Week 4!!

Lindsay Harris

COMM 3824-01

2/7/19

Comm 3824 Reflection 4

            This week was focused mainly on women of color as environmental activists. When filling out the welcome survey I felt embarrassed that I was unable to name a since female environmental activist, let alone one that is also person of color. I found Unger’s first article “Beyond Nature’s Housekeeper” to be extremely helpful in that sense because she introduced me to a handful of women from different backgrounds, races, and classes that dedicated their lives to environmental justice. Additionally, Kurtz was able to shed valuable light into the discrimination between what a “man’s area” and a “woman’s area” should be in terms of the public vs. private spheres. In the “SouthWest Organizing Project” letter, I admired the personal approach it took within the first few paragraphs. Giving the people impacted personal titles like “artists,” “writers,” or “students” makes it easier to imagine who is being hurt by these environmental injustices.

            The article that made me feel the most emotional was Unger’s first article. I think that I myself am guilty of viewing mothers who leave their children while they’re so young to do work of their own as somewhat selfish. My mother continued to work after the birth of my two older sisters, but quit work once she had me. I question if I would even be able to have children because I am so determined to have a successful career of my own before choosing motherhood. Seeing how Dolores Huerta left 11 children in the care of other people while she protested leaves me feeling a mix of emotions. Initially I feel admiration because she lets nothing get in her way when trying to fight for what is right. However after watching the trailer for her movie during our class session, it was difficult watching her children have such emotional reactions about the absence of their mother while they were growing up. Knowing how much I value my mother and the time we spent together when I was young, I cannot relate to someone who does not have a close bond with their mother; nor can I understand why any mother would willingly give up her time with her own kids. I wish that I did not feel this way, because I believe more than anything that women should be able to do as they please and fight for what they want in life. It makes me wonder if these thoughts stem from some internal misogyny that has been ingrained within me after so many years of seeing societal norms in which women stay at home with the children whilst men go out and work hard for a better life.

1. Superfund- A United States federal government program designed to fund the cleanup of sites contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants. Sites managed under this program are referred to as "Superfund" sites.
2. Silent Spring- An environmental science book by Rachel Carson. The book was published on September 27, 1962, documenting the adverse environmental effects caused by the indiscriminate use of pesticides.

3.    Love Canal- a neighborhood within Niagara Falls, New York. The neighborhood is infamously known as the location of a 70-acre landfill which became the epicenter of a massive environmental pollution disaster harming the health of hundreds of residents, culminating in an extensive Superfund cleanup operation.