Girl Time is a book written by Maisha T. Winn who is a former public elementary school and high school teacher. She has worked extensively with youth inside and outside urban schools throughout the United States. Winn provides information in the book about girls incarcerated in juvenile detention centers and girls who have been previously incarcerated. In the book, Winn explains how these girls narrate their own lives, how they ended up incarcerated, and their lives after being incarcerated. The inmates use theater and acting to describe their lives. Winn describes Girl Time as “a theater program for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated girls in the urban southeast, which uses playwriting and the power of theatre to unearth the multiple stories of incarcerated girls” (p.3). Winn explains how the program operates and how teachers and students feel about art. Also, Winn explains to educators the implications on the community of these girls imprisonment. …show more content…
The book is divided into acts that give a brief explanation of how the program works and how students and teachers make the program a success.
In Act 1, “ Voices can be heard,” Winn shows how these girls express themselves through theatre and can act out different kinds of stories about their lives and the lives they aspire to have. She also proposes that the youth need to be heard in order to find their way in life. Winn explains “ this act will explore theories of play in order to understand its critical role in the lives of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated girls” (P.17). With this in mind, it is clear from the play that each one of these women's performances reflects their deepest desires for life out of jail. Also, it demonstrates how aware they are of why they ended up there, including the social issues and cultural influences that led them to their
mistakes. It caught my attention when Winn cited Vygotsky’s theory of play for this subject. She said that according to Vygotsky, “play teaches [a child] to desire by relating her desires to a fictitious ‘I’, to her role in the game and its rules”(p.18). For this reason, playwriting is seen as an excellent tool for these women to overcome their mistakes and write about the life they wish to have. As Winn mentions in the book, incarceration is a time for them to rehearse the play of the life they wish to have when out of there. In my own opinion, Winn makes a strong point in this book. I agree with her arguments about racial and social judgment. Incarcerated black girls should be given an opportunity to speak up and not be judged. The government should also give more opportunities to formerly incarcerated women by providing jobs and tools to restore their life. I support her ideology based on the evidence she is using. Winn bases this book by real experiences narrated by the women themselves, and also her own experiences as a teacher and member of the program. Furthermore, the data obtained from the interviews with the women and administration of these juvenile detention centers lend more support to her statements. Winn’s writing style enhances the message because it gives the readers the opportunity to read all of these stories as their own. The connection created from all of the plays and writings throughout the book grabs the attention of the readers and helps them to understand of the point she is trying to make. The pictures used in the beginning of each chapter provide the reader with a face to think of while reading. Moreover, the reader gets an idea of how the experience within the program is. To conclude, I will say that not only black women are being abused and judged. Every incarcerated girl should be given the opportunity to restore their life and be heard from by the community who crucified these women for being incarcerated or formerly incarcerated. I have to agree that the problem comes from our community, schools, and the system that allows young girls to be incarcerated because of the lack of orientation or just bad influences from their peers. They should definitely be heard by their parents and teachers who are the closest influences these girls can have. The lack of communication is the main cause of these girls’ mistakes in life. It was a good experience to learn about a social issue that people never discuss. This is why the situation has to change. I want to understand why parents are the ones who choose to send their daughters to these juvenile centers because they fail to communicate and connect with their child. This issue begins with families. It is important to have a good relationship with your child, provide security, and build a positive environment to decrease the probability of failure.
Erin George’s A Woman Doing Life: Notes from a Prison for Women sheds light on her life at the Fluvanna Correctional Center for Women (FCCW) where she was sentenced for the rest of her life for first-degree murder. It is one of the few books that take the reader on a journey of a lifer, from the day of sentencing to the day of hoping to being bunked adjacent to her best friend in the geriatric ward.
Lauren Alleyne uses the rigid form of the sonnet to navigate through the healing process after being sexually assaulted. Ten years after that night, she writes the sonnet sequence Eighteen, which deviates from the typical sonnet form in the aspects of the speaker, subject, and format. Playing off of the standard sonnet form, Alleyne is able to recount the emotions of that night during the first sonnet in the sequence. The typical sonnet tends to objectify the female body or one’s lover; in this sequence, the sonnets address what happens when an individual acts on these objectifications and assaults Alleyne. Alleyne deviates from the standard subject and speaker of the typical sonnet form to begin the healing process; the process begins
There are many ideas, experiences, values and beliefs in the play Blackrock by Nick Enright. The play is based on a true story and is set in late November to early January in an Industrial city and its beachside suburb of Blackrock. It is about a girl called Tracy aged 15 who was raped and murdered at a teenage party and the effects of it on the locals and community. Three main ideas explored in the play that challenged and confirmed my own beliefs include “Disrespect toward women”, “Victim blaming” and “Double standards”.
This week’s reflection is on a book titled Girls Like Us and it is authored by Rachel Lloyd. The cover also says “fighting for a world where girls not for sale”. After reading that title I had a feeling this book was going to be about girls being prostituted at a young age and after reading prologue I sadly realized I was right in my prediction.
