The Feminist Forum 2019 by Loyola University New Orleans

LOYOLA'S FEMINIST FOREMOTHERS, PT II The Revival of the WRC Page 10

Columns

The Feminist Forum 4

Briefcases and Baby Bottles

Patricia Boyett

Music Column

Watchwords: Hostile and Benevolent Sexism

Feminist Fits

Loyola's Feminist Foremothers, Pt. II: The Revival of the WRC

Transtalk: Acceptance

From Nowhere

Feminist Book Club

Broads Abroad

Reflections from the Director's Desk Gen X Feminists: The Ones in the Middle Making Waves

9 10

Noelie Zychk

Grace Riddick

Hadori Bukle and Isabel Dickinson Carolyne Shofner Emmaline Bouchillon Leo Thomas

Delaney Harper

Grace Riddick and Skye Johnson Katya Agamy

The Misconceptions That Lead to Transmisogyny

Katya Agamy

Authorization

Feminist Forum is an unofficial publication of the Women’s Resource Center. Views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Women’s Resource Center or Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola University New Orleans Women’s Resource Center

The Feminist Forum Vol. V May 2019 www.loyno.edu/womenscenter

Submissions

Submissions are welcome and should be submitted to wrc@loyno.edu. The Feminist Forum editors reserve the right to all final decisions.

Loyola University New Orleans has fully supported and fostered in its educational programs, admissions, employment practices, and in the activities it operates the policy of not discriminating on the basis of age, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex/gender, or sexual orientation. This policy is in compliance with all applicable federal regulations and guidelines.

Perspectives

Feminist Festival 30

2019 Feminist Festival Staff

Can I be a Feminist & an NFL Fan? Danielle Slakoff

Al Noor Mosque Vigil

Poetry

Rula Thabata and Samar Sarmini Marina Brintos-Swain

Awards 56 65

Feminist Awards

Reformation in Education

The Rise of Black Feminism

Cate Lucas

Writing Awards Isabella Josephine Bernal Destiny Patton Kaylie Saidin

Our Mission

In the path of the Ignatius mission at Loyola University New Orleans, we, as a feminist community, seek to educate ourselves through critical analysis; we endeavor to empower the oppressed through devotion to diversity and uplift; and we pursue equality through social justice.

Production Team Director/Editor in Chief Patricia Boyett Creative Director Emmaline Bouchillon Senior Editor Grace Riddick

Editors Delaney Harper Artistic Directors Lance Taylor Jessica White Leo Thomas

Art Team Emmaline Bouchillon Hannah Castillo Gabi Hawkins Shelby Pojwa Carrie Elizabeth Smith Erika Torres Storm Wells Leo Thomas

Reflections from the Director's Desk

GEN X FEMINISTS:

The Ones in the Middle Making Waves

By Patricia Boyett

“

The Millennials didn’t start #MeToo,” I said. “Generation X did.” I caught a few puzzled looks from the students gathered at the Society for Features and Journalism Conference at Loyola University of New Orleans. But I saw too, the nodding of heads from women I surmised to be, like me, Gen Xers, a generation so disregarded, that it is often referred to as “the forgotten generation,” “the forgotten middle child,” “postBoomers,” “pre-Millennials/,” and the “phantom generation.” It is apparently so forgettable that CBS News recently omitted Gen X entirely in its “Generation Guidelines,” a piece discussing Millennials. Yet Gen X has played an important role in so many social justice movements. And yes, we started #MeToo. As I leaned forward in my chair to make my point, the moderator, Alice Short, who had just asked me my thoughts

on Millennials starting the #MeToo Movement, smiled. Perhaps she had hoped that I would challenge her question. And I did. Gen Xer Tarana Burke, born in 1973, began the Me Too movement in 2006 and Gen Xer Alyssa Milano, born in 1972, made it a national phenomenon when she posted #MeToo as a hashtag on Facebook and called on women to tell their me too stories. And women told them – on social media, on the news, in newspapers and magazines, on celebrity award shows, on talk shows, at protests, in Congressional hearings, and across the vast public and private spaces that women occupy. The stories poured forth from persons of all genders from every living generation. And yet, the #MeToo Movement, it appeared in the popular imagination, belonged to the Millennials, and it was also drawn away from its founder, an African American Gen Xer, and into the world of mostly white celebrities.

My fellow panelists were all noted journalists, Robin Abcarian of the Los Angeles Times, Jeneé Osterheldt of the Boston Globe, and Brett Anderson of Nola.com. Together we spanned three generations: Millennial, Gen X, and Boomer. Through their work as journalists and my work as a history professor and director of the Women’s Resource Center, we had encountered the #MeToo struggle experienced by every living generation and by persons of every identity. During the discussion, we grappled with the historical struggles against sexual abuse and harassment and wondered if this time would be different. And as we spoke of the stories, it became clear that Gen X started #MeToo; however, it was born of a long history, and it persists in the present. It is a struggle that is truly intergenerational and intersectional.

Although a shift in feminism often starts within one generation, once it begins, feminists from all generations join. Thus, feminists undermine the movement when we neglect to insist that feminism must also be intergenerational. And we undermine it when we forget or never learn our history and fail to understand the contributions of each generation. We succeed best, not only when we build upon the work of those who came before us, but when we work with them while they are still living. We tend to shine the spotlight on the youth in America. And when it comes to women’s movements, we often exile to the pasture senior feminists and ignore middle-aged women. It is strange and yet common phenomenon to freeze living feminists in time as though we can only belong to the wave of feminism in which we came of age. Do we not grow and evolve with the waves and continue to ride them? And might we contribute even more to a struggle as we grow older and wiser, as we learn from our mistakes, and as we climb our career ladders and thus have more access to power?

my students, I was awed by the diversity. Marches came not only from every racial, ethnic, and cultural demographic and of every gender, but from every age group. Babies, children, teenagers, young adults, middle aged adults, and the elderly had all gathered together to march for equality. Coverage of the marches in Washington D.C. and across America and the globe also reflected massive intergenerational participation. It has been inspiring to witness members of every living generation flock to fourth wave feminism. The Traditional Generation and the Boomers are refusing to be exiled to the pasture. The Millennials and Generation Zs are staking a claim in the movement. And Gen Xers, well, as we come into the middle of our lives and gain access to power to advance feminism, we refuse to be erased. We are leading in many spaces. Four of the march’s organizers are Gen Xers, Tamika D. Mallor and Linda Sarsour (born in 1980), Carmen Perez (born in 1977), and Vanessa Wruble (born 1974). Only Bob Bland, born in 1982, is a Millennial.

I was born at the end of the second wave, came of age during the third wave, and am now the director of the Women’s Resource Center at Loyola during the fourth wave. In my role at Loyola and in my personal life, I actively work to advance feminism. Many of my colleagues, particularly those in the Women’s Studies program, many of whom are Boomers and Gen Xers, have devoted their lives to advancing feminism. Many of the women who founded the Women’s Studies program and revitalized the Women’s Resource Center are still actively working at Loyola and beyond to advance gender equality. All of us work in an intergenerational setting as quite a few of our colleagues are also Millennials and most of the students in our classes are Millennials and Gen Zs. The thirty students working with me in the center also belong to these youthful generations. I am inspired daily by their brilliance, their creativity, and their passion for gender equality. It is a joy to work in an intergenerational and intersectional setting.

The fourth wave could not have arisen without the other waves and the feminists who connect the currents between them. Kimberlé Crenshaw is one of the strongest examples of a feminist who connects the currents. Born in 1959, she became a teenager during the second wave and created the foundations for the third wave. She coined the term “intersectionality”

in “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex,” published in 1989 in the University of Chicago Legal Forum. But she continuously emphasizes that feminists before her sought to practice it and spoke of it in their own terms. Indeed, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzadula, and Cherrie Morraga are just a few feminists who articulated similar concepts. The popularity of intersectional feminism advanced by Crenshaw helped spur the multicultural movement of the 1990s and third wave feminism when Gen Xers came of age. But Gen Xers are often erased from feminist history. In “Are Gen X Women Being Squeezed out of the Workforce?” Fast Company published in December 14, 2015, Lisa Rabasca Roepe argues that Gen Xers are overshadowed by the massive two generations on either side of us, both of whom tend to be far more vocal about their achievements. She surmises that our “passiveness” stems from our experience as a generation that learned to be self-reliant and independent because both parents tended to work outside the home. Consequently, we learned that recognition would only come when we worked hard and achieved something of worth. Or maybe Gen Xers have become so accustomed to being ignored as Mary Donahue argues in “Forget the Millennials and the Boomers, Generation X Will Save the Workplace,” based on her research for The Marcia Moment white paper. We,

We are not alone. Across America, feminists of all generations and identities are working together in the struggle. When I attended the Women’s March in 2016 in New Orleans with several of

Reflections from the Director's Desk

should embrace who we are and should be able to identify publicly as a heterosexual, a bisexual, or a homosexual.

Choice feminism had a major impact on our lives. By insisting we had a right to choose our own journeys, many Gen Xers put off marriage and childbearing. We made it acceptable to choose whether or not to marry and whether or not to have children. Some of us married. Some of us married and did not have children. Some of had children and did not marry. And some of us neither married nor had as Donahue asserts, are a generation that causing women to define any act a feminist children. And it encouraged many among us to fight to legalize gay marriage. We “worked through more recessions than one as long as the feminist chose that act. our parents or grandparents ever did;” Such critics argued that “choice feminism” also achieved changes in the workforce for working moms, particularly as women we “didn’t get pampered;” we have “been then destroyed feminism’s very meaning. capitalized on career opportunities opened fired, abused, and ignored during all of However, Snyder-Hall asserts that choice to women by the work of the Traditional the 21st century and overshadowed by feminists proved far more thoughtful Generation and the Boomers. As Lisa the boomers during the latter half of the as they struggled to ensure third wave Roepe contends in her Fast Company twentieth century.” We are like Jan in the feminism resisted patriarchy while also article, Gen X helped facilitate maternity Brady Bunch shouting “Marcia, Marcia, creating an “inclusive, pluralistic, and leave, nursing rooms, and flex hours. These Marcia!” We are tired of hearing about non-judgmental” movement. decisions and changes helped us climb our popular, brilliant older sister, and the career ladder and have more access to we are frustrated with our enthusiastic Indeed, the cornerstone idea of selflittle sister, Cindy, for always stealing the determination drove choice feminism and power. And with more access to power, we increased our ability to dismantle spotlight. helped us create a pluralist movement. patriarchal structures. It also liberated us in many ways. First, Consequently, I am inspired to say a few we could choose the feminist ideology We, like Boomers and the Traditional words about my generation’s important that guided us: liberal, radical, Marxist, Generation, continued to confront work in joining the long struggle for cultural, eco etc. Second, we could also and challenge patriarchy, including gender equality. First and foremost, choose our own expressions and our sexual abuse and harassment, cultural my generation worked hard to practice sexuality. Thus, we argued that a feminist denigration of women, gender intersectional feminism. Many of could wear anything from heels and discrimination in the workforce, and us, influenced by Crenshaw, believed miniskirts to slacks and Birkenstocks domestic abuse. Anita Hill, a Baby feminism must mean the full inclusion of and could embrace sexual freedom or Boomer, started a national conversation all women of all races, ethnicities, cultures, monogamy. Third, we could choose our about sexual harassment when she testified religions, classes, and nationalities. As own roles in life. We could be a stay-atbefore Congress that Clarence Thomas had Leslie Heywood and Jennifer Drake home mom, a working mom, or not a sexually harassed her. He was confirmed argue in Third Wave Feminism, published mom at all. Fourth, we insisted that we anyway. In response, Gen Xer Rebecca in 1997 by the University of Minnesota Press, women coming of age in the 1990s celebrated diversity and sought to create diverse feminist coalitions. We also struggled to be far more inclusive of varying perspectives and expressions. As Claire Synder-Hall contends in “Third Wave Feminism and the Defense of Choice,” Perspectives on Politics, (March 2010), third wavers focused on the right of women to self-determination—to determine our roles, our perspectives, our expressions, our life goals. The focus on self-determination led scholar and lawyer, Linda R. Hirshman to coin the theory “choice feminism,” in The American Prospect (December 2006). Some feminist theorists condemned “choice feminism” as

Reflections from the Director's Desk

Walker declared in Ms. Magazine (1992) that women had to take a stand against sexual oppression. With her declaration, “I am the third wave,” she called Gen Xer feminists to rise with her. Many of us Gen Xers actively worked with Boomers. Not a few of us challenged sexual harassment in our workspaces, though with little success. And many of us grew despondent with the revelations of multiple accusations of sexual harassment against President Bill Clinton and the failure of too many feminists to condemn his actions. We also confronted intense anti-feminist backlashes from right wing media personalities like Rush Limbaugh, who called us feminazis, to a pop culture that all too often celebrated degrading women.

But we found our own cultural heroines in Queen Latifah, Ellen DeGeneres, Gloria Estefan, Alanis Morissette, Riot Grrl, Lisa Simpson, Oprah Winfry and so many amazing others. And we didn’t surrender the fight. We continued the protest alongside the Traditional Generation and the Boomers through Take Back the Night marches and lawsuits. We also sought to rise in the workforce and break gender barriers in institutions like the military. We all understood that if we achieved power, we might be able to make changes. And Gen Xer Tarana Burke worked in the trenches for over a decade to protect survivors. Gen Xer, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand led a crusade against the problematic judicial process of investigating and prosecuting sexual assault in the military. The now infamous Stanford case deepened such awareness and incited intense responses after the anonymous Millennial survivor wrote a powerful victim statement that contributed volumes to a national understanding of rape culture. Each of these developments laid the foundations for Gen X to start a massive #MeToo Movement in 2017 followed by #TimesUp, both of which ultimately includes all living generations. As Gen Xers came of age in third wave feminism, we achieved important feats, but we were not perfect. Third wave feminism proved far more inclusive and open than any previous wave, but it fell short of its goals of full inclusion. It still struggled to entrench intersectionality in the movement, and it tended to completely leave out transgender persons.

It also tended to view cisgender men who supported feminism as allies, rather than as part of the movement. Still the work laid the foundations for expansion. The rising of the fourth wave has witnessed many transgender persons, particularly Janet Mock (a Millennial), insist that intersectional feminism is not intersectional if it leaves out the trans community. And many men, including President Barack Obama (a late Boomer), have proudly declared themselves feminists.

Hook shootings. Gen Xer Scarlett Lewis, mother of Sandy Hook victim, Jesse, started the Choose Love Movement. Gen Xers Nicole Hockley and Mark Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise after the mass shooting stole their sons.

Feminists of many generations have also been vital in fighting domestic violence and in showing the link between abusers and mass shootings. Boomer Charmaine Caccioppi initiated such a crusade in Louisiana after a domestic abuser went on a shooting rampage in her hometown As Gen Xers transitioned from third to that left two people dead and three people fourth wave feminism, we have done badly wounded, including Caccioppi’s best our part with the generations above and friend. She worked with four other women, below us to foster movements against Gen Xers Helena Moreno and Kim Sport police brutality, mass shootings, and as well as Boomer, Mary Claire Landry, domestic abuse in America. Crenshaw (as to develop historic legislation to prevent previously noted a Boomer), co-founded and respond to domestic abuse murders in #SayHerName, which seeks to make visible Louisiana. Donna Dees and Susan Willis black women who have been abused and (both Boomers) chronicled their work and killed by police and works to implement the passage of the legislation in the awardpolicies to prevent and respond to such winning documentary, “Five Awake.” attacks. A mass shooting in 1999 at a Jewish community Center in Los Angeles Many Boomers and Gen Xers have used motivated Donna Dees (a Boomer) their political power to reduce gun to organize the Million Mom March. violence in America. After her son was According to Robin Toner’s New York shot to death, Lucy McBath, a Boomer, Times article, “Mothers Rally to Assail ran and won Georgia’s sixth congressional Gun Violence,” the grassroots, district, and has championed bills that just passed the House, which calls for word-of-mouth campaign brought 750,000 extending background check for all gun moms to march on Washington D.C. on purchases and would extend checks to Mother’s Day in 2000 to demand “sensible 10 days. Gen Xers, Gabi Giffords, a U.S. gun laws.” Shannon Watts, a Gen Xer, Congresswoman from Arizona, and her founded Moms Demand Action for Gun husband Captain Mark Kelly, founded Sense in America in the wake of the Sandy Americans Responsible for Solutions, after

Reflections from the Director's Desk a gunman shot Giffords and eighteen other people at her â&#x20AC;&#x153;Congress at Your Cornerâ&#x20AC;? event. And yet few of these women are featured in the media as much as the Gen Zs who picked up the torch in the March for Our Lives Movement in the wake of the mass school shooting in Parkland, Florida. These young activists are phenomenal. But they are not alone. Our society tends to erase women, particularly middle age and older women and women of color. Crenshaw, after all, founded #SayHerName, precisely because the media virtually ignored black women in the Black Lives Matter Movement. And that movement was founded by three black women: Patrisse Cullors, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza. Perhaps, however, all these efforts by women, are having a major impact on feminism and on the nation. More women ran for office and won in the 2018 midterm elections than in any previous election in history. Many of these women are women of color and many are Gen Xers and Millennials. Two of the women presidential candidates are Boomers, Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren. Kamalah Harris, born in 1964, is on the cusp between Boomer and Gen X. Kirsten Gillibrand is a Gen Xer. And Tulsi Gabbard is a Millennial. As more women

obtain power, their faces and their work become visible, and their opportunities to make changes surge. Such changes may also occur with the rising power of Gen X. We have been working in the trenches for decades. And perhaps, we are, as Mary Donahue argues, the frustrated middle child. But that is not a terrible thing. Many middle children learn to work harder to be valued and worthy of attention. And middle children like middle generations, precisely because they are situated between both siblings, often have more experiences with both the older and the younger. We have worked under the wings of the Traditional Generation and the Boomers and have tried to guide the Millennials and Zs. We empathize with the younger generation when Boomers call them entitled, for they called us slackers. But we understand too, the frustration the Boomers experience when their continuous participation in the struggle is disregarded. Yes, we have been caught in the middle between these generations. Now, we are rising to stake our claim on history and to take a seat at the table. Yes, we have always had much to learn from the Boomers and the Traditional

Generation; and yes, the Millennials and the Zs are passionate and creative and inspire us with their new ideas. We, as the middle children, have absorbed the strengths of the generations that sandwich us and have our own values to contribute. As we come into the middle age of our lives and begin to move into leadership positions in the political, business, educational, military, and social justice arenas, we have a voice that is as vital as the generations around us and are obtaining the power to make the changes that we have desired for so long. As the generation in the middle, we could become the tide that draws the cross currents of the Traditional Generation, the Boomers, the Gen Xers, the Millennials, and the Zs together. After all, we are, as #MeToo demonstrates, churning significant currents in the fourth wave. I hope that the currents of all the generations will gather together. I hope that we will rise as a diverse and yet connected force to become the intersectional feminist dream that shaped the feminist imagination in the third wave and an intergenerational power to be reckoned with in the fourth wave.

