{"id":16203,"date":"2018-08-08T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-08T13:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=16203"},"modified":"2018-08-29T08:17:35","modified_gmt":"2018-08-29T15:17:35","slug":"redefining-the-f-word-what-it-means-to-be-a-feminist-camosun-student-in-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2018\/08\/08\/redefining-the-f-word-what-it-means-to-be-a-feminist-camosun-student-in-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Redefining the F word: What it means to be a feminist Camosun student in 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

10\u00a0<\/span>years ago, I was sitting at the dining-room table with my stepmom, and I boldly proclaimed that I wasn\u2019t a feminist. I can\u2019t even remember what prompted me to make such a statement, but what I can remember is the reaction I received from the normally even-tempered accountant sitting across from me: she got angry. Real angry. And she demanded to know how I couldn\u2019t support equality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was confused by her reaction\u2014after all, feminists were irate man-haters who burned their bras, believed they were superior to men, and screamed at anyone who dared say anything disparaging against women, right? But this description was basically the complete opposite of my coolheaded stepmom.<\/p>\n

I spent the next decade quietly grappling with the concept of feminism.<\/p>\n

Fast-forward to October 2017: my Facebook feed was flooded by women proclaiming \u201cme too,\u201d and I was officially woke to how stacked the patriarchy actually was against women. In the ten months since, I\u2019ve seen the conversation and definition of feminism evolve to the point where even my October 2017 concept of feminism as \u201cwomen have been asking really nicely since the beginning of time and now we\u2019re done asking nicely\u201d seems archaic and narrow-minded.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So how do we discuss such a sensitive topic? How do people keep their cool when they feel marginalized? How do people not clap back when they feel unjustly attacked? How do we have an open dialogue about what feminists are fighting for without it turning into an actual fight?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if there is a right answer to any of these questions. But I do know that the wrong answer is silence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Defining feminism<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the hardest things about the feminist movement is how to define it. While discussing this topic with five self-identifying feminist Camosun students, I got five different answers.<\/p>\n

First-year Engineering Transfer student Kaila McCarthy says she\u2019s not really sure what her personal definition of feminism is.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s about equality,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel feminism is about intersectionality in feminism and making sure that everyone has equal rights and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Jinnie Park (all photos by Katy Weicker\/Nexus<\/em>).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Second-year University Transfer student Charlie Cleugh says that feminism is about equality across the board.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would probably say that it is a movement toward creating equality for all genders and sexes,\u201d says Cleugh.<\/p>\n

Legal Office Administration student Rowan Hynds thinks there is a lot of variety within the movement and subscribes to a belief in intersectional feminism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m also indigenous, and queer, and a bunch of other stuff, so that\u2019s something that\u2019s really important to me,\u201d says Hynds. \u201cObviously the most succinct definition that everyone likes to fall back on is believing in the equality of men and women, but the feminism that I like to include in my own life and my own experience is a little bit more nuanced than that.\u201d<\/p>\n

As an international student from South Korea, second-year Applied Tourism and Hospitality student Jinnie Park says that gender roles are more rigid in Asian culture. She admits she doesn\u2019t feel like a \u201cperfect feminist\u201d because she\u2019s still learning about the complexities of the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cFeminism is a belief that men and women have the same rights for everything,\u201d she says, \u201cso women can be much freer from any prejudice or any violence.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Rowan Hynds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The definition of feminism is simple for second-year University Transfer student Taelor Lay.<\/p>\n

