Blackwell and Triple Jeopardy- Zain Dababneh

In the Blackwell reading, she points out how Triple Jeopardy introduced a new way to think about “third-world women” and the many social movements within women of color communities, specifically how to view women of color in the revolution. Blackwell says that by imaging women as the mothers of a new nation and not just “mothers,” which she calls the “revolutionary (m)other”, this can lead to more women in more political roles beyond reproduction.

When Blackwell wrote about putting more women in positions of power beyond the reproduction of the nation led me to think about the romanticization of Che Guevara. Growing up, I always saw that famous photo of Guevara, but never knew who he was. This reading made me think about how we tend to idolize male revolutionary heroes, such as Guevara, Karl Marx, and Fidel Castro to name a few, but female revolutionaries aren’t held up to same the level of idolization. Blackwell’s argument about envisioning more women in the revolution truly resonated with me and introduced me to a unique perspective that I have never been exposed to. The example of the Cuban/Nicaraguan depiction of a woman of the revolution with a machine gun over her shoulder while holding her baby was an interesting example, but then another point was brought up.  

Blackwell also writes how Triple Jeopardy published photojournalistic images of women in many fields, including domestic work, office work, picketing, protesting, and girls playing double dutch to send the message across that women have a role in the world besides reproduction. This made me realize that the depiction of a woman with a machine gun holding her baby can be controversial because it still suggests women need to have children, but Triple Jeopardy turns this around by addressing that women have a bigger and stronger role in the revolution besides having children. It made me think about the societal pressures that women face to have and raise children and to take care of the family, and how difficult it is for women to speak out when they have to meet so many societal expectations. Where is that balance?

The idea of envisioning more revolutionary women reminds me of the huge increase of women running for political office across the United States. This year, there are more women running for office than ever before. We hear that “the future is female” phrase being tossed around all over social media, especially with the Women’s March that happened this past weekend. Recently, Time Magazine revealed the cover of their magazine, which showed a bunch of women running for office all over the country, with one of my friends making the cover. Her name is Bushra Amiwala, circled in the image below, and she is running for Cook County Commissioner. Is this where we see women truly becoming “mothers of a new nation?” Reading about how Blackwell and Triple Jeopardy viewed women in the revolution really made me think about the rise of women speaking out, protesting, and running for office in the United States.

            I would love to discuss the image of the woman holding a machine gun in one hand and her baby in the other and what the class thinks of it. Is it empowering? Why do depictions of revolutionary women always include the word “mother?” Should we stray away from that?