Post Class Reflection 2/14

During class, we discussed readings by Jo Freeman, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Deborah Gould, and Grace Kyungwon Hong. Initially, we discussed how we felt about the readings and how they resonated with us. It was noted from Freeman’s writing that the informal structure of movements can lead to abuse of power and how some of the content from “Trashing: The Dark Side of Sisterhood” is still very much relevant today. The Reagon pieces, in contrast to Freeman, discussed how people were not pushed out of movements, but never included to begin with. We discussed the principles of fighting existence but also for future generations to have access to things such as safety. The conflicts in these movements tend to arise from a lack up representation and the feeling of being “left out” which seemed especially true in ACT UP. The term “coalition” was discussed due to some confusion about the definition and meaning of the word. It was important to acknowledge that in a coalition there are people from many backgrounds who can come together for a common cause. There was a conversation about the realization/understanding that there are different people in the world that are not what you perceive them to be, and how easy it is to generalize but how damaging it can be. We discussed the third world by looking at the Triple Jeopardy Women’s Alliance, discussing imperialism/colonialism and who is represented in the term of “third world.” We related the “Trashing” article to today and our own personal feelings and experiences with trashing and feminism. Overall, our class was a well-rounded discussion and opportunity to think more about the readings and understand how fracturing in movements occurs.