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July 26, 2007
Latinas avoid college because they are fat?
The fact that Latino/as have the highest drop rate in the states in not new, but to discover that Latinas want to avoid college because of their weight is astounding to me.
Wow. I have three daughters, and only one of them is overweight. It took me years to deprogram her into believing that there is nothing wrong with wearing a size 14-I know plenty of men that like women with meat on their bones. Here is the irony of this situation-education is a priority for me, so I made it a point to live in a one of the best school districts in the country. The only problem is (you guessed it!) that it is a predominantly white school district filled with young women who would rather starve than buy stretch jeans (and boys who only want to date skinny girls). So, while my daughter was getting the best education I could provide her with, the price was high. It wasn't until my mother suggested a trip to Puerto Rico that it occurred to me that once she saw how WE define beauty, she would realize that the problem had more to do with ethnocentricity than obesity. I am happy to report that she returned from Puerto Rico scantily clad and proud to be who she was, but what if my mom had not taken her on that trip? How would I have ended the dangerous cycle of depression that she was experiencing prior to that trip? I don't know what I would have done.
The sad part is that it is a lose-lose situation. Education vs. Self-Esteem. If we want to go to the best schools, that usually means that we are not around our own people, unless we reside on our homeland. If we want to surround ourselves with our familiars, then that means we will most likely not be going to the best schools possible. What do we do? To assume that schools will amend their curriculum to include teaching self-esteem to a particular ethnic group is a great hope, but alas unrealistic. If we can't even get new textbooks for many our Latino/a students, how do we begin to actually effect any change regarding this issue?
The fact that it has become so important to join the (ab)norm distresses me, because it means that our culture is being forever impacted by another culture's standards...is that one of the tenets of colonialization?
Posted by dvaldesd at 04:54 PM | Comments (3)
July 16, 2007
here we are...
Posted by dvaldesd at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
I haven't disappeared...
I've just been very busy. I have been trying to finish up my final project (which is now a month late), thinking about exams lists & proposals, and trying to finish any work that needs to be done before exam time actually comes. Believe it or not, I spend upwards of 6 hours a day writing (maternal responsibilities and doctors appointments permitting), and I still have about 7 pages to go. The problem is that this paper is related to my research, and I would like to it become a chapter in my diss; and this is what dissertation writing must be like. I know that it seems far off, but I know that it is around the corner, and that intimidates me. I have come to the realization that dissertations are very personal products; they symbolize all of our hard work, frustrations, neglected relationships, and other self imposed abuses along with hours of lonely solitude. And, despite the romanticism of it all, we all want to write something that contributes to the conversation of our choice and reflects our knowledge and hard work. We want to be proud of the work we've done, and we deserve to be; the trick is going to be to do it in the alloted time. I can already imagine the scores of phone calls I will be making to my friends, colleagues, mentors and family members (not necessarily in that order).
So if you see my name come up on your caller I.D., please answer it! I will need you to remind me that the completion of this degree is not only for the fulfillment of my dreams, but also the dream of my parents & my daughters. I am going to need to hear that "I signed up for this cruise" willingly, and that I can indeed do it. And of course, I will need you to remind me that there are deadlines that can not be negotiated, and committee members that have invested their time and their trust in me. Will I want to hear all of that? Probably not, but the people that we count on are supposed to tell us what we need to hear and not what we want to hear, right? In the end, you all know I will be grateful, and will finally be able to afford to take you out to dinner..once I get a job, of course!
For those of you whose number I don't have, feel free to e-mail it to me. I will be happy to add you to my emergency list!
But I guess for all my musings the one thing I better do is get back to writing the paper that will serve as the entry way to all that I have to look forward to...
Posted by dvaldesd at 06:10 PM | Comments (1)
July 07, 2007
something new...
Well, I finally talked my partner into creating a blog. While he is not Boricua, he is a person of color with many valuable insights on what we all experience on a day to day basis. Add him to your blog roll-you won't be disappointed. The man has got his shit together, and often gives me a run for my money with regard to insightful intellectual thought. Welcome to the world of bloggers, sweetheart!
Posted by dvaldesd at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)