Huntington Crossroads by Moya Bailey

INSIDE: 1

Introduction

Culture

Relationships

Race & Ethnicity

Staff

Advertisements

Sources

Everything Is a Spectrum Watch Your Language!

A Misogynist Walks Into A Bar... Unveiled: The Truth of the Hijab EcoFeminism Medicalization of Fatness Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics: Why Are They Dominated by Men?

Inclusivity & Virginity Polyamory’s Place in the Feminist Movement The Sound of Power & Control We Bare No Bruises

An Open Letter to Me [White, Straight, Cisgender] Brother Indigenous People of Canada: Present But Forgotten “Women are bad drivers” What I Learned from Rue: Amandla Stenberg’s Intersectional Feminism Television’s Favorite Trope: Black Women & Affairs An Interview with Ashley Clerge An Open Letter to Mizzou

INTRODUCTION

EVERYTHING IS A SPECTRUM Alex Langston

umans are really complicated. Despite this we have a tendency to simplify the world around us to make it easier to understand and interact with. As a result we like to categorize people and don’t give this complexity justice. We like to put people into boxes, where a few defining characteristics indicates a whole lot about a person before we’ve really even met them. Two major boxes we like to use are male and female. Once a person is categorized as male or female, we make a whole bunch of assumptions about them. Things like the clothes they wear, the types of people they are attracted to, the things they do for fun, what they aspire to be, how they cut their hair, the body parts they possess and so on. The truth is, these boxes don’t really work properly. There are no nice shiny boxes. Thinking people should fit into a distinct box can be really confusing when someone doesn’t fit into one, and can cause a lot of hate. Thinking you, yourself should fit into one of these boxes but don’t is even worse. Really, everyone exists on a variety of different spectrums which make up who they are. The graphic above visualizes the spectrums which have to do with sexuality, and this article will outline what each of these are, how they are different and why they are important. First, a person’s sex – symbolized by the orange circle between the legs. This is different than one’s gender identity, which is symbolized by a green triangle where the

brain is. Interact, a youth program for intersex youth (we’ll get to what intersex means in a second), has an article called “Trans? Intersex? Explained!” which explains the difference between sex and gender. “A person’s sex refers to how someone’s genitals and plumbing (chromosomes, gonads, etc.) developed when they were in the womb. A person’s gender identity refers to how a person feels (or identifies) - their deeply held sense of whether they are a man or woman (or something other than those two choices).” ithin the terms gender and sex there is a lot of complexity – the terms male/female and man/woman only begin to describe the story. Sex isn’t a binary system, there is another term to be aware of: intersex. Interact’s Intersex FAQ explains that, “Intersex is an umbrella term describing people born with variations of internal and/or external sex anatomy resulting in bodies that can’t be classified as the typical male or female.” There are a variety of different conditions which would cause this, such as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome, Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, Klinefelter Syndrome, Hypospadias and many others. Being intersex is much more common than you might think - approximately 1 in every 2,000 people are intersex. Although gender is different than sex, in that it involves a person’s role in society and the way which one portrays oneself, it is similar in complexity. People do not

always fit within a binary of men and women and can instead be gender fluid, gender queer, or agender. These are words someone might use to describe how they think and feel. The word transgender (which can be shortened to trans) is also an important word to understand. This is also well defined in Interact’s article “Trans? Intersex? Explained: “Transgender refers to people who were assigned a particular sex at birth, but identify as a different one (their gender identity). Some trans people transition so that they live aligned with their gender identity, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.” These transitions can be through hormones, surgeries, clothing changes, etc. It is important to note, however, that not every transgender person wants to transition in every way possible, or even at all. Part of a transition can include a change in the use of pronouns, where a person decides which pronouns they want to be called, such as he/she, her/him, they/them. Someone who is not transgender is instead cis-gender, or cis. This means that a person’s gender identity matches their assigned sex. he other three spectrums of human sexuality discussed in this article involve how a person interacts with others. First, there’s the kind of people that one is attracted to, romantically and sexually (Romantic Orientation and Sexual Orientation). These are symbolized on the diagram as a red heart. Romantic orientation has to do with the types of people one falls in love with or have romantic feelings for. This can mean they have a tendency for only women or only men, for both genders, for one gender more than the other, or a variety of other orientations. Sexual orientation involves sexual attraction and fantasy rather than emotional involvement. These two descriptors are not always directly related and both are spectrums which can change over time. Finally, sexual behavior, which is symbolized by the blue circle connecting the two figures in the diagram, has to do with the sexual interactions a person has had. This includes a variety of different things, such as only having sexual interactions with one gender, both genders, intentionally no interactions (celibate), one gender most of the time, and so on. You are likely familiar with the terms heterosexual/straight and homosexual/gay/lesbian, but the fact of the matter is that sexuality is not a binary system. There are several terms which describe people who exist elsewhere from the two ends of the sexuality system. These include bisexual, pansexual, queer and asexual. Asexual means that one does not feel strong sexual attraction, but can still mean that romantic attraction is a possibility. It’s worth noting that asexuality is inself a spectrum – it does not necessarily mean the total absence of all sexual at-

traction. An article from the journal Sexualities describes this border between heterosexuality and homosexuality. It discusses and includes interviews with many people who identify with these terms, explaining how bisexual, pansexual and queer mean similar things in this context but have minor differences and connotations. It is entirely up to the individual to decide which word to use. Bisexual means attraction to two or more genders, while pansexual eliminates the binary from the term and instead describes how gender is not the defining characteristic of attraction. Queer is an umbrella term for anyone who is not heterosexual or cisgender. It is a word which can mean different things based on the individual. One description for the word queer which was particularly enlightening from the interviews in the article is “he said he preferred the term queer because it ‘creates a space’ with its lack of definition”. One means of describing one’s sexual orientation is the Kinsey Scale. This is a scale which was developed in the 1940s and 50s to help quantify where on the sexuality spectrum a person is and how their position on the scale changes over time. This scale has seven points, where 0 is for exclusively heterosexual and a 6 is exclusively homosexual. This can be useful for individuals describing

It’s important to keep in mind that humans are very complex and do not exist in binaries – there are spectrums for each aspect of a person’s identity. themselves, and particularly academic studies. The article “Sex Differences in the Flexibility of Sexual Orientation: A Multidimensional Retrospective Assessment” from an academic journal Archives of Sexual Behavior uses this scale to study how sexuality can change over time. It found that one third of those studied observed no change, while more than half observed a one point shift over their life. It is significant that two thirds of those studied reported some shift in their orientation over time. All of these characteristics of human sexuality come together to form a part of a person’s identity. It is totally okay for a person to have an unusual combination, and it is also okay for a person’s sexuality to change over time just as the rest of a person’s identity shifts over time. It’s important to keep in mind that humans are very complex and do not exist in binaries – there are spectrums for each aspect of a person’s identity. t the end of the day, it’s up to the individual to decide how they want to present themselves and how they want to interact with others in romantic and sexual ways.

CULTURE

A MISOGYNIST WALKS INTO A BAR... “A man and a woman were stranded in an elevator and they knew they were going to die. The woman turns to the man and says, ‘Make me feel like a woman before I die.’ So he takes off his clothes and says, ‘Fold them!’” (Ford, Boxer, Armstrong, and Edel, 2008)

Eva von Witzky

n the current state of society, where “good is defined in terms of profit rather than in terms of human need,” there is always a group of individuals who are dehumanized and made to feel worthless and inferior. Minority groups, like those based off of gender or race, for example, are subject to this dehumanizing, which is supported and maintained by both non-minority groups and the internalized oppression of minority groups themselves. The dehumanizing process for women is maintained in a variety of ways, but one of the most common and most problematic methods is the use of disparagement humor, or, “humor that denigrates, belittles, or maligns an individual or social group.” The use of disparagement humor strengthens existing stereotypes, increases tolerance towards discrimination of women, and perpetuates the cycle of social control over women. In Audre Lorde’s book of essays, Sister Outsider, the chapter titled “Age, Race, Class and Sex: Women Redefining Difference” states that “somewhere, on the edge of consciousness, there is what I call a mythical norm, which

each one of us within our hearts knows ‘that is not me.’” This mythical norm, in America, is defined as white, male, and heterosexual. Those who fall outside of this norm are subject to prejudice in the form of sexist or racist jokes. The term “prejudiced norm theory” was coined by sociologists Thomas Ford and Mark Ferguson to specify the “social-psychological processes by which exposure to disparagement humor uniquely affects tolerance of discrimination against members of groups targeted by the humor”. At the most basic level, sexist jokes both create and strengthen existing negative stereotypes for the targeted minority group. According to Ford and Ferguson in their article, “Social Consequences of Disparagement Humor,” in the same way that lawyer jokes create a negative perception of lawyers in today’s soci-

At the most basic level, sexist jokes both create and strengthen existing negative stereotypes for the targeted minority group. 6

ety, sexist humor portrayed on television works to perpetuate sexism. In an analysis of several studies based on the effects of disparagement humor, participants subjected to sexist and racist comedy skits resultantly “made more stereotypical evaluations” of African American women. The results of the studies ultimately concluded that “exposure to disparagement humor activates stereotypes, which in turn bias social perception.” Disparagement humor not only reinforces existing stereotypes, but also “increases tolerance for discriminatory events” based on those stereotypes. In another study, participants were exposed to sexist jokes, sexist statements, and neutral jokes before reading a vignette in which a female employee is being patronized by a male supervisor through the use of pet names. After reading this story, the participants would rate their perceived offensiveness of the supervisor’s actions. The outcomes of this study demonstrated that exposure to sexist jokes, in comparison to neutral jokes or sexist statements, would result in a higher tolerance of the sexist behavior demonstrated by the supervisor. By trivializing the mockery of minority groups by way of humor, an implied expectation of behavior, or, an “implicit norm” is produced; this creates an environment where it is acceptable to be uncritical of discrimination and treat prejudice and discriminatory events in a joking, or “light-hearted” manner. The most critical aspect of this topic to understand is how this kind of humor can be used as a form of social control, allowing non-minority groups to maintain their self-granted and society-sanctioned superiority. Tolerance towards discrimination as a result of disparagement humor “functions as a source of self-regulation for people high in prejudice,” and allows “members of the dominant group in society to maintain their privileged position”. The control mechanisms enacted through disparagement humor are different than those enacted through institutions, like law enforcement agencies, as discussed in Andrea Ritchie’s article, “Law Enforcement Violence Against Women of Color.” In Ritchie’s example of control over minorities, those enacting the control (police officers) belong to an institution which perpetuates white, male privilege. Humor, however, works differently, because no particular institution is involved. When sexist humor increases tolerance towards discriminatory events against women, these events may be used to maintain control over women; in this way, humor is a social element of control. For example, in a study which subjected its participants to either neutral or sexist humor before asking them to make budget cuts to a women’s organization, individuals in the experimental group cut more money than those

in the control group. This strong negative correlation demonstrates how a simple joke can have a very real impact in the maintenance of social control over minorities.

By trivializing the mockery of minority groups by way of humor, an implied expectation of behavior, or, an “implicit norm” is produced; this creates an environment where it is acceptable to be uncritical of discrimination and treat prejudice and discriminatory events in a joking, or “light-hearted” manner. According to Lorde, “as women, we must root out internalized patterns of oppression within ourselves if we are to move beyond the most superficial aspects of social change.” Disparagement humor is one of the greatest roadblocks to social change, as it perpetuates stereotypes, increases tolerance for discrimination, and contributes to the social control enacted on minorities. It is important not to partake in this form of social control, because what may appear to be a harmless joke could potentially have severe consequences.

UNVEILED: The Truth of the Hijab

While many Western feminists assume that wearing a Hijab is oppressive, it actually has a rich history that is heavily rooted in religion rather than social circumstances. Muslim women make a personal choice to wear the hijab and should not be discouraged this.

“W

Arianna Laguna

hy do you wear that?” “I feel so bad for you.” “Don’t you feel hot in the summer?” Welcome to the world of wearing a hijab. Here at Northeastern, the Islamic community may not be very large, but it is present and thriving. As a Persian woman who grew up with her mother wearing a hijab, I have witnessed the difficulties and constant negativity directed towards this form of peaceful expression in Western society. Many people have preconceived notions about those women who “have to cover up”, some of which include that they are forced to wear the hijab and will be severely punished otherwise. Let’s wash away the idea that the hijab is a symbol of oppression, and discover the truth behind what it really means to wear a hijab. Hijab means “a covering” in Arabic, and refers to a headscarf, generally accompanied by clothing covering both the arms and legs. In the Muslim community, the hijab serves as a way for women to express piety, in correspondence to verses in the Qu’ran that proclaim that Allah (God) advises women to cover their head and bod-

ies. Therefore, religion, as opposed to political and social views, serves as the primary reason why women choose to practice hijab. When thinking about the hijab, we tend to associate this “covering” as abnormal and often a means for men to maltreat and stifle women. Al Wanzi Beckmann generated a study on a set of 12 Muslim women and interviewed them on their voluntary practice of the hijab and their views on feminism. When asked if she were in disagreement with any aspects of feminism concerning the hijab, a participant of this study stated, “I guess a lot of feminism, … is more against hijab than anything. They feel that it’s oppressive and I don’t believe in any of that. … I feel that if you’re a feminist you should be for whatever women want.” This affirms that many feminists unknowingly persecute Muslim women who practice hijab. We need to understand that a fundamental part of feminism is acceptance and respecting the choices of 8

others. In the case of the hijab, we tend to overlook its religious incentives or how it is an avenue for cultural expression. According to the religion of Islam, certain parts of the body must be kept private, including hair on the head. Hence, exposing such parts is considered inappropriate. Muslim women choose to make themselves visible and communicate their identities through practice of hijab, which unfortunately is often met with backlash from feminist advocates. In Muslim culture, hijab is regarded as a symbol of modesty and privacy.

women wore a scarf to cover their hair loosely as symbol of respect or just as a piece of clothing that had cultural meaning. Did anyone in your family impact your view on the hijab? Yes – I always remember my grandma wearing one. It was extremely important to her. She valued it as a symbol of tradition and culture. I remember she would match it with her clothes, too. What happened after the government shift? I believe I was 13 years old, when in 1979 the Ayatollah came into power. The government totally changed. It became Islamic and no longer secular. I think after about a year, all women were required to cover themselves. It first started with the head. Then it spread to our full school uniforms and then our whole bodies. This was odd for some people - but not for my family. The women in our family had been wearing the hijab before this shift in power, so the new laws didn’t mean much to us – our lifestyles didn’t change.

