So we did it! The first Fellsmere community Garden trip is done. It was honestly one of the most stressful and rewarding service learning projects I have ever done. Getting everyone on the same page was very difficult, but seeing all of my classmates interact so well with the Fellsmere community was truly beautiful. This semester I have started to learn how to look past individual differences and focus more on a groups’ shared goals for the benefit of social movements. Its bittersweet that this first trip is over because I have formed stronger bonds within classroom and Fellsmere communities.
I believe that this project has greatly shaped and strengthened my leadership. This project has also allowed me to grow and develop my feminist leader skills, and it has taught me a very valuable lesson, which is that no matter how much I try, anything and everything cannot be all-inclusive. It has taken me a while to wrap my mind around it, and honestly, Im still not 100% comfortable with it, but I do realize that this is a fact. This thought takes me back to the beginning of this semester and one of our first readings where feminist leadership was first defined. Although Batliwala had a great ‘working’ definition, she even states
“The above definitions are by no means a comprehensive or representative sample of the full diversity of feminist thinking. We cannot homogenize the feminist discourse…as though there was one single global conversation about it.”
I remember how critical I was on this text and skeptical that the writer had tried ‘hard enough’ to comprise a more inclusive and diverse definition in the first place. It is not until I had to devise plans and organize an event that I finally understood how impossible it is to include everyone. Sometimes I had a hard time connecting with my classmates and sometimes I had a hard time communicating with the women in Fellsmere. There were times were I would just sit down and cry because I felt that there was this goal that needed to be reached, and that there was one clear and easy way to get there, but I got so frustrated when people navigated differently and as they saw fit in order to get there. This is a great example of the leadership labyrinth that we have been talking about all semester. Everyone has a different experience within this labyrinth due to everyone’s unique ‘story’, its unfair to assume everyone will look at something in the same way that I do, especially considering that I don’t appreciate when this assumption is placed on me. Leadership is very individual and every cis-gendered woman will enact it whatever way she sees fit. What is important though, is for feminist leaders to get past the first stage of judgment and to help foster and grow each other’s leadership. I have seen so many of my classmates and young girls in Fellsmere grow within their leadership. I remember getting to Fellsmere and having Christina (Yolanda Daughter) ask for a small delegation of students from Orlando go with her around the ‘barrio’ in order to encourage more participation from the community. It was amazing hearing her talk and be inspired, watching my classmates ring door bells along with her and share their thoughts on the importance on this project. I understand that feminist leadership has a long way to go, and that it can too grow and learn to include more folks, but I think project like these that unite feminist leaders together for one cause is a great way to get us to that ‘more’ inclusive definition of what it is we are doing.
Batliwala, Srilatha. "Feminist Leadership For Social Transformation: Clearing the Conceptual Cloud." Crea (2011): 66. Print.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Media Watch
There has been a lot of negative press regarding women entertainers this year, whether it deals with their weight, authenticity of a pregnancy or music collaborations with former partners the overall climate in the media mirrors the control of women’s bodies and choices sentiment of our culture. But why do we feel the need to determine what is right or true concerning women in and out of the Entertainment business and what does this mean regarding women’s leadership or how we construct it? Eagly and Carli write about gendered stereotypes that limit women’s leadership and the strong emotions that arise from society’s’ construct of how a woman leader should act and the decisions she should make.
