Activism Log 2
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Activism:
On Saturday, March 26th, our class volunteered at the Women 2 Women conference in Apopka. The women at the conference were migrant farmworkers. The purpose of the conference was to have presentations that informed the women about sexual viagra, domestic violence, and other topics that were relevant to their lives. I do not know the exact presentations that went on, because I and the majority of the class were outside. Our task was to watch and entertain the children of the farmworkers. I began the day by helping organizing clothes that had been donated for the women. As women with children arrived, I went outside with my fellow classmates to play with them. The conference was held in a church, with a courtyard and a partially fenced in yard behind the church. I have never been overworked in my life. The kids would push me to the ground, climb on my back, and yell “Camina! Camina!” I played caballito for about six hours. The whole experience killed my paternal instinct.
Reflection:
The conference would not have been possible without childcare. I have a privileged position (middle class), that gives me free time. Instead of feeling guilt over my privilege, I can use it to help untangle myself from this web of oppression. I cannot, like Trinh Minh-ha said, “quietly maintain my privileges by helping the master perpetuate his cycle of oppression” (87). I am fortunate to be a part of a women's studies program that, in the words of Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, seek to build “alliances across cultural, race, and class differences” and to generate “cross-national links among activists” (35). It is satisfying to see the principles and concepts taught in a women's studies class be reflected in the activism the program organizes and participates in.
Reciprocity
This class has made me examine how I can manipulate my different privileges. I cannot rid myself of it, but I can use it in a subversive manner to fight oppression. My class privilege allows me the time to do activism without have to sacrifice work. I have to be aware of how privilege can distance me from projects. If it ever gets to be too much, I can just walk away from most things. It is a privilege to be able to walk away, which is why I want to position myself as a person in solidarity with farmworkers. I cannot just be the white savior going in to save all the brown people. I have to say to them “What can I do to help?”
And sometimes that help is just giving a five year old a piggy back ride.
Works Cited:Naples, Nancy A. and Desai, Manisha. "Women's Local and Translocal Responses: An Introduction to the Chapters" Women's Activism and Globalization. New York: Routledge, 2002. 34-41 Print.
Minh-ha, Trihn T. "Difference: 'A Special Third World Women Issue'" Woman, Native, Other: Writing
Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989. 79-116. Print.
Activism:
On Saturday, March 26th, our class volunteered at the Women 2 Women conference in Apopka. The women at the conference were migrant farmworkers. The purpose of the conference was to have presentations that informed the women about sexual viagra, domestic violence, and other topics that were relevant to their lives. I do not know the exact presentations that went on, because I and the majority of the class were outside. Our task was to watch and entertain the children of the farmworkers. I began the day by helping organizing clothes that had been donated for the women. As women with children arrived, I went outside with my fellow classmates to play with them. The conference was held in a church, with a courtyard and a partially fenced in yard behind the church. I have never been overworked in my life. The kids would push me to the ground, climb on my back, and yell “Camina! Camina!” I played caballito for about six hours. The whole experience killed my paternal instinct.
Reflection:
The conference would not have been possible without childcare. I have a privileged position (middle class), that gives me free time. Instead of feeling guilt over my privilege, I can use it to help untangle myself from this web of oppression. I cannot, like Trinh Minh-ha said, “quietly maintain my privileges by helping the master perpetuate his cycle of oppression” (87). I am fortunate to be a part of a women's studies program that, in the words of Nancy A. Naples and Manisha Desai, seek to build “alliances across cultural, race, and class differences” and to generate “cross-national links among activists” (35). It is satisfying to see the principles and concepts taught in a women's studies class be reflected in the activism the program organizes and participates in.
Reciprocity
This class has made me examine how I can manipulate my different privileges. I cannot rid myself of it, but I can use it in a subversive manner to fight oppression. My class privilege allows me the time to do activism without have to sacrifice work. I have to be aware of how privilege can distance me from projects. If it ever gets to be too much, I can just walk away from most things. It is a privilege to be able to walk away, which is why I want to position myself as a person in solidarity with farmworkers. I cannot just be the white savior going in to save all the brown people. I have to say to them “What can I do to help?”
And sometimes that help is just giving a five year old a piggy back ride.
Works Cited:Naples, Nancy A. and Desai, Manisha. "Women's Local and Translocal Responses: An Introduction to the Chapters" Women's Activism and Globalization. New York: Routledge, 2002. 34-41 Print.
Minh-ha, Trihn T. "Difference: 'A Special Third World Women Issue'" Woman, Native, Other: Writing
Postcoloniality and Feminism. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1989. 79-116. Print.