College Feminists Connect!

PBS Documentary "Makers: Women Who Make America" Thoughts and Criticism

I finally got to watch PBS' new documentary charting the women's rights movement in America (thanks PBS for posting the entire 3 hour film online for us to enjoy here).  As much as I (someone majoring in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) or anyone else may know about the eruption of second wave feminism in the 1960s and 70s, it is still powerful to reflect on these histories.  The film does a great job of featuring countless interviews with men and women, including people involved in organizations that countered feminist movements (pro-life activists, anti-ERA activists, etc).  It is impossible to feature every aspect of a social movement, especially one as far-reaching and revolutionary as the women's liberation movement - which affected men, women, children, the economy, popular culture, law, education policies, labor rights, etc.  However, I was a bit disappointed with the gentle highlight of women of color and their response to the second wave, which I think could have been better handled; especially considering that these fierce conversations between women of color feminisms and tradtionally white, middle-class feminism are what brought on the third wave.  As many others have recognized, I also wish that the film had ventured into the late 1990s up until now, with young feminist movements and their utilization of the Internet (hello!).  Perhaps they will continue making segments of "Makers," and continue this story, but for now, here are some articles and reviews that I find critical to the film:

Leave the NFL Alone; Gun Control Will End Domestic Violence, Just Be Careful Dumping Your Boyfriend

On December 1st, Jovan Belcher shot and killed his long-time girlfriend and mother to his child, Kasandra Perkins, before shooting himself. 

While it is not clear the exact catalyst for this murder, apparently the couple's relationships was strained and they had been arguing frequently. It would be unsurprising to discover Perkins had attempted to initiate a break-up before Belcher had shot her. Eight times. Clearly there was a lot of anger involved in this situation, and according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, women who leave their batterers are at a 75% greater risk of severe injury or death. Belcher's mother, who was living with them, reported hearing him say "You can't talk to me like that" shortly before shooting Perkins. The couple had also been getting counseling.

NBC's Bob Costas' response to the tragedy was a call to action for gun control. This is a huge problem. The response of the media blames weapons and excuses domestic violence as the root of the problem. Remember the old adage 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people'? True story. 

Anything can be a deadly weapon, including a person's bare hands. Gun control will not eliminate domestic violence or murders, these horrible things will still happen via different means. The root of the problem needs to be addressed, and the root is domestic violence. 

Approximately 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence during there lifetime. Domestic Violence results in nearly 2 million injuries and 1300 deaths in the US every year. 31% of all women murdered are killed by a current or previous intimate partner.

It is extremely unfortunate that Costas didn't take advantage of such a prime opportunity to address the dangers and unacceptability of domestic violence. He had millions of viewers tuned in, a large percentage of which who would likely not otherwise be reached by anti-violence campaigns. 

The NFL itself may be an important target area for addressing domestic violence. While many NFL coaches claim to uphold certain standards for their players, ultimately those players are hired who will be the best athletes, not the best role models. 21 of 32 NFL teams, at one point this year, had employed at least one player with a domestic violence or sexual assault charge on his record.

Gender Neutral Bathrooms: An Easy Solution?

To many feminists, myself included (until recently), switching over to gender-neutral bathrooms seems like a no-brainer. Mary Ann Case, a law professor at the University of Chicago, called restrooms a “fault line,” saying, “very few spaces in our society remain divided by sex. There’s marriage and there’s toilets, and very little else". However, is it possible that gender-neutral bathrooms might present as many issues as sex-specific? 

First, allow me to highlight the issues with sex-specific bathrooms. 

    1. Male & female bathrooms force people who don't fit into societal gender norms to choose one of two bathrooms, both of which may be inaccurate at describing their identity. Forcing people to choose a bathroom when they may identify as androgynous or gender-fluid often causes them discomfort or frustration.

    2. People who appear to be a different gender than their anatomy can receive various levels of harassment, intimidation, and violence in sex-specific bathrooms-often no matter which they choose, and in some places can even be arrested for 'disorderly conduct' if the bathroom they choose doesn't match their driver's license.

    3. Sex-specific bathrooms also cause issues for families with children (such as mothers bringing sons, or fathers bringing daughters, to a restroom), and people with disabilities who need the assistance of an attendant of a different gender.

So, it would seem that switching over to gender-neutral bathrooms would solve a lot of problems, but what problems might this cause? Here are some issues with gender-neutral bathrooms:

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.

 

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month!

Domestic Violence Awareness Month evolved from the first Day of Unity observed in October, 1981 by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The intent was to connect battered women’s advocates across the nation who were working to end violence against women and their children.

Domestic Violence can involve physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse. Physical abuse means any form of violence such as hitting, punching, pulling hair, and kicking. Emotional abuse (stuff like threatening, intimidation, and humiliation) can be difficult to recognize because it doesn't leave visible marks, but can have just as dangerous immediate or lasting consequences. Sexual abuse is being forced into any type of sexual experience that you don't want. 