Watchwords

Hostile and Benevolent Sexism By Noelie Zychik

exism is not limited to antagonistic feelings for women. It can be much harder to identify and come with a greater cost. Ambivalent sexism or bias against women encompasses both hostile and benevolent sexism.

Loyola alumni Oanh Nguyen conducted a study on the matter where participants watched a video of a woman getting catcalled on the street. After she had the participants answer the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory questionnaire. This included twenty two questions designed Hostile sexism is the belief that women are to measure the participant's attitudes innately evil, manipulative and sinister. toward women. They also completed an This belief stems from a biblical and Attitude Questionnaire to gauge their historical context. Eve ate the apple against reaction to street harassment. There were God’s wishes resulting in women’s demise. both males and females that varied in Consider the Salem witch trials and the race and orientation taking part in the killing of women at the suspicion of study. Her study found that “individuals sinister supernatural skills and alternative who scored higher in hostile sexism were beliefs. These ideas are rooted in society it more likely to believe that women are making it is easy for men to absorb them from an early age and perpetuate them. This distrust often manifests itself as discriminatory behavior towards women both on an individual and societal level. Benevolent sexism is harder to identify because it masks itself as chivalry or romance. It is the belief that it is a man's responsibility to protect his woman and put her on a pedestal. This is regularly modeled in popular media including tv, books and movies which further normalize this behavior. It is woven into the structure of romance stories for all ages. The idea is that the man must protect the precious and fragile woman. The problem comes in when a woman is no longer willing to be subdued and doesn’t want to play the role of “damsel in distress.” Although benevolent sexism can look harmless from the outside it can be more dangerous than hostile sexism because it is harder to detect and more accepted in society.

responsible for their experience of street harassment. Additionally, hostile sexism significantly predicted victim blaming… men specifically were more likely to blame the victim for her negative experiences.” While these findings are concerning, it is important to be aware of the subtle red flags benevolent sexism raises. When a partner behaves in a controlling way, that is an indicator of benevolent sexism. Society must de-normalize these behaviors that are likely to lead to violence and stop associating them with feelings of love and romance.

Hostile and benevolent sexism are not mutually exclusive as both beliefs often intersect. Someone with sexist beliefs likely sees women that are out of their circle through the lens of hostile sexism, demonstrating an attitude of distrust. On the other end, they would see their mother, sister, girlfriend or wife in a benevolently sexist way. It is their duty to protect and treasure them, but when they fall out of line by asserting their independence then a benevolently sexist man would see it as their responsibility to correct them.

Cover Story

Loyola's Feminist Foremothers, Pt. II:

The Revival of the Women's Resource Center By Grace Riddick

Starting on top left: Nancy Anderson, Connie Mui, Barbara Ewell, Dorothy Brown, Catherine Wessinger, Karen Reichard

Cover Story

“

The Women’s Resource Center has become my second home,” said Emmaline Bouchillon, the student director of the writing team and creative director at the WRC. Located on the third floor of Marquette Hall at Loyola University New Orleans, the center is constantly overflowing with feminists. On any given week day, a number of the thirty-three students who work with WRC director Patricia Boyett, are gathered in her office, the adjoining intern office, or the living room space and sometimes sprawled out across the wide hallway to work on various projects. Weekly events like the Feminist Fridays discussions that range from complex topics like intersectionality in feminism to feminism in pop culture, draw people in from all over the Loyola and New Orleans community.

On the contrary, the 1990s proved to be an era in deep need of feminism. The confirmation of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court despite Anita Hill’s testimony that he had sexually harassed her proved said need to feminist to Rebecca Walker. In 1993, in Ms. Magazine, Walker wrote: “Let Thomas’ confirmation serve to remind you, as it did me, that the fight is far from over. . . . I am not a postfeminism feminist. I am the Third Wave.” Anti-feminists like conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who falsely portrayed feminists as man-haters Original location of the Women's Resource Center and “femi-nazis,” surely hated to see a new feminist wave rising. But rise it did, even of lawyer and scholar of critical feminist as it confronted backlashes. theory and critical race theory Kimberlee Crenshaw on intersectionality gripped the imagination of third wave feminists. Phile Chionesu and Asia Coney brought 750,000 black women to march in Philadelphia. Walker was right: third wave feminism had emerged, and a new generation of feminists were navigating the complexities and issues that sexism presented.

Director Patricia Boyett loves the constant activity of the center. “The center is more than a place of work,” Boyett said, “it is a feminist community of students, staff, faculty and New Orleanian activists who pursue the Jesuit mission of creating a more just world by persisting in the struggle for gender equality.” Boyett is mindful that she, her students, and her colleagues are constantly building on the work of the “feminist foremothers,” the women who founded and cultivated the WRC and the Women’s Studies program. As a historian, she is moved by the achievements of the foremothers Sussanne Dietzel at a Women's Studies committe meeting and their allies and feels a responsibility and a calling to learn from First Lady Hillary Clinton gave the their struggles, share their stories, and emerging movement another one of its constantly advance their work. rallying cries at the United Nations First World Conference in Beijing in 1995 when The first issue of Feminist Forum explored she declared: “If there is one message the opening of the first WRC and the that echoes forth from this conference, establishment of the Women’s Studies let it be that human rights are women’s program. In this issue, the exploration rights and women’s rights are human will continue by picking up the story in rights, once and for all.” Of course the the 1990s as several of the founders of revelation of a litany of President Bill the Women’s Studies program, Barbara Clinton’s affairs and accusations of sexual Ewell, Connie Mui, Nancy Fix Anderson, harassment that led to his impeachment and Katherine Wessinger struggled to impugned the progressive agenda for reestablish the Women’s Resource Center. women that Bill promised and many They confronted opposition again from feminists hoped Hillary embodied. All members of the Loyola community who of this proving still, America needed perceived the 1990s as a post-feminist age feminism. And many black women, like with no need for a center for women. Walker, were taking the lead. The work

Changes in pop culture reflected the feelings that many women had about the role of feminism in their lives, especially in response to the political context of the 90s. Certainly, the 1990s had many films, television shows, and musicians who continued to denigrate girls and women. Still, 1990s culture produced important feminist icons and messages. Characters like Murphy Brown, Moesha Mitchell, Dana Scully, and Khadijah James reflected girls and women as smart, strong, and determined beings who refused to bend to the power and will of boys and men. Cartoon characters like Lisa Simpson and Daria Morgendorffer took societal challenges head on with wit and misanthropic attitudes. Oprah reigned over television in the 1990s, and in 1997, Ellen DeGeneres chose the Oprah Winfrey show to boldly share, in a world that remained homophobic, that she was a lesbian. In the music scene, Queen Latifah reigned as the queen of rap in the 1990s and used her lyrics to resist sexism and fight misogyny. In the underground music scene, bands like Riot grrrl operated as commentators on the political issues of the time, and they became a part of a feminist movement that advocated for a space for women in the punk scene.

Feminist Foremothers, Part II It was within this time of strong feminists and a no-nonsense attitude among women that the WRC reopened and became a space for women and men to discuss issues relating to intersectional feminism, current events, and their experiences fighting sexism. The time was ripe for the WRC to emerge. Loyola’s campus and the world were hotbeds for political discussion and change. With the reopening of the center in 1995, the determined women that would come to take on the role of Director of the WRC would lead it to become what it is today.

The feminist foremothers at Loyola rose again: Professors Catherine Wessinger, Connie Mui, Barbara Ewell, Nancy Fix Anderson, Dorothy Harrell Brown and others began lobbying for a Women’s Resource Center. Through such efforts and through the newly established Women Studies program, they were building a community of feminists. As Ewell recalls, they hosted for free “First Mondays,” where faculty members and the occasional unpaid guest presented their research. In addition, they founded the Women’s Studies Essay contest; they offered a $100.00 prize for the best essay on women’s issues. “I think we felt that we were trying to drag Loyola into the modern world,” Ewell said, “creating structures that seemed standard at other universities.” One such structure, the development of a rape crisis committee, drew resistance from some male colleagues. As Anderson recalled, one male faculty member called for the termination of the rape crisis committee, claiming that “rape

Sussanne Dietzel

WRC library in Mercy Hall wasn’t an issue for Loyola students.” An administrator even claimed that “rape wouldn’t be an issue if only women dressed properly.” The Women’s Studies committee found some of their greatest allies among the Jesuits and the Mission and Ministry staff members. The Women’s Studies leaders collaborated with staff in Mission and Ministry, including Al Alcazar to host the first Take Back the Night in New Orleans, an event which brought students, staff, faculty, and community members across New Orleans to speak-out about the pervasiveness of gender violence and to march in solidarity against it.

The Women’s Studies professors also found support in the administration when they successfully lobbied Provost David Danahar for a space to reopen the Women’s Resource Center in Mercy Hall. For the next five years, however, the center lacked a budget. Thus, the Women’s Studies professors extended their work commitments and ran the center. Finally, the professors found a great ally in Associate Provost Lydia Voigt, who helped them obtain a budget for the center that included a salary for a director.

In 2000, Susanne Dietzel became the first full-time director of the WRC. Fortified with a PhD in American Studies and Feminist Studies from the University of Throughout the 1990s, as Anderson Minnesota and with teaching experience recalls, the Loyola Jesuit community at Tulane University as a Visiting devoted itself to addressing the injustices Assistant Professor of Women’s Studies, documented in the Jesuit 1995 General Dietzel worked collaboratively with the Congregation, “The Situation of Women Women’s Studies committee and taught in Church and Civil Society” and which the very first “Introduction to Women’s included: unequal pay, educational Studies” course at Loyola. Dietzel firmly discrimination, and gender violence. Pope established the Women’s Resource Center John Paul II “called upon all men and as a feminist hub at Loyola, and like her women of goodwill, especially Catholics, Women’s Studies colleagues, she found the to make the essential equality of women Jesuits central to her mission. According to a lived reality.” Consequently, the Jesuit Dietzel, “the climate for women is always administration and faculty enthusiastically something that needs improving,” and it partnered with the Women’s Studies was at this time that it was an opportune founders to join the “Jesuit values of social moment to implement changes on campus justice [with] feminist curriculum and through the WRC. During Dietzel’s programs.” The Jesuits demonstrated their administration, women comprised 60% commitment in many ways. Anderson of the Loyola student body, so in directing found the strong Jesuit presence at Take the WRC, more than half of the student Back the Night particularly powerful and body’s vital academic and social justice “meaningful.” needs would be addressed.

Feminist Foremothers, Part II

Dietzel addressed student needs by developing several programs and forming alliances. During her administration, Dietzel created a survivor assistance program with the counseling center, and they collaborated to forge strong connections with Xavier and Dillard. On campus, LUPAC and the Gay-Straight Student Alliance became great allies to the WRC. Other programs of great importance included the programs on women in science in which scientists lectured on their experiences as women in a male-dominated field. Towards the end of her administration, Dietzel contemplated the idea of creating a mentor program that paired junior and senior women with freshman and sophomore women, in order to guide the younger students through the grueling world of being a woman in university. Dietzel considers one of her greatest accomplishments the booking of Rebecca Walker for her feminist lecture series. After all, many feminists credited Walker with the beginning of the third wave of feminism, and she represented the move toward intersectional feminism that Dietzel consider so vital in the struggle.

challenging work required of Eden House without her background in feminism Karen Reichard assumed the position of director in 2007 and expanded the center’s reach by partnering with as many departments as possible and initiating significant programming and campaign initiatives. She saw Women’s Studies and spaces for women as a catalyst for change that “valued the entire being.” Like Dietzel, Reichard perceived Jesuit ideals as harmonious with feminism because both fight for inclusivity and social justice.

members of the Loyola community to state why they were feminists. The WRC printed the responses on posters and professors and staff members posted them on their doors across campus.

Reichard centered much of her work around inclusivity and diversity, particularly focusing on the struggle within the feminist movement to become truly intersectional. As Reichard recalled that most feminists on campus sought to create “space for multiple points of view, there were also some narrow ideas on campus about what it means to be a feminist.” She found it particularly inspiring to witness Loyola students “pushing at this in important ways, asking questions about the multiple identities we hold and how a more intersectional understanding helps to enrich our In 2007, Dietzel left New Orleans and definition(s) of feminism. How, for Loyola to direct the Women’s Center at instance, do the lived experiences of being Ohio University, but she has returned a queer woman or a woman of color or a to the crescent city and now serves as woman of a different culture inform the the Executive Director of Eden House, a ways we define feminism?” Reichard and non-profit organization that works to end her student interns sought to dig deeper human and sex-trafficking. She stated that into this question by developing the “I am she does not think she could have done the a feminist” campaign in which they asked

Reichard also developed a series of powerful and long lasting programs at Loyola, including Love Your Body Week in which Loyola feminists sought to resist the negativity surrounding women’s bodies by developing positive body programming. She also brought Elect Her to campus, a national organization that teaches women how to run for student government. Studies show that women who serve as student leaders in college are more likely to run for office when they graduate. She greatly appreciated the connections that these events built within the Loyola community but also the New Orleans community. Finally, Reichard also sought to address gender violence by working with professors like Rae Taylor in the criminology department and the University Counseling Center to create the Advocacy Initiative that trained students, faculty, and staff to serve as advocates for survivors. Working with survivors had a profound impact on Reichard that ultimately led her to pursue a Master’s in Social Work and to engage in a career working with trauma survivors. Although she left Loyola, she took the Jesuit ideals to heart and incorporated them into her new field. She believes that her time at Loyola has “grounded her in how she does what she does now.”

Love Your Body Week

The next leader of the WRC, a graduate of Loyola College of Law and a lawyer for the ACLU, Julie Thibodaux served as Interim Director of the WRC from 2013 to 2015. The position drew Thibodaux’s interest because her experience at Loyola “allowed me to grow into a fierce advocate for equity, diversity, and inclusion.” Like Reichard, Thibodaux was moved by the struggle and determination of survivors of gender violence. She considered Take Back the Night one of the most significant programs that the WRC and the University Counseling Center hosted with New Orleans universities and community partners. During her second year at the WRC, Thibodaux sponsored a premier of the documentary Hunting Ground that explores the persistent injustice sexual assault victims confront. Over 200 people attended the screening. “And you could

Feminist Foremothers, Part II feel,” Thibodaux recalled “the power of survivors in the room.”

Thibodaux considers Feminist Fridays the most important series developed under her tenure. A student, Lauren Poiroux, worked with Thibodaux to bring the series to Loyola. Feminist Fridays created an organized and safe space for students to gather and talk openly and honestly about their experiences with feminism and sexism. Thibodaux’s favorite discussion was on menstruation and “the crazy notion that women think they should be ashamed of something so natural.” Thibodaux also worked to expand outreach to the LGBTQ community during her tenure, but it often proved challenging as she faced resistance from some cultural conservatives. She recalled that it taught her much about responding to “disappointment” and in helping others work through it, but Thibodaux’s efforts helped pave the way for future outreach to the LGBTQ community under the current director. Thibodaux left Loyola in 2015 and now serves as the Director of Development for Morris Jeff Community School, a school that focuses on “inclusion and diversity through a global lens.” Transitioning through the struggle of anti-feminists and resistance to the establishment of the WRC, there were other problems to address. Ewell recalled that in these later years, “the struggle seemed to be to keep ourselves relevant in what everyone seemed ready to describe

Women's Studies Committee, 1999.

Take Back the Night, 2004. Coutesy of The Maroon. as a ‘post-feminist’ era. The commitment of faculty has always been there and the administration had become convinced of the relevance of Women’s Studies--in no small part because of the visibility and tenacity of its faculty.” When Boyett became the director of the WRC in 2015 she began work towards a fourth wave of feminism environment and the currents that would soon form of the fourth wave rippled across America. #SayHerName emerged to resist police brutality against black women, the struggle for Marriage Equality and LGBTQ+ rights achieved significant victories, President Barack Obama called himself a feminist and worked with Congress to advance equal

pay and to improve responses to sexual assault on college campuses and in the military. And then the 2016 election signified a major shift in the struggle, leading to an anti-feminist backlash, but also to the rolling forward of the fourth wave, symbolized in all 50 states, in over 200 nations, and on all seven continents with the Women’s March on January 21, 2017. The rising new struggle demanded intersectionality and burgeoned quickly as it became a staple of the resistance. #MeToo, #TimesUp, the battle for transgender rights, and an explosion of women from diverse demographics running for office energized the struggle. Boyett has sought to build on the work of her predecessors and the powerful currents in the movement that celebrate and practice intersectional feminism. She also hoped to increase the reach and capabilities of the WRC with a reduced budget. To that end, she reached out to student organizations and work study students to build her staff from two student interns in the fall of 2015 to a student staff that consisted of over thirty students in 2018. Her student associate directors, first Andie Slein and now Hadori Bukle, helped her create a company structure and provide students with opportunities for experiential learning and leadership. Each of the students serves on one of six teams: operations, programming, advocacy, writing, art, fundraising, and marketing led by team directors.

Feminist Foremothers, Part II

With the increase in staff, the WRC has been able to continue much of the work of the previous directors and build upon it. The programming team, the advocacy team, and community and university partners collaborate to host Take Back the Night, Elect Her, and Feminist Fridays and to develop new programs, particularly the annual twoweek Feminist Festival in March. In addition, the WRC created the Feminist Forum, produced by the WRC’s writing and art teams first led by Deniz Sidi and now by Emmaline Bouchillon and Lance Taylor. Finally, the WRC is expanding the advocacy program by training the staff to advocate for survivors of gender violence and the LGBTQ community. Also, the WRC is collaborating with the Jesuit Social Research Institute to advocate for the protection of immigrant families. Advocacy team leaders and trainers, including Parker Anderson, Serena Hill, and Noelie Zeichek, have proved vital to the developments. Reichard’s “I am a feminist” campaign has also been adapted into “Faces of Fourth Wave Feminism” designed to celebrate intersectional, intergenerational, and inclusive feminism. The marketing team led by Hannah Castillo and Sky Stubbs has expanded the

reach of the center through this campaign and others. The WRC now has the largest studentstaff since its opening and it continues to be a second home for many of the student-workers at the WRC. Ava Harold, the assistant director, states “I value the community and I love how as a team we represent so much diversity. Other parts of my life have had the same consistent demographics (primarily white and Christian), but here there is more diversity in one room than I think you will find anywhere else on campus.” The staff is ever grateful to the feminist foremothers who founded the center, and they seek always to build upon their work. Daily, the WRC staff seeks to cultivate the center as a feminist hub at Loyola where feminists gather to think critically about the struggle for gender equality, to celebrate how far the current generation has come, and to find hope and refuge in each other. But, the WRC also seeks to challenge each other in order to always expand the staff’s understanding of intersectional feminism, to broaden its reach, and to advance the struggle for gender equality in the present.

While the nation has been embroiled in an anti-feminist backlash that led to a rising feminist movement, Loyola has taken many progressive steps for gender equality, including the inauguration of the first women and layperson president at Loyola, Tania Tetlow. Despite these victories and those in the recent midterm elections, the WRC staff understands that the contemporary struggle has just begun. Barbara Ewell, who remains a great partner to Women’s Studies and the WRC since her recent retirement, articulated well the WRC’s sentiment when she referenced a bumper sticker from the late 90’s that stated: “I’ll be post-feminist in the post-patriarchy.” Until that time, the WRC feminists will continue to march upon the path of Loyola’s feminist foremothers, seeking to create a more just and inclusive world. Under Boyett, the students, staff, and volunteers continue to contribute and work for a greater future that promotes intersectional feminism and denounces all forms of hate and discrimination.