We need to understand that a fundamental part of feminism is acceptance and respecting the choices of others. In the case of the hijab, we tend to overlook its religious incentives or how it is an avenue for cultural expression.

Why do you wear the hijab? It’s my choice – for both religious and cultural reasons. My The root of this misconception stems from husband has nothing to do with it. I feel comfortable wearhow comfortable one is with one’s own lifestyles and ing it. It’s cozy and warm. I feel that this is a private part what one has been exposed to through our surround- of my body that I want to cover. It’s completely my choice. ings. This results in an ingrained perception that one’s life is the “normal” and “proper” way to live, and that (Interview with S. Borgheian) those who diverge, specifically those of other ethnicities or religions, is in the wrong. This concept is coined as ethnocentrism, and, sadly, plagues our way of thinking It is understandable that we may be afraid of or unquite often. A Muslim woman activist, Hala, professes, comfortable with certain things we are not used to “…even within progressive feminist groups, I am ac- or have never actually tried. However, let’s try not to cused of not being feminist enough because I wear a pass judgments without getting the full story. As are veil.” Her experiences bring to light the prevalence of all forms of self-expression - the hijab is beautiful. ethnocentrism in certain “feminist” ideologies, and the major impact of American aversion to other cultures. As I mentioned earlier, my mother wears a hijab. She was raised in a Muslim home in Iran, and lived there with her family until she was 18 years old. In an interview with my mother, I asked her about her experiences growing up in Iran and how the hijab factored into both her and her family’s lives: I understand the structure of government in power in Iran was different from what it is now for a number of years during your childhood. Tell me what was like at it this time was like in terms of women and the hijab. I was born in Iran in 1966. I remember the country was so modern – just like the European countries. The women wore normal clothes like dresses and skirts, but in the Middle East, the majority of the people were Muslim. Because of this, many 9

ECOFEMINISM Tasha Greenwood

limate change is one of those buzzwords that in our daily lives, as we simultaneously uplift women, has gained momentum in recent years, spurring and breakdown sexism in society. An organization called increased discussions of environmental and cli- Deep Green Resistance (DGR) is at the forefront of this mate justice, as we try to grapple with the very real eco- effort (in North America, though chapters are starting logical changes occurring and consequences thereof. outside of this continent). The following is a summaHere at Northeastern, there are multiple organizations ry of their principles, providing a framework for action: focusing on environmental issues – from DIVEST NU to the Husky Environmental Action Team. But we need -The soil, the air, the water, the climate, and the food we to realize that the goal is more than just convincing those eat are created by complex communities of living creain power to change emissions regulations or to invest in tures. Civilization is fundamentally destructive to life solar power. We need to talk about on Earth. Our task is to create a how the Environmental Moveresistance movement We have to account for life-centered ment intersects with other social that will dismantle industrial civjustice movements, and how we intersections within the ilization by any means necessary. can bring voices from all factions -[We] work to end abuse at the permovement, the ways together to work to change the sonal, organizational, and cultural in which race, gender, structures of power in place. Here, levels. We strive to eradicate domisexuality, and class I’d like to talk specifically about nation and subordination from our the concept of Ecofeminism. private lives and sexual practices. come together and Ecofeminism asserts that -We] are a radical feminist orinfluence who we are there can be no climate justice, and ganization. Gender is the strucand how we view the no environmental justice, without ture of women’s oppression. simultaneous gender justice. EnviAs radicals, we intend to disworld. ronmentalists need to be feminists, mantle gender and the entire and vice versa. The reason for this lies in the connota- system of patriarchy that it embodies. tion of “nature.” Over the years “nature” has come to et’s take a closer look at the last two points. Ecological be associated with “female/woman” while industry and activism is fairly straightforward. There is, however, technology associated with “male/masculine.” (Think much more to feminism that simply disturbing a gen“mother nature”, earth/women/fertility, nature being der status quo. We have to account for intersections withfragile/delicate/beautiful)And so it is hardly a stretch to in the movement, the ways in which race, gender, sexualisee the connection between industry and civilizations’ ty, and class come together and influence who we are and domination of nature, and the oppression of women in how we view the world. So where do these intersections the everyday patriarchy. In order to make progress pre- fit into ecofeminism movement, which has traditionally serving the environment, we need to uplift its importance been dominated by western, white, middle-class, women?

As a starting point, DGR has written two guiding documents addressing solidarity with people of color and nother intersection that is very important to menIndigenous peoples. Solidarity with people of color ention when discussing Ecofeminism, and that is tails understanding that we live in a racist society, and, if not yet addressed by the work of DGR, is where you are white, it is your responsibility to work to demolish queer theory and the queer identity fit. Queer and Femracism, both externally and internally. It means listening inist activism spend much time working to break the bito and respecting the voices and leadership of people of naries that define society today, and yet here is a movecolor(especially women) within this movement. In desta- ment that is operating on a binary of men/women and bilizing and changing the system of civilization we have industry/nature. There is also a disconnect because many today in order to achieve environmental justice, we must who identify as queer do not identify as female/womalso dismantle inherent racism. Solidarity with Indig- an, so the general premise of Ecofeminism can seem enous peoples follows much of the same rhetoric, but exclusionary. But taking into context the good/bad nawith the important understanding that if you are white, ture of these dichotomies, one finds that the marginalyou are part of the colonizing culture here (in America). ized (historically and currently) communities of queer/ Using indigenous women’s and Two-Spirit people’s (in- lgbt folks in the same devalued position as ‘women’ digenous term for a third gender person who occupies and ‘nature.’ Therefore it becomes clear that there is a male and female gender roles) spiritual beliefs about and space for queering Ecofeminism, and that queer acknowledge of the environment to further ecofeminism tivists must also be environmentalists and vice versa. goals, without acknowledging the lack of said land and So now that I have complicated environmenenvironment these people can tal-ism/activism for you, the The impacts of claim as their own is problemquestion remains, What can you atic.That is not to say that these environmental injustice are do? – as a student, perhaps traditions cannot be a unique as an environmental science and important form of Ecofem- not equal among all women, major, as a professional? We and women of color are inism, but that this not for white have to realize that simply being activists to decide, or lay claim to. “a feminist” isn’t going to solve disproportionately more These provisions from the inequities of this world, and negatively impacted. DGR are vital because early it certainly isn’t going to keep Ecofeminism often failed to recognize that the impacts our planet in healthy shape for future generations.I arof environmental injustice are not equal among all wom- gue the case for Ecofeminism because the movement has en, and that women of color are disproportionately more so much promise and possibility. Right now, Ecofeminegatively impacted. Multiple studies within the United nism on the whole remains small, because it is predomStates confirm that a disproportionate number of waste inantly a singular movement, promoted by white, middumps, incinerators, and landfills are placed in or near dle-class women activists. But organizations like Deep predominantly African American or Indigenous com- Green Resistance, and concerned individuals coming munities. Others show that in cities, people of color from all walks of life (looking at you, readers!) are workcommunities are the most impacted by pollution. Out- ing to create something more powerful. Intersectionside of this country, we can look at the legacy of US al Ecofeminism argues that all of the hierarchies (gennuclear testing on the people of the Marshall Islands in der, race,class, sexuality, etc.) that we are trying to break the Pacific. Today, women who were on or near these down are all ultimately tied to the form of civilization islands have suffered radiation poisoning, miscarriages, that we live in, the form of civilization that devalues and and birth defects in children. Not only was this gross destroys nature and the environment. If we can change destruction of an environment whose effects continue that basic premise, then we can be more successful in to this day, but people of these communities, and espe- breaking the systems of oppression that define our lives. cially women, are still suffering. There needs to be acknowledgement that the health of the environment and the health of communities of color are intertwined. Solidarity with, and fighting for these communities is closely linked to environmental justice within the same areas. 11

ood is something that helps define humanity. Under the human touch, food becomes so much more than the sustenance needed for survival; it becomes an art, something that brings people together, something that represents rich histories and cultures. The thought of a good meal shared with friends and family still brings warm feelings for most people. But as we move toward a globalized society that is obsessed with images, consumer products, and instant gratification, we are unintentionally building an unhealthy relationship with food as it relates to body image and health. Medicalization is explained as a phenomenon by which human conditions and problems come to be

defined and treated as medical conditions. Our society medicalizes fatness in a way that oppresses women.

s Heather Laine Talley writes in The Feminist Wire, â&#x20AC;&#x153;it is hard living to be afraid of something we need to survive.â&#x20AC;? Yet this fear of food and of the repercussions of eating is exactly what institutionalized dieting culturemodern society impresses upon all women . In modern media and culture, food haseating habits have become far too closely tied to body image, disproportionately more for women than for men. Diet culture has become such that society puts tremendous pressure upon women about 12

EDICALIZATION OF FATNESS:

body image from a feminist perspective

what to eat, how much to eat, and above all, what to look like. The prevalence of food policing reduces the value of women to their appearances and dictates their consumption behavior. Ads for products like yogurt, Special K, Weight Watchers, and zero-calorie sweeteners are specifically marketed towards women and both perpetuates and preys upon their body image insecurities by projecting an image of what women should look like, and encouraging insecure women to buy their products if they want to achieve that look. . However, the media is not the only medium through which women are taught to be dissatisfied with themselves; they internalize self-hatred through interactions with

Sumin Lim

the people around them. These conceptions begin at an early age, as young children learn that society judges people by how they look. When mothers express unhappiness with their own bodies, their daughters pick up on this. When girls sign on to social media and see what other girls are posting about their bodies and eating habits, they pick up on this as well. Everywhere they turn, women are constantly told to look a certain way – slim, toned, and curvy only in the “right” places – under the guise that this is the epitome of female health.

eminist scholars often question medical scientific knowledge, as they consider the significant patriarchal power relations embedded within it. For example, the medicalization of fatness and the biomedical discourse around it constructs fatness as a female problem, and targets women and men differently. This is despite the biological fact that females naturally carry a higher percentage of fat on their bodies than men in order to prepare for future pregnancies. Although not all women are female and not all women become pregnant, many people who identify as women nevertheless are made to feel self-conscious about the amount of fat that they carry on their bodies. In our society, scholars Wray and Deery explain, fatness is constructed as a disease to be suitably diagnosed and “cured”. Although obesity is a real condition that can affect an individual’s health, Western culture has reached a point at which any and all excess of fat is regarded as “unhealthy”, and therefore, ugly. Even people whose bodies are within the range of a healthy average are often unhappy with how they look, simply because they have been taught to associate health and attractiveness with an extremely narrow range of body shapes. A majority of these associations are provided by the media. For example, a recent study has shown that 87% of female TV characters aged 10-17 are below average in weight. Publicized images of the female body in magazines, ads, and social media are altered so that they are slimmer and fat bulges eliminated from view. Thus by normalizing specific body types that do not represent all women, the media demonizes fat on women’s bodies and constructs the idealized and mostly unattainable image of the perfect, sexy, fatless female body.

petition, where they did very poorly. It was only when they the people who were responsible for selecting a candidate went against local ideals and entered lightskinned, skinny Agbani Darego that a Black African won the pageant for the first time in 2001. Since then, it has become common for Nigerian teenagers to fast and exercise, just as women of Western nations have been doing for decades. Bordo portrays how even body image distortion is not shared equally across races; she points to African American girls who feel guilty for wanting to be thin because American soci-

Continuing to idealize only one specific body type... oppresses women whose bodies do not conform to the ideal. ety stereotypically encourages them to embrace their big, voluptuous bodies. Acknowledging that different women have different body types yet continuing to idealize only one specific body type exacerbates the problem and oppresses women whose bodies do not conform to the ideal. Western ideas of the female body have also spread to many Asian countries, where the desire to be thin precedes these societies’ abilities to understand eating disorders. It is only very recently that reports of dramatic increases in eating disorders in China, South Korea, and Japan have been released. For the most part, these countries do not yet have the knowledge and resources to combat these this rises in eating disorders. So, if the cultural desire to be thin creates health problems in otherwise healthy individuals, the question must be asked: how much is slimness, or rather, the absence of fat, really related to health?

his has not always been the case., as at many points in history and across cultures, the presence of fat on the body was regarded as a sign of health, beauty, and social status. In fact, this is still the case in some cultures around the world today, but their numbers are decreasing due and would continue to be the case if it were not for the to the intensifying spread of Western culture to all these parts of the globe . In Unbearable Weight: Feminism, Western Culture, and the Body, Susan Bordo provides examples of just how strongly other cultures are influenced by Western ideals. In Central Africa, Bordo says, people used to celebrate voluptuous women and view the skinny body as representing poverty, sickness, and death. For years, Nigeria would send women representing their ideals of beauty to the Miss World Com-

ur bodies store fat for a reason. For most of history, people wanted to have fat on their bodies because it meant they were eating enough to get by. As food became more abundant and more people started to gain weight, being ‘fat’ grew to be stigmatized and viewed as a health issue because being ‘too skinny’ was no longer seen as a problem. . Being over-

weight has been linked to higher risk of problems like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers. Fat is most commonly quantified by an individual’s weight, hence the term ‘overweight’. In recent years, society has medicalized body weight and fatness, and people are constantly told to “watch their weight.” A popular way to calculate your fatness is through the Body Mass Index Scale (BMI), which is determined by dividing a person’s weight by his or her height. The resulting number is your BMI, and the “healthy” range is between 18 and 24.9. Anything above that is considered overweight or obese, and anything under that is considered underweight. The reason why this system is unreliable is because it does not differentiate between fat and muscle tissue, nor does it take into account a person’s body type. A person’s health relies on multiple factors beyond weight alone, including physical activity, genetics, diet, and other lifestyle habits. Study after study concludes that health is most affected by physical activity and nutrition – not body weight. And several studies are finding that excess fat may even be good for you; the Journal of the American Medical Association one found that being overweight but not obese is associated with a longer life expectancy, while others foundand also that a person with low body fat is

person’s level of health by how much they weigh and how much fat is on their body. Perhaps the most dangerous aspects of being “fat” are not the health problems that supposedly follow, but rather the social stigma around fatness and the high risk of low self-esteem.

o what does the medicalization of fatness mean for feminists? Put simply, it is an unjust violation of a woman’s freedom to regulate her own body and eating habits. It is an attempt to control and objectify the female body that is justified with faulty, unclear scientific knowledge. Allowing the medicalization of fatness means erasing cultural values, silencing discourse from opposing views, and submissively accepting what we are told by the media and corporations.

