Broken Mirrors
EAST PEORIA – The Tranquility Room was anything but tranquil last Thursday, as seventy some ICC students and faculty members flooded into room 209A to listen to psychology professor Kamara Taylor give a talk entitled “Mirrors/Distorted Images.”
The hip-hop song “i” by Kendrick Lamar boomed in the background with the lyrics “I love myself” as ICC faculty members and students signed an attendance sheet. Then, professor Taylor immediately grabbed her audience’s attention with her liveliness and upbeat attitude and by encouraging audience interaction. Professor Taylor’s talk was about how women view themselves and how they think they are viewed by others.
In her speech, Taylor talked about the differences between men and women and how women are often perceived as subordinate to men when that is not really the case. She said women are often raised believing that the world is making judgments of them based off of their looks, and that’s why a lot of women are going out of their way to try to make themselves look different. Taylor shared stories about her family, herself, and other instances where she has seen these thoughts impacting the lives of women of all ages.
Taylor talked about how, often, when women feel threatened by other women, they sometimes feel the need to tear them down. However, Taylor spoke about the power and beauty behind complimenting other women and how it can make both the person receiving the compliment and the person giving the compliment feel good about themselves.
“The idea is if we are able to see ourselves in a positive light, we can have a positive attitude and begin to encourage and empower one another to be our level best,” Taylor said. “The only thing that I am hoping that we accomplish through these workshops is that we gain new knowledge and then use that knowledge to empower one another.”
Some of Taylor’s ICC psychology students were among the audience.
Student Tyson Mick, 19, Peoria said, “Professor Taylor is one of my favorite teachers.”
When asked if Taylor is as loud and excited in the classroom, MaryAnn Kowalski, 19, Pekin said, “Professor Taylor is a lot calmer in class, but she’s still as fun.”
To further the dialogue on women in society, there is a Sister Circle each Wednesday afternoon from 1-2 p.m. in Room 213A aimed at uniting and empowering women where open discussion is available.
Furthermore, professor Taylor will be giving another talk entitled “Overcoming Adversities With Victory” on April 22 from 12-1 p.m. in the Tranquility Room, room 209A. This talk will be about overcoming love loss and hardships and refreshments will be served.