Take for example the singer Rihanna and her decision to collaborate with Chris Brown. Over and over the media states how destructive and irresponsible this career move is, asking the public questions like ‘Would you willingly work with an abuser who bashed your face in after you confronted him about cheating?’ it is apparent that we as a society will always identify the singer by this experience and hold her and any decision she makes accountable as a role model to women and girls who have undergone abusive relationships, even if Rihanna hasn’t claimed that role for herself. Another example of scrutiny in the media are the many reports of singer Beyonce’s fake pregnancy, these articles have several picture albums analyzing the ‘fake bump’ and ‘before and after’ pictures claiming that the singers slim figure is ‘too good to be true’ due to her recent delivery. The last news article I wanted to talk about covers the comments made by a designer concerning singer Adele’s weight. When asked what he thought about the singer, the designer stated that Adele was ‘a little too fat’. The fact that the only attribute the designer identified the singer with was her weight illustrates how we as a society rarely identify women with their qualities of attributes and the fact that the article uses the word ‘fatty’ to shame the designer who made the comments is ironic. Like I stated previously, this year has been filled with negative press regarding women in the entertainment business, but this is not uncommon. Negative feedback and criticism is what fuels our entertainment television and newsstands, as a society we thrive on judging the ‘beautiful people’ in order to make them ‘more real’ and ‘human’. Our emotions are often caught up in our critiques, which is something that Eagly and Carli write about, they state, “Those who promote the status quo of male-female relations may also evaluate women harshly as leaders. Consequently, the stereotyping of women, sometimes accentuated by emotions, is an important component of the labyrinth in which female leaders and potential leaders try to find their way.” I feel that because this society feels the need to control women and their choices rather than focus on their accomplishments and contributions, we limit their potential as leaders. These women have all broken musical records, they write about their sexuality, their emotions, their families and all we see is their inability to stop eating, their inability to perform the ‘womanly’ duty of birthing, or their lack of common sense when it comes to their dating life. They have to make choices that will please the public regarding their bodies, lives and family on a daily basis, which restricts their ability to make choices for themselves first. I think that analyzing why we become so enraged when a woman makes a decision we do not think fit is something we must critique first, we as a society need to dissect why we feel the need to identify women with superficial things like weight rather than their talent or their positions as leaders of their field.
Eagly, Alice, and Linda Carli. Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Harvard Business School Press, 2007. eBook.
Articles Used:
Rihanna:
http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/953757/rihanna-rationalizes-working-with-her-abuser
Beyonce:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/317550/20120321/beyonce-fake-pregnancy-surrogate-rumors-blue-ivy.htm
Adele:
http://www.inquisitr.com/191409/adele-latest-target-of-karl-lagerfelds-bitter-former-fatty-comments/
Take for example the singer Rihanna and her decision to collaborate with Chris Brown. Over and over the media states how destructive and irresponsible this career move is, asking the public questions like ‘Would you willingly work with an abuser who bashed your face in after you confronted him about cheating?’ it is apparent that we as a society will always identify the singer by this experience and hold her and any decision she makes accountable as a role model to women and girls who have undergone abusive relationships, even if Rihanna hasn’t claimed that role for herself. Another example of scrutiny in the media are the many reports of singer Beyonce’s fake pregnancy, these articles have several picture albums analyzing the ‘fake bump’ and ‘before and after’ pictures claiming that the singers slim figure is ‘too good to be true’ due to her recent delivery. The last news article I wanted to talk about covers the comments made by a designer concerning singer Adele’s weight. When asked what he thought about the singer, the designer stated that Adele was ‘a little too fat’. The fact that the only attribute the designer identified the singer with was her weight illustrates how we as a society rarely identify women with their qualities of attributes and the fact that the article uses the word ‘fatty’ to shame the designer who made the comments is ironic. Like I stated previously, this year has been filled with negative press regarding women in the entertainment business, but this is not uncommon. Negative feedback and criticism is what fuels our entertainment television and newsstands, as a society we thrive on judging the ‘beautiful people’ in order to make them ‘more real’ and ‘human’. Our emotions are often caught up in our critiques, which is something that Eagly and Carli write about, they state, “Those who promote the status quo of male-female relations may also evaluate women harshly as leaders. Consequently, the stereotyping of women, sometimes accentuated by emotions, is an important component of the labyrinth in which female leaders and potential leaders try to find their way.” I feel that because this society feels the need to control women and their choices rather than focus on their accomplishments and contributions, we limit their potential as leaders. These women have all broken musical records, they write about their sexuality, their emotions, their families and all we see is their inability to stop eating, their inability to perform the ‘womanly’ duty of birthing, or their lack of common sense when it comes to their dating life. They have to make choices that will please the public regarding their bodies, lives and family on a daily basis, which restricts their ability to make choices for themselves first. I think that analyzing why we become so enraged when a woman makes a decision we do not think fit is something we must critique first, we as a society need to dissect why we feel the need to identify women with superficial things like weight rather than their talent or their positions as leaders of their field.
