I have always viewed the word “disability” as a physical impairment only. I used to think that it is just another word for people who are wheel chair dependent or are handicapped in some way. But after the unit on Disabling Bodies, I have seen that “disability” is something that is created by the society or by someone who is superior to others. It can apply to people, animals, nations, etc. Keeping that concept of disability in mind, I have come to see just how disabled the nation of Syria is. Continue reading
Uncategorized
Self care tips for sexual violence survivors during the holidays
I know the holidays can be a tricky time for some sexual violence survivors, so I’ve decided to dedicate my last blog post to a few tips Continue reading
What’s a Black Guy?
It’s hard to find a real, human black man on the movie screen. They’re either hard as a rock, dumb as a rock, or it’s literally just Dwayne Johnson! You may ask, does this affect how black men treat themselves in the world? Continue reading
How to: Activism
Let me first start off by saying, that it is no small undertaking ‘becoming an activist’ & also that that undertaking will never look the same for everyone. But I often find myself frustrated by people who say they care about social issues, but don’t really show their support. I understand that it can be daunting, but here are some of the steps I took to start my activism, hopefully this can help you start/further yours.
Disability and Media
To start off, I would like to say… I love Netflix and mostly recently have been watching a series that I think you all should see.
It is called 3%, I do not want to give too much away but think Hunger Games + Portuguese and you got the right idea. In the show, 97% of the population lives in scums and poverty but if you get registered, at the age of 20 years old, you can go through a process called “The Process” (shocking right?) to see if you are the special 3% that gets to live in the island that has everything you can ever dream of, called The Offshore.
All the characters have their own special thing about them but the one that stood out to me was Fernando, would is played by an actor named Michel Gomes (Here is his Instagram, if you are curious).
Want to know why Fernando stood out to me…. I’ll tell you why… Continue reading
Say Something?
As I sit here trying to think of a topic to write this last blog on, I can’t help but reflect on how the semester went in this class. As I think about all the theories that were explored, new opinions, debates, and perspectives that I encountered, I found that I learned a lot, not necessarily from reading the readings, but rather from the class discussion and from my fellow classmates’ interpretations. But I also realized that compared to many of my peers, I did not actively participate in the classroom discussions. So I decided to write my final blog on my “quietness” in classes. Continue reading
Call me a masculine feminist
The words that are often used to describe femininity make me want to be categorized among the terms that are often used to describe masculinity. Call me a masculine feminist. Continue reading
A little bit of heartbreak in this new “dating” world
2016 has been very hellish for me. There has been a ton of loss. I have dealt with a new kind of loss; the loss of a person who is still alive. In March I went through a very ugly break-up. One which I never thought I would recover from; one I am still trying to recover from. Continue reading
‘same’ as performance art
As with many people, i have come to adopt the word ‘same’ into my vernacular.
How are you doing?
Lately, I’ve run out of creative, small talk-ish responses to when folks ask me how I am doing.. I’ve now resigned to just a soft smile and ‘I’m doing okay.’
I’m not lying… I am doing okay. I mean, I’m graduating in 27 days…I got my very first full time job interview at a place within the very narrow field of sexual assault advocacy (which is actually tough to come by).. so you know, all things considered, I’m doing okay.
Every now and again though, I get a weird tug on my heart strings and it reminds me that Donald Trump is president elect. A man who loudly endorses xenophobia, transphobia, homophobia, sexual assault as “locker room talk,”islamophobia, white supremacy, ableism, and the list goes on. We’ve chosen him to represent us to the remainder of the globe. This dude. It’s all just wild.
I’ve seen folks move on from sadness to beginning the process of normalizing this. I’m not mad, really.. It’s human nature to take something so traumatic and violent, namely electing this dude, and immediately try to find a way to rationalize things. Otherwise, how would any of us ever sleep at night?
What bothers me is this move to normalize this person’s dialogue and rhetoric…
“Give it a chance”
“He might not be so bad”
“It’ll be okay”
Really? For whom exactly will it be okay? What bodies will benefit or even minimally impact?
I’m a queer, immigrant, woman of color, and a sexual assault survivor.
Where exactly am I supposed to seek shelter? Where do I find the safety that’s been so violently taken from me?
This expectation that it’s now November 24 and therefore I should be over it.. I should just accept it.
Accept that I’m not welcome here.
Accept that my beloved friends will have their rights stripped from them further
Accept that folks a community that I love and am a part of will be hurt even more.
Accept that despite working toward it, I won’t be able to dry all the tears that I want to.
Accept this violent bursting of my safety bubble followed by an attempt to take boiling emotions and make them lukewarm so that the we don’t disturb the peace.
I hope that soon I will be able to move from this, at times, paralyzing sadness soon.
I have every intention in being active in resistance, in allyship, and in radical love for myself and for others.
Please feel free to share thoughts. I’d love to hear from you. I’d love to build community.
Unruly Bodies 