28 minute read
The Lizzo Effect
Love her, hate her or somewhere in between, there is no denying that Lizzo has taken the world by storm in what feels like it was over night. In the past year, Lizzo has been releasing hits such as ‘Juice’, ‘Truth Hurts’ and ‘Good as Hell (ft. Ariana Grande)’ that saw her launch into the mainstream music scene in 2019. However you view her music, there is no denying that Lizzo exuberates positivity and installs that into her fans a.k.a the Lizzo effect.
Of course Lizzo is not the first female artist to preach acceptance. For example, Adele was very vocal about criticism she received about her weight and how this has no correlation to her talent, but Lizzo is an artist that does not conform to the stereotypical female pop singer that is ingrained in our society. She has created a larger than life persona that exuberates wit, charisma, authenticity and above all - confidence.
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The media is very quick to body shame Lizzo and label her as ‘unhealthy’ because of her weight. However, body mass and weight have no relation to healthiness. Lizzo works out; she delivers enthusiasm and can dance for hours when she is performing and singing. Not only does Lizzo blast out tunes, she is able to command a stage and put on one hell of a show for her audiences. Growing up in the late 90s to mid 2000s, the ultimate black feminist icon was Beyoncé. She had the voice, the attitude and the look - she was a figure many people looked up to. Despite Beyoncé’s status as an icon, it was not until the last few years that Beyoncé wanted to associate with the term feminist. Fast forward to 2019, times have changed and Lizzo is by far the embodiment of a great role model for the young and old. She is a proud feminist.
The Lizzo effect can be seen across social media too. By publicly ‘shooting her shot’ on Twitter with Niall Horan, people can see that she has a sense of humour and encourages others to take a chance. This authenticity is refreshing because Lizzo illustrates the idea of ‘sameness’ - the idea that she is just like everybody else. The countless videos she posts of herself going about life or giving fans the real talk implies that she has nothing to hide nor is afraid to allow fans to see the trials and tribulations. By exposing herself, she is able to build trust with fans because they feel close to her, thus allowing them to believe in the positive messages that she conveys in her songs and in her everyday life. This is what I mean when I say it is the Lizzo effect.
WORDS BY JO LISNEY
Eating Disorder Awareness Week 2020: Spotting the Subtle Signs
With Eating Disorder Awareness Week around the corner, this article is aimed at helping you learn a bit more about eating disorders. The major eating disorders are anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge- eating disorder but there are others like orthorexia, pica as well. If you are wondering why do we need an awareness week for eating disorders? Let me start by telling you a bit about it.
Eating disorders aren’t just a person’s difficult relationship with food but also with their emotions! On average, people in the U.K. don’t seek help before experiencing eating disorder symptoms for almost three years. In a survey conducted by YouGov, it was found that one in three adults in the U.K. could not name any signs or symptoms of eating disorders.
The chances for recovery increases the earlier an eating disorder is detected. Plus, there are so many misunderstandings and myths around eating disorders that need to be fought off.
So the more observant we are about people around us, the more help we can provide to those who need it!
Common warning signs to of an eating disorder to look out for yourself or in other people are:
• Noticeable fluctuations in weight, both increase and decrease of weight
Excessive exercising: If someone panics about missing even a single day of exercise or work out even if they aren’t feeling up to it.
Abnormal laboratory findings like low hormone and thyroid levels, anaemia, low blood cell counts etc.
Having eating rituals like arranging/playing with food or cutting food into very tiny morsels
Low energy and tiredness
• Irregular menstruation cycles in women and decreased libido in men •
Frequent trips to the bathroom during or after meals
• Changes in dressing style like starting to wear baggy clothes
• Dizziness or fainting from malnutrition •
Dry skin, hair and brittle nails due to dehydration
• Dental problems like tooth erosion, cavities, discolouration etc. •
Feeling cold most of the time even in warm weather as the fat in the body helps us withstand cold and people with little body fat can have difficulty maintaining their body temperature. •
Fine body hair due to deprivation of nutrition in the body •
Sunken or swollen cheeks (as a result of swollen salivary glands due to purging)
Psychological, Emotional & Behavioural:
• Poor body image: Negative or obsessive thoughts about body size or shape and negative self talk about their eating habits. For example: ‘I am so fat.’ or ‘I have no self-control’
Fear of eating in public: People with eating disorders might feel very conscious eating in public because they feel that others are watching and judging them. They might often avoid meals with other people.
