ENGLISH SBA

CANDIDATE NAME: JANE DOE

CANDIDATE NUMBER: 1600450064

CENTRE NAME: PROVIDENCE GIRLS’ CATHOLIC SCHOOL

CENTRE NUMBER: 160045

YEAR OF EXAMINATION: 2023

TEACHER: MRS. DENISA THOMPSON-OBLINGTON

SUBJECT: ENGLISH A/B

THEME: WOMEN IN SOCIETY

TOPIC: FEMINISM – THE FEMINIST PERSPECTIVE

TERRITORY: TRINIDAD, WEST INDIES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Plan of Investigation…………….…………………...……….2
st
• 1 Artifact- A Tweet …………….…………….........……....3
nd
• 2 Artifact- “For Girls’ With Fire” ........................………....4
rd
• 3 Artifact- “Feminism is for Everybody” .........................5-6

• Reflection 1 ….………………………………………….…...7

• Reflection 2..............................................................................8

• Reflection 3………….............................................................9

• Oral Presentation Plan............................................................10

• Written Group Report.............................................................11

• References .........................................................................12

01
 PLAN OF INVESTIGATION

The theme chosen is “Women in Society”. My topic is “Feminism – The Feminist

Perspective” as there is a lot of illiteracy surrounding it. Feminism is a major biased global
issue, and I would like to properly educate my peers on the perspective of the feminist.

To explore this controversy, I will use “#Feminism” on Instagram and Twitter to find tweets
and Google Chrome for poem and articles. I expect to advance my summary writing skills in
each Reflection and group report; my persuasive skills to complete my Oral Presentation and
to analyse the author’s craft to complete Reflection Two.

02
1st Artifact

03
2nd Artifact – “For Girls Filled With Fire”

Girl,
you were born with a fire inside you,
and this world is determined to stamp it out.

You will see it when you stand up for yourself

and you are told ‘it isn’t ladylike to raise your voice.’

You will hear it when you wear something that hugs your body
and feel the uncomfortable sensation of being stripped naked
by the eyes of men who call you names you are still too young to understand.

You will know it when a man tries to use his strength

to have his way with you the first time,
and you need to use your fists/teeth/legs to get him off.

You will understand it when you see

your mothers eyes filled with terror
because you are an hour later than you said you will be home.

But you must never ever let them take

those flames from within your soul,
Instead, you must burn brighter than ever
because you are a daughter of the Sun,
And you belong only to yourself, not to this world.

- For Girls Who Are Filled With Fire | Nikita Gill (via untamedunwanted)

04
3rd Artifact- Feminism is for Everybody

“To be ‘feminist’ in any authentic sense of the term is to want for all people, female and
male, liberation from sexist role patterns, domination, and oppression.” bell hooks made this
clear and powerful statement in her 1981 study of sexism, racism, and the feminist and civil
rights movements Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. Almost 40 years on, the
world is still reckoning with pervasive and inexcusable gender inequality underpinned by bias
and sexism, and research and health care are no exception. Today, The Lancet publishes a
theme issue on advancing women in science, medicine, and global health, with the aim of
showcasing research, commentary, and analysis that provide new explanations and evidence
for action towards gender equity. This theme issue is the result of a call for papers that led to
over 300 submissions from more than 40 countries. The overwhelming conclusion from this
collection of work is that, to achieve meaningful change, actions must be directed at
transforming the systems that women work within—making approaches informed by feminist
analyses essential.

It is well established that women are under-represented in positions of power and leadership,
undervalued, and experience discrimination and gender-based violence in scientific and
health disciplines across the world. Intersectional approaches have provided insights into how
other categories of difference such as ethnicity, class, geography, disability, and sexuality
interact with gender to compound inequalities. Most submissions to this theme issue came
from high-income countries, highlighting the need to support scholarship from the Global
South. Geordan Shannon and colleagues provide a global overview of gender inequality in
science, medicine, and global health, and discuss the evidence for the substantial health,
social, and economic gains that could be achieved by addressing this inequality. Indeed, some
studies, including one in this issue by Cassidy Sugimoto and colleagues, show that more
diverse and inclusive teams lead to better science and more successful organisations.

