BroadcastHER
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH!
LGBTQ+ Journey's
By Amber Peacock
DHS students open up about how they spoke their truth.
“When I was about 12, I came out in 7th grade. I came out to my friends first. I told my cousin first before anyone else. No, I didn’t always know because, I dated guys before I was even interested in girls. I really knew when I kissed my first girlfriend, I knew I was into girls and not guys. Coming out was very nerve racking, I didn’t know what people would think. I’m the L in LGBTQ, I’m a lesbian. It was a struggle because, having a Jehovah witness grandma was hard. I don’t really face any struggles today, just everyday people who hate on LGBTQ people.”
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Vihaney
“The summer of freshman year was when I came out. I told my friends first. The first person I told was one of my closest friends. No, I didn’t know because I dated a lot of girls before I was into guys. I knew when I started talking to a guy that I liked. It was kind of scary, because people judge. I don’t really label myself as anything, I’m just me. I had to learn how to not give a f**k about what others say or think, now I don’t worry about anything today because I don’t care about other people’s opinions.”
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Anonymous Boy
“I would say I came out in 7th grade. I came out to my friends, because my family is very homophobic. The first person I told was my first girl crush in 7th grade. I feel like yes, I’ve always known, but I chose to suppress it because of my family. I would say I really I kind of started to realize something in 5th grade because I had a crush on this girl, but I didn’t realize that I actually liked her until I got older. I came out to people that I liked and were close too, most were surprised and I would get asked crude questions. It was kind of uncomfortable at first. In LGBTQ for now I consider myself the B because I have had relationships with males and females and have connections and feelings for both, I am still questioning though. Something I face is my own internal struggles especially with my religion. I also struggle with my identity, because I can’t show who I really am, because I have to act straight around my family, but I know that I’m really not. It’s like I have to suppress who I really am to please the people around me.”
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Anonymous Girl
“When I was comfortable with myself I was about 12 years old and that’s when I came out. I came out to my friends first. The first person I came out too though was my aunt’s girlfriend. Yes, I feel like I’ve always known, I really stated to realize it when I was in 2nd grade. In 2nd grade I had a dream about a girl and I knew that I was attracted girls and not guys. It was scary, everyone said they already knew but it was still scary to me. I felt like I had to change. In LGBTQ I am the L but when I first came out I refereed to myself as bisexual, I was scared to fully come out. Especially with my dad, he didn’t accept me and still doesn’t so it’s hard to dress how I wanted, or be who I wanted to be. A struggle I still face today would be, people think I’m a boy and people ask me if I want to be a boy. But I’m just Alissa, that’s who I am.”
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Alissa
“Honestly, I don’t think I was ever really comfortable, people just knew so I stopped hiding it. I came out to my sister first, she’s like my best friend. She’s the first person I ever told. Yes, I feel like I’ve always known, when I was little I always thought of girls as friends, and only friends. I started realizing who I was attracted to in kindergarten. It made me feel better, because everyone I told was chill with it and they didn’t really treat me differently. I do feel like I am more attracted to males but if there was a girl that catches my attention, I could be with that girl as well. I had to deal with a lot of bullying and being comfortable with myself. Some struggles I deal with now is usually with guys, it’s like they are uncomfortable with me. I don’t like to be labeled as gay, like when people say that I’m gay I disagree with the term because to me, it has a negative connotation. I like guys, but it shouldn’t have to be labeled.”
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Anonymous Boy
Feminism Around the World
BY AMBER PEACOCK
We talk a lot about feminism and equality and we get into what it all exactly means to us, but what does feminism and equality mean to other people from different areas of the world? What we know about feminism, is that everyone has their different opinions about it. Some think of it as women being superior to men, or hating males. Others think of it as being equal to men and wanting everything to be equal between a man and a woman. So, the question is, are other people’s opinions the same as ours? Or are they different? Let’s find out. We’re going to talk about feminist in these different areas of the world; London, Mexico, Columbia, and more. So, what do people think feminism mean from these areas. In London most believe, it’s someone who believes in the equality of both sexes. In Mexico most believe, it’s someone who believes and fights for equal rights. Sounds familiar to what we usually hear when we talk about feminism. But in some other places it can be different. In Columbia most believe, it’s someone who puts one gender above the other. But remember these are all just people’s opinions and different opinions are really good because we are all not supposed to think the same. If you are interested in learning more about what being a feminist means in different areas of the world, click on the video below!
