WMST Brown Bag: Colgate At MichFest

 

On Tuesday, for Brown Bag “Colgate at Michfest", Panelists Prof. Meika Loe, Prof. Mary Simonson and students Susan Miller ‘16 and Sarah Wooton ’15 spoke about their personal experiences attending the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival this summer. 

Sarah Wooton started the Brown Bag explaining to the crowd about the big controversy in this year’s MichFest in particular: whether or not to let trans women attend the festival. While the issue caught a lot of press over the summer having been debated vigorously for years, it has yet to come to a resolution. On the one hand, some people argue that the “safe” nature of the space for women-born women can be threatened by the presence of trans women, especially ones who have not “fully transitioned.” On the other, the festival is seen as an inclusive space, trusting and accepting of all women. One of the arguments Sarah explained, made by some of the women in the latter group: giving into the huge pressure to transition that trans women receive might be considered a sign of giving into the patriarchy itself, was something I had never heard or considered before. However, it does not seem fair, to me, that a group that already deals with so much oppression, hate crimes and pain on a daily basis be subject to more punishment for not being radical enough. Especially to strip them of one of the few safe spaces that is supposedly welcome and available to all women is almost absurd.

Susan Miller, who had been to the festival twice before, talked about how she has seen it change and how she has seen herself change, especially in trying new things in the festival. Prof. Simonson then talked about her experience helping in the kitchen with its high standard for safety and hygiene protocols, even for a festival that gathers 9,000 attendees! Finally, Prof. Loe shed light on her attendance as a mom—going to the festival with her 7 year old daughter Levi. She was amazed at the “full spectrum of gender play” and its acceptance in the festival. Coming in as a Women’s Studies professor, she revelled on how it was almost an idealized space to her—this level of lack of judgment, and total liberation of expression and motion. Being there with her young daughter, who got to see such radical expressions—everything from people with beards to people in costumes and everything in between—and grew to appreciate it, and who Prof. Loe was able to just let wander and trust to a group of individuals she’d never met before to watch over, was to her, like no other. “Only in Michigan Womyn’s Festival,” she said. 

The festival, almost 40 years old and with humble roots of establishment by a 19 year old Lisa Vogel, enjoys a level of prestige and popularity that is quite astounding. While the future of the festival is still in question given declining revenues from music shows and the controversies surrounding it, it is one of the few spaces women today and in the past have had that is just for them, accepts them and indeed, celebrates them. This is especially meaningful and significant for traditionally marginalised slices within the woman demographic, including the trans population. Thus, to many regular attendees (and our panelists seem to agree!) MichFest means "home.”

-Liza Paudel

WMST Concentrators Brown Bags Parts I and II: Big Questions Feminist Ask

The Wmst Concentrator Brown Bag challenged attendees to really think about big and encompassing questions that relate to a plethora of realms, such as coalition building, Asian feminisms, learned sexism language, identity, reception, and expansion. Each concentrator presented his/hers/hirs own project and elaborated on its significance to feminist discourse.

One question asked, " What does coalition building feel like?" Evan Chartier used his praxis project as an opportunity to lean back rather than lean in to support the feminist groups on campus that he had already built connections with.

Another asked how even language can affect how people receive feminism and its purpose. Lindsey Skerker examined how the name of the women's studies center and perhaps the depart  is received by students,staff,and faculty on campus. In addition, she posed options to the community about a potential change to the name. Options included Women's Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Gender Studies, Women and Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Feminist Studies. The idea is interesting, based on statistics, that a name spoke to certain groups and not others. The name also speaks to the question of whether or not it is inclusive or exclusive.

 Two questions I would like to pose to readers that were mentioned in the Brown are

1. How is sexism learned in the home?
2. What is feminine/masculine/ feminist leadership?
3. How is masculinity shaped and how can it be reshaped?

