College Feminists Connect!

The Naked I: Wide Open

This past Thursday night, 20% Theatre Company performed The Naked I: Wide Open at Augsburg College. At its sold-out world premiere in February 2012, these artists offered to the world a unique theatrical experience in which local trans*/gender non-conforming artists and allies created and performed over twenty pieces.  These pieces explore issues such as gender identity, gender expression, self-embodiment, relationships, and love.  The cast at this performance was smaller than in its previous shows, yet nothing about the performance was lost in its smaller number.  The actors make you laugh, make you cry, and leave you with some food for thought.  Regardless of one's own gender identity, this show is not only powerful, but important.  During the talkback, director Claire Avitabile was asked whether or not she knew of other theater companies in the United States who did anything like this, to which she responded "no."  Because theater can create a sort of "utopian space" in which issues that are not usually explored have a defined place, a performance of this kind gives trans* and gender non-conforming individuals and their allies the ability to discuss the way they experience their bodies on their own terms.  When trans*/queer/gender non-conforming individuals are asked questions like "have you had surgery yet?" or "what is your real name?", regardless of the asker's good intention or not, the ability to educate is cheapened. It is not the task of trans* people to educate others, though many often do.  The hurtful nature of these questions, the bombardment of questions about (what really comes down to) genitals, is not, as many of the performers explained during the talkback, on their own terms.  We need more spaces for trans*/gender non-conforming individuals and their allies to talk.  We don't need more silence.

I highly recommend you discover the works of these artists. If you are able to see the show in person, The Naked I: Wide Open has two more performance dates on their current tour:  Tuesday, March 12 at Winona State University and Thursday, March 14 at St. John's Hospital in Maple Grove, MN.  Copies of the full-length play can also be purchased on Amazon.

For more information about 20% Theatre company, visit their website.

 

-Ingrid

 

Women's HERstory Month

Each year, I am ashamed to say, it always slips my mind that March is Women's History Month. I just totally forget that there is a month dedicated to the history of women. Why is that? It isn't because I don't think it's a good idea. It isn't because I don't love women (I think I have made it very clear that I do). It isn't because I don't consider myself a feminist (I mean...obviously...I'm interning at the Women's Consortium. I'm a die-hard feminist). I think the reason I forget is because, quite honestly, as a woman, as a women's studies student, EVERYday and EVERYmonth is Women's History month to me. I think about women, my makers and educators and those powerful individuals that have shaped me, I think about them and the stories they created, every waking second. These women are so powerful to me that they transcend a month of dedication. I'm not saying I disagree with this. I think it's wonderful (just as with Black History Month) that we have four weeks dedicated to the greatness of these oppressed peoples. I would hope, though, that after March (or February) is done that this awareness would continue on. However, despite the memoriams throughout these months, we tend to slip back into the rut of ourselves, of a patriarchal hegemonic society, once they are over. So I want to inspire us to notice these people (and, just in celebration of the impending month I will focus solely on women) in our everyday lives because, in all truth, they have impacted us in every way (even when we do not realize it).♀ I love ALL women (both transgender and cisgender women). I love womyn of all sizes, colors and sexualities. I love womyn of all ages, classes, nationalities and abilities. From all political backgrounds and passions. Women are my friends, my lover, my mentors and advisers, teachers, heroes, mother/grandmothers/aunts. I love women because they are strong, intelligent, capable and beautiful beings. I love women because they teach me how to be the woman I want to be. I love working with women, playing with women, collaborating with women, learning with women, talking to women and being artistic with women. Although the feminist movements had&have flaws, I am still proud to say that I am an advocate for feminism trying to champion and fix those failures. Because my love for all women is so strong, enduring, intense and true ♀ xoxo 

My SHEroes are the women who pioneered for me the notion that a woman is so much more than what societies allow her to be. A woman is more than a textbook history, more than a media portrayal. More than any of us may even know about ourselves. These women taught me how to be more...

♀♀♀♀For each week of this month

                  I will post a miniature bio

           of 2 of the women I most admire.♀♀♀♀

 Here is the beginning of the list of some of my personal SHEroes...