Preoccupation with nutritional content which might mean fixation on only eating foods that are ‘’healthy’’ or cutting out entire food groups.
• Using food as a source of comfort or as a form of self- punishment. For example: Refusing to eat or eating a lot due to stress. •
Mood fluctuations: anger, anxiety, withdrawal, loss of interest, irritability, depression etc. •
Secrecy and withdrawal from the world. It might also involve lying about eating.
Now let’s explore a little into the myths people have about eating disorders:
1. Eating disorders are a choice
Eating disorders are complex psychological illnesses which are extremely distressing for the individual and their closed ones. Specialist treatment is required for recovery.
2. Everyone suffering from Eating disorders is underweight
Disorders like ‘Anorexia’ may result in an individual being underweight but people with Eating disorders can be overweight or have a healthy weight.
3. Eating disorders only happen to women
Research has shown that eating disorders can affect people of all genders, ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic statuses.
Let’s talk more about eating disorders! Let’s talk more about mental health! Let’s make it an everyday conversation! Let’s end the stigma and ensure that people can get the right help they need.
If you are worried about yourself or someone who might be showing signs of eating disorders, you can visit beateatingdisorders.org.uk or call their Studentline on 080880 10811
WORDS BY VIDHI BASSI
‘normal’ Editor’s Note: This article uses sex (assigned based on anatomy) and gender (associated cultural norms) in reference to women, as both have an influence on medical research and care. At least since Ancient Greece, the default human body was established as male. Hippocratic physicians thought of the female body as abnormal, and others believed that female bodies were simply male bodies turned inwards due to a deficiency in ‘vital heat’. This trend in thinking continued for the next several thousand years Even today, there is a prevailing belief that female bodies differ from male bodies only in size and reproductive organs, with the underlying understanding that men’s biology is the default. The medical stance was summarised by Leonore Tiefer in 1992: ‘Men and women are the same, and they’re all men.’ Indoctrination into this belief within the medical profession starts early. A 2008 analysis of recommended medical textbooks found that three times as many male as female bodies were used to illustrate neutral body parts. The study concluded that in western anatomy textbooks, the white male is presented as the ‘universal model’ for human bodies. But women do differ from men in more than size and reproductive organs. Approximately 8% of the population have autoimmune diseases, but women make up about 80% of those affected. The reasons for this are not fully understood, though there is some idea that women have evolved a particularly strong immune response to protect developing foetuses – sometimes it overreacts and attacks the body itself. This could also be a possible explanation behind the results of studies that show sex-specific differences in vaccine outcomes - women develop a stronger antibody response, but also have more frequent and more severe adverse reactions. But differences in response to medical treatments are largely absent in the scientific literature, making the knowledge of sex-specific vaccine reactions somewhat of a rare gem. The medical sphere is plagued by a ‘gender data gap’, as Caroline Criado Perez describes it in her book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. Sex-specific knowledge within the medical community is ‘dependent on the availability of sex-specific data,’ she writes, ‘but because women have largely been excluded from medical research, this data is severely lacking.’ And when women are included in medical trials, the researchers often fail to examine the differences between the sexes.
A 2014 report by from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston summed up the issue:
Sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, was discovered as a treatment for erectile dysfunction when it was being tested as a heart medication in the early 1990s. If more women had been included in the original trials, its possible effectiveness as period pain relief would have been discovered before 2013. And if women’s health was given equal consideration as men’s, further funding requests would not have been denied.
