Photo Essay by Iram Morales

Feminism

imora069 — 2024-05-20 04:57:45 UTC

The concept of feminism was often misunderstood because many people believed all women would have same “concept of feminism”. However, the author Bell Hooks managed to explain clearly what feminism means,“I do feel that the part of the essence of feminism is that woman have control over women’s bodies, that women have reproductive rights, all women” (“What is Feminism”, 2:17-2:26). This quote reveals the concept of feminism is to have control over your body and this helps us understand what’s feminism actually means rather than stereotypical feminism definition that’s often portrayed wrongfully in media. For example, the photograph shows two different houses that located in Santa Monica. These houses have owners but it’s clear that they have different color paint preferences but they have full control over their homes. This is similar to the idea of having control over our bodies where no one can control ours except ourselves.

High heels

imora069 — 2024-05-20 04:58:21 UTC

The definition of feminism helps us understand that not all of women will have the same “type” of feminism like what the actress and activist Laverne Cox said “We don’t demonize the woman who is in high heels and we don’t demonize the woman who’s out of heels …I think it’s really how do we begin to celebrate all the ways in which we want to comport ourselves and not say that one person is more feminist than the other” (0:21-0:42). This quote demonstrates that not all women will have the same type of feminism like what I have mentioned earlier that the idea of feminism is have full control over our body. This is why it’s important to remember the true definition of feminism. For example, the painting from my home reveals two different flower plants but they’re similar yet the orchid plant looks bigger than the tulip plant. This doesn’t mean the orchid plant is “better” than the tulip plant because remember each plant is different and this applies to people as well ! Everyone is different and we cannot compare who is “more” feminist.

Patriarchy

imora069 — 2024-05-20 04:58:39 UTC

The photograph shows both ducks swimming in a beautiful lake, but there’s something that I noticed the male duck swimming ahead of the female duck. The female duck is following the male duck. This indicates that the male duck is in charge of lead while the female duck is behind him. This is an example of patriarchy being so entangled in our society and it’s something that must be stopped occurring in our society. The definition of patriarchy according to Professor Emily Owens is “Patriarchy says that men should be in charge and women should follow along and do what men want to do” (0:26-0:30). This definition of patriarchy helps us understand why it’s crucial to recognize that we’re seeing patriarchy in different types of forms occurring in our society. For example, there were multiple movies and TV shows have men portrayed as in charge of the relationship. At the same time, women would be submissive or obedient and follow men’s “order” according to the patriarchal system that was molded in centuries ago.

Sexuality and Gender Spectrum

imora069 — 2024-05-20 04:59:16 UTC

The photograph reveals different types of flower plants at Home Depot which shows that every single plant is different and this applies to people as well. Bill Nye’s Sexuality and Gender Spectrum demonstrated that every individual is different is because it is important to remember that everyone has their sexuality and gender because of spectrum diversities in many different forms. Also, science has proven that everyone is on the gender and sexuality spectrum and this helps us understand why everyone is different even including plants. This is why I believe plants from the photo are excellent examples of diversity in gender and sexuality !

Woman Rights

imora069 — 2024-05-20 05:01:20 UTC

The patriarchal system needs to dissolve in our society because it’s harmful to keep bringing ideas of having men to be more superior to women if we’re all humans and live on the same earth while breathing from the same sky. It’s unfair to have our gender determined in the patriarchal system and get treated differently due to our biological gender. Sojourner Truth once said “ May I say a few words?... I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman’s rights… I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more

than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal; I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am strong as any man that is now” (Truth 1851 Ain't I a Woman?, pg 3). This quote is so meaningful because both genders can practically do everything same and there’s no reason why people need to be treated differently due to their biological gender. This is why Sojourner Truth was advocating for women to have the same rights as men and she said that she could do everything like men do but she couldn’t have the same rights as men due to her being a woman. The photograph shows both two ducks swimming together equally and this gives us a sense of the idea of how society would look if the patriarchal system was no longer part of our society.