Eagly, Alice, and Linda Carli. Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders. Harvard Business School Press, 2007. eBook.
Articles Used:
Rihanna:
http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/953757/rihanna-rationalizes-working-with-her-abuser
Beyonce:
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/317550/20120321/beyonce-fake-pregnancy-surrogate-rumors-blue-ivy.htm
Adele:
http://www.inquisitr.com/191409/adele-latest-target-of-karl-lagerfelds-bitter-former-fatty-comments/
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Leadership Profile: Sor Juana 1651-1695
Sor (sister) Juana (Juana Ines Ramirez) was born on a farm near the Popocatepl a Mexican volcano in 1648. She was the ‘illegitimate’ daughter of a Spanish father; Pedro Manuel de Asbaje and a Creole mother Isabel Ramirez. By the age of three, she is said to have been able to both read and write and starter to develop a great interest in learning. Years later, she claimed to have read all volumes in her grandfathers study, which included many classic works. By age eight she had written her first Loa, which is a short dramatic poem and mastered Latin in less than twenty lessons. She was considered a child prodigy who worked hard for her knowledge, she was said to cut her hair off whenever she felt was not learning fast or efficiently enough. She wanted to continue her studies at Mexico University and in attempts to persuade her mother, she suggested she “let her dress up in men’s clothes” since men where only admitted at the time. Before her twentieth birthday she entered the San Jeronimo convent where she spent the rest of her life, here she was able to have her own study and access to the convents vast library, here she became proficient in theology, mathematics and philosophy. In 1680 a new Viceroy arrived to the convent and Sor Juana befriended his wife Maria Luisa (known as Lisi) who became the subject of many beautiful love poems Sor Juana wrote.
Here is a link to one of my favorites I have read so far: http://goo.gl/qtSRR
In 1960 letters of her criticism of a famous sermon by a priest were published without her consent. She came under attack by the Bishop of Peubla who wrote a letter admonishing her for her interest in learning that did not allow her to fully commit to her faith. Sor Juana replied to these allegations in a letter to the Bishop, which is hailed to be the ‘first feminist manifesto’. In this letter Sor Juana advocated for the importance of women seeking knowledge and education and women’s right to dissent.
http://goo.gl/IRG0I
In 1691 feeling the pressure of the community and even her confessor, Sor Juana was said to sign an affirmation of absolute devotion to the poor, selling all her books, maps and musical instruments, she swore to fully commit herself to the cause, solidifying the affirmation by signing it with her own blood. Sor Juanas died on April 17, 1695 after becoming infected with the epidemic that affected the sister nuns she was nursing. She was 49.
In my opinion Sor Juana is one of the most important feminist leaders in history and the fact that she is not widely celebrated is shocking. She was not only a genius but also a radical of her time, having the courage to challenge and critique sermons, gendered roles and the unfair ways in which women were perceived and treated by society and the church…. In the 17th century!!
“After you've won by urgent plea the right to tarnish her good name, you still expect her to behave— you, that coaxed her into shame” (You Men: http://goo.gl/rfOl8)
By writing about her romantic desires, her hunger to learn, the necessity for women to learn and their right to dissent, Sor Juana created social dialogues that were unheard of (and caused harsh criticism) at the time. She demanded women’s right to participate in a space that was solely created for men. I believe that her writings and efforts created a strong base for the women’s rights movement. Her advocacy for women’s intellectual rights alongside her courageous and radical writings which challenged patriarchal society and religious make her THE pioneer of the feminist movement and makes me very proud to be Mexican.
