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http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/opinion/letters-editor/4236259-letter-planned-parenthood-deserves-north-dakotas-support

This opinion letter from a doctor advocates for North Dakotans to support planned parenthood and their endeavors in preventative care for women. He uses his privilege and expertise to persuade people who otherwise might not listen to this view. This is a great example of how allies can help amplify the voices of the people they support.

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http://www.newnownext.com/international-womens-day-trans-women/03/2017/

This hashtag started to raise awareness for violence against women. This hashtag has since expanded to include specific groups of women who are at an increased risk of violence, trans women. It's important to acknowledge  violence against all women, but extra consideration should be taken to ensure the most susceptible groups are protected. The #yesallwomen hashtag is a good way of raising awareness for this cause.

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https://bolt.straightforequality.org/files/Straight%20for%20Equality%20Publications/3rd-edition-guide-to-being-a-straight-ally.pdf

The idea that people outside of a group can't be an ally for that group is just not true. This link gives helpful advice for people outside of the LGBTQ+ community on how they can join and be part of the movement for equal rights. This is just one example of a group that you can be an ally for, as there are many other movements and under represented groups that need allies to stand up with them.

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http://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Alicia-Keys-I-finally-learned-how-to-be-myself-10987147.php

Alicia Keys vowed to go makeup free to empower herself and other women against societal beauty standards. She never wanted to start a movement, but people resonated with her actions and wanted to join her. This was a way for her and many other women to get past their fear of judgement for not looking a certain way or wearing certain makeup.

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http://www.voanews.com/a/day-without-a-woman/3753882.html

A day without women was a protest held to tell the world what would happen if women took a day off in society. There were multiple ways you could participate in the protest, including not going to work, only buying from local stores, and wearing red. The protest caught a lot more controversy than its parent protest, the women's march. The point of a protest is to get people talking about the issue, so it's expected that there will be strong support and opposition to any movement. The backlash came from people who didn't agree with skipping work for "no reason".

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Anyone can say they support equal rights, but it's also important to "walk the walk" when it comes to supporting women of every identity, sexuality, and race. These are just a few ways that feminists have spread their message and stood up for what they believe in. No one needs to stage a giant operation to stand up for feminism and support it, it's about doing what you can do every day to raise awareness. Everyday activism is a great way to challenge oppression and is easy to do. Simple things that anyone can do include not slut bashing, voicing praise when women choose how they want to look, and voicing disapproval when people objectify women, to name a few.

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https://www.bustle.com/articles/186035-8-tweets-that-explain-intersectionality-because-feminism-isnt-just-about-women

This article from Bustle does a really good job at explaining intersectional feminism and why it's so important and relevant when discussing equality. The article discusses how feminism is about sexuality, gender identity, economic status, race, body type, and more.

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This tweet perfectly captures why intersectionality is so important and why some people still don't understand its meaning. Scarlett Johansson was cast to play a Japanese woman in a movie adaptation of a Japanese anime, which raised concerns about white-washing. True feminism cannot be separated from other factors that are a part of who someone is.

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Addressing differences isn't a bad thing.

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Addressing differences isn't a bad thing.

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In Adele's acceptance speech for her Grammy earlier this year, she stated how important Beyonce's Lemonade was to her black friends. This wording caught some backlash, but others recognized that Beyonce wrote the album for black women. Adele simply acknowledged that her experience with Lemonade was different than others' because of differing backgrounds.

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http://thestir.cafemom.com/politics_views/203327/caityln_jenner_transgender_bathroom_directive?ct=piping_hot_3

Caitlyn Jenner is another celebrity who doesn't understand the struggles of others in a similar position as her.  She often says she wants to protect trans kids, but voted for the person who took away the right to use their preferred bathroom.  Because she made her transition so much later in her life, she is not as informed about the struggles of growing up as a transgendered individual. Her wealth is another thing that differentiates her from most of the trans community as homelessness and poverty are much more common for trans individuals.

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http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/01/23/taylor-swift-s-spineless-feminism.html

Taylor Swift says she is a feminist, but her actions seem to state otherwise. Her feminism is more about "girl power" than actually making statements on progression towards equality. Swift, being a rich, white woman keeps her out of touch from women who are less privileged than her, making the "girl power" stance entirely unhelpful.

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Intersectionality is a very important part of feminism that often gets overlooked by more privileged feminists. It's one thing to fight and be in support of women's rights, but what happens to trans women, women with disabilities, or women of color, who are not as protected as a middle class, cis-gendered, white woman? This is where intersectionality comes into play as it's important to acknowledge ALL women when talking about equal rights. Scenarios like race, class, and sexual orientation should be looked at separately,  and also in conjunction with each other to fully understand the struggles an individual is going through.

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Privilege is a topic that makes a lot of people uncomfortable.  It often makes people feel attacked by bringing up things they were born with and had no control over.  Ironically, people are discriminated against and oppressed based on things  that they were born with and had no control over.  It's important to acknowledge one's own privilege and use it to stand up for those who are often oppressed.  I think my artifacts show examples of privilege that are pretty common and show that there are many ways oppression and unfair treatment affect people's lives. This topic is a difficult one to address, but it is one of the most important when discussing marginalized groups and how they feel in society.

