The F Word by WN and UoN Fem Zine

Contents !

2 A Letter from the Editor 3 The Women’s Network and UoN Feminists 4 Women’s Officer Blog 5 The F Word: A Brief Intro 6 Famous Faces 7 Hard out Here 8 Miss Representation: A Review 9 On the indefinite nature and dubious use of Princes 10 Sonnet Fifty Shades of Grey 11-12 How did Feminism Find Me? 13–14 A Breech of Fairness 15 Vehicle to Equality 16 How You See Me 17 I Kept My Last Name 18 Maiden Name 19-20 A Riot of One’s Own 21 Men and Feminism 22 The F Word: A Fresher’s Perspective 23-24 Helen 25 Open Your Eyes

Front Cover, Contents and Princes Illustrations by Hannah Eachus Back Cover by Sarah Dear

A Letter from the Editor 02/12/13

Welcome to The F Word. The first Zine brought to you by The Women’s Network and UoN Feminists! For the first time, The Women’s Network has collaborated with UoN Feminists to produce their zine. This has resulted in a bit of a facelift. Each zine that we produce this year will have its own specific title and identity, but each issue will hopefully feel like a natural progression from the last. The zine will act as a unified, visual representation from both parties involved and will remain a response platform for students to express themselves through articles, poetry, creative writing, illustrations or any other creative form that takes your fancy. The theme for the first issue was an obvious choice. We wanted to explore what ‘the F word’ or ‘feminism’ means to students but we also wanted to try and challenge the seemingly unwavering stigma attached to it, hence the attempt at an illusive title. I hope that we have managed to present feminism in an approachable, unifying and positive way; because these are all the things it can be if we remove the social obstacles. The background to this page is made up of articles taken from the London Evening Standard this past weekend and highlights some of the many crucial reasons why Feminism is, and must remain, relevant. In this issue we have had some fantastic submissions so a big thank you to everyone who sent something in! Special thanks goes to Alice Dirks, Hannah Eachus, Sarah Dear, Laura Seddon and Emily Goshorn for their help in the production of this first issue. The next zine, hitting campus in January 2014, will explore issues surrounding confidence. If you would like to help out or submit something then get in touch with us at wnzineteam@outlook.com In the meantime, find us on Facebook and Twitter at: University of Nottingham Women’s Network and @UoNSU_Womens UoN Feminists and @UoNFeminists

! Rachael Cooney ! Editor 2

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! The Women’s Network ! The Women’s Network is made up of the Women’s Officers – Nina & Krishna, the Women’s ! Network committee and anyone who wants to get involved – both women !and men. We’re here to represent all self-defining women at Nottingham. ! We highlight, challenge and campaign against sexist discrimination faced by women both on campus and in the wider world. We ! help provide a safe and supportive environment for discussion. ! ! UoN Feminists ! UoN Feminists aim to bring feminist issues to the attention of students ! realise that they are as relevant today as ever. Recent and make them ! campaigns include ‘I need Feminism because…’ at Freshers Fair and an Are you a feminist?’ video campaign. UoN Feminists is an exciting new ! movement that ! welcomes all genders. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Women’s Officer Blog #1 By Nina Humphries Since June, we have been planning the year, training as part-time ! settling into our new roles as Women’s Officers. We were officers and buzzing to start representing students and making change for women at UoN. We have three priorities in terms of what we will be working on tackling this year: -

Eradicating sexism (may this be in the form of ‘Lad Culture’ or sexual harassment), Supporting students with caring responsibilities (who are predominantly women) Inspiring women to achieve their aspirations.

So let’s see what we can do this year! We were thrilled with the interest shown at the Welcome Week stall, we teamed up with our all-new campaign group UoN Feminists, who garnered lots of attention with their ‘Who Needs Feminism’ campaign. So many of you approached us with your own ideas and passions, which was especially exciting for us as one of our main ambitions is to open up the WN to make it more visible and inclusive. We will be holding regular informal socials along with campaigns meetings to give network members a chance to be more involved. The excitement I sensed in the first few weeks made me believe that this can be a huge year for women’s rights and some positive change both on and off campus! Some highlights so far this year -

