Question

Explain in detail each of the following quotes.

1 “To emphasize that engagement with feminist struggle as a political commitment we could avoid using the phrase "I am a feminist" (a linguistic structure designed to refer to some personal aspect of identity and self-definition) and could state “I advocate feminism” —bell hooks

2 “In this sense, gender is in no way a stable identity or locus of agency from which various acts procede; rather, it is an identity tenuously constituted in time-an identity instituted through a stylized repetition of acts” —Judith Butler

3 “Let’s stop teaching ‘how to avoid being a victim’ and instead, attack the culture that creates predators in the first place” —Zerlina Maxwell

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily.

(Answer) (1) The job of a Politician is to influence, draft and implement legislature. A Politician should not only say that “I am against murder” but, also make sure that there are laws in place that put murders behind bars. In doing so, the Politician doesn’t just say, but also advocates that they are against murder. Similarly, if feminism is a political commitment, then we should say that we “advocate feminism.”

(2) “In 1918, an article from a trade publication called Earnshaw's Infants' Department, declared that, since it was derived from red, “Pink is for the boys, and blue for the girls.” If one ponders over this fact, it can be observed how in today’s society pink has come to be associated with girls and everything girly. There is no natural, religious, philosophical or ethical law that states “pink is girly.” However, it is psychologically registered with most of us that “pink is girly.” If in 1918 pink was masculine, how then has pink become girly today? This proves that gender associations are not stable. It is a construct of what its associations are at the present time. These associations are ingrained in our psyche through acts of repetition.

(3) Statement three is a typical example of “prevention is better than cure.” It is better to wear a hat and scarf in the snow and avoid getting the flu, instead of getting the flu and then taking medication to combat it. Therefore, it is better to teach our children how to be compassionate and kind citizens which will avoid them from being predators. This would be better than teaching our children how to avoid predators.