BARRETT An Independant Publication for the Supressed High School Feminist
Volume I Issue II Special Extended Edition July 2011
To the Reader: What does it mean to be a female artist, a girl in the jungle? In this patriar-
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Wright Rickman for all of their guidance and inspiring lessons and especially for putting so much extra time
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Occupation: Hmm… My occupation… the thing that occupies my patience… Well, I’m a full-time graduate student in the Visual Studies Department at the University of Buffalo and I am an instructor of time based studies and intro to digital practices. What’s your favorite color? Of all time? Orange. acters? Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica (the remake) What’s on your iPod? The Beats in Space, The Hype Machine, and other podcasts, Empire State of Mind by Jay-Z, The Iliad, and Lil’ Wayne What scares you? It depends on what state of mind I’m in…Nothing scares me most of the time! But, when I am in a vulnerable state, it’s forgetting and being forgotten. As a teenager, what were you really into? I was really into fringe. I was into anything alternative, anything marginal, anything in those categories—cultural or theoretical. I was attracted to queer people—anything non-pop at the time. What was your favorite class in high school? Well, none of them would be my favorite class now, but actually, what I spent the most time in was my army class. It was called J.R.O.T.C. and I spent a lot of time doing army stuff in high school. I was in a few art classes, but in high school I was mostly just prepping myself to be a killing machine. Where or from whom do you draw inspiration? Let’s see…I have some main, poproud of because they’ve navigated the system to achieve what they’ve achieved, like Oprah and Hilary Clinton. Those are my top ones. I have a special place in my heart for Olympic athletes: people who kind of dedicate themselves to a physical strive for excellence. Also, Alice Guy. [In] day-to-day things, I’m inspired by old women, especially ones with good attitudes. And a lot of ridiculous YouTube celebrities—I wouldn’t say inspired, just moved. What did you think feminism was all about when you were in high school? I wasn’t really educated on feminism. I was only socialized by the second-
was delivered to me by TV commercials and sitcoms and cartoons kind of poking fun at stuff that happened in the 70’s and 60’s and before that. And of course there was also Mary Poppins with the Sister Suffragette song… and it was just…not really part of my socialization or education, so in high school, I was one of many girls that [was] guilty of pushing away the title of feminism like ‘okay, that’s a bad word. Like that means uncooperative or hateful or just on the sides’ or something like that, and in reality, looking back, I was very the term because of being socialized wrong. Do you think feminism should be part of a high school education”? Yes, in a way, but it’s in terms of the notion of our history vs. one history vs. another history vs. another history. I think the way we view history is very one-sided. It’s written by and about white male privileged blasé blah. I think that the whole curriculum needs to be reconsidered to better integrate the spectrum because there’s a multiplicity of histories that need to be incorporated. So, as far as being gender-neutral in the way we learn about history, I think that would be good. As far as how to do it, that would take a longer answer. And it’s even hard to be gender-neutral. …I’m not even sure what that term means. feminism? When I was a child, I realized that there is this strange imbalance between the sexes and I couldn’t quite understand it. I thought I was screwed up. So when I was a child, I was a feminist and I didn’t know it, and when I was in high school, I was standing up for myself and standing up for the different people that are in different sides of the gender scale and again but I still wasn’t quite sure who or what I was a part of. During my undergraduate, I was trying to discover myself. I don’t remember that. That’s a blur. And during my graduate studies, I theoretically and historically had access to all this information, so I would say that, being fully history, within the past three years. Who are your feminist heroes? Well, the chair of my thesis committee,
