The Final Blog

So this is the last gendered activism blog, marking the end of another semester. After looking through my blogs from the past weeks it is interesting to note how my own personal definition of activism has been narrowed to some degree but has also become much more broad in other parts of the definition. For instance I think the passion is so important in activism. I only thought you had to be motivated before. Through the weeks I have learned that there has to be something behind that motivation in order to truly be an activist. Every person we have learned about has had a passion that is contagious. On the other hand though, I have learned how everyone is an activist. We all do little things everyday that really add up. Our every day actions can become the work of an activist with only a little passion, a little education, and a little conscious raising.

This past week we looked at a very hands on, almost easy, form of activism. We discussed the "local food" form of activism. This movement is to encourage small usually organic farms and for people to buy locally which supports the local economy and protects the environment by avoiding the pollution associated with shipping products. I love this activism. At least to me it just seems so easy! You just buy the same things you normally would but buy from your neighbors. You are using your money to advocate for local foods. We watched a movie that interviewed women who are apart of WFAN (Women, food and agriculture network). Like every other activist this semester these women had a contagious passion. Their love for the land and growing organic foods was literally tangible.

The impact of this local food movement is extremely interesting in our globalized world. Where free trade has moved communities to near poverty and from public to private local foods does the opposite. Local foods encourages communities especially. Relationships are built between the person growing the foods and the consumer. It is not a faceless/nameless person barely surviving. This is really an all encompassing issue that touches on all the areas of activism we have studied this semester. First example, environmental justice and clearly this local food is better for the environment and encourages more gardens and green space even in the cities.

Gendered Activism has been an incredibly interesting class. It has truly pushed my understanding and how I see the world. It has inspired me in ways no other class ever has.

Personal Activism

This week we spent some time looking at activism on a more local level. This discussion was sparked through a letter to the editor that was published in Chips last week regarding some seats of student senate being labeled as diversity representatives. This one letter led to over an hour of discussion in our class. Diversity can have such a broad definition. According to Webster.com diversity is, "1 the condition of being diverse : variety; especially : the inclusion of diverse people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization programs intended to promote diversity in schools 2: an instance of being diverse a diversity of opinion." Diverse is defined as 1: differing from one another : unlike people with diverse interests 2 composed of distinct or unlike elements or qualities. This definition, like we talked about everyone is considered diverse since as people everyone is unique. This gave our class a chance to address activism in more of a local and personal manner. This class has really opened my eyes to how we have the chance to be activist everyday. Small actions can lead to a big difference in society. With this letter simply talking about it and dissecting what it means and why we were upset is a form of activism as we are educating ourselves, just as activism educates. I know that I personally took this issue out of the classroom and talked to my friends about this same letter keeping the discussion on-going. This class had made me incredibly more aware of both how activism is apparent everyday and how I can become more of an activist everyday.

This week I received an incredible opportunity to continue this activism into a year of service this coming year. I am going to be part of Urban Servant Corp in Denver, Colorado. I am not sure what organization I will be working with but according to the website, "The USC works in cooperation with community agencies, churches, and individuals in the city as channels of God's love and concern. USC volunteers bring a variety of gifts to the larger community. USC volunteer positions balance between working with direct service programs to address immediate needs, and advocating or networking with other organizations to work for long-term social change." Clearly, this encompasses all the parts of activism we have been defining in class. There will be education, both of others and myself on issues that I am sure right now I only have minimal understanding of but I know that will change. This is work so there will be the active part of activism that, as a class, we so often return to. Finally, I know there will be the passion that seems to drive so much activism. I can only imagine the people I will meet through this program. I know that their passions will inspire my own. I think this is one of the coolest things about activism I have learned this semester, it is contagious and I have caught it!

