Photo Elicitation Project

Hector Solis-Ortiz
Social Justice
Dr. Art Munin

OPPRESSION

I believe there is always so much talk about women and how they over sexualized
or oppressed because of the constant messages we get from the public. Though this might
be true I feel like all the talk is mostly on woman people never really talk about men. I
pass by the mall and I cant tell you how often I see the same type of guy plastered on the
display window with a the typical six pack and hair that always seems to be blowing in
the wind. I took this picture of this male at the Hollister store at the Water Tower
shopping center. I do not understand why there is so much talk about the oppression of
woman through advertising, but you rarely hear about men. I only say this because I feel
that they are putting up this picture of what an ideal man should look like and anything
that is not up to the standard is less than. Identifying as a male and obviously not looking
like those pictures I feel can cause some sort of identity crisis because what does that tell
other men that if you dont look like those pictures youre not a real man? Obviously,
that is not the case, but to those seeing it from a different lens it most certainly can be and
its something that should be talked about.

This is a picture of one of my RAs that I supervise. The reason I chose to take a
picture of her was because she identifies as being half Latina and half white. Through
getting to know her this was something that came up when we as RA staff spoke about
identity. The biggest thing that she expressed that she identifying as a multi racial woman
and growing up in Florida this was something that was hard for her because she lived in a
predominantly white neighborhood. This picture represents oppression to me because it
proves to me that racism or ignorance is still around the world to this day. Some people
might say that racism isnt a real, but it is very much a problem. Not knowing where you
fit in can be hard especially when the sub groups you identify with dont accept you can
be even harder.

When I talk to my students or people in general I always get this anxiousness if I

bring up the south side. Not a lot of people that I interacted with have even gone there,
but most would have an opinion. I chose to take the train south and I can say that I did
observe something that was quite interesting is that once the train hit the Roosevelt stop
you could see the demographic change inside the train car. The more north we were there
was a high amount white people and as we got closer to the south the majority were black
and some Latino people. The south did look somewhat different. Sure, it wasnt polished
quite as downtown and it looked a little rough around the edges, but it wasnt anything as
bad as I expected. I chose this picture of the green line because it represented the
ignorance that some people have toward a certain space. I believe this to be oppressive to
the people that actually live in this area of town because it puts them in this box
indefinitely.

This might sound controversial, but though I believe that religion and faith are
very positive things because it gives us something to believe in when things seem bleak,
but at the same time it boxes people in. I choose to take a picture of a church to highlight
how I interpret religion when it comes to the rules you have to follow. I have a friend that
is a Jehovahs Witness and was recently ex communicated from their community because
he didnt follow the rule of living a simple life. It was so interesting for me that one of the
things that the church doesnt believe in is attending college because that technically isnt
living a simple life. Though I dont identify being a Jehovahs Witness religion at times
might restrict someone from having a personal belief of his or her own.

PRIVILEGE

I took this picture of the wellness center on campus to show the access that we
have not only for medication, but to just be able to see a doctor. I think this is very
important because others might not have that same luxury. I believe that everyone should
have access to getting to see a doctor when they are sick, but those without insurance
cant and instead just have to endure their condition. It is a privilege to go to the doctor
and get the help you need as a human being. Its just that in this world or at least in our
society we dont believe in this instead we always focus on the money and the business
behind medicine. Im grateful to be in a position that I do not have to worry about this, at
least not for now.

As I was walking down Michigan Avenue its hard to not notice how many
couples there were, but one thing was constant was the fact that they were straight. I
believe the real privilege would be identifying as a heterosexual because you are more
freely to express love out in the public and society doesnt even look twice. I thought it
was interesting that there just so happened to be a poster from an insurance agency to be
in support of same sex relationships but it was more so to tell that demographic that
should always feel safe in showing their love in public. This was interesting to me
because heterosexual couples dont tend to worry whether they are going to get heckled
or harassed when taking a stroll with their partner, but for others this is a reality.

This place has everything: shops, upscale restaurants, valet service at every
corner, you name it they have it. Its as if you can smell the money everywhere. Its so
easy to see that downtown is catered for those that are in the middle class to upper middle
class to upper class clientele. There is a certain privilege to being part of such an elite
group and that is that you gain access to many things in this role and something that is
invaluable is respect. I notice that if you have money you could be a horrible person by
definition, but because you make that money you gain instant respect. I find this to be
unfair, but nonetheless its privilege all the same. Most people cant say they own a
Rolex, but to those that can most of them wont know how much privilege they have
rather than others.

SOCIAL JUSTICE

I took a picture of the Social Justice Dialogue dinners that are available to our
student at Loyola. At these dinners they get to speak in an open forum about issues that
face society today. It really shows how much Loyola University and the Jesuit Mission
come into play. Social Justice dinners get to have a huge impact on the student
community in how they view the world and what they can bring back to their
communities. I think its great that Loyola makes this a priority and is making it
accessible for our student community.

I took this picture while I was on the train and believed that it really encompassed
social justice on a large scale. I think that runs or walks that address certain illnesses are
important for the community in that it gives people a platform to talk about these issues.
HIV/Aids is a serious disease that might effect our friends or family members and these
people are often treated differently. The reason I believe this can be considered social
justice it because people dont need to have the disease, but the want to run to help others
and bring this to light for others. When people give the money for this cause they are
helping in research to try and find a cure for this disease.

Its funny how I constantly use public transportation that I dont really notice the
fact that they constantly have signs for handicapped individuals. I believe this is a great
example of social justice at work. Sure, it sounds easy enough to give your seat to the
older woman because thats the courteous thing to do, but its more that we in our society
know to help our older generation. I think that these signs are put in place not only to
remind people of that, but they are used to advocate for that population of individuals that
need that extra assistance. After seeing this sign it just brought up to light that there are
constant signs like these everywhere just to help those in need.

I was walking through Belmont and came across the Illinois Equality office where
they help with issues surrounding the LGBT community. In this office they focus on
helping that community by providing different resources and constantly try to bring
awareness to marriage equality. Places like these are all over the city and they are great
resources for young people as well that are still trying to figure out their own identity.
Having these resources show that there is a need for this type of work and hopefully are
trying to bring awareness surrounding different issues.