Feminism club discusses women’s liberation
January 19, 2022
Seniors Sophia Pietan and Eliza Weston establish feminism club in hopes to spread equality within the community. Beginning at the start of the school year, they discuss topics and watch films on the basis of women’s liberation.
Feminism is belief in equality towards all genders socially, economically and politically. It is important that feminism is discussed within each community as it helps reduce the stigma behind feminism itself. It is often misunderstood that feminism is an act of undermining men to bring women up socially however this is not the case.
“I think a lot of people think that being a feminist is like ‘oh you think that women are greater than men’ which is absolutely not what being a feminist means,” Weston said.
The clubs main objective is educating others on the different aspects of feminism as there are many characteristics involved. In recent meetings, the club spoke about the male gaze and its negative impact on equality.
The longevity of conversations held during the meetings reveals how in depth each topic is. “We talked for an hour and a half about the male gaze and toxic masculinity,” Weston said.
President of the club speaks about honesty and how it interacts with false accusations, rape accusations and speaking out about sexual assault. When people distrust women on rape accusations, it makes it harder for other women to speak out about their own sexual assault.
Weston spoke about how incorporating a “more honest platform for young girls” would be beneficial as it opens a “safe space” for those dealing with sexual assault.
Unfortunately, gender-based inequality is still seen everywhere in 2021. Both men and women experience unwanted competition with each other and or differing treatment based on gender. The basis of equality is not about treating men and women differently, it is about being kind to everyone regardless of gender.
“At work a lot of people will treat me differently because I am a woman, they’ll ask for a manager and then when I bring a female manager, they’ll ask for a man to speak to.” junior Mikayla Matiski said.
As effortless as it is to be a bystander, it is important that everyone who understands feminism advocates for it as well. This can be done by spreading awareness to those who know little on the subject and doing what can be done to stop inequality once it is witnessed.
Matiski explained that posting fliers on social media and correcting rude judgement by others in the hallways can be an accommodating method of advocating for feminism.
There is a long history of unequal distribution of rights between men and women such as low pay towards women, higher prices of products advertised to women and an insufficient amount of support towards aspiring women.
“Letting women have the opportunity to be a CEO if they want or I just think that women should have access to any position they want” senior Julia Thompson said.
Feminism club meetings take place in the humanities hallway way every other Wednesday. Feminism is not only for women, it is inclusive to all genders.
“We have a couple male members, we have four guys that always come in,” Weston said.
An aspect often mulled over is the lack of support systems and communication to spread the word of feminism. To many feminism means supporting others despite of the life they have lived and suggesting outlets they believe will offer a safe space to anyone.
Thompson said, a good way to spread equality within the school is to support others with what they had gone through.
Feminism club is an example of one of the many ways to spread awareness to others. Not only does it have the capability of altering close minded views, it also offers an outlet for students to share their voices.