Authorship

Right now, one of my favorite literary works is a book of monologue written by Eve Ensler called "I Am an Emotional Creature." It's a favorite because it focuses on the topic of women, but in particular the struggles of being a teen age girl. Although Eve Ensler wrote these monologues, she is not the only author of these stories. Other "authors" of this book include all of the young girls and women whom Eve has met. She hears life stories from girls from around the world when she is traveling as a women's activist then, she is able to use her passion and literary talent to help these girls share their stories, amplify their voices, and speak their minds. When I read the monologues, I don't think, "what did Eve Ensler want me to feel or to recognize when reading this monologue?" (a question that students are often told to ask ourselves) I think about the girl who is telling the story and how connected I feel to her and especially to her pain. She might be a 13 year old girl, being forced to undergo female genital mutilation in the Congo, or an Iranian teenager who is tricked into a nose job by her own parents so she may be "pretty;" either way their situations don't alway resemble my own, but have an impact on my understanding and perception of other women around the world. These stories are written in such a way that the girls are the primary authors. They are their stories put into the form of passionate monologues by a passionate woman. It is also my story; I am an "author." I feel so odd saying that, but based on today's class on "authorship," I am an author because I am the reader, and I have my own special perceptions and feelings that may or may not be like what the girls mean or feel by their stories, or what Eve means to get across, but it is my personal insight, something that belongs to me and something that over which I have total, free creative license.

Comparing the viewpoints of Leroi with those of Goodman

          Goodman took an article written by two men, Leroi and Thomas, and used their "errors" to produce his concept for the lack of the need for the concept of race to exist. First of all, I do not blame Goodman for showing resentment of Leroi in his article. Leroi sarcastically joked about Goodman's field, anthropology, and the men who make it up. One thing that I came across when comparing the articles of these men was that Goodman found that Leroi's views on why race is useful in the medical field was erroneous. Leroi believes that there is not enough precision in the medical field to understand why certain "races" are more vulnerable to certain diseases, like sickle cell traits, and others are not. He says that because we don't have the precision to categorize people in a better way, it is important to show that the "black race" is more prone to certain diseases, or not as responsive to certain medications because that is what is shown. Goodman argues that Leroi's views are incorrect.

Goodman says, "Why do some individuals have sickle cell trait? Is it because of their race?” The answer to this question is clearly “no.” Race is a poor explanation for the distribution of sickle cell trait, which occurs in high frequencies only in particular regions of Africa while also occurring in high frequencies in parts of Asia and Europe"(raceandgenomics.ssrc.org). 

It is not accurate to categorize "Sickle cell traits" as a "black race" trait because the people that get sickle cell anemia lived in certain places under the same conditions and then passed their genetic material on. Although Sickle cell traits are found at a high rate in Africa, those same traits can also be found at a high rate in Europe and Asia, "which were considered "non black" race countries. Goodman feels that the use of "race" is harmful and that Leroi is making excuses for the continuation of a word, even though modern genetics does not prove that there are different races. 

Commentary of the "Tenth Ehing Everyone Should Know About Race"

TEN THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT RACE

10. Colorblindness will not end racism. Pretending race doesn't exist is not the same as creating equality. Race is more than stereotypes and individual prejudice. To combat racism, we need to identify and remedy social policies and institutional practices that advantage some groups at the expense of others.

Race is a highly controversial and everyday I feel like I am hearing a new perception of what race means to another person; therefore, I am not always sure on whether I agree or disagree with a statement concerning race/racism. Out of the 10 passages in the article “Ten Thing Everyone Should Know About Race,” it was the tenth passage that I found most intriguing. I like that I understand its meaning and that it highlights on the idea that official establishment’s and “social policies” advantage certain groups, effecting others negatively or like the passage says, “at the expense of others.”  I highly agree. First of all, I interpreted these “advantaged groups” as whites, causations or however you prefer to label this group of people. It’s not only my own opinion, but something that can be statistically proven.

In the United States the president is put on a pedestal above all others. Until, 2008, when Barack Obama was elected president the position had been filled by a white male and this is dating back to the beginning of George Washington’s administration in the late 1700’s. If it is white males that dominate the United States government, it is natural that all policies, especially those that effect minority races in the United States, have been made with the self-interest of the people making the decisions. It is my hope that the conflict of racism is starting to become identified, by modern education. A great example is the high school class I am in. Only in a highly liberal private school could you find a class like Race and Gender, which takes a group of high school students to “identify and remedy” contentious topics such as race. Also, the presidency of a half black, half white American is a concept that I fell should be lenient, but I am what is called “new school.” I am much more open-minded than the generations before mine. This is so because tolerance has grown in the modern time. We have internet, media, telephones, ect, people are less sheltered, more aware of what is going on in the world and the others that make up this world. We are at the identifying point of the matter it is up to my generation and the ones to follow to “remedy” the issues and the policies that are now outdated by our government. 

Designing My Blog

I am so excited about the outcome of my blog! My idea for this blog was to give it a look that is inviting. When i saw the jelly-bean background, not only was it super cool, but it also depicted the feeling that i want people to get when viewing my blog. The subject of Race and Gender is one that i find quite touchy; therefore, i feel that i need people to know that i am a positive, mostly optimistic person who has her own opinions, but does not objective to the opinions of others. In other words, I'm open. I think that the colorful background helps me express myself in this way. Also, the jelly-beans are meant to be symbolic of the vast range of people in this world, different colors, shapes, sizes, tastes etc. I feel that this is appropriate considering it is a blog dedicated to the topic of race and gender.
I decided to give my blog the title, "everybody has a race and gender" because this statement gives a taste of what my blog will offer, but it also makes the reader really deliberate on the meaning of this statement. For the title, i used a font called "Impact" because for one, i want this blog to impact, or affect its readers, but also the font made my blog look a bit more serious. Speaking of serious, i decided to give my inner background a black fade. The lack of color will help to emphasize the posts themselves and it again touches upon the fact that this is a serious topic and it is not something that i take lightly. What is ironic about this blog is that despite the boldness and life invested in its design, i, the writer, am quite insecure and timid about my writing. I am hoping that through this blog i will become a more confident and bold writer, who is able to touch upon race and gender topics that are most interesting and important to me, but also the ones that force me to reach outside my comfort level. We shall see..

Cococola ;)