Week 1- Andy Ho - A03

After reading Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia, I was totally shocked. I couldn’t believe

 such an active and enthusiastic person like Caroline went through so many challenges in her life. In fact, she suffered a

 miscarriage and lost her unborn child. She was in a coma and lost so much blood that doctors had to transfuse 14 units 

of blood to keep her alive. She was put in cardiac arrest and was found dead clinically for 30 minutes before they could 

revive her. Despite of all these terrible mishaps, she was somehow able to recover from coma. Perhaps her resilience and 

her strong will wouldn’t allow her to give up so soon. She couldn’t stand the situation that her children would grow up without 

her guidance. For that, I really admire her because she is such a strong woman.

Relating to the reading “The Time to Fight is Now”1: Asian American Women, Academia’s Socially Engineered “Privileged 

Oppressed,” Go, Rogue. I was also surprised by the idea that Asian American women were the last group to be chosen 

when everyone applied for a job academically. I have always been thinking that black people would be the last group but

 her article changed my perspective. It specified that Asian America women were thought as vulnerable and incapable. 

It is true that sexism still exists in our country. Men still get paid higher than women in some field, regardless of their age, 

race, and religion. I remember that there was a Chinese actress (Chloe Bennet) had to change her name to be cast in a 

Hollywood Movie. She recited her story in an interview that "I had to change my name because 'Hollywood is racist’." However, 

in recent years, the value of Asian American women (and especially Asian women) has gone up. Miss Universe 2018 was a Filipino 

lady named Catriona Gray. Likewise, Miss Universe Vietnam 2018 was able to make it to top 5 Miss Universe. Moreover, coming from 

Vietnam as a refugee, Duong Nguyet Anh (also known as  "Bomb Lady") was a talented American scientist. She invented a thermobaric

 bomb that ended the Afghanistan war. Her success matches nicely to a saying "Whatever men do, women can do. Even better." 

Question: Are women really weak and incapable as we always think they are?

Reference:

• Valverde, K.L.C (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle J. Soc. Just.,12, 367.
• Miss Universe Vietnam 2018. Retrieved from "http://vovworld.vn/en-US/media/hhen-nie-turns-out-in-thai-outfit-ahead-of-miss-universe-2018-703700.vov"