Question 1

Which statement best summarizes Abu-Lughod's argument?

Accepted Answer

The argument of the essay is that Western feminists should not work as saviours but instead work as allies to Muslim women globally.

Question 2

Even RAWA, the now celebrated Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan, which was so instrumental in bringing to U.S. women's attention the excesses of the Taliban, has opposed the U.S. bombing from the beginning. They do not see in it Afghan women's salvation but increased hardship and loss. They have long called for disarmament and for peacekeeping forces. Spokespersons point out the dangers of confusing _______, the Taliban with innocent Afghans who will be most harmed. They consistently remind audiences to take a close look at the ways policies are being organized around oil interests, the arms industry, and the international drug trade. They are not obsessed with the veil, even though they are the most radical feminists working for a secular democratic Afghanistan.

Accepted Answer

RAWA is concerned about the confusion between the Taliban (a government) and innocent Afghans (the people), emphasizing that the latter will suffer the most from military actions.

Question 3

When Western feminists call for banning veils instead of working as allies to Muslim women, what are Western feminists participating in?

Accepted Answer

The article reads, "In Turn of the Century Egypt, what Leila Ahmed (1992) has called "colonial feminism" was hard at work. This was a selective concern about the plight of Egyptian women that focused on the veil as a sign of oppression but gave no support to women's education and was professed loudly by the same Englishman, Lord Cromer, who opposed women's suffrage back home."

Question 4

What is Settler Colonialism?

Accepted Answer

Settler Colonialism is the ongoing colonization of indigenous peoples in places like the U.S. and Australia.

Question 5

What must non-Native feminists do to support Native women?

Accepted Answer

The author's call to non-Native feminists is to see the intersections of patriarchy and colonialism as they work simultaneously to strip Native women of agency and safety

Question 6

"The notion that Europeans were better equipped to manage and control land and women has been a salient feature of colonial discourses, one that has been used to mark indigenous populations as "savage" in relation to "civilized" Europeans and European men as more properly masculine than Native men. Its effects have been violent, as European colonizers were threatened by the relative _______ and _______ organization of the indigenous societies they encountered."

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B) egalitarianism, matrifocal, as these terms reflect the contrast between indigenous societies' practices of equality and female-centered organization with the European colonizers' hierarchical and patriarchal structures.

Question 7

What concerns did the theorists and activists have about using identity as the basis for coalitions?

Accepted Answer

All three were offered as different concerns about using identity as the basis of coalitions.

Question 8

Why did activists with less power and privilege within coalitions "strategically chose only short-term alliances across differences of power"?

Accepted Answer

The article concludes, "These interviews suggest some of the challenges faced by organizations attempting to work across differences of power. Powerful groups may assume that their practices and internal dynamics are universal and thus should be transparent to all. Such assumptions may pose an additional burden for coalition partners with less power and privilege. Not only must they do the political work, but they must also struggle to decode what is unsaid and then communicate that information back to their coalition partners, who may not be eager to receive feedback reminding them of their blind spots. Activists who recounted such narratives invariably commented on the toll this "double shift" can take. For this reason, some strategically chose only short-term alliances across differences of power."

Question 9

What is a coalition within feminist discourse?

Accepted Answer

The definition is, "the process through which groups that define themselves as different work together politically, either long or short term, in the service of some mutually valued end, is a frequent refrain in the writing of feminists of color."

Question 10

What does Hartley say about civility?

Accepted Answer

"I think (hope) what makes this a new moment is that we seem to be waking up to the fact that civility is a patriarchal tool that we can't use to our advantage. The whole purpose of imposing civility and quelling the expressed anger of marginalized groups is to make sure they can't be heard or effectively harness their power."

Question 11

According to Chemaly, who was penalized for showing anger during the election?

Accepted Answer

Chemaly states, "Anger was so palpable in the build up to and the aftermath of [Donald] Trump's election. What was so striking was how powerfully male candidates like Bernie Sanders and Trump could freely, and with added benefit, tap into the rising tide of populist rage. They could pound fists, get red in the face and express righteous political indignation, and [still] be seen as "in touch" with voters. Women, specifically Hillary Clinton, couldn't do this without penalty."

Question 12

What effect does Zaman say writing her book has had on her life?