Stephanie Rothenberg. Just, I have direct access to her, but she’s just a very intelligent successful artist. And I like being able to see them in acmaker and I got to meet her in person and see her speak and her drive and her desire to make the connection, to connect the dots between the different decades and the different waves of feminism and the future of gender education. Women in general that kind of make it and make things that are moving, I admire and I support. It’s part of my core value system to support women that make awesome things because…I believe historically, socially there’s all these different expectation that women have set for them and tiny little moments of socialization throughout their lives that they have to deal with to follow their dream. Like maybe someone who doesn’t support them or doesn’t believe like ‘no, science? You can go get married.’ Or like ‘no! You want to get married? You should go be a scientist instead.” All these different things try to dictate so I think there’s a slide…like, in general, the women’s slide has more friction on it, more sandpaper and gunk so that they have to end up pushing themselves even more, so women that actually get to positions…I believe they’ve had to do a lot more, so I respect it a lot more. That’s why the CEO lady is a lot more impressive than the CEO guy, period. What do you think teenage feminists should be thinking about or checking out? Well, I think that…number one, they should identify what they want. drives them and that’s the hardest thing because when we see the top leaders and then a majority, still like 85% [are male], and even the top [female] salary makers…still make 75 cents to the dollar. And not even that! White women still make 75 cents to the white man’s dollar and then when you go in the minorities, it gets even lower and lower. First is a piece of advice: not to get distracted by those and then try to, as hard as it is, try to just observe people within the medium and what they’re doing within
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Alice Alexandrescu
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Brenna McLaughlin
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Occupation: teacher Favorite color: blue
acters? I really like Uma Thurman’s character in Kill Bill volume I and II. She’s pretty kick-ass. In movies, the boy in The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. This is going to sound kind of typical, but I like Elizabeth in Pride in Prejudice. I keep getting drawn to that book. What’s on your ipod? Jimi Hendrix, Willie Nelson, Arcade Fire, Elvis Costello, Roberta Flack, Rufus Wainright, Mos Def, The Roots, Death Cab for Cutie, and Neko Case What scares you? A lot of things, but [they don’t] stop me from doing things, necessarily. I don’t like heights. I can be in a plane, but I can’t ever bungee jump. So, for some reason there’s a disconnect, but I need to have something under my feet. Speaking in front of a large audience, or performing—I shut down. I get a little more comfortable if I do it more often, but if there’s any gap in performance then I have to start all over again and this has been happening for years ever since I’ve been performing for audiences. And it depends on the day whether I fear death or not. As a teenager, what were you really into? Music. Hanging with friends— we were kind of philosophers. My friends and I just liked to sit and break things down until they didn’t make any more sense. So, we just sat and chain-smoked and talked and I don’t recommend smoking, but I had a really wonderful group, and then I decided I needed a break from the serious mental anguish, and then I just went with the partiers and more happy-go-lucky type of crowd. I have trouble reading sometimes for comprehension, so I got into photography in high school. It was hard for me to learn about writing. I wasn’t really serious about the visual arts, but I knew I wanted to do visual stuff. Where or from whom do you draw inspiration? People that I surround myself [with.] There’s the occasional untouchable artist or writer or movie ally, but I really tend to keep my inspiration to people I meet, like people at NYSSSA, yourself, and the other teachers, or my family. My mom is a
pretty solid rock. She’s not in a creperson. But I love reading biographies. Malcolm X is a dead hero of mine, and Che Guevara. What did you think feminism was all about when you were in high school? I don’t even know if I really thought about it in high school and it’s only really been until recently that I’ve realized I’ve listened to…man vs. woman in my life, cause I’ve always been surrounded by boys and I listened to my father much more than I listened to my mother even though I should have been listening to my mother. I wanted his advice more so than my mom’s for whatever psychological reason. But I’m not sure that I even considered it at that age. I have a different view on wanted to be a career-minded woman as opposed to… and I hate to go into that stereotype because I know a lot of smart cheerleaders, but I wasn’t in that mindset. I mean, I liked boys and I was probably considered boycrazy or something at one point, but I never really put myself out there at feminism? Not until recently—and I’m thirty-two. Just in this past year, even, I’ve been consciously thinking about the role of being a woman in my life—just being a woman, and what that means because there are all these different layers to the political, the social, the biological. And I guess my mind’s trying to weed out, like with women in power, who’s acting like a woman, and who’s trying to act like a man in order to keep up with the mindset, because I really believe at this point in my life, that men and women think differently. And it’s not a good or a bad [thing]—it’s just different patterns of thought. And of course, there are all the social stresses that we put on little girls and little boys to act a certain way and whatnot, but my mind goes back to the biological importance of recognizing the woman’s uterus and reproductive [system,] I feel like that plays a really huge part in being a woman and it gets ignored and shut down and then you look at what the importance of being a mother is in our society and I don’t know that I necessarily see
