I met Cynthia Enloe (through her writings) last semester through my Feminist International Relations class, also with Professor Wibben.
Enloe has inspired and transformed the way I think and perceive so many realities, ideas, and "norms", but I never imagined what it would be like to meet her in person: an extremely down-to-earth, simple, friendly, incredibly brilliant, and happy woman.
Her evening lecture was about what impact the militarization and increasing masculinities that have resulted from the Boston Marathon bombings have and will continue having domestically, and also in a variety of subjects linked to the bombings, including the logic of officials and law enforcement, the media, and the "American" population. Although I hadn't been following the events too much, I had been hearing hushed opinions everywhere, many of which made me pretty upset. Enloe acknowledged many of these, and even when a member of the audience told her he didn't agree with one of her points, she was thankful and gracefully expressed her argument. Which I agreed with. I thought this was so admirable.
Since I was part of the few students who had coffee with her afterwards (we went to Sacred Grounds), I also received extra (privileged) time to speak to her about some points of view and including the research paper I am doing for this class, which focuses on the sexualized violence of migrant Mexican women as a result of the increasing militarization of the border. Some of the issues I brought up Enloe agreed with, also expressing my frustration on the limited aspect of the field. What I appreciated most, though, was that not once did she discourage me; on the other hand, she expressed her interest and encouragement, sounding excited and keen on hearing about it more. She even provided suggestions. Afterwards, she signed my book and wrote that I will uncover the truths on the border. Thank you Cynthia Enloe. I will. I plan on devoting my career to it.
- Valeria
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