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.

Reproductive Rights

This week we discussed issues of Reproductive Rights. Instead of looking at the mainstream, more known issues associated with general reproductive rights such as abortion, birth control, and family planning we read from the book Undivided Color: Women of Color Organize for Reproductive Justice. This book brought an entirely new dimension to how I understand the issues associated with reproductive rights. Throughout this book different groups of people are marginalized by the mainstream movement. Through the introduction of the book authors, Jael Silliman, Marlene Gerber Fried, Loretta Ross, and Elena R. Gutierrez work to understand a new definition of reproductive rights that works to responds to the challenges faced by women of color. Ross is quoted as listing just some of these issues as, “poverty, racism, environmental degradation, sexism, homophobia, and injustice in the United States.” These are issues that the founders of the reproductive rights movement never really addressed, as they were primarily white women. It was made clear that while there is an emphasis on choice that there are many issues associated with choice for women of color. Choice needs to be examined in a cultural context and not just through the lens of white, American, feminists. Along with choice is the issue of historically these women having even less control. This control still factors into cultures today and changes how women choose if they have a choice. Sterilization was a theme that was sadly, apparent in many of the histories of women of color. Because of this history the choice to have children needs to be more vocalized in cultures, reproductive rights is not just about not having children, it is about choosing to have children as well. This wonderful introduction opens up a whole new understanding of what should be included in reproductive rights and more accurately called reproductive justice. Going through the text different groups had many factors that affected their own cultural needs/desires for what was included in reproductive justice. One of the biggest things that were apparent in every group was the “holistic” view of reproductive health. This is not just an issue of family planning, having children, or not having children. All these groups had an emphasis on mother, from the mother as the environment in Native American traditions to mother as the family care taker in API cultures. Following this logic it makes sense why the mother should focus on her holistic health as she is caring for the holistic health of herself, her family, her community, and her world.

I love the concept of holistic approach to reproductive justice. It just makes sense. Taking a step back from our own culture, as reading about others forces one to do; it seems silly how much western medicine focuses on just one specific area of the body when treating a health concern. Feeling good and healthy does not specifically deal solely with the body. As silly as it sounds I am reminded of my personal fitness and wellness class that I had to take at Luther. I am about as far from athletic as you can possibly get. But one thing that stuck with me from the class that I complained about every single day for half of a semester was a wellness wheel. The wellness wheel had all sorts of factors that contributed to "wellness" it was the holistic understanding of wellness. It had faith, socialization, as well as other aspects that I am failing to remember at the moment. Well being is something that everyone and everything can benefit from. Particularly, women who choose to become mothers and are nurturing others, can benefit from the holistic understanding of health. From this week I think I will be much more conscience of my own holistic well being. The other thing that I have taken away from the readings this week is how fortunate I am. I have a knew depth of understanding of how lucky I am to be who I am and in this time and place. Also, with a family that is completely supportive of reproductive justice. I have always known I was fortunate enough for this but the readings this week really drove that point home.

Relooking at Activism

So we are now a month into the semester. Having more knowledge about activism, my definition has started to change, but only slightly. The first week of this class I focused on how activism means "doing something," the action is center to activism. I still think that acting is the most important part of activism; it's in the name itself. However, as I have done the readings for this class I have come to appreciate the motivations behind those actions. It is why activism occurs that it can make such an impact. Listening to Majora Carter and Jessica Jackley it was not their actions that truly inspired, it is the motivation behind those actions that truly is the inspiration. Every reading talks about what is being done but it is more powerful, to me at least, to hear why these people who are out in the world as activist are doing whatever it is they are doing. What motivates them? What was the first spark of intrigue they felt? I feel very lucky that at Luther we can have speakers come to little Decorah, Iowa and explain those thing. I am trying to go to as many events as possible this semester because I know that this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see so many different people in a unique academic setting. This class and learning more about activism has really increased the importance of this goal. I am beginning to understand how activism can become part of my everyday life at Luther and beyond.

