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.