Campus Organizers meet Gloria Steinem

So the east coast organizers went downtown for the Women, Money, and Power Summit Luncheon, sponsored by our sister organization, the Feminist Majority. The luncheon was great, and it was great to hear Gloria Steinem speak. She had a lot to say about gun ownership and violence in society, and we really enjoyed her analysis - thanks so much to FM and to Gloria for a great luncheon!

Additionally, we were super stoked to get a photo with her following her speech! So here it is, your 5 east coast campus organizers with the one and only Gloria Steinem!


Special kudos to Norma Gattsek, Government Relations Director, for snagging us the opportunity and taking the photo. Thanks Norma!

A face only a feminist could love

As we mentioned last week, Amanda ReCupido of The Undomestic Goddess started a Tumblr project called This is What a Feminist Looks Like. Naturally, we were smitten.

Here's her original post:

The Undomestic Goddess on tumblr: This is What a Feminist Looks Like

Based on the great feedback from the Undomestic 10 project, I've started a supportive tumblr called This is What a Feminist Looks Like that will consist of submitted photos of, well, feminists! The aim of this project is to put a "face" on today's feminism, and that it's not the scary, bra-burning, feminazi that so many people (still!) believe. The images will collectively create the "face" of feminism, rather than call out individuals. If you would like to participate in this new project, please submit your photo to amanda(dot)recupido(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thank you, as always, for your full support of feminism!

Love,

UG
***********************

I carry my FMF This is What a Feminist Looks Like tote bag everywhere, and I get compliments on it pretty regularly. Admittedly, most of us are a little less keen on wearing our TIWAFLL t-shirts unless we're at a feministy event. Sometimes, you just want to ride the Metro without people staring at your chest.

My favorite TIWAFLL moment was when Val and I arrived at Bowling Green State University and sat down in the Student Center. We'd previously been in touch with lots of great faculty there and were just getting our bearings in the Buckeye State. As if on cue, a student walked by with a bright pink TIWAFLL sticker on her backpack.

"There's one!" I whispered to Val.

So look out for your friendly campus organizers on Amanda's blog soon. Once I enlist a friend to snap a suitable photo, I'm sending it her way. Drop us a line if you send her your picture too!

Submit your feminist photos to amanda(dot)recupido(at)gmail(dot)com with "This is What a Feminist Looks Like" in the subject line. Or send a Twitpic to @theundomestic to be included!

Photo courtesy of Amanda ReCupido

And back to reality

So, after my brief hiatus from the Choices Campus blog, mostly due to a lack of internet, I've returned. As many of you may or may not know, Sweden has a pretty good reputation for gender equality. There are some pretty great things over here, you know, the enormous amount of paid parental leave and the subsidized day care so women are back in the work force, for example.

However, while I was pondering the benefits of paid parental leave this morning on the train, I saw the ad on the back page of the Stockholm metro newspaper. It featured a woman tied and gagged to a chair, with her back to us. Facing her were two men, one that was loosening his tie and the other was maybe cracking his knuckles or something. Since I have a very basic level of Swedish, I have no idea what it was about, but it was a little unnerving to say the least.

And just now, while reading up on the events of the world, I saw some disturbing photos of Rihanna on the Huffington Post. I think the title "Rihanna Topless and Muzzled in Italian Vogue" gives you a good idea of what they are, and why I might find them so disturbing. Anyone who's read about women and advertising knows the meaning of having women with covered mouths.

Muzzling Rihanna just takes that to a whole other level. Not to mention, that there seems to be a general effort to silence women. There's a movement that's trying to silence women's voices about their bodies and reproductive rights. What does it mean to have Rihanna, a survivor of violence, shown muzzled?

We can't easily dismiss the types of images of women in the media because those are the images that people don't usually think about it, and they seem to point to the underlying issues and emotions of a significant portion of our society. Even in Sweden where they boast about gender equity, it means something that there are violent images displayed for all to see.
Photo courtesy of www.flickr/mr_salvis_are

Feminist activism abounds in Wisconsin

Hi all!

Val here - Emily and I have been roaming the state of Wisconsin for a little over a week now as a part of the Choices Campus Leadership Program Outreach for Get Out HER Vote. Check out our effort to blend in to the WI scenery on the right! --->

We have been having tons of fun -there are so many fantastic feminists at every campus we've visited! We've had the privilege of talking with them to see what kinds of fabulous activism they're doing, help them with Get Out HER Vote campaigns, and help out with events and programming across campus.

The ultra-engaged student populations we've met are really encouraging. It seems that a lot of folks on Wisconsin campuses are realizing the immense power that rests in the student voice and are organizing to make sure their peers get fired up and out to the polls!

The engagement of students not only on the level of national politics but with state and local initiatives has been fantastic as well - students are organizing around everything from paid sick leave to birth control access in an effort to make sure their needs are met on campus and in their communities.

We'll be posting more later (though we can't promise any better photos!), but we thought we'd drop in an update from the road. Remember, you can follow the campus team's updates on Twitter also at http://twitter.com/feministcampus!