As a middle class, heterosexual, white female there are certain privileges that I have grown accustomed to. My life has been lived from the point of remote feminism, I have sprinkled my services as the privileged protector across the realm of the marginalized only when it has been convenient to do so. However, the time in which remote feminism is acceptable has now come to an end. Donald Trump has been elected to the presidency. The reality of this election cycle and its myriad of radiating implications have shown that there is change brewing in America. Through John Dewey’s theory of educative experience, this election cycle can be analyzed for its educational impact and the overall experience can be reorganized to galvanize the feminist movement.
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Trump’s election fits into these factors in this way: disagreeableness and positive effects on later experiences. A disagreeable experience often creates discord within an individual, creating a motivation for the individual to change either themselves or their environment to eliminate the internal dissonance. Consequently, this can lead to positive future experiences within Dewey’s model of experience through “the formation of attitudes, attitudes that are emotional and intellectual,… [of our] ways of meeting and responding to all the conditions which we meet in living” (Dewey 1938, 35). Therefore, in order to reorganize my experience of the presidential election, I have to reinvent my attitudes toward the people that Trump has demoralized. In this case, this must be accomplished in a way that will allow me to help all marginalized peoples fight back against the hatred that has been validated throughout the United States. My admitted egocentric feminism ties into this concept. Before this experience, the egocentric quality of my feminism held me back from truly helping anyone except myself. Feminism works most effectively when everyone within the movement works together towards the common goal of equality. Therefore, I must work toward comprehensive feminism that provides activism to support the equal treatment of all people. In contrast to egocentric feminism, comprehensive feminism works tirelessly to promote equal rights, while hearing the voices of all that need
Trump’s election fits into these factors in this way: disagreeableness and positive effects on later experiences. A disagreeable experience often creates discord within an individual, creating a motivation for the individual to change either themselves or their environment to eliminate the internal dissonance. Consequently, this can lead to positive future experiences within Dewey’s model of experience through “the formation of attitudes, attitudes that are emotional and intellectual,… [of our] ways of meeting and responding to all the conditions which we meet in living” (Dewey 1938, 35). Therefore, in order to reorganize my experience of the presidential election, I have to reinvent my attitudes toward the people that Trump has demoralized. In this case, this must be accomplished in a way that will allow me to help all marginalized peoples fight back against the hatred that has been validated throughout the United States. My admitted egocentric feminism ties into this concept. Before this experience, the egocentric quality of my feminism held me back from truly helping anyone except myself. Feminism works most effectively when everyone within the movement works together towards the common goal of equality. Therefore, I must work toward comprehensive feminism that provides activism to support the equal treatment of all people. In contrast to egocentric feminism, comprehensive feminism works tirelessly to promote equal rights, while hearing the voices of all that need