Despite decades of recognition, these problems have proved stubbornly persistent. It is now
commonplace for organisations to make public statements valuing diversity, hire diversity
officers, and implement programmes to advance women's careers. Yet, all too often, such
programmes locate the source of the problem, and hence the solution, within women and their
own behaviour. Thus, although actions such as mentoring and skills training might be well
intentioned and advantageous to a degree, they often fail to engage with broader features of
systems that disproportionately privilege men. For instance, Holly Witteman and colleagues
show, using data from a federal funder, how gender bias disadvantages women applying for
grant funding.

Reflecting on these biases can be difficult for professions like science and medicine that are
grounded in beliefs of their own objectivity and evidence-driven thinking. A trio of papers in
this issue demonstrates the value of critical perspectives in this regard. Malika Sharma
explains how the “historical gendering of medicine prioritises particular types of knowledge
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(and ways of producing that knowledge), and creates barriers for critical, and specifically
feminist, research and practice”. Feminist and other critical perspectives enable researchers to
question the underlying assumptions that produce and maintain social hierarchies, and in
doing so, imagine ways to transform fields and practices to make them more equitable and
inclusive. Likewise, Sara Davies and colleagues argue that a feminist research agenda is key
to advancing gender equality in global health, and Kopano Ratele and colleagues explain why
efforts to engage men in advancing gender equality must be grounded in an appreciation of
theories of masculinity.

For actions to have lasting and far-reaching consequences, they must therefore be directed at
creating institutional-level change. Several pieces in this theme issue discuss such
approaches, with a Review by Imogen Coe and colleagues providing a toolbox of
organisational best practices towards gender equality in science and medicine. The Lancet's
commitments to addressing gender bias in publishing are detailed in a Comment. Gender
equity is not only a matter of justice and rights, it is crucial for producing the best research
and providing the best care to patients. If the fields of science, medicine, and global health
are to hope to work towards improving human lives, they must be representative of the
societies they serve. The fight for gender equity is everyone's responsibility, and this means
that feminism, too, is for everybody—for men and women, researchers, clinicians, funders,
institutional leaders, and, yes, even for medical journals.

06
 REFLECTION ONE
The artifacts used are “SheThePeople” tweet by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, poem “For Girls Filled
With Fire” by Nikita Gill and article “Feminism is for Everybody” by the Lancet. Before this
S.B.A., I perceived Feminism as a meaningful but not crucial issue. The quote shared valuable
advice given to the author by her mother about women’s independence. This is depressing as I
recognized that as women, we have to be reminded that we have independence. The poem
identifies how females must stay strong as we are degraded by men daily. This is unsettling as
I was reminded our safety is uncertain.
Finally, the article discussed that females would like liberation from sexist role patterns and
gender equality. This made me realize this is a biased situation as being a female could affect
life opportunities.
Overall, I realized how critically feminism needs to be discussed as it is a global unjust
controversy.

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 REFLECTION TWO
The tweet quoting Ruth Bader Ginsburg was persuasive. Symbolism was used in the line
“My mother told me to be a lady”. To her and her mother being a lady symbolized being
autonomous and self-sufficient.
The poem, “For Girls Filled With Fire” was reflective. Repetition was used in the beginning
of lines 4, 6, 12 and 15, (“You will” repeated). This emphasizes that all females will undergo
these negative experiences, regardless of their individual circumstances.
The article, “Feminism is for Everybody” by the Lancet’s staff was persuasive. The writer's
tone is straightforward. Her diction reflects her strongly opinionated thoughts, for example in
paragraph 2, “It is well established that women are under-represented in positions of power
and leadership, undervalued, and experience discrimination and gender-based violence in
scientific and health disciplines across the world.” The use of words such as under-
represented and undervalued reflect how strongly she believes women are diminished.

