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.

Judith Butler talking about the fundamental part that we drive us as a genders and personality. He believe gender is like a law that can’t be alter. Gender performance is something you can’t described in our daily life. Gender to be performance means that femininity and masculinity performed on the culture basis.

 An example of performing gender from my experience is that gender is natural as I grew up, I learn and perform and become naturalize over time of the idea being a male.

My project has to do with women’s rights including women’s job rights. This topic concerns race and gender because there is a long history around black women being less likely to get jobs due to the fact that they were black and/or a woman, and these issues are still relevant today. My topic also concerns the history of misogyny and racism in the United Stated and how those factors effect women’s job rights.   

Anisa Khan

Professor Shaw

Women’s Studies

5/10/20

                                                            Independent Study Prompt

            For my project I decided to celebrate Princess Diana not only because was she the most loved princess and the “people’s princess” but because many people tend to overlook the fact that she was a feminist and was ahead of her time in many ways. First, she broke a lot of the palace’s tedious rules and over time she learned not let anyone shove her around or tell her how to do her job. Diana was also a dedicated humanitarian. She advocated for and helped women all over the world when she travelled and when she was at home in England. Her impact changed the monarchy for the better. Diana broke down multiple barriers and redefined the meaning of being a princess. She did not let the palace tie her down or forbid her from doing what she loved. Diana helped raised awareness about the dangers of land mines and the AIDS epidemic. She touched people and were up close and personal with leprosy and AIDS patients despite the stigma around them. She had a great relationship with the public and fought for equality for everyone. She offered her royal clothes for auction which raised three million dollars to be donated to charities. To quote “I knew what my job was; it was to go out and meet the people and love them.”                                                                                          For my Princess Diana cereal box, I decided to draw a classic picture of Princess Diana because I wanted to showcase both her inner and her outer beauty. All the adjectives I put on the cereal box describe her perfectly. On the back of the box I drew an English rose because I think it represents Diana blossoming from a timid young girl suffering from a not so perfect childhood, and an unhappy marriage to an older man who she and barely knew, into a radiant confident woman filled with hope and purpose.  The scent of the rose represents her love and passion for her sons, the public, women, and children all over the world.  Another quote from Diana is “I like to be a free spirit; some don’t like that but that’s the way I am”.  I also incorporated international greetings such as “Namaste” which means “I bow to the divine in you” and “Ubuntu” which means “I am because we are”. I included these words because they reflect Diana’s multicultural and inclusive view of the world. Diana loved interacting, learning and being with all people from diverse cultures.                                                                                                 When the public learned about the tragic death of Princess Diana, everyone was in total shock. The entire world entered a period of deep and prolonged mourning. Losing Diana was like losing a beloved family member. An estimated 2.5 billion people tuned in to watch the funeral which made it one of the biggest televised events in history. Elton John performed “Goodbye English Rose” at Princess Diana’s funeral. He was so distraught at her passing that he stated he would never perform the song again. Diana’s legacy and impact still live on to this day. Without her help we would not have made as much progress. She continues to move us in the right direction by the way she raised her sons to help change the world for the better like she did. She took her sons to hospitals to visit the sick and she wanted them to be human and to be warm to others. For example, she paved the way for Harry to feel free to marry anyone he chose. In some ways she helped to bring out and to recognize the divine in all of us.

Sorry the website is not letting me fix the indentations, I had them right before

I really enjoyed reflecting on this class and all the material we discussed this semester. Although this was an unconventional semester with a lot of rapid change, I’m pleased to know that I did take a lot from this course! With the online switch, I think blog posts were a really great way to still have a discussion with the class and I really enjoyed reading the variety of responses to each topic. In particular, my favorite blog posts were 3,6 and 8. Blog post 3, in which we all discussed what a different future would look like in our eyes really opened my own eyes. It was unfortunate to see how many of us had similar struggles from just being a woman, but I think it really formed a strong connection with each other and created smaller step into reforming a future. Blog post 6 in which we had to watch a movie or show related to women’s studies was really fun! I did my post on my favorite show, Insecure, and I had a really great time analyzing the women empowerment aspects of the show and now I subconsciously do that with every show I watch. Finally, the disidentifications blog post really gave me insight on identity and gender roles in our society and how it’s all pretty much made up. It was fascinating that we all read the same reading and took away the same message. Overall, this class was a pleasure and I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe!

Culture war is war between different opinions oppose within the topic Varying thoughts regarding certain themes, issues, or objectives can cause social wars. Culture war was one of the problem that really stoping women from fighting for justice. In Leslie Heywood’s, one of the quote that help me find an appropriate definition is when the author states, “girls who want to be boys,  boys who want  to  be girls,  boys and girls  who  insist  they  are  both,  whites  who  want  to  be  black,  blacks who  want  to  or  refuse  to  be white,  people  who  are white  and  black, gay and  straight,  masculine and  feminine, or  who  are finding ways  tobe  and  name  none  of  the  above.”