In Marita’s class, we did an
exercise on goals, particularly goals for this quickly approaching summer. Here are some of my goals:
I want to teach people about
intersectional feminism in a non-condescending way. When a person says something racist or sexist
– even if they don’t realize their statement was offensive – I often respond
in an angry and non-productive way. For
example, we had an Uber driver the other day who thought men and women are
treated equally. I was shocked and
almost exclaimed, “How can you possibly think that?” But I remembered: Not everyone has the same level of feminist
education as me. Not everyone knows
about the inequality that exists in South Africa, America, and around the
world. In these types of situations, I
need to first try and understand why the person believes in their sexist or
racist statement; only then can I have a productive conversation. Yelling at the person will just make the
situation worse, and I won’t be able to educate anyone.
I want to learn a new skill
such as knitting or how to play the ukulele.
I bought a uke a while ago, but I want to actually learn how to use it
this summer. For me, singing is a great
stress reliever.
I want to express myself
through art. During the school year, I
don’t have much time for crafting, but this summer I know I’ll have the time to
embrace my creative side. Luckily, there’s
a Michael’s right near UConn!
I want to stay connected
with all of my amazing friends that I’ve made here. Laura will be living at UConn, so I’m pumped
to spend a lot of time with her this summer.
But I also want to arrange monthly (if not weekly) gatherings where I
can see my close Cape Town friends. They
are the only people who will truly understand my feelings about reverse culture
shock and missing South Africa.
I want my feminism to not
only be inclusive, but to truly focus on marginalized communities such as black
trans women, people with disabilities, and non-binary individuals. I really like the point Erica shared with the
class: Many feminist movements are
inclusive, but they still center on white, cisgender, usually straight
communities. We may say that a movement
includes everyone, but usually the inclusion of trans people (for example) is
just an afterthought. I’m taking a
feminist disabilities class next semester which I’m very excited about. People with disabilities are often left out
of the picture, even though they exist in every demographic and every community. I hope I can learn to be an advocate for this
group of individuals, especially for those with mental illnesses, because
talking about depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses is such a taboo.
Speaking of goals, I’ve
wanted to watch the sunset at the beach since I landed in Cape Town. I finally did it! It was absolutely beautiful and probably one
of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen. And
to make it even better, we could see the entirety of Table Mountain in the
background. A true Cape Town sunset.
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