Final Reflection

Reflection 

By: Ainsley Whichard

Throughout this class we have talked about storytelling and what it can do for the people or culture it is about. We’ve talked about how it can be harmful to use storytelling and the single story of people around the world. It can erase people and their culture by having one story represent a group of people as a whole. We have also talked about how storytelling can be positive and change the single story narrative. The idea of storytelling that we have focused on has been very eye opening to what other women face around the world, I have found it really captivating in one of the first classes Dr.Richard said “women around the world are not sisters” which is something my generation uses to bond women together, Dr.Richard then went to explain that I, a white western privileged women, will never have the same experiences as a women in an eastern society. This changed my view of a single story because as women we are told we are all the same which is very fair from the truth. In this essay I will reflect on storytelling and how it has shaped my way of thinking for this classes. 

Dr. Richard introduced the class this semester by talking about how men have controlled the narrative and are typically the ones sharing stories that shape history. If a women does break through and shares a cultural defining story, that women is usually a white women from developed eastern societies. We spent the rest of the semester talking about women, mostly from the eastern hemisphere, and their stories. We watched videos, read short stories, and books about or by these women. We had lots of open and honest discussions about how these women are facing different struggles than we would never know. We read about the struggles of a gay women in Africa, and her story of falling in love in a society that would have her killed because she’s gay(Under The Udala Trees). We read about women who were scholars and pioneers for feminism in their societies and women who were disabled and ignored because of who they are.(The Treatment Of Bibi Haldar) This has been very eye opening in the idea of a single story. 

So many things in this class have stood out to me and opened my eyes on how I see women around the world, I was unaware how we all tend to buy into the single story even if we do not realize it. When you are unaware of a country or culture then it is a lot easier to go with the single story of their people but it becomes harmful because we do not see those people as people, just as a stereotype. When we watched the film ‘The Girl Before Her’ we learned about two different groups of girls in India, a group of girls competing for the Miss India beauty pageant and their journey leading up to the pageant. On the other side we see young girls in a camp which trained young girls to fight for Hindu nationalist. While the two subjects seemed very predictable we learned more about why these women chose the path they were on. The film talks about how dangerous it is for women in India and the violence they face. We learn that most of the women in the pageant are doing it because there are very few professions for women and they are doing the pageant as a way to leave India and live a life where they are not controlled by a man. On the other side of the film we hear the story of Prachi, a “counselor” at the camp. Prachi explains that she is a Hindu extremist, we later learn that Prachi is being physically abused by her father who is also an extremist and believes women belongs in certain roles. We also learn that Prachi could possible be nonbinary or gender-fluid. Throughout the film we get to learn more about the girls and why they are in the situations they are in. This really opened my eyes to the struggles women deal with all over the world. I have always kind of thought that women around the world had the same opportunities as did, I understood not everyone has the advantages of higher eduction or the lifestyle I have, but at least that women could choose who they marry and had the opportunity to get jobs if they need them. (The Girl Before Her)

We have also talked about intersectionality and I feel like I cannot talk about this class without talking about intersectionality, this is the idea that you recognize that you will not have the same experiences as a person from a different culture than you, but still supporting them and listening to what they say/need. Too often do women in developed societies assume that women in underdeveloped societies want the same things. The first example that comes to mind is women in the middle east who choose to wear burkas. Some women in the west who call themselves feminist believe that these women are being oppressed because they wear burkas. Western feminist have controlled the narrative and tried to fight for women to stop wearing them because it is degrading. Because of this the women in the middle east were not able to voice the things they want or need but then had to explain that while a very small number of women were made to wear burkas by the Taliban but most women choose to wear them. If we do not listen to what women want and how we can help them then we are hurting the feminist movement across the world. This class has taught me a lot about what it means to be a feminist, that while women across the world are not “sisters” but we still must listen and support each other. We also need to learn about other cultures and understand the struggle of women across the world.