myself being one, but I just hold that nature in a much higher level than I ever have and I feel like at this point being thirty-two, like that’s where a lot of my feminist thought comes from. And it’s not so much the social puppetry that we’ve created, but it’s really looking at and acknowledging what your inside tells you to do and embracing that. Plus. I think a lot about race as well. And in America, when I think about the feminist movement, there were African-American women and Hispanic movement part of it, but they were still a notch down and still are today in this hierarchy of skin color. So on a political spectrum, I question the movement completely because it doesn’t bring everyone together. Even the suffrage movement was all white women. And they had conversations with women of color, but it was still more for the white women. So I question that. Who is/are your feminist hero(es)? friends are really strong people and I don’t have a lot of female friends, but I have a good group of girlfriends that I would trust with my life. Also, Angela Davis who was a former black panther. She’s pretty amazing. What do you think teenage feminists should be thinking about or checking out? I would recommend not getting too wrapped up in an image, whatever that may be, and really looking at the choices an individual’s making. And fashion and politics and activism, especially in mainstream, they all kind of converge together sometimes. So you can get wrapped up into something that is really empty because it looks cool and everybody else is getting into it. And acknowledge what you like and don’t like. If you have a certain reaction to something, there’s a reason, you know? And don’t necessarily question that. Ask yourself questions for sure, but don’t necessarily think that you’re wrong. Just embrace that emotional reaction. What advice do you have for young female artists? Don’t get into too much debt. Don’t use Sally Mae as your primary loan-giver. Just be smart. Try rial as with your time. Time is precious. And females give a lot to each other and to others. And I’ve noticed
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that I’ve given a lot of time to other people and other projects when I really should’ve been focusing on myegotistical. It’s just a focus. And it’s good to have a focus in the beginning even if that changes, because you’re going to be thirty-two, and looking back and thinking like ‘that was a lot of time.’ And I can’t say that it was wasted because it was just time, but I would say hold the value of your time just as much as the money side of life. These days, many women shy away
Occupation: Filmmaker and educator What’s your favorite color? Tones of black acters? Mabel Longhetti, Honey Adams, and Francine Evans—both characters are played by Liza Minnelli. What’s on your iPod? Charlotte Gainsbourg, Mississippi Fred McDowell, CocoRosie, Devendra Banhart, Elmore James, Joanna Newsom What scares you? Capitalism and Capitalist Media As a teenager, what were you really into? I was into searching for a state of grace through watching movies, listening to music, and I bought my ideas of breaking the status quo and what that looked like and felt like. What was your favorite class in high school? My philosophy class with Mr. Lowery Where or from whom do you draw inspiration? makers: Werner Herzog, Chantal Akerman, Agnès Varda, and Harun Farocki. And there’s a writer: Susan Sontag. What did you think feminism was all about when you were in high school? Well, I guessed it was about equality for women. The word is kind of a scary word for a high school kid because it
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from calling themselves feminists, even if they believe in gender equality. What do you think about this? I think we have to look at that word and break down the complexity of it and realize that there’s more than one way to be a feminist. You can go across the board. You can go into different subgroups of that word already. You’ve got like, embrace motherhood, you’ve got lesbian and gay rights, you’ve got the career-oriented, women who are trying to break the glass ceiling…but we all have a com-
mon thread. I think it’s up to the indi-
connotes such negative things culturally and when you’re feeling vulnerable, it’s hard to sort of stand up and call yourself this word that gets misconstrued and has all sorts of stereotypes that are also antifeminist and sexist. But I was starting to see that in the books we were reading in English class, the authors were most likely male, and the characters were all most likely male. And there weren’t very many female heroic characters and the females most often played a secondary role in the narratives, like they were objects for the characters. And as I got older, that became more of an idea that I pursued.