\u201cEquality,\u201d she says. \u201cPeriod. One word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feminism on campus<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camosun College lists \u201cpositive and supportive student experiences,\u201d \u201can inclusive community,\u201d \u201can environment of respect and safety for all,\u201d \u201cour relationships with one another,\u201d and \u201cIndigenization\u201d among its values on the college website. Cleugh and Lay both say that they feel Camosun is doing a good job encouraging and supporting feminism on campus. Both have taken classes with a strong female influence and found the experience to be enriching.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast semester I took a course called Anthropology of Women and we did a lot of work in that class about women\u2019s issues,\u201d says Cleugh. \u201cThere was a section about sex work and the legalities of that, and should it be legal, and women\u2019s rights surrounding that. I think it was just a really enriching experience and it really opened my eyes to a lot of things, and I think it did to a lot of other people in the class too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lay has taken classes that aren\u2019t specifically described as \u201cwomen\u2019s literature,\u201d but has high praise for her profs who have included books written by women in their curricula.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of amazing profs. Maureen Niwa, specifically, has encouraged me to delve into women\u2019s lit,\u201d says Lay. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a passion of mine. I don\u2019t know how much I\u2019ll be able to pursue it, but I would love to inspire others, in the way that Maureen and some of the other profs have done for me, when I\u2019m a high-school teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Taelor Lay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lay is also incredibly grateful for the support she received from the college after surviving sexual assault last year. Lay was impressed by how understanding and supportive her profs were as she recovered, and by how many resources were available to her as a Camosun student, even though the incident occurred off campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe systems that they have in place to support students that way have made me feel very supported as a woman, as a feminist, and as a sexual-assault survivor,\u201d says Lay. \u201cI feel so supportive of Camosun because of what they have in place to support sexual assault victims with in their recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lay says that resources such as the school\u2019s student support workers have been instrumental in her recovery.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know how much support there was available until recently, but once I was aware of the full extent of the support that was available to me, it was extremely easy [to access it]. The people who are employed to help students are truly there to help.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although people I spoke with for this story generally praised Camosun\u2019s support of feminism on campus, Hynds finds that her older profs, in general, tend to be slightly less sensitive to her beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs society evolves, people accept different ideas about what feminism is, and what the appropriate way to treat different genders are, and all that kind of stuff,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kaila McCarthy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of Hynds\u2019 classes are at the Interurban campus; she believes the campus culture there is less inclusive than at Lansdowne. While she acknowledges that she\u2019s had many positive experiences with Interurban staff, she would like to see them have a bit more sensitivity training, especially when it comes to issues about intersectionality and different cultures.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think some of them are working with information or ideas that are a little bit outdated,\u201d she says. \u201cOr, a lot of the time, I feel like some of them are so concerned about walking on eggshells, or \u2018I don\u2019t want to say the politically incorrect thing,\u2019 and they end up showing how uncomfortable they are around minority issues.\u201d (A spokesperson for the college said no one from Camosun was available to comment on this issue, but they stressed that if any students need assistance they can contact the Ombudsperson or the Student Support Office; the college is also in the process of developing its Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy and Procedures, which students are welcome to participate in.)<\/p>\n

Despite her concerns, Hynds is quick to point out something that could have been a negative experience but turned out to be a positive one for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my first semester, I had a professor who was kind of telling this story about a scientific study about the differences in how men and women think, and saying, \u2018Oh, it makes sense that women can\u2019t control their logical processes as well as men can because of this scientific fact.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hynds then remembered that she had a book at home that referenced this particular study and gave contrary information to what her prof was saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a whole bunch of information that was kind of incongruent with the findings of that study in particular,\u201d she says, \u201cso I highlighted it and brought it into his office and was just kind of like, \u2018Hey, I just think we should be looking at all sides of this, making sure that the information is current, and sensitive, above all.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the end, Hynd says her prof was open to her findings and thanked her for bringing her concerns to his attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was like, \u2018I really appreciate that. I don\u2019t want to be giving people wrong information, and obviously studies go in and out of favour, so thank you for correcting me,\u2019 which was something that I really appreciated, and he ended up reading the whole book,\u201d says Hynd.<\/p>\n

For McCarthy, being one of the few female students in the male-dominated Engineering Transfer program has been a mixed-bag experience. While she admits that feminism isn\u2019t something that is readily discussed in her classes and that she hasn\u2019t had a negative or marginalizing experience at Camosun, she does want to point out that the anonymity of the internet can tell a different story.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to the teachers, there\u2019s one thing that I noticed,\u201d she says. \u201cOn Rate My Profs\u2014which is definitely something I\u2019ve seen my classmates look at, and I\u2019ve looked at\u2014there is an emphasis on female teachers\u2019 appearance, whereas a lot of times when people are looking at male teachers, or evaluating male teachers, they\u2019re talking about their skills in the classroom. I\u2019ve definitely heard discussions about the attractiveness of female teachers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Park also feels the pressure of gender stereotypes, recalling a time when she brought food to campus and her male classmates commented on her societal role based on how good the meal tasted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re ready to get married, you\u2019re gonna be a good wife,\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Park says she doesn\u2019t appreciate those kinds of comments because they make her feel the cultural pressure to be a housewife.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m gonna get married just to cook for my husband?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

When confronting her classmates, Park struggles with their dismissiveness.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say, \u2018I don\u2019t like to hear that kind of thing, that\u2019s not fair,\u2019 they always say, \u2018Hey, it\u2019s a compliment, why are you so serious?\u2019 I hate that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fighting stereotypes<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note when involved in the ever-changing dialogue about feminism that there\u2019s still a lot of stigma surrounding the movement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI find, no matter who you\u2019re talking to\u2014even with friends\u2014I feel the need to almost back it up and explain, \u2018Oh, I\u2019m not an angry feminist, I\u2019m not the feminist that\u2019s rioting with her shirt off. I\u2019m not a feminist you should be wary of; I\u2019m not a feminist who can\u2019t make jokes,\u2019\u201d McCarthy says. \u201cYou always feel like you have to put people\u2019s minds at ease when you use that word.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Charlie Cleugh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Park says that there has been some culture shock for her in regards to feminism.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere in Canada, I can say, \u2018I\u2019m a feminist,\u2019 but in Korea the word \u2018feminist\u2019 is not a good word,\u201d she says, adding that \u201cmany men think \u2018feminism\u2019 equals \u2018anti-men.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

