Art response to feministing.com

This is my art response to the blog Feministing.com.

Supporting the “pro-choice cause” is one of the most discussed topic on feministing.com, where the blogger often discuss about how wrong it is that some American politicians want to remove the possibility from women to choose individually if they want to have children or not, making abortion illegal, again.

My art work wants to represent not only a general reflection on abortion, but also on the consequence that making abortion illegal can bring with.

My art work is not a work pro- or against abortion, but it is PRO-CHOICE.

On that art work you can see the outline of a fetus and in its abdomen a birth-control pill that here acts like a sort of “wheel of fortune”. Instead of every single pill I inserted different images which should let you reflect on how risky would it be, if abortion returns to be illegal.

On this wheel you can see the image of 4 women who died because of clandestine abortions (you can read the article HERE), in contrast to some tools gynecologist use for legal abortion. Then you can see images of fetuses and image of assisted conception. In the wheel are represented different options among that a woman should have the right to be able to choose, while if this right will be denied this “opportunity-wheel” will turn into a wheel of fortune, because no one can say what the result of an forced pregnancy or a illegal abortion will be.

The pro-choice position of this art work is symbolized by the woman in the center of this wheel (from the Arnold Italy Agency): the position of her body not only seems like she were on cross (she would really be on cross if she hadn´t the possibility to choose), but her position also remembers on the female reproductive apparatus, which is only of personal jurisdiction, that´s the reason why I added the sentence “My body – my choice”.

On the image backdrop different pro-choice sentences can be which I found not only on feministing.com but also on other feminist blogs.

D.

Feminist Remix

This remix wants to be a metaphor for social justice.

 

As in the banana we have to remove the peel to taste the fruit, so we have to demolish some barriers to reach social justice.

The dove in the middle of the image symbolizes social justice, while the barriers which have to be demolished for reaching it are (from the left to the right: homophobia, racism, religious intolerance and sexism.

Source:

http://www.varbak.com/immagine/foto-banana-sbucciata

http://rututu.deviantart.com/art/Anti-Racism-153226759

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/homo-consumericus/201004/religious-discrimination-in-universities-personal-story

http://it.paperblog.com/today-0405-1150965/

http://paulshouldshowuptoclass.wordpress.com/sexism-still-exists/

http://www.eaststaffsrec.co.uk/Who%20We%20Are.htm

D.

“Systemic: Personal as Political”

Source:

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/10/31/stars-of-political-cartooning-art-young/

D.

Identity Politics Mapping

This is what you can see on italian television every day on every channel at PRIME TIME

 

D.

“Consciousness-raising”

Starting from the Text of Fischer (2010) and a personal experience, I´d like to expose in this Blog Entry a reflection on what does it mean “to change”, if change is possible and what could be the cause for a personal change. I am talking here about changing the own ideas, the “previously taken-for-granted” habits, about changing ourselves. After that I want to think about how or if this “internal-self-change” can be able to change others or society somehow.

Just in these last days I have had the opportunity to reflect about me, my nationality (I don’t like to use the word “race”, I prefer to speak of “nationality”), my political views, my age and my gender and to be aware of it, because in my country it´s political elections´ time.

I´m talking about awareness of myself, of my nationality, of my age and of my gender maybe more that awareness of my political views, because to vote has a very strong value to me: it should be an expression of democracy and equality, because people have the possibility to choose their government… but it is indeed this way?

I asked this question because if it is true, like Fischer says in her article, referring to Dewey, that the self is composed of a set of habits and those habits are socially acquired and may imply uniformity and conservatism (Fischer, 2010; p. 69-70) then I don’t see these elections as an expression of democracy and equality, because I haven´t the possibility to change those habits that has brought us in a situation, which is almost unbearable.

I explain: to vote doesn’t give me the opportunity to make a change, because the political for whom I have the opportunity to vote, independently from political views and ideals, are ALWAYS the same persons which have brought the country, my country, to this unbearable situation we have to live with.

Do I want to vote for someone, independently from the political color, who looks while every day people, independent workers, commits suicide because of the economic crisis, who prefers to tax more and more all the honest workers, instead of, for example, to reduce his/her own salary and his/her own privileges? No, I really don’t want.

Do I want to vote for someone, who has supported a government that treated women as commodity for personal fun? No, I really don’t want.

Do I want to vote for someone, who don´t consider young people as the future, who don’t help them to find a job and don’t give them the possibility to express their own ideas, their own talent and their own aspirations? No, really I don’t want.

“For Dewey, we are constantly faced with a choice between acting in accordance with the old, static self, or with the new, dynamic self […] we should be mindful of the connection between changes in selves and larger systemic change“ (Fischer, 2010, p. 71 and p. 80).

But how can “my dynamic self” make things change if no one gives him/her a possibility?

So I become aware of me, of what I am, what I want, of my age of 23, of my gender as a woman and of the desire I do not want to be ashamed of my nationality because of my government and I have decided to be active and to give a clear signal: I have chosen not to vote.

D.

