My expectations from Color

When working with Color Latina, I am expecting to be working with Latina's and their families, trying to gain more rights with education, the work place, and in the overall community. As i previously mentioned, Color is planning a 45 day campaign, which in the process right now. During that campaign, they wish to improve Latina's knowledge on HIV. They want to help Latina's and their families know what HIV is, how it can affect you, and how to prevent getting this awful disease. I have yet to meet with Color, but from looking on their website, it seems to me that they relate with radical feminism. Latina's around the world do the same work as men, and sometimes more. But the purpose of Color is to make sure that these Latinas are treated the same as any man doing the same job. They do not want to be domesticized. Latinas do not want to be thought of as women who stay home to clean, cook, and take care of their kids. They want to be equal to men, and they do not want men to see them as homemakers. Sexism can play a large role in the work place. Although women can do the same work as men, the men may look to women to clean up their messes, or to do the boring jobs such as organizing and filing. One of the main purposes of Color is to gain equality in the work place.
Another expectation I have comes from the 45 day campaign. Earlier I mentioned that the campaign's main goal is to educate Latinas about HIV. Since I plan on helping them with this campaign, I want to learn more about HIV myself. I know that HIV is a sexually transmitted disease, but you can also get it from touching someone else's blood. This is why prison guards wear gloves and other protective equipment when dealing with HIV positive inmates. There is no cure for HIV. The only way to keep HIV tolerable, is to take dozens of different medications everyday. I want to learn the specific details about HIV, like its origins, where it is most common today, and how to prevent myself and others from catching this disease.
I still have yet to meet with Color, but this Saturday, myself and my group members are attending a meeting with them. I have not been able to see if my expectations will be unfounded or supportive. But I am looking forward to understanding my expectations with Color this weekend.

Women's and Men's movements

Being a woman, there are many aspects of certain women's movements that I agree with. But the one movement that I can relate to 100% to at this point in my life is Liberal Feminism. Liberal feminists want equality for men and women in all aspects of life. Liberal Feminism started in the early to mid 1900s. Many women were homemakers at this time. They stayed home, took care of the house, and took care of the children. Although they were told it was "The American Dream", most home makers were very unhappy with their life. This did not mean that they were unhappy with their families, they just wanted a life away from the house like their husbands. Because they felt unhappy with their lives, they started to feel guilt. How could they be living the infamous "American Dream" and not be happy with it? Because of their quietness with their feelings, women were not informed that most home makers were unhappy. But one woman made this point clear through her book The Feminine Mystique. Her name was Betty Friedan. The whole subject of the book was about the unhappiness that white middle class American women felt. The most important point in the book is when she says that women cannot achieve personal growth because of certain institutions and laws. Because of The Feminine Mystique, the first liberal feminist group was created. The group was called the National Organization for Women or NOW. They are a public voice for women's equal rights by fighting for equality in the work place, education equality, and professional equality.
I identify with liberal feminism because I feel like a home maker. Although I can go to school, I don't have a job. My boyfriend is the one who takes care of me. I stay home almost everyday, to clean and to take care of my two nephews. My nephew Andrew goes to school everyday so I must pick him up from the bus. His brother Julian, is 7 months old, so I must watch him all day. I am unhappy because even though I get to stay home and don't have to work, my boyfriend takes care of all the bills. I want to be able to help him, but finding a job in todays economy is hard. But the only way I can help him is to go out and find a job and keep pushing no matter what. Below is a link to a picture which shows the beginning of Liberal Feminism. 

http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/2FBA887B-78EE-41DD-BA46-5281930457AD/NT3767619.jpg

The men's movement I identify the most with is the Father's Rights groups. This group is against the fact that after a divorce, the father does not get at least 50% custody of the children. Theses groups are seen through out the world, even in England. They believe that courts discriminate against the men because women tend to get the most custody. But there are some reasons why the courts choose the mother over the father. It has been shown that only 52% of women receive child support payments from the fathers. But other then that, most men decide not to try to talk to their children after a divorce. These are very compelling points as to why the mother may seem to deserve the child more then the father.
I relate to this group because I think that every father deserves to get 50% custody of their children. They should at least get one chance to prove that they are worthy for the custody of their children. But if they start to make mistakes like not taking the children on they days they are supposed to have them or not to pay any type of child support, they shouldn't be awarded custody. So I believe everyone should be given a chance. But is is up to the father to show whether he truly can be a father and take care of his kids on his own. Below is a photo that depicts a child with parents torn apart.

http://www.defenselawtucson.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/how_to_get_child_custody.jpg

Learning about Color Latina

This week I went through the Color Latina website more thoroughly then before. I read all of the articles and found out what their morals and values are. They are holding a 45 Day Campaign starting January 22nd. That is the day of the Roe vs Wade trial. This trial was about the issue of a woman's right to abortion. The campaign ends on International Women's Day which is March 8th. International Women's Day is the celebration of every type of woman including generation, race, and many more. The 45 day campaign is to spread the knowledge of woman's sexual reproductive rights. This includes abortion, birth control, and the right to decide who a woman has sex with. Color is not only about the 45 day campaign. Color believes that every Latina woman and their families have the right to have a health body, mind, and soul. They achieve this by having the knowledge, freedom, and power to access every type of opportunity. They also want to provide health care, sex education, basic life necessities, and equal treatment of Latina women. I look forward to helping Color Latina with their 45 day campaign and helping them spread there visions through out the community.

gender in the past and present

The earliest expectation I can remember about gender from my parents was when I was in the 3rd grade. I was always a tomboy type of girl, so I wore large baggy clothes to school. One day I was getting ready for school and had put on a baggy and ratty green sweat suit. My Mom walked into my room and saw what I was wearing. She told me that only boys could wear clothes like that to school. So the next day she took me shopping to get me girlier clothes. From then on I rarely wore sweats to school. And if I did, they were cute form fitting sweats meant for girls. The most recent types of gender expectations for myself has been from my parents. They jokingly tell me that they are glad I'm not a lesbian, even though I know they are serious. I just say back to them that I'm not and that I'm only attracted to men considering the fact that I have been with my boyfriend over two years. We are not against lesbians in any way, but I have a feeling that if I were a lesbian they would not support it. As I grew up, I learned what women should act like from comments from my Mother and my Grandmother. I was born a girl, with XX chromosomes, and I needed to act like it. My gender identity was mostly of a girl, but with some boy characteristics tied in. Today I still carry those traits. I worry about my appearance, I don't wear baggy clothes, I don't belch in public, and I don't swear in front of strangers. But I do know a few things about sports, video games, and cars. So although I am a woman, I am a woman who knows a few things about men, that they wouldn't expect for me to know.