Women's Studies Committee, 1999.

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Briefcases and Baby Bottles

By Hadori Bukle and Isabel Dickinson

n the late 20th century, many women abandoned the traditional stay-athome mother role and began entering the workforce. As a result, changes were needed in the workplace to accommodate working women who wanted a family and a career. There were few job options that would allow enough time off for childbirth and care of an infant. Women would risk losing their jobs or risk adversely affecting the wellbeing of their child or their health by returning to work too soon after giving birth. In 1993, Bill Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act which allowed working mothers twelve weeks unpaid leave to care for a newborn. Although this act was a huge step in the right direction, it still only required unpaid leave and new families are least likely to be able to afford 12 weeks with no salary. On top of that, 40% of women are not even eligible for the Family Medical Leave Act, these are the women who would actually be able to afford a 12 week unpaid leave. Twenty-five years later and the United States is the only high-income country that does not offer paid maternity leave at a federal level. Compared to Bulgaria where new mothers are given 59 weeks of paid leave, the U.S. has a lot of catching up to do. State governments have the option to help working mothers as well. If you weren't disappointed yet, you will be now knowing that only four states have a paid maternity leave policy, being New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and California. By not giving working mothers a proper paid maternity leave, employers are putting the mother and child's physical and mental health at risk, as the time after birth is critical for the development of the child and bonding with the mother. On January 4th, I interviewed Elizabeth Rainey, Director of Student Success, at Loyola University New Orleans who has been on maternity leave here. I wanted to gain insight on this matter at Loyola University New Orleans:

Do you feel like Loyola's maternity leave policy is fair? I think Loyola's maternity leave policy is average for what you would expect in the U.S. I certainly know people who have had more generous leave policies, but I also know some friends who had shorter maternity leave, so I’m grateful for what I’ve got and that Loyola does provide some coverage. I did observe that there is a different policy that applies to faculty and that is worth looking deeper at because if we all are full time faculty or staff I would prefer that we have equal benefits in that regard.

Is there anything you would change about the policy? I would make the policies as generous as possible for both faculty and staff. One of the challenges is that some of the policy is structured so you have to take some of your own leave or some of your own vacation days. I think we should also look at the policy not just when you’re away from work but what happens when your back into the community and how to make that work as a parent of young children. What would be your ideal federal maternity leave policy for the United States? I do think a minimum of twelve to sixteen weeks is really a nice amount of time to get your own body together and get used to being with your child. The way most of our policies are is that you have to take your leave all at once and then once you're back, you're back. I could see there being a benefit to breaking that up, like maybe you are home for a month then maybe

your partner can do a month. I just think we should think more creatively and be mindful of partners too, because I am aware that are lots of husbands or partners who do the heavy lifting too. Can you explain how maternity leave is not just a paid vacation to people who are not parents? Whoever has thinks that probably hasn't had a child. First of all your own body should recover, and that at a minimum I would say you need 4 to 6 weeks depending on how that experience went for you and your body. If you’re nursing, it also takes quite a while to get used to that, you also physically need to be near your baby every two hours if you’re exclusively breastfeed. It is in no way a paid vacation, anyone who thinks that way is too removed from the experience. Sure you do get out and get to do things but I think it’s also really necessary. I was happy to come back to work, especially with my second child, knowing that I had daycare on campus. That I could see her everyday and continue nursing and kind of keep using my brain in a way that I wasn't feeling like I was doing so at home. You also have to be mindful that it goes differently for everyone, some babies get sick, some moms get sick and some people have more help from others. At some point it's all you. With the amount of stress and healing a new mother has to go through, worrying about finances and going back to work should not be a mother's main concerns. The United States federal maternity leave policy was a big step in 1993 but it has been the same for the last 26 years. Since the law has not changed in so long and there are so many dissatisfied employees, there is an obvious need for change. Making a more fair maternity leave policy will lead to happier employees and happier workplace.

Art by Gabi Hawkins

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Orleans. What excited her most about the move was the promising jazz scene. Duncan explains, “So I figured OK, they know about jazz music down there. I don't know anyone, but they know jazz. So we'll have something in common.”

Though jazz is Duncan’s primary passion, she is educated in many other genres of music including opera, funk, and country. Her expansive knowledge of music is what drove her towards the Popular Commercial Music Department at Loyola. Within pop there are no restrictions to what type of music can be produced. As long as it is bought and sold, music can be categorized under pop. Duncan enjoys helping her students break barriers and find the artistry that can be created under Popular Commercial Music. Duncan adds, “Pop Com is nice because we will cater to any genre. It could be synth pop. It could be weird industrial techno. It could be bluegrass, whatever the student wants to do.” The growth of the “genreless” department eventually lead to the creation of an entirely new Urban and Electronic Music major, pioneered by Written by Carolyne Shofner, art by Jessica White Duncan. The creation of the new major addressed a hole in the curriculum for hen describing her love of “niche” within the theatre department at many students. Duncan explains, “We music, Professor Kate Duncan, her high school, Duncan felt content. She have a lot of students in our student body Chair of the Popular and describes her adolescent attitude as “total for both pop and music industry that Commercial Music Program at Loyola, Peter Pan syndrome,” not wanting to move are DJs. They are producers and rappers. says she’s been “an always person.” By on to college. With encouragement from And there comes a time when you have always, Duncan refers to her lifelong her parents, she finally decided to continue so many students that you could see them affair with creating, performing and her education, majoring in english and hungry for education in poetry, creating appreciating music. Performing was music. After undergrad, she attended flow in their rhyme, creating beats and something Duncan was naturally drawn University of Minnesota obtaining a how to mix and master for that genre. It to at a young age. Duncan comments, masters degree in jazz music. was kind of like the elephant in the room.” “when I was really little, my mom loved As for what has driven the evolution of to go to arts festivals and she would In her own opinion, receiving an advanced music at Loyola and the future of music always lose me. She knew that she could education in music can build an essential in general, Duncan cites technology as a just find the nearest stage, and I would be foundation for success. “You need a leading force. doing something to entertain the people sounding board for music, and that's not who were sitting in the audience.” Music a cute pun. I don't think YouTube, Skype While Duncan spends much of her time became “the vehicle” in which she could and Google Hangout or digital teaching on campus with students, whether it be further her entertainment on and off the can ever replace the ability of two humans teaching class or instructing vocal groups, stage. Once she learned how to sing and working together,” explains Duncan. From she may also be found participating in play the flute in the fourth grade, her love learning methodology to having a mentor projects in the local city sphere. Some of music flourished. to help tune up ideas, the benefits of being of her other musical projects include student in music add up. After completing working with high school ensemble After graduating high school, Duncan her masters degree, Duncan moved back groups, instructing jazz ensemble clinics, continued her musical education in her home to Pennsylvania to take care of her and performing with bands in the city. home state of Pennsylvania at Westminster elderly dog. For the following ten years, Recently, she hosted a phenomenal forum College. When asked about her decision Duncan was the director of a after school for women in music and other arts as to further her education, Duncan says she music program before becoming engaged part of the Feminist Festival held by the originally did not want to go to college. and moving back to Minnesota with her Women’s Resource Center. Keep an eye out After finding what she describes as her fiance. Her move to Loyola occurred after for Kate’s new solo project she’s currently her fiancé received a job transfer to New working on!

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By Emmaline Bouchillon

iven Loyola’s size and Tevia Schroder’s vibrance, odds are you’ve seen her before somewhere on campus. Whether it be her brightly patterned smocks or contagious laughter, she’s hard to not notice and harder to forget. A Louisiana native and graduate from New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, Tevia’s a whimsical human, an artist and lover of all things red. Before college she was quite shy, but as she transitioned from NOCCA to Loyola, she began to really bloom into the Tevia we all know and love. As she said best, “what you see is what you get, I’m pretty much an open book.” Her candor and fun-loving attitude shows through in her personality, style, and art. Tevia noted that in her art classes or at work in a second-hand clothing store, people will know without a doubt what she’s made or what clothing she’ll buy because she’s so concretely herself that it just simply couldn’t be made by or for anyone else. Tevia’s style undeniably echos her personality and she explained “I try to be as authentic and transparent as I can be, which bleeds into my style.” Tevia’s a self-proclaimed typical pisces, a sensitive and empathetic soul. As a sales associate at a local second hand clothing store, Tevia

has to stay up to date with trends to keep with store up to date but generally finds she doesn’t love what’s on trend. Instead, she finds much of her fashion inspiration through social media and exploring creations of like-minded designers, like Penelope Gazin. Gazin’s newest adventure is Fashion Brand Company, which features clothes that double as gags. Her collection including shirts that look like brick houses with moveable curtains to expose the cleavage and sweaters covered in knit nipples. Tevia, like Gazon’s clothing, is stylish and fun without taking herself too seriously. Tevia has a knack for pattern mixing and a love for funky silhouettes, Tevia dresses for herself in whatever makes her feel good. As an intersectional feminist, Tevia understands the importance self expression through style without fear of policing or judgement. With a colorful cauldron of clothing in her arsenal, Tevia wears her beliefs through just simply being herself. Tevia makes a safe space for everyone around her through her openness and sweet demeanor. A fierce female and firey fashionista, Tevia’s one of Loyola’s style icons, landing her a much deserved feature with Feminist Fits.

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Transtalk: Acceptance

By Leo Thomas

cceptance is the real meat of the LGBTQIA+ community, as without it there only remains a selection of the community that is harmful and toxic. Acknowledging that those people do in fact exist is the start in building a community that is peaceful and loving. The communities form of relationship building allows for the breaking of harsh barriers between separate communities in order to create a wholesome and tolerable environment. Some bigotry begins by going against those who deliberately try and enforce the gatekeeping in the community; such as TERFS (trans exclusionary radical feminists) who act as if trans women cannot talk on issues of feminism because they are “not women.” Transphobia like this also includes LGB people who say they wouldn’t be in a relationships with a trans person because isn’t “ the same as being in a relationship with a person of the actual gender they’re attracted to.” Although these are only examples of transphobic bigotry within the community, and there are many other examples of this same type of hate against other groups within the community.

community doesn’t mean the community can’t work together to be more actively inclusive. Telling someone that they are wrong as well as not allowing the spread of their hate would aid in slowing the spread of this hate. An example of this would be not retweeting a post where someone says something along the lines of “I’d never date a trans woman, they aren’t really women.” Preventing this misinformation to be spread limits those who think that having these toxic ideals is okay.

While accepting other groups within the community is important, there’s always the most important person to accept. Yourself. Realizing that you are a valid member of the LGBTQIA+ community is very important and being able to ignore the hate that seems to seed itself deep in the community and recognize selfbelonging is the real way to see value personally and towards everyone. The idea that someone could be considered “less gay” because they didn’t know they were gay until their first relationship with someone of the opposite sex is false. It does not make someone less of what they say they are. If you say you’re gay, then you are unless you decide otherwise, and you can. Sexuality is a fluctuating spectrum, There is not one easy way to just say “no and recognizing that allows for people more hate” in our community because it to freely move from one spot to another, doesn’t work like that. History shows that never feeling trapped in one place. All bigotry is solid and embedded in societies of those in the LGBTQIA+ community and groups. Just because there’s no must recognize that discovering a person’s obvious way to easily remove hate from the sexuality isn’t a short phase of life, it’s an

ever-evolivng experience where you learn something new at every turn. Acceptance isn’t always found in all facets of the LGBTQIA+ community. It is a simple fact the community needs to accept that not everywhere and everyone is accepting, but a community of those we face similar situations needs to offer a welcoming environment. In building this segment of the community, there will be a higher potential to create more members of the LGBTQIA+ community that are not only lacking in the common toxicity towards different groups but creating groups who try and fight against that hate.

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From Nowhere

By Delaney Harper

Art by Gabi Hawkins

ust two days after From Nowhere premiered at South by Southwest in March 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump spoke at a rally in Ohio in which he read song lyrics that compared immigrants to a snake that bites and kills a good samaritan. To say a film about the lives of three undocumented teenagers is timely would be a gross understatement in a petri dish of harsh, fear-mongering rhetoric. The hateful language did not stop there, as we well know: women were casually objectified and sexual assault was flippantly glorified (and that was just during the primaries). Again, From Nowhere may seem to some to be a film both ahead of its time and fitting for the time it exists as it faces--albeit briefly--the intersection between gender and migration, specifically regarding gender-based violence against migrant women. It goes without saying that either topic is rare, even in today’s climate. It should be said that From Nowhere tackles humanizing the subjects well, especially when they are often targets of intense prejudice. However, the film does have its faults; humanizing subjects well does not guarantee great writing, for example. And, while I would love to give kudos to director and co-writer Matthew Newton for grappling with issues few films address,

I cannot deny the ironic truth: Matthew Newton, who depicted the cruel normalcy of domestic violence, pled guilty to one count of common assault of his then girlfriend in 2009, and he has since had a record of violent behavior toward women. The question is not should we disregard the film’s mediocre aspects in consideration of the necessary themes; rather, the question becomes should we consider the film at all. In order to address this question, we must first consider what the film is. From Nowhere follows undocumented teenagers Moussa, a young man from Guinea, and Sophie, a young woman from the Dominican Republic, as they try to navigate their senior year of high school and get asylum in the United States. Technically, the film introduces another teenager named Alyssa, but as she is the most underdeveloped of the three, there isn’t much to say about her. The gender-related themes the film explores excludes Moussa, the primary character, and presents these themes in a distant, “what can you do?” way; that is, the film implies the conflicts are not at all or are very loosely related to gender, and more of an unhappy side effect

uninfluenced by a patriarchal and xenophobic society. When Moussa’s mother Mariam, who had remained tight-lipped as a means of both selfpreservation and maternal protection, opens up about fleeing Guinea after her husband was kidnapped by military forces and following a man who promised a better life for her and her children before abandoning them, the blame is shifted onto Mariam. Instead of taking this as an opportunity to acknowledge that her circumstances would have been very different if she was a man, it is used as a cheap emotional provocation and implementation of dramatic irony that makes the audience sympathize with Moussa more. In another setting, Mariam’s story could be an application of empathy, validation, and realism. To be fair, one of the most touching interactions happens within that scene when Jackie, the teacher who propelled the teenagers into the world of immigration lawyers and the model of a white-savior complex, replies, “Every woman I know has trusted the wrong man. I made a habit of it.” However, this again implies more of a personal blame and less of a pervasive issue. Still, crumbs of gender-related topics are better than starving. The largest and most direct crumb is Sophie’s story. We first meet Sophie through distant eyes. She sits in a chair that looks like it belongs in a hospital waiting room as Isaac, the immigration lawyer, indifferently announces the necessary elements that give undocumented persons a better chance of asylum: “Genocide is good; genital mutilation also helps. Dictators are the best.” None of the teenagers have stories quite as sensationalistic, therefore their stories and struggles are minimized

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comparatively. True, Isaac is merely a vehicle of the law that is the true culprit of insensitivity, but he shows little respect as he shrugs their stories off and answers a phone call; Sophie does not keep her resentment to herself. Her first lines, in fact, both demean and distract Isaac when she questions him about his romantic life. From the moment we meet her, we know Sophie is angry, and we think we know why. But when Sophie goes home, the audience watches as she takes out her lip ring and prepares herself to walk inside. At this point, the audience doesn’t know that she was shipped off to the States under the impression it was a brief vacation; that her jailbird father back in the Dominican Republic had no intention of shipping her back; that she is pinballed from relative to relative nearly every year. The audience certainly doesn’t know that she is both exploited and neglected by her uncle Emilio and her cousin-in-law Javier.

From the moments she steps past the door, Emilio berates her for riling up her toddler nephews and distracting him from the soccer game on TV. An interesting element here is that all of the people in the household speak Spanish and there are no English subtitles, yet the audience knows what’s happening. Dialogue becomes meaningless to us as we watch Emilio snap and point at a pile of trash by his feet and glare at her when she talks back. We know that she is a guest to her family, and an unwelcome one at that. Her only job is to repay an unseen debt that increases with interest every time she returns home; otherwise, she does not exist. Her cousin Carlita does nothing when her father intimidates and belittles Sophie, and Carlita remains equally blind to her husband’s interactions with her. When Sophie fetched the men beers, Javier seems harmless despite his complacency. He is the only one in the house who acts like he sees her. But his eyes linger too long, and he seems too interested in Sophie’s requited gratitude to be sincere. In another scene, as Sophie wipes the countertops,

Javier ducks and breaks through the bead room divider and leans against the refrigerator. He asks her to get him a beer, she hesitates but walks across the room and grabs one. He thanks her and remains leaning. We see Sophie, and we know she knows what he’s about to do. Based on the preponderance of evidence, this is not the first time. She tries to brush past him and leave, but he grabs her and all but tackles her to the ground. She kicks him and shoves him off her as he groans and tries to catch her again when she runs out of the apartment. Carlita, meanwhile, sits still and looks to Javier for an explanation; he points after her and calls her crazy. From what we know about that environment, it is not out of the question to assume everyone prefers his version of the event. Gender based and domestic violence that feeds off a person’s immigration status is not an individual issue, contrary to what From Nowhere may imply. An aspect of Sophie’s story that differs from many women who experience similar violence is that she is able to use her experiences to get asylum. It should be remembered that films must end, and films must sell, and very few people are happy with endings that have no bright side. Outside of From Nowhere, the world of asylum-seeking women who experience gender-based violence is not as hopeful. In theory, Sophie could self-petition to become independent and separate herself from Emilio due to the provisions allowed by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), so long as she files before she turns 25 and proves relationship to abuser, immigration status, residence, and “good moral character,” according to VAWA’s official website. In practice, however, it is not as simple as signing and filing. Most undocumented persons aren’t aware of their rights, according to Edna Erez’s article “Migration/Immigration, Domestic Violence, and the Justice System,” published in 2002 in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice.When undocumented persons are aware of their rights, and when they act on it, they are rarely taken seriously by law enforcement. Pillars of the negative reception are racism, xenophobia, sexism, and misconceptions about gender-based violence. Sujata Warrier and Jennifer Rose details in “Women, GenderBased Violence, and Immigration” in the 2016 second edition of “Social Work

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With Immigrants and Refugees: Legal Issues, Clinical Skills, and Advocacy” that if an officer arrives at the scene of alleged domestic violence, he is likely to see a “dispute” as an interpersonal issue. Another challenge immigrant women often face is community-enforced and/or internalized shame that is intended to save face and preserve a positive image. Warrier and Rose emphasize, “Because of the urgency for assimilation, many immigrant communities do no readily see the seriousness of domestic violence.” Sophie’s outcome is convenient and unfortunately inaccurate. It wrongly suggests there will be no emotional hardships and no legal hoops to navigate. The convenience implies “women’s issues” are easily resolved--in Sophie’s case, resolved by a man--and are therefore less important.

management program. When asked about his history in an interview for Australia’s “60 Minutes,” he affirms that he is at fault, then continues to explain that “there might be extenuating circumstance[s]... to explain certain aspects of things that have gone on.” He back pedals soon after obfuscating, before asserting that hitting someone is “terrible.” It should be noted that he could not explicitly comment on the allegations of assault because he was in an ongoing legal proceeding. His comments are self absorbed and self pitying with no consideration for his victims.

