Author: Sam W

My piece is a look at the lack of women in computer science. As a computer science major myself it is pretty shocking to see just how few women are entering this field. This piece looks to explain that this gender divide is a product of a cycle of oppression where women have been discouraged, both directly and indirectly, from pursuing degrees in tech fields. This cycle of oppression seems to parallel the discrimination black people have suffered from as described by Obama in his A More Perfect Union speech. Reading through it, a lot of what he mentions applies unfortunately all too well, from the “legacy of defeat” to the continued racism and sexism that follows those who escaped their cycles. The solution I reached for this problem also matches with Obama’s; more visibility, strong role models, and engaging with the youth to escape the cycle before it begins for them.

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“I grew up in an immediate family of my two brothers and I, and an extended family of majority male cousins, both older and younger than me. I have always been spoken to by family and friends as the “little girl” of the family, even now that I am 21 years old. While I understand that some family members speak to me in this way because I am one of the only girls, I’ve noticed how this can carry over into how they converse with me on educated and opinionated topics. ” -Amanda C. Not So Little.

“I do agree that students need to hear and absorb and deal with ideas that aren’t similar to their own. It’s one of the ways to truly gain intelligence. How can you learn if you stay in a bubble of what you believe if you can’t understand the things you don’t believe? But, I also agree that the students, who pay insurmountable funds to attend college, should have some sort of say in what their campus does. And if they fight back on certain things that they don’t like, does that truly mean they are weak and ignorant—closing their eyes and ears to all things scary?” -Jennifer R. Scared Safe.

In “What Fullness Is”, Roxanne Gay touches on a number of topics including body positivity, romanticisation of surgery, and how obesity is viewed by society. However, what I found most interesting throughout this piece is how Gay uses contradictions to show her struggle with mental health.

This use of contradiction first notably appears when Gay talks about both loving and hating her body. Gay states that she is “sometimes fine” and “sometimes hates” her appearance, showing a fluidity on how she feels towards her body. What follows this is then an unequivocal disdain in how she views herself in pictures. “…there are pictures and videos of me everywhere. I hate these images, cringe when I see them, and then hate myself for cringing, for not seeing myself with kindness.” While previous paragraphs have Gay showing a conflicted yet well defined description of how she feels towards her body, this last quote completely contradicts her previous statements by making the blanket claim that she is never content in her appearance in these pictures. This suggests that Gay feels a deeper level of self loathing towards her appearance than a simple “sometimes hates” implies. Gay’s hatred for how she reacts to these images further implies the existence of this underlying loathing that Gay does not explicitly acknowledge.

Another contradictory moment comes right after Gay’s surgery. After being complemented by her surgeon for losing weight before the surgery, Gay “felt a swell of pride and then hated myself for that swell, for being so pedestrian as to take pleasure in the sort of validation that goes against so much of what I believe about how bodies should be allowed to be.” The conflicted emotions here show that Gay stills has this deep seeded hostility towards herself. Despite committing to losing weight and undergoing surgery, she is upset that she feels joy in her decision to lose weight.

What Gay shows is a disconnect she feels from herself. She is unable to understand how or why she feels certain ways, resulting in growing anger and frustration. Gay is upset that she feels unhappy in her appearance in pictures, and she is also upset that she feels pride in getting complemented on losing weight.

What Gay’s piece tells is less a story on weight loss and more a story on the slow gradual change of improving her mental health. The conflicted and contradicting feelings Gay feels towards herself show an internal conflict that weight loss cannot fix. However, Gay begins going to therapy wherein her therapist is “forcing me to face uncomfortable truths, forcing me to get comfortable with feeling my feelings — something I’ve avoided for most of my life.” It is after this point where Gay’s descriptions of herself begin to change. Rather than feeling conflicted towards herself, Gay feels nothing. “When I look in the mirror, I see no difference — none at all.” Although this is not a conclusion of complete self acceptance, it shows an improvement towards how she felt towards herself earlier in the piece. The change Gay has undergone is slow, but it is certainly noticeable.

Former President Obama’s speech “A More Perfect Union” was an interesting take on racial relations in the United States. It was not a speech I would have imaged a politician to give. Rather than make black and white statements about each group, which he acknowledges as a common trope used by other politicians, Obama instead looks to the deeper root causes of racial issues in the country.

Something many current politicians mention is the idea of forgiving student loans or medical debts. While these are quick solutions and will undoubtedly help many people, they miss the underlying problem of why these debts exist in the first place in order to prevent a situation like this again. There is no deeper analysis for why it costs thousands of dollars for a simple medical procedure or why college tuition has increased nearly 800% over the past few decades.

“That legacy of defeat was passed on to future generations – those young men and increasingly young women who we see standing on street corners or languishing in our prisons, without hope or prospects for the future. Even for those blacks who did make it, questions of race, and racism, continue to define their worldview in fundamental ways. For the men and women of Reverend Wright’s generation, the memories of humiliation and doubt and fear have not gone away; nor has the anger and the bitterness of those years”

This is what makes Obama’s speech so impactful and meaningful; he is looking at the root causes of racial tension. Instead of focusing on individual issues and moments, he takes a broader and more understanding approach. It is through understanding like this that more thoughtful discussions about racial relations can be had.

Anzaldua’s essay “How to Tame a Wild Tongue” is a fascinating perspective on how seemingly minor distinctions in language can have a large impact on the people that speak it. While she does spend a portion of the essay comparing Chicano Spanish and Standard Spanish, her message is not about the similarities or differences of the languages. Rather, Anzaldua’s purpose is to show the validity of Chicano Spanish as a language that Chicanos can be proud of. To Anzaldua, her language is one of the most essential defining parts of herself. An insult to her language is an insult to her.

“So, if you want to really hurt me, talk badly about my language. Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity-I am my language. Until I can take pride in my language, I cannot take pride in myself”

What stands out the most to me with this piece is the anecdote Anzaldua includes at the beginning of undergoing a procedure at the dentist. The key parts that stick out to me are the horrible smell, her tongue pushing away cotton and needles, and that she is physically unable to restrain her tongue’s movements. Each of these elements applies to the rest of the paper. Anzaldua mentions the resentment and discomfort Chicanas feel towards themselves when speaking to people from other Spanish dialects, as they consider Chicano Spanish “illegitimate” or a “bastard language”. This can be related to the smell produced by the procedure. This disgust or resentment Chicanas feel towards an aspect of themselves is reflected in Anzaldua’s disgust at the smell of the plaque being scrapped away from her teeth. Anzaldua’s tongue pushing away the cotton and needles reflects her convictions in pushing away negative outside influences and keeping her Chicano Spanish. “I will no longer be made to feel ashamed of existing”. Finally, the wild tongue represents Anzaldua’s pride in her language and her inability to be kept quiet or restrained. While this metaphor may seem to fall apart with the assumption that Anzaldua proceeds with the procedure, she does close her essay with a message of the patience and persistence Chicanas have.