Imagine A Pair Of Boots Analysis

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Throughout the years, we as a society have been working on accepting and acknowledging those who have experienced injustices, prejudice, and discrimination. We are more educated and willing to learn from those who have never had a voice. From black lives matter activists to transgender advocates, we are slowly coming together as a community to create a society where everyone feels safe, included and welcome. Yet, we still have a long way to go. In this essay, I will discuss how being biracial and female limits and affirms my experience of moving through the world and make references to Ivan Coyote’s “Imagine a pair of boots” and Michael Foucault’s panopticon. Being bi racial is both limiting and affirming in society today. I experience the …show more content…
The second I came into this world, labels and expectations were placed upon me. I was groomed throughout my childhood and teens to focus on beauty and appearance by the media and my environment. I was taught that males and females have certain roles in society and that some things men do, women cannot. These views will taint the way others see me, my potential and will limit me at my job, school, sports, social events, with friends and etc. Being a female, I am constantly judged by others and feel a need to conform to society norms. These social norms are created in an environment based on patriarchal values and is ruled by power and dominance. This causes females to become submissive and conform to these norms due to the fear of not. This is known as panopticon. Panopticon was created by Michael Foucault based on Jeremy Bentham’s model prison. It states that we become self-regulating and docile due to disciplinary power. Even though these assumptions put limitations on my experiences and opportunities, there are many things where being a female has its advantages. According to a study done by intelligence researcher James Flynn, women have higher IQ’s than men worldwide. Females are able to multitask and handle stress better than men. Now more than ever, there is a push for more women to enter male dominated jobs and to get a higher quality education. Many universities are investing more into getting women into programs that will …show more content…
There will always be stereotypes and people who are not willing to accept change. Through theories like intersectionality and activists like Ivan Coyote, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, we get to learn more about the injustices that happen to others and open our eyes to someone else’s experiences. This causes change for that makes our world more inclusive and gives marginalized people a chance to do something they didn’t get to do before. It would be wrong of me to think that my gender and ethnicity come with only limitations. There are some advantages to being a bi racial female yet I will seem to face more limitations than affirmations. As I share my opinion on my experience moving throughout the world, it is not representative of all bi racial women. My experience is subjective and is used as an insight to what it is like to be both bi racial and female. In conclusion, my ethnicity and gender both limit and affirm my experience in moving through the

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