A person’s health relies on multiple factors beyond weight alone, including physical activity, genetics, diet, and other lifestyle habits. over four times more likely to die from heart disease as an overweight person with the same diagnosis. While no one study or group of studies should be taken as fact, the point What can be concluded is that given the multitude of studies with conflicting data, it is simply impossible to say with certainty that being overweight is bad for the health. Furthermore, you cannot judge a 15

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, & MATHEMATICS: Why are these fields dominated by men? Joshua Hailman

e live in a society that defines and limits children via gender roles and gender policing. This was vividly portrayed in a Verizon ad campaign, Inspire Her Mind. One of their ads portrayed a young girl’s experience with science. It shows a girl growing up starting from being a toddler to late middle school. In snippets of her life, she’s shown enjoying science. However, every time, one of her parents discourages her because they think it’ll “get her dress dirty” or she should let her brother handle the power tools. At the end of the video, she walks up to a bulletin board in her middle school hallway advertising a science fair, but she’s no longer interested, reapplies her lip gloss, and walks away. The video ends with a statistic: 66% of 4th grade girls say they like science and math; 18% of college engineering majors are female. Anne Fausto-Sterling begins her book Sexing the Body with a story about a little girl who wants to be a scientist. Sexing the Body is about how much of a role genetics and environmental factors play in a child’s development. Fausto-Serling makes the point that for most attributes, such as a little girl growing up to be a scientist, it is impossible

to differentiate how much was nature and how much was nurture. Although she wanted to answer the question, “how do our genes play a role in how we grow up,” first she had to confront issues of gender and sexual orientation. Why do these kinds of things play a role in whether a girl grows up to be a scientist? We live in a society where children’s behavior is policed, especially in the field of gender. Much like the girl in the Verizon ad, Fausto-Sterling discusses a girl who is faced with similar issues in pursuing her dreams. These are examples of gender inequality: women are expected to conform to certain behavior patterns, many of them limiting. Some girls’ parents would think a career in science would be unladylike. Particularly, the dad in Inspire Her Mind tells her to “let your brother handle that” when she is eagerly using a power drill on a model rocket. This is sexism being reinforced: “girls can’t handle power tools,” and it contributes to pushing girls out of STEM. These gender stereotypes can become dangerous if they are forced into children’s minds at a young age. The girl at the beginning of the ad was an excited and precocious child, by the end she was a bored teenager. If her parents were 16

directly asked “how much would you restrict your child’s career path,” they’d probably be offended, but clearly they were responsible for some of the damage done. In Carol Dweck’s book Mindset: A New Psychology, she proposes that the less optimistic and open-minded someone is of their success, the less of a chance they have to succeed. In chapter five she discusses women in STEM. She looks at a group of students’ response to calculus class, a pivotal moment in a STEM career: a student’s ability to enjoy, understand, and do well in calculus will greatly affect and decide whether they want to continue a math-based major and pursue a career in this kind of work. Of the students who have a difficult time in calculus, women are more likely to have difficulties because of their professors treating them unfairly. Many of the female students Dweck interviewed pointed out professors who would say things like “good guess” when they answered questions correctly - professors who were always more encouraging of the male students for answering correctly. Much like how the encouragement of parents would have helped the girl in Inspire Her Mind, having good professors who help in introductory STEM courses can help women succeed in the field. Having a male-dominated field can lead to scientific bias as well. he TLC documentary The Great Sperm Race analyzes the human reproductive system and includes the opinions of several scientists. The narrator has a very sexist way of understanding the topic however. To begin with, he portrays the sperm as tiny people, trying to reach the egg, a big, floating, watery orb. He goes into great detail about the male reproductive system and describes the female’s as a big, scary cave the sperm must navigate through. The male production of thousands of sperm per minute, most of which are “doomed,” is seen as very vigorous and manly, whereas the female menstrual cycle is portrayed as wasteful. Finally, the terminology of sperm needing to “seek out,” “pursue,” “hunt for,” “penetrate,” and be aggressive strongly contrasts the egg which “waits patiently” for the sperm to pursue it. Finally, they had a male scientist featured who was referred to as an “expert” while a female scientist was unprofessionally referred to as a “sperm enthusiast.” This choice of words implied that the woman scientist should not even be considered as such solely on the base of her gender. Even though the credit of human reproduction should really be given equally to both genders, they managed to make the female role into “obstacles for sperm” instead of “grows baby inside.” The documentary was male-centric and lost some of its scientific credential be-

cause of how the views were expressed. Their ignorance of female scientists and their contributions prevented the documentary from having much scientific value.

“We live in a society where children’s behavior is policed, especially in the field of gender.”

hese problems are not unfixable, however. Many women have entered the STEM fields and are challenging lingering sexism. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), women seem to show more interest in STEM during grades K-12 than they pursue STEM degrees in higher education. The NGCP also notes that women in STEM concentrate in certain fields - women are much more represented in biological or medical fields than engineering or mathematics fields. They add that women of color or low income are also underrepresented in STEM. Carol Dwek also offers a solution to these inequalities. She said that female students who had a “growth mindset” were able to overcome the effects of the prejudice by working together. Here at Northeastern, we have many clubs for empowering women such as the Society of Women Engineers and nuWiT (Women in Technology). These clubs empower women in STEM majors to come together, recognize, and confront issues they care about in the field and to form a united front and work together. As Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, says at the end of Inspire Her Mind: “Our words can have a huge impact. Isn’t it time we told her she’s pretty brilliant, too? Encourage her love of science and technology and inspire her to change the world.”

RELATIONSHIPS

INCLUSIVITY & VIRGINITY Jessica Rouzen

osing the v-card, popping the cherry, getting de-flowered. Pop-culture loves to talk about virginity, and more importantly, losing it. We are bombarded with the idea that virginity is all important— it marks passage into adulthood, it changes you, it defines you. Yet despite this, there still isn’t a clear, collective understanding of what virginity is, and by extension, what sex is. A virgin is often defined as someone who has not had penetrative, typically heterosexual, sex. But this definition isn’t even inclusive of the entire heterosexual community, not to mention the entire spectrum of sexualities. There are many folks who are sexually active and practice non-penetrative sex, whether that be heterosexual couples, lesbians, or even some people along the asexual spectrum. The fact is virginity is a heteronormative concept, and so is how we typically define sex. First, sex can be oral or digital. It can be with someone else, or alone. And it is definitely not something everyone wants. In that way the concept of sex and virginity are both non-inclusive. In “We Need to Stop Using the Phrase ‘Lose Your Virginity,’” Laura Butler explains this point. She says “drawing a line in the sand designating virgins and non-virgins within the queer community is damaging to our understanding of how different types of relationships work… People’s sex lives are what they make of them. You can never tell a person— gay, straight or any other orientation or identity—how to have sex. And if you can’t decide what makes sex sex for any two (or more) people,

you can’t designate anyone a virgin.” Not only is the concept of virginity and our rigid definition of sex limiting, it has serious implications that divide women, and keep women in the dark. One person fighting against the limiting confines of Western culture’s definitions of sex is artist and activist Favianna Rodriguez. In her artwork she encourages women to embrace their sexuality, and empower them with knowledge 19

about their bodies and their pleasure. In “Favianna Rodriguez Talks Sexual Liberation, Immigration, Racial Justice and Art,” Rodriguez states “We live in such a phallic culture, and sex centralizes and uplifts men›s needs. We live in a culture that promotes rape culture, and women are either asexualized or they›re hypersexualized. They exist within this virgin-whore dichotomy. As a result, we don’t talk about wom-

en’s orgasms or women’s pleasure or the fact that women can have two types of orgasms: they can have clitoral orgasms and vaginal orgasms.” Society places such a huge focus on virginity determining a woman’s worth. Women are considered innocent, pure, and ideal if they are virgins, and considered sluts if they aren’t. This is how men are taught to view women, and often how women are taught to view themselves. This so-called “virgin-whore dichotomy” is one of the most limiting aspects of the concept of virginity. It separates women into binary camps and prevents women from coming together in solidarity. Because we focus more on the value of women based on their sexual experience we tend to ignore what women want in terms of experiencing their own pleasure. In the same interview Rodriguez explains, “one thing that I’ve learned in the sexual freedom movement is that often spaces embracing polyamory, kink and open relationships are very white. It’s unfortunate, because I think that our ability to express ourselves sexually has a lot to do with our ability to be human. If we don’t have that right or that space to explore ourselves in our fullest dimensions, then we are limiting ourselves. We are allowing oppression to limit our sexuality.”To be able to break the confines of society’s definitions of virginity and sex, people attempt to embrace this sexual freedom which Rodriguez discusses. However, it is not accessible to all people, particularly non-white women. This stems from a number of issues , but one of the most obvious is our lack of sexual education, and our inability to talk about sex in an inclusive way. Mimi Arbeit, a doctoral student in child development at Tufts University, considers critical analysis to be

an essential element in sexual education, according to the interview “The Academic Feminist: Transforming Sexual Education with Mimi Arbeit.” Arbeit explains, “Great sex education encourages students to think critically about the world around them. Students need words and strategies with which to identify messages and practices that constrain them. They need to have words for sexism, homophobia, and racism…. They need to discuss with each other the messages they get from family, friends, religion, and other institutions, and then they need to share their methods of resistance. They need to learn to question, and from there they need to learn to commu-

WE ARE BOMBARDED WITH THE IDEA THAT VIRGINITY IS ALL IMPORTANT—IT MARKS PASSAGE INTO ADULTHOOD, IT CHANGES YOU, IT DEFINES YOU. nicate, to cooperate and to create.” Empowering students by giving them the language to discuss their experiences can help overcome some of the assumptions we make about sex, particularly in regards to race and sexuality. Sexual education doesn’t usually talk about how some races are hyper-sexualized, fetishized, or aesexualized. . Empowering students to think about their experiences and using language that is inclusive of everyone can allow them to think critically about the ideas about sex that are perpetrated in the media, or by their families or friends. This can allow them to overcome some of the obstacles in their lives that are 20

likely not talked about. The idea of “virginity” is part of the language used that is limiting our discussion of sex and sensuality. Media and society drill this idea of penetrative sex being part of how we define a person. We limit who is included in discussions about sex when we talk about virginity because it inherently does not apply to everyone. Combatting the limiting confines of “virginity” starts with having sexual education that is more inclusive. Additionally, it is also important to recognize that not everyone wants to have sex, though it seems that way at times based on media’s obsession with it. However, it is not openly discussed with language that is more accessible and inclusive. Because of this it is hard for people, especially teenagers, to feel comfortable with their own sensuality. When we use limiting language, we separate people. They are prevented from being able to make decisions comfortably about their bodies. They are guilted into feeling there is something wrong with them if they are a virgin, or if they aren’t. Instead of separating people into “virgins” or “not virgins” we should get rid of the word all together and start focusing on how we can include everyone in discussions about sex and sensuality. Without education and access to information, it is difficult for women to embrace sexual freedom, whether that means having sex in some form or not having sex at all. If the only way people understand sex and virginity is through the depiction of it in the media, women will be lead to believe that there is something wrong with them whether they are a so-called virgin or not. We need to eradicate the notion of virginity in it’s entirety, and embrace that sex can mean many different things to many different people.

