Activism Blog #1

Activism:

This week I tabled for NOW on Wednesday and Friday from 10-12pm. The experience was beneficial for me because a huge part of my service learning project was to increase awareness of NOW on campus and its mission statement as a student oriented affiliate. While tabling, we wanted to advertise more feminist literature like Bitch Magazine or Cunt: A Declaration of Independence and Full Frontal Feminism. In addition to tabling I also made two posters for NOW, advertising its presence on campus as well as associating its message to some quotes that may resonate with students and feminists on campus. Caitlin, Melissa and I met at Caitlin’s house to talk logistics over our core service learning project and if we wanted to do something along the lines of body image and beauty ideals on college campuses. We ultimately decided to focus on another topic but bring it to campus for maximum exposure to the NOW at UCF community. Lastly, NOW’s weekly meeting was held at the Pink Art II opening where we discussed the virtue of charity and supporting prevention and overcoming breast cancer as well as the significance of organizations like the YSC.

Reflection:

The Pink Art opening really reminded me of the Lorde article Uses of the Erotic; as we witness these women who have survived breast cancer or are still battling breast cancer we can realize that they are now looking at their lives through a new lens, a lens that will enable them to see everything from a new perspective and with that, Lorde says, comes responsibility. The responsibility is thus to always look at not only survival from breast cancer but every moment after survival as a moment that can be used to be completely in the moment and take everything out of that experience. This is the erotic power that comes out of survival. This power was also demonstrated through the art at the exhibit; the artists, through a variety of methods, used their erotic power to look at raising money for a cure for breast cancer through an artful lens and to truly take everything out of that situation. A quote that really stood out to me from Lorde was “In touch with the erotic, I become less willing to accept powerlessness or those other supplied states of being which are not native to me, such as resignation, despair, self-effacement, depression and self-denial.” This quote rang true especially because after hearing the leader of the YSC talk about her personal fight with breast cancer and not letting herself be in denial anymore about her infallibility and to not settle for the convenient notion of being “immune” to breast cancer because she was young and in great shape. These women who are survivors of breast cancer are those who are in touch with their erotic power, purely and truly.

Reciprocity:

By working with NOW I’ve been exposed to a lot of different people with varying feminist ideals. These different ideals have helped me to then think about my own feminist ideals from new perspectives. As Lorde touches on in her article, settling for convenience is to give in and to not fully embrace your erotic power; this includes the convenience of pre-established ideas and beliefs. I think it’s essential for continuous personal growth to constantly rethink and reevaluate ideals that are important to you and to really live them in every aspect of your life, which is what NOW is helping me do.