After taking a course called Development of Social Thought in the fall of 2013, I decided to minor in sociology (I’m a psychology major if you’re wondering). The course just briefly touched upon the major sociologists and their fundamental ideas and it sparked an interest in me that I decided to pursue. Fast forward to spring of 2014 and I started taking 4 sociology classes (and 2 psych classes). This semester has been challenging but mostly rewarding in that it has helped me discover a passion for social justice. And how fitting, since I go to a Jesuit university! In particular, a class called Sociology of Food and Food Justice has really made an impact on me. Of course we study food justice but it goes much deeper than that.
For a lot of the semester I’ve been at a loss; I can tell you all about problems but finding a solution was really bugging me. And on top of that, I couldn’t quite express in words how I felt about social justice. Honestly there are just so many problems with society that it’s overwhelming!! Luckily, I stumbled upon this video (go ahead, watch now!) and my task got just a little bit easier. I loved everything about it! For starters it talks about starting the change with children which is so important because children are so malleable and flexible in the way they think and learn! If we start by teaching children about equality and justice, it is sure to stick more than if adults with preconceived notions are taught about it later. And honestly, who as an adult, has time on top of work and everyday life to take courses and understand the depth of injustice?? (This is one of the reasons I love college: I can spend all my time learning, and that is my full time job.) Secondly I love this project because it attacks the issue of achieving social justice from the way media is presented. Media is such an important factor in deciding how people behave and make decisions and so many other things! Of course girls are going to be self conscious when they can’t figure out why they can’t look just like the model on a billboard (it’s because there’s no such thing as photoshop in real life)! And these days, advertisements are everywhere; it’s not like you can just avoid media.
Well, I wanted to know more about this project, so I went to their website and found that I could sign a pledge saying, “I pledge to use my voice to challenge society’s limiting representations of gender.” Of course I signed it, but I wanted to do more! So, I signed up to be a rep and become a part of leading this great movement. I’m just getting started in our quest for social justice, but with The Representation Project, I couldn’t be more confident that we can make a change!
Natalie Hope 