The Little Hawk
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thick skinned
two women have learned to love themselves no matter what the rest of the world tells them—and are fighting to help others do the same through the fat acceptance movement.
PREVIEW
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how to: pumpkin ice cream
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farm to table in our own back yard
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miss appropriated
By Ayla Canin
A seasonal dish rich enough to be delicious even in chilly weather.
By Sofie Lie & Nova Meurice
Two local businesses—a farm and a restaurant—are teaming up to bring people closer to the food they eat.
By Nova Meurice & Sarah Smith
Three City High girls tell of the struggles they face in confronting cultural appropriation. 8
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thick skinned
By Caroline Brown & Sarah Smith
A profile of two women who have learned to love themselves no matter what the rest of the world tells them—and who are fighting to help others do the same.
2 Little Hawk Feature Magazine
COVER PHOTO BY CAROLINE BROWN
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hate or heritage?
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chandler’s baby girl
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living with camo
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editorial: fashion
By Sofie Lie & Lucy McGehee
The debate over the role the Confederate flag should play has resurfaced through social media.
By Caroline Brown
Sydney Waverly Williams was born on October 27, 2015.
By Sadie Hobbs & Lucy McGehee
Two students open up about their personal experiences with parents serving time in the military.
By Sarah Smith
Some favorite looks from Sasha Chapnick-Sorokin ‘17.
a letter from the editor Of all the years I’ve been on staff, I have to say, this might be my favorite issue of the magazine we have ever published. As we are preparing for the National High School Journalism Convention, we have worked our butts off this month to ensure that we are competition ready. Featuring some of our best photos and most in-depth stories, we present the November issue of The Little Hawk. The highlights: Some of the biggest stories this issue are about very current and relevant
topics. “Cultural Appropriation” by Sarah Smith and Nova Meurice looks at fashion trends rooted in other cultures and religions and how people of that culture are reacting to their migration. Seeing as it’s almost Thanksgiving, we didn’t think this issue would be complete without a good amount of food. In addition to our usual recipes, brought to you by Ayla Canin, we also have a story about local food production and restaurants by Nova Meurice and Sofie Lie, complete with a video version
online. Check it out to see the journey from farm to table! Our biggest story this month is about a topic most people don’t usually notice: fat oppression. While race and sex are commonly discussed factors on the topic of discrimination, weight and body image aren’t payed attention to nearly as much. I have been working with Sarah Smith to write our story, and with Innes Hicasmaz to put together an additional video. Take a look to see how female students at City High react when they’re asked about
By Caroline Brown
how they feel when they look in the mirror. Now that this issue is finally done, our staff is headed off to Disney. Hopefully, we will bring back a Pacemaker or two. Until the December, issue we are out!
november 6, 2015
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the food section how to:
pumpkin ice cream By Ayla Canin
4 Little Hawk Feature Magazine
why you want it
Autumn has arrived and that means it is time to embrace the gourd that defines this season: the pumpkin. Pumpkin is a great source of vitamin A, and nearly every major eating establishment has some dish containing this seasonal favorite--most famously, the Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks. Since the downtown Iowa City Whitey’s Ice Cream location closed last year, I have missed their seasonal pumpkin ice cream, and this dish provides a delicious replacement. There are lots of traditional desserts that are served during Thanksgiv-
ing, but this recipe will provide a new and interesting take on a classic. Despite being a cold dish, this ice cream is rich enough that it is still appealing in cool weather. Because it is frozen, it can be made in advance, so if you do decide to serve it on Thanksgiving day, you will not be forced to rush through it at the last minute. It tastes just like the filling of a pumpkin pie, and if you want to add even more pie-ness to this dish you can sandwich a scoop of this ice cream between two graham crackers. This recipe is relatively simple, but it does take a while for the ice cream to freeze, so make sure you start the recipe at least 10 hours before you plan on serving it.
what you need
1 cup canned pumpkin puree 1 tsp. vanilla extract 2 cups heavy cream ¾ cup packed brown sugar 5 egg yolks
½ tsp. ground cinnamon ½ tsp. ground ginger ¼ tsp. salt pinch of freshly grated nutmeg graham crackers (optional)
how you make it In a small bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree and vanilla extract. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill. In a heavy 2 qt. saucepan, heat 1½ cups cream with ½ cup of the brown sugar over medium heat until bubbles form around the outside of the pan, approximately 5 minutes. While the cream mixture is cooking, in a medium sized bowl, combine the egg yolks, cinnamon, ginger, salt, nutmeg, and the remaining ½ cup cream and ¼ cup brown sugar. Whisk until smooth, and the sugar has dissolved completely. Remove the cream mixture from the heat. Gradually whisk about ½ cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture until smooth. Pour the egg mixture back into the saucepan con-
taining the rest of the cream, and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Keep the custard at a low simmer, until it is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon (if you swipe your finger over the back of the spoon, it should leave a clean trail), 4 to 6 minutes. Do not let the custard boil. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Place the bowl containing the custard into a larger bowl containing ice water, stirring occasionally, until cool. Whisk in the cold pumpkin/vanilla mixture. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure it is pressed directly to the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until chilled, at least 3 hours. If you have an ice cream maker available, freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. If you do not have an ice cream maker, place the bowl containing the mixture in the freezer for about 8 hours, removing once an hour for the first 4 hours and stirring with a fork to prevent crystals from forming. Once it is completely solid, serve and enjoy!
