Welcome back, ladies and gents! So in my last blog, “Who is Shyanne Hope?", I gave you a quick introduction to myself but I didn't tell you why I had begun the blog to begin with! The mission of my blog will be to advocate for women— *backspace, backspace*— ahem, excuse me, ALL women. Most of the content in my blogs will center around intersectional feminism.
Here's a quick review on why I believe true feminism must be intersectional: Intersectionality-- when applied to social reforms-- recognizes that 1) there are several facets to one's identity (e.g. race, gender, class, and sexuality), and that 2) these facets combined, overlap to create an interdependent system of oppression, creating marginalized groups-- like women. Without taking intersectionality into account, it is impossible to address how different women of different communities experience different forms of oppression. True feminism, the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes, must take intersectionality into account in order to benefit ALL women EQUALLY. For example, it's immoral and flat-out wrong to make a black queer woman choose which facet of her identity is most in need of advocating and which facet is okay laying low on the back burner. It's impossible to separate the racism a black woman receives from her gendered oppression and furthermore from the discrimination of her sexuality. You just can't choose one **inserts black girl shrugs emoji**. Women have been marginalized for centuries because of the patriarchal society we live in. The oppression of women takes many forms, including discrimination, unequal pay, and the fight for reproductive rights. But, the most-cited form of oppression remains violence against women. According to a study by World Health Organization, about 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. When we factor in race, the statistics get scarier. The Center of Disease Control and Prevention cites that out of 10 black women, more than 4 will experience physical violence from an intimate partner during their lifetimes, disproportionately more than white/latina/asian women. Let's add another layer to the system that disenfranchises women. Human Rights Campaign Foundation released "A National Epidemic: Fatal Anti-Transgender Violence in the United States in 2019" which was a report honoring 22 transgender and non-conforming people murdered in 2019. Of the 22 tragic deaths, all but one were black. Black transgender women are being murdered around the world with little to no media coverage. It’s a known fact for centuries that all women are at risk for gendered violence in the United States, but with intersectionality we learn that some women are far more at risk. I want the world to know that if we limit the dialogue about violence against women or any other form of persecution, we’ll fail to address the actual issues at stake, and as a result, we’ll fail to create solutions that dismantle the intersectional oppression. That is why I made this blog, to encourage open dialogue surrounding the way the world views women-- it could quite literally, save lives. Violent masculinity is perpetuated by society upholding negative masculine ideals. I hope to write about a variety of topics that I believe are responsible for this violence, including rape culture, ‘pick-me’ culture AKA internalized misogyny, and gender roles or stereotypes. By blogging about the practices that society deems acceptable or normal, I can educate others on what they can do or not do, to be an ally to women. I am writing this blog in hopes it will inspire communities to work together to protect women of every race, religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status. Thanks for tuning in to my blog this week. This post is meant to show my mission. It's filled with the hope that I make a difference. Feel free to comment, share, and post. See ya next time!
1 Comment
Dr. Wynne
2/4/2020 10:45:20 am
Your blog is well-written and your passion comes through, Shyanne! I love your use of voice (the asides, the use of caps). Your voice is very similar to that of onely.org, the singlehood blog we looked at in class on 2/4. Only one suggestion: with the hyperlink, you don't need to highlight mass amounts of text; you can say "this article" and highlight it. The reader will go there. In addition, the World Health Organization led to Clark Rozier's blog; be sure to edit.
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AuthorHi, I'm Shyanne Dyson. I'm a senior at Hampton University studying Cybersecurity. Between being a student, daughter, sister, friend, ally, and volunteer, you can add blogger to the list. Archives
April 2020
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