The film (A)Sexual focused on the formation of the group “AVEN,” which aims to promote the visibility and education of asexuality in the mainstream. What was apparent in the film was the desire to categorize or quantify the group in order to promote solidarity. Categorization of a group, however, can be destructive to the goals […]
The Superbowl’s commercials are almost as highly anticipated as the game itself. This year, Budweiser ran an ad focussed around the journey of a one of its founders from Ireland to the United States. One of the greatest myths provided in the advertisement is when the immigrant’s visa is stamped, as the clerk states “Welcome […]
From what I gathered about Spivak’s arguments regarding the subaltern, she is investigating the ways in which Western, dominant identities observe and then reach (often prejudice, racist) conclusions about groups that are deemed “other.” She seemed most interested in the fact that the dominant group finds a way to speak over the subaltern about their […]
In hooks’ “Living by a Love Ethic”, hooks discusses the very positive notion of living by a love ethic and practicing qualities that would make not only your own life more fulfilling, but positively affect the lives of others. The chapter also delves into some ways in which love is represented in media in a […]
Spivak’s argument in “Can the Subaltern Speak” is a challenge for allies to recognize their privilege in being heard, and not silence the oppressed in their allyship. Oftentimes, particularly in white activist communities, speak out can be synonymous with speak for. We try to understand foreign struggles by defining them in our own cultural terms. […]
Beyoncé’s hit song from 2014 (wow it does not feel that long ago!), “Pretty Hurts,” is a song about the dangers/self esteem issues that come with the beauty standards that are placed on women. Many of the lyrics point out the ways in which beauty standards contradict themselves, forcing women into a corner. Women must […]
In Season 31 of The Real World: Go Big or Go Home, like other Real World seasons, the themes of the series of episodes center around topics that are affected young people in their actual realities. At the time that Go Big Or Go Home was filmed, amidst the discussions of race, police brutality, racism, […]
Gayatri Spivak points out the skewed representations of marginalized groups in popular media in the piece Can the Subaltern Speak?. Spivak focuses on the feelings and lived experiences of these groups which are often portrayed incorrectly in the mainstream. Spivak’s analysis often harkens back to the question: “can the subaltern speak?” More often than not, the […]
The basic idea of a love ethic, or rather, a redefining of the concept of love to exclude situations in which there is a power imbalance, seems undeniably positive. hooks argues for a denouncement of violence and dominance as a language for love, a powerful argument in an age where domestic violence, or at the […]
The title of hooks’s essay — “Living By A Love Ethic” — made me nervous about what I would find inside. Often, I feel I’m surrounded by a sea of well-meaning white people who claim to love others and therefore to care about injustice but who are unwilling to do the active work of combatting […]
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