Material feminists explore interactions of culture, history, environment, discourse and technology, and provide their political views on these different societal elements. Material feminism provides an approach to ethics that takes over the current political settings. It is a way to reintroduce ethical responses to material consequences in society. This idea of material feminism also highlights capitalism and patriarchy and deems it important in understanding women oppression.

To me the culture wars are the clashing of opposing sides of different ideas and beliefs. There is a struggle to cooperate and finding equality. This relates to feminism because Heywood specifies an example of the inequality between some feminists of color and white feminists.

Judith Butler is talking about gender not. having to be something specific but more like if you do something that does not mean your gender would change. Gender being a performance means that people keep doing what they are always told to do since the beginning of the times. Boys do their things while all the girls are doing something different.

Material feminism, a central idea in oppression, can be defined as societal tools used to construct gender and fortify the patriarchy. These tools are intertwined into what society deems as acceptable in performing gender. These materials can be how media displays femininity (hairless skin, flawless, hourglass figure, a demure temperament), how women are supposed to dress (modestly or they risk gaining the wrong attention from men), what is made available to women (we still haven’t achieved equal pay for doing the same jobs as men), and how women are viewed by the opposite sex (sex objects). Material feminism also addresses how there are certain expectations for women (cooking,cleaning, baby-making machines). Times are changing, though, and I’d say for the past 20 years major progress has been made.

I’ve chosen to go ahead and select three blog posts that have had an impact on my understanding of feminism.

Gender Performance (Blog Post 11) – This post was one that I particularly enjoyed composing. Most (if not all) of the content that we have gone over in class has been new for me so, learning that there is a term that encompasses the expectations set for us from birth when we are assigned our genders was quite eye opening. I think that this content was extremely important for myself and other to digest because it opens up a conversation surrounding identity. What you choose to identify with as far as gender should not dictate how you are dressed, how your emotional disposition is analyzed, nor your ability to succeed.

What does it mean to disidentify with something? (Blog Post 9) – I really enjoyed reading through the different annotations on hypothesis.is that my colleagues selected as a definition that encompasses what it means to disidentify with something in their opinion. I feel like the most important takeaway for me with this post was that to disidentify is to take a stance while still remaining neutral. It’s okay to disagree with something without hostility driving how you interact with individuals who have beliefs/ideas that oppose your own.

TBCMB Annotation (Blog Post 8) – This collection of writings was unknown to me prior to this class. It was hard for me to choose just one selection because there were so many that really hit home based on personal experiences. The piece I chose was an excerpt from a poem by Genny Lim. What I took away from her piece was the absolute necessity for women within the feminist movement to have awareness of the women whose social and political plights intersect.

Taking this course has really given me a more in depth view of what the women’s suffrage movement looks like from an internal standpoint. A lot of what you hear about the feminist movement is based on outward perception or the opinions of those who assist in demeaning and oppressing of women.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/12uphg-x7go-UccJJGnsPLFHOJXJxPCvBZN6jSJltyzE/edit

Playing-in-The-Dark-1

Three readings or work that were most impactful for me was Gender Trouble by Judith Butler, “Ain’t I a Woman”’ by Sojourner Truth and Disidentifications by Munoz. All three readings were very refreshing and offered a new approach to many things. In Gender Trouble, Butler touched on a topic that many refuse or hesitate to talk about. I never really looked at gender as a performance until she mentioned it. Her reasoning behind the importance of language and term to describe a gender, or even women in general made me even more cautious. I also think the representation and how women and other people are represented should be done so in a thoughtful way.

The “Ain’t I A Woman” speech and recollection was very powerful. Before reading and presenting on this topic, I did not know Sojourner Truth was even involved in women’s suffrage. I didn’t even know she was present at the Convention. Many of parts of her life are rarely mentioned and this proved to be one of them. Knowing what I know now, I feel even more empowered.

Disidentification by Munoz proved that transgression is very important. I have learned about disidentification before, but in another aspect. This work showed the defiant courage of many people. Risking their reputation to bring change and to stand out. Not many people know what it is to disidentify, so it is very inspiring to hear about those who do.

All of these topics define feminism. The feminist ability to stand out, stand out, and keep fighting even when it may seem like all odds are against them. To me, being a feminist takes great courage and resilience especially in today’s society. During women’s suffrage, there were many anti-suffragists that try to discontinue and discredit the movement. From what I’ve seen and learned in class, some women were labeled as crazy and inadequate just because they thought differently and dared to speak out against inequality. It just proves that the world is very complex, but change happens all over and some stories are untold. There are actual risk takers and throughout history, their fight reached heights.