Understanding the LGBTQ+ Community
By: Amber Peacock
First, let’s talk about what the acronym LGBTQ+ means.
Lesbian- is a woman who either emotionally or sexually attracted to other women.
Gay- is a term used to describe a person who is either emotionally or sexually to their own gender and is typically used to describe men
Bisexual- is a person is either emotionally or sexually attracted to more than one sex or gender
Transgender- is a person who identifies different from which they were born with
Queer- is an umbrella term that is typically used to refer to someone who identifies as a part of the community
Questioning- refers to people who are questioning their sexuality or gender
Intersex- refers to differences in biological sex and can also be related to being transgender.
Asexual- refers to people without any sexually feelings, desires or associations
Pansexual- refers to people who can be attracted to all different kind of people regardless their biological sex or gender identity
Ally- refers to people who are not a part of the community but support and love the community
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With this comes a few more terms that can be tricky to understand but I’m going to break them down for you;
Gender Identity-a person's perception of having a particular gender, which may or may not correspond with their birth sex. (what you feel) and usually refers to intersex and transgender
Sexual Orientation-is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction to a person of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. (who you love) and usually refers to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and asexuals
Biological Sex- the anatomy of an individual's reproductive system, and secondary sex characteristics (what you have)
Gender Expression- the way in which a person expresses their gender identity, typically through their appearance, dress, and behavior. (how you look and act)
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If you would like to learn and understand more about the LGBTQ+ click on the video below!
Women's History Playlist
The broadcastHER section aims to provide a feministic point of view on social and political issues. To be a feminist is not to think women are better, but rather an attempt to transcend from stereotypical gender roles. Intersecional Feminism accepts and fights for other social issues, many other people of color and the LGBTQIA community. We must "lift as we climb", as explained by Angela Davis
Do You Know?
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani spokesperson for women’s rights and more specifically to educational rights for women. She was shot in the head by gunman and luckily survived the gunshot wound. Since the accident she has become a leading spokesperson for human rights, educational rights and women’s rights. That’s a lot! She has become such an inspiration to so many people around the world. She has received peace awards and a Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Her story is amazing and inspirational.
Let’s Be Mindful
By Amber Peacock
In our generation, it has become a “norm” to use bad language and slang terms. But, what we may not realize is that the terms we are using could be offensive to other people. Think about it, say you’re talking to your friend about something and they respond with “that’s gay” how do you think it would make a homosexual feel if they were to hear you. But we as human beings, we make these mistakes every day. Even I say things that could be offensive without even knowing it could be hurtful. Us as a community should be more mindful of the things we say. I know it won’t be easy, but if you’re reading this and are thinking that you may have said something offensive or hurtful, even if you didn’t mean for it to come off as bad, you could make a change by just being mindful of what you’re saying. Let’s become more self-aware.
Women’s History Month
Katelyn Seats
March is women’s history month. From March 1st to March 31st. Also, March 8th is the official National Women’s Day. In Santa Rosa, California, there is a school that is having an annual “Women’s Essay” contest. They are accepting essay from all over.
This national month, originally started with a national women’s history week. The week was made so that teacher could take the week to focus specifically on just women’s history. School’s really pushed the teaching of; Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Lucy Stone, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, and Alice Paul.
Later down the line 14 states decided to dedicate the whole month to women’s history. That influenced congress to made it a national month of celebration for women’s history.
Women have had a very difficult upcoming. And it is important for our nation to know the hardships that women have gone through to get to where we are today.
