By Nicole Porter
Chief Copy Editor
America is currently engaged in a conversation about feminism and what it means for all of us individually; various people, from college students to celebrities, are finding ways to contribute to this national discourse. Emma Sulkowicz, a senior at Columbia University, has recently become a household, or at the very least a dorm room, name. She is being hailed as a messianic artist for her piece “Carry the Weight,” an accolade that is not undeserved. Her piece, as you may already know, involves Sulkowicz carrying her fifty-pound, twin extra-long mattress wherever she goes. The carried mattress is to remind Columbia’s administration, her fellow students, and the public at large that women at universities across the country are not safe from sexual predators even in their own rooms. It calls forth an elementary tenant of feminism: women should have equal rights to men, and this includes the basic rights of safety and security.
Celebrities are certainty not immune to Sulkowicz’s call to feminist arms and the media frenzy that has followed it. Last week while appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman, well-known comedian Aziz Ansari declared himself a feminist and credited his girlfriend for his “feminist awakening.” He called out to the audience and asked them to come forward as feminists as well. Few of them did. Perhaps this is because they see fighting for equal rights as synonymous with man hating. Ansari’s fellow celebrity, Emma Watson, recently addressed this misconception in her speech to the UN.
On September 20th Emma Watson delivered the speech that launched a thousand feminists. Whether they are rallying around her or railing against her, Watson captured the attention of almost every feminist on the Internet. Even though Watson delivered it over three weeks ago there are still articles emerging praising Watson for her bravery or dismissing her for only skimming the surface of feminism. Both of these viewpoints are correct. However, a thirteen-minute speech will never fully encompass all the facets of feminism, not even Watson’s. We all need to start looking more broadly at feminism and the effects of gender divides as a nation, and we should start right here at SLU.
Professor R. Danielle Egan is the head of the Gender and Sexuality Studies department here at SLU, and she personally identifies as a feminist. She wants St. Lawrence students to remember that there is no such thing as one kind of feminism, rather there are feminisms. Because we often see feminism and feminist as having cut-and-dry definitions, many women and men are resistant to call themselves feminists. She has seen this resistance transcend into controlling behavior, relationship violence, and sexual assault amongst students on the St. Lawrence campus. This type of behavior is now dealt with by a new committee on campus because of the recent changes caused by Title IX. Egan believes that it can now be dealt with productively through this committee, and she “appreciates that greatly because in many other places that doesn’t exist.” Even though Egan sees that St. Lawrence is working to close their gender divides and to deal with sexual crimes against women, as an institution she does not see it as feminist. For St. Lawrence University to identify as feminist, a lot more conversations need to start happening.
Anyone and everyone can start these conversations and there is no better time then next week, which has been dubbed the “Advocates Purple Week.” You could attend “Empowerment Zumba” next Thursday and be St. Lawrence’s Aziz Ansari by declaring yourself a feminist and asking your fellow zumba-ers to do the same. You could march in solidarity with your fellow Laurentians next Wednesday in St. Lawrence’s own “Carry the Weight” demonstration inspired by Emma Sulkowicz art piece. In her speech Emma Watson encouraged everyone to ask themselves “If not me, who? If not now, when?” After you ask yourself this you will see that it is time for everyone to come forward and help St. Lawrence University become a feminist institution. It’s time to start our own conversation.