 

• Willa Cather: Was an American Novelist. Her stories detailed life on the Great Plains (some of her greatest works are O' Pioneer, Song of the Lark and My Antonia), her protagonists almost always were young women. She grew up in Nebraska, attended the University of Nebraska (where she often used the name "william", dressed in "man's clothes" and cut her hair short) and, later, won a Pulitzer Prize for her novel One of Ours (set during WWI). There is a lot buzz around whether or not Cather was a lesbian, but not much proof either way. Some debate that her writings had queer tendencies or could be applied to queer theory. Despite whether or not these accusations are true Cather's most significant and impactful friendship was with the editor Edith Lewis of whom she lived with for 39 years, until her death. Towards the end of her career she started receiving negative criticism that attacked her supposed "romantic" (etc) manner of writing. This criticism was hard on her and she became reclusive. Due to this she destroyed most of her drafts, letters, notebooks, etc. Her style of writing can be dubbed romantic (which has negative connotations), but I believe it is better described as poetic and detailed. Her depiction of women is that of strong individuals who hold powerful positions (they aren't made out to be bimbos or femme fatales). As a young girl in home-school my mother had me read My Antonia, and later I would be drawn to O, Pioneers as well as Song of the Lark. As a thirteen year old I loved having a strong, literary, woman figure to idolize and admire (the way they adventured, made friends, followed their dreams, kept the farm running, held a business, inherited their father's land, etc). Her characters made me dream of this life. They inspired adventure in me.

                                                        Willa Cather

• Sophie Scholl: *9 May 1921 – 22 February 1943* (along with the other members of the White Rose non-violence resistance group). Executed because she was convicted of high-treason, because of her/their resistance and revolutionary ideas/actions against Nazi Germany (non-violent opposition). Initially the group just consisted of her brother and his friends, they later realized what a vital role S.Scholl would have in the movement (being a woman, she was less of a suspect for the SS). They co-authored several anti-Nazi pamphlets. One of my greatest heroes & role models. She taught me the power of peaceful resistance and dedication to what you believe in. A wonderful, inspirational and brave individual to recognize and look up to.

                                                            Sophie Scholl
        

 

To be Continued...

-Anna Ruhland

Dr. Miranda Joseph: Gender, Entrepreneurial Subjectivity, and Pathologies of Personal Finance

Today, Macalester College's Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department hosted Dr. Miranda Joseph to talk about gendered subjects as constructed through economic hegemonies.  Dr. Miranda Joseph is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Arizona - her first book, Against the Romance of Community, utilizes Marxist theory to examine the hyper-idealized vocabulary of community. She is currently working on a project called A Debt to Society, which is the research she drew from for her speech tonight.

Dr. Joseph walked us through the basic progression of economics in the U.S. - starting with a production-based late 19th century, moving to a consumption-happy mid-20th century.  She argues that post-1970s, the idea of the individual as the financer came to the forefront in response to lowered wages.  Finance created a system of credit and debt to make up for this lost income.  Today, our personal identities are inextricably linked to our ability to finance, as Dr. Joseph highlighted in noting that "identity theft" primarily refers to a stolen credit card.  After the 2008 financial crisis, a narrative was constructed to explain the economic collapse, which blamed the individual for making poor choices about mortgages they couldn't afford or understand. Dr. Joseph's research analyzes how gender and sexuality are implicated in this narrative, via marketing strategies, popular culture, and social science scholarship/research.  

Exhibition "Ornament and Crime: Parastou Forouhar" at Macalester College Gallery

Last Friday the exhibit "Ornament and Crime" opened at Macalester College's beautiful new art gallery. The artist, Parastou Forouhar, gave a lecture yesterday about her work - how it creates a new imagined space for the immigrant or refugee, how language lends itself to memory, and how she seeks to address the sexuality and violence often "normalized" by ornamental signs in visual culture.  For me, her talk highlighted how her work can be interpreted as feminist in nature, seeing as it disrupts the dominant narratives of language, history, geography, and sexuality.  

Storytelling Event in Minneapolis, Curated by Macalester College alumni!

Event Info:

Story City presents: My First Time

Thursday, Jan. 24th from 7-9pm

The Loft Literary Center ( 1011 Washington Avenue South, Open Book, Suite 200 - Minneapolis, MN)

Free (donations welcomed)

Macalester College alumni Jemma Brown '11 and Lara Avery '10 started their nomadic story-telling experience, Story City MN, last year. According to their Facebook page, "the goal of Story City is to provide a platform for artists, performers, writers and everyone in between to come together once a month and share stories with members of their Twin Cities community." Past events have been hosted at a garden on East Hennepin Avenue, Boneshaker Books, The Nomad Bar, a plot at Stone's Throw Urban Farm, and Honey.  

As an audience member and friend, I think of Story City MN as a feminist endeavor.  Their utilization of a variety of spaces and places in the Twin Cities fosters a warm sense of community.  By occupying different locations, these events highlight how stories exist everywhere, especially in a vibrant city like Minneapolis. It allows us to bear witness to other peoples' lived experiences, and encourages sharing, collaboration, and hope.  Everyone is encouraged to submit and tell stories; at the last Story City I attended, they included a segment where they picked a guest's name out of a hat and invited them on stage.  The spontaneity emphasized how many feminist belief systems empower individuals to create and act on their theoretical learnings.  