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farm to TABLE By Sofie Lie & Nova Meurice
Two local businesses—a farm and a restaurant—are teaming up to bring people closer to the food they eat. The average distance between a farm and the store where its produce is sold is 1,500 miles. However, there is a new movement to narrow the gap between consumers and the source of their food. Kroul Farms, a family operation based in Mount Vernon, is one of the many farms who are taking part in what has been called the ‘farm-to-table movement’ by trying to bring produce to people closer to home. “The whole farm-to-table movement to me is about people taking back the power of what goes in their bodies,” Matt Kroul said. “Knowing your farmer and knowing where your food comes from is a huge deal to us.” Kroul’s family has been farming for generations, but about 20 years ago they began growing more varied produce in place of some of their corn and soybean crops. Since then, they have found a number of ways to get their produce to local consumers, including the establishment of a community-supported agriculture program, selling at local farmers markets, and providing food for nearby restaurants. One of the reasons why the Krouls chose to begin growing produce was to bring their products to a broader market and to make better use of their land. “We try to diversify crops and find methods of cash flow from different markets,” Kroul said. “From the acres that we have, we try and maximize what we can do.”
One of the markets that Kroul Farms has expanded into is that of restaurant kitchens. Abe Grogan is a City High alumnus and the sous chef at Big Grove Brewery, which works closely with Kroul Farms. The restaurant’s goal of sourcing most of its produce and meat locally was prompted by Executive Chef Benjamin Smart’s experience at a restaurant in Washington that saw success through using farm-fresh produce. “From day one, we’ve been on a mission to be a farm-to-table, from-scratch kitchen. We feel like that’s something that a lot of places don’t necessarily try to do,” Grogan said. “We just want to try to elevate people’s expectations as far as food is concerned.” Grogan estimates that up to 50 percent of the food product is sourced locally during the summer months, and about 10 percent is during the winter. Each month, he and Smart build their menu around items that they can source locally. While such constraints can sometimes be challenging, Grogan also sees it as an opportunity for creativity. For instance, they use vacuum-packed and pickled fruits and vegetables as well as seasonal produce.
“Seasonality can be an issue, but we’ve gotten fairly accustomed to it,” Grogan said. “It’s a challenge [to source our food locally], but I enjoy the challenge. And also it’s important because you want to put the best food out there, and to do that, you need to use the food that is in season.” While the chefs at Big Grove have found many ways to work with seasonal availability of fresh food from local farms, they acknowledge that it’s not always possible. “From day one, the plan was to use as much local food as possible. It’s not always economically feasible, like in the middle of January when there’s not a lot of local product available,” Grogan said. “We’re also a very high volume restaurant, so in certain cases the farmers aren’t able to keep up with our demand.” The seasonal variability of the Iowa climate can also be difficult for local farmers. However, Kroul Farms manages to maintain year-round operations by keeping a diverse array of crops and livestock. In the winter, for instance, when corn and pumpkins have all been harvested, the Krouls shift their focus to raising cattle. “I think it’s more work than some people
PHOTOS BY AYLA CANIN & SOFIE LIE
FOOD
would like,” Kroul said of keeping the farm running through all seasons. “There isn’t really a down time for us.” Their diversity in crops and livestock also allows the Krouls more financial stability, even in the face of uncertain weather and environmental conditions. “We have a balance of [crops and livestock],” Kroul said. “We call it ‘self-insurance’ because if it’s a bad year for corn and beans then we can pick more pumpkins or cut more firewood.” Kroul Farms tries to bring an element of education and experience to their customers. However, the owners also try to keep their farm simple and to stay away from becoming a part of the agritourism industry. Instead, they aim to provoke thought regarding where food comes from. According to Kroul, it is this kind of thinking that would be benefitted by connections with local farms. “We get kind of spoiled, going to Hy-Vee where we have everything we could ever want, but in Iowa that stuff doesn’t grow all year round, and hopefully [the consumers] understand that,” he said.
Some restaurants are deterred from using locally sourced food because they worry about the heightened costs. Grogan, however, argues that the cost is only 25 to 50 cents more per dish, and that extra cost it is often offset by customers’ enthusiasm for the food and the direct connection to farms. “Also, [local ingredients] just means better food. It means that the food is fresher, you know where it came from, and you know the process that it went through,” Grogan said. When Big Grove cannot be supplied locally, they are supplied by major food corporation Sysco. However, according to Grogan, Sysco’s recent effort to source local food indicates a shift in the prominence of the farmto-table movement. In fact, Grogan foresees the movement maintaining
its momentum. “I really feel like that’s just a selling point, and I think that restaurants are going to see that,” he said. “I think that once people taste the difference, there’s no way that they could go back.”