Keep reading for tips on how to recognize domestic abuse, and what to do if you or a friend needs help:

Show Your Breasts Some Love!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

 

via 

Magickal Graphics

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women in the United States other than skin cancer, and the second leading cause of cancerous deaths. While rare, breast cancer also appears in men. In 2012, it is projected that about 227,000 women and about 2,200 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States alone.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure recommends breast self-exams every month starting by age 20. Komen also recommends women in their 40s and older have mammograms every 1 or 2 years, & women who are younger than 40 with risk factors for breast cancer speak with their healthcare provider about whether and how often to have mammograms.

 

Let’s Talk About Rape Culture on Campus

It’s Fall Semester! Welcome back to school!

And welcome back to yet another example of the rape culture on our college campuses.

On my way to my faculty office, which is in the lower level of a residence hall, I spied a bulletin board titled “Hook Pick Up Line And Sinker” on prominent display in one of the main hallways.

“Um, what?!” I said to myself, as I began to examine the many items on the board, which were carefully printed on colored paper, cut out and double-mounted on a different color, and then artfully placed on the board. They were examples of pick up lines one might use to “hook up” and eventually “sink her.”  Here are a few gems: 

• Oh, I’m sorry . . . I thought that was a Braille name tag
• Your daddy must be a hunter because he sure caught a fox
• Ya know, if we cut your arms off, you’d look just like Venus de Milo
• Want to become a STUD. You know, you can’t spell stud without STD and U.

As Seth and Amy would say: Really!?! 

First, we have the line that is to be delivered as a phony apology after violating a woman’s body – one can only assume the line is to be said while a woman’s breast is being touched in the fashion of a person with blindness reading a Braille text. This one gets double points for demeaning both people with visual disabilities and women.

Student Leaders Needed!

We just recieved an email from the MSU Women's Center asking if we knew any young feminists interested in speaking to a small group of Somali students from Faribault High School about attending college. They are loooking for students who are familiar with the Muslim faith or who are from Somalia.

They're asking for a "commitment" of 30 min on Tuesday July 24th (who doesnt have 30 min...).
So head on out there, take action in your community, and make a difference in just one girl's life!

Interested? Good! Email: Amy Mukamuri or call: 389-5594

Extended Resource Directory

Hi there. I'm happy to announce that after a few days of piecing together student organizations, clinics, and initiatives together for our list of colleges/university across greater Minnesota, we now have a more extensive resource directory for all you young feminists! So rejoice, get active, and let us know if you know of any other resources we could add to our growing directory!

Don't Talk About Sexual Violence Prevention On Campus

It’s the beginning of the school year, and on campuses across Minnesota young women are exercising their new-found freedom to explore new relationships and new experiences.  The majority will look back on these halcyon years fondly, but nearly one in four women will have their college years ruined by sexual violence.

According to the Department of Justice, “Women ages 16 to 24 experience rape at four times higher than the assault rate of all women, making the college (and high school) years the most vulnerable for women.”  The DOJ estimates that “almost 25 percent of college women have been victims of rape or attempted rape.”  In addition, the DOJ notes women enrolled in private colleges and major universities experience higher than national average rates of sexual violence. (Source: “Acquaintance Rape of College Students," www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/e03021472.pdf, page 2).

Especially during these first few weeks of school, we need to talk about rape and other forms of sexual violence:  what it is, who does it, and why they think it’s ok.  But don't try to raise awareness about sexual violence, rape, or harassment on campus, because you will be called "Self-righteous," "corrosive," "confrontational," and accused of "browbeating moralizing that effectively ensures our campus will never engage in a forthright dialogue about sexual violence."  How do I know this?  Because this is what happened at Hamline University when the Women’s Resource Center (WRC) tried to get campus talking about rape and sexual violence prevention. 

Last April, Hamline WRC students conducted a guerrilla poster campaign for Sexual Violence Prevention Awareness Week designed to confront common attitudes about rape and sexual violence.  Using images cut from People Magazine, they designed posters with slogans such as 

• Is it rape if she’s isn’t a 10? Yes!
• The most common drug used in rape is alcohol
• You don’t have to be straight to be raped, and
• Know your power – step in, speak up

Immediately after they placed the posters in their display cabinet and around campus, the cabinet was vandalized with a large handwritten sign taped to it that read: "Using images of overly-sexualized females to discourage sexual assault is ill-conceived and counter intuitive."  WRC staff immediately removed the sign as was their right; however, the student newspaper, the Oracle, jumped into the fray and published an editorial condemning the posters.

Judge for yourself: are these images taken from People Magazine "overly-sexualized"?