This brings us to the dismissal of genderbased violence rooted most likely in Matthew Newton’s estimation and treatment of women. “The New York Times” reports that the Australian director pled guilty to assaulting Brooke Satchwell, his then-girlfriend in 2007. Prosecutors dropped charges of bodily harm, stalking and intimidating, and the conviction was later overturned because of Newton’s bipolar disorder. Four years later, Rachael Taylor filed a restraining order against her then-finacée on the grounds of physical, verbal, and emotional abuse. She alleged he gave her a concussion, bruises, and a sprained jaw in a hotel in Rome. Newton broke the restraining order and was only forced to seek treatment. In 2012, he assaulted an elderly taxi driver and a hotel clerk went otherwise unpunished save community service and an anger

With all this in mind, we must ask ourselves what the role of an audience demands: do we remain an audience, with consideration of the director’s history and reliance on objectivity; or do we discontinue Newton and his product, with a consistent adherence to our moral code and an acceptance of the reality that nearly any player in the film game has skeletons in their closets? Perhaps it isn’t quite so polarizing: we can trust ourselves to recognize the nuances of the issue. We can see how the disinterested eyes through which we evaluate Sophie and domestic violence exacerbated by immigration status are connected to the co-writer and directors disregard of his own acts of domestic violence. As a whole the film lacks technical appeal as well as offers a shallow perception of character depth, and in a social climate that demands action as a response to injustice, we may not be able to afford shallowness and dismissal. So, while the world needs more films about women like Sophie and Mariam and even Jackie, the world also needs less filmmakers like Matthew Newton.

Art by Erika Torres

Columns

Feminist Book Club L By Grace Riddick and Skye Johnson isa Wade, author of American Hookup, has been featured in publications such as Time magazine regarding her work discussing hookup culture on American college campuses. Wade earned her PhD in sociology and has taught in colleges and universities on discussions about gender, sex, sexism, race, class, hypermasculinity and more. While lecturing in her courses, Wade found many of her students discussed the blurry lines of navigating sexual relationships, romance, and flings in college. More specifically, she noticed many students would discuss “hooking up” and Wade noticed it had become a culture. Wade describes hookup culture as a force that almost engulfs college campuses. It appears in various forms such as gossip, social media, social outings, nightlife, and more. Through anecdotes and personal testimonies from her students, Wade

Lisa Wade, author of American Hookup

found a passion in understanding more about the current generation’s dating and sex culture and wanted to learn more about it. She expressed a discontent for the portrayal of hookup culture that focused on white, sexually active, middle-class women. To counteract the problematic discourse, Wade synthesized hookup culture based on the experiences and narratives from her diverse students.

Hookup culture appears to have a set of “acceptable” norms and guidelines that follow this concept. These inherent rules lead students to feel social pressure and confusion about how to participate and how much their peers participate. Based on discussions with her students, Wade found that the false narrative on hookups culture came from the talk of the prevalence of hookup culture. Students

may attend parties or events where people hook up and develop tunnel vision on the how often their peers are hooking up. There is a false narrative on the large amount of people who hookup which often times has led to general a feeling of

Art by Gabi Hawkins

Columns

isolation for those who do not, therefore contributing to hookup culture. Just as Wade described, the current generation of college students are experiencing different pressures, conflicts, and socialized norms than those of previous generations. Getting wrapped up in the endless cycle of hookup culture is not uncommon for the average student. For some students, they fully endorse and welcome hookup culture and its embodiment of sexual liberation. To students who perceive hookups as casual sex, the culture allows them space to openly embrace their sexuality. For others, however, they may feel as if this culture is enforcing ideals and norms that may not align with those already in place. Students who do not hookup, can still be affected by hookup culture because of the potential feeling of isolation. Whether or not an individual chooses to embrace hookup culture or not, it remains an ever present idea that is woven into college life. By being aware of the intricacies of hookup culture and starting an open discussion about its advantages and disadvantages, students gain the opportunity to be informed and educated about what hookup culture is, and what it can be. Wade is currently working on her second textbook which explores the concept of masculinity and groups working to save and promote healthy masculinity. More information about Dr. Wadeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s previous works, lectures, and appearances can be found on her website, https://lisa-wade. com/.

Art by Shelby Pojawa

Columns

Broads Abroad By Katya Agamy

remember the attack of the Twin Towers very clearly. Yes, I was in preschool, but being the only middle eastern family in my town, I was forced to be very aware of what was happening and what it all meant. I sat through long talks with my parents about what others may say, and that no matter what, this has nothing to do with me or my family. I was made highly aware of my differences and learned lessons that would continue throughout my whole life. With it brought an intense, nearly debilitating fear of airport security checks. When I decided to study abroad, this was the only aspect that genuinely terrified me. I knew I was going to have to move through more security checks than ever and I did not feel prepared in the slightest. I left home in August and honestly had no idea what I was about to get myself into. I was going to be spending my fall semester at the University of Ghana in West Africa and my spring semester at Universidad Veritas in San Jose, Costa Rica - this I knew for sure. What I did not know, was that leaving once would

kickstart an entire year of incredible travel and learning experiences. By the end of my time, I will be physically, mentally, and socially exhausted, but for now, I am still completely energized by everything new around me. Having never really had much travel experience, I was taking a massive leap of faith. Driving to the airport I was physically shaking, not for arriving and spending the next year out of the country, but scared of just being there. Since that first flight leaving JFK in August, I travelled to Togo, Ghana, Morocco, Egypt, Netherlands, and now, Costa Rica. With all of this travel, I have become much more aware of my personal identity as independent and coexisting entities. Airport security, especifically when traveling through the U.S., proved to be one of my biggest challenges. Going through 11 different airports (some multiple times) this past 6 months, I have yet to move through security without an extra stop. I am pulled to the side to be

patted down, I have my hair searched, clothes removed, hands swabbed, etc.. taking significantly more time when trying to make a flight, especially with short layovers. It may seem insignificant, but simply put, it is an act of discrimination. I am targeted for my name and appearance and then deemed suspicious, potentially dangerous, and escorted to the side to be publicly humiliated. All of this and I have not even begun to talk about my experience upon landing. A personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity does not begin in one place and end in another. The intersectionality of my identity bleeds into every single aspect, affecting every moment of my life. My presentation to others does and will continue to pave the way to how I experience the world, whether I want that to be true or not. What I can control is how I interact with my identity and the results it brings to promote a more welcoming environment for myself and others.

Art by Gabi Hawkins

Columns

The Misconceptions that Lead to Transmisogyny

By Parker Anderson

n 2004, The New York Times published an article on sex changes in Iran. The article discussed the stories of two transgender people. Amir, a transgender man’s story was told first and the second story was about Maryam Hatoon Molkara, a transgender woman. When mentioning Amir, the author, Nazila Fathi, always gendered Amir properly and never used incorrect pronouns. The same cannot be said when Fathi mentions Molkara. Fathi continuously misgendered Molkara, despite never doing so to the trans man she mentions in her article a mere paragraph away. Fathi’s article demonstrates a type of discrimination trans women continuously face known as transmisogyny.

The combination of oppositional and traditional sexism creates biases that lead to the idea that trans women are “fake” women. These types of sexisms create a gender hierarchy that puts men above women, giving men more privilege than women in society. When trans women start to identify as transgender and/ or transition, they are seen as giving up their male privilege in order to become women. Therefore, trans women are perceived as moving down in this hegemonic structure, an idea that stems from traditional sexism. Oppositional sexism makes moving into a new gender identity a societal transgression. Because gender is rigid, identifying as something other than one’s assigned gender would In the early 2000s, Dr. Julia Serano, a be seen as impossible. Thus, oppositional trans-activist and author, coined the sexism leads to the dismissal of people term “transmisogyny” to initiate the who identify outside of the traditional discussion about the discrimination that gender norms. Oppositional sexism intersects transphobia and misogyny. creates transphobia just as it contributes In Serano’s book Whipping Girl: a to transmisogyny. Trans men are only Transsexual Woman on Sexism and the discriminated against because they Scapegoating of Femininity, published in identify outside of gender norms whereas 2007, she expanded that transmisogyny trans women also face discrimination for stems from traditional sexism, the idea identifying with femaleness. Trans men that men are superior to women, and do not face discrimination for identifying oppositional sexism, the idea that the with maleness because men are at the female and male genders are opposite of top of the gender hierarchy. Hence, trans each other and the aspects of these genders women face both types of sexism in the do not overlap in any sense. These types form of transmisogyny. of sexisms are rooted in how most people understand gender and thus leads to the Traditional sexism leads to the idea that transmisogynistic stigmas that have been trans women are not real women in ingrained in the idea that trans women are that it presents the concept of someone not real women. The consequence of these identifying outside of gender norms stigmas is that trans women face more as inconceivable. Traditional sexism’s gender violence and exclusion than almost inlfluence leads people to believe that trans any other gender. women identify or transition for nefarious

reasons. Professor Janice Raymond in, The Transsexual Empire: the Making of the SheMale, published in 1994, alleges that trans women and their gender identities were a by-product of the patriarchy. She claims that men created the transgender identity in order to possess women’s bodies wholly. Raymond emphasizes, “It should not be surprising that men, who have literally and figuratively, constructed women for centuries, are now ‘perfecting’ the manmade women out of their own flesh.” Trans women, according to Raymond, is another way that men fetishize and objectify female bodies. By transitioning, men acquire female bodies, which reduces “femaleness” to a woman’s body. She uses the fact that trans women get more transition surgeries than trans men to further her claim. For Raymond, trans men are ‘tokens,’ people in an underrepresented group who work for the dominant group with their permission. She claims that the few cases of trans men should be regarded as statistical outliers, meaning that there are not enough trans men in existence to consider their identity as valid. Raymond asserts that trans men are used as a ploy in order to give the illusion of inclusivity; without this illusion, more people would recognize transgender identities as another way men dominate women. Throughout Raymond’s book, she refers to transgender as “constructed female” or “constructed males” to demonstrate how she believes that trans people can never truly be the gender they identify as.

Columns

Art by Shelby Pojawa The belief that trans women need ulterior motives to identify as women leads to the two main stereotypes trans women face in the media. The delusional trans woman stereotype is the first portrayal commonly used. Trans women are depicted as delusional in order to use them as comedic effect. Portraying trans women as comic normalizes the idea that it is irrational to believe trans women could ever be actual women. Typically, this portrayal attacks trans women who cannot pass as cis women. Media uses the deluded trans woman trope to present trans women as men who cannot hide their “true” maleness despite how often they insist that they are true women. An example of this stereotype can be seen through the character of Mort in Transparent. Trans women who cannot pass as cis women don’t pose a huge threat to society’s ideas about gender and sexuality, thus the deluded trans woman stereotype is used as comedic effect.

Trans women who can pass as cis women pose more of a threat to society’s views on sexuality and gender; consequently, the media depicts passing trans women as predators. Typically, the predator stereotype perpetuates the idea that trans women attempt to pass in order to harm men in a way that will emasculate them. Fear of emasculation occurs because trans women are seen as predatory people who trick men into having sex with them so they can then reveal they are trans afterwards. The idea behind this is that the trans women trick men into having gay sex with them; some of these sexual interactions portray the trans women sexually assaulting the men. Additionally, movies that use the predator stereotype for trans women commonly show the man vomiting after finding out that the woman is trans. Trans women’s gender identity, in these scenarios, become dramatic plot points; their gender reveal reduces the trans women to being men all along.

This depiction of trans women not only perpetuates transmisogyny, but it also perpetuates homophobia stigmas. These depictions of trans women normalize men acting repulsed or terrified of trans women if they pass, and mock trans women if they do not pass. Above all, the depictions show that despite trans women striving for femininity, they will never be real women. The underlying theme in both portrayals is that trans women will never be able to rid themselves of what made them men. Transmisogyny is a dangerous method of discrimination that disproportionately affects trans women and creates harmful stereotypes that the media perpetuates.

Feminist Festival

FEMINIST FESTIVAL 2019

Feminist Festival

Successful Women in the Arts

By Carolyne Shofner

he Feminist Festival began with the Music Industry Forum: Successful Women in the Arts, a collaborative effort between the Women’s Resource Center and the Department of Music Industry Studies. Professor Kate Duncan led and organized the forum, which featured Saskia Eubanks, Leah Hennessy, Ann Mahoney, and Misty Talley. Every woman discussed their professional experience in the arts as it related to being and identifying as female.

Professor Kate Duncan

and the resulting “ideal barbie from ancient greece” stereotype.

Hennessy, musician and senior producer at the art collective New Orleans Airlift, pointed out the obstacles she confronted as a bandleader among multiple men, particularly how she had to work harder to overcome the stereotype of the “female singer” as not a real musician.

Walking Dead” and former Loyola faculty, discussed the lack of representation of all types of women in entertainment and the need to equalize women’s voices in the stories that are told.

Talley, an independent film director that has had her films featured on the Syfy channel, expressed that she broke into a male-dominated field and genre, in part by proving herself as an editor. Since she thinks like an editor, she rarely wastes footage that will end up on the cutting floor. Toward the end of the discussion, particularly during the Q & A, all of the women encouraged the students to reject objectification in the workplace and to prove their worth through their talent and work ethic.

Eubanks, a curator and painter, explained how her work conveying realism of the physical form challenges classicism

Mahoney, a classically trained actress featured on the popular T.V. drama “The

Feminist Festival

Closing the Gender Gap: The Struggle for Socioeconomic Justice in Louisiana

By Athena Merida, Shelby Pojawa, Tyler Sanchez, and Rula Thabata

n March 19, Feminist Festival’s “Closing the Gender Gap” panel on socioeconomic inequality in Louisiana explored just how poorly Louisiana is stacking up against the rest of the country when it comes to socioeconomic justice. Each of the six panelists gave a short presentation about how the work of their agencies seek to advance socioeconomic equality. They also addressed questions by the panel’s student moderators, Rula Thabata and Tyler Sanchez. Many of the panelists touched on the issue of the wage gap and how that affects childcare costs in the United States. Melanie Bronfin (Executive Director Louisiana Policy Institute for Children), showed the struggles parents confront because of a lack of a workable and affordable early childcare in Louisiana. As childcare often costs more than a salary a woman earns in Louisiana, many women have no choice but to stay home until children are old enough to attend school. She also demonstrated how the failures in the system impacted more women than men. Charmaine Caccioppi (Executive Vice President of United Way in Southeast Louisiana) stressed the importance of closing the pay gap, stating, “Pay equality brings dignity to the work that you do.” Caccioppi elaborated that as a woman has to complete the same amount of credits for a degree as a man, she should also see the same equal payoff as men in terms of wages.

May of the panelists noted that the lack of affordable childcare in Louisiana not only affects the parents, it affects the Louisiana economy and workforce in a negative way as it makes it more difficult for many parents to succeed in the workforce. Thus, the Louisiana workforce loses many talented employees. In addition, it negatively impacts children. Both Danny Mintz (Anti-Hunger Advocate for the Louisiana Budget Project) and Caccioppi pointed out that Louisiana has the highest rates of child poverty and is 48th in status and earnings of women. Institutional racism also impacts poverty rates. Mintz noted that 1 in 2 black children in Louisiana grow up in poverty. He stressed the need to reinvest in education, raise the minimum wage, and stop tax credits in order to help boost people out of poverty. In addition, Mintz stressed the importance of protecting Medicaid and restoring cash assistance. Following up the statistics and presentations, Julie Schwam Harris, CoFounder Legislative Agenda for Women (LAW), mainly focused on the day-to-day work of political action. As she noted, “if your representative does not know your name you aren’t doing your job as a citizen.” Constantly contacting your representative allows them to hear your opinion directly and puts pressure on them to act. Through LAW, Harris constantly advocates before the state legislature for issues important to women and families, including fighting for

women’s healthcare, equal pay, affordable childcare, and family and sick leave. Harris also advocates for greater protection of survivors of gender violence. Isabel Medina (Ferris Family Distinguished Professor of Law at Loyola’s College of Law) addressed many of the legal hurdles women and families have confronted to obtain socioeconomic justice. In addition, she shared how through research and teaching, she seeks to bring greater understanding of the struggles women and families face and how to advocate for change. Maria Harmon, who holds a master’s in public administration, spoke about starting an organization a few years after graduating college. With Ben Zucker, she created Step-up, a multigeneration and multiracial organization dedicated to fighting institutional racism by “organizing for economic and education justice in the South.” From college organizing to creating her own nonproft and job, Harmon encouraged the audience, students, and activists to fight despite boundaries they will confront. She also shared with the audience powerful stories about protesting at the state capital where she was arrested. Yet the arrest failed to stymie her work. Instead, she remained as determined as ever to foster change. Step-Up continues to grow and expand. Loyola has its own student chapter of Step-Up, who helped sponsor this event. The biggest takeaway from this forum wasn’t just that we as a state are doing poorly; rather, it was that change is possible and there are incredibly smart and passionate people ready to lead the way. Each panelist stressed that getting involved in local politics is imperative and advised everyone to get in touch with their representatives. Getting involved is possible, and together, we can demand change.

Feminist Festival

The Effects of Songwriting on Women Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Illness By Ava Harold

oordinated by the Women’s Studies Program, the event on March 20th was called “The Effects of Songwriting on Women Experiencing Homelessness and Mental Illness,” consisted of a presentation by the Professor and Student Women’s Studies Grant Project Winners Dr. Kathleen Murphy and Ms. Catherine Comardelle. Comardelle applied her education from Loyola’s Music Therapy program to perform a case study with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) based here in New Orleans. Her plan was to have a consecutive 8 week clinic with a group of 10 women on average weekly, where she could help them articulate their thoughts in the form of songwriting, adding a beat and melody, and then maybe even helping them perform. At the event, she shared with us her results and analysis of how her clinic developed along the way. With profiles on four subjects, Comardelle illustrates how each subject interacted with each other and the different relationships that formed. The audience had the opportunity to see and hear some of the lyrics these women wrote, which really expressed parts of their life stories

Feminist Festival

The Sexual Misconduct & Bias Incident Town Hall By Noelie Zeichik

he Sexual Misconduct & Bias Incident: Prevention and Response town hall was moderated by SGA president Sierra Ambrose. Chief Diversity Office Sybol Anderson spoke along with Deputy Title IX Coordinator Diana Ward and Director of the Women’s Resource Center Patricia Boyet. Anderson defined bias as “Discrimination, harassment, intimidation, violence, or a criminal offense against a person, group or property that is intentional and motivated by prejudice or bias”. Loyola’s bias response team works to provide resources and support to affected people while informing our community on the impact of bias on our campus. The town hall also focused on our schools Title IX policy and procedure. Ward explained the process of an investigation. The title IX advocates in attendance stood up and introduced themselves. Boyett highlighted the programming that the advocacy team helps organize such as Take Back The Night. In addition, students learned that Loyola’s Title IX advocacy training certifies students to advocate for and support survivors of sexual assault and violence on our campus. The training focuses on educating students on our policies and employing the skills necessary to be sensitive to the needs of survivors. Students learn to empower survivors and validate their feelings while discovering that as sympathetic humans these abilities are already within them.