08
 REFLECTION THREE
Upon researching the topic “Feminism in Society”, I learnt that feminism has been around
since the nineteenth century and continued to evolve, but still remains a controversial topic as
it has different meanings for each individual.
Although we were faced with a global pandemic, the group work was not challenging as there
were apps such as WhatsApp which assisted with communication. They were some
challenges encountered, including misunderstanding but each member assisted, by switching
roles such as, leader or secretary, when needed. Working in a group allowed personal growth
as I learned to work with different types of personalities, which is beneficial, as it is required
for all occupations.
This SBA enhanced my research, summarizing and organizational skills. These skills worked
hand in hand, as I found articles and took the valuable information from them, which I had to
arrange in a sensible order and put within the word count.

09
 ORAL PRESENTATION PLAN
My Oral Presentation entitled “Through the Eyes of Feminism” will be in the form of a Free
Verse poem. I chose Free Verse because it allows the expression of emotions and thoughts
which makes the message of the poem much more powerful. The subject that piqued my
interest was “Feminism in Society” due to its controversial nature, and I wanted to explore
the background of feminism and the way it evolved. The articles I researched allowed me to
further my knowledge on feminism such as its importance and benefits to society. The
language register I chose to go with is the formal register as it can be used as an informative
approach which extends the message of the presentation. My Oral Presentation would be
based on ways feminism affects civilization.

MAIN IDEA 1
➢ Evolution- The changes in feminism throughout the years and background
information.

MAIN IDEA 2
➢ Importance – The significance of feminism to society.

MAIN IDEA 3
➢ Benefits- The positive impact of feminism to society.

SOURCES
Four Waves of Feminism- Martha Rampton
The Importance of Feminism – Raj Nandini Singh
Benefits: Why Feminism can change the world – Desiree Buitenbos

LITERARY DEVICES
Personification – Feminism is continuously in a boxing match with the patriarchy.
Simile – The struggle of feminism is like trudging through a swamp.
Onomatopoeia – Feminism has hit the 21st century with a bang!

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 WRITTEN GROUP REPORT
Our group’s theme was Women in Society. The subtopics chosen were: “Sexual Harassment”,
“Rape”, “Abortion”, “Feminism” and “Beauty Standards”. A vote was made to determine the
three pieces used which were: “Scars to Your Beautiful” (Alessia Cara, 2015), “My Thoughts
on Harassment” (Tasa Jalbert, 2015) and “For Girls Filled with Fire” (Nikita Gill, 2015).
Within our three pieces we came across the challenges that women face, such as being ill-
treated and objectified, and how women overcome these challenges by embracing their self-
worth. There was not a challenge gathering information as our theme is a very prominent topic
within society, therefore various sites equipped us with the needed information.

The song ‘Scars to your Beautiful’ (Cara, 2016) promotes self-acceptance and addresses how
beauty standards negatively affects women. We discern that we should not criticize people
based on their physical appearance because we are unaware of their self-esteem and
insecurities. The article ‘My Thoughts on Harassment’ (Jalbert, 2015) shows how men
objectify women regularly, making them uncomfortable to go out wearing certain clothing. We
learnt to not let other's opinion take away from how we value ourselves. Finally, the article 'For
Girls' Filled with Fire' (Gill, 2015) addresses how women must remain strong despite being
insulted and having their safety jeopardized because of their gender. We learnt to stay true to
oneself despite the negativity.

Together we were able to work effectively although encountering obstacles such as regularly
communicating, due to the pandemic. We were capable of interacting with each other
efficiently via WhatsApp. During these troublesome times our communication skills
developed. Everyone was able to do their tasks for the group report accordingly and, in the end,
we gathered to compile the data.

Overall, we learnt that women in society face various challenges and that we should support
one another.

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 Pieces from Written Group Report

1st Piece (Song) – "Scars to Your Beautiful"

She just wants to be beautiful

She goes unnoticed, she knows no limits

She craves attention, she praises an image

She prays to be sculpted by the sculptor

Oh, she don't see the light that's shining

Deeper than the eyes can find it

Maybe we have made her blind

So she tries to cover up her pain

And cut her woes away

'Cause cover-girls don't cry

After their face is made

But there's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark

You should know you're beautiful just the way you are

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

Oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

She has dreams to be an envy, so she's starving

You know, "Cover-girls eat nothing"

She says, "Beauty is pain and there's beauty in everything"

"What's a little bit of hunger?"