POLYAMORY’S PLACE IN THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT Alix Alto (Formerly Alix Getreu)

common polyamorist’s lament is that while poly practice isn’t terribly visible in our culture, support of or opposition to polyamory is often a stark and polar divide. As a society, we’re taught to believe that monogamy is The Way You Do Things™. Media representations of polyamory are limited to portrayals of abusive cults and swinger lifestyles. If a swinger couple is depicted, it normally involves a married couple who are in every other way personifications of what Audre Lorde called the “mythical norm” (Lorde referred to the most privileged members of a society, whose identities are assumed when discussing the common citizen, as the “mythical norm”). Depictions of members of an open relationship are overwhelmingly white, classically heterosexual, financially stable and/or prosperous, Christian to affirm their moral palpability to a critical viewership. Marriage, upheld in the U.S. for centuries as the compulsory and appropriate route of legitimizing romantic love and commitment, excludes those with multiple partners. Polyamorous people either choose one partner to be their primary - in control of their estate, medical health, property, and potentially their claim to their children and/or citizenship - or none. Mass-market romance is among the most dominant moral and media rhetoric, and from Deuteronomy

to Disney we’re breastfed on the idea that to be complete, you have to find your One True Love™ and stay together forever. This narrative is the foundation of amatonormativity, a construct that has insidious consequences when internalized. Amatonormativity preaches that your worth is determined by your ability to attract a partner, which compounds countless patriarchal models of gender roles in hetero relationships. It insists that romantic love is the true measure of human socio-emotional success, which devalues platonic friendships (and contributes to the sexist entitlement that enables the sustenance of the mythical “friendzone”) and undermines the basis of many poly romantic relationships. It teaches that romantic relationships have to be exclusive, long-lasting, and must fuse aspects of non-romantic life such as finances and family structure in order to be valid. It teaches that it’s better to be in a relationship than not to be, an abstraction which helps render abusive or otherwise unhealthy dynamics invisible. These messages, in addition to disproportionately targeting women, are extremely heteronormative and historically exclude same-sex partners and the unique considerations trans* and non-binary folks face.

espite the egregious risks to social cohesion and personal development amatonormativity poses, it’s seemingly ubiquitous. So perhaps understandably, polyamory is often presented as a novel (and therefore scandalous) alternative lifestyle. The rhetoric used to discuss polyamory typically portrays the practice as an in-your-face and ostentatious assertion of anti-establishment personal politics, or as a naive and misguided attempt to reify perversion. To deconstruct this dichotomy, we can consider polyamory’s storied and turbulent relationship to feminism. While some feminists consider polyamory sex-positive, queer-positive, and resistant to hegemonic structure, others consider it a sex-saturated aberration, which serves male entitlement and phallocentric sexuality. Further com-

cation; to prevent resentment, you have an obligation to examine and confront your insecurities, to communicate openly with your partner(s), to be a supportive listener and collaborator, and always to respect the autonomy of your partner(s) and yourself. It’s about exploring and expanding your own concept of your sexuality and your ability to be intimate, a domain historically denied to women and trans*/non-binary individuals, and about charting your own relationship between your identity and your sexuality. It’s about choice, opportunity, and respect for autonomy. And because of its proximity to sexuality and oftentimes to queerness, those who practice compose a marginalized community, with which feminists should advocate. But to write polyamory off as a terminally feminist practice is to do a disservice to polyamorists and feminists alike. It conflates their ideologies As a society, we’re taught to be- in ways that disrupt the meaning of both. Further, it lieve that monogamy is The Way erases how feminists both against and for polyamory have historically mistreated polyamory and polyamorYou Do Things™. ists through cultural erasure, condemnation of practice plicating matters, feminist ideology has often been appro- and practitioners, esessentialist narratives, the academpriated by opponents to polyamory to support their crit- ization of polyamory, and the erasure of intersectionicisms, speaking on behalf of women but not necessarily al identities and experiences within the community. reflecting the more nuanced syllogism which support the Polyamory is “a form of relationfeminist logics and praxes (think Donald Trump asserting “I will take care of women” in the same breath as his ship where it is possible, advocacy to eradicate abortion access - not exactly a femvalid and worthwhile to maintain inist hero). Generally, it’s either championed steadfastly (usually long-term) intimate and and fervently or - more commonly - heavily stigmatized. For something talked about with such passion, it sexual relationships with multiple seems that not a lot of people really know what polyamopartners simultaneously.” ry is. The prompt “is polyamory” into the Google search bar yields the results “legal”, “a sexuality”, “real”, “an ori In her article “‘Christian Nations’,‘Polygamic Racentation”, and “a sin”. And any out poly person could es’ and Women’s Rights: Toward a Genealogy of Non/ speak to the microaggressions, the prying questions, and Monogamy and Whiteness”, Andrea Willey discusses the constant conflation of polyamory and polygamy. first-wave feminists’ opposition to polyamory. She reports o what is polyamory? In a 2006 article, preemi- on how early American feminists, seeking assimilation nent sexuality researchers Haritaworn, Lin, and into patriarchal structures, moved away from a critique of Klesse defined polyamory as “a form of rela- how asymmetrical gender dynamics were inscribed in the tionship where it is possible, valid and worthwhile to institution of marriage to a racialized, paternalistic “Othmaintain (usually long-term) intimate and sexual re- ering” of polyamorist Mormon women. These early femlationships with multiple partners simultaneously”. inists not only denounced the practice as anti-woman, but In an often misunderstood, fundamentally variable, as anti-feminist; they often called on women in polygaand historically decentralized population, even this mous marriages to “free themselves” of their “bindings” well-cited definition is up for individual interrogation. hough the feminist movement has progressed So is polyamory feminist? In theory, definitely. It largely to support polyamory, this early history is emphasizes that to achieve relationship justice, you must especially important to note because racist, colomeet partners where they are instead of imposing norma- nialist arguments are still employed by opponents to polytive narratives and standards of behavior. It establishes a amory. Many online and generally accessible pro-poly restandard of self-examination, disclosure, and communi- sources, such as the “History” section of the Polyamory

Rational Wiki, which dates polyamory to Mormon practice in nineteenth century America, and anti-poly sentiment, which commonly denounces the practice on theoretical grounds as if it were experimental and its results still unknown, efface the global history of polyamory. Amatonormative essentialists, anti-polyamory feminists, and pro-polyamory feminists alike often miss that it’s not a new phenomenon. In actuality, polyamory (the operational definition being equitable multiple-partner love, not limited to religiously informed polygamy and not including social structures which necessitate power asymmetry) has been practiced throughout human history and has been removed from collective memory by imperialist intervention. The Ancient Greeks, famed for the sexual

practitioners from the discussion. This is not only necessary for true inclusion, but also especially important in poly communities, where abuse can take on forms unique and difficult to identify, and where discrimination can bar individuals from accessing already scarce resources. olyamory is an inherently feminist ideology because it emphasizes the equitable and just treatment of all parties, especially important to women and gender/sexual minorities who have long been subjugated in romantic and sexual negotiations. But as feminists, we have to do better by polyamorists. We need to move away from the models that portray polyamory as either a naturalistic essentialism or as an affected resistance to hegemony. We need to acknowledge polyamory’s place in the cultures and lives of people we often erase from our history. We need to make poly theory, epidemiology, community networks, and open-access resources less esoteric. This is essential in eradicating racism, classism, transphobia, and other forms of oppression from the community, especially necessary if we want to claim that polyamory is a sanctuary from institutional discrimination. So is polyamory feminist? It can and should be.

In actuality, polyamory has been practiced throughout human history and has been removed from collective memory by imperialist intervention.

freedoms they practiced, often engaged in polyamorous behavior. The Mosuo of China have “walking marriages” in which sex is dependent on mutual affection, sex is not limited to married partners, and marriage is not the defining characteristic of social status. Further still, Lisa Kahaleole Hall writes about how the colonization of Hawai’i by American Christians included the prohibition of polyamory, which was a foundational aspect of sexual culture for indigenous Hawai’ians. When feminists and polyamory opponents alike discount how discourses on polyamory have been shaped by ecopolitical racism, we both disrespect those affected and fail to fully contextualize the legitimacy of polyamory as a relationship choice. Contemporary feminist handling of polyamory sees it either imposed universally as the end-all superior lifestyle choice or caged inside esoteric feminist theory and accessible to few. Willey describes how many polyamorous feminists insist that polyamory is actually the natural human way and that monogamy is an artifice. This argument is problematic: naturalism as an argument for human sexuality doesn’t capture the spectrum along which polyamory occurs, it creates divisive binaries, and it’s antithetical to true inclusivity because it further prescribes sexuality as a non-agentive process. Haritaworn, Lin, and Klesse also outline how texts and resources to those navigating a polyamorous identity are overwhelmingly academic texts or “common person’s” self-help books. Our “othering” of polyamory and our relinquishment of conversations about it to self-help and academic contexts remove many 23

THE SOUND OF POWER & CONTROL Kaitlin Moua

ccording to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, “1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have been victims of some form of physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime,” and, on an average day, over 20,000 calls are placed to domestic violence hotlines across the USA. And although domestic violence is a prominent issue that can affect people of all backgrounds, when taking intersectionality into account, these statistics become even more drastic. In order to look at this with intersectionality, we must examine how the issue of domestic violence differs amongst people because of their ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic class, sexuality, etc. As explained by Kimberle Crenshaw in her report, Mapping the Margins. “Intervention strategies based solely on the experiences of women who do not share the same class or race backgrounds will be of limited help to women who, because of race and class, face different obstacles.” These obstacles can include navigating through language barriers, trying to find resources in underfunded communities, and seeking help in communities where one’s culture may discourage them from speaking up. I had never seen the Power and Control Wheel until recently. Beforehand, I knew that toxic and abusive relationships could manifest themselves in both physical and nonphysical ways, and that the latter, due to its invisible nature, was harder to recognize as abuse, even though it’s just as valid. The Power and Control Wheel is a diagram that does an excellent job at identifying eight different types of nonphysical abuse

and divides them into separate, but equally important categories. As neat as this diagram looks on paper though, in real life situations, it’s still sometimes understandably hard to distinguish spokes of abuse in the Power and Control Wheel. In Surviving Domestic Violence: Voices of the Women Who Broke Free, Elaine Weiss writes “Some domestic abuse experts write of the ‘cycle of violence,’ drawing diagrams of perfect rectangles and circles, models of clarity and precision, to illustrate this pattern of abuse. But I never saw a pattern, because I never knew I should be looking for one.” I think one contributor to this ambiguity is the media we consume and the ways in which it masks abusive behavior in a romantic light. Abusive behaviors are often placed in the contexts of romantic love and are portrayed as caring sentiments, instead of being addressed as warning signs in toxic relationships. Examples can range all the way from the lyrics of childhood songs like You Are My Sunshine (I’ll always love you and make you happy/If you will only say the same/But if you leave me to love another/ You’ll regret it all someday) to today’s Top 40 like Nick Jonas’ Jealous, impacting a very wide age range of audiences. With love being a very popular subject for musicians to sing about, it’s important think about the songs to which we all listen, and examine what toxic behaviors their lyrics may be promoting. Even though many songs are not ill-intended, the impact they have on us override their intentions. By conveying toxic behaviors as romantic sentiments or using heartbreak to justify dangerous 24

actions, lyrics like these contribute to society’s unstated, Isolation: and even encouraging view towards abusive relationships. “I want a girl who will laugh for no one else/When I’m away she puts her makeup on the shelf/When I’m away she never leaves the house/I want a girl Intimidation: “You like to think you broke the mold // But now who laughs for no one else” No One Else || Weezer I’m sure // You’ll crack just like the rest when Why this is problematic: I // Break your fucking jaw” The Best Thing The isolation aspects of this song are quite obvi(That Never Happened) || We Are The In Crowd ous. The expectation for another person to put their lives on hold or cut out everyone else from their lives Why this is problematic: Even though a girl sings this song, it is still definitely prob- to make room for you are sure signs of abuse in that lematic since, as stated before, 1 in 4 men also face do- these are controlling and unrealistic demands of any mestic abuse, though it is less discussed. Though this line human being. Having someone be your “everything” may elicit responses of praise from audiences labeling it as leads one to rely completely on their partner and “girl power”, this sort of feedback minimizes the damage be helpless without him or her. In addition, forcing done towards men in abusive relationships, in addition someone to make you their everything is even worse. to toxic masculinity discouraging men from speaking up about being abused, since society places them as the pin- Minimizing, denying, and blaming: nacle of strength and women as the weaker counterpart. “I mean no disrespect/It’s my right to be hellish/I still get jealous/’Cause you’re too sexy, beautiful/ And everybody wants to taste” Jealous || Nick Jonas Emotional Abuse: “Damn you stupid girl. Why won’t you drop your guard? Why this is problematic: // The space between our lips is bound to break my Aside from the blatant objectification of the girlfriend ever aching heart // And I am sure that you will never by acting as if she’s a piece of meat that everyone wants find a man that is ever gonna love you more // So why for themselves instead of a sentient human being with won’t you love me? // Well I hate your cigarettes and her own autonomy, this song is problematic in that it the men that you go see // Because one is killing you, completely revolves around obsession and jealousy and while the other’s killing me” Aware || Front Porch Step territorial over-protectiveness, feelings that play a major role in toxic relationships, without ever acknowledging Why this is problematic: Though the song sounds like a sweet acoustic lulla- that these feelings are wrong. Instead, the song justiby, when the lyrics are stripped away from the melo- fies these lyrics by playing these behaviors as just little dy, the sentiments raise clear alarms about the abusive acts of love and care instead of a big red danger sign. and emotionally manipulative feelings of a guy who is frustrated that his friend doesn’t return his feelings. As Using children: a result, this leads to him trying to make her feel guilty “Don’t make me wake this, baby // She don’t need to for being the cause of all his pains, in addition to using see what I’m about to do // Quit crying, b*tch, why do them as an excuse to insult her and make her feel stu- you always make me shout at you?” Kim || Eminem pid for not seeing what a Nice Guy™ he is for caring Why this is problematic: so much about her. I understand that unrequited love is I don’t listen to Eminem, but someone told me to lishard on a person, but it’s not justifiable to use the an- ten to this song recently, so when I read the Wheel, this ger against someone who can’t do anything about how was the first song that instantly came to mind. Through they feel towards you. There’s a difference between be- the lyrics you can clearly tell how he is using children as ing upset that someone doesn’t like you, and being upset a tool to manipulate his partner’s behavior by silencing AT someone for not liking you. The last line about the her. This song is very traumatic, so as a warning, one cigarettes and men also irk me because it’s: “Why aren’t should be prepared before listening to it. The majority you pleasing me and ignoring everyone else?” disguised as of the song is interspersed with a lot of screaming and “I care so much for you and know what’s best for you.” violence and the main sentiment is “You wronged me and I love you, that’s why I am behaving this way.” Love should never be an excuse to abuse or inflict violence on a person but it is often disguised as so. Although many of us in this class are probably aware of the problem 25

atic elements of Eminem’s music, keep in mind that the majority of his audience is young teen boys. In creating music that seems to justify these actions and this behavior, it easily influences these minds into thinking this is normal and okay, when it is most definitely not at all.

