We are beginning the class by looking at two influential articles, "Talking Back," by
bell hooks and "The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House," by
Audre Lorde. bell hooks emphasizes the role of speech in gaining and maintaining power. What kinds of speech do you have access to? When are you told not to speak? Does your identity (gender, race, age, etc.) affect when you get to speak? Having read the article, do you think children should still be told not to "talk back"? If we think ab
out the two articles together, can we say that the "master's tools" control
speech?
7 comments:
I believe that people my age have access to more ways to express speech than previous generations. The Internet, Instant Messaging, cell phones, email, texting all allow me to have greater influence in the world. In the past someone could write in a diary or notebook and maybe one or two people would see it but now I have the power to click submit and have a thought be available to the whole free world.
In other aspects of my life I believe that my gender and age stifle my voice. I work in an office that is predominantly female only of a greater age than me. I think that some of the topics that I have knowledge about or input that I would like to submit to certain conversations I often conceal for fear of ridicule. It isn't quite clear to me if this is a binary system in place or if I am making my own little box, but I am aware of the silence. A time when others from outside the office call in and want information, and do not get a response that they want they generally wish to speak to someone else. I've often times wondered if that's because I sound young on the phone. On the gender end of things, on my father's side of the family being female generally you are thought of as incapable. I recall my late grandfather telling me that I was not to play Golf because it means Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden. I think when I was 12 and heard this it was my first inclining of what was to come.
When I was younger, another thing I was told was that children were meant to be seen and not heard. My maternal great-grandparents who were straight laced, second generation, Catholic, Irish-Americans, raised me. I never really thought of this as them smothering my voice mainly because that's all I knew. I didn't have any other children around, except for cousins who would visit occasionally. I think that now that I'm grown and entering the world, I owe them a lot for my character. Without being told to not talk back, I think I would run off at the mouth a lot more. I believe that it was positive and taught me to think carefully before I speak.
The " master's tools" do control speech. Why would anyone take the time to reinvent the wheel?
I believe children and adults so be able to talk back. My cousins and I had different experiences growing up with our parents. If they were told to do something, it was no questions asked. If I was asked to go to the store second nature told me to ask why. In my asking, I was not trying to be disrespectful, I was simply curious. My parents accepted my behavior for what it was with no negative outcome. It was not the same with my cousins. I believe my parents reactions had to do more with moving to the USA when I was two. Lucky for me. As an adult I experienced a situation similar to that of my cousins upbringing. I asked my husband's boss if he could provide us with the dates for a training opportunity my husband was scheduled to attend so I could prioritize my life around it. He replied, "how about he doesn't take the class and now you have no worries." I wanted to keep the conversation alive but I felt he had control and wasn't allowed to talk back. This was very aggravating. I choose to let my children have a voice and give them the opportunity to ask "Why?" when the answer is not what they expected. It gives us a chance to communicate which is the goal because I want them to feel the way I did growing up.
I beleive people that are my age should be able to talk back but not in a disrespectful way or a hurting way. My parents instilled in me at a young age I shouldnt talk back to authoritive figures meaning them and teachers. From personal experince when I talked back in middle school I usually got sent to the office or got detentions. Teachers in middle school didnt really care what you said they are right and you are wrong.
My mom at a young age was taught children are to be seen and not heard and they can speak only when spoken to. So if my mom had any imput she had to hold her comment in her head.I feel at 20 people should respect my opinions and should be allowed to talk back and voice my concerns. But that is not the case whenever I have any imput when my brother and my mom are talking my brother always quiets me and thinks I dont know what I am talking about even though I know what I am talking about.
When I lived with my father I was always afraid to talk back and voice my concerns or hell give me a speech how you are disrespecting me and you are only 13 years old. I beleive gender and age is the main factors in talking back in a conversation. If you are an adult and you are a male then you were taken seriously.
Today I don't believe that women are silent. I get that to be heard and to have a say you have to speak. Speaking is not the problem,the problem is that some people still ignore what women have to say. I don't think that they are necessarily ignoring on purpose but just not listening. They hear what they want and interpret it how they want causing the same problem from before when women didnt speak or express how they feel. To fix this problem I think we should make sure they are listening and acutally hearing what we are saying. Not letting them interpret it and it be wrong and that be okay. Make sure people are understanding what your saying the way you are meaning for it to be said
After being taken away from my mother at age 5 and never seeing her again, no one in the family spoke of her or the situation. I grew up with not much conversation in my family, so I never asked many questions. I didn’t speak much to grown ups because I felt their thoughts were not for me to know. As an adult, I was still very quiet. It wasn’t until my “awakening”, and the fact that after 45 years I found my mother, that I feel I have a voice that needs to be heard. “Taking weakness and making them strengths, so as to flourish”, now that’s me!
I think how you were raised and how your parents were raised is key to using that "voice".What messages you were taking in as you were growing up?How did your parents disclipline you?Some parents are very forward LIBERAL thinkers, and others are stuck in the past.It is sad that we put people in their boxes and label them.America is not so great in many areas,while other countries question everything,they get a better understanding of different cultures.Usa should start paying attention.Who cares what about race,sex,or who you love.Listen and learn from people you meet.Forget about fear,challenge yourself!
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