Brown Bag Reflection: Art from a Feminist Lens

            In all seriousness, I was one of those kids with massive art skills in Kindergarten. In fact, this past summer I visited my kindergarten teacher who happened to have some of my artwork that she’s been saving for the past 15 years or so. But somewhere along the way, art and creative expression was devalued and developing reading and writing skills was prioritized. I feel like I lost all of my creative and artistic skills as I grew older. Which is why it is great that people like Melissa Gamez and Jess Aquino have retained their artistic skills and that they shared some of their art with us during last Tuesday’s brown bag.

            One of the topics that came up during the Q&A was the fact that artists create works of art to depict something, whether a thought, emotion, or memory, yet they still have to explain their piece using words, which seems counterintuitive. A response to this question was that having some background to an art piece could deepen the meaning of the work. I’m not an art historian, but I find that knowing a bit about the artist’s life, social circumstances or thoughts helps me to appreciate and better understand their art.

            A common topic throughout the brown bag was the idea of looking at art through a feminist lens, although this may not have been the intention of the artist. I think that having a feminist perspective changes art and gives it a different meaning to the feminist viewer. What are some of your favorite art pieces? How do you view them? How would you view them through a feminist lens? Please feel free to share!

            These speakers have definitely inspired me to take an art class in the near future. I would love to develop my untapped artistic skills and create some feminist art. What could be better than feminist art?

            Sophia Wallace depicts her feminist art through her Cliteracy project in which she uses different forms of art to educate people about the clitoris. Many people do not know about female genitals and female pleasure, and Wallace visually demonstrates what we all should know. As Wallace portrays, art can be a form of activism, especially when viewed from a feminist lens. Click the link bellow to learn more about her project, and let me know what you think.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/28/cliteracy_n_3823983.html#slide=more314801

-Valerie Garcia ’15

Reflection on Lecture by Jackson Katz

On Monday the 28th of October, the Center for Women’s Studies hosted Jackson Katz, a well known anti-sexist activist,who gave a great lecture on men's involvement in sexual assault that I wish a lot more people could have attended. Katz talked about sexual violence against women and how up till today, sexual assault has been seen as a women’s issue which gives a lot of men an excuse not to care about or give sexual assault the attention it deserves. Not until men start to see that sexual violence is an issue that affects them too as the key perpetrators of sexual violence, only then will change occur. Katz went on to talk about how sexual violence is all about power dynamics and because this notion of being powerful tends to get to men’s minds, thoughtful dialogue between the sexes does not take place. Men should stand as allies for women and this dialogue should not be a battle of the sexes. It's a naive and problematic way of thinking and continually perpetrates sexual violence.

Katz went on to talk about how we have done a lot of awareness creation about sexual assault and it’s high time we moved on to action! This is the part I loved the most! There’s a tonne of information out there about sexual assault that many of us are aware of but the bigger question is, what are we doing about it? Blaming the victim? This does not get you anywhere. The question that should be asked is: Why is it that men are assaulting women? Why is rape such a prevalent problem? These are the kinds of questions we ought to be asking and not: What was the woman wearing? Was she sober or drunk? Was she giving off signs that she was interested? NO. That needs to stop. More men need to understand the meaning of consent. Only when she gives you that YES is when you should proceed with your actions but if not, let it go and perhaps try again next time. You never know what luck you just might have. This point can never be stressed enough.

Therefore, what role can you and I play in ending sexual assault here on our campus or even elsewhere in our other communities?

In college, change needs to happen at an institutional level. Yes, students may create awareness on the campus with clubs, activities and events but this usually attracts the same crowd, those that are interested in this kinda stuff. So, in order to attract groups of people that are either unaware or not so interested, such talks like Katz’ lecture and even workshops should be incorporated into the students’ curriculum. How can one graduate from a prestigious institution claiming to be learned but unaware of what feminism really is, and not the uninformed definition that it’s all about women bashing men. NO! Students ought to know better than that. Once these feminism classes have been incorporated into the students’ curriculum, then shall we see action being taken by more and more people.

At an individual level, in whatever social circles we belong to, we ought to stop those derogatory and demeaning stuff our friends say and respectfully call them out on that kind of language. They’ll then be more aware of what they say and eventually stop.