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miss appropriated By Nova Meurice & Sarah Smith
8 Little Hawk Feature Magazine
PHOTOS BY CAROLINE BROWN
F
rom the time she began wearing her hijab, Salwa Sidahmed cannot remember a day she didn’t feel alienated for it. Although she is one of the 430,000 women in America who wear the Muslim hair covering, stares and questions, like ‘Has your dad ever seen your hair?’ and ‘Do you wear one in the shower?’ still dominate her first impressions. In contrast, Sidahmed sometimes saw non-Muslim women receiving praise for wearing hijabs as fashion statements. She didn’t understand why for her, a hijab reduced her beauty, but for others, it only magnified it. “People who actually wear a hijab are criticized every single day, but when other people wear it for a fashion statement, or to enhance their eye makeup, they don’t get the backlash and generalization because they can wear it that one time. They don’t have to wear it all the time,” Sidahmed said. “It feels weird being constantly judged and questioned for it, and then others can wear it and they don’t get the same reaction because for them it’s temporary.” Culture appropriation is the use of another culture’s significant artifacts or practices. While the phenomenon has existed for millennia, discussion of it has only recently reached a national stage. Celebrity activists such as Amandla Stenberg and Azealia Banks have notably drawn attention to the issue. Stenberg, who has appeared in The Hunger Games films, made a viral video in which she argues that it’s unjust for people like Kylie Jenner to use parts of black and hip-hop culture, such as cornrowed hair, without recognizing their marginalized position in American society. She asks at one point, “What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we loved black culture?” Banks, too, has clashed with other major artists, including Iggy Azalea, over song lyrics and stylistic choices that Banks saw as disparaging to the black community. Additionally, many young adults were introduced to cultural appropriation after the controversy over Zendaya Coleman, a black Disney channel actress, wore dreadlocks to the Oscars, and Gi-
uliana Rancic on E!’s “Fashion Police” said that she must “smell like patchouli oil or weed.” These comments stand in contrast to many entertainment and media outlets’ largely positive response to Miley Cyrus’s dreadlocks at MTV’s Video Music Awards. In these cases and others, Sidahmed sees a double standard when it comes to the acceptance of non-western cultures. “People are harassed for it and get generalized for participating in something that is a part of their culture, like wearing dreads,” Sidahmed said. “But when white people wear it, it’s considered ‘chic’ and they’re praised for it, compared to being embarrassed by it.” Not only has Sidahmed seen evidence of cultural appropriation in national news, she’s sees it routinely when checking her Instagram feed, or when her peers bring henna packets into her art class. “I feel kind of offended. There’s different ways to appreciate culture other than taking their style,” Sidahmed said. “There are certain things that have cultural history or religious history that shouldn’t just be taken by someone that doesn’t identify to that culture or religion.” Henna was first used as a cosmetic dye over 6,000 years ago in ancient India. It was later used to bless recipients during religious sacraments like weddings, a practice that still appears in such ceremonies today. Maya Durham ‘18, who is of South Indian or “Desi” descent, often sees people abusing henna by
overlooking its significance. “It bothers me mostly because the people who aren’t Desi or who aren’t Indian or Pakistani who are using henna or wearing a bindi aren’t understanding the culture behind it,” she said. “They don’t understand that some of those things are deeply religious or culturally significant to the people who created them, and they a lot of the time just associate it with Coachella or being a hipster.” Although elements like henna and the hijab are currently in style in some circles, Sidahmed can remember being discriminated against for participating in her Arabic culture as a child. “When I wore henna when I came back from Egypt, someone said that it looked like I had dirt on my feet,” Sidahmed said. “But when other girls wear henna, it’s considered beautiful and people compliment the design.” Although Durham hasn’t experienced much oppression firsthand, she knows of the intolerance others in her culture have encountered. “I’ve never personally experienced it, except at lunch when people told me that the Indian food that I brought smelled bad or looked like vomit,” Durham said. “But I’ve definitely talked to people that are Desi who have been called terrible things like ‘terrorists’ and ‘dot-heads’ and ‘pakis’ for wearing bindis or henna or turbans.” The mistreatment of Desis in America came into the national spotlight was when Nina Davuluri was named Miss America in 2014. Thousands of tweets followed the crowning, some
november 6, 2015 9
labelling Davuluri, of South Asian heritage, “Miss 7/11,” and one saying that her talent portion would involve “building a bomb in under 15 seconds and getting through airport security in under 30.” “When you’re brown, you’re kind of automatically dubbed a terrorist by some people, and it’s really not cool. The action of one person or one small group of people within your race, your skin color, or your cultural group, people take it to represent the entire race, the en-
tire cultural group,” Durham said. “That leads to a lot of the bias that people have in relation to cultural appropriation, in relation to everyday life. People failing to recognize that is also part of the problem.” As another member of a minority culture in her community, Aminata Traore ‘16 can recall feeling insecure for her race and African heritage. “I would get made fun of a lot. People would call me dark chocolate. Not in like a nice way; it
was more in a gross kind of way, like dark chocolate was disgusting,” Traore said. “People would always ask why I didn’t wear my hair down, but eventually I got a straightening perm so it’s straight now. That hasn’t really happened recently. A lot of people say that my skin is beautiful. When I was younger it was a bigger problem, but people now are more laid back.” It wasn’t until recently that all three--Sidahmed, Durham and Traore--researched the persecution they had experienced and found a term that fit. “It was around last year when I started learning about cultural matters and social matters,” Sidahmed said. “ I just started educating myself on the things I learned about and how harmful it can be.” Like Sidahmed, Durham found out about the idea of cultural appropriation through users on social media platforms, including as Twitter and Tumblr. “I got exposed to it on Tumblr and made a bunch of friends who had experienced these things and who knew about it,” Durham said. “I just started talking to people. Then I found out that my mom had written articles on it. It was really cool to be able to put a word to the feeling of that.” Traore had also heard of cultural appropriation through the Internet, but for her it was more difficult to connect. Although she was bullied for her race, she has never had
“I’M NOT TRYING TO MAKE A STATEMENT OR ANYTHING, BUT WHEN WHITE GIRLS HAVE [CORNROWS] AND IT’S ALL OF THEIR HAIR, IT JUST LOOKS STRANGE. I DON’T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT. I KNOW THEY’RE NOT TRYING TO OFFEND ANYONE; THEY JUST LIKE THE WAY IT LOOKS.” AMINATA TRAORE ‘16 10 Little Hawk Feature Magazine