represented in Hollywood—in narratives and even in animations, the Disney, the Pixar. How women and girls are represented in television: just paying attention to that and not getting swallowed into it. What advice do you have for young female artists? The main thing is to always believe in yourself and not be intimidated by other people and the male-dominated art-world and to believe that what you have to say and what you have to make is valuable and not irrelevant. These days, many women shy away from calling themselves feminists, even if they believe in gender equality. What do you think about this? Well, I think it harkens back to the idea that feminist is a negative term. It’s kind of fraught with this idea of stereotypes and I’m not sure how to describe these stereotypes… if it’s like a man-hater or a granolaeating, hairy lesbian…I don’t know why people shy away from that, but I think the younger generation wants to assume a sense of equality that no longer requires a sort of feminist thought or theory. So people believe in gender equality, but I think that a lot of people don’t really understand the nuances of sexism and how people read equality these days is still problematic.
feminism? I guess the best way to defeminism as feminism was when I was in art school and I took a class on feminists and psychoanalysis in a group of anarchists in Minneapolis who were opposed to the war and racism and police brutality. Who are your feminist heroes? Susan Sontag, Margarethe von Trotta, feminism and also racism in Nazi Germany. What do you think teenage feminists should be thinking about or checking out? I think they should be thinking about how girls and young women are
I did have a moment where I was like ‘I’m not a feminist!’ In college, I started thinking about that. I stayed away from that word for sure. It was partially because I was trying to keep up with the men. The stuff that I was hearing about feminism was also very narrow, and I’m still critical of feminist writers, just as much as I am about other writers.
Ghen Zando-Davis
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Kathy Conkwright
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Occupation: and educator As a teenager, what were you really into? When I think about your question – “what was I into” … I can’t think of any one thing except simply “surviving” as a naïve young woman whose world was turned upside down. My parents divorced and my mother moved my little brother and me to Nashville, Tennessee from a small southern town where we lived in Kentucky. At the time I was not happy about leaving the safety and comfort of my familiar environment and to make it worse, I had just made the 7th grade “cheerleading” squad, which was an important steppingstone for a young women in the South to feel popular and “well liked” by the boys. I later began to see that it was not about being “liked” and with the size and diversity of my new school. I was often afraid of people who were different from me and had no consciousness of my place (as a white women) in the larger scheme time, I’m grateful that my mother had the courage and determination to move us to a larger city where I was exposed to so many more people and options. Luckily I escaped the traditional path of cheerleading and homecoming court and began venturing out into music, dance and theater. When I was a freshmen in high school the dance squad, which was all black women, asked me if I would considering joining. Though I ultimately decided not to because I didn’t thing I was talented enough, those early experiences shaped the person I am today and the work I do. What was your favorite class in high school? My favorite class in high school was a 2-hour AP class called American Studies where we studied both the political/social events of a particular time period in American History in combination with the literature/writings/art of the time. My teacher, Ms. Heidenreich designed the class to help students better understand not only the basic history of a time but also the larger social and cultural landscape. Because my primary mission in high school was to simply “cause trouble” and make people laugh, I would often do and say things that were inappropriate and my teachers. I remember one class in particular where Ms. Heidenreich asked us to play a game of historical 20 questions. Students would choose tory and the class would ask a series obviously) to try and guess the iden-
tify of the person in their mind. I decided to play John Holmes, perhaps the most infamous and well-known pornography actor in the United States at that time. I was a junior in high school and knew nothing about his story or who he really was. I just knew that I’d seen plenty of magazines, headlines and advertisements with his name on the cover and only knew that he allegedly had the world’s largest penis. Later I learned more about him and felt awful for minimizing him as a caricature and playing into the stereotype. Holmes life but at the time I was only interested in “challenging” convention and questioning the idea of who was important to “remember” as a valuable member of society. As we played the game my, classmates chose historical icons like George Washington, Frederick Douglas and Betsy Ross. During my turn, no one guessed my identify and as I announced who I was at the end of the 20 questions – meaning the class lost – Ms. Heidenreich simply acted like my choice was norShe moved forward with the game until class was over and we were dismissed. Though everyone snickered and giggled a bit, I remember thinking that this woman can’t be shaken and developed a deep and long-lasting respect for her and her