Local Activism

This week our class traveled a whole five minutes in a very packed van to Northeast Iowa Community Action Corporation. This organization located right in Decorah does so much in terms of activism. Everything from providing birth control, health services, housing, headstart, and transit services. The organization according to their website, "The Promise of Community Action Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes America a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other." This statement sums up activism in a lot of ways. It is changing society for the better by doing and by educating. The most important part that I learned from this visit was the importance of passion. It was clear that every person who worked at this organization was passionate about what they do for the community.

One of the things that struck me is how little I knew about the organization. I know that the Luther bubble exists and isolates Luther from Decorah community. Activism can do a lot in terms of community building. I think that a lot of the time activism is thought of as a very large scale and not something that just one person can do. However, this just proves that one person who has a passion can become not only an activist but can inspire others.

Seperating a Modern World

This week we spent two days looking at individuals and groups who have been marginalized. Between the two days there was a drastic difference in how the situations came about and how each group/person reacted. On Wednesday our class was fortunate enough to have Rev. Donna Simon come to our class and speak about Extraordinary Lutheran Ministries (ELM). This is a group of ELCA Lutheran ministers who are not rostered with the ELCA because of their sexual orientation. ELM is not trying to have their own sector of the ELCA or break away completely they are just offering an outlet for people who hear the call to minister a way to do that. Throughout her discussion with us Rev. Simon kept talking about ministering. Clearly, for those involved with ELM ministry is what they are called to do and this organization allows for them to minister. ELCA churches can call a pastor from this roster through a similar method of hiring a pastor from the traditional ELCA roster. ELM is not trying to make war with the ELCA they are taking a less aggressive stance waiting for the ELCA to come to them and/or change their own positions-which could happen as soon as August! So is the ELM an activist group? I think so. They are giving people who have been marganilized a voice and an outlet. People can minister as they were called to because of ELM. True, I think that as an organization I would like to see ELM do more but who am I to say? Being an activist involves doing something and it is clear that ELM is doing a lot of things! The other marginalized issue we looked at was LGBTQ communities, from the past, India, and in this terminologically connected world. The Van Dyke article really made me think. (And laugh I think the name Van Dyke is hilarious!) These womynn totally separated from men. They traveled in their vans across the United States and Mexico only talking to men when it was absolutly necessary. I think that these womynn were activists as well. They were unhappy with the status quo and they just took off and made their own community of Van Dykes. Are they activists? I am not so sure, they are doing something and changing something so I guess I have to say yes they are. However they are completely removing themselves from the issue. Which helps them but does it change it for everyone else? I am not sure, I see it both ways. It could inspire others to do the same but it doesn't really attack the actual problem in society. Also, doesn't their excluding men marginalize men?

This discussion made me think of my internship at Women Work. By the name of the organization it is clear who the target audience was. Not once did a man call nor was their the ever popular info sheet targeted toward men. Is women work a separatist organization? I don't think so. I think that the issues that women work focuses on are just issues that our society most common associates with women, going back to school, starting a career later, going back to work after having children or raising a family.

The other thing this week made me think of is the ELCA. My father was an ELCA pastor for many years. While I was young when all of this was happening and don't know all the details I know my dad struggled with getting hired from certain ELCA churches 15 years ago. It was because he was divorced. How in the world would this affect his ability to serve a church, I am unsure. I just know that for a long time he struggled because he wasn't the ideal candidate. Listening to Rev. Simon made me remember my dad's struggle. I think it is so interesting that churches have such an idealized idea of the way things should be, according to them. So in small Iowas communities how could a pastor do a good job if he didn't have a wife to help at potlucks or kids living with him to attend Sunday school. There is this idea that a pastor should be an example for everyone. Why can't a divorced man be that example, after all 1 in 2 marriages end in divorce. I think that ELM is truly an extraordinary organization that has been needed for many years in the ELCA. My dad ended up working as a Lutheran Chaplin in a nursing home and being absolutly amazing at his job.

