Sexism, Racism, or Both

The readings for today were very fascinating while also being unexpected. The chapter in Colonize This!By Cristina Tzintzun put me through a wave of thoughts and really kept me on my toes. She kept making statements, which at first made me think she could not make up her mind about how she felt about her father, but then I realized her jumping between thoughts is actually how she must feel about her family life and the experiences she had growing up. Accepting that her father was essentially a rapist, sexist, racist, and overall extremely ignorant man, could not have been an easy thing to do, nor something they may ever be possible. But he was her father and she loved him anyway. She also began saying that her mother was pretending her father was doing all of these terrible things but then justifies her mother staying with her father in order to benefit her sister and her. The whole story was not an easy thing to read because you can feel her internal conflicts and the justifications she is trying to make.

 The most interesting part of the chapter is when she thanks her father for the person she has become because it taught her all of the things that she should not be. I think this part of the chapter is extremely enlightening and admirable because she takes the worst part about growing up and the awful things she experiences and gets inspired. She gets angry and uses this anger in the most positive way she can. She studies and learns what it means to be a woman. Not the type of woman her father wants, but the type of woman her father does not want. A strong woman. This chapter takes a very interesting take on sexism and racism. While we have seen them working together previously in the semester, they have a stronger connection in this context. Her father takes advantage of women because of their race, while previously we have seen the neglect of women due to their race.