serious problems participating in her culture. “My parent’s culture is African, but I also would consider myself a part of this American culture,” Traore said. “[My family] still does some traditional things, like we still practice things that [my parents] grew up doing. But we also do some American things. It’s a combination of both. I feel like I belong to both.” Unlike Durham and Sidahmed, Traore doesn’t see a problem in what others define as cultural appropriation. “I think it’s strange when I see certain things, but personally it doesn’t bother me. I understand that people just think things are nice or cool, and they want to do it for themselves,” Traore said. “I think the reason people do it is because they like the way it looks, so because of that I don’t have a problem with it. I know they’re not trying to offend anyone; they just like the way it looks.” Even though these actions don’t upset her, Traore thinks that it still feels foreign to see white people appropriating hairstyles such as cornrows. “Typically it doesn’t bother me, but, for example, when I see black girls with cornrowed hair, it looks normal,” Traore said. “I’m not trying to make a statement or anything, but when white girls have [cornrows] and it’s all of their hair, it just looks strange. Maybe it’s because it’s typically not what you see, but it just looks strange.” However, Durham believes that it’s not only strange, but also a form of taking away from others’ cultural heritage. “With dreads, black people have been wearing them forever, but when white people do it, they’re praised and people say that they look very stylish,” Durham said. “It’s glorifying white people, but reprimanding and insulting people of color when they use their own cultures.” Durham also objects to the hypocrisy in using a people’s cultural artifacts while ignoring their struggles or mistreatment. “When white people use the culture of others but fail to notice the oppression that the culture has faced, like wearing dreads and
global issues
grills from black culture, but not wanting to notice the Black Lives Matter movement, they’re not recognizing the oppression that [minorities] have gone through to create and maintain that culture,” she said. While some argue that appropriation of European culture also occurs in things like tartan from Scotland or clothes featuring a cross as a symbol for Christianity, Durham disagrees. Instead, she believes that the issue with cultural appropriation is also rooted in power dynamics between majority and minority groups, created over time by colonialism or segregation. “You can’t oppress the oppressors. People talk about reverse racism, but in my opinion, that doesn’t exist. You can be biased against the majority, you can be horrible to them, but that’s not racism,” Durham said. “Racism is fueled by systematic oppression, and cultural appropriation is based on systematic oppression and systematic racism.” “With people’s reaction to a white person having dreads versus a black person having dreads, that’s all part of it: glorification of white people and white people using other people’s culture and shaming people for using their own culture, or for having curly or black hair. By appropriating those cultures, people are taking it away from the minorities that originated them, fought for them, and did everything they could to keep them.” Nevertheless, Durham does believe that there are ways to share and appreciate cultures without being appropriative or offending the cultures in question. She believes that the distinction often is based on the traditional and religious significance of the item or practice as well as the intentions the user. “Henna is one of those things where there’s a very fine line between appropriation and appreciation. I would define appropriation as using the traditional patterns that are used for weddings, and appreciation is saying, ‘Hey, that looks cool. I’m going to use this material to draw something on my skin as a temporary tattoo,’” Durham said. “With that, it’s not exactly using the religiously and culturally important and significant things, it’s just using something that you think is
cool. Also, it’s not as much appropriation if you’re using the nontraditional designs.” When individuals do share in and appreciate other cultures, Durham believes that it’s important to be informed about the history and significance of the practices involved. “It’s also important that you understand what the origins of henna are so that you’re not just being like, ‘Kylie Jenner did this, so I’m going to do it.’ You have to understand that an entire culture does it, multiple countries use this as something very important to them, and understand that you’re not the first person to come up with it.” Overall, Durham’s goal is to inform others of her perspective when they participate in cultures other than their own. “Obviously, not all white people do this,” Durham said. “Just be careful, when you see something from another culture that you like, be sure to talk to someone of that culture to be sure that it’s okay if you wear that thing or say certain words.” Sidahmed also shares this view, adding that it’s not offensive for a person to take part in cultures when they are invited to do so. “I think there’s some things in cultures that you can share but other things that aren’t meant to be shared with other people who don’t identify themselves as that culture,” she said. “I think it’s okay in showing respect, like if you’re going to a place where people are part of that culture and allow you partake in it. But [it’s not okay] just to decorate yourself or to show it off.” Additionally, Sidahmed believes that everyone should be aware of cultural appropriation and its effects, even if they aren’t a part of a minority group. “It’s important to keep it intersectional. I don’t only speak out against appropriation when it affects me. Bindis aren’t part of my culture, but I speak out when I see others appropriate them. Or wearing other cultures costumes, like Native American headdress, I speak out against that too. You can’t only speak out against what affects you. Even if you’re not affected by cultural appropriation, you can still speak out against it.”
november 6, 2015 11
t h i c k
skinned
By Caroline Brown & Sarah Smith Walking into her kindergarten classroom, Virgie Tovar was introduced to a world her parents had never warned her about. Ridiculed by her classmates and peers, she felt constantly threatened, and school soon became intolerable. She began learning her ABCs like any other kid, but each day her focus was impaired by a lesson that would influence her for the rest of her life: learning to hate her body. “I would not have been ashamed of my body if I had not gone to school. I remember being eleven and going an entire summer eating only lettuce and toast and exercising two hours a day so that I could lose weight. When I came back, I was still too fat,” Tovar said. “Even though my friends didn’t make fun of me, they didn’t know how to respond to people who were making fun of me. I did not have support. I left high school thinking I was the ugliest person in the world.” This self-destructive lifestyle continued into her twenties. She found that her constant dieting and exercising seemed to result in positive feedback and attention, making it even harder for her to see how dangerous that mentality really was. “There was this gym in my apartment. It was so gross in there, but I would exercise for hours and hours,” Tovar said. “I found that the less healthy I was, the more attractive I was to men, even though I was clearly enacting disordered behavior and disordered eating.” It was one day, after her daily workout routine when Tovar final-
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ly reached an epiphany. She was sitting at a place that represented everything she had grown to fear: her kitchen table. “When you’re dieting, when you’re in that mentality, all you want is for it to end. I just started thinking to myself, ‘When can I eat something I want to eat? Can I eat cake a year from now?’ The answer is no. ‘Can I eat cake in two years?’ No. ‘In 5 years?’ No,” Tovar said. “It just kept going like that, and I realized that the answer was the end of my life. I could not eat cake. I could not do any of the things that I wanted to do. I could not live a full life because if I did those things, I could gain weight and that would make me a failure. That would make me ugly. That would make me wrong.” Even after this realization, Tovar continued her cycle of exercising and caloric restriction, though she was questioning its necessity. After several months of inner turmoil, she decided it was time for a change. Living in San Francisco, Tovar is now an activist in the fat acceptance movement, a social effort working to eliminate anti-fat attitudes. Tovar is an advisor of NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, and has published an anthology called Hot and Heavy. “I got really involved in fat activism during that time, and the book came directly out of the fat activism movement and the fat activists that I met,” she said. EDITOR OF THE ANTHOLOGY HOT AND HEAVY “I was just really inspired by the