Feminist Festival

Standing in Solidarity with Survivors By Stephanie Adams, Hannah Castillo, Delaney Harper, Serena Hill, Kaitlyn Manning, and Athena Merida with notes from Ava Harold

n March 21, 2019, the Women’s Resource Center in conjunction with the Newcomb College Institute, the New Orleans Scholars Strategy Network, the Departments of Psychology and Criminology and Justice, Loyola’s Panhellenic community, and Students Against Sexual Assault hosted a forum, Standing in Solidarity With Survivors of Domestic Abuse. The event opened with a reception and raffle sales for donated prizes that raised funds for the Family Justice Center. President Tania Tetlow opened the forum by discussing her work as a researcher, lawyer, and director of a domestic law clinic. She reflected that only recently has society begun to hold abusive men accountable for their actions. Tetlow also touched on the burden that family courts, which are set up to favor joint custody, place on survivors of domestic abuse. Such rulings render the ex-spouse and

children vulnerable to relentless abuse. Tetlow contends that courts need to shift toward helping partners who leave abusive relationships as well as preventing abusive partners from taking children as hostages to maintain control. She avows that we, as a society, need to believe a survivor the first time they come to us, and not the fortieth time. President Tetlow’s powerful talk was followed by a screening of “Five Awake,” directed by Donna Dees and Susan Willis. The film opens with a gruesome tale of shooting spree by a domestic abuser that left three people dead and three others terribly wounded. It chronicles how those murders mobilized five women to develop and facilitate the passage of historic legislation that protects survivors of domestic abuse and mitigates feminicides. The Standing in Solidarity panel included Dees as well as two of the women featured in the documentary, Charmaine Caccioppi (Vice President of United Way Southeast Louisiana) and Kim Sport (a lawyer and the first Chairwoman, Louisiana Commission to Prevent Domestic Violence). It also included Dr. Re Taylor (Chair of Loyola’s Criminology Department) and Amanda Tonkovich (counselor at the Family Justice Center).

Candice Caccioppi (Director of Fundraising at the Family Justice Center) moderated the panel and drew the panelists into an in-depth conversation on the pervasiveness of domestic abuse and the work needed to mitigate and prevent it. Taylor addressed the common problem of victim blaming in which outsiders ask, “Why didn’t she leave?” She explained that such questions ignore the incredibly intricate financial and psychological issues abused women face; their abusive partner is more likely to kill them when they try to leave or soon after they leave; they might not have the financial means to leave; they might have children who they know the courts will not protect. She stated: “We are asking the wrong questions.” Why are we not asking why is he abusing her? Why should she have to leave her home? Tonkovich noted that the Family Justice Center asks exactly those questions as they seek to respond to survivors holistically by providing them housing, legal representation, and counseling.

Feminist Festival

Caccioppi, Sport, and Councilwoman Moreno all addressed their current efforts to help survivors escape and to force our legal and political systems to respond more effectively. Through United Way, Caccioppi works to mitigate poverty and to help children who suffer from witnessing or experiencing child abuse. Stopping cycles of violence is paramount to mitigating domestic abuse. Councilwoman Moreno and Sport noted the work they are doing on the city and state level respectively to force the legal system to take this crime seriously. For example, they criticized the low bail that courts hand out and the common practice of allowing offenders to plead down to simple battery. Each of the panelists also called the audience to action and requested the put pressure on politicians to create stronger laws to protect survivors

media to convey these important struggles and to inspire people to act collectively to empathize with and support survivors.

and to support legislation like equal pay and living wages that help women and children escape dangerous homes. They also addressed the persistent problem with racism, classism, and prejudice in the system and noted how important it is that all abused persons, regardless of their demographics, are protected. Dees also called the audience to act by using art and

Events like Standing in Solidarity with Survivors prove that important conversations are happening around domestic violence and that people are combating it. While public awareness and societal expectation of holding abusers accountable are important, enacting material solutions is just as important. We need a legislature that protects survivors, money and services to sustain them especially when they transition out of abusive situations. The women of the panel, through their dedicated work and participation in the discussion of domestic violence, bring hope to survivors and their supporters.

Feminist Festival

Feminist Fridays:

Danielle Slakoff Presents Research on Crime, Gender, and Race By Marina Britos-Swain

r. Danielle Slackoff brought a large crowd to the weekly Feminist Fridays in the Women’s Resource Center for her talk on “Crime, Gender, and Race in America.” Students spread across the couches, chairs, and the floor in the Women’s Resource Center living room in Marquette hall to learn from one of the most popular new professors at Loyola. Slakoff received her bachelor’s degree in journalism before pursuing and receiving her Masters in criminal justice from California State University-Beach. She then pursued her Ph.D. in criminology

and criminal justice from the University of that in one case, police claimed a black Omaha Nebraska. sex worker faked her unconsciousness during a sexual assault. Dr. Slackoff also Her interest in journalism influenced stressed that poverty played a role in law her research on victims of crime in the enforcement biases. For example, persons media. Her research specifically focused committing crimes against persons in on how the media portrays female impoverished neighborhoods face lighter victims differently based on their race. sentences and less arrests than those For example, he media treats African committing crimes against persons in American female victims ad Latina wealthier areas. The research Dr. Slackoff victims much more unsympathetically is doing is important because this than white, female victims. information is not commonly known, and it affects the ways individuals understand Slakoff supported her thesis with many media coverage. case studies. For example, she revealed

Feminist Festival

The Talk:

An Open Panel Discussion on Gun Violence By Daniel DeBarge

n March 23, Students Demand Action held a panel on gun violence, and illustrated through discussion that gun violence is not just a political issue, but a human rights issue. Ragine Green, the president of the Loyola student organization, Students Demand Action, was the principal organizer for the event, and dedicated many hours of her time to bring us five amazing panelists. Martha Alguera, the social chair of Moms Demand Action in New Orleans introduced and moderated the panel. Sergeant LaShawn Johnson, a police officer of the New Orleans 2nd District Police Department, shared how gun violence has affected communities and how important it is to her to engage in community policing to stem gun violence. Kenisha Martin is an activist and author of The Kaylan Ward Story. Her husband was murdered by a stray bullet, her daughter was killed years later. Dr. Ashonta Wyatt is an educator and founder of Mother2Mother. She dedicates her time to advocating for student development and combatting policies that put children in danger. Sara Cusimano is a gun violence survivor and GVP advocate. As a teenager, she was abducted from a gas station, raped, and shot in the back of the head. She survived. Now, she uses her experience to advocate for gunsense regulation.

that families confront in the aftermath of losing loved ones, the physical and emotional struggles survivors face in the aftermath of violence, and the difficulties some families have faced with law enforcement. The panel also explored how to combat gun violence, which included discussions of reforming gun laws, investing in the public school system and in communities, developing stronger relationships between political leaders, police, and community members and organizers, and providing young people with greater educational and employment opportunities.

The powerful discussion, included an in-depth exploration of the impact of gun violence, including the haunting anguish

Feminist Festival

Pronouns & Pizza:

A Celebration of Gender Identities Event By Parker Anderson

lus+ and the WRC organized an event that educated and celebrated everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gender identity. Participants created buttons featuring their pronouns. While making these celebratory buttons, the groups ate pizza and listened to LGBT positive music. The event was truly an opportunity for people to come together and talk about who they are in a positive manner.

Feminist Festival

Business Women's Networking Luncheon By Hadori Bukle, Isabel Dickerson, Ava Haorld, Carrie Elizabeth Smith

he Businesswomen’s Networking Luncheon took place March 26, 2019 between 12:15 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. in the Audubon Room on Loyola University New Orleans’ campus. The panelist, a diverse group of businesswomen in New Orleans, included an attorney, an IT executive, a CEO, a journalist, and project coordinator of a non-profit. The event included a panel moderated by Hadori Bukle and Avalon Harold, students in the College of Business and a networking session in which the students had an opportunity to mingle and network with the businesswomen.

President Tania Tetlow opened the luncheon by encouraging all of the women in attendance to build their confidence by working hard, developing skills, and believing in their worth. She noted that they would confront gender obstacles, but that they could navigate and overcome them. With the will to succeed, this young generation of women could move forward the long struggle for gender equality. Each of the five women on the panel enforced that message. They also discussed how they broke many gender boundaries. Monique Doucette, who is a shareholder and attorney at Ogletree Deakins in New Orleans, is one of nine women of color at the Ogletree firm. When she first started working in the law firm, she mentioned that she would be confused by and questioned what she calls the “golden-boy hype”. “Golden-boy hype” is typically

firm feared. She sought him out, embraced every opportunity to obtain knowledge from him, and worked hard to prove herself. Her hard work also helped him greatly on cases. Her work proved fruitful as he put her up for partner and fought to ensure she received it.

a man who has the same or fewer skills necessary for a job but receives recognition in the form of affirmation and promotions. She stated that “if you walk away from this session remembering nothing else from me, remember this: do not succumb to the ‘golden boy hype’,” emphasizing that the golden-boy should not be considered better than anyone else. This realization has helped her shatter other aspects of marginalization. Doucette also noted the importance of seeking mentors and working hard. She cautioned women against expecting a mentor to altruistically develop them. Mentoring, however, is a “mutual relationship” in which both the mentor and mentee grow and benefit. In addition, she noted the importance of keeping an open mind about an ideal mentor. Doucette noted that her mentor, to her surprise, ended up being a grumpy, old white man who most new attorneys in the

Kristine Kilgore shared her story as an executive of an IT company that is 92.5% male dominated, she has had to deal with men and women who question her authority and intellect. However, she combats such discrimination by asserting herself as a leader. She considers it vital that every woman find their own style and present themselves authentically by asking themselves how they wish to be perceived. Kilgore’s style is to be assertive, curious, confident, and respectful. To that end, she seeks knowledge from her colleagues, staff, and other experts in the field, never fearing to ask questions. Consequently, she has found that when she shares her expertise, she is taken seriously. This understanding has helped her work well with both men and women in her maledominated field. She advised women to seek mentors who would challenge them and constructively criticize them. In addition, she emphasized that it took time and work to develop a mentee and mentor relationship, that it required a connection. Thus, when seeking a mentor, women should not just select someone because they are successful, but because they connect with the person in a manner that will help them develop. The mentee also has the responsibility of working on that relationship and contributing to it. Courtney Davis-Herbert CEO of Bart’s Office Inc. explained how she was able to gain her confidence and learn how to become a leader in her teenage years. During this time, she worked for her father who managed many male employees in his line of work. Her father delegated the job of managing the employees under him. Although these employees did not favor

Feminist Festival

this decision, Davis-Herbert stepped up as a leader. She received push back from the male employees that were much older than her, but she persisted which has assisted her in becoming the strong woman she is today. Davis-Hebert also pursued an interesting journey toward success that included working her way up from manager at Planet Beach to owning her own franchise. She succeeded by educating herself about every aspect of the business, fostering significant and successful changes, and having the confidence to take on her own franchise. Davis-Hebert always tries to give back to the community and serves as a mentor in Loyola’s College of Business to female students. Sheba Turk, Journalist for WWLTV, started as an associate producer but then became a traffic reporter for WWLTV. At first, she struggled with her confidence. She even recalled once a man told her: “you should demote yourself because of your age and position at work.” For a while, she thought he was right, but then she realized that a man would never demote himself if he were in her place. To gain her confidence as a journalist, she had to have faith in herself. She had many wonderful mentors who encouraged her to own her story. Turk has continued to thrive in her field. In her late twenties, she earned the spot of co-anchor for Eyewitness Morning News on WWL-TV in New Orleans. She has also written a biography, Off Air: My Journey to the Anchor Desk. Turk advised students to remain intellectually curious, to constantly push themselves to grow and develop in their fields, and to not fear that such growth might move them toward a different path than they originally imagined, even an entirely different field. Allowing oneself to grow and change is vital to achieving success and happiness.

Melissa Alba, Program Coordinator at Propeller “supports entrepreneurs who tackle environmental and social inequalities.” Her work reflects her passion for empowering marginalized groups. She is also the Co-founder of Xiquitas Luncheon Series. She explained how as a first-generation college student, she did not have resources such as mentors to bounce ideas with or someone to answer basic questions. She did not have access to any of the answers she needed. After this

experience, she wanted to create a space for future first-generation, female college students who had these same problems as her. Thus, she started Xiquitas Luncheon Series, which “aims at redefining women's work in the Latinx community through content filled luncheons for girls in grades 10th-12th.” The series helps instill confidence in young Latinas and helps them navigate gender and racial challenges that they might confront in their educational and career paths.

Feminist Festival

Factuality:

A Facilitated Dialogue, Crash Course, & Board Game on Structural Inequality in America By Rula Thabata and Tyler Sanchez

n Tuesday, March 26, some eighty students gathered in the Audubon Room to play Factuality; an interactive game with an intersectional lens. Loyola student and president of Lemon Pepper, Zontre City, had championed the game and brought together an array of organizations and departments, to bring Factuality to Loyola. At the surface, Factuality is a facilitated dialogue, crash course, and board game, all in one, that parallels structural inequality in America. Participants assume the identities of characters of varying identities who encounter factbased advantages and limitations based on their character’s intersections of race/ ethnicity, class, gender, faith and sexual orientation.Within this intersectional gameplay, Ms. Natalie Gillard aims to give participants the ability to dismantle the various preconceived biases associated with various marginalized groups. The experience occurs in under 90 minutes!

wealth on the average wealth a person with the same identities as the character owns in America. Consequently, Bryan, an Asian male started with the most money and Sofia, a Latinx woman began the game with the least. Throughout the game, Gillard instructed the players to move their characters across the board and to collect money from the bank or to pay the bank based on common obstacles and opportunities

their characters experience in America. As Gillard read the facts, players listened for direction on how such facts affected their character’s bank account and their placement on the board. For example, based on the historically racist system of redlining, black characters are only allowed to purchase property where there are red lines on the game board. After Gillard read the statistics on hate crimes against the LGBT community, she stated that two queer characters, Laila and Justin,

When students arrived, they noticed a board game in the middle of the round tables and figures of characters placed on the table in front of each of the eight seats. Gillard instructed participants to sit in a spot with a character whose identity differed from their own because the point, in part, is to perceive the world through the eyes of a person with a different identity. Next, she introduced the characters’ names, race/ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation. In addition, she noted if the character had a disability. At the opening of the game, Gillard stated the amount of money each character would possess at the beginning of the game and instructed the players to collect their charactacter’s money from the bank. Gillard based each character’s

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suffered attacks and thus must pay 500 dollars to the bank in hospital fees. The game examined social issues through an intersectional lens, where assuming a new identity for 90 minutes allowed players to explore the struggles and/or opportunities of their character. After the event, one African American student noted that he found it fascinating to watch people of more marginalized identities assuming roles of some privileged characters and tasting, for just a moment, a world that presented them more opportunities than privileges. So too, persons with more privileged intersecting identities gained a deeper understanding of the obstacles persons with more marginalized identities confront in America.

Feminist Festival

Colorism Panel

By Desitiny Patton

olorism is a facet of racism that is concentrated within communities of people of color throughout the world. The discrimination and mistreatment of people because of the darkness of their skin is often perpetuated within one's own community. During Feminist Festival, the student organization, Living Our Vision Everyday (L.O.V.E.) hosted a Colorism Panel exploring the roots of colorism and its role in mainstream media. Moderator Nikki Napoleon encouraged the panelist to share their own personal stories of how they overcame colorism in their own lives. Panelist Kendra Joi is a Licensed Master Social Worker and serves as the executive director of the non-profit I Am My Sister. She makes sure to tell everyone, no matter their skin tone, “You are beautiful.” This reminder, though it is small, makes a world of a difference in how people think about themselves.

to fight colorism and overcome the damage it has done to the self esteem of many. All of the panelist came to the consensus that in order to end colorism, the mindset must begin to change. Furthermore, the language used in communities and families regarding skin color should be chosen carefully, especially around children because it stays with them. During the last ten minutes of the event, the audience broke into smaller groups and discussed a specific question about colorism and their own personal experiences. One of the biggest

takeaways from the discussion group was how much everyone has experienced this in someway in their own life. These discussion groups were so impactful because having the conversation is the first step and is essential to making progress for communities and cultures affected by colorism.

Tanya Ralph, who works in wellness and esthetics, discussed how much colorism affects her clients specifically. She recalled an incident in which a woman asked for her to, “Cover her skin as much as possible and use a lighter shade.” Ralph noted, “Somewhere in her life someone had told this woman that her skin needed to be lighter and that pain has traveled with her ever since.” Thomas was grateful that her mother taught her to reject colorism. As she recalled, her mother instilled in her at a young age that she was, “...not better because [she has] light skin. We are all black!” That being said, the amount of people who believe the contrary is shocking; it is visible that colorism is a problem that is passed through generations. Panelist Alicia Roberts stated that one of the reasons this happens is because “Hurt people, hurt people.” There is a strong emotional aspect to colorism because it affects self esteem so heavily. Panelists Ayanna Molina, Christi LaMark, and Alicia Roberts, focused on strategies

Feminist Festival

Feminist Film Festival:

A Celebration of Women Filmmakers & An Evening of Shorts By Delaney Harper

n March 21, the Women’s Resource Center and the Newcomb College Institute of Tulane hosted a night of short films during its two-week fourth annual Feminist Festival. There were 50 total submitted films from across the globe, from student filmmakers to seasoned professionals alike. Student screeners selected 12 shorts, all ranging in theme; all but one, however, share one common trait: they were written and directed by women. The remaining short, though directed and written by a man, was produced by a woman. All of their voices were compelling and thoughtful; each of their stories resonate and rattle you to the core. One such filmmaker is Daneeta Jackson, a New Orleans local and Loyola alum. Her documentary “Locked” won the prize for the best film by a Louisiana filmmaker. “Locked” explores the history and implications of New Orleans

infrastructure, namely the industrial canal. After the screenings, Jackson participated in a Q&A in which she marveled at the women in film in New Orleans. Her advice to women in the industry? Learn the business side of film, become financially literate (which includes not paying out-of-pocket), stay physically fit, and develop relationships and mentorships with others in the industry, women in particular. All-in-all, she says, stay engaged as a constituent, as an artist, and as a woman. The powerful films presented at the festival reveal just how many talented female filmmakers the world has to offer. So too, the stories that resonated from these unique voices took the audience on a compelling journey into the diverse and yet common experiences of womanhood. “Panic Attack!”

In this animated short, a woman’s common-day anxieties and obsessions take over as she drives to work. Written and Directed by: Eileen O’Meara “BodyMore” Carrie’s protest of police brutality gets derailed when her friends throw a party and she grapples with misogyny within the movement. Directed by: Darrett Mallett; Written by: Shannon Joy Shird “Lima is Burning” Gía, a transgender woman, introduces the audience to her feminist circle and a night of dancing under neon lights to celebrate their autonomy. Written and Directed by: Giovana García Soto

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“Blue Hour” A woman and her friends watch as violence unfolds in the window of a nearby hotel and try in vain to persuade police to investigate.

secrets.

