The show Euphoria included impressively feminist themes through the characters in the series. These characters showcase an overweight girl, trans girls, lesbians, people of color, etc. It displays the types of people that usually need feminism the most in their life. Throughout the show, the struggles the characters undergo exhibit the current view of the society towards feminist themes without a clear monologue explaining what is wrong or right. We can draw are conclusion with what we see in the show because it is an actual story.

One of the leading character, Jules, is transgender. Her mother enrolled Jules in a psychiatric center for boys, she had to take medications, and identify as a boy. Until, her father took Jules out of the center, and she was finally able to be herself. We can see that there is this unwillingness to accept Jules’ gender identity which is often the case for many trans children. She was forbidden to wear skirts and dresses because her mother and the society, in general, consider it feminine traits. Therefore, a “boy” (Jules) could not associate himself with feminine features instead he had to represent “masculine” attributes. It demonstrates how we separate, and identify insignificant things to specific genders, and if we do not follow these gender norms we are considered to be odd or weird, and even put in a psychiatric institute.

Now, that she can embrace her real gender she is very confident and passionate about fashion. We can see in the show a trans girl living the life she wants. In the series, she is “fetishized” by the men that she has sexual intercourse with which results to change her behaviors. These sexual activities portray patriarchal ideas such as women being the sexual object for men’s sexual needs, and men’s inability to control their sex drive. It demonstrates that women are in dominance, and obedience space. In this show, sexual intercourse occurs between various characters, and they all promote sexist views. For example, Maddy (a character) is learning what to do to please her partner during sexual activity on pornographic websites which often portrays sexist ideas. In this platform, women are objectified and women put their partners’(man) sexual needs above their own. There is this sexual inequality between genders that occurs during these acts. It demonstrates this pressure for women and men to fit the sexual norms associated with their gender. The male sexual ideal is to be aggressive during sexual intercourse, and the female sexual ideal is to consent to participate in any sexual acts that their partner(men) wants. For instance, one of the male characters, Mckey, choked his girlfriend during sex because he saw this act on a sexually explicit video.

Moreover, Jules has a romantic relationship with a female character name Rue. They both stand up and protect each other. For example, Rue stands up to the man that was blackmailing Jules. Their relationship display women’s unity, and feminist values. Rue respect Jules’ gender identity, and defines Jules for who she is and not her gender. They both believe that gender equality is important in society by acting against the sexist act on the show.

To conclude, there are many different feminist themes in this movie. These themes are not directly mentioned in the movie but are open to interpretation. Characters’ social life displayed gender norms and sexist ideas. We can found these concepts during the characters’ sexual learning process, and sexual intercourse. Jules’ and Rue’s relationship exhibit feminist values like respect, and gender equality.

During International Women’s Week, I attended the screening of Rafiki movie. This film is about two young women, Kena and Ziki, who identify as homosexuals, in Kenya. These two women have an intimate relationship together. Their fathers are political rivals which creates tension and pressure on the two women. They are both pressured by the homophobic views of their society, and to take their father’s political party. Throughout the movie, Kena and Ziki are victims of prejudice, and they are verbally and physically abused because of their sexual orientation. They are separated later in the movie. It is only after a few years that they reunite, and that they can finally be together.

I think that the main message of this film is that these young women show the importance of embracing one’s sexual orientation no matter the political rules, views, and pressure the families, friends and society might have. For example, they did not stop seeing each other after the numerous abuses, and problems they went through. Expect the time they were separated against their will that they were unable to fight for their love.

This film reminded me that we do not share the same freedom of expression compared to other countries. It pointed out and showed me how LBGTQ+ communities must hide, and how they get arrested for their sexual orientation in some countries. It demonstrates how in certain countries such as Canada and the United-States, we have the opportunity, most of the time, to be ourselves without experiencing discrimination, and frequent verbal and physical assaults. This film did not make me see these issues differently, however, it reminded me of the difficulties, and horrific acts people go through for the things we take for granted. This representation of a homosexual’s life in Kenya was very controversial for the Kenyan government because homosexuality is illegal in Kenya. Sadly, the movie was banned from the Kenya Film Classification Board. It also demonstrates the main message of the movie through discriminative acts that the film faced.

I would recommend this movie for its relatable message such as the topic of young love and how it shows that across the world we go through the same emotions, and relationships regardless of the gender of the love. I also love that people of color could express their own stories and experiences based on their one creative freedom and views. By interview some people at the screening, they shared to me these thoughts which I found very interesting and accurate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafiki

Ilhan Abdullahi Omar is a breaking barriers by being a Black Muslim American politician. In 2016, she was elected to serve the Minnesota House of Representatives and since 2019, she has been working as a USA representative for Minnesota’s 5th congressional district.

Born on October 4 in Mogadishu, Somalia, at the age of eight years old, Omar had no choice but to escaped the civil war in Somalia with her parents. She lived for about four years in a refugee camp in Kenya and then settled in the United States in 1977. Omar’s political interest started at the age of 14 when she had to interpret a local DFL caucuses for her grandfather. In her high school days, she was an organizer and a coalition builder. After, working at the University of Minnesota as a community educator, she began her journey as an activist in the DFL party. She eventually ran for office as mentioned earlier. During her advocacy work, she supports human rights, racial equality, climate change protection, education access, and many other important issues. 

