Dana Aika Miranda -- ASA 002 A04: Week 6

And When I Opened It...

Professor Takeyama was someone who realized that this box came with more than anticipated. As she elaborates in her article, it is evident that her positionality has revealed the internalized racism and stereotypes that even students impose towards her in comparison to her colleagues. That being said, when she also consults her male coworkers about the misconduct in her classes, and they suggested that she just not even deal with the process of doing reporting these cases. 

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The entities surrounding Soek-Fang Sim impose a wave that goes inherently against supporting womxn of color in academia; these materialize into realities that translates a multi-faceted shock that affects them: mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually. It could be one of these or even a combination of these that manage to capitalize on womxn of color scholars until they are essentially sucked dry to the bone. Creating mindsets that the writer admitted to having of Soek-Fang Sim themselves, also shows an internal structure meant to rupture and weaken support systems from being able to build community and a culture of resistance and empathy. Although she had died as the hands of breast cancer, perhaps the stress, burdens and lack of support from the institutions in her environment worsened her health or served as a catalyst towards her death. Her physical being failed her with a broken down will. When "she didn't pass the review," perhaps her confidence, academic and social life died as well along with her physical body. The institutions being against her is a given. It should not be, but that's the way it is. If it can be radically changed, then amazing and I am all for it but in this present, during this time, it is unfortunately so embedded it is a reality we do not have to accept, but one that we must acknowledge. Institutions of this stature is known, and even more so the higher one goes into academia as a POC womxn. But her resistance to death potentially seems to be because her community support system became just as institutionalized. Her death shows in many ways, and in many ways, she died. 

References

Blossom Oils Ltd. (2018). "Mystery Box 1" Blossom Oils. Retrieved May 3, 2020, https://www.blossomoils.co.uk/product/mystery-box-1/.

Takeyama, A. (2013). Fight the Tower: Asian American Women Scholars' Resistance and Renewal in the Academy: "Opening the Box" Rutgers University Press.