"I can go a little while longer," she fades away

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She don't see her perfect

She don't understand she's worth it

Or that beauty goes deeper than the surface

Ah, oh, ah, ah oh

So to all the girls that's hurting

Let me be your mirror

Help you see a little bit clearer

The light that shines within

There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark

You should know you're beautiful just the way you are

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

Oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

No better you than the you that you are

(No better you than the you that you are)

No better life than the life we're living

(No better life than the life we're living)

No better time for your shine, you're a star

(No better time for your shine, you're a star)

Oh, you're beautiful, oh, you're beautiful

There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark

You should know you're beautiful just the way you are

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

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No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

Whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh-oh-oh

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful

- “Scars to your beautiful” | Alessia Cara

2nd Piece (Poem) – “My Thoughts on Harassment”

Being a girl in my day and age,

you get used to all the horn honks,
the wolf whistles,
and the “hey baby’s”,
and the guys saying “you’re too pretty not to smile”,
as though not having a smile on my face at all times is a sin.
But why should I smile when harassment becomes normal,
when a girl can’t report it because even the police thinks she should be flattered,
but why should I be flattered that a guy wants to see up my dress so much that he ‘accidentally’
pushes it up,
why should I be flattered when a guy can’t even use words so he whistles at me like I’m a dog.
I cannot be won over by a whistle and sweet words,
no scratch behind my ears in the form of some misogynistic pick up line,
will give you a chance.
And if I laugh at your poor attempt,
it is not consent,
just because my lips curl into a smile,
does not mean you can come curl up with me.
My self worth does not exist on how I look in your perverted eyes,
it is not existent on if you want to ‘hit that’,
if you were to hit anything it should be your mind set that is okay,
right out of your head.
Because I am not an object for your pleasure,
and I object to you treating me like I am.
I AM!
I AM!
I AM!

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A WOMAN!
Built from all the things a man could never be.

• Tasa Jalbert

3rd Piece (Poem) – “For Girls Filled With Fire”

Girl,
you were born with a fire inside you,
and this world is determined to stamp it out.

You will see it when you stand up for yourself

and you are told ‘it isn’t ladylike to raise your voice.’

You will hear it when you wear something that hugs your body
and feel the uncomfortable sensation of being stripped naked
by the eyes of men who call you names you are still too young to understand.

You will know it when a man tries to use his strength

to have his way with you the first time,
and you need to use your fists/teeth/legs to get him off.

You will understand it when you see

your mothers eyes filled with terror
because you are an hour later than you said you will be home.

But you must never ever let them take

those flames from within your soul,
Instead, you must burn brighter than ever
because you are a daughter of the Sun,
And you belong only to yourself, not to this world.

- For Girls Who Are Filled With Fire | Nikita Gill

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 REFERENCES
Twitter. (n.d.). Welcome to Twitter.

https://twitter.com/SheThePeople/status/1328968685113933824

POETRY, M. |. (2015, July 26). Girl,. MEANWHILE | POETRY.

https://meanwhilepoetry.tumblr.com/post/125040969503/girl-you-were-born-with-a-fire-inside-you-
and

Redirecting. (n.d.). Digital Object Identifier System.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30239-9

Four waves of feminism. (2020, July 13). Pacific University.

https://www.pacificu.edu/magazine/four-waves-feminism

The importance of feminism. (2020, July 28). New Delhi Times.

https://www.newdelhitimes.com/the-importance-of-feminism/

Why feminism can change the world. (2018, February 9). Plan International Canada.

https://stories.plancanada.ca/why-feminism-can-change-the-world/

Alessia Cara - Scars to your beautiful (Official video). (2016, July 11). YouTube.
https://youtu.be/MWASeaYuHZo

My thoughts on harassment by Tasa Jalbert. (n.d.). Hello Poetry.

https://hellopoetry.com/poem/1219778/my-thoughts-on-harassment/

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