Accepted Answer

Zaman states, "Writing this book and becoming its voice has made me unshakable. I've released toxic people, and learned how to value, protect, and advocate for myself in ways I never did before. Harsh criticism, rejection, backlash, and trolls haven't mattered thus far, and they won't. Whenever I encounter misogyny, I laugh, knowing it's the last, vain, dying gasps of a system that knows its days are numbered. By rejecting the confines and privileges reaped from the hetero male gaze, I threaten the very people who profited off the pleasing behavior, silence, and docility of my past."

Question 13

In Hill's experience, what best protects the black community from violence?

Accepted Answer

The text reads, "Daddy Curry is a believer; some think he is saintly. But everybody knows that calling out for Jesus doesn't make a black man bullet proof, so it's best to be a celebrity. The fans, some of them preachers and policemen, will recognize this kind of man as a citizen. They praise him because they believe he loves the game of basketball. False. Daddy Curry loves his daughter Riley and basketball protects them both, pads Daddy Curry and Riley from basic bias like the gear of an ice hockey goalie. Basketball celebrity is mighty, but it barely protects her from angry reporters, who tell us all about how disruptive she is."

Question 14

Why is Baltimore an important setting to the story?

Accepted Answer

One of the mentions of Baltimore shows how it is metaphor for black women: "Baltimore is a land where the river and seas meet. It can't keep quiet or still. So when people tried to bind it in legal contracts, they had no right. They couldn't keep it there. Next, they steamed rolled it, prisoned it in tar and rocked it over. They were bent on paving it into submission. They tried to fix it by plaquering it with people names. Jailed it in fencing and blasted it with basketballs, like loose confetti. These balls keep the Baltimore seagulls at bay. No nesting or chicks near the courts, places where basketballs ricochet from backboard to black man to white guy to lesser known women to ghostly reporters to microphones across fiber optics and cameras that crowd around Steph Curry and the fluid swish of his satin shorts-and capture the glimmer image of an American hero, the man-until she stops it, this renegade role model Riley."

Question 15

What was the result of the author writing a letter to the bully and advocating for her friend?

Accepted Answer

The section reads, "Robert, the white boy, the bully, the boney one with the coffee cup haircut, did not die. He was rescued. I was beaten for not behaving. My daddy became something that resembled a man. He stormed in the house like he was pure lightning wearing a weather coat and wool hat."

Question 16

What is the Green Belt Movement?

Accepted Answer

GBM is an organization that believes that "trees provide women with the basic needs they require to sustain their families-food, fuel, shelter, and income-since women receive monetary compensation for every tree that survives up to three months."

Question 17

"A degraded environment leads to a scramble for scarce resources and may culminate in _______. As resources become scarcer or are squandered-whether they be land, water, hydrocarbons, timber, or minerals-some will seek to control them by excluding others. Consequently, the excluded seek justice and dignity through whatever means they can, often resulting in conflict. In fact, most conflicts in the world today relate in some way to competition over the access, control, and distribution of resources. Sometimes these conflicts take form within a state's own borders as local disputes over water, grazing ground, and agricultural land. Others are international conflicts, such as those in the Middle East. Almost without exception, these conflicts are over the distribution of these limited resources: who will own them, who will control them, and who will be excluded."

Accepted Answer

The passage discusses how a degraded environment and the resulting scarcity of resources can lead to conflicts over their control and distribution, fitting the description of "poverty and conflict" rather than the other options provided.

Question 18

What does Maathai argue needs to be added to the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle?

Accepted Answer

Maathai argues the idea of "repair" needs to be added to the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle, which is the goal of planting trees and stopping erosion.

Question 19

What does the author argue is the Latina Advantage in U.S. politics?

Accepted Answer

The paragraph reads, "As a result of their diverse identities, Latinas and other women of color have the potential to attract more diverse voter coalitions than their male counterparts. Instead of being a hindrance, a candidate's gender can help her deemphasize disadvantages that come from ethnic differences from many voters. In addition, a female minority candidate may get a boost in electoral support from both fellow minorities and from women of all backgrounds. Due to their dual identities, Latinas are actually able to attract more diverse voter coalitions than their male counterparts. Generally, in fact, Latinas are more likely than their male Latino counterparts to win elections to represent districts with a majority of non-Latino residents."

Question 20

Who is in "The Squad"?

Accepted Answer

These women have all made history by being "politically influential women of color, like "the Squad" of 4 women elected to Congress in 2018 that are now household names and celebrities: Representatives Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley."

Quiz 6: Activist Frontiers: Agency and Resistance