WGST 480 Final Presentation Alexis Chiribao

POWER OF IDENTITIES and how feminism empowers identities Feminist theory vs practice Feminist theory examines what it is like to live in a body that is marked through femininity and is always a potential victim. VS Postmodernity Theory is the framework of activism “By internalizing the false assumption that theory is not a social practice, they promote the formation within feminist circles of a potentially oppressive hierarchy where all concrete action is viewed as more important than any theory written or spoken” (bell hooks, “Theory as Liberatory Practice” from Teaching to Transgress, 40). “‘Begins but cannot end with the discovery by an individual of her self- consciousness as a woman. It is not, finally, even the recognition of her reasons for anger, or the decision to change her life, to go back to school, or to leave a marriage…Feminism means finally that we renounce our obedience to the fathers and recognize that the world they have described is not the whole world...Feminism implies that we recognize fully the inadequacy for us, the distortion, of male-created ideologies, and that we proceed to think, and act, out of that recognition.’ (Adrienne Rich 1976; rpt. 1979, 207).” (“Feminism “Feminist” from The Feminist Dictionary (1985)

Bodies Normative Bodies A highly gendered disciplinary mechanism A teleological process Bodies do not have meaning on their own Do not emit signs naturally We invest meaning in bodies through systems of signification Erase identities and people when relying on binaries Language system is based on binaries. When you're working in a binary system, it's either/or. One pole of the binary is always more powerful, and one pole is less powerful. Valued vs. devalued. This is a way that power makes it into our language and lives without having to announce itself.

Systems of Signification (Butler) MEANING MAKING PRACTICES TO GET IDEAS ACROSS language, gesture, images, music, dance, style When we have an idea as humans, these meaning making systems can be relied upon. Organized and codified Medium through which we are connected to each other at the level of consciousness and unconsciousness Critical because what gives our lives the most meaning is our connections to those around us Butler states that everything that we know/believe is embedded in this idea.

DISABILITY THEORY Language system is based on binaries. When you're working in a binary system, it's either/or. One pole of the binary is always more powerful, and one pole is less powerful. Valued vs. devalued. This is a way that power makes it into our language and lives without having to announce itself. The term, "abled," would not have any meaning without its opposite. Impossible to disentangle power relationships from our linguistic structures. That langue is the only thing that connects us to each other. So, we are constantly reenacting and normalizing those power structures. “Irrevocable difference could be a cause for celebration, but in this world, it isn’t. The price we pay for variation from the norm that’s defined and upheld by white supremacy, patriarchy, and capitalism is incredibly high. And in my life, that price has been body centered. I came to believe that my body was utterly wrong. Sometimes I wanted to cut off my right arm so it wouldn’t shake. My shame was that plain, that bleak. Of course, this is one of the profound ways in which oppression works—to mire us in body hatred” (Clare, Eli. “Stolen Bodies, Reclaimed Bodies: Disability and Queerness,” 362).

ACTIVISM   The term “abled” would not have any meaning without its opposite It is impossible to disentangle power relationships from linguistic structures Language is what connects us to each other. We are constantly reenacting and normalizing these power structures Disability only adds to the what it means in today’s society to be a woman/be feminine. There is a very clear idea of how one must look and act in order to be in line with the cultural standards of femininity.  If we want change, we need to work on creating a counter hegemony; understanding reality and experiences that is not defined by terms most advantageous to the majority   Can happen in solidarity and in collaboration, but it needs to really happen from within. Need to read disability, race, and gender together as social processes that inform one another

Queering Education Reinforcing binaries

LGBTQ Inclusive Education Normative ideas of gender reign supreme within systems of education Gender stigma often begins in early elementary school years If you don’t teach someone something that relates to their personal experience, there is no way for it to be incorporated into their knowledge

My Future MSW Youth Counselor Advocacy work