While some stigmas, such as the incorrect assumption that feminists are all man-haters, may be obvious, there are more complex ones that can make owning feminist views challenging.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen people say they\u2019re a feminist, I get worried that it\u2019s not intersectional feminism, and that I\u2019m going to be associated with \u2018white feminism\u2019\u2014the kind of feminism that only kind of helps white women and straight women, women who are already privileged in society,\u201d says Cleugh. \u201cThat kind of feminism really irks me because it\u2019s not really doing anything. These women are already privileged in society\u2026 sure, there\u2019s gender equality, but there are so many trans women, queer women, women of colour that are so marginalized that I think it\u2019s very important that we include that. Sometimes when I say that I\u2019m a feminist, I worry that I\u2019m getting looped into the blanket \u2018Feminism is just about white women aren\u2019t paid as much as men.\u2019 And then it\u2019s like, \u2018Okay, well, have you looked at how trans women don\u2019t even get hired?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

McCarthy echoes Cleugh\u2019s statement, adding that there are so many different kinds of people, with so many different beliefs, who identify as feminists.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, feminism is about intersectionality, and people of all genders, all ages, all sexes, religions, sizes are treated equally and respected. But there are people who really put limitations on who they think deserve to be treated equally, so it\u2019s hard,\u201d says McCarthy. \u201cI think, in a way, you do need to clarify what you mean when you say you\u2019re a feminist to assert that you aren\u2019t\u2014particularly for me as a white woman\u2014just saying you want rights for white women. You know, you want to see black women and aboriginal women treated equally, and to recognize that white women are still in a place of privilege, even as women.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleugh says that the most important thing to consider when discussing feminism is the idea that there are more than two genders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSex and gender is not this binary thing,\u201d says Cleugh. \u201cI feel like we go into conversations so many times not acknowledging that and the conversation gets muddled in this debate about whether there is or there isn\u2019t [a gender binary].\u201d<\/p>\n

Cleugh says then conversation gets away from the concerns of people who identify as nonbinary or intersex.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like if we don\u2019t acknowledge the fluidity of sex and gender, we get caught in the first stage and we can\u2019t go past that,\u201d says Cleugh.<\/p>\n

Hynds accepts that while feminism is becoming more normalized there is always going to be a certain stigma attached to it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbove all, I really wish that, especially with the topic of intersectionality, people would recognize that no one is demonizing anybody,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s not saying \u2018You can never have anything bad happen to you because you\u2019re a man,\u2019 or you\u2019re white or whatever it is, but simply that those things won\u2019t happen to you purely for the fact that you have this identity. Bad things aren\u2019t happening to men specifically because they are men\u2014they might be happening to men because they\u2019re black, or they\u2019re poor, or what have you, but I think that nuance needs to be communicated and understood a little bit more thoroughly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lay wishes that people were better able to focus on equality rather than on the social stigmas and implications that are attached to the word \u201cfeminism.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that is where the defensiveness comes in,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I said I was a supporter of equality I don\u2019t think anyone would bat an eye at me, but it does happen every now and again when you say \u2018feminism,\u2019 although it is essentially the same thing as equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The reality is that feminism is constantly evolving, and it\u2019s hard to not feel overwhelmed by it all. In a world where people are so passionate in their beliefs, it\u2019s easy to not ask the hard questions for fear of coming across as ignorant, close-minded, or bigoted. But that doesn\u2019t mean we shouldn\u2019t discuss it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As a student, I am constantly evolving and learning things that I never knew before. I like to think these revelations have enriched my life, expanded my views, and allowed me to look at the world critically. As a feminist, all I can do is be humble enough to know that I am still learning.<\/p>\n

I came into this article feeling ready to crush the patriarchy, and I am walking away from it awake enough to realize there are many different facets of feminism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And, while we may all choose to add our own layers and nuances to our definitions and beliefs, it is important to focus on the fact that there\u2019s still a dialogue that needs to occur in order for society to achieve the ultimate goal of equality.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

10\u00a0years ago, I was sitting at the dining-room table with my stepmom, and I boldly proclaimed that I wasn\u2019t a feminist. I can\u2019t even remember what prompted me to make such a statement, but what I can remember is the reaction I received from the normally even-tempered accountant sitting across from me: she got angry. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,214],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-august-8-2018"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16203"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16209,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16203\/revisions\/16209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}