Vincent Serracino Week 5 - ASA SS1

"Mothering is Liberation" by Allyson Tintiangco demonstrates the inspirational balance of academic life and motherhood and how it can be a form of freedom. As an academic woman of color, the road is not paved evenly. Microaggressive doubt is planted in her by her fellow coworkers and students of all backgrounds and genders. She is told that she "didn't look like [a professor]," (Tintiangco 3) made to feel like an imposter after working so hard to earn the life she has. Additionally, she is made to feel doubt about being a good mother and academic, with it being insinuated that she "[does] too much" to be a mother. As a proud mother, she is deeply hurt by these words and ideas like most would be.

     However, she finds liberation in motherhood, uniting her life's roles into the concept of a motherscholar. A mother should not be seen as the sole caregiver of a child nor should they have to sacrifice their selfhood. She understands that these normalized assumptions must be challenged and raises her own daughter in contrast. In raising her child against the ever-present teachings of white superiority, Tintiangco teaches her daughter to particularly [love] herself and

her beautiful brown skin" in a cruel world that "either hates it or exotifes it."  (Tintiangco, 7)
Tintiangco also sees teaching as a form of motherhood, furthering her identity as a motherscholar and finding another path to liberation.

Question: Considering how Tintiangco describes how entertainment and early education teaches young children to feel inferior, in what ways has media and schooling taught you to hate yourself?

Sources:

Tintiangco, A. (n.d.). Mothering is Liberation. Retrieved from https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/392140/files/folder/Weekly Readings/Week5?preview=6353494

Dariotis, W. (n.d.). Academic Symbiosis. Retrieved from https://canvas.ucdavis.edu/courses/392140/files/folder/Weekly Readings/Week5?preview=6353493

Racebending (The Last Airbender Casting Controversy). (2019, July 11). Retrieved July 21, 2019, from https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/racebending-the-last-airbender-casting-controversy

Why Is Children's Literature Whitewashed? (2014, March 18). Retrieved from http://flavorwire.com/445869/why-is-childrens-literature-whitewashed

Lacina, A. (2016, October 05). Whitewashing in Hollywood: Why Diverse Media Representation Matters. Retrieved from http://fordhampoliticalreview.org/whitewashing-in-hollywood-why-diverse-media-representation-matters/