“I REMEMBER BEING ELEVEN AND GOING AN ENTIRE SUMMER EATING ONLY LETTUCE AND TOAST AND EXERCISING TWO HOURS A DAY SO THAT I COULD LOSE WEIGHT. I LEFT HIGH SCHOOL THINKING I WAS THE UGLIEST PERSON IN THE WORLD.” VIRGIE TOVAR
people who were doing the work in the fat activism movement, and that solidified that I wanted to do this book and ask them all to tell the story of how they got there and their fabulous lives.” Although the fat activism movement has gained more attention in the past decade with blogs and social media accounts, stories like Virgie’s are still occurring. Even though Savannah Haneline ‘17 believes in self love, it became difficult to practice the philosophy after she herself was called fat. “I didn’t really want to tell anyone about it. I finally told my mom that it really bothered me. She thought that it bothered me because she thought that I actually thought that,” Haneline said. “Everyone has that little voice in their head wondering if people are actually thinking that. The guy who said it is so mean. It’s dumb. It hurt me more than it should’ve. If I had more confidence in myself, I could have said,
‘Oh, I’m fine. You’re wrong.’ Instead I had to feel so defensive and think, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ But no, something’s wrong with them.” As she got older, Tovar continued to be bullied because of her body. Looking back, she believes that the people around her saw the situation as something far less serious than it really was, allowing bullies to continue their harmful behavior. “I don’t like the word ‘tease’ because it indicates something childish and that it’s something natural that all kids experience,” Tovar said. “This was another level. It was very rare that I would go a single day without being emotionally terrorized. Not only does it hurt when you’re being insulted, but then the whole rest of the time when it’s not happening, you’re waiting for it to happen. It’s extraordinarily stressful.” At the time, Tovar suppressed her love for fashion to avoid attracting additional attention. “I didn’t own anything that wasn’t brown, dark blue, or black in my entire wardrobe,” she said. “My greatest ambition was to be thin, but if I couldn’t be thin, my greatest ambition was to disappear and to not exist.” Like Haneline, Tovar initially saw herself as the problem. “I didn’t feel that the problem was people being awful to me; I thought that the problem was me. And I thought that if I could change, then this behavior would stop. That it was ultimately my fault. This is one of the biggest misconceptions around fat people. It’s that somehow we are asking for it because we are fat, and that if we could just conform, lose weight and look like a thinner person, then everyone would stop treating [us] like that,” Tovar said. “The problem is that people think it’s okay to treat anyone like that. The teaser or emotional terrorist is the problem. The person who’s being teased is not the problem.” Even after Tovar was able to see that she was not at fault for the manner in which she was being treated, she found that she was not able to fully embrace this mindset until she experienced her first serious relationship. “He constantly told me I was beautiful, and he talked about the parts of my body that I had a really hard time loving, and that I was embarrassed of, and he would tell me how beautiful they were,” Tovar said. “It was really powerful to have a partner or a boyfriend who was
my number one fan. I feel like every person deserves to have that experience because it really heals you and changes the way you see your body.” Tovar and Haneline are not the only women campaigning for change. In the last month, Cosmopolitan came out with a new Instagram trend: the ‘thighbrow.’ The hashtag describes the top of the thigh crease when kneeling, sitting, or leaning forward. This is a large jump from the last few years’ infamous “thigh gap,” a trend that had some girls exercising just to lose the little weight between their legs. Other publications too are advertising a more voluptuous body type. “[Curvy bodies] are more pushed. People are starting to say, ‘It’s okay that my body doesn’t look like a model, and only one percent of bodies do look like that’,” Haneline said. “I’ve heard the saying that ‘If you’re not curvy, you’re not a real woman’, and I don’t stand for that at all. But people are pushing towards a more realistic body type.” In one major example, American Eagle’s ‘sister store’ Aerie has taken a stand on this topic. The company introduced their new no-Photoshop campaign #AerieREAL, featuring celebrity Emma Roberts, in 2014. To challenge the idea that it takes a supermodel to look good in what they wear, Aerie is now only using models for their clothing that are not retouched in any way. Although some media outlets and stores like Aerie are highlighting more diverse body types, the word “fat” still carries negative connotations for some women. Many publications use the word “curvy” in preference to “fat” to avoid causing controversy. Despite often blurred distinction, Haneline sees fat and curvy as two separate things. “Not all people who are fat are curvy. It’s just your
body type. They don’t necessarily go hand in hand,” Haneline said. “Calling people who identify as fat ‘curvy’ is kind of like beating around the bush.” Tovar also has to differentiate between the two descriptors in the fashion articles she writes for Buzzfeed. “I often use the word curvy because they feel like the word ‘fat’ makes it a little bit too political. This is very common for large publications that have a following because they want to make [the article] more accessible to everybody,” she said. “They’ll use the word ‘curvy’ instead of ‘fat’ because fat is something a lot of people don’t want to be associated with.” In her own work, Tovar prefers to use the word fat because she has moved past the idea of fat being a negative word. She feels that the more openly it is used, the more it will be accepted. “Curvy is like an apologetic version of fat,” she said. “I also feel like it’s pretty gendered. It is almost exclusively talking about women or feminine people. I feel like ‘curvy’ is catering to masculinity in general. It’s saying ‘I’m desirable’. It’s saying ‘I’m bigger, but I’m bigger in the right way.’ So when I hear curvy, I think of an apologetic, sexualized fat.” Like Tovar, Haneline believes that being fat should not be viewed in a negative way. However, she has found that trying to think differently than the rest of society is a difficult task. What she finds most surprising is how challenging it is to ignore what everyone else thinks. “I hate that it makes Virgie Tovar is the editor of Hot and Heavy. She is an advisor me feel bad. It’s just an for the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, and observation. I don’t pershe writes fashion articles for Buzzfeed. sonally think I’m fat, PHOTO SOURCE: TWITTER (@VIRGIETOVAR)
