiful. Annie, a beautiful,woman, confesses in her videos that she had Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD). The disorder causes someone to obsess about their body and not feel comfortable of their body image. Annie expresses the things she went through at a young age of ten when her own father mentioned he hoped to have enough money to surgically fix her nose. It was the starting point of when Annie began to think of herself and feel ugly.

With time, she disconnected herself from media that portrays what every woman is supposed to look like. Annie removed toxic people from her life: the ones who always judge people. She was able to find peace within herself and feel beautiful! It was an amazing experience to hear because many people go through the same thing. It is extremely important to know that everyone is beautiful in their own way and we should accept all. 

Annie’s experience teaches me that other points of view should not really matter to me. As long as everyone is pleased and feels beautiful with themselves, no one should judge. There should not be a model of the way every woman should look like; we all come in different, beautiful shapes and sizes. The media is one source that needs to be careful about this. It portrays figures that make people, especially adolescents, think they should look like so and so. We should all feel confident with our skin color, our culture, background, and imperfections. What really counts is our inside: our personality. Annie mentions that we take control of our life. We are the driver and should not allow ourselves to be pushed to the back seat. We are all beautiful and unique in our own special way.

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In the play I attended on Thursday “Body/Courage” at the Rivendell Theater Ensemble was wonderful. It was all played by Danielle Pinnock. The strong message given is that everyone should love their body, no matter what. In the play theres many stories from different people that were conducted from interviews. Daniella focuses on issues many women go through such as, gender transition, weight, disability, illnesses etc. All the stories show how cruel society can be with one another, and it makes many people be under underpressure by trying to fit in with the rest of society. 

In the play Daniella talks about her childhood with her mother and grandma. She had a hard time accepting her body image. She developed a complicated relationship with her body after all she went through like being on diets, and having to exercise with her grandma in the basement. She later on lost 60 pounds, and all her friends and family were complimenting her on it saying things such as “look what has been hiding under there!” and telling her she looked prettier. None of this helped her be in peace with her body. 

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Group 3

GWS  101

T R 2-3:15pm

Between The Lines: On Culture, Class, and Homophobia

The Other Heritage (Dijana)

The topic I chose to discuss is directly derived from the shared experience of Rosario Morales in “This Bridge Called My Back”. Morales talks about the voluntary separation between different groups of colored women, but more specifically, the separation of Latina and Black women in her neighborhood. Morales points out her mother’s own feelings toward the separation of the two races as a way to make her daughter seem “more white”. She anecdotes one of many instances in a grocery store: “I walk in straight and white into the store and say good morning in my see how white how upper class how refined and kind voice all crisp with consonants bristling with syllables… que hay de criticar will I do will I pass… not see me here beneath my skin” (130). As a child, she was taught to fear black men when they walked down the street, she was taught that black was not beautiful. But as she was taught to discriminate against her colored sisters, she herself was discriminated against by the people her mother pushed her to be more like. White mothers were teaching their daughters to fear Latino men when they walked down the street, and that Brown was not beautiful. She was at a divide, and she “forgot the other heritage”. She forgot that the pain she felt was similar to theirs. She forgot that she was treated as much of a sub-human as they were. She forgot that Black was not to fear. What were to fear were the people who shouted that any color other than white is not beautiful. Her story is, to me, its own theme in the book, because it is one of the many roots of systematic racism. White patriarch does not only divide two distinct groups of people from each other; it creates a jumble of populations pinned against populations. Whites are taught to look down on those who are not like them. The next closest race is taught to do the same, and the next until it creates a pyramid of racism and a difficult journey to remember the other heritage. Women of color, while they still like to fight for their own specific cultures, also like to stand by other populations of women of color. They find they have more in common with each other than not, and feel that that they have a duty to help each other out of the discriminative rut they are put into.

Black v. White Lesbianism (Krutika)

In “In Between The Lines: On Culture, Class, and Homophobia”, Beverly and Barbara, two black feminist women, were asked questions regarding lesbian separatism and the effects of feminism on colored and white lesbians during the 1980s. Black lesbian women were more likely to experience discrimination because they “didn’t have white skin or class privilege to fall back on (Moraga et al, 125)”. White lesbians have had to only deal with being homosexual in straight America, while black lesbian women and lesbian women of color were dealing with straight, white America. This has caused Black lesbian women to be less open about their sexuality compared to white lesbians. Another big difference between the classes of lesbian women being addressed was views on men. Because of their “class privilege”, many white lesbians refused to sympathize with white men on anything and chose to lead separatist lifestyles. They believed they could only achieve self-sufficiency without the accompaniment of men. Black lesbian women and women of color, on the other hand, sympathized with men of their cultures because both genders were common targets for oppression. This has led to white women feeling like black women and women of color were too “male-identified” because they did, in fact, sympathize with their men. Barbara and Beverly admit, “They express anger at us for not seeing the light (Moraga et. al, 121-122)”. They felt that white, separatist women could not look past the idea that black and colored lesbian women were giving their men too much of the benefit of the doubt. They didn’t come together just because both races of women were lesbians. These were mainly lesbian separatist groups that thought that oppression and sexism was caused by men only therefore they would isolate themselves from associating with men. Some believed if men no longer were in charge and didn’t have so much power over things, racism would not be an issue. Compared to the 1980s, I feel that gender oppression issues and racism also along with issues regarding sexuality have improved a lot although they still do exist. People have become more open and sensitive or sympathetic when they come across situations that pertain to these intersectional topics. The reading also mentions how feminism and lesbianism go hand in hand and helped break the silence and secrecy. Educating people about these topics that are a part of so many people’s lives helps them to understand and sympathize toward people who struggle with being accepted by society because of their sexuality.

