November 18th, 2015
The diversity at this roundtable was so joyful and productive! We have so many different stories about our experiences with trans representation the media; being trans ourselves; and listening to the lived experiences of our trans friends and family. Even more importantly, we were able to more deeply understand the history of trans identity in the United States, what types of risks and violence trans people face, and what we can do communally and socially to combat these injustices. We started with unpacking the legacy of Christine Jorgensen, one of the first women to become famous in the United States for transitioning publicly and displaying her trans womanhood proudly. The media spectacle that ensued set a standard for other trans people after her, from the Stonewall Riots in 1969 to Caitlyn Jenner in 2015. However, this is not where we ended, nor where the conversation around transness should end. Our centering of trans women of color brought to light many issues that are important in social justice – marriage rights, immigration, navigating the medical-industrial complex (hospitals, doctors, healthcare), and so much more. Incorporating intersectionality enriched our discussion and put the most at-risk populations at the center of the movement. However, it is critical to both honor these voices and make them heard. Direct action to prevent violence against trans people and combat stigma include volunteering with local non-profits and organizations; raising funds for transition-related care and living necessities for local trans people (especially trans women of color); and educating oneself and others both online and face-to-face.
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Woman As Hero Roundtable
During this WAH roundtable we discussed “The Slut Rule.” As it’s explained in the movie Mean Girls, “In Girl World, Halloween is the one day a year when a girl can dress up like a total slut and no other girls can say anything else about it.” This was a jumping off point for conversation and sharing experiences that coincide with this unspoken rule. One of the common question that kept coming up was: who calls girls sluts (other girls? guys? people who don’t fit the dichotomy?) The connotation of the word slut, and how girls that are perceived as “sluts” are shamed about this. Slut-shaming is loosely defined as criticizing a woman for her presumed (or actual) sexual activity. It also coincides with the way *we* judge women by the way that they dress. Why do we do this? Ultimately, this discussion lead to many many questions and fully understanding why this occurs requires a lot of discussion and understanding the real life experiences of women. Keep the discussion going with us! Join us for our next roundtable Wednesday, November 18th at 7PM. Hearing Our Voice
Woman As Hero Roundtable Thursday, October 1st “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”— Audre Lorde. Expressing the lived experiences of an individual to a group is a powerful thing. Consciousness-raising is a form of political activism that allows individuals to express their lived experiences. It was first popularized during the movement for the liberation of Women in 1968 as a meaningful organizing tool. In this Woman As Hero Roundtable we recreated a consciousness-raising circle. Many experiences were shared from stories of women who have to consider whether the worth of attending the meeting outweighed the danger she feels of walking across campus in the dark to get to her car to the courageous account of a person’s intersection of identities between being a woman and having a disability. Great connections were made and the movement is going strong, and it is stronger because the voices of the oppressed are being heard. This especially felt true upon reflecting on the origins of the feminist movement which prioritized white women. Our choir consists of many different voices. Keep the conversation going with us! We’ll be meeting next Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in MU 80. Classes will be starting up again soon, and so will Woman As Hero meetings! Check our Upcoming Events section to see what we have planned for this semester as far as general meetings and roundtables!
We also have two big events currently planned: Take the Lead and our annual Womanity Summit! Check out those sections on the left for more information! We hope to see you this semester! The beginning of the Fall 2013 semester has been very nice so far, with the first general meeting and first roundtable having great turnouts! We also had a potluck retreat, which had a variety of exciting, tasty food. All three events were great for meeting new people and sharing ideas! We hope to see you at the next meeting!
This has been a great semester, with fascinating roundtable discussions, engaging speakers, and wonderful volunteering opportunities. We are looking forward to next semester with all of the above as well as our summit! We hope you had fun last semester and will join us in making this semester the best yet!
The discussion on women's health had a pretty good turnout, and even better conversation. We looked over and talked about some examples in the news and many people also contributed examples from their own experiences. Everyone seemed to enjoy and learn from the meeting, so we expect they and more will come back for later roundtable discussions and to expand their knowledge!
The summit went extremely well, thanks to our officers and all our volunteers! If you attended, I hope you enjoyed it! Please send us any feedback you have (what you liked best, what we could do better next time).
WAH has one more meeting this semester on Monday, April 16. See the Upcoming Events section for details! Read the story here:
https://asunews.asu.edu/20120321_womanashero Don't forget, register for Womanity soon! Bring your family and friends! There are plenty of volunteer opportunities, e-mail us if you're interested or hav an Lots of members at the meeting today! There was also a lot of good discussion about volunteer opportunities and WAH's summit in April. Speaking of which, anyone available to film the summit? It will be April 6, from about 10am-4pm, and you would need to have your own equipment. There will be multiple panels/speakers, some in different rooms at the same time, so the more people filming the better! If you can't do it yourself, help us out by spreading the word to people who
might be able to! 8) See the Upcoming Events section for volunteer opportunities and descriptions of our new meetings! Also don't forget to join the Facebook group and the OrgSync group! E-mail [email protected] if you have any questions! |