Blog 7

Last class we did our presentations on “A Hope in the Unseen”. The class was divided into groups and we were all given certain sections to read and review to present to our classmates. I found it easy to relate to Cedric’s life because I have also experienced similar situations. The struggles to finish school and the fears of being rejected from my dream school were something that personally spoke to me from this story. I found it easy to follow along with my classmates presentations because I had read the beginning of the book. This helped me because when I came to present my section, I knew most of us were in tune with the stories timeline. Most of the information overlapped, but it was normal because it was things that Cedric struggled with throughout the book. I really enjoyed these presentations. The activity we did with gender roles a while back was a bit intense for me. I got an orange star, and I felt like I could relate to the ones who had a red star. It made me really upset when I ripped out my family member along with my dream job. The moment sat there in and it sucked, but I was able to empathize with the people that go through this situation in real life. I am glad I was able that experience even if it was unpleasant, because its little things like the star activity that can accomplish to bring about consciousness about another beings emotions. Sometimes that impact can brings about change.

For this blog I was able to review the readings on gender. The readings that stood out to me was the reading on Pro-Feminism. The author explained how some people are brought up in such a way that they tend not to see their own prejudices against themselves, but can clearly see them on someone else. Although sexism is mostly pointed out when it comes from men, women are also exposed to talking themselves down because of societal norms. Now a days it really is up to everyone to educate one another on this issue that can be highly sensitive for some. The readings on Sexism covered the feminist movement. In the beginning, the movement was about teaching society that women were and still are capable of doing things that only men were allowed to do earlier in history. Today, that it’s been proven, it may be time to take it a step further and convince everyone that a man can also do what only women have been allowed to do. Such tasks may include doing chores, being compassionate, to being a stay at home dad. If the norms of society were to be shaken a little and if men were allowed to express normal emotions, there a possibility that gender roles will not be a big issue anymore. Feminism is not about equality for women anymore, it’s a movement for everyone. As for the other readings we discussed last time, I keep referring to something I experienced at my old job. I have witnessed the small percentage of women who apply to STEM programs, and I’ve also seen an even smaller percentage of women that has actually graduated community college with a STEM major. The LGBT readings also reminded me of a coworker I had at my old job. He was not transgender but he did have a hard time opening up to certain people because he was afraid of judgments in the workplace for being homosexual. School systems try to work with everyone but just raising awareness might not be enough anymore.

Questions:
1. Why are girls more likely to be discouraged to pursue the STEM field at such a young age?
2. Is it true that Feminism is just for women in 2014?
3. Will men still be accepted as “Manly” even if they openly show emotions in public one day?
4. Will gender roles eventually come to an end?