Literature:

Fischer, C. (2010). Consciousness and conscience: Feminism, pragmatism and the potential for radical change. Studies in Social Justice, 4(1), 67-85.

 

Critical Response

So hello everyone! Here I am once again! =)

This time my post will be a little bit more critical than the first one, because I would try to criticize some articles I have read on feministing.com (as you know that´s the blog I am following).

The first one is about Lady Gaga.. I know it sounds weird, but I found this post (you can read it here) really interesting, because, in my view, this article shows how personal can become political.

The Post on feministing.com is about Gaga´s Tweet: “Just killed back to back spin classes. Eating a salad dreaming of a cheeseburger”.

The singer is “accused” on the blog to propagate a wrong idea of health, to embody mainstream standards of beauty and, above all, she, the one who sings “born this way” and declares to fight for the underdogs, yes she isn´t sensitive about this important thematic of eating enough.

I believe that Lady Gaga´s Tweet is really not the problem, but it is just the sprout for being critical about the idea of “health” that mainstream media transmitted. This idea should really not been followed (I agree with the author of that post), because models who are presented as “healthy” are unrealistically thin and NOT HEALTHY. In this sense I think this article is a perfect example for how a personal thing (even if we are speaking about Lady Gaga it is personal!!) can become political.

Maybe it was this overreaction (like on feministing.com) which our Lady Gaga wanted to create with her Tweet, considering that it is not the first time she would use this strategy.

The second article I´d like to comment it´s a little more serious (the other one was it too, but the fact lady gaga is involved make it sound strange and less serious, which doesn´t mean that it really is =)).

It is about a low proposal in Tennessee and I think the Title – Tennessee doesn’t even want kids to hold hands until marriage– is entirely explanatory.

Shortly this article is about this: “Tennessee senators approved an update to the state’s abstinence-based sex education law that includes warnings against “gateway sexual activity.”

In a new family life instructions bill, holding hands and kissing could be considered gateways to sex”.

I have to say that if someone had told me this news I very probably wouldn´t have believed it. It sounds like a joke, but it is reality. Besides this, that law banishes every form of sex education in schools and also the distribution of informative material about sex and birth control.

So, this is instead one of that cases in which the political becomes personal.. and I would like to say VERY personal.

I think it is a normal thing banishing sex-education courses from schools if you are following a “abstinence-only”-politics, but in my opinion this law concerns an aspect which is too private and personal, because we are speaking, or better, this law is about a “family life instructions bill”!!!

Will this mean that parents cannot kiss their own children?? Or holding their hands?? Will this mean that parents cannot kiss or embrace or what else in front of their children because it is considered a gateway to sex???

I wonder how the government of Tennessee will educate its own children to LOVE, considering that every affective corporal approach is seen like a gateway to sex.

Maybe, even if Tennesse´s government pursues an abstinence-only program, its senators should better inform teens, which wont to follow this program, about how they can avoid sexual diseases and pregnancy instead of been worried about forbid holding hand and kissing.

That´s all folks =) (just for now) c u soon

D.

Following a feminist blog

Hello everybody out there =)

I decided to follow the blog called “Feministing” –>http://feministing.com/ .

It is an online community which was born to connect feminist online and offline and to encourage feminism in 2004.

Samhita Mukhopadhyay is the executive Editor of the site and a writer, who has written for different daily papers and magazines. Besides it she is one of the directors of Sakhi, an organization that fights violence against women. Vanessa Valenti is a blogger, activist, writer and online strategist and managing editor of the site. She founded together with Jessica Valenti (Founding Executive Editor) Feministing.com.  In this site not only Admin or Staff can post but everyone that respects few rules can post and share his/her own thoughts.

Respect is the dominant rule of the whole blog.

Comments about: blaming the victim; fat-shaming; racist, sexist, ageist, transphobic, sizeist, ableist, homophobic commentary, plain malice and personal attacks; dismissal, silencing; questioning the feminist validity of a topic or post and derailing are in no way tolerated.

“Feministing” also collaborates with some organization and institution for technical and strategic support and coverage of events. The mission of those organizations and institution must obviously be in line with the ones this online community follows.

I chose this blog because of the content of their “top stories”, which are very interesting, because they talks about problems which are predominant not only in the USA but also in every part of the world where the culture of patriarchy dominates and is been followed.

The first top story is about what does it means to be a woman. The blogger explains it is and have to be different to be a person who is able to have a child and must be not reduced to a person with an uterus. This discussion started because of the republicans´ political campaign, which is, according to the blogger, an “anti-choice” campaign.

In another “tops story” a blogger debates on a democrat’s law proposal to assure legal aid for the victims of violence, especially domestic violence and rape. Among the lines sympathy for the Democrats can be read, because the post I have read were always about and against exposed questions or themes from Republicans.

But obviously bloggers focalize their attention also about non political matters as the “birth control”-Problem: many people cannot more buy it, because of the elevated prize; it should be instead a fundamental human right for all.

This article really shocked me http://feministing.com/2012/03/23/belvedere-vodka-ad-jokes-about-date-rape/ so just take a look and enjoy, reflect, be active!

D.