Well Done, Sister Suffragette!

It's Election Day! You know what that means, get out there and vote!

No matter who you are, there is a lot of history in how you came to get your right to vote today. Somebody at some point in time stood up for your rights, said "enough is enough" and fought for your opportunity to have a say in the governing of your country. Whether it was the men fighting in the revolutionary war to form a democracy (instead of a monarchy), the many people who stood up (or sat down) in protest during the civil rights movement to insure that men of all races could vote, or the women suffragettes marching for the right for women to vote---a lot of hard work and determination went into your ability to be involved on this day.

One of my favorite movies as a child was Mary Poppins, and one of my earliest introductions to feminism. I didn't know at the time, but I know recognize that it was the strong female role models that I loved this film for. Granted, as with most films, it is certainly not perfect in its representation of women, but it does illustrate an important time in history, that is often forgotten: the Women's Suffrage movement.

                        

"Cast off the shackles of yesterday!
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!
Our daughters' daughters will adore us
And they'll sign in grateful chorus
"Well done, Sister Suffragette!"

As women, let us not forget the women who fought long and hard to give us the right to vote today. 

And no matter who you are, many people fought to give you your right to vote today.

Make sure you use it!

~Meghan

Take Back the Night a Success!

This past Tuesday, October 23rd the Minnesota Women's Consortium and the ACTC Women's Studies Programs co-hosted Take Back the Night-Twin Cities. Take Back the Night is an internationally held march and rally to protest and take direct action against rape and other forms of sexual violence. This year Take Back the Night Twin Cities was held on Hamline University's campus.

An estimated 150 people attended the event, including students from Hamline, St Catherine University, St Thomas University, Augsburg College, and Century College, faculty and staff from these schools, and many community members. 

The event consisted of two open mic portions where students performed music, spoken word, and shared their personal stories about sexual violence. There were organizations tabling with resources for students as well as activites including t-shirt and sign making. The Hamline University Gospel Choir also performed during the event.

The rally featured a number of fabulous and inspiration speakers, including Sarah Jane Johnston, President of Minnesota NOW, Erin Parrish, MN Women's Consortium Executive Director, US House Representative Betty McCollum, Bobbi Holtberg, Program Director at the MN Coalition for Battered Women, Katie Kramer, a representative from the office of Senator Al Franken who read a letter of support from the Senator, Donna Dunn, Director of the MN Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Susan Hadley McCormick, Founder of WomanKind, and Adrik Curtis, a representative of Outfront Minnesota.

The event was concluded with a moving candlelight vigil led by Hamline Women's Studies Professor Kristin Mapel-Bloomberg.

For those of you who were unable to attend this year, be sure to watch for the event next fall. The plan is for the event to rotate between ACTC college campuses.

This event was co-sponsored by Minnesota Women's Consortium, ACTC Women's Studies Program, Hamline University Women's Studies, Hamline University Women's Resource Center, Hamline University Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, Hamline University Students Preventing Sexual Violence, Hamline University Poetry Slam, Hamline University Hip Hop Collective, Hamline MPIRG, Hamline Democrats, University of St. Thomas Luann Drummer Center for Women, the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, HU Hedgeman Center for Student Diversity, Minnesota NOW Minnesota Coalition Against Sexual Assault, Augsburg College Anne Pederson Women's Resource Center, St. Catherine University Abigail Quigley McCarthy Center for Women, Twin Cities Save the Kids, and Gender Justice.

 

Take Back Halloween?

Yes, I know. I already wrote a 'Halloween' post. 

Really? Sexy Big Bird?

But the more I thought about how Halloween gets used to objectify women and sexualize young girls, the more upset I got. Especially because, I LOVE Halloween. It's by far my favorite holiday. I mean, you get to dress in a costume and pretend to be whoever you want--real or fantasy--and your friends will address you as a princess, or the president, or a teenage mutant ninja turtle! Not to mention the candy and pumpkins! To me, it's a fantastic time to party with your friends, get a sugar-high, dress up and nobody says 'boo' (unless they're dressed like a ghost!). 

Unfortunately, our society has somehow taken what should be an innocent holiday and turned it into an expectation for women to dress in lingerie or be labeled a prude! Everywhere you turn there's a “slutty” or “sexy” version of an animal, cartoon character, monster or even historical character. Don't even get me started on the double entendre of a 'sexy' domestic staff woman. 

Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2012

Twin Cities Take Back the Night 2012 is coming up next week! Hope to see you there!

Check out our event on Facebook!

Pro-Choice Night: The Changing Landscape of Reproductive & Sexual Healthcare

College Feminists Connect is proud to be part of this event! We hope to see you there. 

Hamline University, Kay Fredericks Ballroom, Klas Center (1537 Taylor Avenue)