What is material feminism and what does it offer that we haven’t yet seen? (use the texts and your annotation from hypothesis as an example)

Material feminism means putting an expectation of a certain gender should act and talk everyday life in a society. For example from the text, the author discuss about how society stereotype women to be working at home, perceive them as less than man. Material feminism is to understand women oppression, fight for their justice to be free like everyone.

During this semester, I’ve learned a lot about feminism. I gained a lot of insight on what feminism actually is, instead of what society makes it out to be. I also read a lot of material that I enjoyed, and bought books that were recommended, to read in the future. The three posts/reading reviews that I have done that impacted me the most are blog posts 8, 11, and 13. Blog post 8 because it changed my outlook on feminism. The media always showed feminism as white women, whose agendas are for solely themselves. But this post showed me that there are people that want white feminists to be held accountable for their racism. Blog Post 11 impacted me because it enlightened me on the fact that gender is a performance. Everything we do, for the most part, is formed from societal practice and standards. Blog Post 13 introduced me to a book that changed my whole outlook in life. It showed me that people have it way worse than I do, and I should be grateful. It also emphasized the fact that people need help, especially children. Overall, these readings and others, have significantly impacted my life for the better.

During this semester I have learned a great amount about feminism, society, and gender/ race roles. There was so much material that was discussed and almost every reading left an impact on me in some way. I do not doubt that the knowledge I have gained in this class with guide me through future experiences in life. My favorite of the course was blog post 3, the riot grrrls, and disidentifications.  For blog post 3, we all discussed how the future would look if we opened our eyes. The riot grrrl movement was something I really enjoyed learning about. Women in music inspire me. When I go to concerts I notice that some bands have the women come to the front of the mosh during the last song and I learned that this started from riot grrrl!! I also really enjoyed the reading on disidentifications. I think many people at times feel out of place in areas of their life (me included) and this is a great work to put to that feeling. Many women in the class had similar struggles. These struggles definitely caused a connection to be formed. Despite the circumstances, we all still contributed our opinions on the readings and responded to other people’s opinions. I think this was a great idea and gave students the opportunity to have their voice heard. 

The Toni Morrison book I have chosen for this week is called “Tar Baby”. The book is a love story. Jadine and Son are two lovers who become romantically involved fate has brought them together. They met by chance. Son is a young black man and he is from Florida. He goes on a yacht and floats away. He foes to an island called Isle des Chevaliers. He finds a refuge within the Street family home that is a secret and hidden. This is where he meets Jadine Childs who is the niece of two of the Street’s in-house servants. Jadine and Son’s life experiences differed tremendously even though they are both African American. Tar Baby is set in the late 1970s, which was a time period that can be seen as a peak in the social progressive values. Jadine grew up rejecting the fact that she is black and hung out more with white people because she was surrounded by white people. Son was represented as a black man who is proud of his skin color and wears it with honor. Jadine and Son end up getting to know each and living on a carefree journey of love. When Son takes Jadine to his hometown, she realizes the differences between them. Jadine then leaves Son and the relationship. In the beginning of the novel, Jadine can be seen as the “tar baby” because she tries to please everyone and hold every relationship together. She tries to be someone she is not to be happy with Son. She also held together the Street’s marriage which should have ended a while ago. By the end of the novel Jadine becomes a new person. She stops trying to please everyone and stops trying to fit in to the gender and race roles society has constructed for her. 

Material feminism is defined as talking about gender as an expectation put in place by society. Also, along with society, culture, technology, and everything that surrounds and affects humans everyday of their lives. Material feminism breads down the idea that social roles are normal and brings up the idea to become equal and free.

Judith Butler is talking about how humans are defined by their gender and their gender roles. An individuals’ culture plays a large role in the way gender roles are defined and how gender is assigned. Humans in a way “perform” their roles throughout life and carry that performance around with them. An example of this is the conversations I have with my grandma every single day. In my Russian jewish culture the role of a women is to get married, have many babies, and cook dinner every night. What my grandma does not know is how much gender roles have changed over the years. 

final-project

Jade Matthews

1. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2017, July 6). National Council of Negro Women. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Council-of-Negro-Women This source is important to my topic because the National Council of Negro Women is all about the quality of life for black women. They advocate for and provide information on issues affecting women of color and ways to help us advance. This information will help me with the intervention tactics of my project.
2. Norwood, A. (2017, March). Dorothy Height. Retrieved from https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/dorothy-height Dorothy Height was a social worker in Harlem, NY and later became a leader at the Young Women’s Christian Association organization. In 1963 she helped organize the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. This is an important source because Dorothy is one of the women who sparked my interest for the topic I chose. It also led me to research more about the YWCA which leads me to my next source.
3. Young Women’s Christian Association. (n.d.). About the YW. Retrieved from http://www.ywcanyc.org/about-the-yw/  This is the official website for the Young Women’s Christian Association which is an organization whose mission is to improve the welfare of girls and women who need assistance with housing, job training, sex education classes, and more. This is important to my project because my focus is women’s job rights and the YWCA has done extensive work in job training and was the first employment bureau for women. This information will help me with the intervention tactics of my project.
4. Pedrianna, N. (2004). Help Wanted NOW: Legal Resources, the Women’s Movement, and the Battle Over Sex-Segregated Job Advertisements. Social Problems, 51(2), 182-201. This source discusses the history of sex-segregated help wanted signs in the 1960’s. Even though the law prohibited racial and gender discrimination after the civil rights act of 1964, employers placed help wanted signs in sex-segregated columns in the newspapers. This is relevant to my topic because the issue of sex-segregated help wanted signs speaks to the misogynistic mindset that is rooted systemically in history. This will help me bring attention to the causes of my final project.   
5. Banks , N. I. (2019, February 19). Black women’s labor market history reveals deep-seated race and gender discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.epi.org/blog/black-womens-labor-market-history-reveals-deep-seated-race-and-gender-discrimination/ This is a very meaningful article that discusses how employer practices and government policies create a disadvantage for black women when compared to white women and men. This information is relevant and beneficial to my project because I plan to discuss the disadvantages black women have had to face in the work force for years and how we can improve the outcome of these effects.