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but it’s not a bad thing to be overweight,” Haneline said. “It’s like fat and ugly go hand in hand. If I was tall, I wouldn’t be like, ‘Oh, I’m not tall. I would never call some one tall.’ It’s the same thing; it’s just a descriptor, except it has a negative connotation.” With a new ideal body type trending, skinny girls are also beginning to experience discrimination. Between workout routines in magazines, the lyrics in a multitude of current pop songs, and the new phenomenon of having a bigger butt, some girls feel oppressed by this new, equally unattainable ideal body. Although Tovar acknowledges the struggles of girls who are ridiculed for being thin, she sees skinny shaming as a way to redirect the conversation away from fat positive politics. “The truth is that skinny people experience far fewer barriers to resources—like clothing, jobs, intimate relationships— than fat people do,” Tovar said. “I also think that when we dedicate our energy and resources to people who are experiencing the most stigma, everyone else benefits from that. In this case, I think people of all sizes would benefit from a cultural shift away from fatphobia.” Knowing a girl who was targeted for being thin, Haneline maintains that skinny shaming is a reality for many girls. However, she doesn’t believe the solution is discriminating against fat people. She sees a compromise in pushing towards a general healthy movement, instead of idealizing any body type. “Either way I feel like someone is going to feel bad about themselves. Skinny shaming is definitely a thing,” Haneline said. “[But] I don’t understand why people say, ‘I want to be skinny, so skinny’. Why don’t you just want to be healthy? What your body is supposed to be, not curvy or skinny, [is] just healthy.” Haneline believes glorifying any body type will lead to unhealthy behavior at some level. “If girls were told to be skinny, they’d starve themselves, and that’s not a healthy lifestyle. But to obtain a new idealized fat body, people will eat more than they should and that’s not good either,” Haneline said. “You need to find what’s good for yourself.
Savannah Haneline ‘17 has faced bullying for her appearance in the past. “The guy who said it is so mean, it’s dumb. It hurt me more than it should’ve. If I had more confidence in myself, I could have said, ‘Oh, I’m fine. You’re wrong.’” PHOTO BY CAROLINE BROWN
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It doesn’t necessarily matter what the world is telling you, like ‘skinny is what you need to be’ or ‘fat is what you need to be.’ It’s what you are.” A common critique of the fat acceptance movement is that they’re perpetuating an unhealthy lifestyle, and many like Haneline believe that health is a priority in body image. Tovar disagrees with demanding a “healthy lifestyle” because of the term’s lack of specificity. “We’re all rallying around this notion of health, but no one knows what we’re talking about,” Tovar said. “What is health anyway? Does it mean someone who is free of disease? Does it mean someone who is fit? Fat people can be free of disease, and fit people can have cancer. It isn’t something we can see when we look at somebody.” Health is a rare body image concept in the way that it affects both genders. While the media can both influence boys and girls, Tovar believes women still experience more pressure related to their appearances. “Body image affects boys and girls in a lot of similar ways. Certainly there’s been a reported uptick in boys experiencing eating disorders, exercise obsession and body dysmorphia,” Tovar said. “That being said, diet products in particular are mar-
keted much more to girls. We still live in a culture where women feel the most important thing about them is their body and their ability to be beautiful.” Tovar believes a larger fraction of women are concerned about body image because society puts more emphasis on their beauty and sexuality. Men are still under pressure in some ways, but it is not as frequent or extreme. “I think boys feel it’s important to be muscular or attractive, but boys are encouraged to have ambitions beyond that,” Tovar said. “Our culture is quite dedicated to the success of boys, white boys particularly, in a way that we are not dedicated to the success of girls.” Tovar believes that the media sends a message to young girls that if you aren’t thin, you won’t live a happy life. “The diet and beauty industries have taught girls that being thin is the same as being loved, being successful, and being happy,” Tovar said. “I think a lot of girls think that being thin is the biggest accomplishment they can ever achieve, which is really unfortunate because girls can be anything they want! So why settle for so little? But it’s the idea that women can’t achieve amazing things, I think, that makes body image issues a much more dangerous matter for girls.” Haneline, too, sees a gender gap when comparing women’s and men’s societal expectations. “I feel like stereotypically a guy is first off attracted to a girl by her looks. A girl can be attracted to a guy because he carries himself confidently, or because he has a sense of humor, and that makes him attractive,” Haneline said. “For girls, it’s more the personality and the looks, but for guys, they are told that all they have to look for is a girl who is pretty. If she’s not funny, it’s not as much of a priority as if she has big boobs, because that’s what he’s been told to like. I feel like guys go after the same type of girl over and over again because they’ve been told to go after that girl.” In an age of technology, blogs, and Youtube videos, general information about body image and self confidence are very accessible. Arming them with the right responses to bullies could be a big step in getting help for kids like Virgie. “What is exciting is that kids in high school now have this incredible unprecedented access to the Internet, which is where all the
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conversations about body image are really happening,” Tovar said. “My hope is that there are high schoolaged people who are following the Instagrams of body positive people, or are reading blogs or watching videos by fat activists. For the first time ever, a person doesn’t have to have a friend in high school who teaches them that fat shaming is wrong. They can just go online and find that.” Ideally this would teach those who discriminate to stop and those who are discriminated against to stand up for themselves, but this isn’t always the outcome. “My guess is that even though there are a lot more options for high school students to access things like that, I don’t think the environment has changed considerably. I think that people have more access to tools than I did, but I imagine that high school is still really, really hard for people who don’t fit into this narrow idea of what beauty is, unfortunately,” Tovar said. “I hope that people will take advantage of the conversation around fat politics and body positivity that’s happening in the media and online because it will give them the information, as well as the comebacks and the confidence that they need to survive this stuff.” Throughout her career, Tovar has entirely rebuilt her mentality about body image. After feeling insecure for all of her young adult life, she now has the confidence to live as she wants to. “It’s so important for me to not be ashamed of who I am and to just own my body. This body that you want me to hate, I don’t hate. This body that you’ve told me to be afraid of, I’m not going to be afraid of it. This body that you’ve told me is ugly, is not. It’s actually a beautiful body. It’s a fine body; it’s a perfect body,” she said. “For me, using that word is a very political way of saying I am not sorry for this body and I am not changing it.” Perhaps the latest trend has nothing to do with numbers or how much space is in between your thighs. Both Haneline and Tovar endorse the idea that loving your body is essential, and no one else should tell you otherwise. “I think that society as a whole pretty much tells everyone that you shouldn’t like your body and if your body isn’t like this, it’s bad. You need to have this certain physique, walk a certain way, act a certain way, and if you don’t, that’s bad,” Haneline said. “ If you do love your body and you do love yourself, it’s like a little act of rebellion against everyone else. If you’re constantly telling yourself, ‘I’m nice, I’m pretty’, you start to think it.”
