Blog Post

     In all three of these stories, different issues drove the way the authors wrote and what they wrote about. I think it is very powerful how much one issue can control someone's life and how it can even drive their entire career path. They use these things that once controlled their lives and they way they feel, to create change and to change and inspire others. The three issues that we viewed are feminism, body image, and gender identity. 

    The article, "Feminism. n. (plural)" explores in the beginning some of the things woman have to deal with on a daily basis. Starting with pop culture rap music, comedians, and media all objectify woman and degrade them. The author explores how writing has given her the power to bring attention to these issues surrounding feminism in the perfect way.  The power of the written word and her medium has given her the opportunity to debunk feminism and empower herself and other woman through her words. I find her notion between feminism and professional feminists very interesting. The idea that some people are afraid to brand themselves as feminists because we see that as needing to include feminism in their personal brand. But, being a feminist is different than being a professional feminists. I really related to this and how she mentions that being called a feminist is deemed an insult. Growing up, I really hated being associated with feminism because that is how I felt too. which is interesting because I am very much in support of woman's rights and standing up for women in all ways. So, why was I so creeped out by the term feminism? I think this article broke that down and gave me the understanding and nuances between feminism and professional feminists and breaking down the social norms that made me feel so uncomfortable with both terms. 

    I also think that the article "Un/tied" is very interesting in talking about gender roles. I never thought about the fact that someone who does not identify with the typical gender roles may have difficulty with fashion. Fashion is a way that someone shows who they are on the inside, on the outside. If someone does not identify either male or female, they may have a more difficult way portraying themselves on the outside. Once again, I think this author uses their medium of a blog to empower people with these issues, educate those who may not know about them, and debunk the sigma against typical gender roles. 

    In all of these articles I think it is so empowering how these authors use their medium to take three very difficult issues and empower others. They spread awareness by using their stories to share with others and their mediums are very powerful in their own ways. Different mediums are able to portray these feelings in different ways, words can portray differently than images because of the perspectives they offer. But, each medium can empower people and help to talk through the stigma.