One of the starkest examples of male default bias is so prevalent, it has its own name: Yentl Syndrome.
In the film Yentl, Barbra Streisand’s character had to dress up as a man to receive an education, so the name came to refer to the phenomenon that women who have ‘malepattern’ Coronary Heart Disease are more likely to get the appropriate diagnosis and treatment.
However, most women don’t present with the chest and left arm pains of a ‘Hollywood (male-pattern) Heart attack’. Instead, they have stomach pain, breathlessness, nausea, and no chest pain at all. Because of this, women are 50% more likely than men to be misdiagnosed following a heart attack, which is not a surprise when the patient populations used to study the disease were at least twothirds male.
This is especially worrying considering CHD is the leading cause of death worldwide. An editorial in the European Heart Journal said that contemporary data demonstrates ‘persistently more adverse outcomes for women compared with men’ – because a higher proportion of women do not have male-pattern presentation, relatively fewer women are treated, so more women die.
The problem with male-default thinking in medical research costs lives. Women need to be included in all levels of research, and sex differences need to be studied, so doctors can provide care which is as informed about women as it is about men.
WORDS BY ELINOR AUSTIN
Society Spotlight:FemSoc
What is FemSoc?
I never realised how extensive feminism was until I joined the Feminist Society. Of course, I was already well on board with questioning the status quo and complaining about our patriarchal society (at which most people yawn….). But feminism entails so much more than being a “strong, independent woman”. Feminism stands for equality, and FemSoc made sure I delved into understanding how feminism concerns everyone, everywhere. We’re a society that’s passionate about raising awareness of intersectional feminism and talking about the important social issues that seem to get brushed aside. We ask questions and interrogate what’s going on around us; at uni, in our communities and across the world.
What are our aims?
Each week sees us engage with a new subject which we research and discuss at our Thursday night meetings. We’ve talked about a whole range of pertinent topics, from AIDS, to Hispanic Heritage, to mental health and, most recently, Black Queer history. We also did a really fun collab with Amnesty Society last semester where we jointly hosted a Clothes Swap. Coming up, we have a Fat Activism meeting and an exciting panel event at the Art House focusing on performative allyship specifically among trans and non-binary people.
Some of our best meetings have involved collective mind-mapping where we debate how best to tackle the ever-present issues that exist at the university. It makes me hopeful that we can action change and create a better and safer environment for everyone. If we’re not talking about it, who will?!#
More than anything, though, I am grateful to be able to listen and learn from the people around me. Our book club has been a great way to lead discussions and learn more about marginal groups. We started book club last year (2019) and so far we’ve had some brilliant conversations (with many more surely to come…). All of the books we’ve looked at have importantly placed women of colour, queer women and prejudice-facing minority groups at the forefront of our discourse – where they should be.
Why should you get involved?
I think the real question is why not? All of us on the committee are passionate about having our voices heard, and uplifting the voices of those who are silenced. We want to learn and spread knowledge, and we’re interested to hear what you have to say.
Upcoming events include the Catwalk4Consent, our annual unconventional fashion show, where we disprove the myth that clothing = consent. While this should be a given, people are harassed and blamed for their clothing choices regularly. This event promises to be powerful, moving and certainly a step in the right direction for fighting against this unfounded stigma! Come along if you can – Friday 21st Feb at 7.30pm in The Cube. We’re really proud to be supporting the charity Yellow Door who help victims of sexual abuse in Southampton, so feel free to bring some spare change!
We’re also planning a ‘sleep out’ in the coming months, so stay tuned on our social media! And keep your eyes peeled for more info on our Art House panel in March! You can find us on Instagram and Twitter at sufemsoc and on Facebook at Southampton University Feminist Society. Don’t hesitate to message us about anything!
I am humbled to belong to a committee dedicated to educating others and ourselves on a whole host of contemporary issues. Everyone’s invited to come along to one of our meetings – let’s start a conversation! We have such a beautiful community of people each week and everybody is welcome.
