Discovering Our Identities

I am glad I was able to sleep at least 6 hours last night. I woke up with a good amount of energy. Some of the girls and I went to eat breakfast at the Ratty like always. On our way back, I realized it was not as hot as the other days had been which is a GREAT thing.

Once we arrived to class, we reviewed everything we had talked about yesterday and all the terms. Oppression, misogyny, allies, privilege, and collude. These words were really important to understand because they all had to do with feminism. 

What makes a woman...

During the first section of class we were supposed to watch a documentary called Missrepresentation but, unfortunately it would not play. Instead, we split into two groups. One group wrote what traits makes a woman on a poster while the other wrote down traits that makes a man. It was actually pretty interesting how many stereotypical things were what mostly described a woman. Sometimes it can be pretty offensive.

What makes a man...

Before we showed our poster to the rest of the class we had to present skits that society usually thought how men and women were. Our group split up into 3 groups. I was with Wendy and two other girls. We decided we wanted to act out a scene where the woman is a housewife, being cheated by her husband, with 2 kids and pregnant. When i thought about it, it really made me think about my ethnicity. A lot of people i know think all Mexicans do is have a bunch of children when in reality it is not true. It is not true either that they do not have a job and all they do is stay at home and cook. 

After everyone was done presenting their skit and both groups put up the poster, Mary Grace asked us to write traits that would describe that sex if they did not fit in the box. I realized how thin the line was between being how everyone thinks is the perfect way to be and being outside of that. It is really insane how society judges us. 

When it was time for lunch, we were assigned to ask people if they knew the definition of feminist and misogyny. It was pretty surprising that the guys we asked actually knew the real definition of feminist. I really did not expect that. I actually thought they were lost likely to now they definition of misogyny which is the hatred of women. Most of them did not know. Every girl we asked, they knew the exact definition of both words and great explanations. It really made me glad because it meant they were actually informed about it. 

Once lunch time was over, we headed back to the class. I was really happy because we were able to watch the documentary we were not able to watch the first section of the class. It was about women being able to be recognized because of their looks and used as sexual objects. It was really touching and eye opening. What really got me upset was a part when Hilary Clinton was giving a speech and this really disrespectful guy was yelling out "Iron my shirt!" He was basically telling her she should not have been there. Instead, at home doing house duties. What also stood out was something Diana had pointed out. There was this ad for a perfume and there was a girl on the floor who was supposed to be "fainted." Surrounding her were a bunch of men just standing there all muscular. To me it seemed like they felt really powerful. Diana made a really good point when she mentioned it reminded her of occasions when girls get raped. The gang of guys surrounding the girl with all the power really made it seem that way. It is crazy how commercials, videos, ads, anything we see on a daily bases can be so offensive and we do not even realize it. 

Amazing art piece in the hallway

Women and Leadership

After lunch we left to a Diversity Workshop. I remember Tory had mentioned it was going to be very personal and for some, emotional. When I heard that, I definitely did not think I was going to be one of those girls. The workshop had to do with exploring our own identities. What affected us everyday to what really did not affect us. Some of the options were body image, family life, social class, gender identity, significant life experiences, education, abilities and disabilities, and hobbies. I thought the conversations were going to be pretty simple since the class did not really know each other. Surprisingly, it brought tears to many people. I am really glad we all shared what we were probably holding for so long. It is always a good feeling to tell people. I think it is crazy how we trusted each other after only 3 days. It was honestly one of the best experiences. I would have never thought something like that would have happened. This workshop also made me appreciate that I do not have as many disabilities. Everything really could be worse. I feel like this really brought us closer. I am really thankful for everyone that was really there to support one another. 

When this was over, I felt like I came out as a whole different person. We grabbed something to eat and returned to our dorms. I worked on my assignment due tomorrow for hours. It was really simple but I had to put in a lot of thought. I actually learned a lot of different double standards that society has for genders. It is actually pretty upsetting how differently genders get judged. 

I am all ready for tomorrow for the challenge course! I really cannot wait. I am really excited to find out what activities we are going to do. I am sure it will be a lot of fun.