Chicana Lesbian Feminists (Adilene and Leslie)

The fact that Mirtha Quinones refers to herself as a “Latina lesbian feminist” shows how she separates herself from the other women of her class- she limits the amount of women who may relate her because of her specificity. She admits that she feels like a failure for not being able to relate with the white feminist and, therefore, must look for a unit with her Latina sisters. Something that often happens in our Latin community is that we do not speak up for ourselves among other races. The Latina lesbian feminist is oppressed, not only by other cultures and classes, but by her own culture. While the colored woman often acts for her male counterpart (as opposed to the white woman who feels she needs to rise above her male counterpart), she is silenced by the men of her community. She does not fit the mold of an authentic Latina wife- she cannot be equal to her men and she cannot reject her men romantically. The Latina lesbian feminist desperately wants to fight for the rights of her people, but how can she, when she is not considered a woman by the men in her life? She is left in between. The Latina lesbian feminist goes beyond getting accepted for sexual preference and instead stands on the abolishment of oppression. This particular group focuses on the need to be accepted as a Latina in the New World, as well as to be aware of others similar to her in surrounding areas- a struggle that is systematic all over America and even within the Latino community- a community set in traditional stereotypes of homophobic, patriarchal values.

  Bisexualism in Today’s World (Jessica and Ofelia)

According to Cheryl Clarke, in “In Between The Lines: Culture, Class, and Homophobia”, women who label themselves as bisexual sometimes feel safer than being identified as a lesbian because society will not judge them as harshly if they were to classify themselves only as lesbian. Clarke strongly believes that bisexual women have it easier when she writes “Bisexual is a safer label than lesbianism, for it posits the possibility of a relationship with a man, regardless of how infrequent or non-existent the female bisexual’s relationship with men might be” (130). In other words, Clarke believes that lesbian women have it tougher than bisexual women because they are only interested in their own gender, meaning society judges them the hardest since they are not interested in men or what society perceives as “normal”.

Although Clarke stated that it’s safer for women to identify themselves bisexual, that’s not always true. There are many real life examples of bisexual women who struggle to explain their sexual attraction to others because they fear the judgment from others. In some cases, it is much more complicated for a bisexual woman to express her sexual orientation because she is not fully accepted by others, nor is she understood. Bisexual women are seen as “confused” or not sure of what they want because of their interest in two very different genders. Real life examples of bisexual women argue with Clarke “People Think You’re Either a Cheater or a Swinger’: Bisexual Women Reveal the Frustrations of Being Attracted to Men and Women in Secret Confessions” by Annabel Fenwick Elliot. Bisexual women share that they wish they weren’t bisexual because it is hard to explain their sexuality to others. One woman states, “I hate being bisexual, I’d rather be fully straight or fully lesbian. It’s way harder to make people understand the in-between” (2016). The quote above states one of the biggest struggles that bisexual women go through when they express their sexual attraction. It is complicated for them to fully express their interests without being questioned or judged. A great example of a fictional character that could relate to this type of judgment would be “Piper Chapman” from the show Orange is the New Black (OITNB). In the show, Piper is engaged to her male fiancé, yet she is also interested in a woman. While she is interested in both genders, she does refuse to be open about it due to fear of discrimination. Piper’s situation is one that others can relate to, as she is and is afraid to express bisexual orientation.

Another very common struggle for bisexual women is the lack of trust by their partners because of their broad sexual orientation. Many partners fear being cheated on by their bisexual partner due to their possible desires for something they cannot necessarily fulfill.  

Bisexual women play a significant role to feminism and intersectional feminism because all woman should have the freedom to express who they are or who they want to be.

White-Washing Cultural Identity (Rahel)

“White-Wash” means to prevent people from learning the truth. For instance, people will say you are better (whiter) because you resemble us (white people). Thus, you are higher than original culture. So the reading is all about what class assumptions are made about “black people” by white feminists and its experience. They classify them based on their income level, stability of life, educational privilege and standard of living. One concrete example is, if they see black people earning money, taking care of their family and sending their kids to college, they are considered middle class. In one of the readings, Barbara mentions that in order for people to understand what our background is and to classify us, “they need to have a lot of comprehension about what Black life is all about.” Gender oppression relates to how men and women are always compared to the “middle/high class white society” mindset. This mindset places high value on heterosexual norms as well as "regular” culture gender norms. When a person is white-washed he or she is oppressed.

Homophobia in the Black Community (Ray)

In this section, what homophobia in the black community is mainly about is black women are becoming sensitive or sympathetic to the women’s movement. The reason that black women are so homophobic is that attraction repulsion thing, which causes them to speak out vociferously against lesbianism, if they don’t they may have to deal with their own deep feelings for women. Black women are more vulnerable to homophobic attack because they don’t have white skin privilege or class privilege to fall back on if somebody wants to start a smear campaign against them. This topic relates to gender oppression because black women are having a hard time sticking to the idea of gender norms. Just like how it is talked about in the black community how people are having a hard time sticking to gender norms, it is shown threw other races. Through the 80’s and 90’s people of the same gender were getting together. My cousin Leia, she is a bisexual and she has a girlfriend and she is only 19 years old.   The view that women experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity is intersectional feminism and it relates to my topic because black women experience oppression almost every day. The advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men is feminism and my topic relates to feminism because the main idea of homophobia in the black community is women being sensitive to the women’s movement.

Works Cited

MailOnline, Annabel Fenwick Elliott for. “‘People Think You’re Either a Cheater or a Swinger’: Bisexual Women Reveal the Frustrations of Being Attracted to Men AND Women in Secret Confessions.” Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 26 June 2015. Web. 21 Feb.   2016.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3137474/Bisexual-women-reveal-frustrations-attracted-men-women-secret-confessions.html

Moraga, Cherríe, and Gloria Anzaldúa. This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color. Watertown, MA: Persephone, 1981. Print.