FINALLY, SOMETHING THAT RELATES TO ME. Darraj's, "It's Not An Oxymoron, The Search For Arab Feminism". When I saw this I was a little worried to what it was going to say because, first of all. We barely talk about all the misconceptions that are given to Arabs, Muslims and Women (Arab and Muslim women). I have no idea why this is. It sometimes feels like no one really wants to admit that after 9/11 there wasn't this messed up version of Islam being planted into people's head, and all these hate crimes and stereotypes. Okay, I sound little crazy but hey, it's a painful topic.
When wearing a hijab, almost everyone knows that you are a Muslim, (Or Hindu...yeah, that assumption happened to me...), and its really tough. I always got questions like hey, what is that?, why do you dress for MEN?, why did your parents FORCE you to wear that?, why do people from where you're from want to KILL everyone?,why are you so VIOLENT?. The list can go on and on. The worst is when I see an article on Facebook from CNN, and I read the comments. Oh god, those comments... And the amount of people who agree with those hateful comments..... Whenever I read them, I would sit and really think about it. Wow... there's millions of people out there would look at me, and think all that about me. And its all false...and so far from the truth. Then I would rant about the ignorance to my friends and family and they'd give me that look of, ( I know, it sucks, but we can't really do anything), and I try to go to sleep and not be depressed. (A little personal but it relates to the reading)
So yeah, seeing this in class, really meant a lot to me. Especially those comparisons Arab to Western practices. I'm not Arab, so I actually didn't know about the whole naming thing or some of the wedding traditions. But her arguments were really good, it was very convincing, and it was heart warming? ( Not sure what word to use) to see that everyone in class for the most part understood her points and agreed. I'm so used to hoping I disappear when in class we talk about 9/11 or woman in Islam or Islam in general. I was afraid to what people would say and how would I confront their comments. But going back to the reading, I related to her struggle for her search. I felt like my idea of feminism was manipulated, and judged harshly. I also loved how she was a Christan Arab.
I wish I could take that line from page 305, "The Muslim sisters believe that Islam gives women full rights but that the religion has been corrupted by men to suit their patriarchal agenda", can I just hang this somewhere in bold letters for everyone to see? Islam was the first religion to establish rights to women, the right to divorce, have a say in her marriage, own property from her parents, not be treated like property, have a say when there are accusations of her cheating, etc.Or the assumption that Muslims are violent, so during war they went crazy and killed everyone in sight. Again, completely false, there rules they had to follow. Do not commit treachery, deviate from the right path, mutilate dead bodies kill children, women, or aged men, harm or burn trees, destroy buildings, destroy an enemy’s flock, unless you use it for your food, and when you pass people who have devoted their lives to monastic services leave them alone. Very violent, right?
Okay, I could write books about all the misconceptions about Islam and addressing them. Sadly, they are still out there. I saw a sign the other day, right before you enter the subway station in Manhattan saying "Islam Hates Jews, It's Written in the Quran!!" Sighhhh... I hope we all read pieces like Darraj's but about other backgrounds and their struggle of stereotypes, it will help with the ignorance we have towards each other, and make a better world. ( Wow, that sounded really cheesy, but the ignorance needs to be addressed.) I think this class really helped to learn to question what's given to you. And think critically, and really think about whats being said and make sure it's from a legit source. Don't generalize or assume thing. I hope that everyone else took that from this class as well. There were other pieces that spoke to me but only 2 posts per month, like the film we saw in class. I love how thought provoking all the readings are to be honest. I just realized how long my posts are...sorry
Friday, October 31, 2014
American Born Chinese-Chinese Born American
American Born Chinese is a graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang. I came across it years ago when my sister had to read it for one of her class at Brooklyn College. She told me to read it like every other book she's read, and I gave in. (Mostly because there were pictures, and I loved easy reads before.) As I began reading the book, I realized how related it was to my life. His teacher mispronounced his name, and assumed he was an immigrant from China. As well as dealing with stereotypes from my peers. I started to think about all the times that happened and continues to happen to me today."So when did you come to America?" ( I was born in Brooklyn...) "Wow Rafia, you're so different from all the other Pakistani Muslims I met" ( Worst compliment ever)
At the time when I first read the book, I didn't really think about how much I was transforming myself like Jin was. But those examples from the book aren't from the reading we were supposed to do for class. Which made it hard for me to talk about the book, because I kept thinking everyone else read the whole thing and knew what happened. I really had to distance myself from the rest of the book. ANYWAYS, that feeling of hatred towards Wei-Chen. I see that ALL the time, for different backgrounds. Whether it's from my friends towards people of their same background or, even me. It's such a touchy and confusing topic. Especially when you are growing up, you want to be accepted and want to fit in. And seeing someone who fits into the stereotypes causes anger because we want to forget about that part of us. However, there has to be a middle ground, and asking yourself if that's really what you want to do, and not something you want to do because of others. (Embracing culture, or being more "American")
Today it's save to say, that I'm proud of where I'm from, and I'm not as afraid or embarrassed as I was before. But I think I was uncomfortable about my background because of the all of stereotypes about Pakistanis/Muslims. I don't want people looking at me and automatically assuming that I'm a conservative and my parents hate me because I'm a girl, and other completely stupid assumptions. I felt like if I embraced my background, it would represent all those negative assumptions towards who I was, and people would have that in the back of their mind while talking to me. And I didn't want that. First impressions are important, you know?
