The Future is Just the Start

This reflection is kind of bittersweet because it reminds me of everything I have learned this semester and how much I will miss coming to class and hearing other perspectives on FEMINISM.

One quote that really stood out to me was that, "[the] narratives of security, told from outsiders' standpoints, offer a very different account of security than the dominant state-centered security narrative" (Wibben 2011, p. 100). When it comes to security, it is a very individualist concept. Our American idea of security varies from state to state. Not even that. I think that it varies from person to person.
In Communication, we have qualitative research methods, in which we interview individuals to gain their perspective. Using that as a tool, it's a way to better understand where the research is going and what still needs to be done. There is also the argument that because we are not personally involved in other countries' politics, that we shouldn't give our input because there is no possible way to relate. Our "solutions" might not be the best way to solve the problem but it's a starting point. It's like a self-fulfilling prophesy. Because we can never achieve equality between genders, why should we even try? No! Any progress, as small as it may be, is still progress. We might not see it in our lifetime, but at least we strived for change.
Along with that argument, any perspective is valid. Even if we may not want to accept or agree, we, as students, are extremely privileged and we might not have the same perspective, but that doesn't mean we should not try to understand others. Our personal experiences, whether they be negative or positive, shape us and help us join the feminist conversation. Our negative experiences are the most valuable because those are the ones that makes us want to change. Like Stern said, "[she] [had] lived through a difficult time in [her] life" (Wibben 2011, p. 104) but that's what makes her angry. Like Swati said, that's what we need to make change, for us and for other women. So really, it is because we look to the future that we can start changing our present.