It is safe to say that Omar’s dedication and work ethic speak for itself as being a true example of integrity, intelligence, and leadership. However what makes her an inspiration is not only her position of power but her being . The formal definition of inspirational is to influence people create toughs, feelings, or beliefs. To push it further, I also think that a person who emulates confidence in their belief, in themselves and in others is what being an inspiration stands for. Thereby, in her being an embodiment of one of the lowest hierarchical status of the country and still managing to be in such an important social and political space is a great inspiration and sign of refreshing change. She represent a feeling of hope, ambitions, and optimism. Omar’s strong convictions inspire and influence people to become a community that supports each other.

Moreover, she is inspirational because she stands against every type of controversial corruption such as Israelo-Palestine conflict, environmental pollution, the Yemen war, etc.  For instance, Omar advocates and pushes people to adopt to the Green New Deal, and to fight against Trump’s xenophobic Muslim Ban by introducing the No Ban Act. Despite, the enormous presence of Islamophobia, the support the United States provides for Israel, and the president’s racist comments, Omar keeps fighting against injustice.  Her strong convictions inspire and influence people to become a community that supports each other.

I think she does not get enough recognition for the important work she conducted. She also received many death threats because of her ethnic background, religion, and beliefs. For example, in 2014, Omar was sent to the hospital due to physical assault by unknown identities. However, she is constantly advocating against injustice and important affairs. She does not let these horrible acts stop her fight against inequalities which for me is one of the reasons she inspires me, and that I chose her.

Also, I relate to one of her inter-sectional discrimination that she goes through in her workplace and her daily life. We are similar in important ways such as our beliefs, our gender identity, and we are both Muslim women. We are different in the sense that she is a black American woman wearing the hijab. I am a Moroccan Canadian woman.

https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/ilhan-omar-minneapolis/

https://www.ilhanomar.com/about

First off, every woman has different experiences and identities. Modern-day intersectional feminism recognizes these dissimilarities and has the goal to separate itself from white feminism. It acknowledges the fact that the feminist movement should encourage diversity among its members. In this case, it would be to have more non-white leaders and influencers. It confronts all the reasons discrimination takes place.
Indeed, intersectional feminism emphasizes other factors that cause women to be oppressed such as race, ethnicity, appearance, culture, economic status, sexual orientation, and gender. As the term “intersectional” was invented by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a black woman, and pushed by other Black feminist scholars during the thrid-wave feminism, this term is not new and holds significant history. In creating the intersectional feminist movement, Black women scholars of that time highlighted the singularities of their oppression. Their main goal was to combat the racism they faced in the white feminism movement, and the sexism they encountered in the Black liberational movements (led by Black men) of that era. She highlights the fact that we cannot put every woman in the same global image because there are many different social identities and women’s experiences.

How to practice intersectional feminism in current times? Women need to confront their privilege and to include every difference of all women, especially the ones that are marginalized. It is to understand that our own experiences do not apply to every woman and that we need to learn other women’s backgrounds. Therefore, to truly advocate for this movement people need to stand up not only to sexism but also to defend women who are discriminated against or oppressed based on their ethnicity, race, class, sexual orientation, and more.

Moreover, we need to respect bodily autonomy. It refers to respect for a woman’s body, appearance, religious clothes, etc. We need to respect and support a woman’s life and the decisions she makes which can be presented in many shapes.
Intersectionality shows that all types of discrimination play a role in women’s experiences and that it is not only about gender anymore. It includes every kind of factor of inequalities. Also, it consists of learning every type of feminism and gives these forms of feminism recognition.

 

Bell Hook and Jessica Valenti describe feminism as being a movement that advocates equality, and justice between sexes. They also mention that the goal is to end sexism and oppression.

Bell Hook and Jessica Valenti agree that the feminism movement is often associated with negative stereotypes. Most people perceive feminists as anti-men which leads to the use of this word as an insult. They both agree that the feminism movement is misinterpreted and needs to be clarified. They think that feminism should be something that we benefit from. Hook defines feminism with a more passive approach, and she is targeting a more intellectual audience. Hook also mentions the background of this movement compared to Valenti who focuses more on the benefits of feminism, and how it can positively affect women. Valenti uses more her own opinion to describe this movement, and she expresses her anger on the negative stereotypes associated with feminists. Their definitions are also different in the sense that Hook thinks that feminism is for everybody compared to Valenti that thinks the opposite. The authors think that the main aim of feminism is to end sexism and oppression. They think that people should focus less on negative aspects because feminism is mostly about gaining equally and ending sexist exploitation. It is not a movement that is agaisnt men. Feminism is important for these authors because it will make our lives easier and better. Valenti expresses that feminism is a tool to help people achieved self-respect, and self-acceptance which leads to a better quality of life.

My perception of a feminist did not change after reading these essay because I already had a strong base of knowledge of this topic. I would define a feminist as a person who advocates for equal rights, and the end of sexism. I also think that it is a person who treats everyone equally regardless of their sexes. A feminist promotes justice and the end of oppression. 

The section “Top 10 Feminist Stereotype” in Valenti’s essay made me think. Especially, this passage, “The problem is that sometimes people are so focused on their narrow views that they fail to realize that one size does not fit all.” I think it is very interesting because people are often not willing to search for other views and compare other ideas together. They usually have a fixed opinion about topics and close the door for any other perceptions on their views which I think limits their knowledge.

My appreciation of these writers remains the same because they are well educated, and I agree with a lot of their views on society such as Bell Hook’s view on love. Her book “All About Love” made me learned a lot about the right way to love and to be loved. I compared her view with other books such as “A General Theory of love”, and “The Mathematics of love”. However, her book was the one that has the most relatable views and the most accurate ideas according to me.