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So, firstly, I wanted to just write about my basic initial reactions to the image above. I noticed the clentched fist (where the coloring matches the most realistic of the three faces), then the overwhelming notion of struggle, the artwork which is most representitive of African culture and the eyes being closed. As female bodied individuals in this class (for the most part) there is such a strong sense of female pain. I guess what I mean by that, is the struggle that females experience in times where we are subjugated based soley on our sex, this is made even more powerful by Sojourner Truth's struggle as a woman of color.

Secondly, I wanted to write a response to the comment left by Deborah Jones Farquhar. It really struck me:

Like any human, institution, history, culture we are bound and limited by our contexts. When reading both versions of "Am (or Ain't?) I A Woman" I was really struck by intensity of the first speech and what I interpreted as a more manipulative tone of the second. Who cares if Truth had three or thirteen children? Does that have any significance in disputing the validity of any of what she recited that day in Akron? It seems that there is no group (especially a group that has been marginalized throughout history) can avoid creating fictions which can enable us to gain control of our subjugation.

Sometimes these public fictions are not as important as the reasons they are made in the first place. As female sexed/gendered and most importantly feminist individuals, I feel as though the area owed the most emphasis and agency is in dismissing the views that hinder our abilities. However, I understand that we do not live in a euphoric society where the opinions of others do not matter!

I feel like women have been forever forced/pressured to subjugate our "innermost desires and needs". These desires and needs have never mattered in a male dominated and masculinized society, and there is evidence of that in all mediums (literary, film, radio, television). It seems that women always have to admit to a desire or need. For that reason, our ways of expressing these feelings have to take on different shapes. Whether they are in the shape of a fabricated story or action, we are not at the point where just anything will get the message across and help us toward our ultimate goals.

On a last note, and probably the cheesiest note anyone will ever read, one of my favorite movies is the movie, Big Fish. For those of you who don’t know it, it’s about this man who basically fabricated his entire life and when he is diagnosed as being terminally ill, his estranged son comes to take care of his father and get the “real” story of his father’s life. In his pursuit of the truth, the son finally realizes that sometimes the most important part of an individual is in what they tell you. I just wanted to add two quotes from the movie that made me think of our discussion...if I am totally crazy, feel free to let me know!

Quote 1: (conversation between the dying father’s doctor and the son)

“Senior Dr. Bennett: Did your father ever tell you about the day you were born?
Will Bloom: A thousand times. He caught an uncatchable fish.
Senior Dr. Bennett: Not that one. The real story. Did he ever tell you that?
Will Bloom: No.
Senior Dr. Bennett: Your mother came in about three in the afternoon. Her neighbor drove her, on account of your father was on business in Wichita. You were born a week early, but there were no complications. It was a perfect delivery. Now, your father was sorry to miss it, but it wasn't the custom for the men to be in the room for deliveries then, so I can't see as it would have been much different had he been there. And that's the real story of how you were born. Not very exciting, is it? And I suppose if I had to choose between the true version and an elaborate one involving a fish and a wedding ring, I might choose the fancy version. But that's just me.
Will Bloom: I kind of liked your version.”


Quote 2: (the son)

“Will Bloom(the son): A man tells so many stories, that he becomes the stories. They live on after him, and in that way he becomes immortal.”

thanks guys!

-Alexander