Written and Directed by: Pia Lamster

“Our street” The lives of four women cross paths on the street they share as they each confront and resist facets of sexism. Written and Directed by: Clara Santaolaya

“The Leshy” The Leshy, the deity of the forest in Slavic folklore, tries to protect her forest.

Written and Directed by: Crystal Lee Peterson Co-Director: Anthony Cortez Fernandez

Written and Directed by: Emma Kornegay “An American Family” An expecting tenant, a single mother, and her teenage son form their own family in a shared kitchen. Written and Directed by: Kieu-Anh Truong “Starvation” A starving wolf is blamed for the murders of innocent animals and little red riding hood. Written and Directed by: Zahra Rostampour “The Beginning ” Newly married Nina moves to Paris for her husband, and soon encounters a disarming neighbor. Written and Directed by: Sudeshna Sharma “The Night of the Hungry Turtles” Two women, Lily and Bullet, rob a convenience store for the last time of their criminal career when something goes wrong. Written and Directed by: Shamila Lengsfield “Locked” Ecologist Dr. Josh Lewis breaks down the choices and planning of the infamous New Orleans MRGO. Written and Directed by: Daneeta Loretta Jackson and Patrick Jackson “Noble Bee” Prisoner Debra Anne plays a game of quid pro quo with her new defense attorney, a woman who has her own fair share of

Feminist Festival

Feminist Fridays:

Discussion of Feminism and the LGBTQ Community By Marina Britos-Swain

oderated by Stephanie Adams, the Feminist Fridays on Feminism and the LGBTQ community produced a powerful and thoughtful discussion. It also sparked unexpected questions and discussion from the audience about the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies. Questions included: “How can we make sure that as feminists, we are not only fighting for queer women but also queer men and non-binary folks?” “As a trans man that often doesn't ever pass, I feel like there is really no set place I fit in the identity of a feminist. How do you believe that people should deal with the inability to find their place?” “How should we work to assure that trans women are included in the feminist movement, in turn, combating radical feminists that try and push the agenda putting down majorly trans women?” “In what ways do we recreate the patriarchy within the LGBTQIA+ community?” “In what ways do we see misogyny pop up even within the lesbian community?” “In what ways does rape culture still permeate in queer spaces?” The regular Feminist Friday group in addition with new attendees engaged in meaningful and moving discussions that these questions prompted.

Feminist Festival

Production of Violet By Carolyne Shofner

eminist Festival was completed upon the first showing of Loyola’s Department of Theatre and Arts’ performance of the musical Violet. Written by Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley, Violet tells the story of a young woman from Spruce Pine, North Carolina who seeks the help of a televangelist in Tusla to heal the scar that disfigured her face. A child of the 50s and 60s, Violet aspires to embody the beauty of leading ladies like Judy Holiday and Ava Garner. During her cross-country journey to Tulsa, Violet is made to confront what beauty truly means: living up to impossible standards or embracing your own self-image? She contemplates this question when she meets and travels with a young African-American soldier named Flick who values Violet for her character, ignoring the scar that graces her face. Director C. Patrick Gendusa presented an exciting rendition of Violet that had the audience laughing, crying, and sometimes dancing in their seats. In the intimate setting of the Marquette Theatre, cast members were able to engage the audience and even dance among them in the walkways. Most memorable was a scene in which Violet arrives at the church in Tulsa as the choir begins to rehearse their “Raise Me Up,” a high-spirited gospel song that had the audience clapping and singing with the actors. Along with providing an exciting show, Violet intertwines ideas of beauty, race, and identity that still relate to viewers of 2019.

Perspectives

Can I be a Feminist and an NFL Fan?

By Danielle Slakoff

s faculty at Loyola University New Orleans, I teach courses called “Domestic Violence” and “Women and Crime.” In both classes, we spend significant time discussing neglect, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and physical abuse in family, relationship, and community settings. One of my main hobbies—a hobby that helps me disconnect from the topics I teach—is National Football League (“NFL”) fantasy football. I play with 11 friends, and at the beginning of each season, we gather together to “draft” NFL players to make up our team rosters. I take on the role of an NFL coach: I choose who to play, sit, trade, and pick up on waivers. I battle head-tohead with another person’s team, hoping my team and players score more points than theirs. I have loved football since I was a little girl, attending high school and college football games frequently, but fantasy football turned me into a diehard NFL fan. I follow the games, scores, and stat-lines feverishly. However, over time, I have had to grapple with this question —Can I be a feminist and an NFL fan? In November 2018, TMZ released a video of Kareem Hunt—one of my fantasy football stars who scored lots of points for my team each week—pushing a woman to the ground and kicking her. Shortly

after, he was cut from his team and placed on the commissioner’s exempt list. This incident—and another alleged assault against a man—led the league to suspend Hunt for 8 games without pay. Unfortunately, Kareem Hunt is far from the first NFL player or coach to be accused of wrongdoing. In February 2014, running back Ray Rice was arrested and charged with simple assault on his then-fiancé, and the incident resulted in a two-game suspension. After a public backlash from fans who stated the punishment was not severe enough, the league policy changed. First time domestic violence offenders now receive a six-game suspension, and secondtime offenders are banned for life. This was first implemented in 2016 when star running back Ezekiel Elliott was accused by an ex-girlfriend of 5 separate assault incidents. Although no criminal charges were formally filed, the NFL treated this as a first offense and suspended Elliot for six games. In 2018, linebacker Reuben Foster was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence after an alleged physical assault on his girlfriend. In January 2019, the charges against Foster were dropped, but he remains on the commissioner’s exempt list due to the incident. Intimate partner violence is not the only crime tied to NFL players or coaches in recent years. For example, Tampa Bay

Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston was suspended in 2018 for three games for allegedly groping his female Uber driver in 2016. Earlier this year, New England Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft was charged with soliciting prostitution at a massage parlor as part of a human trafficking sting. According to an NBC News report, the female massage parlor workers “spoke no English, had little access to basic sanitary facilities and were forced to ‘have unprotected sex with 15 men a day, seven days a week, with no days off.’” These types of crimes are about power and control. In instances of intimate partner violence, one partner attempts to maintain power and control over the other. In instances of sexual assault and abuse, the perpetrator is interested in maintaining power and control over their victim. When someone is sex trafficked, their offender often “makes” significant amounts of money on them and the victim has little or no control over their bodies or decisions. The National Football League is the most profitable professional sports and entertainment league in the United States, and their players, owners, and staff are powerful. According to a Bloomberg Businessweek article, the NFL averages about $14 billion in profit each year. Advertisers paid $5.2 million for a 30-second commercial during the Super Bowl in 2018. The average player salary is

Perspectives over $2 million per year, although many players make significantly more than that. Drew Brees, for example, makes an average of $20 million a year. While sixgame suspensions negatively impact the players and their teams in the short-term, I argue that the impacts their victims experience are much more severe and impactful on their life in the long-term. When the league fails to hold their players and staff accountable, they are sending a message to their viewers that they value money over accountability. Over time, I have realized that my issue is not solely with the NFL. As clarified by the #MeToo movement, alleged wrongdoing at the hands of powerful people is widespread across various industries and affects people of all ages,

races, social classes, and gender identities. In my role as faculty, I feel I am making Simply stated, the NFL is not alone in their a difference by educating my students failures. on physical, emotional, and economic violence across various contexts. But, of So, what is the solution? Do I stop course, we can and should do more. We watching the NFL because key players are can create a safe space for people to discuss doing harm, usually to females? Can I be these critical topics. We can offer support a feminist and an NFL fan? This is a hard to victims by volunteering and fundraising question for me to answer. I have loved for local and national organizations. And football for most of my life. Although I we can push to hold people and businesses believe I was born a feminist, I did not like the NFL accountable by demanding understand what “feminism” meant until that they take violence seriously. Who much later in life. And, I am cognizant wants to join me? of the “slippery slope” I could slide down if I boycotted football. Am I also going to boycott movies and music because of the poor treatment of females in those fields? The harsh truth is that females are not equally represented or treated in most institutions in America.

Perspectives

Al Noor Mosque Vigil

Prayer by Dr. Samar Sarmini Intro by Rula Thabta 51

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n March 22, 2019 members of the Loyola and New Orleans community gathered for prayer and moments of silence for to honor the fifty lives lost in an attack by a white supremacist on AlNoor and Linwood Mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand. Gathered by the Peace Quad people stood in solidarity and listened to speeches and prayers. Beginning with an introduction

by Rula Thabata, it was followed by the AlFatiha, the Opener, which was the first chapter of the Qurâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;an read by Rana Thabata and Ruba Esmail. After the Fatiha, there was a moment of silence which was an opportunity for community members to read the list of fifty names of the victims which were distributed at the start. Afterwards, President Tania Tetlow spoke followed by Father Greg Waldrop

representing the Catholic community, and Gabriella Pucci, leader for the Awakening community and Sophia Brown, President of the Jewish Student Alliance with words of support for the Muslim community. The vigil was finalized by a prayer and words by Dr. Samar Sarmini, math leader, and New Orleans Muslim American community leader.

Perspectives

mound of flower tributes, someone had left divisive political rhetoric that is taking a sign that read: “This is not NZ.” place here and all over the world, but In the name of God, the most Gracious, we must rise higher and speak louder in the most Merciful. 153. O you who School children performed moving rejecting these acts of violence. believe! Seek help through patience and renditions of the haka - a traditional Maori prayers. God is with the steadfast. 154. ceremonial dance, outside the An-Noor Our mosques have always been open to And do not say of those who are killed mosque. people from all backgrounds regardless in the cause of God, “Dead.” Rather, they of faith or nationality to come learn about are alive, but you do not perceive. 155. We As a show of solidarity the Adhan, the Islam and to get closer to the Creator. will certainly test you with some fear and Muslim call to prayer, was broadcasted Now we are urged to view strangers hunger, and some loss of possessions and today on television, on radio, in the New with suspicion and to be vigilant about lives and crops. But give good news to the Zealand Parliament and government newcomers. We are urged to heighten steadfast. 156. Those who, when a calamity buildings and in all of New Zealand our security and get our own members of afflicts them, say, “To God we belong, and followed by a two-minute silence. the community proper training to defend to Him we will return.” 157 Upon these New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda the worshipers in case this ever happens are blessings and mercy from their Lord. Ardern attended the Friday prayers outside in our own mosques. The other day, the These are the guided ones. An-Noor mosque in Christchurch, and FBI visited our mosque in an effort to women across New Zealand wore hijab, help us better handle these situations. I We stand here again mourning the the Islamic headscarf, in solidarity with often wonder what will my reaction be if senseless killing of fathers, mothers, Muslims. something like this were to happen. They elderly, and children gathered for Friday said the plan of action is to run, hide, or prayer in two separate mosques in The Quran was recited during New fight. In this case, a lot of people who tried Christchurch, New Zealand. Zealand’s parliament session on Tuesday, to run ended up shot as if the shooter were and the Prime Minister started her speech playing a video game, targeting innocent We stand together in solidarity to speak with the Islamic greeting “Peace be unto defenseless people just because they don’t against these acts of violence towards you”. share his ideology and his beliefs. Muslims and immigrants. In this time of turmoil and tragedy, we look for guidance New Zealand lawmakers took only 72 It is evident from the gunman, wearing in the Holy Quran (3:139): hours to ban all military-style semia helmet, live-streaming parts of the automatic weapons, assault rifles and high- shooting, and broadcasting his act of capacity magazines. terror that he was seeking fame and “Do not feel defeated and do not notoriety. It is our duty not to propagate grieve, in reality you are elevated The reaction here in the US, including these videos and to deny him a platform and dignified, so long as you keep right here on Loyola’s campus, has also to promote his hateful ideology. As NZ the faith and you remain firm been heartwarming. Just look around at Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern eloquently believers.” our gathering here today. said: “He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety. And that The gunman wanted to instill fear and While this might be an isolated incident is why you will never hear me mention his chaos. As TIME reported: “He spent in NZ, it is not in North America. name. He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he more than two minutes inside An-Noor In Jan. 2017, a Canadian student went into is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, mosque spraying terrified worshippers a Quebec mosque and shot six people. be nameless.” So, instead, let us take few with bullets, coldly executing some people In Oct. 2018, a man carrying an assault moments to remember some of the victims he’d already mowed down, before calmly rifle and shouting anti-Semitic slurs of this senseless act: reloading and even swapping rifles. The massacred 11 congregants at the Tree of footage shows him returning to the Life Synagogue in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. We mourn the Afghan native Daoud Nabi mosque, shooting a woman outside, and In Jun. 2015, a 21-year-old white who fled Afghanistan seeking asylum in getting back in his car.” supremacist, murdered nine African New Zealand with his two sons more than Americans during a prayer service at the 40 years ago. The prompt reaction in NZ has humbled Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal me and reaffirmed my trust in human Church in Charleston, South Carolina. We mourn the Pakistani nationals decency and human compassion. In Feb. 2017, in Bossier City, Louisiana, Zeeshan Raza who was killed along with mosque-goers found two signs at their his father Ghulam and his mother Karam. New Zealand responded by affirming that place of worship that reportedly said We mourn the Palestinian Atta Elayyan, immigrants who sought New Zealand as “Imagine a Muslim-free America!” a 33-year-old goalkeeper for the New their home are accepted as one of them On few occasions all across the country, Zealand national futsal team. He leaves and that the terrorist who carried out this pig’s heads, vandalism and graffiti greeted behind a young daughter and a wife. He massacre is to be rejected and condemned. Muslim worshippers. was described by his friend as “a true With both the city’s mosques shrouded in gentleman, a true leader, someone who police tape, churches opened their doors to Unfortunately, the voices of hatred and was there for everyone.” Muslims wanting to pray. Amid a growing violence are getting louder backed by

"Peace be unto you"

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We mourn the Syrian refugee Khaled Mustafa who fled the civil war in Syria to New Zealand with his wife and three children. He was attending the Friday prayer with his two sons. Both sons were shot. His 14-year-old son Talha died and his 13-year-old son Zaid was injured but in stable condition. We mourn the newly wed Indian native Ansi Alibava, 25 years old, who moved from India with her husband to start a new life. Three weeks earlier, she completed her master’s degree in Agribusiness Management. Her husband managed to escape from the mosque, only to find his wife lying face down on the street. We mourn the New Zealand native Linda Armstrong, 65-year-old who according to her nephew Kyron, “showed up to mosque every Friday and was absolutely loved by the Muslim community.” We mourn the Pakistani Naeem Rashid,

50 years old, who was killed along with his 21-year-old son, Talha. Instead of running or hiding, Naeem decided to fight. His actions scared off the assailant and may have saved countless innocent lives. Naeem will receive a posthumous award recognizing his bravery. The best way to deal with hate and bigotry is to show compassion and love to our neighbors, and to come together to make our communities stronger and more united. We may differ in opinions and faiths but we are all brothers and sisters in humanity. Let us finish off with a prayer: We ask God to have mercy upon the souls of those who were taken from us and to place them in the highest levels of Paradise. We ask God to grant their loved ones patience, peace, and tranquility. We ask God to heal the physical and

emotional scars of the survivors. We ask God to give us the courage to enjoin what is good and to reject what is evil. We ask God to cleanse every heart filled with hate and bigotry, and to replace ignorance with understanding and compassion.

I end with the words of God (89:27-30) 27. O You tranquil soul. 28. Return to your Lord, pleased and accepted. 29. Enter among My servants. 30. Enter My Paradise.

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Oceans Apart By Marina Britos-Swain I feel as if am too far from the shore, Forsaken just beyond the shallow end, Swept away by the undertow. I see civilization at a distance. I crave to reach out but every time I try to get closer, I get caught in the crash zone, Fighting for a chance to join the living. Wave after wave hits me, Slamming me down beneath the raging sea. I reach for the surface but the second i catch a breath of air, The next hits me just the same, Harder and faster, Violently shoving my collapsed frame down, Once more filling my lungs with water. So i fall back to the peaceful solitude i once knew so well. I tread here alone, Yearning for the touch of another. Yet i remain here, With an ocean between them and i. Do you think Someone could just meet me halfway?

By Gabi Hawkins

My Choice By Marina Britos-Swain

I am living with depression, there is no other way to put it but I swear I will not let it end my story like it did my friendsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. I will create my own destiny. I will love fiercely, I will live happy, and I will win this war. I refuse to cower in the face of failure any longer. I choose more than to run away. My demons no longer define who I am. I DO. I am my own person. I do not fit in a box or stay between the lines. My integrity is greater than any rule book and my loyalty is stronger than blood. There are parts of me that will always remain untameable and tempestuous but I refuse to apologize for it any longer. I am a woman of many wounds, nevertheless I am a woman ready to take the world by storm and stand at its highest mountain peak with pride. I want to look death in the eye and smile knowing I lived and even the devil could not stop me, though his demons tried their damndest. I want to laugh in the face of God knowing I was strong.

By Erica Torres 55

Feminist Awards

Distinguished Service

To the WRC Emmaline Bouchillon

mmaline Bouchillon is a Junior Communications student at Loyola University New Orleans. She has been with the Women’s Resource Center for two and a half years, and started as a writer for the center before she began editing our magazine’s articles for publication. She is now the Creative Director at the center and she has contributed to three Feminist Forum’s through writing, editing, and design. Outside of working at the WRC, Bouchillon spends her time on the Ethics Bowl team. A two time competitor in the regional and national competitions, Bouchillon enjoys debate and exploring moral theory. She is also a two time Ignacio Volunteer, having completed for both the New Orleans and Jamaica programs. While in Jamaica, Bouchillon volunteered at elderly homes and spent her days helping clean, cook and serve. In New Orleans she engaged in workshops on race, class, and privilege, and spent a year volunteering with Philosopher Kids, an afterschool program partnered with at a local elementary school which promoted higher learning and critical thinking skills. As one of her nominators, Delaney Harper stated, “Emmaline’s philanthropy extends to friends and strangers alike, and she can often be seen educating peers on feminist topics through humor and open conversation. She is a vital member of both the Loyola and the New Orleans community, and has a knack for uplifting others through her wit, optimism, and fashion sense.” Beyond Loyola’s campus, Bouchillon does marketing for a local storefront and small interior design group. She also enjoys staying active and engaged in the Loyola and New Orleans community.

