Feminist Fridays Press Release

Rachel Ward, Intern Coordinator

AS Gender and Sexuality Equity Center

(530) 898-5724

asgsec.ic@csuchico.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

10-02-2014

The AS Gender & Sexuality Equity Center introduces FEMINIST FRIDAYS

CHICO, Calif.- The Associated Students Gender and Sexuality Equity Center (GSEC) is happy to announce that we are hosting Feminist Fridays in Trinity Commons from 10am-2pm starting October 10^th and continuing through December 5^th.  Feminist Fridays aim to empower, support, and create solidarity between activists and aspiring activists of all genders on Chico State’s campus. This semester we will be focusing on intimate partner violence, self-love, and the need for developing feminist identities. Our semester-long Feminist Friday campaign will give students, staff, faculty, and community members the opportunity to be proactive in their activism by participating in a different activity each week. All participants will receive a free button for each activity they complete. Those who choose to wear an activist-themed shirt will also be entered to win a feminist-themed basket. Winner will be selected on the last Feminist Friday of the semester, December 5th. Listed below are the themes for each week:

October: Intimate Partner Awareness 

10/10 Violence: It's Not Just Physical

10/17 Hands are Not for Hitting Pledge

10/24 Consent Couch with UMatter

10/31 Consent Video Premiere

November: Self-Love

11/7 Negativity Balloon Release

11/14 Self-Love Photo Campaign and Challenge

11/21 Positive Affirmation Exchange

December: This is What a Feminist Looks Like

12/5 I Need Feminism, Because…

For more information, please email our Women’s Program Coordinator at asgsec.wom@csuchico.edu.

The Associated Students Gender and Sexuality Equity Center [GSEC] is a student-run activist organization that strives to empower all students through its two programs: the Women’s Program and the LGBTQ+ Program. The GSEC challenges societal norms that have been used to oppress and marginalize by providing opportunities for leadership, personal development, and referral services. We offer a safe and inclusive space where the campus and community can effectively support the academic mission of the university.

-###

Intern of the Week

Hola Dear Reader!

This week for our Intern of the Week we present to you Lauren!! Below is Lauren's "Meet the Intern" placard with some cool facts about her. Lauren is doing an amazing job in the LGBTQ+ Program and making tons of headway with the FREE Feminist and Queer Library in our office. Be on the look out for her up-and-coming book review!

Transparent

A comment on Trans Representation in the Media by Travis, A LGBTQ+ Program Intern

Hi readers!

So just as a disclaimer, I am merely a person who identifies with the LGBTQ+ community and in no way have any significant idea of what it is like to be transgender or have issues revolving around being so. But I do care about many of the issues going on in the LGBTQ+ community and would like to help increase the visibility of them.

Something that I would like to talk about is the visibility of the transgender community in our society. But just to be clear, this is a sensitive topic so I’ll try to be delicate.

So it’s a widely known truth that the majority of people in this world as of today, identify as cisgender. This means that they as individuals feel comfortable living as the gender that their sex often times coincides with. So like, I was born and deemed male due to the genitalia I have and while growing up, I felt comfortable living in a male identity. This is just some helpful info for those of you who don’t know. However, there are many individuals who don’t feel as I do, and those people often times feel comfortable using the umbrella term Transgender.

So (and I’ll try to stop starting these little paragraphs with so), if you’re a fairly up-to-date person and are current with many new and popular events you’ll know that Orange Is The New Black (OITNB) just came out with a second season on Netflix! It’s an awesome and hilarious show and I totally recommend it to everyone. It does a significant service for the LGBTQ+ community, in my opinion, because it touches on issues going on with the community and helps bring at least some modicum of visibility to it. And one of the most recently popular stars of the show is the ever-amazing Laverne Cox. She has received so much praise for her role as the lovely Sophia Burset for being not only a great actress but also for being a great role model for the transgender community.

To be honest though, while watching OITNB I realized that I haven’t consciously seen any other famous transgender actor or actress in some time; and not even outside of acting. It feels like the media hasn’t given much attention to this community. It was a weird and eerie feeling. I think the last famous out trans person I had heard about before Laverne Cox would have to be Chaz Bono who’s a great guy and is an amazing activist for the LGBTQ+ community. I find it really bothersome though that I there isn’t as big of a voice for the trans community as there should be. We know it’s not because there’s a lack of content; there are tons of issues going on within the trans community, such as homelessness, employment insecurity, high rates of violence, etc. But it feels like there are only niche avenues to learn about what’s going on in the community and that they exist only for individuals who are looking specifically for this kind of information or those who are already involved in issues surrounding it.

