Independent Study Blog Post 1-4
Step 1-
I am interested in exploring sexism within botany as this is related to sexism and gender studies. Specifically the work of Thomas Leo Ogren he had essentially coined the term ‘ botanical sexism’. This is a more recent find and with allergies getting worse due to climate change knowing that our allergies are stronger due to this reason would be informative.
Step 2- What do you need to know?
What I would need to know to contextualize this project and discuss who Thomas Leo Ogren is. And why did he study this topic? The academic subjects that my project would relate to are science and health. This project concerns everywhere. This also affects everyone who suffers from bad allergies.
Step 3- 4 -Annotated bibliography
At least 3 online articles and 2 scholarly articles that relates to the topic
Botanical Sexism Cultivates Home-Grown Allergies
By Thomas Leo Ogren
This is Ogren’s explanation on what’s wrong with having all male trees and scrubs planted. He also states that these male trees production of high amounts of pollen harms children’s health and also states that women who have airborne allergies have increased health risks. He gives the solution of planting more female trees which would eliminate great amounts of pollen in our landscapes.
Allergy- Free New York
Thomas Leo Ogren
This news article explains the impact of having a lack of female trees in NY and the impact that it would have if there were female trees. Ogren further supports planting female trees would possibly solve this allergy problem along with plating a variety of trees so that people are not suffering from stronger allergies due to increased sensitivity.
The Allergy Fighting Garden
Stop Asthma with Smart Landscaping
By Thomas Leo Ogren
In this book Ogren creates a system for combating allergies based on the sex of ones plants. He explains in his book how planting female trees to capture pollen can reduce allergens. He also provides a great list of plants and an allergy ranking scale, to aid people in landscaping or their everyday lives.
Which is the most hayfever prone city and is ‘ botanical sexism’ to blame?
By Helen Lock
The Guardian
This article gives many examples of how having predominantly male trees or even a singular mature male tree production of pollen can negatively impact people’s health. Towards the end they give a solution to the problem for landscaping to be allergy friendly.
How urban planners’ preference for male trees has made your hay fever worse
Ally Hirschlag
This article further supports Ogren’s work.this article also discusses the impacts of pollen on heath.
Mel Y Chen Presentation by Victoria Pope
Blog post 14-Final Reflection
Three posts that held the most impact on me is the second post on what feminism is. That was probable one of the first times I didn’t get the watered down definition of feminism wanting equality for all which it is. But. I got to understand what is truly being fought for and the emotions to back that. It was all inclusive. The next was blog post three, that is where I realized how far we all need to still go to actually achieve what feminism is constantly fighting for. I had wanted a normal life not sexualized and not judged on the basis of my skin tone. Being able to state that the wants that I had and not have any repercussions to it was great. Lastly, the presentation on Disidentifications made me realize that I myself disidentify with aspects of my life. I’ve realized when i actively dissociate myself with reality or at least when i’m actively doing that. In those moments they are all interconnected sometimes facing the same internal or external struggles.
The second and third weeks blog post had laid the groundwork for me to understand feminism. And to realize my wants for the world is also a feminist fight. The Disidentifications post helped me understand and view the world differently. There are many people that are having internal struggles of what and who they identify themselves as. Everyone and everything is ever changing along with society’s standards. Culture in many discourses play a huge role in the way peoples view themselves in reality. My definition of feminism had not really changed but the way I understand it. I now see that there are many struggles within the movement however everyone is fighting for the same thing and its slowly making differences in peoples some lives. I see it as needing equity within the movement for us to see equality.
Blog Post 12- Material Feminism
Material feminism is like the building blocks that are used to construct what gender is and the societal roles that are upheld. Society is what gender roles stem from or it is what society collectively says is acceptable in the way people preform their roles. it sheds light on the way women are expected to act and maintain essentially this” house wife” like persona or the “perfect” woman.
Blog Post 11-Judith Butler
What is Judith Butler talking about? What does it mean for gender to be a performance? Can you think of an example of performing gender (from personal experience or in the culture at large?
Judith is saying that there are preset as to how we are defined as our gender and the roles that we would be taking on. “When the relevant “culture” that “constructs” gender is understood in terms of such a law or set of laws, then it seems that gender is as
determined and fixed…”(page 11). Culture preforms a great role in the way we define the roles that each gender is assigned. For gender to be a performance is in the way we carry out the “assigned ” role that we take upon ourselves and carry ourselves with.
A experience or example that I am able to think of preforming gender is as simple as cleaning and cooking. At my brothers age of 11 I was already cleaning and cooking now that my brother is at that age he is not expected to do the same. It was a performance of the way women are taught many things early on and boys not expected to do the same or withhold the same actions.
Blog Post 10-Culture Wars
Culture wars are people trying to live out their ideals together in union while still divided among themselves due to differing ideas or goals. These culture wars set feminist advances back, everyone is fighting within a common ground however at the same time people of color are being set back in their third wave feminism which has to work through constant drawbacks unlike white feminists of the second waves. In Leslie Heywood’s ,” Third Waves Agenda” she states,”White U.S. feminism has a long history of borrowing from, allying with, and betraying African American liberation movements, and a consciously multicultural third wave feminism must continuously work with and through these tensions.”(Page 10). White feminism stems from a place of privilege which at many times undermines people of colors advances within the feminist movement. For people of color or black people to have advances they would have to fight harder for their goals and work through ignorance and lack of proper allies or “tensions” as Heywood states. Once white feminism actively recognizes and supports people of colors feminism and does not overshadow the struggles that are faces, that’s when feminism would be able to move forward.
Blog post 7 Hypothesis
To annotate the text in hypothesis join the group by clicking the link provided by the professor which the link is( https://hypothes.is/groups/z3grRGrg/wgs-1001-spring-2020 ). Then create an account having joined the group. once there click on ” visit annotation in context” . Then highlight the section that you would like to comment on and click annotate. post when you are finished.
A Interview of my Granny
Presentation -Disidentifications
