Author: j.estrada1

Day 6: Writing as a Process – Jean Estrada

Day 6: Writing as a Process

Introduction to Composing as a Process,” Seth Graves (pg 93)

Although the product is the most appreciated stage of writing, the process is the most substantial. This process is composed of the exploring, planning, drafting, and revising of a writing piece. This cycle, as Seth Graves states, is recursive in the composition of all types of writing spaces.

“Freewriting,” Peter Elbow (pgs 97-99)

Peter Elbow’s freewriting strategy allows for an unfiltered, continuous stream of thinking that can lead you in the right direction of thought. By just writing thoughtlessly, writers rid themselves of inhibition and the constant emphasis on editing. This practice of nonediting directly makes an individual’s writing “less blocked” as it is your unstrained voice.

“Shitty First Drafts,” Anne Lamott (pg 94-96)

With writing, the idea that it will be clear-cut and a first try experience is misleading. In reality, the experience from beginning to end can best be described as tedious and, as Anne Lamott describes it, shitty. The “shitty first draft” in particular, is something that should be accepted and welcomed as the predisposer to a good essay.

Connection

The writing process, to most, could be described as a strict format of writing, editing, and repeating and this can sometimes prove too restrictive. The practice of freewriting and “shitty” first drafts may sometimes prove more beneficial to some writers than the conventional practices. Regardless of preference, limiting editing and allowing your inner voice to seep through more is unarguably a good.

Jean Estrada: Intersectional Readings

“Dancing Around Objectification,” by Victoria Merlino

Victoria Merlino’s opinion piece on the “Harlem Dancer” demonstrates vividly the contrast between women who are alike in nature but different in perception. Merlino illustrates the difference of women dancers whose image and appreciation differs on the basis of their race by describing the way these two groups are described. These polarized attitudes, Merlino explains, is clearly evident with how a black woman was forced to relinquish her identity in order to serve as a “temptress”  and the white woman being idealized and in a way placed as a valuable object.

 

“Intersectionality 101” by Reddit

Intersectionality, according to Reddit users, covers the relationship among multiple dimensions and modalities of social relationship where various biological, social, and cultural categories intersect. The methodology of intersectional discrimination, in particular, holds that forms of oppression end up involving one another, meaning discriminative oppression is never unaccompanied (gender, race, class, ability, etc). In fruition, Kimberle Williams Crenshaw metaphorized this by explaining how gender and race oppression intersected similar to a collision of cars in an intersection. Intersectionality many facets extend to various variations such as the Interlocking Matrix of Oppression, which deal with social classifications,  and the Standpoint Theory, which dealt with personal experiences and their influence. Regardless of how intersectionality is internalized, it generalizes as the interrelation of struggles.

 

“The Urgency of Intersectionality” by Kimberle Crenshaw

Kimberle Crenshaw’s  TED talk addressed the unfair practices of discrimination that black women are subjected to because of their intersectionality of being both black and female. Crenshaw uses the story of Emma Degafenary whose intersectionality served as a double exclusion in finding employment. The framework of this double discrimination is illustrated by the metaphors of the intersection of roads, where being in the intersection means being marginalized to the fullest. The challenges that simple intersectionality can pose means a dangerous dynamic prevalent in the lives of most Americans.

 

The Bechdel Test

The Bechdel Test identifies gender inequality in film by evaluating whether a film involves conversation between two women where the focal point of the conversation is not a man. The test serves as an indicator of whether a film lacks equality between men and women. The premise of this test to me highlights an issue that I as a man would not identify by my own means as I am not directly marginalized by it.

 

Connection:

All of the writings see intersectionality as the way to label the summed experience of marginalized groups, differing between gender inequality and race discrimination. The dynamic between intersectionality and oppression, to me, is similar to that of a solution and its catalyst. After reflecting on my own “intersectionalities”, it is interesting how my identity directly reflects what my oppression is. Putting it into perspective being how, me being a male inflicts one thing, me being a person of color inflicts on another thing, and both connected is a shithole altogether.

“Metaphors We Live By” =Jean Estrada

“Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson

“Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson expands on the common understanding of metaphors by detailing its involvement in linguistics, communication, and the simple generality – everyday realities. Lakoff and Johnson describe the importance of metaphorical concepts, the understanding of one idea or conceptual domain in terms of another, by drawing connections to the way people interpret, internalize, and connect information. They materialize this concept by expounding the example, “ARGUMENT IS WAR”, and explaining how this metaphor intrinsically structures an individual’s actions or thoughts on the subject. Lakoff and Johnson suggests with the title that metaphors are a bigger part to communication and understanding in literature and everyday life whom we “live by”. While I understand the ideas being put forth, I believe metaphors are more functional in literature than in everyday life. While we may compare things to other things in normal conversation, it is not the sole focus of said conversation. In literature on the other hand, most often than not metaphors are used as the focal point of the argument.

 

“The Egg and the Sperm” by Emily Martin

Emily Martin’s, “The Egg and the Sperm”, is a critical account of the negative associations made between the terms  “sperm and “egg” and its ties to harmful stereotypes. Martin’s arguments highlight the injustices used in medical text where a woman’s reproductive functions are described dismissively while a male’s is in way “appreciated”. The idea that inferiority is often a false characteristic of all things feminine is used by Martin to connect to consequential societal factors such as gender roles, stereotypes, etc. The ideas presented by Martin displayed things vividly for all parties, particularly males who normally wouldn’t be aware of inequities.

 

Connections

Both “Metaphors We Live By” by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson and “The Egg and the Sperm” by Emily Martin highlight the significance of words in the realm of metaphors. Lakoff and Johnson’s example of “ARGUMENT IS WAR” is similar to Martin’s issue with gender inequality, where the words used around metaphor construct an understanding or argument for the metaphor.

What is Rhetoric? – Jean Estrada

Thinking of rhetoric as a driving force used by authors, I began to think of the different levels of impact a “strong” rhetoric can have. What first comes to mind is the influence an author can direct to his audience simply by the use of persuasion, conviction, action, and judgments. Building off that, something that has been introduced to me is how all communication between two entities is rhetorical in some way or another. On a broader scale that excludes writing, rhetoric and all its vehicles can do so much with so little. Being that I struggle with identifying writing strategies, such as rhetoric, I hope practice will help me with it in both writing and other avenues.

About Me, Jean Estrada

My full name is Jean Carlo Estrada and I’m currently 18 years old. I was born in Medellin, Colombia, a place more known for its unpleasant history than its actual virtue. With the promise of a better education, I moved to New York City at the age of 10 where I began schooling in the public school system of Brooklyn. After understanding the ceiling of public school success in Brooklyn, I made a strategic move to a Manhattan highschool with the hopes of higher learning opportunities. Thanks to that choice four years ago I now sit here attending Baruch College, something that would’ve been unlikely anywhere else.

As a writer in particular, I have struggled with the fundamentals and material of past english classes. That includes simple things such as connecting main ideas, building off analyses, citations, etc. In terms of material, when I find myself disinterested in a topic or reading I struggle to produce my “best work”.