I saw one such example of activism this week as I watched many of my friends perform in the Vagina Monologues. I have seen this show twice at Luther. I am amazed at how different those two experiences where. I think that there is a variety of reasons for those differences. The first is that as a senior I knew over half of the cast this year, whereas, in my sophomore year I only knew a handful of women in the show. It is so much powerful to hear my friends tell these powerful stories. I also feel that I am a much different person hearing these stories than I was two years ago. It was one of those moments that I began to appreciate just how much I have grown and changed. These women are to me the perfect example of how I am beginning to reevaluate my definition of activism. They are in this show for a plethora of reasons but each one would have an answer to the question, “Why are you performing in Vagina Monologues.” I wish I could talk to all of them and learn a little as to what motivates them. They are standing on stage being activists by giving voice to stories that need to be told to raise awareness on a subject that is often considered taboo. As activists they make us laugh, cry, and possibly, most importantly they make us think.

Activism has a lot to do with doing. But that is not everything. Activism is not all action it is also what is behind the actions. Reflecting on how I understand activism and realizing how fast it has changed in 2 short weeks makes me very excited to see where the coming weeks will take me.

Micro-Lending

If you would have asked me what Micro-lending was a week ago I would have been speechless. I had no idea about anything related to Micro-lending. How much can change in a week! I am now enthused about micro-lending. I am telling all of my friends about micro-lending and arguing my case to them for why they should give a loan. I have explored kiva.org and I think I am addicted. Micro-lending just makes sense. All of our articles that we read this week explained how micro-lending works. Basically entrepreneurs need capital but the only way they can get the capital they need is to take loans from 'loan sharks' who charge an unbelievable amount of interest, therefore perpetuating the cycle of poverty. It is impossible to get ahead with these loans that are impossible to repay. Micro-loans break this cycle. With a micro-loan there is not the exorbitant amount of interest. The organizations that give out these micro loans like The Grameen Bank work with the individuals getting these loans and create relationships that result in nearly 100% payment of the loans on a planned schedule. Because of these loans a family is pulled out of poverty. Children are able to go to school and there is actually a substantial profit being made for the family. This improves so many lives. I think there are still some questions regarding the logistics of micro-lending. My main concern is the issues of the traditional loan shark. Most of the individuals who receive these loans are women, most of the loan sharks are male. In traditional societies were most of these loans are going how does this affect the gender roles in these societies? What are the organizations who handle these loans doing to product their clients? Now that I understand the concept of micro-lending I want to learn about the field work that happens on a day to day basis with micro lending.

I can't begin to talk about my personal response to micro-lending because I think it is something I will continue to be involved in. As I was writing this blog I was also setting up my own account on Kiva.org. Micro-lending is something I can do that really does make a difference. Like Jessica Jackley spoke about the media portrays the poor as being scary, kiva.org gives a positive spin and not just dwells on how bad things are. Another aspect of kiva.org that really had an impact on me is the personal relationships that the website fosters. There isn't just one picture and I am helping someone like this person. I have a picture of the person I will help. I also have the story of the person, what they want to do, how they plan to do it, and how this will change their life. Being able to search by location, gender, and a plethora of other criteria make this one of my new favorite websites. Another personal response is the want to travel to all of these places. Just like Jessica talked about traveling around the world I want to go and see these places. Who knows where this new found form of activism will take me. That's perhaps the greatest thing I learned from Jessica's lecture is to follow your dreams/goals and the path will follow.

Environmental Justice

This week thanks to Majora Carter's timely visit to Decorah we focused on Environmental Justice. This is a topic that I thought that I was fairly knowledgeable about but soon realized that this was a topic I knew hardly anything about. Being at Luther has certainly made me much more aware of things like 'sustainability' and being 'green' but the readings this week hit home for me more than any of the environmental issues I have been hearing about for the last few years. These readings all had many common threads. The biggest one that kept standing out to me was the fact that we are all connected. Environmental issues effect everyone. However, they way they impact us is very different and most of that is determined by race, class, and gender. Living in Iowa I hear about the pollution and effects of global warming and may be slightly more aware of how global warming effects farmland. Being from Cedar Rapids I saw how powerful the environment can be and flood more than anyone ever imaged possible, first hand. But I don't have to worry about drinking the water from my tap or breathing in air that has increased amounts of pollution from any number of things. I am so fortunate for this. Polluted Promises really hit home with me. This was a community that did have to deal with not being able to drink the water, having to not touch the soil, and have increased occurrences of asthma and other diseases of the lungs. Because of race, class, and gender there are many problems for the people living in the towns all around the world that can relate to Polluted Promises. These are people who are at the margins of society and are not heard about many social issues, as demonstrated by the environmental issues. But this week was not just focusing on the negative aspects of this problem. Carter was so inspiring. She has made a difference and is turning her neighborhood around and from a literal dump for New York City to a beautiful south bronx neighborhood. Along with the positive changes for the neighborhood with the environment there is also a difference with less unemployment as members of the community are employeed in the green jobs that it takes to build and maintain this new aspect of the community. Throughout the readings community was expressed and how important community is in the environmental justice movement. I feel inspired by everything I have learned this week. Things are bad with the environment but they can get better, individual people like Carter are showing that one person can make a big difference every single day.