Once Olivia receives help, it is perhaps too late. In her senior year, she is sentenced to a juvenile camp, and is clearly out of place. “She is so different from the other girls (pg.312)”, her therapist says. “She was one of the rare kids we see who is focused on her future. I wish I could have started with her when she was twelve or thirteen (pg.312).” Olivia’s case illustrates a system that rather than providing guidance and support to abandoned children, it leads them into a criminal world.
A women doing life is a book that talks openly about women in prison. The author of the book who is also an inmate is known as Erin George. She explains vividly about women life in prison and what she was going through as an inmate. The book also gives other stories about other female inmates. The book presents a realistic of what women goes through on daily basis in prison. The issues addressed are both physical and psychological challenges. She talks on behalf of those women facing challenges on daily basis in prison. The books explain life events that tragic and heartbreaking those changes later to be uplifting and humorous. She gives a story of how she is able to cope and manage in hard situations. The women’s humanity inside the prison is well shown in this book as they try to make ends meet in their daily life. This book is vivid and very compelling for women. It is one of the best contributions of the author in literature. The book has a virtually flawless pedagogical approach. The author’s writing is to a great extent excellent and it has helped in creating awareness in literature about the historical context of women in prison. It explains beyond the little information presented in the media about women life in prison and the challenges they face as inmates.
Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal 40.4 (1988): 519-31. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. 11 May 2011.
In the books Where the Girls are and Coming of Age in Mississippi, the authors portray how they questioned their place within the American society, and how they found their voice to seek opportunities for themselves and others. The childhoods of Douglas and Moody are major factors in these women’s lives and character development. It is through these experiences that they formed their views of the world and learned to understand the world’s view of women. Douglas and Moody had very different experiences for they grew up in different decades, social and economic classes, and races. It is these differences that cause them to have different reactions. Susan Douglass in Where the Girls are and Anne Moody in Coming of Age in Mississippi have different critiques of American society and solutions, because of the differences of what they were exposed to.
This documentary is about two girls’ journey as they are released from their juvenile home after committing a crime. At first glance, these two girls look the same; both of them committed some sort of crime and ended up in a juvenile home. Throughout the documentary, Shanae is seen as someone who wants to change because of her past mistake. On the other hand, Megan struggles more because she is starved for love. What makes this girls circumstances different is that Shanae has a family that loves her and want her to get better, while Megan comes from a broken home where her mom is constantly in jail. In order to understand both Megan and Shanae’s struggle, the labeling theory is one of the theories that fit their situation.
Girls Like Us is an intimate portrayal concerning four girls who grew up all with different ethnic backgrounds and various forms of parental guidence. Anna Chau is Vietnames with strict parents and good beliefs, Lisa Bronca is a Caucasion Catholic, De'Yonna Moore is African-American with strong goals who lives with her Grandma and Raelene Cox is a young white girl who comes from a broken home with little parental guidence. Girls Like Us shows examples of structural functionism, and conflict theory, as well as symbolic interactionalism. This movie really intersted me because I actually got to see each of these girls grow up. This film also contained implications for the science of sociology.
Les Femmes Savantes The Learned Ladies is an astounding play. As each new character enters time transforms characters are bedazzled, enchanted and wigged we know we are sharing the stage with royalty. The women’s gowns are extremely detailed with hoop shirts to make them puffy the men are wearing exceptionally detailed waistcoats. This comical drama is set in the living room or “salon” of the family. This plays plot is focused on one major couples chaotic and forbidden love. The characters are joined by blood and lead by the controlling wife, Philamonte (Maya Jackson) and her weak spouse Chrysale (Edward Brown III). Jackson’s voice is directing with a profound tone that would have the capacity to stop anybody dead in their tracks. It is not
In Alice Munro’s “Boys and Girls” she tells a story about a young girl’s resistance to womanhood in a society infested with gender roles and stereotypes. The story takes place in the 1940s on a fox farm outside of Jubilee, Ontario, Canada. During this time, women were viewed as second class citizens, but the narrator was not going to accept this position without a fight.
For the course of weeks spent in social issues I have decided to choose my topic on Portraits of Girls in the Criminal Justice System. I believe it’s important to acknowledge that the variety of murders and crimes committed is not only done by men but woman as well commit these crimes. As generations have passed by it has been seen that gender roles have changed woman are now more involved with crimes.
First,these three girls on behalf of newly things that wasn’t admitted by the society.The author spent a lot of words to depict how these girls
Traditional gender roles exist in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ novel One Hundred Years of Solitude, but traditional distribution of power between the genders does not. In analyzing each character and their life, it’s easy to see how Marquez presented each in terms of his own view on gender constructs. Marquez portrays femininity and masculinity very differently. But why would Marquez choose to make such a clear distinction between the roles of each gender? Marquez sees women as spiritual and overpowered by traditional standards, and men doomed by their own obsessions. Men are wily and therefore vulnerable, whereas women are dignified and durable, and survive for much longer.