WMST Brown Bag: Inverting the Dominant Discourses: Queering Education

Have you notice how many of advertisements, TV shows, and books are hetero-normative? In addition, they often lack visible racial diversity. Today at the Women's Studies Brown Bag, students from Queering Education( EDUC 242)  presented their poster projects that sought to invert dominant narratives such as the "ideal woman," and  heterosexual coupling.

Many projects challenged  the norm of what the ideal woman looks like and how she is represented. When many people imagine the ideal woman, they unconsciously think of blonde hair, blue eyes, thin waist, very feminine, white, and cisgendered. Many presenters challenged that norm by pointing out that women can be racially diverse and still be women as well as pointing out that oftentimes the "ideal woman" is only ideal in the context of being appealing within a heterosexual man's gaze.

Another norm that was challenged by multiple projects was the idea of what is socially acceptable positions or actions for women. The dominate narrative dictates that women and girls not only be cisgendered and heterosexual, but also submissive, domestic, small, and silent. Denying this narrative sometimes automatically makes girls "tomboys." The project challenged the audience to expand their ideas of femininity as well as what constitutes womanhood/girlhood.

In addition, some projects challenged society's idea and construction of masculinity.


In what ways have you been socialized to believe gender stereotypes?

How do you perhaps perpetuate gender stereotypes and heteronormativity?

- Aidan Davis

Val's Blog

   This semester is slowly coming to a bitter sweat end, and this will be my last blog post as the Women’s Health intern in our wonderful Women’s Studies Center community. This year, my third, has so far been my best year at Colgate. In all honesty, I was extremely unhappy at Colgate for my first two years, but the Center became my second home and the ties created through the Center helped foster a sense of belonging to the greater Colgate community. I am extremely fortunate to have an active role in the Center as the Women’s Health intern, which is one of the main reasons for my current, more positive outlooks of Colgate. I’m sure many of you feel similarly, even if you only come to the Center for our weekly brown bags!

A form of feminist methodology includes and values the lived experiences of women, so I will share some of my personal experiences with you all. If you do not know or remember who I am, my name is Valerie Garcia. I am Latina of Puerto Rican decent; I am from the Bronx, NYC; I come from a working class family; I am a cisgender woman with she/her as my preferred gender pronouns; I am a biologist; a feminist; a social justice seeker. Come talk to me if you want to learn more.  

I am a Molecular Biology major with a Women’s Studies minor (shameless plug: become a Women’s Studies concentrator! Especially those of you who are 2015). Usually, the response I get from people is “oh, that’s cool,” although their faces are saying, “oh, that’s random.” And it kind of is! I am still searching for a way to incorporate the two things I enjoy, biological research and social justice, into some sort of cohesive career. I do not want to, nor should I have to, favor or choose one over the other. So if you have any ideas, I am open to your suggestions! No, seriously, I can use all the help and ideas I can get.

Well, this upcoming summer I will begin my journey with an internship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD, which I will continue with the Colgate off-campus group in the fall. At the NIH, I will be working in a laboratory with some top researchers, so it is pretty legit. Yes, I’m a little sad I will miss my last Colgate fall, but I am very excited for this journey, because it a very prestigious opportunity. I will also gain insight into something I have always been interested in becoming, a biological researcher (a.k.a. lab dweeb) at an institution that focuses on this work.

                While planning to work in a lab, one of the things that always cross my mind is, how can I do feminism in that type of environment. Although I practice small acts of feminism on a daily basis, I want more. I am constantly asking myself how can I take my WMST knowledge and combine it with biology? Does this combination exist? In what line of work can I fuse my interests and passions? Where does social justice meet biology?

                Don’t get me wrong, there are several options: working in women’s health center, a reproductive health center or policy change. But these routes do not fully meet my needs and interests. Some days I want to just work in my own laboratory. Other days I want to teach science to youth from low socioeconomic backgrounds.  Some mornings I wake up wanting to be a professor at an institution like Colgate. Other mornings I want to make really radical artwork and tell the world the truth about feminism, fight the stereotypes and stigma that surrounds the “F-word.”