Sex Work and Human Trafficing

This week we worked with a variety of issues that all had something to do with bodies. We started the week with finishing our discussion on AIDS which led right into looking at prostitution and global sex trafficking. It was fun to see every person's individual style come out leading each class. Through the entire week the themes that we have seen time and time again this semester kept coming up. Namely, education, choice, and human rights. It was interesting to learn how each of these issues intersect with each other and other social factors. For our final day looking at AIDS we were fortunate enough to be able to see a performance by Luther students. It was empowering to see how Luther students have become AIDS activists. I loved seeing the dance piece. It is one way that education is expressed. Talking to the dancers and there process of learning about AIDS then translating that into a dance piece about living with and understanding AIDS. We then started talking about sex workers. This took education to another level. I found myself thinking that education about sex workers and their rights need to be taught to a broader group of people. As we saw when drawing our pictures there are so many stereotypes of sex workers, most of which are changed through education. Sex work is a complicated issue, there is a delicate balance in people having the choice to work freely and safely or being abused and forced into the work. In each of these issues many factors play into both the AIDS epidemic and sex work. It is not just the one issue that needs to be addressed but larger social issues on a global scale. Through education like the dance piece at Luther this is gradually starting to change. I think everyone can learn from the dancers who learned about something then took that knowledge and shared it with others in away that they are most common. It is amazing to think about what would happen if everyone did just that, learning something then sharing it how the world could change.

The talk of sex work made me think of my j-term in Dubai. Dubai is an incredibly safe city with crime being nearly non-existent due to the fact that so many people are there on visas that will be taken away at a moments notice forcing the person to return to their homeland. The Dubai being in the United Arab Emirates and the low crime rate prostitution still is everywhere in Dubai. In the hotel we stayed at we could see prostitutes being picked up every night just a block away. We became fascinated by these sex workers watching how they picked up clients and walked the street. We spent many morning class discussions talking about these sex workers and how we did not expect them. Upon returning to the states a Frontline documentary was sent to me that discussed the Dubai prostitution issue. The website is: http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2007/09/dubai_sex_for_s.html. The documentary talks about all the contradictions in Dubai. It is easy to find sex tourism in this Muslim country. 85% of the people living in Dubai are foreign born. Most people are guest workers, and men out number women 3 to 1. This example of Dubai shows just how many factors play into the sex trade. The economy of Dubai, the tourism, and the culture itself. These women are not what I expected, they really do show that there is much more to sex work than being forced into sex by a pimp. I love how this video talks to the women they get their own voice. It is another form of education.

AIDS in a Global Context

The last few classes we have focused on the topic of AIDS. As a class we talked about many different themes that have come up. One common theme that has come up with every topic of activism so far is education. Education is the foundation of activism. It is what results and also how activism starts. With AIDS education plays a huge part in the social understanding of the disease. This is apparent in both the local and global context of AIDS. Education reflects on social standing and class. The more access to education, typically comes more privilege. AIDS magnifies this inequality. In a local context this is apparent throughout Brett C. Stockdill's text, Activism Against AIDS: At the Intersections of Sexuality, Race, Gender, and Class. AIDS does not discriminate on any of those things but how individuals react to AIDS either as a diagnosis or understanding of the diseases does change based on each identity. For example, women have had a more difficult time getting involved with AIDS activism as the disease was understood as only something white, gay, men had to deal with. This same marginalization occurs with individuals who are not white or not gay. Another local focus was the issues of prisoners and AIDS. These people are literally outside of society, locked away. However, that does not mean that they should still have access to health care and education. Yet, these individuals lack access to not only education but also the tools to protect against AIDS, such a condoms. This magnification of inequality continues on the global scale. AIDS has shifted from being a disease that is associated with white gay men to being a disease that is manly affecting Africa. Africa has a host of social issues that are currently being addressed and affecting every part of life for individuals in Africa. Political uprising and changes have led to much social unrest. There is not a stable government that is able to provide adequate social care for citizens. AIDS has taken a fragile society and shook it up even more. NGOs and other activist organizations are starting to change this. These organizations are working with individuals to give them and their families the education they need to fully understand AIDS.