amazing ability to teach and advise even the Where or from whom do you draw inspiration? My heroes are people sibly life-threatening situations to of our lives. I draw a lot of inspiration from journalists and writers like Christiane Amanpour and Barbara Ehfenreich, Joan Didion and Naomi Klein, Amy Goodman and Bill Moyers, Barbara Koppel, Laura Poitras and Errol Morris. rytellers work hard to show people represented stories of people and circumstances we often don’t want to confront in this country. feminism? While studying to be a journalist as an undergraduate at Loyola University, I recognized the inherent and structural discrimination between the “power structure” and marginalized voices of the minority. Loyola University was an extremely liberal and progressive Jesuit University highly dedicated to social justice issues, while at the same time ensconced in a highly patriarchal hierarchy. Women often played background roles supporting the all-male Jesuit order. The mixed
message was extremely confusing and disturbing for me. I believed strongly in the work and efforts of many of my professors and university leaders, yet they often saw women as second- class citizens and I rarely Though there was a strong emphasis on equality and justice, I could not help but see the inherent hypocrisy and injustice within the institution where I was “learning.” During this time, I became extremely active in pursing my own voice and vision as a journalist and storyteller. I was more driven than ever to prove that a woman could have just as much talent and effect as men and continue to be driven and motivated by this experience. Who are your feminist heroes? This is a tough question for me because it’s been a long time (longer than I want to remember) since I’ve studied and read the feminist scholars and thinkers of our time. When I was in college and even after graduating I studying several of these folks but now, being are the everyday women continuing events-- whether politically, socially, and/or environmentally. They demand social justice in every day life and work hard to make a better life for their families and communities. who works very hard to raise healthy, happy boys with a sense of consciousness and sensitivity that will make a difference in the next generation, while still pursuing her own work and passion, producing documentaries that make a difference in our community; or Jackie Robinson, who has spoken up and is taking a stand against the police discrimination in her South Bronx neighborhood; or Jill Webb Hill, who writes amazing spoken word poetry that speaks about her deep truth and experiences growing up a strong independent woman in the south; or Molly Secours, a talented, brilliant and eloquent friend who speaks and writes about injustice and white privilege as well as sharing her personal story surviving cancer as ways to heal others and expose things that many want to deny exist; or Regina McCreary, an amazing singer and survivor who lost her only son to gun violence and now comforts and supports other mothers who have lost their children. These are just a few of my local, everyday heroes who inspire and move me because they’re part of inspiring and changing me on a daily basis. What do you think teenage feminists should be thinking about or checking out? They should be thinking about being comfortable with themselves
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Occupation: student and teacher What’s your favorite color? Green
acters? I like Maude from Harold and Maude and Marie I and Marie II from Daisies. What’s on your ipod? Right now, it is the Alan Lomax Southern Journey-Appalachian folk music and craftwork. What scares you? Dying scares me, and lampreys. As a teenager, what were you really into? I was into making my own clothes and doing stop-motion animation What was your favorite class in high school? I guess just my art class. Where or from whom do you draw inspiration? I guess my friends. I draw inspiration from people that I feel like are full of life energy—really vibrant people that I’m close to, more than anything else. What did you think feminism was all about when you were in high school? I think when I was in high school I didn’t really understand feminism. I think it’s because feminism always has this rep of women just being really angry and making them seem nasty so I was like I don’t really—I guess I didn’t totally know what it meant. Like when I was thinking of feminism, I think I had this impres-
sion of…well, this is ridiculous, and I don’t think this anymore, but thinking of like, Courtney love being like ‘we need more women in the front!’ and then like punching people in the face. But I didn’t totally understand it in high school I guess. feminism? I don’t know. I think that I was always interested in it but I didn’t really understand what it meant. So, I guess from when I was really little—probably from when my mom was telling me about how important it is for women and men to be treated equally and thinking that nothing should really stop me from doing what I wanted to do. Like, I wanted to be in boy scouts when I was really little, that kind of thing. Who is/are your feminist hero(es)? ers like Carolee Schneemann What do you think teenage feminists should be thinking about or checking out? I think that they should just be paying attention to areas, especially like in the United States and the world that are sort of career-related and realizing that women and men still aren’t treated equally and against it in whatever way they can. And I would also say, think about your body and don’t use it and don’t
way to make it more positive, then we wouldn’t have that problem.