I still don’t know. And it’s okay, because I have some time to figure it out. At least that’s what I am trying to convince myself of. Come have a conversation with us at the Center, and lets figure it out together. One way I have tried to reconcile my passions is through my involvement with the Center as the Women’s Health intern. This has been a great experience. I am so proud to be an intern at Colgate’s Center for Women’s Studies.

- Valerie Garcia 

Parting Advice From a Graduating Feminist

Well here I am. Only a few weeks left until graduation and I’m writing my last post for the WMST blog feeling incredibly nostalgic. So, I thought I’d take this opportunity to reflect on my time here at Colgate and offer a few pieces of advice on the things that I’ve learned and wish I had known sooner.

Not all feminists are the same:

I know that this might sound silly, but you’d be surprised how often people lump us all under the same category of bra-burning, man-hating, anti-shaving, militant lesbians… Okay, maybe you aren’t surprised.  But here’s a confession: I have yet to meet someone who perfectly fits this description. So the good news is that if you don’t fit this description then you can also be a feminist! Congratulations!!

In all seriousness, what I’m trying to say is that feminists have very different opinions, ideals, goals, and beliefs. We don’t always agree and that’s the beauty of it. I’ve had some of the best discussions with feminists who had different opinions and at the end of the day when we still disagreed, I learned so much more than if I had talked with someone who agreed with me from the start. The point is that even if you disagree with some aspects of feminism don’t be afraid to identify as a feminist and engage with other feminists in conversations.

Along that same vein, don’t be afraid to change your mind. In my humble opinion, I think open-mindedness is one of the best qualities a person can have.

Get to know someone you admire (ideally a feminist):

Like REALLY get to know them. Ask that person to grab a cup of coffee or plan a time when you two can just hang out together. Pick their brain, laugh with them, ask them for advice, and learn from them. It makes this world much more manageable when you see someone you admire navigate this crazy life with ease. Figure out what they struggled with and how they might have gotten over it. Odds are that as a budding feminist you probably are going through the same challenges. Don’t reinvent the wheel but rather learn from those around you.

Talk about what you’re passionate about with your friends and family:

For a long time I kept all that I was learning in my Women’s Studies classes to myself because I didn’t want to come across as fanatic or pushy to my friends. But, as the years have gone by I’ve become more and more comfortable discussing with my friends issues surrounding feminism, intersectionality, race, class, privilege, etc. and it turns out that they actually enjoy discussing these topics too (for the most part). What I have learned from this is that I need to have friends in my life that are willing to have these conversations. Even if they don’t agree with me, we are able to open each other’s eyes and push each other out of our comfort zones.

Allow yourself to be self-critical:

It has become very clear to me (sometimes painfully clear) that I make mistakes, I sometimes offend people, and occasionally I’m just actually wrong. Rather than deny it, I believe there is power in learning from our mistakes and a willingness to be self-critical. Learn about your privilege (or lack of) and understand that we all have a little of both. We all have privilege and we all lack a certain type of privilege. Become conscious of this and how you may perpetuate systems of inequality. This is probably the hardest and yet the most important feminist lesson I’ve learned at Colgate. It’s not easy, but it’s not supposed to be.

Love yourself and those around you:

All right this is my cheesiest advice yet but bare with me. Yes, we are learning. Yes, we aren’t perfect nor will we ever be. But that’s okay. Be critical of yourself, the world around you, and other feminists, but don’t forget to find the little golden nuggets as well. Constantly critiquing the patriarchy, the multiplicity of oppressions, and privilege is important but it is also exhausting and honestly not that much fun. Too often we are quick to be critical, but less willing to point out the good that has come about. But in order for this whole feminism thing to work out, we need to continuously support one another. So I have a challenge for you. Pick several people that you admire or who have helped you in the last few years and write them a letter. Feminist or not, tell them how much they mean to you and in which ways they’ve made a positive impact in your life. Not only will this rejuvenate them, but it will also help you figure out what you admire in people and how to be more like them. And when you are writing your letters don’t forget to write a letter to the most important person: yourself.

- Michelle Van Veen ‘14