heritage or hate? By Sofie Lie & Lucy McGehee
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The centuries-old debate over the place of the Confederate flag in America has resurfaced through social media.
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hen Abby Dalton ‘19 posted a photo of herself to Instagram, she didn’t anticipate much commentary. However, the photo of Dalton sparked controversy; it was edited to feature a layered image of the Confederate flag and included a caption that fiercely defended the stylistic choice. In posting the photo, Dalton aimed to defend what she believes to represent Southern pride. “Some people that hold the Confederate flag are racist, but it’s not the flag, it is the people behind the flag,” Dalton said. “It’s how you were raised.” Dalton was raised in Charleston, Oklahoma, a city that located in a county with only 3,000 people. She credits both her Southern heritage and her upbringing for her intense pride in the Confederate flag. “I spent most of my childhood in Oklahoma, so for me [the flag] means Southern pride,” Dalton said. Along with the predominate Southern influence in rural Oklahoma, Dalton has grown up recognizing the flag as part of her identity through her family culture. “My parents have raised me under the Confederate flag and taught me what it meant in a positive way,” Dalton said. “I may not have been as open and blunt about everything [if I grew up in Iowa], but I’m a rebel, so I’m going to be rebellious about it.” Dalton’s use of social media to express her thoughts regarding the Confederate flag indicates the modern context of the flag in which the media has played the role of the moderator. Nathan Hellwig, who has taught the Civil War trimester course for 16 years, has noticed the role that social
media plays in further dividing Northern and Southern perspectives. “I have friends of mine who are Southern, and through Facebook, you really get to learn who somebody is,” Hellwig said. “For them, they are always hitting this heritage, heritage, heritage, which I completely understand. But after 150 years, how many wars have we fought where Northerners and Southerners have fought side by side?” Although Hellwig acknowledged the varied perspectives that can be used when teaching the course, he chooses to teach it from the perspective of the North, a decision that he deems appropriate considering Iowa’s history. “I’m partisan to the North 100 percent. Living in Iowa, I want to show it from the Northern standpoint. We’re not Southerners; it would be silly to spend most of my time talking about soldiers from Alabama,” Hellwig said. “We spend a lot of time talking about Iowa soldiers. I do talk about Confederates. I refer to them as rebels, but it is very much heavily Unionbased.” Hellwig theorizes that the prominence of the flag in a modern context comes from the initial ban of the Confederate flag during the reconstruction period following the Civil War, which led to rebellion. “What happened then was that federal government started to relax a little bit on guidelines, and the way that the Confederates were able to shape the memories was that they started to write memoirs, and they started putting up those monuments,” he said. These Confederate monuments have been under scrutiny since the Charleston, South Carolina shoot-
ing spurred a public outcry against Confederate symbols. “There have been lots of discussions about tearing down Confederate memorials or moving them. I have a problem with that,” Hellwig said. “I think that the memorials need to be up; people need to see them to see that we have made mistakes.” Hellwig justified the use of the flag to decorate a Confederate monument, at war memorials, and in instances such as Civil War reenactments. However, he is in agreement with South Carolina’s decision to ban the Confederate flag on state house grounds, a decision that was due to public response regarding the racism and slavery represented by the flag. “I don’t think that the Confederate flag belongs in any federal or state property,” Hellwig said. “I just think it’s inappropriate.” Historical context allows Hellwig to reference the flag frequently throughout his Civil War course; however, it is the modern context of the flag that he finds most difficult to address. Hellwig experiences difficulty when discussing modern interpretations because of the evolution of the flag from a symbol of the confederacy to a symbol adopted by groups such as the Klu Klux Klan. “I think that the flag has a completely different meaning because of the hate groups that have adopted it,” Hellwig said. The decision was controversial, as Dalton and many other Southerners argue that this infringes on their Southern expression, pride, and free speech rights. “I don’t think it was the flag’s fault, and I don’t think that South Carolina should have removed the flag,” Dalton said. “I think that they should rather have focused
on punishing the shooter. I think that it goes back to that it’s the person, not the flag.” Large retailers such as Walmart, eBay, Sears, Target, Etsy, and Amazon have banned the sale of Confederate memorabilia from their stores in response to the Charleston shooting as well. “I think that that is very wrong. I understand that it offends people, but there are a lot of things out there that offend people,” Dalton said. “The Confederate flag may mean bad things to some people, but it also means important things to others. How would you like it if you were LGBTQ+, and we took the gay pride flag away? You would be pissed off, and that’s how we feel. The Confederate flag is a huge part of who we are, and it was taken from us like it wasn’t a big deal.” The recent banning of the flag has revived the sharp divide between the North and the South; a divide that Hellwig doesn’t see going away any time soon. “There’s always going to be the animosity between Southerners and Northerners. I think that it’s just natural,” he said. “I think that we’re always going to have that, but hopefully it’s playful, which a lot of it is.” The Confederate flag had proved to be a timeless controversy as the Civil War occurred over 150 years ago. The loss still resonates with many states that were involved on the Confederate side. “It’s one thing to study the war, like I do, and go sleep in the woods and wear funny uniforms, but in the end, I get up, and these [Southern] people are my friends,” Hellwig said. “We’ve got to put it behind us and realize that we’re all Americans, no matter what race or gender we are.”