These organizations in Africa and the groups that have form in the Western World is the interplay of identity that is associated with AIDS. On one hand identity has been an obstacle that AIDS activism has had to overcome. From men accepting women to others in society that were marginalized and still were affected by AIDS. But a far greater part of identity is that the identity that comes with AIDS. People that were interviewed in Stockdill's book and in the movie in class today all spoke of living with AIDS. They do not let AIDS define them. AIDS is a part of their life but not who they are. I find this so empowering. This disease is so associated with death but these people are proving that AIDS is not the end it is something to live with. This made me think of the musical, RENT. In one of the songs the characters address the fact that they are living with the disease they toast to "people living with not dying from disease" I think this sums up the most of what I have learned this week. I know understand the power and privilege that affects AIDS understanding, treatment, and education. Yet through all this inequality the people most affected are clearly stating they are "living with not dying from disease."

OBOS

I cannot believe that I have never heard of OBOS before this week. This book was started with a group of women talking in Boston has turned into a global phenomenon. The book has had many editions and is currently in print in 29 different languages. It has become much more than just a book. According to the website OBOS's mission is to:

* Producing books that make accurate health and medical information accessible to a broad audience by weaving women’s stories into a framework of practical, clearly written text

* Identifying and collaborating with exemplary individuals and organizations that provide services, generate research and policy analysis, and organize for social change

* Inspiring and empowering women to become engaged in the political aspects of sustaining good health for themselves and their communities

(All from http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/about/default.asp)

Our specific readings from class discussed taking this book across cultures. The text made it clear that that OBOS realizes it is on a very tight rope balancing between imperialism and helping women. How do they find that balance? I was so moved reading the stories of how women came to the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective (BWHBC) to learn how to literally make OBOS their own, in their own language. These women decided how they wanted to translate the text and edit it to reflect their own cultures. It was not huge publishing company's doing the translating and making the decisions; it was women who really understood the needs and desires for their culture. I have always been a little leery of how things travel cross-culturally. It is something that as a class last year we studied living in England and understanding our world in a cross-cultural perspective. It is also something that I experienced spending a month in Dubai where one literally straddles the East and the West. I think that OBOS is the most successful cross-culture exchange I have ever encountered. Every example we read about has the same primary goals as stated above by OBOS. However, the women work to make the context fit their own society and understanding of the world. Parts can be omitted or exchanged, or expanded, but in the end it still remains a text for women by women. One of the most profound things about OBOS is the stories that are interwoven in the book. There are facts and figures but along with those are stories. These stories give voice to so many issues that are considered taboo to so many cultures.

OBOS is a completely different form of activism. We mentioned in class on Friday that nearly every single day the importance of education is brought up. OBOS is one form of that education. Women can learn so much from these books, the conversations that are started because of these books, and the community that is created from OBOS; there is a personal level of who you are reading the book with, everyone who is reading your same version, and then the entire OBOS community. This building of community is certainly a stepping stone to other forms of activism. OBOS also surprised me with how well it has fit into the structure of the entire semester. Everything has really flown smoothly into the next topic, which I really wasn’t expecting. Looking at the syllabus I thought we would look at something each week and then move to the next. I think I should have expected that everything would blend together but I didn’t. Activism really does blend boarders and one form of activism or one movement has so much overlap. After discussing reproductive rights it makes sense to talk about how women learn about themselves. Or even our discussion of women’s anatomy. No wonder people are so confused by women, even medical texts are misleading! Moving on to AIDS OBOS becomes more relevant with discussions of safe sex and education. Also relevant to this is the issues of identity we have been discussing. Through the different versions of OBOS one can find the version of the text that they most identify with. One shouldn’t have to look at pictures of white women and read in English just because that is what is available. OBOS is assuring that there are other options.