Become hyper-conscious of the many infrastructural and systematic barriers that prevent you from becoming the full independent, critically thinking individuals that you are, and do not allow society’s presupposed morés and values to hinder you. At this stage of your life, do not worry about being desirable to men – or “acceptable” to the larger society if it means masking your true authentic self. Move forward in life with full force and do not allow fear to drive your decisions and pursuits. I was once told that human beings are driven by either fear or love. I would advise young female artists to always choose love – of themselves.
not imagine any 21st century young women choosing to go back to a time when young women were extremely restricted in what they could do, how they behave and who they could associate with. We were very curious about what the girls’ motivations were and how they understood what it means to be a Southern belle – during the 19th century and today. The archetype of the Southern belle is a powerful one, more so, of course, for girls growing up in the South. Grow-
...Continued from Page 11 (Kathy Conkwright) and not succumbing to the external pressures of a highly consumer and sexist/classist society. In today’s society there is an alarming emphasis on women being physically beautiful and very little attention to developing them as independent, strong and self-sustaining professionals. My hope is for teenage feminists to become hyper-focused on their own talents, skills and interests. I feel like the pressures for woman to be “all things” feminine (sister, wife, mother, caregiver, nurturer) are overshadowing a woman’s desire to speak, think and act for herself. My advice to teenage young women is to become independent, self-sustaining critical thinkers who pursue their passions and desires freely. What advice do you have for young female artists? Do the things that you love. The things where you lose track of time, hunger, practical matters in life. Do not worry about pleasing others at the expense of yourself. Pursue your desires and interests with all your energy, drive and passion.
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feel restricted because you’re in this female body and that just because the whole world looks at your body from a patriarchal male perspective, [it doesn’t mean you can’t] try to shed that. I feel that if that’s the way a woman is looking at her body, then she’s living in a cage. What advice do you have for young female artists? I would just say get out there. Don’t be afraid. If you’re a young female artist dealing with a male gallery person, forget it! No, just kidding. Just don’t let anything stop you! Do whatever! And even if you think somebody has done it before, do it again and do it your own way. I think as an artist, you sometimes feel restricted by “oh well, maybe somebody did something like this already,” well who cares? Do what you want to do! Loosen up and do it! These days, many women shy away from calling themselves feminists, even if they believe in gender equality. What do you think about this? I think it’s just because the word feminist has an unfortunately negative connotation and I think that’s the only reason and I think that’s how our culture has made that word nega-
up some interesting questions about how different cultures regard women. Was this something you were thinkpartner and I learned about the Athenaeu Girls’ School, a summer camp where young women learn to be 19th century Southern belles, we could
it impossible and often intolerable to “behave like a lady” at the expense of my own opinions, feelings and individuality. I was very surprised at how the young women at the camp responded to these restrictions. One of my favorite scenes cuts between two tables of girls during an art class. One group works diligently while singing one of the period hymns- they seem to embody the role they’re playing: students during the 1860s. The other table talks about playing video games, going to Disney World and thinking
Taylor Dunne
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about what it would be like for them if the life they were re-enacting was table of young women talking about modern things and beginning to rewas their reality. It was a moment where I felt some of the campers had a spark of enlightenment. They realized and appreciated the freedoms that they take advantage of … and I feel that’s an incredibly revealing and important moment for any young woman coming of age post the sexual revolution. These days, many women shy away
from calling themselves feminists, even if they believe in gender equality. What do you think about this? I think the trend of women shying away from claiming themselves as feminists is highly disturbing and a very subversive, yet powerful, form of cultural control. I understand that young women today may not identify with the feminists of the early 1970’s because their experience is very different, but I also believe it’s incredibly important to remember what against and to not lose sight of the many gains that have been made.
I think the “feminists” of today need –look at the inequality within pay scale, position, and representation of the female perspective and experience. I often feel women do a disservice to one another by not working together and supporting one another to rise to higher levels. I hope that this next generation of independent womback together as a way to push forward for true equality.
