I chose the movie Birds of Prey, with Harley Quinn. I absolutely loved this movie and I found it quite empowering. I found that the fact the she had a full female squad/team to combat the bad guys was so cool and badass.

Something I absolutely loved about this movie was about a specific scene. These 5 girls are all fighting the bad guys and in the middle of the scene, one girl is seen struggling with her hair, and Harley Quinn asks if she needs a hair-tie, in the middle of the fight. I absolutely found it cool and badass, I couldn’t help but feel empowered after this scene. It showed that Quinn really was not worried about the fight. I think that in 2020, this was exactly how this movie needed to portray. It really made feel proud to be a woman.

At first, throughout the movie you see Harley Quinn beat the bad guys on her own, as she goes she realizes that the collective power of all these women is better.

At some point she decided to make friends with this young girl, and you can tell that she has not really had friends since the Joker. You can see here that she does have a soul and a personality, she did want to make friends and have a sense of community with others.

Lastly, the first couple of scenes is her trying to get over the Joker, she rips off her necklace with his name, and burns down the building where they met, making her so cool. I liked that she showed sadness at the beginning, it showed a softer side to women, and once she decides to cut him off completely, it is the most badass thing ever.

Harley Quinn really does portray a strong badass woman, she does not need a man for the mission at hand. She has her group of girls and they kickass. They are authoritative, mean and confident. I liked that not once in the movie did they need a man or ask for a man’s help.

throughout the course of the semester, we have discussed feminism and its multitude of aspects. I found that this movie really emphasized the ideal of independence and the path of self-discovery.

When considering being a women, most people know that being a women is something really difficult especially when it comes to body image and how to act around others, in other words the saying “act like a lady” is something women should “live by”. But when someone is so wrapped up in the issues that being women arise, we tend to forget the issues that men face every day.

In the first text by Micheal Kimmel “Masculinity as Homophobia” one sentence really caught my attention. “Our fear is the fear of humiliation, we are ashamed to be afraid…”. I personally find this sentence really describes what is being stated in the text. Men are scared to be ridiculed for not being masculine enough, they think that showing emotion or being put in a vulnerable position makes them less of a man. I think that that is something that men have to face everyday, that showing emotion makes them “weak”, that they always have to be the brave hero. Kimmel focuses on how men should act a certain way to be portrayed as “real” men. Society has a definition of what a man should just, just like society has a definition for women. They both have roles that they should be fulfilling, but with that comes more issues. When young boys, they are told to not cry to not be called degrading names. This only is the starts of how gender roles come about.

Bell’s “Understanding Patriarchy” gives a similar images to Kimmel’s. “Lifestyle feminism ushered in the notion that there could be as many versions of feminism as there were women.”. I think she is trying to compare both feminism and say that we have come a long way, and that men should do the same. There are different types of masculinity out there, just like women. Hooks used compassion as a tool of understanding what she is trying to say.

In my opinion, I think men have a hard time (sometimes) grasping onto concepts like homophobia since some men are not conformable with their sexuality. Some men think being different makes you less of a men. I sincerely hope men can redefine the meaning of masculinity for the greater good of people around them. I think men should not feel uncomfortable expressing their true and genuine selves. Men should be proud of who they are and not feel the need to feel a certain way because that is what society says. Things like homophobia and racism all grow stronger in places of hate, we should learn to love ourselves and others to diminish the acts of hate and hate felt in hearts.

Jessica Valenti describes feminism as being the movement that advocates equality, and justice between the sexes, and that that the end goal is to end sexism and oppression. 

In this text, Hook and Valenti agree that feminism movement can most of the time be associated with negative stereotypes, for example, how some people believe that some feminists are against men as a whole. They explain how the term feminism should be clarified for some people. 

When Hook describes feminism with a more intellectual way of speaking, almost or a different audience. As opposed to Valenti, who is trying to state facts, and to lay the cards all on the table. Their definitions are also not the same since Hook thinks that feminism can be in the hearts of everyone as opposed to Valenti, who states the complete opposite. 

After reading this, my idea of feminism did not change, since I already have my own definition of what feminism is, and how I choose to follow it as a feminist myself. I would give the give the same definition as the one at the beginning. I define feminist as someone who advocates for the equality of men and women. 

The section about the stereotypes really caught my attention. I love when writers want to connect with the reader using examples and everyday experiences. 

I don’t think my appreciation changed after doing some research about the writers. I think that their thoughts on feminism are well supported and I agree with them for the most part. 

When evaluating indigenous cultures, everybody has equal rights, whether it is a man or a woman. In the indigenous community, everyone’s role is important, everyone contributes something to its society. Which is very different compared to our society, where men and women are not very equal. 