WORDS BY LILY CORCORAN
FEMINISM
Reclaiming Hysteria
WORDS BY ALYSSA CAROLINE-BURNETTE ‘Live as domestic a life as possible. Have but two hours’ intellectual life a day. And never touch pen, brush, or pencil as long as you live.’ --Silas Weir Mitchell This was the prescription given to Charlotte Perkins Gilman, a nineteenth century feminist author diagnosed with “hysteria.” And because this very publication is predicated on the concept of hysteria, I find it fitting to devote a few moments to the history of reclaiming a diagnosis which has continued to entrap women until the 1950s. If you find yourself asking what ailment precipitated Gilman’s need for medical treatment, you might be interested to note that it was, quite simply, her literary career. Hysteria originated in the late 1800s when physicians like Silas Weir Mitchell decided that women were suffering from mental illness as a result of taking on roles incompatible with their gender. This included the pursuit of higher education, disagreeing with one’s husband, or train travel, each of which was a decision so scandalous, it was considered to rip the uterus out of the body and cause a mental disruption so severe that women could no longer function in polite society. As such, hysteria became a blanket term encompassing anything that could be considered wrong with a woman who transgressed against societal norms. And because these norms were primarily constructed by men, it meant that the medical profession-- which was dominated exclusively by male physicians like Mitchell-- got to decide that every expression of female individuality constituted hysteria. So, if you’re a female author who’s frustrated by the lack of equal publishing opportunities in the nineteenth century or you’ve had zero orgasms this year and you want to write about your sexual dissatisfaction? Congratulations, you’re hysterical! And depending on the leniency of your husband or father, you might be entitled to a nice cure consistent of vaginal leechings-- because if hysteria originates in the female productive system, then bugs must suck out all the delusions of equality-- or a ‘rest cure’ pioneered by Mitchel. Under the latter system, you could expect to be confined to your bed for up to 23 hours a day with your only exercise consisting of sponge baths and “electric vibrator” treatments by your physician. Forbidden to read, write, paint, or engage in any form of intellectual activity, a female patient could expect to follow the prescription outlined above: one which literally relegated her to staring at the wallpaper, prohibited from developing or expressing any opinion. So, this article is for every woman who dares to contribute to this publication in direct defiance of a diagnosis which would have seen her confined to bed rest or a ‘lunatic asylum’ until almost 50 years ago. (Because, yes, ‘hysteria’ remained on the books as a genuine medical diagnosis until the late 1950s). And that’s why we need every woman who keeps shrieking, keeps writing, keeps creating in any form that demands her voice be heard. Every one of our creative efforts is an attempt at reclaiming hysteria, at reminding the world that we deserve to shriek against the madness which would keep us repressed. That’s why we, as The Hysteria Collective, stand in proud defiance of the stereotypes which bind us, and we write on in rebellion of the diagnosis which would keep us from allowing our voices to be heard.
FEMINISM A FEW FAMOUS MALE FEMINISTS
‘Feminism’ is defined as the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes, and a ‘feminist’ is simply someone who supports such a theory. Notice how the term is not gender-specific. Yes, despite the shame the word feminist often (inexplicably) carries, men can be feminists too. Listed below are just a few male celebrities who use their platforms to promote women’s rights.
1. Bono
The front-man of U2 has been supporting women’s rights for decades. In 2004, he cofounded the ONE Campaign, a charitable organisation which tackles extreme poverty in Africa, providing particular support for HIV and AIDS sufferers, many of whom are women. In 2016, he founded another organisation named Poverty is Sexist, which specifically supports women living on less than $2 per day through struggles such as finding employment and keeping their families healthy. Controversially, his activism led him to be named the 2016 Glamour Man of the Year, an accolade which had only ever before been awarded to a woman.
2. Barack Obama
The 44th President of the USA was open about his feminist views throughout his presidency, saying that he hoped women and girls would have ‘no remaining ceilings to shatter’ in future. In fact, the first bill he signed after being elected in 2009 was the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act which helps women file equal pay lawsuits against employers if they aren’t being paid fairly.
