4/3
Response to Power Plays (Martha Burk)
I found this article very interesting, especially working in such a small local company, experiencing some of the same points that were made within the article. The owners are older white males and they continue to pass down higher positions within the company to family members, usually the younger men in the family. Martha Burk made the point that, "power elites enforce norms and systems that guarantee continued power" (437), and I think that is very evident among these type of businesses. I have witnessed young white men who under qualified come in and take positions making more money than I was. They all had one thing in common, they were family friends with the owner, like the article states, "he is usually nominated by the CEO or someone already on the board" (Burk 437). I guess it is true what they say, to become successful, it's not what you know, but who you know, making it harder for people of color to advance within companies. Or as Burk states, it becomes like a competition, where the people of color who do advance to higher positions have to hold down their spots and try not to pull others like them up, but keep them down for the sake of comfort (Burk 438). It's sad to see this is still an issue, but hopefully one day these issues within high power groups can change, even if that means creating new companies and businesses that have majority people of color working within them.
4/17
Response to Sexting (Amanda Lenhart)
I found this article interesting because it seems today the topic of sexting is usually overlooked and made to be normalized. It's bad enough that children are exposed to so many explicit things already at a young age, but to see the statistics say that cell phones are being given out as young as 12 years old hits home (Lenhart 493). I have a 7 year old niece who has an iPhone 7, and to even think that one of her classmates could have the thought to sext her really frightens me, just like how parents, educators, and advocates have grown increasingly concerned about cell phone amongst the youth (Lenhart 493). I agree with the statement that texting and social media have become huge factors in teen social life and that things that happen during those young teenage years can follow people well into their adult years. I'm not even exactly sure when I was exposed to sexting, but I know I was way too young to even have those type of messages coming into my inboxes. I think the problem with sexting is that the younger generations look up to a lot of people older than them whether it be a sibling, cousin, upperclassmen, etc. and that tends to lead to early exposure to sensitive topics such as drug use and sexual activities. I also think it's really interesting that Lenhart observed, "the data reveals no difference in this practice related to genders" (494). We can't blame a certain group of people, but only aim to appeal to these younger generations and further to the parents to keep them safe.
4/24
Response to We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For (Bailey and Gumbs)
This article was interesting to me because it talks about black feminists coming together to talk about their views and standpoints, and I like the fact that they addressed how hard it is for a black woman's words to survive throughout the generations (Bailey and Gumbs 674). I also don't know if this is one of the last articles on purpose, but I also think that is ironic in the sense of making black feminists feel welcome by putting their content in the back of the book, even I know they were several articles written by black authors throughout the book. Both Bailey and Gumbs mention a quote from Audre Lorde, "when we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak" (675). It was a very encouraging quote, that I assume, inspires all the readers, especially the two authors of this article. I was glad to see this end with events and plans to better the community of black feminists because I had never heard of the group Quirky Black Girls. I hope that they continue to reach out and connect people who feel alone and isolated as that stated in the conclusion of the article because they are on to something great (676).