Clip of 'Yo la Peor de Todas', a movie about Sor Juana directed by by the late Argentine film-maker María Luisa Bemberg in 1990 http://www.latin-american.cam.ac.uk/culture/SorJuana/SorJuanaClips.htm
Here are some great links to her of her work and autobioagraphies:
Poetry (English): sappho.com/poetry/j_ines.html
The Sor Juana project: dartmouth.edu/~sorjuana/
Brief Biography: mexconnect.com/articles/271-the-remarkable-life-of-juana-inés-de-la-cruz-1651–1695
Sor Juana's Response to the Bishop (Spanish): ensayistas.org/antologia/XVII/sorjuana/sorjuana1.htm
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Service Learning Proposal
Service Learning Proposal for YAYA NFWM
By: Abigail Ruiz
February 14, 2012
Meredith Tweed
WST 3371
Community Partner Profile:
Community Partner: Youth and Young Adult National Farm Worker Ministry
Address: 4420 Parkway Commerce Blvd, Suite A, Orlando, Florida, 32808, United States
Contact: Nicole Godreau-President 407.739.0973
Community Partner Mission Statement: “YAYA is the Youth & Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry, a national network of young people actively working to change the oppressive social, political and economic conditions of farm workers. Inspired by the principles of nonviolence of the farm worker movement, YAYAs support a variety of national and local campaigns led by farm workers. These campaigns seek to improve the oppressive conditions faced by the workers who harvest our food.” (YAYA NFWM)
http://nfwm-yaya.org/about/
Political / Social Biases: YAYA is part of the National Farm Worker Ministry that was founded in 1920 and is a religious organization. It emphasizes people of faith to work with the Farm Worker community and turn their efforts from ‘charity’ to ‘justice’. Although YAY NFWM is a religious organization, members of YAYA do not have to identify with any faith and anyone can join in the cause of promoting Farm Worker justice.
YAYA NFWM supports Farm Worker communities and their political needs. YAYA is frequently promoting petitions and forming rallies in support of laws that better living and working conditions of the undocumented worker and their families. Because YAYA supports the non-violent farm worker movement, this organization forms vigils, picketing, and coordinates boycotts.
General Needs Community Partner: The Orlando YAYA chapter is in need of more volunteers to carry out campaigns in the Florida communities. They are also in need for donations for their various community projects. (Clothes, Money, Canned Foods ect.) Since YAYA works around the needs of the farm worker community, their needs change according to what the farm worker communities need.
The Proposal:
Fellsmere Community Women in Need for Gardens in their Home
YAYA has been actively working with the Fellsmere Farm Worker community over the years. This community has recently been granted four plots in which they have created an organic community garden where they can grow their own produce, free from pesticides. In my recent visit to Fellsmere, Yolanda, the organizer of this project, let us know that although the community garden has been very successful, there were still a handful of women that could not tend or profit from the garden because of their busy work and family schedules. She is in the works of a new project, where she and other volunteers will provide these women’s with the tools to make an organic garden in their back yards. Since the community garden has been a great benefactor to the farm workers in Fellsmere because of the pesticide, cost efficient produce they have been able to enjoy, this project is very important to Yolanda and the farm worker women in Fellsmere.
Plan Proposal:
Throughout this Semester I have proposed to the YAYA Orlando chapter to team up with Yolanda in her effort to make organic gardens in the homes of several farm worker women. We will work with Yolanda and raise money, collect tools and provide the volunteers she needs to make these gardens happen.
I will set up donation bins in several local stores, set up a Paypal Donation account and possibly host a Yard Sale in order to raise funds. I will also promote this event on several networking sites in order to receive gardening tool donations. Lastly, YAYA has agreed to not only support but help me in this project, which means that many of the core YAYA members will not only help me raise funds and gather donations, but also plan a gardening day where a group of volunteers will travel to Fellsmere in order to help Yolanda set up these organic gardens.
By the completion of this service-learning project, my wish is to help Yolanda raise the resources to make at least 2 gardens in the homes of women farm workers.
Rationale: The Fellsmere women are amazing. They are inspiring, hard working and passionate. Alongside Yolanda, the Fellsmere women employ transformative agendas for their communities. They are involved with city politics and keep track of proposed legislations that concern the Farm Worker Community. They have recently achieved a great victory by demanding and successfully attaining free public transportation for undocumented workers in Fellsmere, a campaign that stemmed from the Florida law, which prohibits undocumented workers from attaining drivers licenses. Like Batliwala writes, these feminist leaders have ‘the power to influence agendas, even without the formal power or authority to do so”. (66 [my italics]) Yolanda and the women in Fellsmere are vital components of the community and their jobs provide us with the food we eat everyday, even with ‘undocumented’ status, these women fight and are on the vanguard of a “broader process of change” to benefit their community. (Batliwala). They are active participants in their community’s government, although they cannot ‘officially’ vote, they form meetings within their communities to discuss current legislations and speak with delegates of the local government, which are also part of their community.