3. Chris Martin
The face of Coldplay has signed up to curate the Global Citizen Festival, an international festival raising money for the Global Citizen campaign, until 2030. Global Citizen is an organisation who wants to eradicate extreme poverty globally, and promote women’s rights in order to achieve equality. 4. Daniel Craig
The actor is currently portraying the infamous ladies’ man James Bond has openly condemned him as a misogynist, and supports the inclusion of strong female characters in the franchise.
5. John Legend Legend is an advocate for gender-parity, saying at the 2013 Chime for Change Concert, ‘All men should be feminists. If men care about women’s rights, the world will be a better place’. His 2014 music video for You & I (Nobody in the World) openly promotes female empowerment, with both female celebrities and ordinary women celebrating their individuality. 6. Ian Somerhalder The Vampire Diaries actor is a vocal feminist, and has been partnered with the Girls Impact the World Film Festival since 2015, raising awareness of issues women and girls face by encouraging them to create their own short films. He was also one of the faces of the UK Women’s Aid ‘Real Man’ campaign against domestic violence 2011. 7. Ashton Kutcher The actor is the cofounder of Thorn, an antitrafficking organisation aimed at targeting the sexual exploitation of children. He has also spoken out against women’s sexual harassment in the workplace, and promotes female sexual expression in film. 8. The 14th Dalai Lama In 2009, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism said in a speech in Tennessee that ‘I call myself a feminist. Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights?’ It’s true. At the end of the day, equal rights are what feminism is all about.
WORDS BY KATIE BYNG-HALL
In Defence of
Meghan Markle
It’s no secret that Meghan Markle has been hounded by the media, especially since her marriage to Prince Harry. So much to the extent that on the 8th of January 2020, the couple announced that they would be taking a step back from being senior members of the royal family, which includes the loss of their titles as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Despite the shameful treatment of Meghan by the press, people seemed to be shocked that they decided to make this move.
The way the media has treated Meghan has been nothing short of abominable, and leaving behind their roles in the royal family is the smartest move Meghan and Harry have made. What makes the media’s treatment of Meghan even more shocking is that they do not treat Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, anywhere near as atrociously, which begs the question- is this a race issue? Undoubtedly yes.
You only have to compare headlines about the two women to see the shocking differences in media opinion of them. The Daily Mail wrote about both Kate and Meghan holding their baby bumps. For Kate this is seen as a ‘tender’ moment, yet for Meghan she is labelled as ‘vain’ or ‘acting’. The media even goes as far as to say Meghan would put Princess Charlotte’s life at risk. Both Kate and Meghan had lilies at their weddings, which the Guardian notes for Kate’s wedding ‘follows royal code’. Yet when Meghan used lilies the Express wrote that lilies are ‘toxic’ and put their ‘bridesmaids’, including Princess Charlotte, lives at risk.
If you search ‘Meghan Markle’ into Twitter, many of the top tweets that come up are negative.
People calling her a ‘bully’, ‘trashy’, ‘messy’, and yet no one actually has any explanation for why they believe it. Her hair doesn’t always fall perfectly, but does anyone’s? That doesn’t warrant the name calling on Twitter or branding her ‘trashy’. One such tweet says she is ‘a bully’ ‘manipulative’ and ‘a social climber’, yet there is not a drop of evidence for it. Meghan was famous before she met Prince Harry and had to give up her acting career, so you can hardly call it a career move.
Having now left the royal family she doesn’t even get a financial gain. And at no point has Meghan ever done anything to warrant being called a ‘bully’ or ‘manipulative’.
Prince Harry was 12 years old when he lost his mother. The press, just as they do with Meghan, vilified Princess Diana right up until her death. And by right up until her death, I mean that literally. Princess Diana died when the car she was in crashed in Paris as it was chased by the paparazzi. Photographers even took pictures of her in her last moments.