Okay, my writing is getting a little unorganized... One thing that fascinated me was the details about this graphic novel I didn't notice before. I read this book a bunch of times in the past, and even when I looked over it for English class, I didn't notice he changed his dumplings to a sandwich. It seems like such a insignificant detail, but it definitely ties into the theme of him "transforming."I guess I overlooked it. Also, the title. I named this blog that because I really liked the play on words. Usually we say, someone is a Chinese born American, not an American born Chinese. This is important because towards the end of the novel he embraces his culture. Which kind of relates to me as well, in how I wasn't born in Pakistan, but it's still a part of me.
In class, we really analyzed slides and looking into more depth to why certain things were depicted this way and why things were said that way. I definitely learned to really pay attention to what I'm reading and look for things like that while I'm reading. Even if it's just for fun and not an assignment. It absolutely helps the reading experience and gives another level of understanding. So that's one of the many things I took out of this class. Okay, I felt like I had a lot to say and it kind of exploded all over this post. But in short, I LOVE this graphic novel and I will continue to recommend it to my friends :)
At the time when I first read the book, I didn't really think about how much I was transforming myself like Jin was. But those examples from the book aren't from the reading we were supposed to do for class. Which made it hard for me to talk about the book, because I kept thinking everyone else read the whole thing and knew what happened. I really had to distance myself from the rest of the book. ANYWAYS, that feeling of hatred towards Wei-Chen. I see that ALL the time, for different backgrounds. Whether it's from my friends towards people of their same background or, even me. It's such a touchy and confusing topic. Especially when you are growing up, you want to be accepted and want to fit in. And seeing someone who fits into the stereotypes causes anger because we want to forget about that part of us. However, there has to be a middle ground, and asking yourself if that's really what you want to do, and not something you want to do because of others. (Embracing culture, or being more "American")
Today it's save to say, that I'm proud of where I'm from, and I'm not as afraid or embarrassed as I was before. But I think I was uncomfortable about my background because of the all of stereotypes about Pakistanis/Muslims. I don't want people looking at me and automatically assuming that I'm a conservative and my parents hate me because I'm a girl, and other completely stupid assumptions. I felt like if I embraced my background, it would represent all those negative assumptions towards who I was, and people would have that in the back of their mind while talking to me. And I didn't want that. First impressions are important, you know?
Okay, my writing is getting a little unorganized... One thing that fascinated me was the details about this graphic novel I didn't notice before. I read this book a bunch of times in the past, and even when I looked over it for English class, I didn't notice he changed his dumplings to a sandwich. It seems like such a insignificant detail, but it definitely ties into the theme of him "transforming."I guess I overlooked it. Also, the title. I named this blog that because I really liked the play on words. Usually we say, someone is a Chinese born American, not an American born Chinese. This is important because towards the end of the novel he embraces his culture. Which kind of relates to me as well, in how I wasn't born in Pakistan, but it's still a part of me.
In class, we really analyzed slides and looking into more depth to why certain things were depicted this way and why things were said that way. I definitely learned to really pay attention to what I'm reading and look for things like that while I'm reading. Even if it's just for fun and not an assignment. It absolutely helps the reading experience and gives another level of understanding. So that's one of the many things I took out of this class. Okay, I felt like I had a lot to say and it kind of exploded all over this post. But in short, I LOVE this graphic novel and I will continue to recommend it to my friends :)
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