Feminist Awards

Feminist

Leadership Award Rula Thabata

ne of Rula’s nominators, Tyler Sanchez said, “ Rula is beyond deserving of this year’s Feminist Leadership Award. In the short time span that I have known Rula, her work ethic, ambition and moral compass immediately drew me to her. Rula’s work within Loyola’s Society for Civic Engagement and Women in Politics organizations highlights her work for equality of all people. I am so grateful to have met Rula this year. Her guidance and caring nature have truly helped to steer the direction of my life. Congratulations, Rula! Rula Thabata is graduating magna cum laude with a political science major, and minors in Middle East peace studies and sociology. She is one of two recipients of the Ignatian Award for Outstanding Senior, the highest honor Loyola University New Orleans grants to students. In her time at Loyola, she has served as a leader in many organizations, departments, and projects. As a Krewe Leader, a Loyola Ambassador, and a mentor in First in the Pack, she has been vital in recruiting new students and helping them adjust to and thrive in college life. To advance social justice at Loyola, she has been a president of both Women in Politics and Loyola Society for Civic Engagement, worked in various executive positions on the Student Peace Initiative and Muslim Student Association, served as the Co-Director of Programming at the Women’s Resource Center, and held the position of student representative on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee. In addition, she has served on Loyola’s Student Justice Board of Appeals and on the planning committee for the

Student Peace Conference. An excellent student, Thabata is a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa and Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor societies and has interned as a research assistant for the Institute for Equity and Equality in Education. Thabata has also used her many talents to advance social justice beyond Loyola. She advocated for equal opportunity as part of Students for Education Reform. She has interned with Emerge Louisiana and the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Judicial Administrator’s Office. Thabata studied abroad in Ireland, and served as an Ignacio Volunteer in both the international program in South Africa and Urban

Immersion program in New Orleans. For her tremendous work at Loyola and beyond, she has received several awards, including Outstanding Sophomore Student Leader (2017), Rev. Matteo Ricci, S.J. Diversity Award (2018), and Janet Mary Riley Award for the Advancement of Women's Issues (2019). Thabata plans on attending law school in the near future to fight for the rights of marginalized communities. This summer she will begin such advocacy as she was chosen as one of six fellows nationwide interning with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in their policy project.

Feminist Awards

Sr. Fara

Impasto Award

Christine Anderson

hristine Anderson was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. After she graduated in the top of her high school class, she happily packed her bags for New Orleans and started at Loyola in 2015. After four years at Loyola, she is graduating Magna Cum laude with a Bachelors of Accountancy and minors in both Entrepreneurship and Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studies. Though Anderson has a love for accounting and a respect for the College of Business, her real passion is for Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Studies, where she saw those classes as a much needed escape. During her time at Loyola, Anderson was involved in many different student organizations including, Knowledge Extension for Youth in which she served as both VP of Finance and VP of Operations, Delta Sigma Pi where she served as VP of Pledge Education, President, and Historian, and Beta Alpha Psi where she is currently serving as the president. Anderson also spent one year as a Resident Assistant in Biever Hall and another as the Senior Resident Assistant in

Carrollton Hall. After Graduation, Anderson will be starting as a Staff Consultant at the accounting firm, Carr, Riggs, & Ingram here in New Orleans. Though she is currently pursuing her career in business, her dream is to get a PhD in gender studies and one day teach.

Feminist Awards

Outstanding Feminist Alumni Stephanie Boyd

fter becoming a sexual assault survivor during her first-year of college, Stephanie Marcellé Boyd went on to start stopsexualassault.org with her mother, serve as the keynote speaker at Take Back the Night (2018), and become a trained sexual assault advocate for current students at Loyola University New Orleans. One of Boyd’s nomiators, Rula Thabata, says “Her compassion and kindness make

her an ideal advocate for survivors, and she has an impressive work ethic.” A graduate student in Loyola’s music therapy equivalency program, as well as a graduate of Loyola’s popular and commercial music program, Boyd also raises awareness about sexual assault and its related issues through music. Last year, she organized a benefit concert for STAR, Louisiana’s Sexual Trauma Awareness and Response Center and this April, she partnered with other college students to throw a

concert for Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The concert for Sexual Assault Awareness Month featured survivors and allies as performers. Soon, she will finish her debut album about healing as a survivor, titled Human. For more information about her and the release of her projects, visit stephaniemarcelle.com. You can also follow her on social media: @ musicbymarcelle.

Feminist Awards

Feminist

Leadership Award Sybol Anderson

r. Sybol Anderson, a social and political philosopher, came to Loyola as Chief Diversity Officer in 2017. Her research focuses on Hegel’s theory of recognition, liberal theory, and the philosophy of race. She teaches courses on race and class, including an upcoming course “Power and Difference in Class” at Loyola in the fall of 2019. She is also a lecturer with The Spirit of Jazz and Democracy (SJD), an ensemble of musicians, literary artists, and scholars who apply lessons from jazz to promote inclusive democracy. SJD performs improvised concerts and conducts lectures and master classes nationally, most recently at Loyola, Regis University, The Voice of America, and the Patuxent River Naval Air Museum. Dr. Anderson holds a doctorate in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her bachelor’s and M.L.A. degrees, and a master’s degree in philosophy from American University. She is the author of three books, including “Hegel's Theory of Recognition: From Oppression to Ethical Liberal Modernity” (Continuum Studies in Philosophy), as well as book chapters, refereed conference papers, and numerous articles in peerreviewed journals. She has delivered nearly 50 lectures and talks on inclusion, diversity, and equity topics. Her honors and awards include Magis Outstanding Staff Award, Courtney Williams Dedicated Faculty/Staff Member Award, National Society of Leadership and Success Excellence in Teaching Award, and a three-year Ford Foundation Pre-Doctoral Fellowship.

The student director of advocacy at the Women’s Resource Center, Serena Hill, considers Dr. Anderson vital to the university. Hill notes, “The insight that Dr. Anderson provides our community is invaluable. She works constantly to improve the lives of every person on campus by providing safe spaces for conversation and education. She is the epitome of grace and passion in the face

of adversity. As a rising advocate myself, I have learned so much just from watching her work. I strive to be as tenacious and persistent as she is.”

Feminist Awards

Outstanding

Community Partner Family Justice Center

he New Orleans Family Justice Center (FJC) is a multi-service agency which, as noted in its mission, works in collaboration with many partners, provides victims and survivors of sexual assault, family violence, child abuse, and stalking “comprehensive clientcentered empowerment services in a single location.” FJC strives to break the vicious cycle of family violence and its negative impact on the community. The Women’s Resource Center director and student staff consider FJC an exceptional agency and an amazing community parter. We have appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with FJC staff on a variety of programs and to

engage in training sessions FJC offers. Emmaline Bouchillon, the WRC’s Creative Director, describes the Family Justice Center as an “indispensable organization that provides the means for survivors to empower themselves.” Bouchillon emphasizes how essential the agency is, “both to the Loyola community, and the New Orleans community at large.” This past year, the Women’s Resource Center collaborated with FJC on Take Back the Night, a screening of the award-winning documentary, “Five Awake,” and on the Feminist Festival event, Standing in Solidarity with Survivors of Domestic Abuse. In addition, the WRC director, representatives from the University Counseling Center, and the Title IX office at Loyola attended monthly Sexual

Assault Response Team (SART) meetings and training sessions offered by FJC to staff members of a variety of agencies and university employees working to prevent and respond to sexual assault in New Orleans. We have learned a great deal about the phenomenal work that FJC has achieved in passing significant legislation through the Louisiana legislature to prevent and respond better to domestic violence. We are moved by the devotion and passion of the FJC leadership and staff, and we are grateful for their work. Therefore, we have selected the Family Justice Center as the recipient of the Women’s Resource Center’s Outstanding Community Partner Award.

Feminist Awards

Outstanding

Feminist Professor Jaita Talukdar

r. Jaita Talukdar is an associate professor in the department of sociology at Loyola University New Orleans. Dr. Talukdar has received her Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio; her M.A. from University of Calcutta, India; and her B.A. from Presidency College, Calcutta, India. Her research explores the effects of social forces of gender, social class, culture, and globalization on body, bodily processes, and health. She has published original research and book reviews in a variety of journals, including Qualitative Sociology, Sociological Focus, Women's Studies International Forum, American Journal of Sociology, and Contemporary Sociology. Her most recent research that investigates the association of socio-cultural factors and the growing popularity of biotechnological sciences of the body in contemporary Indian society has been published in the “Routledge Handbook of Science, Technology, and Society” (2014). Currently, she is collecting data on how the advent of a global culture of fitness is altering perceptions and ideas of a fit and healthy body among urban Indians. In addition to her impressive research, she also serves as the co-chair for the Women’s Studies program at Loyola and teaches courses on introductory sociology, gender, body, and health. During the Feminist Festival of 2018, Dr. Talukdar graciously served on the intersectional feminism panel. Rula Thabata, co-director of programming at the Women’s Resource Center, describes Dr. Talukdar as a “kind professor who is committed to her students,” and notes her encouragement of “[her students’] ability to learn, grow, and think critically.” She is not only thoughtful and open in her lectures, Thabata notes, but also inspires stimulating conversation during her office hours.

Feminist Awards

Outstanding

Feminist Professor Kate Yurgil

ate Yurgil, Ph.D. joined the psychology faculty at Loyola University New Orleans in August 2014 as a visiting assistant professor and was hired as a tenure-track Assistant professor in August 2015. After receiving her B.A. in psychology in 2005 from Saint Louis University in St. Louis, MO, Dr. Yurgil earned her M.S. in psychological science from Tulane University in 2008. She completed her Ph.D. in 2010, also from Tulane, with an emphasis in cognitive neuroscience. Her doctoral research focused on using electroencephalography (EEG) to examine individual and age differences in attention and memory processes. Most recently, Dr. Yurgil completed postdoctoral research training

in applied behavioral health at the VA Healthcare System in San Diego, CA, where she examined the effects of combat deployment on mental health outcomes in active-duty military personnel. Dr. Yurgil enjoys multi-disciplinary research that integrates measures of human behavior, cognition, and neurophysiology. She has published papers on neural activity associated with auditory speech perception, working memory capacity, and selective attention, with a current focus on age-related changes in cognitive function. Her interests in the area of behavioral health include examining risk and resiliency factors for post-traumatic stress disorder, and the effects of traumatic brain injury

on mental health and neuropsychological function. She frequently presents her work at annual meetings for Cognitive Neuroscience Society, Society for Neuroscience, and International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies. Dr. Yurgil received the College of Arts & Sciences 2018 Excellence in Teaching Award. Director of the WRC, Patricia Boyett considers Yurgil an exceptional colleague. â&#x20AC;&#x153;She is brilliant and compassionate and has an amazing work ethic. It is always a pleasure to work with her.â&#x20AC;?

Feminist Awards

Outstanding

Feminist Staff Member Heather Malveaux

eather Malveaux, the beloved University Minister for Social Justice and Immersion Programs has dedicated her life to teaching about race, racism, privilege and intentional service. Heather grew up on the Westbank of New Orleans in Marrero, LA. She started her college career at Xavier University of New Orleans and transferred to Loyola her senior year majoring in political science and graduating in 2007. While at Loyola, she became an Ignacio Volunteer and fell in love with the program. In 2009, she pursued a dual master’s degree in Little Rock, Arkansas at the Clinton School of Public Service (Master of Public Service) and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Master of Public Health). She concluded her studies in 2012 after completing projects for the Fay W. Boozman Office of Community Based

Public Health, the Arkansas Minority Health Commission and the Soul City Institute of Health & Development Communication in Johannesburg, South Africa. Today, not only is Malveaux the University Minister for Social Justice and Immersion Programs, she is also a law student at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law. She advises the Student Government Association Chief Justice Led Student Justice Board. Malveaux founded the New Orleans Urban and South Africa Immersion programs and continues to lead the Jamaica program. She serves as a mentor to her students and advises Lemon Pepper, the recipient of the Magis Student Organization of the Year Award. She is also on the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee through which she spearheaded Iggy’s Cupboard as part of Food Insecurity Committee. In

addition, Malveaux teaches at Xavier University New Orleans, and advised the Leadership, Innovating, and Transforming Conference. Beloved by the students at Loyola, no one was surprised when she earned the 2019 Student Government Association Outstanding Advisor Magis Award. One of Malveaux’s nominators, Rul Thabata, stated “The Ignacio Volunteers program has been transformative for many students inspiring them to study abroad in South Africa, Jamaica, and beyond. Heather Malveaux’s commitment to justice challenges the Loyola community to think critically about how to make the world a better place. Her leadership and guidance goes beyond Loyola’s gates, leaving an impact on policy, students, faculty, staff and the country.”

Writing Awards

Nancy Fix Anderson

Co-Award Winner Isabella Josephine Bernal

sabella Josephine Bernal is from Houston, Texas. She developed an interest in the topic of equality in education at a young age through personal experience and reformed education. Bernal is a rising senior working towards her bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance , and two minors in Women’s Studies and Biological Sciences. In addition, she works as a technician and stage manager at the Loyola University New Orleans Music performance facilities. She is also a member of the Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity, serving as the head of the service committee. Musically, she has been in Loyola University’s opera productions such as L'enfant et les sortilèges and the Offenbach Series. Bernal plans on pursuing a career in both the medical and musical fields, and she will be applying to a multitude of graduate programs in order to fulfill these goals.

Writing Awards

Reformation in Education

The revolutionary agent against gender-based discrimination and violence By Isabella Josephine Bernal

omen, especially women of color, have consistently been discriminated based on their sex, sexuality, race, and ethnicity. Women still are experiencing prejudices in developing and developed countries, leading to restricted financial and employment opportunities, forced societal roles, and high rates of sexual assault. These issues are rooted from the white-washed and patriarchal societies that run rampant and have continued to in a multitude and variety of communities. Proper education addresses moral and academic knowledge producing critical thinking skills as well as respect toward every individual in an egalitarian classroom where a women’s presence is acknowledged and respected just as much as her male counterpart; where sexual assault is not taught as an acceptable social norm and where women are given adequate support systems for this traumatic and often fatal attack. Further, education facilities and transportation to and from these buildings need to be altered, not fraudulently claimed, as a safe haven for students. The proper education of men and women will allow for patriarchal communities to be dismantled, an increase in GDP leading to the economic stabilization of societies, and a decrease in gender-based violence and discrimination allowing for the flourishment of empowering women as well as the opportunities for women to participate in economic and social roles adjunct from what has been enforced by white-male supremacy. Sexual violence is “any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic or otherwise directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.” 7 Rape is a humanitarian crisis that is not discussed or taught enough as something that should not be inflicted towards any individual.

Sexual violence health consequences affect reproductive health (unintended pregnancy, gynecological trauma, unsafe abortion, sexual dysfunction, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, traumatic fistulae), mental health (depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, sleep difficulties, somatic complaints, suicidal behavior, panic disorder), and fatal outcomes (suicide, pregnancy complications, unsafe abortion, AIDS, murder during rape for ‘honor,’ and infanticide of a child born of rape). 7 “77.6 million girls are not going back to school” 6 due to early arranged marriages, patriarchal structures, and fear of encountering sexual violence again. Sexual assault is at even higher percentages for women of color. It is taught, especially in the media, that “women of color are often portrayed as promiscuous or hypersexual,” and it is due to these stereotypes that “perpetuate the idea that women of color cannot be raped because they are willing participants in all sexual activity.” 2 Statistically, women who are raped in their lifetime: “17.9% are Caucasian, 11.9% are Latina, 18.8% are African-American, 34.1% are American Indian or Alaskan Native, and 6.8% are Asian or Pacific Islander,” further, “40% of Black women report coercive sexual contact by age eighteen.”2 Many women do not report rape due to “inadequate support systems, shame, fear or risk of retaliation, fear or risk of being blamed, fear or risk of not being believed, fear or risk of being mistreated and/or socially ostracized.” 7 All of these logical reasons have been implemented due to rape culture and what is improperly taught through social and judicial norms. The World Health Organization lists limited education, gender inequitable views, and acceptance of violence as main reasons and risk factors of sexual violence.7 Schools should also be a clean haven and safe institution of learning. “1 in 10 school age African girls do not attend school during menstruation, or drop out at

puberty because of the lack of clean and private sanitation facilities in schools.” 6 and studies have shown that “substantial proportions of girls report experiencing sexual harassment and abuse on the way to and from school, as well as on school and university premises, including classrooms lavatories and dormitories, by peers and teachers,”7 as well as “26 out of 40 schools reported that a male teacher at their school had got a student pregnant.”7 There should be stronger implementations of educators being fired for sexual assault actions towards their students and fellow co-workers as well as programs that define sexual assault, and the consequences not just for the victim but also for the attacker. Longer and harsher incarceration times should also be implemented. Financially, if societies and governments were to invest in this revolutionary non-violent tool, there would be a decrease in sexual violence and an increase in education. Instead, governments, like the USA will spend money on other things such as the U.S. Department of Defense which “spent $41.6 million on Viagra and $84.24 million total on erectile dysfunction in 2014.”5 Education needs to be reformed so that it is not a place of prejudice or discrimination, so that schools teach about rape and the health consequences that coincide with it, and so that it is not a white male-focused system, creating equal situations and opportunities for all individuals. Audre Lorde in “Sister Outsider” portrays the discrimination of women and the absence of acknowledging intersectionality in society and she also addresses the fact that white female writers fail to mention or quote AfricanAmerican writers in feminist issues other than genital mutilation,4 another example of how women of color are portrayed and given no acknowledgement compared to someone who is Caucasian. History courses focus greatly on white individuals ‘successes’ and their past and filtered

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history. Nobody talks about Ida B. Wells and her involvement in women’s right to vote, but often the story of Susan B. Anthony is told. Teachers and academic leaders need to be just as involved in educating themselves like they should their students. Not only should women be informed that they are equal and not inferior to men and that they are not just seen as a biological vessel that gives birth, but young men should also be taught this same concept. Malala Yousafzais writes “our men think earning money and ordering others around is where power lies,”8 when in fact it lies in knowledge and equality. In “Engaged Pedagogy,” by Bell Hooks, she defines what a prosperous relationship between a teacher and a student is, stating “I have been most inspired by those teachers who have had the courage to transgress those boundaries that would confine each pupil to a rote, assembly-line approach to learning.”3

When women are allowed to receive equal education, there are economic and social benefits that coincide with this reformation. “When 10% more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases on average by 3%,” and “an extra year of primary school boosts’ girls eventual wages by 10-20%. An extra year of secondary school: 15-25%,”6 creating a higher percentage of income per household and a rise in financial benefits for communities. This also allows women to financially be independent, where women would have the choice to leave a domestically abusive household or relationship without fear of being homeless or financially strained. Similarly, with education, women can have access to a wider range of jobs and ideologies, leading to new inventions and ideals which would set new platforms for the following generations.

should be considered as a humanitarian necessity and a right for each individual. Although not yet perfect, there is progress being made. The United States government currently has set a new record of 102 women who will serve in the incoming House of Representatives.9 The growth in women having a high political ground leads to a beneficial objective for women of other generations as well as a platform to speak. Representation matters, especially in the political arena. “This world has always belonged to men and still retains the form they have imprinted on it”1 and this forced superior-inferior relationship that men have created between men and women must cease to exist. With knowledge comes power. This power gives women the confidence to speak out, the ability to further their education, and to shut down the patriarchal structures through evidence and communication. “Education is neither Eastern nor Western, Inadequate education is what leads to these it is human. Education is education and it’s high rates of gender-based violence and the right of every human being.”8 discrimination. Access to equal education

Citations: Beauvoir, Simone De., The Second Sex. New York: First Vintage Edition, 2011. Print. Flack, Ally. “Sexual Harassment and Women of Color.” Catalyst, 13 Feb. 2018, Web. www.catalyst.org/blog/catalyzing/ sexual-harassment-and-women-color. Hooks, Bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. “Engaged Pedagogy.” London: Routledge, 1994. Print Lorde, Audre, and Cheryl Clarke. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Berkeley: Crossing, 2007. Print. News, CBS. “The Pentagon Spends a Lot of Money on Viagra.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, 20 Feb. 2015. Web. http://www.cbsnews. com/news/pentagon-spends-a-lot-of-money-on-vigra “77.6 Million Girls Are NOT Going-Back-to-School.” Girl Rising. N.p., n.d., Web. http://girlrising.com/ blog/39-million-girls-are-not-going-back-to-school/ Garcia, C., Guedes, A., Knerr, W., “Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Women,” World Health Organization, 2012. Web. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/77434/WHO_RHR_12.37_eng.pdf;jsessionid=0A320632F0C9D1D1DA6BA5A 1345FEE2A?sequence=1 Yousafzai, Malala, 1997. I Am Malala: the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York, NY: Little, Brown, & Company, 2013. Print. DeSilver, Drew. “A Record Number of Women Will Be Serving in the New Congress.” Pew Research Center, 18 Dec. 2018. Web. www. pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/12/18/record-number-women-in-congress/

Writing Awards

Nancy Fix Anderson

Co-Award Winner

Destiny Patton

estiny Patton is a rising sophomore general studies major at Loyola University New Orleans. She was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA and came to New Orleans for a new experience and to explore a new city. Loyola quickly became her home as she made great friends and began to study the various topics that Loyola offered. Currently,

her favorite class is Violent Crime and the Media, instructed by Dr. Rae Taylor. When she is not in class you can find Patton in one of the two places she works: the Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Resource Center and Starbucks. Outside of work and class, her favorite activities include hanging out with friends in the quad, listening to music, and napping. This upcoming summer she will be spending her time on campus as a Krewe Leader

for the 2019 New Student Orientation sessions. Patton is very excited to welcome the incoming freshman class, as well as get more involved with the Loyola community. Most importantly, she is thrilled to be completing her first year as a college student, and she feels hopeful and grateful for the three year journey ahead of her.

