Reflective Essay about Feminism

My belief about feminism did not change but it has been expanded. Before studying contemporary applied ethics, I have a sufficient understanding of feminist topics, but I gladly accept more knowledge, and I have personal experience because I face the patriarchal world in a body of a woman, I am one of the genders that suffer oppression because the world was created for men. Feminism has been misinterpreted as women taking control and superiority over men, but feminism is fighting for every gender to have equal access to comfort while being alive. It made me realize that society made us afraid to be happy and be ourselves just because the standards of who we should be are based on a sexual organ. It is hard not to be a man in a patriarchal world. The world was created for the comfort and the success of men and being a woman, it would be hard for me to be able to be safe and secure because it was never meant for me to be anything but a man's property. But I was raised in a generation that would speak out for the rights of others and for the treatment we deserve, I was raised by a mother who never limits my horizon and this class made things a bit clearer why fighting for equality is a mass. When talking about this, I remember this post about feminism and conservatism that defines patriarchy as boots on the neck and women who want to take it off saying that there isn’t anything wrong with the boots until women start complaining that as quoted by Q LeAudra Lee Baker (MtheFem, 2020). For me, this representation makes a lot of sense in defining what patriarchy is because living as a woman in this world is like fighting for your life. In the PILS or visual learning of what feminism is per Dr. Amaryllis Torres, I realize that there are a lot more than the oppression that is easily spotted like women being unable to wear what they want or being controlled by men, but the struggle of women for being an employee and a mother at the same time and the lack of opportunity for women who were born below the poverty line. This issue is disregarded or overlooked many times because it is an issue that we don’t see. My mother is also part of the workforce and she is also our primary caregiver, this topic made me see my mom in another light and made me remember how tiring it is, especially when we were kids because she works almost 10 hours a day and comes home to clean after us, takes care of us, cooks for us, and listen to every question and stories we have and to add to that 2 of us were always sick, so there were times where my mom didn’t sleep or rest to take care of us. This made me realize why I love her so much but to make this even sweeter my mom ingrained the thought to each one of us that she is doing this because she loves us not only because she is required by law and to never look at it as if we owe her anything. Another issue is the inequality that women face on salary because women are being paid less for the same work just because they are women, not only that but women of color are being treated worst and paid less than white women. As we continue to talk about the struggle the more I got scared of being a woman but at the same time, I got the passion to stand up and raise my voice and make my presence be felt, because in the video Dr. Torres stated that patriarchy manifests when women become invisible and when women’s worth is becoming trivial (FEU Academics, 2020). The best part of the video is when Dr. Torres stated that we should start looking using the eyes of women because it has been too long that we have use men’s (FEU Academics, 2020) this sentence made me think about everything and when I look at the world it becomes clear that we have been using the eyes of men on how to solve the conflict, how the world is created for men and I want to see how the world would shift if we start looking at the world by using the eyes of women. In the discussion, I like everything about it because it is empowering that this movement is being talked about and oppression not only for women but the LGBTQ+ community is being heard and not taken for granted. The best part is when Ms. Halili ask every student who was present how do we experience oppression because of our gender and this made me see that in a little way though the guys in my family are trying there are still misogynistic tendencies, but now I speak out and tell them nicely that I won’t be asked to do something if the only reason why they ask me is that I am a girl. Now my family shares the housework equally. In conclusion, Feminism is not women trying to take over but for women and the LGBTQ+ community to feel the same comfort that men experience as Dr. Torres stated feminism is making everyone equal to you (FEU Academics, 2020). We need to eradicate the idea of kids and adults that there is a superior gender. It shows that gender is a big part of how people treat each other and there are more issues to solve in terms of gender oppression. I suggest we can start ending this issue by accepting that there is a problem and maybe we can all experience a life where gender is not an issue.