In light of my little rant, there is a new show on Amazon called Transparent that I feel is talking about being trans in a positive light, and bringing some much needed attention to the less talked about trans community. It might not be a great show or even a good show, but at least it’s happening and will helpfully get more and more people to at least think about the community and to start conversations. It's nice to see that television has taken the step to increase the amount of trans roles lately, but the next big step is to have more trans actors portraying these roles. So in the end really all this is is a PSA to y’all that trans people are in your community and their issues are real!

 

Tearing Down Feminist Stereotypes

An Angry Fem Rant by Taylor Holmes

Man hater

Bra burner

Angry

Hairy

Dyke

These and many other negative words seem to have become synonymous with feminism in today’s society. If the most common definition of feminism is: the advocacy of women’s rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men…we must ask ourselves what kinds of people would resort to that name calling of feminists?
 

Misogynists, that’s who.

Let’s take Emma Watson’s recent speech to the UN for example. Emma used her privilege as a well known actress to call everyone (regardless of gender) to join the movement for the equality of women. In response to Emma’s amazing speech, ‘Men’s Rights Activists’ threatened to release nude photos of her. Think about that for a minute. Some men were so threatened by Emma “coming out as a feminist” that they resorted to threatening to exploit her body and some even went so far as to spread a rumor that she had been murdered. It’s hard to believe that we live in a world where women advocating for their own rights are responded to with death threats. What does that say about our society?
 

I am not a man hater, I am not a bra burner, and I still shave my armpits but I am definitely angry. I am angry because it is 2014 and I still see women getting cat called on a daily basis. I am angry because women are still told that it was their own fault they were sexually assaulted. I am angry because women only get paid 77 cents for every dollar that a man makes. I am angry because why the fuck should it matter if a woman is a bra burner, hairy, or a butch lesbian? Society seems to be so concerned with confining women to their restrictive undergarments, shaving or waxing all of their body hair, and only having their sexuality somehow be related to men. With these and many more societal norms that women are expected to adhere to, it’s no wonder that I and many other women are angry.

After having taken multiple Women’s Studies classes and becoming aware of the various issues women face on a daily basis, I have already gone through several phases…

First I was in disbelief. Surely women couldn’t be this oppressed in the 21^st century, right?

Next I became angry. Why on earth do people not care about these issues?

Then I got discouraged. No one seems to care about fighting for women’s rights so what’s the point?

Now I have settled here, back at angry. I have come to the determination that the door to consciousness only swings one way and now that I have become aware to just how bad women around the world have it, I can’t help but stand up and say something about it. I can’t help but critically analyze media that I am constantly surrounded by to question the hyper sexualized portrayal of women. I can’t help but speak up about victim blaming when people always seem to first ask what she was wearing. I can’t help but raise questions about why women still face discrimination in the workplace.

I have no problem being labeled as an angry feminist because it means that I care. I will no longer ignore the oppression women constantly face. So call me an angry feminist…I have a right to be.

If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.

 

Intern of the Week

Throughout this semester, the GSEC will be posting weekly blogs in celebration of our nine amazing interns. This week we are highlighting Erin Griffey who is an intern within the Women's Program. Below is Erin's "Meet the Intern" placard with some fun facts about her. Erin has already made some great contributions to the Women's Program and we look forward to seeing what else she will bring to the program during the rest of the semester! Be on the look out for some cool new buttons designed by Erin!

Fall 2014 Internship Opportunity!

The AS Gender & Sexuality Equity Center (GSEC) is happy to announce that we are hiring interns for the Fall 2014 semester! Stop by the Internship Fair on Wednesday, August 27th from 5:00-6:30pm in BMU 005 and get to know the GSEC staff as well as receive more information about the application process.


Applications are due the first Friday of school, August 29th by 4pm to BMU 005!


To receive an application, you can email asgsec.ic@csuchico.edu, or you can follow the link provided below:
http://www.aschico.com/images/cms/544_7_GSEC14_Application_FallInternship08.20.pdf


We are happy to answer any questions regarding the application or the internship!

6 Word GSEC Memoirs

At the end of last semester, we asked our interns to restate the mission statement of the GSEC in 6 words based on their experience in the internship. Here are some of their responses:

"Breaking the silence, empowering our communities"

"Making our campus safe through activism"

"Where activism, feminism, and empowerment thrive"

"Empowering all to end the patriarchy"

"Feminist and queer friends fighting norms"

"Challenging societal norms to change tomorrow"

"Bringing down the patriarchy and empowering others"

"No more silence; change is coming"

"Peaceful, fierce activists pushing for change"

"Different backgrounds, different stories, same fight!"

"Have no fear, equity is here"

"Empowering all using feminism and intersectionality"

"Queer spaces for changing patriarchal faces"

"We recruit with a vulva suit"