In the brief time that I have interacted with the women in the Fellsmere community, I have been greatly moved and inspired by their leadership and activism. This is why I want to work with them; I know that I will learn from them and their leadership and organizational skills throughout this project.
Action: I have met and briefly discussed my idea with Yolanda. I have also informed YAYA of my project idea and have gotten the green light to formally contact Yolanda about this project through the YAYA organization.
I regularly attend YAYA meetings, therefore I will be able to inform and brainstorm with YAYA on a weekly basis regarding the project.
Once I receive Yolanda’s reply I will then organize around her needs for this project. I will also organize events to raise funds and donations. Yolanda and myself will then plan out the day where we will go out to Fellsmere in order to garden.
Timeline:
I will turn in my project on approximately April 15th, 2012. Please note that this date is subject to change due to the needs of the project and the needs of my community partner.
1. Formally email Yolanda about the proposed project through the YAYA organization 2/15
2. Visit Yolanda in Fellsmere in order to plan out activities and gardening day. 2/25
3. Yard Sale in order to raise funds 3/10
4. Possible Gardening day 3/31
This timeline is subject to change due to the needs of my community partner.
Word Count: 1104
Work Cited
ABOUT YAYA." YAYA Justice for Farm Workers! NFWM. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
Batliwala, Srilatha. "Feminist Leadership For Social Transformation: Clearing the Conceptual Cloud." Crea (2011): 66. Print.
By: Abigail Ruiz
February 14, 2012
Meredith Tweed
WST 3371
Community Partner Profile:
Community Partner: Youth and Young Adult National Farm Worker Ministry
Address: 4420 Parkway Commerce Blvd, Suite A, Orlando, Florida, 32808, United States
Contact: Nicole Godreau-President 407.739.0973
Community Partner Mission Statement: “YAYA is the Youth & Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry, a national network of young people actively working to change the oppressive social, political and economic conditions of farm workers. Inspired by the principles of nonviolence of the farm worker movement, YAYAs support a variety of national and local campaigns led by farm workers. These campaigns seek to improve the oppressive conditions faced by the workers who harvest our food.” (YAYA NFWM)
http://nfwm-yaya.org/about/
Political / Social Biases: YAYA is part of the National Farm Worker Ministry that was founded in 1920 and is a religious organization. It emphasizes people of faith to work with the Farm Worker community and turn their efforts from ‘charity’ to ‘justice’. Although YAY NFWM is a religious organization, members of YAYA do not have to identify with any faith and anyone can join in the cause of promoting Farm Worker justice.
YAYA NFWM supports Farm Worker communities and their political needs. YAYA is frequently promoting petitions and forming rallies in support of laws that better living and working conditions of the undocumented worker and their families. Because YAYA supports the non-violent farm worker movement, this organization forms vigils, picketing, and coordinates boycotts.
General Needs Community Partner: The Orlando YAYA chapter is in need of more volunteers to carry out campaigns in the Florida communities. They are also in need for donations for their various community projects. (Clothes, Money, Canned Foods ect.) Since YAYA works around the needs of the farm worker community, their needs change according to what the farm worker communities need.
The Proposal:
Fellsmere Community Women in Need for Gardens in their Home
YAYA has been actively working with the Fellsmere Farm Worker community over the years. This community has recently been granted four plots in which they have created an organic community garden where they can grow their own produce, free from pesticides. In my recent visit to Fellsmere, Yolanda, the organizer of this project, let us know that although the community garden has been very successful, there were still a handful of women that could not tend or profit from the garden because of their busy work and family schedules. She is in the works of a new project, where she and other volunteers will provide these women’s with the tools to make an organic garden in their back yards. Since the community garden has been a great benefactor to the farm workers in Fellsmere because of the pesticide, cost efficient produce they have been able to enjoy, this project is very important to Yolanda and the farm worker women in Fellsmere.
Plan Proposal:
Throughout this Semester I have proposed to the YAYA Orlando chapter to team up with Yolanda in her effort to make organic gardens in the homes of several farm worker women. We will work with Yolanda and raise money, collect tools and provide the volunteers she needs to make these gardens happen.