Economic abuse:

“But I gotta go and write these songs // So you don’t have to get a job //And you just smile at me and drift back into sleep” Whatever Forever || The Mowgli’s Why this is problematic: This song is pretty much the happiest song in the world, and I definitely do not think that it’s ill-intended at all, but still, as stated before, impact overrides intention. Although it is not always possible to be fully economically independent, romanticizing the idea that one can completely depend economically on another person can lead to toxic consequences. In addition, one should not use his or her partner as an economic support and put exert all their economic weight upon them. Helping each other out is a sweet gesture and should be a part of healthy relationships but in excessive amounts, this can lead to dangerous overly dependent behaviors.

Male Privilege:

“Yes I do the cooking // Yes I do the cleaning // Plus I keep the na-na real sweet for your eating // Yes you be the boss and yes I be respecting” Hey Mama || David Guetta and Nicki Minaj Why this is problematic: I was surprised Nicki partook in singing this part of the song, seeing as I respect her for always advocating her fans to not depend on men and to stand up for themselves as independent women. The “You be the boss” part implies a certain hierarchical role that each person in the relationship should play that I feel uneasy about.

Coercion and Threats:

“If it makes you less sad // I will die by your hand” The Boy Who Blocked His Own Shot || Brand New Why this is problematic: Even though this is probably my favorite song in the world, I think it’s important to dissect and be aware of the media that you personally enjoy, too. This song plays these lyrics off as the nicest thing a person should do for someone they love, but if the person really loved you, they’d never ask of this from you. It shouldn’t be seen as such a romantic or sweet gesture to be willing to give your life up for someone else, even though it’s

basically the epitome of the “they made Ultimate Sacrifice for love” scenario that’s been seen throughout Hollywood, to the extent where it is now just so exhausting and overused. In a healthy relationship, “Ultimate Sacrifices” shouldn’t even be there as an option given to you by someone who supposedly loves you. Even if this line isn’t interpreted as a suicidal threat, I don’t think one should ever feel obligated to give up and sacrifice this much in order to please another person. I think loving people is important but I think loving yourself and respecting yourself and acknowledging the importance of your well-being and happiness is just as crucial. “Tell me I’m just a baby, honey//Beat me and tell me no one will love me//Better than you do// Better than you do” Smarty || Lana Del Rey Why this is problematic: I don’t even know why she’s blatantly promoting violence. While these lyrics to her may seem dark and edgy, it’s a reality for many women. By saying, “no one can love you better than I can”, abusers convince their victims into believing that they are their best option and there is no way out of the relationship, which allows the cycle of abuse to ensue.

ven though many of these and other songs containing lyrics that may be romanticizing or promoting abusive behaviors are songs we often listen to and enjoy it’s important to examine the things we do like in addition to things we know already to be problematic and the effects these things could be having in shaping our perceptions of what is right and wrong when it comes to relationships. In the end, I think one of the hardest parts of being in a toxic relationship (whether romantic or platonic!) is realizing you are in one in the first place because spokes of the Power and Control Wheel are often disguised as gestures of love, and this is so often seen throughout popular (and alternative) media that we ourselves can’t even detect it in our favorite songs, much less our personal daily lives.

Colin Thompson

WE BARE NO BRUISES

y world was falling apart, and I was the one to only happened to older people in relationships. There was be blamed. Every second of the day I was tied no possible way that I was in an emotionally abusive relato my phone so I could reply to his messages tionship; this type of thing doesn’t happen to gay people. the instant I got them. Every time I was invited to go out Emotional abuse, as described by psychiatrist and psywith friends I lied and told them I had too much home- chotherapist Marie-France Hirigoyen, can culminate into work-- but I was really staying in so I could Skype him. a “virtual murder of the soul.” Despite being psychologI hadn’t eaten a square meal in days because it wasted ically debilitating, few recognize this abuse as legitimate. too much time that could be spent talking on the phone. Many do not acknowledge emotional abuse because the But still, I came up short every day. Every day we would aggression is more muted than physical abuse. Due to fight, cry, and make up. Every week we would take a the lack of physical traces it is often reduced to being break, that would end an hour after it started because we called a “love spat” or the occasional argument. By triviboth couldn’t bear to be apart from each other. I grew alizing emotional abuse and deeming it something that is lethargic and devoid of any emotions, my only concern habitual in relationships, many fall prey and have trouble being the happiness of my boyfriend. recognizing or admitting that their signifWhile dating him, as the months went “Emotional abuse... icant other is emotionally abusing them. by, I began to notice several changIt is important to recognize that abuse, es in my body. I lost almost twenty can culminate into in all of its complex forms, exists across pounds in the course of two months. a ‘virtual murder of all boundaries of society. According to I no longer had any desire to get up in Kimberlé Crenshaw, a leading scholthe soul.’” the morning. I couldn’t bring myself ar in race and gender issues, abuse is to do any of my schoolwork. My mother began notic- ubiquitous in society despite racial, ethnic, economic, ing these sudden changes in my personality and became educational, and religious differences. In a 2013 study more and more concerned. She would ask me almost ev- of 1,058 people ages fourteen to twenty and of unery day what was making me so upset or why it had been disclosed sexualities, it was found that 41% of young so long since I’d gone out and socialized with friends. De- women and 37% of young men had experienced abuse spite her concerns, I felt that there really wasn’t anything of all kinds while in a relationship. Until recently, few bad happening. The fights and the crying were normal. studies have been conducted focusing on abuse in I was always told that the biggest part of love is work, LGBTQQIAAP relationships. There is little emphasis and I saw all of this as a big hurdle I needed to pass over on these studies, making it difficult for many to fully viin order to be happy. Every day I had to tell myself that sualize the prevalence of abuse in the gay community. every couple has to go through fighting and sadness in Toward the end of our relationship, my boyfriend and I order to be happy. I blamed myself repeatedly for our couldn’t be separated for more than a moment without stress and strain. Everything I did was not enough and I either one of us going into hysterics. If I dozed off for didn’t deserve to have someone love me like he did. When a few minutes, I would wake up to twenty texts harassing I asked my friends for advice, they questioned if there me and inquiring why I hadn’t said hello or responded was emotional abuse occurring. I would almost instantly to a question. This got so extreme that eventually I was shoot this idea down. I felt that abuse was something that afraid to go out, because I had no idea if where I was 27

going for dinner would have signal that I could use for sive relationship. Countless others are not able to do the our instant messaging. I literally felt trapped in my room. same. Women of color and queer individuals in particular My sole purpose in life was to appease him in every way, lack an easily accessible outlet where they can go to. An and all I wanted was to make him happy. If I was able individual may be living in a family whose culture views to make him happy, maybe I could finally stop our fight- going to mental health professionals as unnecessary. Many ing every day. Maybe if I stopped messing up so much feel like their past traumas will be dug back up and they and not replying to his texts late, we could finally love would have to relive all of the pain they initially experieach other again. Maybe if I was a betenced. Many cannot afford it to begin with, ter boyfriend, I could finally be happy. “An individual’s due to lack of healthcare insurance. AddiI moved through life as though I had tionally, because of mandatory reporting experience of blinders on. I was unable to see my policies that require doctors to report to abuse remains police when an individual has sustained life falling apart around me, because the only thing I was truly dedicated to an injury due to abuse, many fear seeking carved in their was his happiness. When asking others medical help when abused. These policies memories and can for advice on what I should do to keep will often times prevent immigrant women him happy, I would frequently hear re- constantly be re- from seeking medical attention or reachsponses like “just get up and leave” and ing out for help when they are suffering lived.” “he doesn’t even live close-by why are you this from abuse. For example, undocumented upset.” However, the solution did not feel that simple. immigrants fear that by seeking medical attention, they Eventually, my feelings reached a breaking point. I had will expose their legal status and be deported with their frequent outbursts of emotions and couldn’t manage families. Some immigrant women also depend on their my anger. I lashed out at my parents and friends, and husbands for their legal status. Under constant threat my fights with my boyfriend and I became more in- of deportation by their husbands, these women will not tense. My mother grew weary of asking why I had been report the abuse they suffer. For victims being abused, acting so strangely for the past few months. She decid- being able to confide in someone that they can trust ed to place me in weekly counselling sessions. With- and relate to is imperative. However, it is important to in weeks of speaking to a mental health profession- note that counseling is not always an accessible resource. al, I discovered the many aspects of my relationship So now I am here before you, fully exposed. I am a that were toxic and causing my mental deterioration. survivor of mental abuse that crippled me in countless However, while counselling proved to be an excellent ways. Although I do not have physical scars, the trauma resource for me, it is not always the ultimate solution I have experienced is more than real. Abuse has never for someone suffering from abuse. Ana Clarissa Ro- been a pretty topic, and never will be. It exists in many jas Durazo describes the western institutionalization, or forms across society, and is not always something right medicalization, of abuse as changing the social issue of in front of your face. Regardless of the fact, all forms of abuse to one of medical nature. Rather than fixing the abuse are legitimate and real. But as long as it is treated issue of domestic violence on the societal level, abuse is as a medical anomaly rather than a societal issue, little now seen as a ‘disease’ that affects only individuals. With progress will ever be made for those who are suffering. the medicalization of abuse came the idea that counseling is society’s ultimate vaccine against this issue. Even with counseling, there still remain remnants of these past abuses. According to Hirigoyen, these past abusive relationships can impact one’s psychological processes. While an individual may seem to by psychologically stable, there are still some small symptoms that could exist. An individual’s experience of abuse remains carved in their memories and can constantly be relived. I was lucky that I was privileged with wealthy parents who were able to find help in the form of counseling, which taught me what abuse looks like, and how to detect these red flags before I find myself in another emotionally abu28

RACE & ETHNICITY

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY [WHITE, STRAIGHT, CISGENDER] BROTHER Intersectionality in Feminism 101 by Emily Iverson

o my younger brother:

this or that, with no options in between). There are complex issues that exist beyond women and men, beyond I’m writing this letter to you because our relation- blacks and whites, and beyond gay and straight people. ship deserves some bolstering. Ever since you showed me a video featuring a woman rattling off all of the Looking at how these different parts of people’s idenreasons why she isn’t a feminist, I’ve had a hard time tities affect the way they exist in and move through our speaking to you about issues that are important to me. world is called intersectionality. As Audre Lorde so elThe conversations that we do have are tense, piece- oquently explains in her piece “Age, Race, Class and meal, and riddled with assumptions from both ends. Sex: Women Redefining Difference”, we must move I’m requesting your open mind as you read this letter. from the refusal of differences amongst people at different intersections to the recognition and acknowlBetween your retweets of the so-called satirical-- but edgement of the complex and varied issues facing them. inherently sexist-- @MeninistTweet account and your That recognition is the “more” that feminists want. conditioned responses to my questions, I have a lot of ideas to go over with you. Instead of throwing a bunch There’s another idea I would like you to consider before we of definitions at you, I’m going to construct responses move forward. People view the world differently dependto some statements you’ve made as we’ve both grown ing on how they’re situated in the world, which is approand learned about women’s, gender, and sexuality issues. priately named standpoint theory. You’ve probably never had to question your identity, right? Can you imagine how One other thing before we dig deep: this article is not difficult it would be for someone to simultaneously figmeant to shame you. I’m asking you to consider a ure out who they are and face persecution because of it? new way of thinking that may make you feel uncomfortable—and I hope that with this challenge, may- Engaging in dialogue that discounts others’ identibe a change will come in how you view other people. ties and puts yours on a pedestal is harmful and counterproductive. Looking at you, @MeninistTweet. 1. “Men and women are already equal. What more do you want? More man-hating?” 2. I didn’t ask to be born white or straight. I’m not against women or minorities so why am I always being Feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploita- blamed for other people’s problems? tion, and oppression. Feminism is not man-hating, feminism is an all-inclusive movement that wants to change Society puts value on certain identities (think whiteness, the way society values certain types and parts of identi- heterosexuality, able-bodied, cis-gendered, masculine ties over others. Within this definition, there’s room for traits), giving those within these identities more power all kinds of identities to be acknowledged-- class, age, than those who don’t fall into those identity categories. race, sexual orientation, physical & mental ability, and I’m sure you’ve heard the word “privilege” thrown around, gender, among others. People’s identities can be made up and I’m here to tell you that it’s real, and certain parts of endless combinations of these characteristics. Thus, of your identity award you unearned benefits. One privthe issues that feminism addresses are not binary (read: ilege is white skin, and an article called “White Privilege: 30

Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, Peggy McIntosh ex- 3. But what do you want me to do? plains the idea of white racial privilege well : “White skin in the U.S. opens many doors for white whether or not we Here’s what you can do. Stop following sexist Twitter approve of the way dominance has been conferred on us.” accounts that retract from the momentum that feminists work so hard to create. Next, listen to stories from And here’s where I need you to tune in. A study done people who have different identities than you do, and last summer by Phillips and Lowery of Stanford out- understand that the way you may perceive them is belines that privilege is either “present or absent, as a cause of your own identity. Ask questions about the function of group membership”. Whether or not oppression they face. Finally, take a step down from you approve of the power you have, it’s there. You trying to defend yourself, and ask yourself if there are were born with it. Acknowledging that it exists, and other intersections’ concerns that deserve a louder voice. that it puts you in a better position than people who don’t fall at the same intersection as you, is critical. This is why: the power that privilege awards you, and people at your intersection, is ingrained in our systems and institutions. Straight, white men benefit from the way that our institutions propel them forward, but also from the way that society pushes other people down. For example, a 2010 study called “Race and Gender Oppression in the Classroom: The Experiences of Women Faculty of Color with White Male Students” showed that women faculty and minority faculty receive more negative evaluations than their white male counterparts. These structural oppressions show up in personal narratives that studies like this work to uncover. The study is full of stories of nonwhite female professors who are consistently disrespected and undermined by white male university students, who tend to think of white male professors as the norm. The study concludes, “A nonwhite woman professor violates this image of normalcy. White male students may be interpreted as questioning the teaching competence of women faculty of color to reassert their dominance and restore the normative status quo.” You may be thinking that a few stories don’t constitute a societal problem. You may think, “Oh, that’s just a few bad apples.” But, I challenge you to ask your friends whose identities are different than yours for their own narratives. I can guarantee you that you will find stories that occur within different circumstances with similar takeaways. You will find a pattern. In other words, you’re not being blamed. You’re not being attacked and you’re not being accused. You’re being asked to become conscious of these oppressions taking place, how you benefit from them, and actively have more conversations about them. 31

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF CANADA: Present But Forgotten Audrey Leduc

anada is often mocked as being the hat of the Today, only 4.3% of the population is recognized as United States or simply a large country where aboriginal, which roughly translates to about 1.4 milsubzero temperatures are normal. However, peo- lion people. They are broken down into three maple tend to ignore the rich history of this country that I jor groups: First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. The call home. Although the land mass only officially became greater majority of indigenous people live in Yuknown as Canada in 1867, its story dates back to as early kon, the Northwest Territories, and in Nunavut. as 1535 when French colonizer Jacques Cartier arrived in Due to the often remote settings of indigenous villages, what is geographically identified today as Quebec City. the Canadian media has a large role in creating an image of Cartier saw this land as a blank slate, a place where the these people that will then be reflected for other CanadiFrench Empire could expand at a time when large Eu- ans to see. Since the majority of Canadians will never visit ropean countries were racing one another in the growth a First Nations village, they are entirely dependent on the of their territory. An increase in territory at that time media to paint a picture of aboriginal people’s current sitmeant a large increase in power, uation. However, the line between the which was seen as highly desirable. reality and fiction can easily be mudIT IS BELIEVED Cartier was surprised to be greetdled due to the media’s power to alter THAT AROUND ed on this new land by indigenous or portray stories in the light of their inhabitants along the St. Lawrence choosing Currently, it is well known 48% OF INDIGRiver. Although it is commonacross Canada that many aboriginal ENOUS PEOPLE ly believed that they were defenpeople struggle with substance abuse sive in regards to their land, these WERE ERADICATED and have alarmingly high rates of suiindigenous people were actually cide and depression. In fact, according POST-EUROPEAN quite welcoming to Cartier and his to a survey conducted in First Nations crew. It is estimated that the aband Inuit communities, 75% of resiARRIVAL original population in what is geodents felt that alcohol use is a probgraphically known as Canada today numbered anywhere lem within their community, especially amongst males. As between 200,000 and 500,000. Evidence shows that such, a negative image that is perpetuated through media they had been present on the land as early as 8000 BC! is associated with these people. Derogatory names such as As colonization continued to expand throughout the “Indian” and “Eskimo” are still used to refer to the larger continent, indigenous people gradually became affected spectrum of these indigenous groups. Due to this poor by a variety of diseases such as smallpox and measles, media coverage, they are looked down upon by the gento which they were not immune. As a result of these ep- eral Canadian population and are commonly associated idemics, it is believed that around 48% of indigenous with mental health and addiction issues, which leads most people were eradicated post European arrival. In fact, Canadians to believe that they are “second-class citizens”. by 1867, only between 100,000 and 125,000 members The strides and cultural strengths of these communiof the aboriginal population were left, of which 10,000 ties are overshadowed by their mediatized weaknesses. were Métis, a term used to describe those who shared the One of the reasons for this belief is not only due to the blood of European colonizers and indigenous people. portrayal of indigenous people in the media, but also be32

cause of their geographical location. Although they all provides a clear and defined divide, another “them and live within provinces that are recognized as being a part us” situation that separates the population, even though of Canada, their physical placement in relation to the rest these three territories geographically represent one third of the country separates them. There is a clear provincial of Canada’s land. This results in the erasure of native delimitation between the North and the rest of the coun- legacy, history, and spoken language because Canadians try. A geographical line is drawn south of the borders of ignore the issues that face these communities because Nunavut, the Yukon Territory, and the Northwest Terri- they are so far away from the rest of the population. tories, separating them from the southernmost provinces Another interesting source to examine is Sheila of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manito- Watt-Cloutier, a Canadian Inuit rights activist, who is presba. This issue in mapping creates a “them and us” situation ent on both the national and international scene to shed that allows widespread desensitization to many issues that light on the history of her people and the specific issues arise in aboriginal communities due to the physical dis- that face them. One of the main points that she made tance between these communities. In fact, the majority of in a speech given in 2006 at the Inuit Circumpolar ConCanadians live near the border of the United States, which ference was the urgency of global warming and climate places people at the southern and northern most extremes. change and the large repercussions that could be seen One important text that can be used to examine this issue within her community. For example, melting ice means at another level is Lisa Kahaleole Hall’s “Navigating Our relocation for certain communities. It also means that the Own Sea of Islands”. Although the article specifically ex- food chain has been upset and that Inuits in particular amines the islands of Hawaii, there are a multitude of cannot practice hunting activities that they have been traparallels that can be tied to the ditionally performing for thouproblem of erasure of indigene- THIS ISSUE IN MAPPING sands of years because it has beity in Canada. One of the ideas come unsafe or unsuccessful. Yet CREATES A “THEM AND that Hall addresses is the myth when these issues are brought that the North American contiUS” SITUATION THAT to light in different contexts, it nent was filled with indigenous to summon the urgenALLOWS WIDESPREAD iscy hard people who were a part of the of the matter because it is “untamed wilderness”, waiting to DESENSITIZATION TO not something that the majority be colonized by more “civilized” of Canadians are experiencing. MANY ISSUES THAT people. This can be connected Watt-Cloutier also alludes to the back to all of the people that live ARISE IN ABORIGINAL issue of ethnocentrism that negin Canada’s Great North and are atively affects Canadian people. COMMUNITIES looked down upon, often seen as For example, she brings up the being uncivilized, uneducated, and in constant need of help. fact that global climate change has upset the balance in Hall also addresses the importance of the literal map- snowfall and that certain regions are not getting enough ping of a territory and how the division and labeling of snow. For many Canadians, this is seen as a nuisance and states, provinces, or territories can have a negative effect as more shoveling, but to Inuit people, snow is essential to on the land’s perception by others. She says, “represen- their mobility and their survival and any upset in this baltations of physical territory are an integral part of na- ance can be extremely detrimental to the perpetuation of tion building and imperialism” which is extremely rel- their culture. Most memorably, she notes that global climate evant to the case of indigenous people in Canada and change would be perceived in a radically different way if it perpetuates this feeling of detachment from aboriginal was considered a “debate in the arena of human rights”. issues. Although there are no parts of Canada that are Canadians have an incredibly important responsibilicut out of map representations or added as insets, there ty starting today in making sure that indigenous people is a large problem simply in their nomenclature. Canada from Canada are not assimilated or alienated, but rather has 10 provinces and 3 territories, and it is hard to believe celebrated for their cultural richness. The media in parthat it is a coincidence that the majority of indigenous ticular will have to play a key role in displaying these 1.4 people happen to live in these 3 territories. The 2011 million people in a positive light, one that accurately ilcensus revealed that 0.3% of the Canadian population lustrates their story, their struggles, their successes, and lives in these territories who together represent 39.3% their crucial role in Canada’s history and development. of the national total area. The literal difference in name 33

“WOMEN ARE BAD DRIVERS” Tessa Low Yun

“Men are better with tools.” “Women are psychologically inclined to be nurturing and less aggressive because, in prehistoric times, they took up nursing duties while their husbands were out hunting.”

Tellingly, as science has advanced, more and more biological categories have been dissolved or fragmented. That, however, has not prevented pseudoscientific factoids as old as time—especially those concerning the differences between people in said categories—from persist-

“...we must first discard the notion that science is completely objective, and begin to recognise that it serves political and corporate interests.”

“Men have tunnel vision because, in prehistoric times, it helped them focus on their prey while they were hunting.”

hen defending their prejudices, many pseudo-intellectuals enjoy falling back on science to bulletproof their arguments. They frequently cite “well-known” studies that have “shown” that men are naturally better at some things, and women at others, or that particular races have particular proclivities, as if these were unalterable biological laws. Once the science card is played, discussion either halts completely, or becomes a mad scramble to (dis)prove claims with Google. These people are often so convinced of their rightness that it becomes nigh impossible to shake their belief, short of calling upon another evolutionary biologist’s or cultural anthropologist’s findings, which one typically does not have on hand. Science has always been a terrible basis for constructing an understanding of human identity. Identity categories barely exist in any empirical form, let alone any precedent for the stereotypes we attach to them.

ing among the general public, and informing prejudice. “But these studies exist!” one might feel inclined to protest. Perhaps they do, but these findings are the product of a system that has historically been rigged in favour of the groups in power. So, while it would not make sense to claim that all science is rubbish, it would be worth considering that at least some of it might be skewed by these imbalances. Now, one might ask, how could science possibly be biased when it is, by definition, founded upon the very idea of objective inquiry? Simple: 1. Scientific research is not absolutely objective. It serves the interests of those who perform, fund, approve and publish research. 2. Interpreters of experimental results— even the most highly-qualified—are not objective, and are subject to confirmation bias. 12

Indeed, while the scientific method is unbiased, the industry that generates, interprets and reifies the results is not. Before we can begin unpacking the scientific industry’s embedded racism and sexism, we must first discard the notion that science is completely objective, and begin to recognise that it serves political and corporate interests.

Biology and Politics

iological organisms, by nature, defy categorization. Every organism is a physical reflection of their unique genetic blueprint. It is tempting to think of organisms existing in its own disrete category, but the truth is, precise boundaries do not exist between species and subspecies.There is no simple way to differentiate them from another, not even reproductive ability. This concept can be extended into the realm of anthropology. The spectrum of human existence and identity is so vast that in order to construct an accurate understanding of race, one must consider every single existing individual and realize in the process that the standards by which we draw the lines are completely arbitrary. Likewise, “man” and “woman” are constructed categories that do not do credit to the complexity of human expression. Nothing in a person’s physiology suggests, for example, that a person of a particular gender should prefer pink or blue—and yet we force these dichotomized norms on children from the moment they are born. We might claim that gender has physiological basis, but even the rigidity of that binary is questionable: intersex bodies—bodies that defy sexual categorization—arise naturally from genetic variation. One might claim that intersex people are abnormal because their anatomical differences often render them incapable of reproducing. But one must then question that basis of categorization: Why is reproductive ability the criterion by which we determine the validity of a person’s identity? Why are intersex people considered “abnormal” when the elderly are not considered “damaged”? These categories, as some research and inquiry will lead one to realize, have almost nothing to do with biology, and far more to do with the legislation and control of bodies—essentially, determining who has what rights. And science has a long history of being manipulated to reinforce them.

The scientific industry is racist and sexist

The scientific industry is a system of educational structures, laboratories and corporations that together decide 35

who has access to education and jobs in science, who conducts research, and which studies are funded. As one might expect, women and minorities are severely underrepresented in these organizations. According to Nelson and Brammer’s 2010 study on minorities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, less than a third of science and engineering Ph.D.s earned between 1996 and 2005 were awarded to women. People of color barely earned a fifth of all Ph.D.s in the same period. Conversely, White men dominated in all STEM categories except for psychology, earning more than half of all awarded Ph.D.s in the same period. The intersection of gender and racial discrimination severely disadvantages women of color: this year, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein became the sixty-ninth Black woman in American history to receive a Physics doctorate. In the meantime, such prominent White male scientists as James Watson, Carl Linnaeus and Richard Dawkins retain their acclaim despite being known to be unabashedly racist and sexist. Evidently, the scientific world is, and has always been, skewed heavily in favor of White men. Such a massive bias has an undeniable effect on what experiments get conducted and how their results are interpreted. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that science was completely dominated by White men and that their findings mysteriously indicated that their race placed them at the top of the biological hierarchy.

Science is not objective

One need only consider the pseudoscience of phrenology to realise how prejudice can persist under the guise of scientific objectivity. In the 19th century, it was widely-believed that the differences between the cognitive aptitudes of men and women resulted from anatomical differences in the brain. For instance, men supposedly had more developed intellectual faculties, and were more suited

instance of prejudice embedded in scientific structures. Developed at the start of the 20th century, it is a psychological test designed to detect mental deficiencies in children. Numerous questions are embedded in Eurocentrism, such as the one in the figure, which incorporates an Eurocentric understanding of beauty. People born and educated in developed Western nations, predictably, performed better on these tests. A higher rate of “moronism” was consequently reported in African children, and these findings were used to validate the racist belief that Africans were less intelligent than White Europeans. One might be tempted to believe this an issue we have long left behind, but it has left a longevous legacy of prejudice in educational and corporate structures. It was shown in Bertrand’s 2003 study of racial bias in hiring that between applicants with comparable credentials, employers were 50% more likely to call back White applicants than Black applicants. The bottom line is, scientists have, historically, been in the business of substantiating racial and gender biases with flawed science. Recent findings have largely discredited these claims, but they continue to show up in layman rhetoric as “scientific facts”.