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http://mcelroyshows.com/#/interrobang-with-travis-and-tybee/

One of my favorite podcast, Interrobang with Travis and Tybee, features two friends that talk about things that frustrate them. Privilege and oppression frequently come up and these two handle with ease. Both the hosts are white, and Travis also being a cis male and straight gives him a lot of privilege which he uses to learn about others who are not as favored in society. They have really opened my eyes to a lot of issues and ways to acknowledge and help others with my own privilege.

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http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/13/entertainment/adele-beyonce-racism/

This year's Grammy's caused some controversy when Adele won album of the year over Beyonce's Lemonade. Adele herself acknowledged that Beyonce should have won. This led to people comparing this scenario to other times a white artist beat out a superior non-white artist at the awards.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/02/opinion/the-police-killed-my-unarmed-son-in-2012-im-still-waiting-for-justice.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPolice%20Brutality%20and%20Misconduct&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Police brutality is a hot topic right now and while it's a problem across the board, it seems to happen much more often to people of color. This article is just one of many that shows how police profiling is a major problem that contributes to this.

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http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/02/us/brock-turner-release-jail/

This man was released from jail after 3 months after he raped a woman. The whole process was an example of privilege as the judge cut his sentence short to avoid ruining his life even though he ruined the lives of many through his actions. This had many people pointing out that the judge would not have been this easy on him if he was not white. Even news sites were referring to him as a "former athlete" instead of "rapist".

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http://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/1102299/gigi-hadids-afro-vogue-cover-receives-major-backlash-photos

Model Gigi Hadid sported an afro and dark tanned skin for a Vogue photoshoot causing people to wonder why a black model wasn't hired instead of making a white person appear to be a different race.

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The Rocky Horror Picture Show played with gender and sexuality in a way that emphasized a lot of negative stereotypes of the trans community. By owning these stereotypes, they could no longer be used against transgender people or non-binary people.

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Gender and sex often get lumped together as the same idea because of the gender binary system, however, they are completely different ideas.  Even sex has more beyond the binary of the typical male and female.  Gender is about expression, and when people express themselves in a way that is associated with the gender opposite of their assigned gender, they get ridiculed.  Phrases like "act like a lady" or "act like a man" don't always fit with someone's personality and make you question what phrases like that actually mean.  I think that the artifacts I have gathered point out how unnecessary gendered products are and that people don't need to stick to what a doctor or their parents decided they should be.  There are a few examples of media that was ahead of its time in terms of advocating for the trans community, but the examples I have from older media were just characters and not the actors themselves. Now, there is a lot more representation of non-binary people and transgender people and by casting people in that community to play those roles, it allows them to have a platform to educate and inspire.

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Orange is the New Black star Ruby Rose identifies as gender fluid and says that she wakes up feeling more gender neutral than anything.  Her short video titled "Break Free" is about being yourself and defying the norm. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFjsSSDLl8w

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After seeing life through the eyes of John Malkovich and experiencing life through him, Lotte (played by Cameron Diaz) announced that she was transgender and felt more comfortable being in a man's body than a woman's.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-3484499/Female-workers-ridicule-Bic-s-pink-pens-sarcastic-hand-written-messages-man-produce-squiggles.html
Bic released pens that were made specifically for women. But they were just pens. Just normal pens, but they were pink. I'm just glad women were finally able to write with this technological breakthrough.

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This advertisement for a toy store shatters stereotypes about what toys boys and girls should play with. Instead, it simply encourages fun and creativity regardless of gendered products.  Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVK1CZm2vRI

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           The Social Construction of Gender

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           The Social Construction of Gender

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I think that these articles, quotes, and examples show why feminism is still important and work needs to be done, but they also show progress that is being made in gender equality.

Feminism still matters today just as much as it did at its birth.  While things like what happened to Rosalind Franklin don't happen as often or even at all anymore, women are still underrepresented in STEM fields.  This can only change if women have the same opportunities as men do to publish journals and acquire jobs in the first place.

Representation of women is a big deal to a lot of people who want to see positive role models for future generations. Part of this is showing realistic characters instead of "good" characters. No one is perfect and when female characters are shown to be perfect it makes them less realistic and idealized so that no real person could ever behave in the same way. Body positivity is another topic that feminists like to push for in representation. current beauty standards in advertisements and media are unfair towards everyone and need to be challenged, like Carrie Fisher did when directors didn't make Leia look younger than she was in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.  Another Carrie Fisher quote on the topic of bias against women in the film industry is, "Men don't age better than women, they're just allowed to age."

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Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra displays a wide variety of strong, women characters including a business woman, a police chief, and a matriarch of a city-state.  The important thing is that each of these characters chose their path. The main character, Korra, ends the series in a new relationship with her friend Asami, which makes her a role model for LGBTQ+ youth and young girls and boys in general.

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How to tell if the Women’s March is about real feminism — not the safe, trendy kind

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How to tell if the Women’s March is about real feminism — not the safe, trendy kind

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http://www.vox.com/first-person/2017/1/19/14314038/womens-march-feminism

If someone says they're a feminist, they need to be held to standards of including ALL women.  Women of color, lesbian women, and trans women need to be part of every conversation too and not put off to the side.

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Rosalind Franklin discovered the double-helix shape of DNA, but two men published the results first.

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http://www.heforshe.org/en

This organization shares stories and promotes change and education to make our world and equal one.  A big part of being a feminist is listening to experiences of others that are different from your own.

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“They want to hire part of me, not all of me. They want to hire three fourths, so I have to get rid of the fourth somehow. The fourth can’t be with me. I made a joke.” -Carrie Fisher