Women Go Green
Rosalie Edge
Rosalie created the Emergency Conservation Committee in response to the Audubon Society crisis, it was her way of political change. With its support she was able to preserve 8,000 acres of sugar pines on the southern edge of Yosemite and create both Kings Canyon and Olympic National Parks. Rosalie was denied the money to pay for a sanctuary for hawks by the Audubon Association. So instead she raised the money and bought the place own her own. She started the fight for species preservation. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is still up and running place of conservation till today. Rosalie Edge was the first women to step out and address the issues and she set it up to inspire other women to do the same.
Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai spent her life promoting intersectional environmentalism. Advocating that environmental action is “more than planting trees, it’s planting ideas.” She was one of 300 Kenyan students that were a part of the Airlift Africa program in 1960. This program helped her to have an college education in the United States. She got her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology. She went back to Kenya, and became the first woman in East and Central Africa to have a doctorate degree. Wangari founded the Greenbelt Movement, it taught women sustainable land use practices. This movement has trained over 30,000 women and planted more than 51 million trees. Doing this led to her winning a Nobel Peace Prize Award. With a commitment to ‘ecofeminism’ and ‘equitable participation’, Maathai has had a very large impact on the global environmental movement.
Lois Gibbs
Lois’ inspiration came from a personal impact to inspire national activism. Her son went to school in Niagara Falls. She found out that her son’s elementary school and the entire neighborhood was built above of a toxic waste site. She started her journey by knocking on doors, creating petitions, and eventually she got all her neighbors together to create the “Love Canal Homeowners Association”. They had confrontations with the New York State Department of Health but Gibbs got what she fought for. Families were evacuated from Love Canal, and cleanup groups were formed. She got the Environmental Protection Agency to form a program to clean up contaminated sites not only in her town but around the country. It’s called the “Comprehensive Environmental Response”, “Compensation and Liability Act”, and/or the “Superfund Program” After all her hard work she wanted to make sure the government stuck o what it was supposed to be doing. So she founded a grassroots environmental crisis center called the “Center for Health, Environment and Justice”. It also creates local organizations. Gibbs has received the ‘Goldman Environmental Prize’, the ‘Heinz Award’, and a nomination for the ‘Nobel Peace Prize’.
Vandana Shiva
Shiva is an ecofeminist, scientist, writer, and activist. Shiva grew up with a love for nature. She received a PhD in the philosophy of physics, and went on to interdisciplinary research in science, technology, and environmental policy at the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore. She founded the gender unit at Kathmandu’s International Centre for Mountain Development, and is a founding board member of the Women’s Environment and Development Organization. She co-established “Bija Vidyapeeth”,
an international college for sustainable living, in collaboration with the U.K.’s Schumacher College. She is advancing in food technology and human rights implications.
Greta Thunberg
Greta is a 15 year old girl that cares deeply for our worlds environment that she stresses the importance about how big of a deal it is. How nobody is really stressing about it when they should be. How if left uncheck it can lead to human kinds down fall. At age 11 she was diagnosed with multiple diseases that made it so that she only speaks when it is necessary. But she feels so deeply concerned about our ecosystem that not only does she speak out about it, but she even speaks publicly about the issue. She speaks about how we must change. Bigger countries need to cut down on their pollution and double up on ecofriendly products. She says that if we don’t fix what we are doing then, “we are knowingly causing a mass extinction”. She stresses that what we do or don’t do with affect our generation and the generation after. She said, “Instead of looking for hope, look for action”. By this she means that instead of just hoping that everything will work itself out to actually do something to make a difference. To be the change.
Periods.