Interpreters are biased

to philosophical reasoning, whereas women had more developed emotional faculties and were more suited to domestic duties. In a similar vein, the roundness of White European skulls was said to suggest that White Europeans were intellectually superior to all other races. Homosexuals were said to have the skulls and brains of the opposite gender. It was no coincidence that all these “scientific” notions confirmed existing stereotypes of the time. Phrenology was used to credit and rigidify the concept of a social hierarchy dominated by White men--an appeal to naturalism that assigned biological explanations to social phenomena and made them impervious to social critique. Phrenology has long since been discredited by research. But laymen to this day continue to cite phrenological ideas (does “I don’t get how women’s brains work” sound familiar?) in their arguments, to the same end: opponents cannot critique or dismantle their “science”. The Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale is another

espite being a minefield of poorly-designed experiments and fallacious claims, there do exist functionally unbiased studies that appear to confirm the stereotypes that we hold. Consider, for example, the supposed rift in spatial intelligence levels between men and women. Robert and Chevrier’s 2003 study is the most recent to find that men have higher spatial intelligence than women—that is, they are better at manipulating three-dimensional forms in their minds, implying better sense of direction and greater ability to manipulate tools. These line up with gender stereotypes of women being poor drivers and men being better at mechanical pursuits. These tests are, as far as one can tell, well-designed, and provide clear demonstration that men and women have differing aptitudes. However, interpreters often make a leap in logic, concluding that the differences originate from innate biological differences. What these tests do not account for are the sociocultural factors that might have influenced performance level. They were conducted on subjects from the western world, all of whom had grown up imbibing stereotypes and cultural notions that could have prompted better performance among the men and poorer perfor-

mance among women. A more recent study by Hoffman, Gneezy and List (2011), conducted on members of two adjoining non-Western societies—one patrilineal and one matrilineal—provides evidence to the contrary. It was found that there was virtually no difference in how men and women of the matrilineal society performed on the same spatial reasoning tests. Another study by Ortner and Sieverding (2008) found that in an experiment that was disguised as a role-playing exercise, women playing the roles of men performed as well as men on the same spatial reasoning tasks.

Bandura in 1977, describes the process by which children develop their gender identities by modeling themselves after authority figures, taking cues in the form of rewards and punishment to form an understanding of what is and is not acceptable for people of their assigned gender. Oftentimes, those cues inform them that they are not “supposed” to be good at something, like mathematics, or the use of tools. Children begin to make the conscious decision to avoid or embrace certain pursuits. It is through this process that the differences in aptitude levels begin to emerge between boys and girls.

So what?

he very notion that physiology and biology should

The very first step one can take, as a determine what opportunities a person has is unlayman, is to be skeptical of any and fair and limiting, especially considering that these all attempts to establish and reinforce categories are often arbitrary and poorly-defined. The use of science to justify bigotry is untencategories of humans for the sake of excluding them or limiting their rights. able: it involves ignoring the many ways in which the

pursuit of science is skewed against particular groups and—even in the absence of such partisanship—how the derivation of facts from experimental results is frequently plagued by fallacious argumentation. The very first step one can take, as a layman, is to be skeptical of any and all attempts to establish and reinforce categories of humans for the sake of them or limiting their rights. Gendered and raced expectations are often self-fulfilling prophecies, becoming real only because we believe them, and let them shape us.

How are these norms picked up, if they are not inborn? The clues are lain down by Fagot’s 1978 study. It found that parents have a strong tendency to react negatively to cross-gender behavior and positively to gender-conforming behavior in their children. They routinely encouraged cleanliness and discouraged aggression in girls, and vice versa in boys. This is a mechanism known as social learning. The social learning theory of gender, first studied by

WHAT I LEARNED FROM RUE: Amandla Stenberg’s

Intersectional Feminism Morgan Adderley

hen the news broke in 2011 that thirteen-year-old Amandla Stenberg had been cast as Rue in the film adaptation of The Hunger Games, it should, by all means, have been a joyous moment in her career. Instead, the young star had to deal with sickening racist comments flung at her across social media. Stenberg handled the situation with grace, going on to give a fantastic performance in the movie and emerging as a feminist icon in the real world. The Hunger Games is a dystopian young adult novel by Suzanne Collins. The protagonist is Katniss Everdeen, a teenage girl sent to the Games where 24 children must fight to the death. The remaining survivor is crowned the victor. However, Katniss defies the Gamemakers and becomes friends with a younger girl named Rue, vowing to protect her. Rue’s death is a heart-wrenching scene, and becomes a crucial turning point for Katniss in the novel. When the book was published, Rue immediately became a beloved character. However, many readers glossed over Collins’ description of her, which included having “dark brown skin and eyes” (The Hunger Games). When the casting choices were released, there was an immediate backlash against the use of an African American actress to play her character. In “The Revolution Starts With Rue,” Professors Antero Garcia, Ph.D., and Marcelle Haddix, Ph.D., study the impact of both Stenberg’s character in the film and book series, and the online reaction to her casting. They state, “the social media uproar with the casting of young African American actress Amandla Stenberg as the character Rue for Ross’s (2012) film adaptation was indicative of a resistance toward the diversification of young adult literature and of the readers’ inability to imagine a raced dystopian world. Even in an imagined world, a character can only be white and blue

WHEN THE CASTING CHOICES WERE REALEASED, THERE WAS AN IMMEDIATE BACKLASH AGAINST THE USE OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN ACTRESS TO PLAY HER CHARACTER 38

eyed.” While anyone who missed the memo that Rue is black clearly did not read the books properly, the controversy surrounding her casting actually became symbolic of the trajectory Stenberg’s career would follow over the next few years. She has been outspokenly and unapologetically black, female, and unafraid to speak her truth. These truths about her character all came together fantastically in January 2015, when Stenberg created and released a video entitled “Don’t Cash Crop my Cornrows,” explaining cultural appropriation. In this video, she “[makes] the claim that some celebrities have adopted aspects of black culture into their style in order to gain more attention for being edgy.” However, these same celebrities routinely ignore serious issues in the black community (“The Role of Social Media in a Greater Good,” Joshua Adams). Adams notes that within three months, Stenberg’s video received nearly 60,000 notes on Tumblr alone, “apart from being relentlessly shared thousands of times over

THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING HER CASTING ACTUALLY BECAME SYMBOLIC OF THE TRAJECTORY STENBERG’S CAREER WOULD FOLLOW OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS. SHE HAS BEEN OUTSPOKENLY AND UNAPOLOGETICALLY BLACK, FEMALE, AND UNAFRAID TO SPEAK HER TRUTH

other social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter” (Adams). By using both her voice and modern resources, Stenberg is creating dialogue about how racism and sexism both intersect and manifest in our society today. A few months later, she addressed cultural appropriation again in an online interaction with teen reality star Kylie Jenner. Jenner has long been accused of appropriating black culture and features, and in July 2015 she posted a photo of herself on her Instagram page wearing cornrows and captioned “I woke up like disss.” Stenberg called her out for it, and Jenner’s reply boiled down to, “Mad if I don’t. Mad if I do…” (“Amandla Stenberg Calls Out Kylie Jenner For Cultural Appropriation”). With this comment, Jenner completely dismissed Stenberg’s point-that black culture is popular but black people are not.

Instead of responding with an even cattier comment, Stenberg wrote a piece on the history and cultural context of black women’s bodies, where she states, “deeply ingrained into culture is the notion that black female bodies, at the intersect of oppression, are less than human and therefore unattractive.” Stenberg’s comments, published on her Instagram in July 2015, relate directly to the findings of Siobhan Somerville in “Scientific Racism and the Emergence of the Homosexual Body.” There, Somerville notes that historically, “studies deemed that “the racial difference of the African body… was located in its literal excess, a specifically sexual excess that placed her body outside the boundaries of the “normal” female.” Stenberg speaks to the history of black women being Othered, while commenting on the irony that these same features get praised on non-black bodies. In “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference,” Audre Lorde writes, “by and large within the women’s movement today, white women focus on their oppression as women and ignore differences of race, sexual preference, class, and age.” Lorde is critiquing feminism that is not intersectional—a common pitfall into which many self-proclaimed celebrity feminists stumble. Like her character in The Hunger Games, Amandla Stenberg has faced criticism for being “too black.” However, much like Rue, she has proven to be inventive, clever, and brave. She has also shown time and time again that her feminism includes equality for all. That is something we all can learn from Rue.

TELEVISION’S FAVORITE TROPE: BLACK WOMEN AND AFFAIRS

Leading black women are taking over the small screen, but with so many of them involved in affairs, you have to wonder: is it a coincidence?

Kate Lester

he 2010s have been something of a critical time for black women on T.V. Shows like Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and Being Mary Jane have practically made highly intelligent, successful, independent leading black women the norm. There is no denying the positive impact that these shows can have. Their protagonists are fully developed, complex characters that don’t feed into the narrowly defined “Strong Black Woman” stereotype—otherwise known as the superhuman woman who knows no weakness. But these women share more than intellect and devotion to their careers— they also share involvement in immoral relationships. How to Get Away with Murder’s protagonist, Annalise Keating (Viola Davis) is involved in an extramarital affair, while Scandal’s Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) and Being Mary Jane’s Mary Jane Paul (Gabrielle

Union) are both knowingly involved with married men. Key to portraying women accurately on television is creating multifaceted characters—it is important that these women have moments of strength and weakness, that they make mistakes, and that they learn and grow. But must involvement in affairs be the defining “character flaw” for all of these women? While it may seem fairly harmless at first glance, a deeper analysis reveals that these characters are reflecting ideas that are rooted in centuries-old archaic stereotypes of black women. As Patricia Hill Collins notes in Black Feminist Thought, “…being black [often] signals wild, out-of-control hyperheterosexuality of excessive sexual appetite.” This inaccuracy stems from white Europeans’ first encounters with African peoples. Unfamiliar with hot, tropical climates, they equated semi-nudity to indecency and 40

vulgarity. Colonizers were determined to see black people as “other,” and according to Siobhan Somerville, “Any attempt to establish that the races were inherently different rested… on the sexual difference of the black” people as a result. White Europeans even went so far as to argue that certain physical characteristics of black women confirmed this racial difference. They cited the “protuberance of the buttocks” and the “remarkable development of the labia minora” as features unique to the African female body, and claimed that this “literal… sexual excess… placed her body outside the boundaries of the “normal” female.” As Londa Schiebinger has said, black women were literally seen as “perversions” of normal sexuality. They were set up as the counterpart to the ideal “passionless” Victorian woman, and as a result became the “central icon for sexuality in the nineteenth century.” All of these ideas worked together to create the seductive “bad-black-girl,” as Marilyn Yarbrough calls her, who was eventually dubbed the “Black Female Jezebel.” The Jezebel reflects stereotypical black hypersexuality, “indiscriminately [mesmerizing] men and [luring] them into her bed.” What does it say, then, that the defining character flaw for these otherwise strong women is their immor-

al involvement with men? Is it purely a coincidence that all three of these women give into their sexual desires despite the fact that they know it’s wrong to do so with these particular men? Or does it reflect a larger problem—deeply ingrained ideas of black hypersexuality that have yet to disperse completely? Having complicated, well-educated, driven black women at the forefront of so many popular television series is a huge step forward, but this trope of black women always being involved in all-consuming affairs threatens to stall that progress. There is simply too much negative history surrounding black women’s sexuality. Let it be known that their mere involvement in sexual relationships is not the problem—it’s the nature of the relationships that is the issue. Why can’t it be that these women reclaim their sexuality in a more universally positive way, without negatively impacting others in the process? Leading black women having weaknesses is not just progressive; it’s necessary. It combats the idea of the superhuman “Strong Black Woman” stereotype and portrays them instead as simply “human.” However, what their defining weaknesses actually are must be reevaluated and diversified if we want to avoid further reintroduction of harmful stereotypes.