So, there you go-you can start with those few suggestions and together we shall create change within the community!

-Gloria Kebirungi '15

Are Women in the Senate "Good" ?

         If you haven't heard, the government shutdown ended October 16th, 2013 (day before the beginning of the debt ceiling fallout) thanks to... women! Hurray! But wait. The problem I have is the condescending nature of the language some men on the senate have taken to saying which is "Women in the senate is a good thing," which was stated by Senator Mark Pryor. I might add he said it in a tone that meant women in the senate is actually a good thing. There are two ways to think about the statement. One way is that there still really is an issue in government if they believed that women in the senate wasn't good thing or perhaps there presence made no difference. The other way is what does it matter that the people who came together across party lines to settle an agreement on the budget and debt ceiling debate were women. There seems to be an assumption that women are the only people capable of cooperation:"Klobuchar said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Wednesday that the friendships the Senate women have developed will help them work together to craft a long-term budget without the counterproductive barbs that some politicians throw at each other when they don't agree (Bassett)."  This type of thing suggests not only that men are incapable of exchanging ideas in a manner where they can compromise, but also that women are capable because they are assumed to be more gentle and not as aggressive. Women disagree all the time about many things. I argue that it is indeed coincidental that the solution came from women. The solution came from people who took the lives of suffering people and perhaps the potential political benefits they could gain into consideration to solve this issue. They stand to gain more politically on both sides of the aisle solving this issue than continuing this childishness they "firm leadership." So in other words, smart, considerate, and open minded individuals solved this issue. In my opinion, being a woman was not a factor.
          This language brings to light the lack of recognition women are getting in the United States senate today, which is quite similar to the student government at Colgate where not only are the women not recognized and their voices silenced, there also aren't very many women to begin with in comparison with the men in the SGA.
        The lack of women or lack of different gendered voices other than men is quite concerning. I am not asserting that there should be more women than men. Similar to the debate of the affordable care act presented issues for women's health, the lack of different voices( race and gender) in the SGA actually risks dividing the campus even more. Without the recognition of the successes of women and their ideas, not only do we miss valuable perspectives, you leave out the lives of almost half the university. However if we adhere to the second thought process of thinking about gender, I must correct myself by saying its not just women's ideas or "their" ideas. They are good ideas that just so happen to come from women. No matter the school of thought you choose, the "Government Gots' Issues."

What do you think of this issue?
I recommend you look at this article and the video attached here.

Citation:
Bassett, Laura. "Men Got Us Into The Shutdown, Women Got Us Out." The Huffington Post. 16 Oct. 2013. TheHuffingtonPost.com. 17 Oct. 2013 <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/16/shutdown-women_n_4110268.html?utm_hp_ref=politics>.

Brown Bag Reflection: Coming Out Stories!

Coming is not limited to the moment you tell a friend, parent, or perhaps even stranger. It seems to be a journey of discovery, re-creation, and/or redefinition.  On Tuesday, C The Colgate Center for women's studies along with LGBTQ initiatives continued the tradition the Coming out stories brown bag. This year we had the opportunity to learn about the "coming out" journey's of James Vigilante, Chantel Melendez, and Rabbi Dena Bodian. Each one offered great and different perspectives on sexuality, labels, and language.
       James Vigilante told the story of how very young he knew he was " different" per se and was attracted to men (gender or phenotypical sex was not clarified). After a rumor in high school started about him participating in sexual activities with men spread, he became the subject of  ridicule. In order to cope and counteract these statements, tried to represent the society's image of masculinity by getting a girlfriend. Although he cared for very much, he knew the relationship could last. He "came out" during his college years when he  felt comfortable and found a very supportive and welcoming community and family in LAMDA and Colgate Dischords. James chose to identify as Gay.
       Chantel Melendez offered a pan-sexual perspective by explaining that her attraction to a person is not determined or based on sex or gender. She explained the difference between Bi-Sexual and Pan-Sexual by saying bi-sexual was attraction to men or women while pan-sexual identified person don't necessarily restrict  to only those two gender identifications. Pan-Sexuals can be attracted to many different genders in between as well. Chantel also brought up a good point by changing the language of "coming out" into "sexual debut" to  not negatively stigmatize the experience  and be inclusive.
          Rabbi Dena Bodian offered the audience a historical perspective by saying things were much different then it is now. Before, same sex couples could not own houses or property together, as well as not get married, or file taxes. Rabbi Dena elaborate don her experience being a lesbian identified Rabbit and how many times people would not let her participate int their church or speak on the basis or her sexual-orientation. Luckily, she has a found a welcoming home in Hamilton.