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that medium and not the other details like ‘oh well, it’s a man so I can’t quite identify with him,’ or ‘I don’t have that place.’ Just try to be interested in the subjects you’re interested in. So because I think we get really distracted and we end up not becoming the best director that we possibly could be because there’re all these other things we have to deal with, I think that’s crucial for teenage girls now… just to be the fucking Sally Spielberg! Or, well, you don’t have to shoot like Stephen Spielberg, but ing their dreams and that crap and I know I sound like a Girl Scout poster, but it’s true, and I think what’s really important is respect. I guess websites that I would say would be womenartrevolution.com. And, in general, just
this is. This is what this is. This is
not just…women’s history, because I think what’s important is to look and understand what was going on in all the different realms—in culture, industry, sciences, technology, all of these things, and also politically. A lot of the changes for civil rights and things of that nature happened in
Conviction and application of your ideas! Deep thought, manifest, share. Deep thought can be any old thought. Manifest is how you bring it into reality. But sometimes, if you just want to do or make, and you have a bunch of paints and you dip your body in it and you start throwing yourself against the canvas, that’s like manifest. You know, you start with the manifest and then maybe you’ll be like ‘oh, this is my deep thought!’ It sometimes comes after it’s done and times this doesn’t even happen. Or sometimes, you’re with people and then something happens and you go to deep thought. You know, maybe
I think it’s important to get a good idea of well, why was it in the early nineteen hundreds that suffragettes were like ‘okay, yeah we want to vote now.’ Why not 200 years before that? What was the situation? And I think it’s interesting and it’s important to—Google women in history! What advice do you have for young female artists? Hold this next to your heart: everything in reality, in our always someone saying this is what
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your own dictionary because you can! And like what you’re doing. You know, it should be hard, but you have solid. When you’re discussing something, there’s this term I call ‘take it to the library.’ With your art, you want to take it to the library! If I am moved by something, like history of cinematography [for example], then erything that I can. And don’t spend who’s doing it, what’s going on and just have an idea and also, more importantly, do it and then if none of that has anything…conviction! Conviction is so important when you’re talking about something because that’s going
and you’re talking about something and you have a deep thought together and then you go to manifest a mov-
ie…or sometimes it just stops there. Art= pretty+ clever+ deep, (at least two out of the three,) And then application, application, application, application, application. These are just little equations that [I use] when I’m looking and researching and learning about people in graduate school. These days, many women shy away from calling themselves feminists, even if they believe in gender equality. What do you think about this? I think that …If you’re alive and you’re going to school or if you’re trying to do anything, anything outside of making babies and staying at home, and if you don’t think you’re a feminist then you’d better really ask yourself ‘what is feminist?’ I’m going to look that up right now on the Internet and see what… Merriamwebster.com…feminist…. “The theory of political, economic, and social equality of the sexes—organized activity on the behalf of women’s rights and interests.” Yeah. So, I guess the question to ask is: if I’m hired to move this rock from point A to point B and I get paid 75 cents and then a man gets paid to move the rock from point A to point B and he gets paid a dollar, and if I’m mad, then I’m probably a feminist. And if I think that’s fucked up, then I’m probably a feminist. And there’s another thing: if you believe in these things and you don’t want to call yourself a feminist, then at least make up some other term you’re comfortable with like an ‘equal opportunity advocate.’ Like—I’m a human being-ist. Girls who think like that are probably like I was in high school: just socialized to think it’s bad. And they just need to take it to the library.
"Hey honey!" “Damn Bitch, why don’t you smile?” “Hey mama, you got a fat ass!” Comments like these are a daily reality for far too many women around the world. And it’s not only the words that hurt. Victims often
a baggy sweater over it,” writes Fiona, a 13-year-old poster on Hollaback. Never-
such occurrences, rarely do more than caution victims not to dress so provocatively. Even though this “advice” is sexist in itself, it prompts us to question what more
threats, and even public masturbation. you wear has little to do with it. “I was wearing a knee length dress with
States, for instance, victims of harassment at home and in the workplace are protected by the law, but virtually no legislation ex-
ists protecting women from harassment on the street. For far too long, women have been told to just bow their heads and endure, but recently the third-wave feminist this gateway crime. As proclaimed on Hollaback, “This has nothing to do with sex, and everything to do with power.” Check out how women have begun to take the power back.