AN INTERVIEW WITH ASHLEY CLERGE: Northeastern Student and Social Justice Activist Fay Feghali

here’s a long history of social justice activism in the city of Boston. Within that history, there are black women at the forefront of social change. Although numerous black women participated and led various aspects of social justice movements, many do not get the recognition they deserve. Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Boston based advocate for black women’s rights and journalist during the Civil War, is often overlooked in Boston’s activist history. Ruffin was responsible for organizing the Boston Kansas Relief Association and was an editor and publisher for the Woman’s Era, the first newspaper published by and for African American women. Her accomplishments set a precedent for future Boston activists, such as the black women who founded the Combahee River Collective in 1974. Unsatisfied with the white feminist movement of their time, the women of the Combahee River Collective created a coalition of black lesbian feminists. The goal of their collective was to tackle racism, classism and sexism in all facets of their lives. Like Ruffin, they created their own space to organize and address the issues that were often ignored but mattered most to them. Ruffin and the Combahee River Collective are just two examples of many in which black women have taken it upon themselves to create change in their community. Many black women, especially those who work in social justice movements, find the need to create entirely new organizations because their ideas and values are often ignored when working within existing institutions. In Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches, she explains the dilemma black women face in activism. Because of the way current organizations are structured, black women have to choose to fight for the rights of black people or the rights of women. Thus, their unique experience of being both black and women are erased. Unfortunately, the erasure of black women in the battle against institutional and cultural oppression is still occurring today. For example, most perceive the Black Lives Matter movement to be a social justice group that works to expose and stop police brutality against only black men. The mainstream part of the movement has evolved to exclude black women because of the widespread erasure of black women’s experiences within all institutions in our society. Because they are women,

black women do not experience police brutality, but in reality this is not the case. When Rekia Boyd was murdered by an off-duty Chicago police officer, there was hardly any uproar in the media relative to the amount of coverage on Mike Brown and Eric Garner’s deaths. When the Chicago officer was acquitted of all charges and a rally was organized in New York City, hardly anyone showed up. The low turnout of people for Rekia Boyd clearly illustrates the erasure of black women when it comes to Black Lives Matter and police brutality. I spoke with Northeastern student activist Ashley Clerge in order to gain a better understanding of how racism and sexism continue to permeate activist circles in Boston. As Political Science and International Affairs double major, Clerge works in educational reform and with the Black Lives Matter movement. Growing up, Clerge found role models in Harriet Tubman and Martin Luther King Jr. She identifies as Womanist and Black Feminist, meaning that her feminism is centered on the issues that black women face. Where are you from? Where did you grow up before coming to Northeastern? I was originally born in Brooklyn New, York, but I moved to Westchester County in New York when I was eight and I moved to the Fort Lauderdale area of South Florida when I was sixteen, and finished up high school there. How did your upbringing influence your activism today? Because I moved around a lot, I had a lot of different experiences growing up. I was pretty young when I was eight and I moved to Westchester; however, when I moved to South Florida from Westchester the differences were a lot more stark for me. Westchester is a pretty affluent suburb in New York and the area I moved to in South Florida where the per capita income is around $19,000. Living there opened my eyes to a lot of inequalities, especially in education. That was definitely the biggest shocker to me, seeing that education was profoundly different based on zip code. I began volunteering as a tutor and mentor in an urban elementary school in Miami, and that quest for justice and making things right has followed me to today. I 42

have held a multitude of privileges in life, and especially at someone who was on the track for being college bound, I felt that it was extremely unfair that not everyone around me was as well and was facing a lot of other inequalities. What groups are you most involved in? I’m mostly involved in the Students for Education Reform and the Boston Coalition for Police Accountability. How would you say those groups are organized? For Students for Education Reform, we are organized with state leadership. We are organized into chapters. There are currently six [chapters] in Massachusetts. I’m the one who oversees the Boston chapter as well as the Massachusetts branch. For Boston Coalition for Police Accountability, we are just a leadership team. There isn’t really one person at the top.

“The erasure of black women in the battle against institutional and cultural oppression is still occurring today.” Is there ever any conflict that occurs within these groups? Yeah, definitely. When you have a group that is larger than just a few people, you are bound to run into conflict because everyone sees the same end but doesn’t always see the same means to get to that end. Some people definitely have different ways of thinking about how we should go about certain things, so at a leadership level that causes some conflict. I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s bad conflict, but its definitely good conflict because you want to have a diverse group of voices at the table, so that your outcomes are more applicable to real society. Have you ever noticed how racism and sexism manifest within these organizations? For Students for Education Reform, it’s definitely very interesting since we are a national organization, and I oversee the Massachusetts branch. It’s interesting to see how people understand education reform and not necessarily see the racial discrepancies about it. I wouldn’t say I experience sexism within that work solely because most of the people within the organization are women who closely identify with feminism. For the Boston Coalition for Police Accountability, it’s more open to people from the community. Also, we tend to organize with many [other Black Lives Matter] groups. This is where I definitely experience both racism and sexism at the same time. Personally, I feel like 43

a lot of people don’t like seeing strong black women in leadership positions. What I really appreciate about the movement is that it is really centered on female identifying leadership. I think Black Lives Matter is really looking to challenge those notions that men should be at the center of these movements. It’s definitely a work in progress. Is there a specific instance of racism or sexism that stands out to you? I’ve worked with some leaders who would consistently talk down to me or try to silence me. I’ve had people try to put me into positions that weren’t meaningful, even when the membership knew I should be more suited for a leadership role because of my ability to take initiative. Certain people definitely go into movements with egos and want to be the center and focus. Some don’t like it when you have different ways of going about things. What’s been most consistent [in terms of racism and sexism in the movement] has been the silencing and being talked down to. Unfortunately, I have experienced this more in the Black Lives Mat

ter movement, but it is something we will have to push It’s definitely intimidating getting involved in something through. Hopefully this will change at some point. that’s bigger than you. It can be very overwhelming, but anyway that you can shine and use your abilities are important to the movement. You can work on the ground or in a more supportive role. Any contribution matters, especially by women. Many movements have been run on the backs of women, especially women of color. We are truly powerful when we organize in numbers.

Has there been an initiative, perhaps among men, to stop the silencing of women within the organization? There has been some initiative among men. For example, the internet propels people’s boldness to be sexist. It tends to happen a lot through email chains. When people have been extremely rude or very off, I’ve seen a lot men step up through these email chains and back up what I’ve said and hold people accountable. There are men in the organizations I’m a part of who have ideologies that are deeply rooted in feminism and equality for all and not just replacing different patriarchies with different skin colors. Do you have any ideas on how to address sexism and racism within the organizations that you are in? I think it’s important to bring people of color leadership to the table and women’s leadership to the table, especially where those both intersect. This is definitely something that is really hard and won’t change over night. It’s also important to actively challenge the notion that men are the only leaders by creating a system of accountability as well as safes spaces for people to talk about it if they feel silenced. We need to make sure that everyone is included in the dialogue because the work that we do is usually super personal. We are often closely tied to what we are organizing for. Just to connect this back to Northeastern, what advice would you give to students, especially women of color, who would like to get involved in activist organizations off campus? To women of color, I would say, “do not give up.” You do not need to second-guess what you think and whether this is your place. This is your place. You do not need to step back because people want you to. If you have something important to say, you shouldn’t hold it back. Your voice and your opinion are valid. It’s super important as women, especially women of color, that we continue to lift each other up and hold each other’s hands as we continue to create more opportunities for ourselves. 44

“I’ve worked with some leaders who would consistently talk down to me or try to silence me.” How has working in these organizations positively impacted your life? I’ve met some of the greatest people through organizing probably because we are super passionate about similar things. Through activism off campus, I got to know my city better. I’ve fallen in love with areas in Boston that aren’t widely spoken about. I’ve got to truly get to know Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury. I’ve made a stronger connection to the people around me, which is the greatest thing I can take away from activism.

Dear Mizzou, Yale, and Ithaca Family, To be Black at a predominantly white institution embodies an inherent resilience. We are brave every day when we enter classrooms of individuals who instinctively categorize, diminish, and exclude us. We must be brave every day when we confront micro-aggressions; doubts about our ability and assumptions of our character. Being Black at a predominantly white institution entails overcoming daily battles surrounding class, gender, nationality, and race. To our sisters and brothers at the University of Missouri, Yale, and Ithaca, you have worked to highlight and overcome these daily battles. You banded together, and now the world is hearing your voices. We applaud your bravery and success. University of Missouri, we are proud of you for forcing your university and community to listen to your collective voices, and, in turn, forcing the resignation of President Tim Wolfe and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin. We, Black Northeastern students, stand in admiration of and in solidarity with your actions. We want you to know that you are not alone. We understand your tribulations, pains, and the exhaustive efforts required to lead this movement for Black lives. We are praying for your safety during this time of distress. Know that you are invaluable. Your peers are learning. You have changed the perspective of students and citizens nationally by bringing awareness to racial injustice, and inspired us to advocate with you. We want you to stay strong in the face of animosity and adversity. If you feel as though you cannot, please draw strength from us as we stand alongside you. If you become exhausted, take the time you need to care for yourself, for your talent is precious. The movement will never be easy. Cope, grieve, and always express the frustrations you feel. Self-care and self-love is the strongest method of resistance we have. To those infringing on your freedom and threatening your voices and your bodies, we are watching. We encourage our fellow Northeastern University students to use this experience to learn about the struggles students of color face on campus, and the consequences we face for bringing them to light. We encourage other Black students on campus to take care of themselves. We demand that Northeastern University, as a predominantly white space, recognizes and confronts the racial inequalities that its students of color experience on campus. Every member within a community is responsible for making that community safe for everyone, particularly marginalized groups. Predominantly white institutions across the nation have a long way to go in this regard. We ask that Northeastern become a trailblazer in this space, and begin an open dialogue between students of color and the administration to improve the state of campus affairs in building a more inclusive community. With love and solidarity, Black Students at Northeastern University Supported by: Northeastern Black Student Association, Students Against Institutional Discrimination, Haitian Student Unity, Carribean Students Organization, and Northeastern African Student Organization 45

Staff Advertising:   Sarah Alsaleh Madelaine Baco Monica Bhatia Marco Contreras Nicole Erickson Sawyer Hammond Morgan Helfman Gloria Mobolaji Kaitlin Moua Lauren Reilly Jamie Weldon Allison Wilson Editing:   Morgan Adderley Madison August Elizabeth Cronin Alix Getreu Tasha Greenwood Joshua Hailman Emma Kaeser Arianna Laguna Feliciana Liem Jessica Ordinario Hannah Powers Rosa Procaccino David Rabinowicz Vicky Song Eva Von Witzky Elizabeth Wheatall

Design: Danielle Roberts  Sophia Choi Mera Freeman-Gerlach Vivian Hilborne Emily Iverson Christina Kasauskas Alexander Langston Kate Lester Sumin Lim Peri MacRae Bakari Olivetti Sarah Pina Zoe Wong Tessa Low Yun Party Planning:   Janae Baker Makaila Cerrone Hannah Crary Fay Feghali Madelyn Hartman Nina Jordan Audrey Leduc Fatuma Mohamed Kimberly Romero Jessica Rouzan Elizabeth Sabga Colin Thompson Molly Wallace Nancy Yang

We are thankful for the support and guidance of Dr. Bailey and Bridget throughout this semester. We have learned much about oppression and inequality, and as a result we as individuals are now better prepared to address injustice when we see it. Thank you for a wonderful year! We dedicate this magazine to them.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Pussy Power Imaginary, my newest project, seeks to redefine the pussy as a source of empowerment, a reclamation of agency, and a vehicle to promote self-love while deepening the relationship between women and their own bodies. Recognizing that not all women have pussies, and that every single one can define ourselves beyond the genitalia we are born with, I am attempting to create a space for people to explore the ways in which sex and sexuality is kept in the darkness, while rape culture is normalized and reproductive rights are eroded. This project stands as an invitation to women who are curious to explore and learn about the power, intimacy, and autonomy of their bodies in a safe, participatory art space.â&#x20AC;?

-Favianna Rodriguez Print out this page, grab your markers, crayons and glitter, decorate, and then share your Pussy using #PussyPower!

The Student Government Association serves as the voice of the undergraduate student body. It strives to promote student interests within the University and its surrounding communities in order to enrich education, student life, and the overall Northeastern experience.

Spoon University The everyday food resource for college students, to help our generation eat more intelligently. Contact northeasternspoon@gmail.com for more information. They meet on Mondays at 6:30 in YMCA 109.

SARC is a response by NU SHARE to bring better, survivor-centered resources to campus to ensure the complete safety and health of ALL Northeastern students. Contact northeasternshare@gmail.com for more information.

The Northeastern University Feminist Student Organization is a discussion-based consciousness raising group that allows participants to learn about and debate feminist theory & ideology as well as current events. FSO members also share personal anecdotes that allow the group to see the material impacts of feminism and opposing ideologies on everyday interactions FSO meets on Wednesdays 7-8 pin the Social Justice Resource Center on St. Stephen Street 48

NU Caribbean Students Organization exists at Northeastern University to bring together West Indian students and the West Indian diaspora and educate the greater NU community about the beauty of the Caribbean. It meets Wishmakers on Campus bi-weekly on Tuesdays at 7pm in 411 Ell Hall. Contact We are a fundraising group that is raising money to grant a child with a life-altering illness a wish through the Makenortheasterncso@gmail.com for more information. A-Wish Foundation Contact Julianna Covino - Covino.j@husky.neu.edu for more information Meets on Wednesdays 6-7 pm in 344 Curry Student Center

NUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inclusive hub of innovative, justice-minded thinking, collaboration & action. It is at 106 St Stephen St and is open from Monday through Friday from 8:30am - 9 pm.

Image Sources Cover Image: Tessa Low Yun

Cherry Stem image: Tumblr user idontwantsex. Olivia Pope image: Clique Clack.

Hands cubism painting: Etsy shop EcuadorsArt. Power and Control illustation: Julian Stoddâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Learning Blog

Noorann Matthies images: The CoaliHow to Get Way With Murder image: tion Zone. The Bookish Owl. Amandla Stenberg images: LoveBEcofeminist image: timetoast.com. Scott.com and Elle.com. Eyes image: Flickr user Fancybox5.

Kylie Jenner image: Kylieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Instagram.

Stop Sexism image: Cloudfront.

Tundra image: Ze Wandering Frogs.

Black Live Matter image: The Libertarian Republic.

Is It Always An Orgy? image: Buzzfeed Yellow.

Profile Against Landscape image: Youth Ki Awaaz.

Teen With Cereal image: She Knows.

Power and Control Wheel image: Tumblr user sincecombahee.

Built On My B(lack) image: Bearing News.

Protest image: Feministing.

Monogamy or Not image: Autostraddle.

Construction image: WITF.org.

Body Image Tiles image: Tumblr user bodyconfidence101.

Richard Dawkins tweet screengrab: 4plebs.org. Binet-Simon Scale image: Wikimedia. IntersectionaliT: Tessa Low Yun

Hands Raised image: Washington Post. Feminist Bitch image: Ambivalently Yours.