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The Rise of Black Feminism Written by Destiny Patton

Art by Shelby Pojawa

eminism as an ideology originally was not rooted in intersectionality or equality and completely excluded women of color—particularly black women. Gradually, the evolution of what it means to be a black feminist took shape in the 1970s. The idea of black feminism is a triumph in itself because of the progressive journey that formed the movement continues to evolve––even today. There are many causes of the Black Feminist Movement. Some of the most significant is the amount of sexist rhetoric during the Black Liberation Movement of the 1970s, lack of support from white feminists, white and black men, and the challenges that arose in forming an intersectional movement for black women in America. However, none of these would have been decisive without the efforts of the brave women who created the Black Feminist Movement— a movement that still empowers black women in American society today. Being a black woman in America has never been a trouble-free time. As the author Bell Hooks states, “black women are one of the most devalued female groups in American society” (Hooks 108). Since the introduction of African women as slaves, they have historically been severely oppressed and mistreated by men. Women slaves would not only be expected to work tirelessly, but were frequently sexually abused; they had to reap the consequences without any justice, “and thus they have been the recipients of male abuse and cruelty that has known

no bounds or limits” (Hooks 108). Despite this, some of the most important people during slavery were black women who courageously spoke out about equality and rights—not just for all black people, but women as well. Sojourner Truth was not only a former slave turned abolitionist, but she was also an influential women’s rights activist and someone who would be classified as a feminist today. In her speech, “Ain't I a Woman,” she famously asserts herself as a woman with pride and encourages other women to do the same. She questions, “Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from?” and affirms that it came “from God and a woman!” Truth continues, “Man had nothing to do with Him. If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back, and get it right side up again! And now they is asking to do it, the men better let them.” (Truth) Contrary to many earlier interpretations of the Bible in which men are worshiped, Truth emphasizes that women are the basis for life itself. She points out the fact that the one that they worship—Christ—came from only a woman and God, without the help of any other man. Truth calls on men to not hold back the women who are trying to take charge of the world and make a difference. She demands men to recognize that women are equal and deserve to have a chance to create an impact on the world. Truth declared that women were not confined to being the property of any man. Though the idea was hundreds of

years ahead of its time, it began to form the concept of what it currently means to be an emancipated woman. The first spark that ignited the fire that is the Black Feminist Movement was the exclusion of black women from the initial Black Liberation Movement that began in 1970. Black women were openly attacked rhetorically and physically by men who received no backlash at the time. The widely accepted expectation was that “Black women assume an auxiliary role to Black men and address their energy towards the family.” (Randolph) More importantly, this mindset was perpetuated by the rapidly growing Black Panther Party. The Black Panther Party is an organization that has since fizzled out but, at the time, aggressively focused on liberating black people from the white man. While it did bring unity and liberation to the black community, this new found liberation generated mass amounts of toxic masculinity––toxic masculinity amongst black men closed off the idea that black women could also be empowered. Early Black Panther Party leader Eldridge Cleaver states that he “became a rapist. To refine [his] technique and modus operandi, [he] started out by practicing on black girls in the ghetto.” He justifies these acts by stating that “vicious and dark deeds appear not as aberrations or deviations from the norm, but as part of the sufficiency of the Evil of a day.” He continues further, stating that when he “considered [himself] smooth enough, [he] crossed the tracks and sought out

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white prey” (Cleaver). In expressing his rage against white men, Cleaver stripped black women of their dignity without consequence––something white men had been doing to black women for centuries. Evidently, Cleaver did not only create an unsafe environment for black women, he sexually abused them and used them as practice for his disgusting crimes. His complete disregard for black women and misogynistic views were commonly followed amongst the black community. Black women were trapped between wanting to be free and maintaining their roles as respectable women in the eye of the man. At this time, black women in America were at a crossroads; they could not find freedom in their own community so they slowly began to work together to liberate themselves. A strong obstacle that stood in front of black women was the discrimination they faced when exploring the already underway feminist movement. Black women were not welcomed with open arms but were instead shunned away with racism. Feminism in the 1960s was not intersectional and completely erased the struggles of what it meant to be a black woman. An essay from the news publication ‘The Thistle’ highlights that, “Every women's movement in the United States has been built on a racist

Movement, author Alice Walker described it as, “Womanist 1. From womanish...A black feminist or feminist of color...Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior.” Black women had to cultivate the idea of what it meant to be a black feminist to capture the experience as a whole. Walker also made sure to note that, "Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender." Seeing as though purple and lavender are similar colors, Walker was letting feminist know that womanist are standing beside them and that the definition of the Black Feminist Movement was based in unity. A major flaw in traditional feminist rhetoric was that it was not intersectional or inclusive and left out a large percentage of women. The creation of black feminism gave women a voice. Furthermore, this was the first wave of a new kind of women’s movement whose ideas have not, “sprang from a desire to strengthen white society's morals or to uplift the place of white women in that society.” Intersectionality foundation.” The source goes on to was essential considering that, “In acknowledge how white women failed to most women's movement writings, the notice black women’s struggles “due to experiences of white, middle-class women [their] race and class.” They were severely “women's experiences”, largely ignoring underrepresented at events that were the differences of black and white women's supposed to represent all women. White experiences.” Preserving the radical idea of feminist denying their own racism, in intersectionality, black feminism did not turn, denied black women the power to be include only black women, it incorporated liberated and full access to their growing many other marginalized groups that organizations. The denial of black women were also fighting for liberation at the was not new to the prominent women’s time. According to eminent black feminist movements in America. The article leader Barbara Smith, the issues that the continues on in expressing that historically Black Feminist Movement were and still it was clearly distinguished that these are tackling to this day are, “reproductive movements were “women's suffrage for rights, sterilization abuse, equal access to white women, the abolition of slavery abortion, health care, child care, the rights for the fortification of white society, the of the disabled, violence against women, temperance movement for the moral rape, battering, sexual harassment, uplifting of white society.” (But Some of Us welfare rights, lesbian and gay rights, Are Brave: A History of Black Feminism aging, police brutality, labor organizing, in the United States). These events that anti-imperialist struggles, anti-racist fortified white society are famous and organizing, nuclear disarmament, and are celebrated as victories for all people. preserving the environment” (“But Some What was not considered was that if all of Us Are Brave”). Additionally, black women are not included in a victory, it is feminism was created to be attainable by a loss. With each movement came a more all no matter class or race. progressive way of thinking but, black Author Bell Hooks, as a “feminist thinker feminism had to exist to open up the doors and theorist” presented the goal of taking to uplift the morals of all women. “that abstraction and articulate it in a language that renders it accessible--not To the dismay of men and the disregard of less complex or rigorous--but simply more white women, black women began to draft accessible." (“Talking Back” Hooks 39). their own image of what feminism While black feminism was still in the was. When defining the Black Feminist underground stages it became not just for

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black women. Women of color from many different backgrounds, LGBT women, and poor women also wanted to be represented accurately in society. The incessant exclusion of black women garnered the right amount of ambition to bravely pursue change for all women. The Black Feminist Movement began to take off in the early 1970s when the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO) was founded in August of 1973. A notable trailblazer in black feminism was the NBFO founder, feminist leader, and civil rights advocate Margaret Sloan Hunter who formed a network for black feminist across the nation. Writer Rita Laporte stated that “When [she] first heard about the NBFO [she] considered it a milestone for the feminist movement” (Laporte 2). Over the years, the organization grew in size and members sparking a nationally unified voice of black feminist. Although by 1977 the national model of NBFO became inactive, the organization still had independent sectors that worked on issues in their communities. Still, the movement continued to blossom and in just a few years there was progress all across the world. Multiple organizations came into fruition that offered support for smaller marginalized groups like women in third world countries and LGBT women of color. Being a feminist rooted in intersectionality became more and more widely accepted amongst all American women. Notable feminist Gloria Steinem who has always encouraged feminist to be inclusive stated that “I think that they have created a more inclusive movement because they are aware that sexism and racism is intertwined and you can’t uproot one without uprooting the other. But, it’s still true that they don’t get enough credit” (Steinem). Steinem gives credit to black feminism for starting a movement that is not only strong but socially conscious. In addition, she brings up the downside to the movement is that black women still do not get enough credit for birthing such a powerful movement. She acknowledges the fact that if it were not for the courageous black women who came together and blazed the trail, feminism would still be just for middle-class white women. Presently in American society, the ideals of black feminism are still alive. Not only are black women liberated, but black

women are also empowered. Successful, multi-faceted black women are represented and respected in industries that are traditionally dominated by men like music, film, politics, and business. Modern day black feminism also has role models who speak out about issues against black women, have jobs and, have a husband and children. Famous singer and entrepreneur Beyonce Knowles Carter is a successful black woman but is also a mother who has made political statements in her music. Another black woman who has achieved a great deal is former first lady Michelle Obama. Not only was Obama the first black first lady, but she is also a Harvard Law School graduate, author, and a mother. Obama is known for being an incredibly talented and eloquent speaker who speaks about social issues in America. In her speech at the Democratic National Convention in 2016 Obama said, “I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves. And I watch my daughters, two beautiful, intelligent, black young women playing with their dogs on the White House lawn.” (Obama) She puts the idea into the perspective of the irony of it all. Obama forces the American people to think into the past and how in history this was seen as the absolute impossible. To even fathom that a black woman would be living in the White House and not working in the White House says volumes about the evolution and the empowerment of black women. That being said, there

are still the same obstacles of racism and sexism that try to stand in the way of black women but with the strength of what it means to be a black feminist, every day gets better. The Black Feminist Movement changed the narrative of how black women are perceived by the world. Black women evolved from being defined by black men to unapologetically defining themselves. Additionally, after being turned away and being unrepresented in feminism, black feminist created their own version of feminism based in intersectionality. The causes of the Black Feminist Movement were brutal but actions that were taken in response had a great effect on what it meant to be a black woman in America. The Black Feminist Movement is an idea that started small with a few women who were frustrated and searching for liberation. That small idea grew into a huge movement that is still prevalent today.

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Barbara Ewell Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Studies Creative Writing Award Kaylie Saidin

aylie Saidin grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. She is graduating from Loyola University New Orleans summa cum laude in May with a degree in English literature and a minor in classical studies. Her writing has won the 2018 Dawson Gaillard Award for Fiction and the 2018 Monroe Library Research Competition. Saidin is an assistant fiction editor at the journal Pithead Chapel, a section editor at the Loyola Maroon, and a former intern at The New Orleans Review. Her fiction is published or forthcoming in Catamaran, upstreet #15, Atlas & Alice, and elsewhere. This fall, she will begin classes for her M.F.A. in fiction writing from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

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Cate Lucas Written by Kaylie Saidin

Art by Shelby Pojawa

ate Lucas stopped coming to class in junior year of high school and everyone wondered what happened to her. We went to a small school, and of course, people talked.

Usually, the rest of the girls and I would quickly rinse off in the hot water before changing into our clothes and rushing to our next period. We would slam our lockers and scramble the codes and frantically comb our wet hair and reapply mascara and run down the halls like it mattered, like being late to fourth period in freshman year of high school mattered, like having long eyelashes mattered, like our Target brand wet swimsuits getting stolen mattered. But Cate would take her time, as if she had no class afterwards. As if there was nowhere she would rather be but the locker room.

She sat next to me in math during the second semester of my sophomore year. I let her borrow my pencils and we made jokes about geometry. She had a raspy voice and big doe eyes and smelled like cigarettes and wasn’t very good at doing trig functions and was sometimes more than ten minutes late, but our teacher always looked the other way. A rumor went around that she had already lost her virginity. We wrote each other notes in One day, I decided not to go to my next pencil on the glossed-over finish of the class. It was the first and last time I’d ever wooden desks. I thought she was beautiful. skipped, and I felt like it was ethical. I was tired of history class. All we did was talk When Cate was gone for more than a about dead people. week, people in class talked about how she had moved to Australia to become a singer It was just Cate and I for those forty-five for a record label. Cate was quite good at minutes in the locker room after we swam singing, objectively good enough to be a the sidestroke. We combed our hair and professional, but I had never weighed in on talked about mindless things – the boys the topic. I didn’t talk much in class – I in our class, the songs on the radio. In a never had. I didn’t like to look people in casual discussion, she told me that her the eye. I just liked to write on my desk, father hit her when she was a kid and that and I liked for her to read it. he wasn’t allowed around her or her mother. I knew plenty of other teenage * girls who discussed their trauma with this cavalier tone, and so I wasn’t too phased. In freshman year, Cate and I took physical education together. We had to swim laps Then Cate confessed to me that she had a for a month and nobody was any good at boyfriend who was older, even older than it except for me. I was showcased in front twenty. I remember the strange feeling in of the class: look at this freestyle, see how my lower abdomen I got when she told me her hands cup the water and push it back? this. I remember lying in bed that night That’s what you all need to do. Each time and thinking about her boyfriend who was this happened, I felt the weight of twenty older than twenty, wondering what they eyes staring at me through the surface of talked about together, what they did the water. I dove deep, as if I could hide together. It felt like a hundred worms from them. When I surfaced, Cate’s large, wiggling in my stomach. tired eyes met mine. They always looked like they were apologizing. I knew that Cate took off all her clothes when she Cate was good at singing because I once showered. None of the other girls in gym heard her in the shower after swimming. class did this, but I guess it was just us,

after all. I had never seen another girl naked, and I tried not to stare. Her skin was not smooth like mine. She had freckles and bruised knees and bumps from shaving and scabbed forearms. She looked older, was older, maybe. Once she started singing Amy Winehouse, I realized that I was a child in comparison to her. She had experienced things I hadn’t yet, and some things I never would. She didn’t need to tell me this; nobody ever did. It was just something I always knew. * When Cate Lucas was gone from school for more than two weeks, we were reading Genesis in religion class. As dawn was breaking on Sodom, angels urged Lot and his family to flee and not look back. But Lot’s wife did look back, and she became a pillar of salt, alone in the desert. The rest of the family ran on, and there she stood for eternity. “What was her name?” I asked. The reverend stopped talking. I had interrupted him. He looked irritated, and I regretted speaking up. I was never sure when the right time to speak was. I’m still not sure. “What was that?” “I –” it was too late now. People looked at me, but I had to know. “I was wondering if she had a name.” The reverend looked at me for a second that felt like a lifetime. Then he said, “No. She didn’t.” And then we moved on to the city burning. Sodom up in flames. Later that day, I was pulled out of my next class. I panicked at first and thought I would be in trouble for asking about Lot’s wife, but when I stepped into the hallway, there were two police officers. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong, but I had also heard the stories about the San Francisco Police Department slamming the heads of prostitutes onto the pavement

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until they died from brain bleeding and then covering it up, so I approached them with caution.

They nodded and didn’t need anything else from me. When I was going back to class, one put his hand on my shoulder. I “Was Cate Lucas one of your friends?” wanted to say, please don’t touch me, but asked an officer, and when he did, my eyes I didn’t have the nerve. He didn’t pat my welled up with tears no matter how much I back or anything. He just put his hand on willed them to stop. The other one handed my shoulder, cupped it briefly, and then me a tissue, but the snot was already squeezed. running. “Keep an eye out,” he said. I don’t know why I cried, and I couldn’t have told anyone what happened if they asked, but something in me knew. I knew what happened to girls like Cate Lucas. I had always known and always will know, and perhaps women are born knowing. I told the cops she and I sat together in geometry and swam together in gym. That I heard she was in Australia. They shook their heads when I said that. “We believe Cate has been a victim of sex trafficking,” said the one who had given me the tissue. “She’s been missing for two weeks. Did she ever talk to you about an older guy in her life? Illegal substances?” I told them about her boyfriend who was more than twenty. “But that was two years ago,” Iassured them.

memorial or a candlelight vigil, because she wasn’t dead – even though people acted like she was. Life started to move on without her. I started asking questions in class. I started thinking about what it meant to be a pillar of salt.

There was once, when I myself was older than twenty, that I thought I saw her in a vintage clothing store on Haight * Street. I recognized her big doe eyes, still apologizing. She was buying a velvet dress I did. I spent the rest of high school and a pair of overalls, and, as she took out looking for her, and even some afterwards, a little coin purse, I was staring. Her eyes even now. I thought I’d hear her singing met mine and I swear she smiled a little. in the showers of the locker room, but it But she was gone before I could talk to her. was just the faucet echoing off the walls. I Maybe it wasn’t Cate Lucas, maybe it was thought I’d smell her when I walked home, just a trick of the light. but it was just the neighbors smoking cigarettes. When she left the store, when she was gone for more than ten years, more than a When I told my father, he shook his head lifetime, I started looking at everyone else and said, “That’s a shame she went down a as I passed them on the street. Wondering bad path. She seemed like such a nice girl.” who was missing from somewhere, who Then he said, “Can you water the tomatoes had been taken. And who had been the tonight, before you forget?” My mother taker. I started looking women in the eyes wasn’t there for me to tell her. when I walked by them. Some of them looked back. People stopped saying the name Cate Lucas. At school, there was never a

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Art by Jessica White