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In Febr on a Toukary 2010, a 16-ye hauled h yo train, grabbe ar-old high scho im off to d her 21 ol public nu ear-old pgirl who was bein issance.pTolice at the nex-y t s tion, erpetrator by th g molested he girl is w a membta er of her hhere he was chaerarm and ged with igh schoo l’s judo te 16 am.
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By Kyra DeTone
salt of my ic b u c e th m o fr s and smooth ie r ivir e b p m lu p f s, emulsify a c r te s n o m w o the pigments o ll o rnished like h a g , n a . Since the m m n a e e r e c s e th v o a o h m I s . a sea ing made into e b t u n a s a w changes in the e lv e tw n e e lization as if it b e ome, there hav h r u o smell of the d ll e g ti s a v ts a r le s e c a a h r n b y ma e-skinned by m r s r a c s ty s u r s the lavender e y e y m e s stars and the lo c nI f a beast. Whe o th a e r b d e c alcohol la ecks. I can n y r e tt u b ir e thly through th o o s m s e c li s l e ste ints the plank d a e p c d la o d lo o b lo g b in e in th etal as their sh m f o h c n te s r u o s e th taste d. Since that e h s la s y tl p u r b ads had been a e r th n e ld o g e e. en men whos d upon my fac e s lo c t s e r r e g ds no lon night, my eyeli
By Kyra DeTone
outside of Stornoway on a considerably cloudy Monday. The hot summer sun had quickly faded the electricity of the blue dye that had seeped into the proteins of Rory’s hair, and he decided that, after three days of having a head full of seaweed colored hair, he would once again dye it. A tall, lanky man tripped over Rory’s outstretched leg and fell on a bottle of red dye. Thick, gloppy droplets were propelled from the lid of the bottle out onto the 18
GENDER EQUALITY JAMS 1. Run the World (Girls) by Beyonce 2. Bottle it Up by Sara Bareilles 3. Beautiful by Carole King 4. Eppie Morrie by Karan Casey 4. Can’t Hold Us Down by Christina Aguilera ft. Lil’ Kim 5. U.N.I.T.Y. by Queen Latifah 5. I’m the Best by Nicki Minaj 6. Me, Myself, and I by Beyonce 7. Independent Woman Part I by Destiny’s Child 8. You Make Me Want to Be a Man by Utada 9. Everybody’s Fool by Evanescence 10. Fighter by Christina Aguilera 11. Like a Boy by Ciara 12. King of Anything by Sara Bareilles 13. L.O.V.E. by Ashlee Simpson 14. Stop in the Name of Love by The Supremes 16. Ladies First by Queen Latifah ft. 17. Freakum Dress by Beyonce 18. Shark in the Water by VV Brown 19. Born this Way by Lady Gaga 20. Single Ladies by Beyonce 21. Firework by Katy Perry 22. Why Don’t You Love Me? by Beyonce 23. Fly by Nicki Minaj ft. Rihanna 24. Do It Like a Dude by Jessie J. 25. Diva by Beyonce 26. Believe by Cher 27. Stupid Girls by Pink 28. Dinosaur by Ke$ha 29. What It Feels Like for a Girl by Madonna 30. Woman is the Nigger of the World by John Lennon 31. If I Were a Boy by Beyonce 32. I Don’t Need a Man by The Pussycat Dolls 33. Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani 34. I am Woman by Helen Reddy 35. Beautiful Liar by Beyonce & Shakira 36. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor 37. She by Green Day 38. Stronger by Destiny’s Child 39. She’s Leaving Home by The Beatles 40. Not Gonna Get Us by t.A.T.u . 41. Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) by Beyonce 42. Whenever, Wherever by Shakira 43. Moment 4 Life by Nicki Minaj 44. The World Should Revolve around Me by Little Jackie 45. Pretty Dress by Rosie Thomas 46. Say My Name by Destiny’s Child 47. Rude Boy by Rihanna 48. Girls Kissing Girls by Nicki Minaj 48. Miss Independant by Ne-Yo
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