TINAPAS

        I hope you were all one of the over 600 people that went out this weekend to see a performance of “This is Not a Play About Sex” by Cristina Liu ’13.  This was my second time seeing the show, and just like last year, I came away with amazement on so many different levels.   The show is not only provocative and funny at points, but the most meaningful part is that it was taken from real life experiences of Colgate students.  With the help of a University Studies grant last year, Liu was able to interview students on campus and make her transcriptions into monologues for a senior project.  She interviewed 28 students and had over 300 pages of transcriptions, which she used to create the monologues for her show. 
      I was so excited to learn that the play was being put on again this semester, as I truly believe that every Colgate student should see it since it hits so close to home.  Additionally, it was great that the play was shown earlier in the year, as many first-years and new sophomore members to Greek life were able to see it and take something away from the performance. The show has helped to further the positive sexuality movement at Colgate that first originated with the Campus Climate Survey in 2009, and I trust that people will continue to talk about this play and work to keep its legacy going.
      Of course all of the acts were fantastic and significant in so many different ways, but I would like to highlight two that struck me the most.  “Afterhours” at first starts off comically as cast members set themselves up to look like they are sitting on a bus and one person walks by with a sign reading “The Cruiser” which rightfully garners giggles from the audience.  Various characters make their way onto the bus, as the audience sees some drunk students stumbling around or falling asleep on the seats and others flirting it up with those around them.  A couple walks onto the bus and sits together discontentedly.  The woman is telling what appears to be her hookup buddy or potentially boyfriend that she wants to go back to her room alone and go to sleep.   Interspersed with their argument are the comicalities of the other Cruiser riders eating Slices and drunkenly chitchatting with each other, but then the scene takes a more serious turn as the guy says, “Stop being such a cunt!” He moves to the back to sit away from her and yells for the whole bus to hear how she is such a cunt. He just keeps repeating what in my opinion, is the most offensive word in the English language.  The scene ends at this point (without anybody on the bus even batting an eye at such an atrocious word!), but it is the audience’s reaction that really shows whether or not they have understood the deeper message. Last year I remember people laughing and not getting that this part was not supposed to be funny but rather it was supposed to be taken seriously.  This year, I was upset to still hear snickers in the audience.  I would have hoped for people to have understood it better this year, but I guess I was proven wrong. 
      “Los Conquistadores” is the second act that I want to highlight.  This monologue involves the stereotypical frat boy character who at first talks about the bond between him and his brothers. He garners some laughs when he talks about the typical Colgate girl as being “blonde, and preppy, and wearing rain boots whenever there’s a fucking cloud in the sky.” As he continues, he reveals that coming to Colgate shocked him as he had never had so much power and so much social capital until joining a frat.   About halfway through, he looks at presumably Cristina who was the interviewer and asks almost rhetorically, “This is anonymous right?!”  Once he receives that affirmation, he opens up even more so about how absolutely screwed up the whole social scene.  He reveals that sometimes all he wants is a real relationship with a girl, one that isn’t so utterly backwards.  In the end, he hopes that this is not what “real life” will be like once he leaves Colgate.
      Overall, the play deals with so many social intricacies on campus that are not typically talked about in group settings.  One of the themes of the show is the fact that so many students at Colgate feel that they lack not only deep sexual relationships, but lack meaningful interpersonal relationships as well.  The hope of the play is that students will learn to better communicate with each other and learn to value each other on an individual level, and not just as what they appear to be on the outside.  Our four years at Colgate are surely “real life” as I know I haven’t been living in a dream!  Not only do we need to start treating our time here in that way, but we need to be sure to treat others as “real life people” as well.
-Lindsey Skerker ‘14

P.S. I would like to resurrect this post by Liu in response to comments she received last year from fratstar69…if you haven’t seen this yet, take a look.  Let’s hope the message and the legacy of TINAPAS eventually sinks in and resonates with all of the people on campus.