Within these indigenous cultures, same sex marriages are not viewed as taboo as some other cultures may still think to this day. The gender relations in indigenous cultures are very open compared to Western cultures. Obviously now-a-days, western cultures are becoming more tolerant of same sex marriages and much more egalitarian. There obviously still is some discrimination towards women. Lately, sexual harassment is at an all-time high. This meaning that men, still think they are superior to women, or even the abuse of power. Also, men in some parts of the world are still paid more than women for doing the same job and the same hours.

What really impacted me about the indigenous cultures is the fact that they are completely egalitarian. Not only are they equals between men and women, but they also view LGBTQ+ members are equals too. We really should be using the indigenous communities as role models for our communities. 

I also attended the Vanier Vibrant Qmmnuity Fair. I found this fair a super great idea, and I was so glad that it was its second annual fair, and that it has been doing well. 

I loved the idea that they hold this even to recognize the LGBTQ community and its organizations in Montreal. It was held in Jake’s to participate in fun activities and cool prizes. Many educational people were there, handing pamphlets and a chance to ask questions.

In my opinion, this fair was set up to spread the knowledge and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community. This fair was mostly about sex education and how to be safe within this topic. 

A key message that stood out to me was the how to stay safe sexually. Pamphlets were given so that students can further educate themselves regarding their questions. 

I found it smart that they included everyone, and even had free things such as; condoms. Which many people appealed to. I appreciated the fact that I felt a part of something, I did not feel judged for going to this fair. It was a popular event, and many people actually contributed to conversations, with their opinions on the topic and questions. 

I personally really enjoyed the fair; it was very educational and very inclusive. I think the fact that Vanier Vibrant too the time to appeal to most people there was a great idea, and a great success. I really hope that other schools offer this since this is very important to everyone, especially the youth of today. I recommend everyone goes and educated themselves on having safe sex. 

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Shailene Woodley has starred in movies such as: The Fault in our Stars, Divergent and the ongoing show Big Little Lies. Woodley was born on November 15^th, 1991, making her 28 years old. Not only is she a great actress but she is also an Oceans Ambassador for Greenpeace. 

Shailene Woodley has over 4.4 million followers on her Instagram. Making her very open to the public and seen by many different eyes. Woodley uses her social media platforms to communicate her beliefs and opinions regarding the oceans to the world. 

Woodley also created a non-profit organization with her mother called All It Takes in 2010 to empower students to become leaders and to act on their beliefs.

(No Dakota Access Pipeline) Shailene Woodley got arrested in 2016, fighting for the adoption of renewable energy sources. She also highlighted in this protest that native people have been protesting against the pipeline and have not had their voices heard.

I personally find Shailene Woodley like me since I actually grew up to watching her on TV. She at some point in my life was someone I admired. I love the fact that she uses her fame as a way to try and change the world. Shailene Woodley is like me in the way that she is a woman for the betterment of the environment.

Woodley has been very vocal and direct about her support for the betterment of the environment and her personal life. She has admitted to using only chemical-free products for her day-to-day life as a way to cut down on harmful chemicals that can go straight into our ocean water. She states that she actually creates herself all of her own skincare and everyday uses, such as; face oils, moisturizers, cleansers and even her own toothpaste. She also explained that she does not go to doctors for medications, but she rather create her own. She further explains that she makes her own cheese, and goes to a farm to get her own food. She also goes to get natural spring water from mountains every month.

I think Shailene Woodley is unlike me because she has actually acted upon her beliefs. I, on the other hand, have not. I am still trying to educate myself on what I can do to help for the greater good of our oceans, forests and wildlife. Shailene Woodley also is American, and evidently, I am not. Her ethnic background unlike me is plentiful, she belongs to a mixed ethnic background of English, African American, French, Spanish, German, and Swiss. I, on the other hand, am Italian and Irish. 

I chose Shailene Woodley since she is someone most of us have heard of. She is mostly within our age group and I find her someone to look up to. I think that if Shailene Woodley can change her way of life, in this day and age, so can we. I think that Shailene Woodley mainly targets the youth of today, people of her age look up her, she makes herself relatable to people.

I find Woodley inspirational since not every celebrity uses their fame for the greater good. Most celebrities do not use their social media platform to convey strong messages that we need to change the world. When doing this, she obviously does not care what people think about her, she is standing for what she believes in and trying to spread knowledge. 

I define inspiration as something I would like to be or someone that motivates me to be better. And I think that Shailene Woodley does exactly that. 

Resources:

https://www.rte.ie/entertainment/2019/1111/1090073-6-celebrities-championing-climate-change/

https://gossipgist.com/shailene-woodley-biography

https://www.biography.com/actor/shailene-woodley

https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/shailene-woodley-best-activist-moments