I will set up donation bins in several local stores, set up a Paypal Donation account and possibly host a Yard Sale in order to raise funds. I will also promote this event on several networking sites in order to receive gardening tool donations. Lastly, YAYA has agreed to not only support but help me in this project, which means that many of the core YAYA members will not only help me raise funds and gather donations, but also plan a gardening day where a group of volunteers will travel to Fellsmere in order to help Yolanda set up these organic gardens.
By the completion of this service-learning project, my wish is to help Yolanda raise the resources to make at least 2 gardens in the homes of women farm workers.
Rationale: The Fellsmere women are amazing. They are inspiring, hard working and passionate. Alongside Yolanda, the Fellsmere women employ transformative agendas for their communities. They are involved with city politics and keep track of proposed legislations that concern the Farm Worker Community. They have recently achieved a great victory by demanding and successfully attaining free public transportation for undocumented workers in Fellsmere, a campaign that stemmed from the Florida law, which prohibits undocumented workers from attaining drivers licenses. Like Batliwala writes, these feminist leaders have ‘the power to influence agendas, even without the formal power or authority to do so”. (66 [my italics]) Yolanda and the women in Fellsmere are vital components of the community and their jobs provide us with the food we eat everyday, even with ‘undocumented’ status, these women fight and are on the vanguard of a “broader process of change” to benefit their community. (Batliwala). They are active participants in their community’s government, although they cannot ‘officially’ vote, they form meetings within their communities to discuss current legislations and speak with delegates of the local government, which are also part of their community.
In the brief time that I have interacted with the women in the Fellsmere community, I have been greatly moved and inspired by their leadership and activism. This is why I want to work with them; I know that I will learn from them and their leadership and organizational skills throughout this project.
Action: I have met and briefly discussed my idea with Yolanda. I have also informed YAYA of my project idea and have gotten the green light to formally contact Yolanda about this project through the YAYA organization.
I regularly attend YAYA meetings, therefore I will be able to inform and brainstorm with YAYA on a weekly basis regarding the project.
Once I receive Yolanda’s reply I will then organize around her needs for this project. I will also organize events to raise funds and donations. Yolanda and myself will then plan out the day where we will go out to Fellsmere in order to garden.
Timeline:
I will turn in my project on approximately April 15th, 2012. Please note that this date is subject to change due to the needs of the project and the needs of my community partner.
1. Formally email Yolanda about the proposed project through the YAYA organization 2/15
2. Visit Yolanda in Fellsmere in order to plan out activities and gardening day. 2/25
3. Yard Sale in order to raise funds 3/10
4. Possible Gardening day 3/31
This timeline is subject to change due to the needs of my community partner.
Word Count: 1104
Work Cited
ABOUT YAYA." YAYA Justice for Farm Workers! NFWM. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
Batliwala, Srilatha. "Feminist Leadership For Social Transformation: Clearing the Conceptual Cloud." Crea (2011): 66. Print.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Introduction
Hey All!
My name is Abigail Ruiz and I am an Education Major with a Women Studies minor knight! I love cheesecake, Beyonce and my community. I strongly believe that those are the tree best things in the universe.
This year, I am very involved with YAYA (The Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry). An amazing organization that works alongside with the Farmworker movements and works for the needs of the community. I've met so many lovely people who are working together in order to reform and amend laws in favor of the Farmworker community.
Im very excited for this semester, and especially for this class. I am looking forward to learning and growing with you all!
I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.
My name is Abigail Ruiz and I am an Education Major with a Women Studies minor knight! I love cheesecake, Beyonce and my community. I strongly believe that those are the tree best things in the universe.
This year, I am very involved with YAYA (The Youth and Young Adult Network of the National Farm Worker Ministry). An amazing organization that works alongside with the Farmworker movements and works for the needs of the community. I've met so many lovely people who are working together in order to reform and amend laws in favor of the Farmworker community.
Im very excited for this semester, and especially for this class. I am looking forward to learning and growing with you all!
I have read, understand, and agree to the terms of the course syllabus and the blogging protocols.
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