Think of one reading, concept, activity, or class experience from this semester that had
an impact on you. What was that impact and why did it have the impact that it had?
One activity from this class this semester that has stuck in my mind was the power and control
wheel from the topic Resisting Gender Violence. As I grew up attending a high school in the
middle of New York City, my parents allowed me to have the freedoms of a teenager, but also
warned me more and more of the dangers of the world that would be more apparent to me. One
of these dangers was the danger of rape. It is sad to think how all my high school girl friends
have had this same worry during our years together and became more of a concern as college
was approaching. I always viewed violence toward women as the same for all women without
realizing the intersectional nature of it. During the discussion section where we looked and
discussed at the various power and control wheels, it was shocking to see just how many ways
women could be victims of violence. It only furthered the thought that as a woman in this world, I
must always be careful and yet, I am privileged in some ways that others are not.
Thinking specifically about the thing that impacted you, what is ONE THING you could do
to transform that impact into action?
I could take part in educational campaigns to inform students about the teen dating violence
wheel so that women who are in the same stage in life as I am can be careful. I would also
educate the public on the LGBTQ+ wheel, disability wheel and immigrant/non-citizen wheel in
order for people to recognize these intersectional problems. I am aware that the wheels can use
more work as they are incomplete, but I believe that this is a good first step to take to make
intersectional violence toward women common knowledge.