By Lizbeth Gutierrez
Why should women feel awkward if a tampon or pad falls out of their bag in public? Why should women secretively bring feminine products to the bathroom so they can change them during the day? Why should women feel uneasy talking about their periods out loud? The answer is we shouldn’t. I’m not saying you need to be freely walking around telling everyone how heavy your flow is this cycle, or parade around throwing tampons in the air, but don’t feel like you can’t if you want to. Don’t feel embarrassed or ashamed if a stranger sees the extra tampon in your bag. Don’t feel embarrassed when buying pads at the store and the employee ringing you up is a dude. Dudes need to know about periods, too. They don’t need to be as knowledgeable as women, necessarily, but they wouldn’t be in this world if it weren’t for periods, so why the heck should they blush at the sight of a tampon? I feel like today’s world make women to be embarrassed about their periods. When you start your period and you ask your friend for a feminine product you do it secretly and kind of scared and shy, when you give your friend the pad or tampon you hide it and try your best so other people don’t see it. I feel like us girls shouldn’t be ashamed of it because is part of being a woman. We should be more open about it, at least once in our life we had to have a jacket tied around our waist, and feeling insecure about wearing those white pants at the wrong time, we all have been in that position. We were taught to hide it, and not talk about it. I don’t like my period at all, but I’m not ashamed of it am not embarrassed to pull out a colorful pad or a tampon, I’m a woman and when this time of the month comes I’m not happy about it but I’m glad because It means that my body is working well.
Do you know?
Rosie The Riveter
Rosie the riveter, though she is a fictional character, she played a big part in the feminist movement. She represents all the women who worked throughout World Was 2. To this day this character is still so inspiring and is used to represent all the beautiful women in this world. This fictional female character is also an incredible reminder of the empowering women during the time of the war. Let’s never forget Rosie and the history behind her!
Do you know?
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe, the blonde bombshell, actress, model, singer and the most popular sex icon of the 50’s. Marilyn was a brave and inspirational women. She changed the way a women body was views. She showed the world that you don’t have to be thin to be beautiful. Marilyn bravely revealed sexual abuse she had faced as a chip and an adult. Marilyn once said “a girl knows her limits, but a wise girl knows she has none”
Feminism and Education
By Amber Peacock
Feminism, the belief that men and women should be treated equally. Education takes a big part in feminism because in history, women were just meant to be the house wife or a stay at home mom. We didn’t work, we watched the kids and stayed in the kitchen. But the we have evolved. We fought for our rights to be able to work, vote and be equal to males. It was in the 19th century that a higher education for women started becoming something. Since than we have come so far. Without education or the ambition to want to have an education we wouldn’t have been able to create something amazing for women. Sometimes we tend to forget, women didn’t have many rights not too long ago. So let’s never stop fighting for rights we deserve, and let’s never forget what women went through for us today.
Dominican Women are not allowed to have their natural hair
by Lizbeth Gutierrez
As we know hair is important to women of all ages, hair is kind of our way to express. We color it we straight it, curl it, perm it to make it straight or curly but imagine must straight it every day to be accepted in the community. Though most Dominicans tend to have curly, textured hair, the culture favors long, straight hair. Curly, frizzy or kinky hair is called “pelo malo,” which translates to “bad hair,” and many women feel pressured to treat it. Many Dominican kids don’t have any say over how to style their hair; their parents force them to get it straightened. You’re taught from a young age that your hair must be straight to be pretty, to get a job, to get a boyfriend, to be called pretty by your mother. It all stems from a strict hair culture in the Dominican Republic, where young women can be sent home from school or work if their hair isn’t worn in the “preferred way.” Women with untreated, natural hair can even be barred from some public and private spaces. If you’re working in a bank, you don’t want some barrio‐looking hair. Straight hair looks elegant,” the bank teller said. “It’s not that as a person of color I want to look white. I want to look pretty” some women said. And to many in the Dominican Republic, to look pretty is to look less black. Dominican hairdressers are internationally known for the best hair‐straightening techniques. Store shelves are lined with rows of skin whiteners, hair relaxers and extensions. Racial identification here is thorny and complex, defined not so much by skin color but by the texture of your hair, the width of your nose and even the depth of your pocket. The richer, the “whiter.” Even women that are in school are judged, like when Nicky asked Ligia (the mister) to reconsider, the chance of giving Nicky a scholarship. The minister allegedly told her once again that her hair made her ineligible for a scholarship. Unfortunately, they all refused. “In a country with such a large black population, not giving you a scholarship because of your afro, which is what the ministry of higher education did to me… and then we say we’re not a racist country,” she added. I think women should be allowed to wear their hair however they want, we have the right to do that and not be judged. Women should be able to have their natural hair without making the feel like they don’t belong, and have to be accepted by society.