Hello everyone!
My name is Juliana Howell, I am a twenty-four year old woman from Fall River Massachusetts. I am a senior here at UMASS Dartmouth studying psychology, I commute from my home in Fall River to UMASS Dartmouth, then to my work in Bridgewater, MA straight after class. Prior to the job I have now, I was a daycare/preschool teacher and prior to that I had a couple of customer service jobs. However, for the last two years I have been working in Bridgewater as an ABA (Applied behavior analysis) therapist for children diagnosed with autism. I feel as though ecofeminism is important to the world that we live in today. We have progressed, but there is a lot of growth that still needs to be done by communities and those around us.
One of the blogs I was gravitated toward was http://feministing.com/2019/01/14/i-asked-the-department-of-education-to-fight-for-black-girls-they-ignored-me/ by Faima Fair, titled “I asked the department of education to fight for black girls. They ignored me”. Due to the title I was naturally drawn to this article, after the first few sentences I was completely engaged. This blog was short, sweet and to the point and very informative. This blog will differ from my own work due because I may not always be focusing on women of color versus every other women. I do believe that as women in general we all have our own battles and experiences that we can all feel for. This could relate to my work because I do feel heavily for the body shaming that and other issues publicly and privately by ourselves that we deal with from the world around us.
An environmental issue that I believe is very under minded is littering!!!! Most people (who aren’t really into the Earth’s well being) when they tend to talk about the environment and climate change not the reason why the Earth is dying and animals are going extinct. Living in Massachusetts almost every street you turn on to you will find something that does not belong there, or isn’t biodegradable because of someone’s pure laziness. There are signs planted everywhere for a $500.00 fine for littering, and never have I ever seen or heard of someone stating they’ve been caught or fined for littering. I do feel like the environmental police should be more involved, there was a time a few weeks ago on my way to work where a man chucked half of a breakfast sandwich along with the bag and wrapper out of his window. I was angry and disgusted, for one, because people truly do not care the harm they are causing and two, there wasn’t much I could do about it. I am sure that littering is an issue everywhere, but here where I am from it is terrible. I would like to see a more serious and heavier hammer be put down on this matter all over the world!
As soon as you said littering my cheeks got red and all I could think about is my cigarette butt’s. When I drove my own car, I had an ashtray to store them in before they went to the trash and then presumably a landfill. Since I now drive one of my dad’s vehicles- he does not allow me to have an ashtray. He finds it dirty and gross and doesn’t want it in his car, he prefers me to throw my butt’s out the window as he does.
Obviously, I shouldn’t smoke, but that’s just one addiction I haven’t managed to break free from yet. My bigger point is there a way to dispose of them that isn’t detrimental to the environment? You really have me thinking and examining my actions and I’m going to do some research into this. Thank you for your post!
Hi Juliana. I think it’s wonderful that you work with children with autism. It takes a very special person to work with children with that ability. You have to have a deep understanding and empathy for these children and of course patience. Your job is not an easy one. I’m thankful for people like you!
As I browsed the sample blogs I was also drawn to the “short and sweet” blogs, as I am not a strong reader. I found most of them very engaging and informative. I appreciate your honesty regarding women of color as a “group” of women you may or may not focus because of your specific interest in body shaming. Something I have learned as a Women’s and Gender Studies major is that gender issues are intersectional meaning, “People experience multiple aspects of identity simultaneously and the meanings of different aspects of identity are shaped by one another” (Kang, Lessard and Heston). So I am reminded that when we think of body shaming we must remember that all women are affected by this oppression and we all experience it differently because of our identities. You touch on this when you say, “I do believe that as women in general we all have our own battles and experiences that we can all feel for.”
I hear you loud and clear on the issue of littering and you make a great point that you hardly ever see someone be ticketed for littering. It is one of the worst things that can happen to our planet. I don’t think people realize the impact it has on our ecosystem. As you said although there is some awareness (I think mostly with recycling regarding plastics) there is more awareness to create around the issue of littering and how it affects the environment. Justifying the act of littering for people just go on, laziness (as you mentioned), ignorance, and simply not caring. All of these can be combated with awareness and education. Thank you for your post I really enjoyed reading your point of view.
Works Cited
Kang, Miliann, et al. Introduction to Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies . Amherst: University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries, 2017.
Hello Juliana, it seems you and I have a lot in common. I was born and raised in Fall River, and work there now. I also work with the autistic population (and believe myself to be autistic, though I do my best not to identify as an autistic person because I do not have the formal diagnosis and do not wish to speak over other autistic people). Over the summer I plan on getting a certification as an Behavior Technician which will allow to work even more in depth with the kids I have come to love. I look forward to communicating, learning, and working with you throughout this semester.
I love the enthusiasm you write with. I can tell your passion for your goals and future through this post. I’m excited to see what you learn throughout this course, and to learn with you! Enthusiasm is contagious.
I agree with what you said about littering – although I feel like that shouldn’t even need to be said. I live in the outskirts of Philadelphia, and this is a big issue here. I think it comes down to ignorance (not knowing how much it hurts the environment/other people) and laziness (not caring.) My grandfather used to manage shopping centers, and he would always advocate that they don’t have trash cans outside in any of them. I remember that when I was younger, this struck me as weird. Why wouldn’t you want a place for people to safely dispose of their trash? He told me it actually kept the shopping centers cleaner, as people would see trash cans and just put tons of stuff outside of them even if they were full. It actually brought MORE littering. For some reason, that little tidbit always stuck with me.
Hi Juliana,
I really enjoyed reading your post, but your thoughts on littering is what really grabbed my attention. I definitely agree with you that littering is a major issue and is nearly not enforced enough. People know they will not get a fine if they litter and that is why they do it. However, when they litter they do not think about what or who they are harming.