Just Hilly

The topic to be discussed in this essay is Black women in sports; more specifically how they navigate the challenges as both female athletes and black athletes. This will be an analysis of literature and statistics through primarily Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the feminist theory.  My first lens, critical race theory, formerly studied on college campuses, has seen a recent push to be applied to broader schools of thought and institutions. It evaluates the significant inconsistencies in the consideration of the place of “race” in legal circles impacts life chances, freedoms, and every day experiences in social structures (Lawrence & Hilton, 2022) With one of those social structures being sports, black athletes have had to navigate exclusion, abuse, unequal opportunities and protections. The beginnings of most black American participation in sports at a higher level began in historically black colleges and coloured leagues. Those athletes were some of the first to encounter po...

Today at my college they held a 'Take Back the Night' event that was about highlighting the voices and experiences of sexual assault victims, promoting the importance of consent and the different resources available to anyone going through interpersonal violence, sexual harassment etc. As a small opener they had students write messages to anyone struggling with their experiences, to uplift, spread awareness or positivity. I chose to make my message about coercion, albeit I did misspell the word lml.  "A 'YES' AFTER 10 'NO's IS A NO!  #stopcoercion' I am unfortunately one of billions of victims of various forms sexual harassment and sexual assault but one of the seemingly 'lesser' overlooked forms is coercion. It can look like your partner begging you throughout your evening to have sex, possibly throwing in some guilt tripping, maybe blackmail, even potentially leaving without a ride in somewhere unfamiliar or threats of bodily harm etc. Your in...

One of the greatest and most impactful inventions of mankind, arguably up there with the wheel, the internet and the MMR vaccine- the automobile created one of the great permanent shifts in the course of human history. After spreading throughout the globe and transforming the way people could travel, motor vehicles also obtained the status as an important tool to be handled with care- a tool for men. In this day and age, 2024, the belief that women are bad drivers, dangerous on the road, unaware of how to handle their vehicles etc. has remained as a globally shared stereotype in global societies by long held misogynistic views perpetuated by the patriarchy. To first understand the origins of this stereotype, why it continues to persist over the years and the deconstruction of it, one must first understand patriarchy as an institution that often dictates the overarching views of civilizations. Institutions in general, serve as a guide for participating members of society by providing th...

So I FINALLY got to see Barbie yesterday and it was so much more than I expected. With all the snippets and posts I had seen these past 2 weeks online about the movie, I had prepared myself for a more girl power, tween-ish feel for the movie. Instead, I was surprised by ever changing metaphors for womanhood, navigating society through the lenses of male and female, mother-daughter relationship woes, the importance setting boundaries along with insurrection and patriarchy. It felt like half a fun kids movie half eighth grade English class with all the symbolism, juxtaposition and satire. The colors, dance numbers, fun outfits and the vast array of Barbies (and Kens) in the movie made for a fun visual experience. I ended up being one of many movie goer's who left singing 'I'm Just Ken' by Ryan Gosling (stereotypical Ken) when leaving the theater. I felt the movie was well casted and everyone played their parts very well. I would say whoever thought to make Will Ferrell pl...