november 6, 2015 17
an update
w e l c o m e
sydney waverly WILLIAMS Last issue, we wrote about Chandler Hamm ‘16 and the baby she was expecting. On the morning of Tuesday, October 27th, Sydney Waverly Williams was born at 12:39 a.m. After only four hours in the hospital, Hamm’s delivery went very smoothly, and her daughter
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was born right on time. Her hospital room has been filled with family friends since, and Hamm says that she is “so in love” with her new baby. Congratulations, Chandler! The Little Hawk is wishing you well.
PHOTOS BY CAROLINE BROWN
november 6, 2015 19
said he’s almost gotten blown up. He was riding in one of those cars and the one behind him blew up, but his didn’t. There was a bomb outside of his office that blew up one day. [After hearing that], I was scared. What if he would’ve been in that car [behind him]?” Roemerman also recalls seeing videos and hearing about war scenarios from her dad. “I also remember watching a video that he sent us while he was deployed, and you could hear bombs going off in the background,” she said. “So that kind of hit me hard.” These stories can cause fear and anxiety. Greazel recalls having regular meetings with her counselor in elementary school to talk about her situation. “I feel like kids with their par-
living with camo As Veteran’s Day approaches on November 11, Anna Roemerman ‘17 and Abby Greazel ‘17 open up about their personal experiences with parents serving time in the military. By Sadie Hobbs & Lucy McGehee
Seeing one less set of silverware, one less seat filled at the dinner table, and one less glass being used became routine for the young Anna Roemerman ‘17 while her father was deployed in the Middle-East. “When I was younger, I had no idea what was going on. For a little bit I actually thought my parents were divorced because I didn’t know what was happening. I didn’t know where my dad was, and I didn’t know what the military was,” Roemerman said. “Once I got into third grade I was like, ‘Oh, my dad, he’s in another country fighting for our country.’ Then in sixth grade I actually knew what was happening in the war and knew what was going on, so it wasn’t until sixth grade that I was actually scared and worried about his deployment.” Roemerman’s dad was in the National Guard for about 25 years. During that time, the dynamics in her family changed. “There was a lot of stress on my mom, taking care of all of my siblings in the house at that time,” Roemerman said. “With me and my brother, it was probably even harder because we were both really young. My mom read a lot. I think that was one of her main distractions that really helped her.” Just like Roemerman, Abby Greazel ‘17 also has a father who served time in the National Guard, as well as in the Marines from 1993 to 2001. He was deployed in Iraq for two years, and he is still a member of the National Guard and travels to Arizona to manage training.
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“I was scared when I was little [when my dad left], but my dad wasn’t one of the people that fights. He’s one of the computer people,” Greazel said. “He leaves every month for a weekend to go to training. Sometimes he leaves for a whole month or just a couple weeks.” Heartfelt military homecomings make news every few months on Twitter and Instagram. In real life, they aren’t always extravagant, but still hold an immense amount of emotion. “I remember when I first saw him I just started crying,” Greazel said. “I was so happy that he was home.” With the constant coverage of the wars in the Middle East by the media, military families are often bombarded with recent action within the war their family members are taking a part in. This also, however, creates a sense of ambiguity. “I remember watching news and they would show what was happening in Afghanistan, and I would not know what my dad was doing,” Roemerman said. Although there is broad media coverage, social media and cellphones allow families to connect with their soldiers overseas personally and get a more detailed account of their safety and actions. “When [my dad] got back from Iraq, he had videos on his computer that he showed us. But he couldn’t tell us exact details because those details are secret,” Greazel said. “He
ents [in the military] understand that it’s scary, and that there’s always a chance that our parents could never come back,” Greazel said. Although President Obama has proposed reducing the 32,000 troops currently in Afghanistan to 9,800 by the end of 2016, many troops will remain to maintain order and ease transition of demilitarizing the war-torn countries of the Middle-East. “[My dad] was supposed to go back to Iraq next year, but my mom didn’t want him to because that’s my senior year, so he wouldn’t get to see me graduate,” Greazel said. “I think he opted out of going, and I don’t know if he’ll ever have to go again or not.” Viewing the war with personal connections to those involved can influence perspective on the wars around the world. “I view [the war] more positively than others because I know more of the reasons why we go to war in the first place,” Roemerman said. “I feel like that because I understand more about what actually goes on during the wars, I don’t feel as bad about it.”
“I REMEMBER WATCHING NEWS AND THEY WOULD SHOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING IN AFGHANISTAN, AND I WOULD NOT KNOW WHAT MY DAD WAS DOING.” ANNA ROEMERMAN ‘17
Anna Roemerman ‘17 and her father Martin Roemerman outside their home. PHOTO BY CAROLINE BROWN
november 6, 2015 21
editorial: fashion
Sasha Chapnick-Sorokin ‘17 describes her style as “put together.” Featured here are some of her—and our—favorite outfits. Dress: Nordstrom. Shirt: Topshop. PHOTOS & INTERVIEW BY SARAH SMITH.
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“i will look nice on a test day because it makes me feel good. if i feel put together, i perform better.” Sweater: American Eagle. Pants: 90s vintage.
“i have a more extroverted personality. i wear clothes that are less wild, and they complement each other.”
Coat: Nordstrom. Shirt: Forever 21. Pants: Von Maur.
Coat: Nordstrom. Skirt & shirt: Topshop. Shoes: Converse. Hat: Nordstrom.
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