Christine Lee - SS1 - Week 1

In the poem, Waking by W.P, it is about Asian American women being mistreated in her workplace. At first, when I first read this poem, it led me to think that the professor flung the rat and the rat splattered across the room. With the graphic images, I could feel the disgusting guts flying everywhere. However, after reading the narrative and understanding the backstory of this incident, it made my heart drop. This poem is metaphorically implying that the rat was her. W.P. wrote this poem to tell students the responsibility for animal rights as a scientist. Yet, it is also to identify the rough work life battle in academia.

She claimed, “ I wonder if she ever sees us, women of color, flung and splattered against the wall of academia, by the pale hands of the masters and mistresses.” This ending sentence drew me to think about all the other Asian American women mistreated in academia. It's been known in history that women in color are mistreated, but I don't think that Asian American women’s mistreatment and discrimination is pronounced enough for the public to hear our voices. The idea of Asian American women are easy targets to pick on because they are not vocal, and claim their needs and wants. Just like a lab rat, being tossed around, Asian American women would be taken advantage of.

Question: Did W.P. not speak up for herself to present since it was a co-presentation in the first place?

Sources:
Andris A. ZoltnersPK SinhaSally E. Lorimer. (2018, April 17). Sales Bonuses Are Supposed to Motivate, So Don't Waste Them on Easy Targets. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2017/09/sales-bonuses-are-supposed-to-motivate-so-dont-waste-them-on-easy-targets