Through this blog I plan to "deconstruct my reality" through critical examinations of my socialization. I believe that there are messages both subliminal and explicit represented as authority via the media, politics, education, family, etc., and that they are intended to maintain the uneven distribution of wealth and power in our culture and the world at large. By dissecting the messages and images that are displayed as a means to keep me ignorant and at a consumerist level, I am able to see the facade and deduce my own beliefs.
As a feminist reflecting on my childhood idols and influences in a psychologically based study, I am rewriting the patriarchal structure ingrained into my psyche. I hope to understand more fully my role as a white female and the privileges that I have by default, and find some meaning in it all. Uncovering the power structures in this country and their means of control over nature and human beings, combined with their maintenance of the status quo, helps me redefine what freedom is and how I plan to achieve it in its purest form.
When navigating the rough waters of our media driven and consumer operated control scheme of American pop culture, I find it easy to get bogged down by the inaccurate and oppressive representations of the spectrum of disenfranchised people, but it is of supreme importance to find my place in everything. To, in a way, find where I belong.
I do this by defining the culture I do not want to support and then subscribing to the culture I do choose to champion.
By "culture" I mean the customs and way of life that I want to endorse financially. For example, if I refuse to put my money in the pockets of the few big corporations, I will stop shopping at large chain super stores and markets and instead shop at independent and local businesses, local farmer's markets, and local cafes. If I disagree with the disturbing images of female sexuality that are being hammered into girls minds through popular magazines, I will not buy those magazines. It will start off small and inevitably grow as I begin to piece together my ideas of culture, life, and how humans can grow together. I don't know if it will work but I am going to give it a try. The worse that can happen is that I will know myself a little bit better and look at the world a little more critically, and I am okay with that! :)