This discussion on the environment and how it relates to class, race, and gender made me reflect on my recent j-term trip. I traveled to Dubai to study the development there. The UAE is growing at an incredible speed and is going from being a desert to being a world leader. The founding Sheihk (leader) promised to make the desert green. This wasn't green in the environmental way but virtually turn sand into grass. I witnessed this first hand, saw grass growing in Dubai thanks to being watered over 10 times a day to withstand the desert environment. I also saw some amazing architecture and developments, such as islands being built to expand cities. However, the whole time we were there I kept thinking about the environmental impact. In the UAE there are extreme class differences as well as these environmental issues. I wonder if there are any environmental justice organizations in Dubai or the UAE. It would be interesting to see the correlation with pollution and class in Dubai. Everything is very segregated by class, especially where people live. These readings made me really reflect on Dubai and the UAE in a different way than when I was there and just noticing the environment, now I have a better understanding of the consequences of the pollution and how that effects the existing class structures.

Definitions of Activism

Activism seems to be a word that is used a lot in society. Especially in the news, one can hear about activists doing this or this organization protesting or this person starting a petition. Using the word activist so often would lead one to think that this word has a very clear and precise meaning. As we saw in class on Wednesday, everyone tends to have a different understanding of what it means to be an activist. There were certain themes in all of our definitions. We found that in being an activist someone has to be actively doing something and have a strong believe behind their actions and usually involves changing, adapting, and enlightening different parts of society.

With these different definitions in mind I went to where I go to find most of my definitions when I have a question on a word, Webster.com. Webster told me that activism is a noun dating back to 1915 and is defined as, “a doctrine or practice that emphasizes direct vigorous action especially in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.” My first thought when I read this had to do with the date. Two things came to mind that were happening at that time, first was the women’s suffrage movement and the other being the prohibition. Both of these events happened and changed society because of active movements by individuals and groups. The actual definition fits into what we discussed in class, talking about a specific issue that is being addressed. The other part of the definition that struck me was the similarity of movement, just like we talked about activism being associated with movement. I think that social movements often get associated as being the same as activism. I am not sure what to think of this association but I am sure as the semester progressed I will be able to answer that question if social movements and activism can be interchangeable. Webster does seem to a good job at describing in easy to understand terms what activism is.

After finding this easy to understand definition I looked on Jstore for a scholarly understanding of activism. I found an article that was entitled, "Its Just about Being Fair: Activism and the Politics of Volunteering in the Breast Cancer Movement,” in Gender and Society, Vol 3. No. 3 (June, 2004.) This article defined activism by comparing it to volunteering. I really liked how they compared this because I think it is easy to confuse volunteering with being an activist. The articles states, “Activists are presented as more cynical than volunteers but also…believe that conversation about important matter is an important aspect of what they do and social change. Volunteers, on the other hand, are said to be more focused on action and emphasis doing over talking…Activists are more likely to understand themselves as knowledge producers, volunteers as knowledge consumers.” This academic definition really emphasizes the reasons and believes behind an action, being “conversation focused” rather than the volunteers just “doing.” This also portrays the somewhat negative connotations that can accompany activism for being against the majority of society.

Combing the academic and the main stream definition really works to better understand what activism means to society. Since activism works directly with society this is an extremely import understanding so activists really can start their work, by understanding how they are perceived.