FEMINISM The 9th Earl Spencer, Charles Spencer, who was Diana’s younger brother noted she was ‘the most hunted person of the modern age’. It is no wonder then, having lived through the press’ treatment of his mother and her sudden death that he should want to remove his wife and child from the same hunting ground before he loses his wife and his child loses his mother.
Before marrying Prince Harry, Meghan was a successful actor and was on Suits from 2011 to 2017. She is outspoken when it comes to feminism. For International Women’s Day in 2019, she spoke on a panel at King’s College London. She speaks out about equality, lack of education in less fortunate countries, especially for women, and the negativity of the press. She strives to empower, do good and be good.
In Elle, 2016, Meghan said:
With fame comes opportunity, but it also includes responsibility – to advocate and share, to focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings. And, if I’m lucky enough, to inspire.
Meghan doesn’t abuse her fame. She didn’t join the royal family for a career push or the fame that it brings. She married a man she loves. She uses the platform she both had before and that has been pushed further into the spotlight to speak about the important things and make a change. She isn’t narcissistic or manipulative. She fell in love with a man very much at the forefront of the media and she has been vilified relentlessly as a result. Now she wants to inspire others and live her life without receiving abuse. When doing the research for this article I wanted to find other articles that were positive about Meghan, yet I struggled. The articles certainly are there, but they appear mainly on blogs that you have to really look hard for. Even when the media isn’t commenting negatively on her, it’s only to say that there are more negative than positive headlines about her. I’m writing this article just over a week after the tragic suicide of Caroline Flack and the influx of #BeKind tweets, yet the disgusting tweets and headlines about Meghan Markle are still appearing every day.
Not only do we need to strive to do better, we need to be better. We need call out the media for their vilification and racism, and we need to actually ‘Be Kind’, rather than just hash-tagging it.
WORDS BY MEGAN CROSSMAN
Herstory: Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Described as the ‘Mexican Phoenix’, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz is nowadays recognisable as the face which adorns the Mexican 200 peso bill. Born in the 17th century, Juana was one of the most important polymaths of her time. However, her legacy faded shortly after her death and she remained in relative obscurity until the revival of her work by the poet Octavio Paz. Nowadays, her work in the fields of theology, linguistics, poetry, playwriting and music are receiving the attention they deserve.
Born out of wedlock to a Spanish father and Criolla mother, Juana used to sneak into the nearby chapel to read. Unable to access a formal education, she taught herself how to read and write in Spanish, Latin and Nahuatl before moving to Mexico City to enter the court of the Viceroy. The rumours of Sor Juana’s intellectual capabilities were legendary, and at the age of 17, she was summoned to prove herself to a council of over 40 men, which she did “in the manner that a royal galleon might fend off the attacks of a few canoes”, according to the Viceroy. Her opposition to the idea of marriage and her demand for intellectual stimulation led her to choose a life as a nun. After entering the convent, Juana led a life surrounded by books and with enough free time to read and write at leisure. In 1693, threatened with censure after writing a critique of a priest’s sermon, Juana ceased to write and died 2 years later while attending to her fellow nuns during an outbreak of plague.
Sor Juana is considered an important protofeminist figure. Her writing is full of feminist ideas more than a century before the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Through a modern feminist lens, Sor Juana recognises the importance of the ideal found in Virginia Woolf ’s A Room Of One’s Own. The only way she could secure both money to write and a room of one’s own was to deny herself the pleasures of life and confine herself to the four walls of a convent.
Not only her genius, but also her pure love of knowledge itself goes virtually unparalleled in the history of polymaths and savants. For her love of knowledge, Juana Inés gave up her freedom.
