Service learning with young women united

Kai Margarida-Ramirez de Arellano

MOTIVATIONSDisenchantment with elitism of academic feminism.Using creativity as voice.

“Writing is dangerous because we are afraid of what the writing reveals: the fears, the angers, the strengths of a woman under a triple or quadruple oppression. Yet in that very act lies our survival because a woman who writes has power. And a woman with power is feared.”

-Gloria Anzaldúa “Speaking in Tongues: A Letter to 3rd World Women Writers.”

Young Women United

Young Women United is a grass-roots organization that emphasizes the empowerment of young women of color in Albuquerque.Opportunity to work with other women of color and to see how grass-roots organizing works.Values the use of art in activism.

The Ornament ProjectLouisa Barkalow started The Ornament Project as a fundraising tool for her pet causes, but found that it also created communities centered around creativity and activism.The majority of my work with YWU was making about 50 ornaments with feminist themes that can be sold for $10 each.

Gender identity boxesBased on an assignment from my Queer Theory class about how we experience our gender.Facilitated discussion about the difference between sex and gender, the fluidity of masculinity and femininity, and how we negotiate our gender identities accordingly.

Intergenerational membership allowed for varied gender identities to be discussed and explored.

Women from various classes, racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual backgrounds were able to voice their unique experiences of gender.

Reflections

YWU provided a warm, familiar, and fun environment that was conducive to a memorable and positive experience with grass-roots organizing.Reconciliation between theory and action.Inspiration for future activism through the artistic voice.