For my project I’ve decided to read a selection of Japanese books and manga, (popular Japanese comics), as well as essays on feminism in modern Japan. I will be attempting to define and explore what feminism means in modern Japanese literature, how it differs from American feminism, and why. I think that examining what feminism means in this culture will let me both learn about a different kind of feminism as well as see American feminism through a new lens. It will let me examine whether, as Paula

As I have been reading various essays addressing the feminist perspective on pornography, it seems one thing is clear: there are only multiple perspectives but no dominant one that can be called representative of the “feminist” perspective on pornography.[1] It seems that a lot of categorical mistakes, unclear definitions and a sort of muddling of the various issues that may or may not legitimately be counted as

I’m not the person anyone thought I was. I’m not the person I thought I was. I’m not any kind of person anyone has thought of before, perhaps. An internal shift, wholly mental, frightening and thrilling. The ground beneath my feet was moving, but it was all safely metaphorical.

 

Livejournal entry of 11:26pm 09/10/2007

 

Dear Professor Dalke,

For the sake of privacy and comfort, my paper proposal has been emailed to Professor Dalke instead of posted on this forum. I hope that no one is offended by this choice. Because of my chosen topic and how personal it is, I fear backlash and harsh critique. If anyone protests to this choice, I would be willing to post it here. Please let me know if you would like to know what my topic is or have any questions or complaints.

Tamarinda Barry Figueroa

Critical Feminist Studies

Anne Dalke

10/16/07

Illustrating Feminism

    In my previous paper I stated that the major issue I’d like to explore is how to balance race and gender, more specifically how to identify as a “Puerto Rican woman” and not “Puerto Rican” and then a “woman”.

In 1968, Jane Elliott created what would become known as the “Blue Eye/ Brown Eye Experiment,” dividing her class based on eye color and letting first one half, then the other, oppress their fellow students merely be telling them that one group was superior to the other. The exercise is used around the country to show that racism is a socially constructed phenomenon. Just as people are not essentially different based on eye color, so they are not essentially different based on race. The implications this has for feminism quickly become obvious. Students believe in the gender binary because

 

Proposal for Critical Feminist Studies Project