WORDS BY JOANNA MAGILL
She Made That: Technological Innovations Made by Women
From nutritional foods when humans first walked the earth, to chocolate chip cookies (Ruth Wakefield, 1938); from formulating algorithms for computers yet to exist (Ada Lovelace, 1842) to developing new computers using quantum algorithms (Krysta Svore, 2018); from the phenomena of radioactivity and it’s detrimental effect on life (Marie Curie, 1896) to creating life itself, women have made so much for this world. I’m going to tell you just some of the most pioneering women who have made huge impacts. Marie Curie, the creator of the concept of radioactivity, is renowned and respected as the mother of the X-Ray machine, winning two Nobel Prizes for her work. With her husband Pierre between 1898 and 1902, they discovered two atomic elements, Plutonium and Radium. During WW1, she also helped developed the medical uses of small X-ray machines and they became known as ‘Little Curies’. Some created methods and formulas that actually surpassed the technology available to them. One of those was Hedy Lamarr, a Hollywood actress-come-inventor who devised Spread-Spectrum technology, a method to extend the bandwidth of information signals, making transmissions hard to detect or alter. Initially developed with her friend George Antheil as a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes, her creation was so complex it was not able to be used until two decades later in the 1960s. Spread-Spectrum technology has since become the foundation of wireless technology. Another woman ahead of her time was Ada Lovelace, the creator of an algorithm that expanded on Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine and developed it to operate more than just calculations. Her approach, self-described as ‘poetical science’, arguably meant that she could question and scrutinise how developing technologies could be applied to everyday life; the perfect illustration of an engineer’s mindset. While Lovelace was seen to be one of the founding figures of the modern-day computer, many more women have since expanded on her creation, formulating numerous programming languages, including Grace Hopper, Jean Sammet and Barabara Liskov. The algorithm for Spanning Tree Protocol, a method of creating links between computers and networks, was created by the ‘mother of the internet’, Radia Perlman. Women have also been making waves in the biological sciences: from Rosalind Frankin’s revolutionary work on x-ray crystallography in 1950s London, to Dr Wiratni Budhijanto’s new waste-water treatment invention in Indonesia. Budhijanto’s technique transforms solid waste in water into biogas and converts it into renewable energy, while being ten times more efficient than traditional processes. There are many women who have been causing stirs in the hardware category, like Caitlin Kalinowski, designer of Olulus virtual reality products. Kalinowski has also worked to champion other female engineers through Wogrammer and Lesbians Who Tech in order to showcase women and LGBTQ+ people in the STEM industry. Another woman using organisations to help women is Erica Baker, the Senior Engineering Manager at Patreon, a service ensuring creatives get paid for their work. She is also very active in recruiting women of all ethnicities into software development through Black Girls Code and Code.org. What is wonderful to see is people celebrating others in the world of STEM, especially women, who made up just 22% of the UK STEM workforce in 2018; but we still have a way to go (and I haven’t even mentioned the wage gap…). Women are persistently making things that make the world an innovative, efficient and better place to live. So listen and let her do her job.
WORDS BY ELLE BOGLE
Society Spotlight: WOCSOC
Women of Colour Society is all about creating spaces for women of colour to be authentic, vulnerable and most importantly, true to themselves.
What is WOCSOC about?
Women of Colour Society is a community and a safe space that invites women of colour on campus to feel heard, be vulnerable, open and build connections with fellow students. Although WOCSOC aims to centre the experiences of women of colour, we encourage non-women of colour and all gender identities, including cis-gendered men to engage in our events and learn about our experiences.
What are our events? And how often do we meet?
Our events are centred on providing women of colour spaces to voice their thoughts and experiences. WOCSOC typically meets twice a month. We host events like ‘sheet masks and shit talking’ where we meet monthly and provide a relaxed space for women of colour to discuss a variety of topics. Recently, we had a sheet masks event where we created vision boards and discussed setting intentions for 2020. We’ve also hosted a ‘Representation Night’, where we discussed the impact of women of colour in the media. We will also be holding collab events with other societies in March.
Get in Touch
You can find us on instagram at wocsocsoton where we are most active. If you don’t have instagram, you can find us on facebook and twitter under the same name. If you’d like to join us, we have membership active on the SUSU page and would love to see you at our next events!
WORDS BY NICOLE AKUEZUMBA