Our annual Women’s self-defence sessions, One woman show ‘The Incredible Adventures of Clown Slut’ Reclaim The Night, which saw over 150 women participating in a march to demand the right for women to be safe on the streets and in their own home, without the threat of rape or sexual assault. Setting up connections with other feminist groups in the community

So what next? Look out for a UoN Everyday Sexism online page and campaigns on ‘Lad Culture’ & Zero Tolerance to sexual harassment, ‘Women in Leadership’ and Students with Caring Responsibilities. Please get in touch- we are here to represent YOU, and make YOUR ideas happen! Nina

The

The F Word: A Brief Introduction

By Rachael Cooney

! loose term, ‘feminism’ refers to the collective movements and Though a fairly ideologies that seek to establish equal political, economic and social rights for women. A feminist is any person that is in favour of gender equality. The word feminism is often used to refer back to events more than a century prior to its coinage, the earliest being 1792 with the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Women, which claimed that the same code of virtue should be applicable to both men and women. The history of the modern western Feminist movement is generally referred to in terms of three periods or waves. First-wave feminism refers to the nineteenth and early twentieth century and is synonymous with the Women’s Suffrage Movements. At first it aimed to establish equal contract, marriage, parenting and property rights for women. These aims developed into a more focussed campaign for the female right to vote. Women in Britain were eventually granted suffrage on equal terms to men in 1928. For women in other countries it remained an even longer process. The term ‘first-wave’ was introduced only after the ‘second-wave’ began in order to differentiate between the two. This new movement challenged social and cultural as well as political inequalities. It claims that aspects that determine the personal lives of women are embodied in wider sexist power structures. The progression into the second-wave movement took place in the 1960’s and arguably still exists today through a co-existence with third wave feminism. In the USA during the early 1990’s, third-wave feminism began as a response to problems that were identified with the second-wave. It introduced racerelated issues and sought to challenge the narrow-minded definition of feminine identity that had been based on the upper middle-class white woman. The third-wave also contains theories regarding the concept of gender and gender roles as socially constructed. Over the years those who define themselves as feminists have garnered the unfair reputation of man-hating, bra-burning, angry, whiny beings. This stereotypical and categorically untrue image threatens to undermine the significance and enduring relevance of the feminism campaign.

Famous Voices Of Feminism ! !

Lena Dunham: ‘So many women have come to this idea of it being antimale’ … ‘but what feminism is about is equality and human rights. For me that is just an essential part of my identity.’

Jennifer Lawrence: ‘Sex sells and for some disgusting reason, young sex sells even more…’

! !

Ellen Page: “I don’t know why people are so reluctant to say they’re feminists. Maybe some women just don’t care. But how could it be any more obvious that we still live in a patriarchal world when feminism is a bad word?’

Hard Out Here By Hannah Shoesmith With dance moves that would be more suited to a Rihanna music video, and ! women wearing such little clothing that even Miley would have a reason to be jealous, Lily Allen’s new release ‘Hard out Here’ marked a triumphant moment for women and feminists alike. Whether or not you are a fan of Lily’s spoken word vocal style, her bold statement has received over 7 million YouTube hits and has opened up the issue of the sexualisation of women to the general public whether they like it or not. Many have been asking whether the music video was entirely necessary and quite simply, yes. Yes it was. The music industry has become a metaphorical beast. Its hunger is never subdued unless gobbling up innocent people with aspirations, and eventually defecating auto-tuned robots whose music promotes ridiculous gender and race based stereotypes. Thanks to the music industry, I, as a young mixed race female, am expected to have the natural ability to twerk, which to the surprise of many is not something I particularly care for. st Century

In the 21 music is incredibly powerful and it is evident that this is both overlooked and abused. Producers and artists know that they have the influential minds of millions in the palm of their hands and the issue is that despite knowing this, they continue to produce videos that make young girls believe that they can get what they want if they look the right way and show the right assets, leaving young boys with ridiculous preconceptions of how women should act towards them. Nevertheless, there are some artists that ignore the growing social norm for degrading music videos and lyrics, and make a stand towards the beast, á la Lily Allen. The icing on the already delicious cake was when resident Radio 1 DJ Nick Grimshaw played ‘Hard out Here’ back to back with Robin Thicke’s ‘Blurred Lines’ and beeped out the word ‘bitch’. For the average listener this may have been a bit confusing, but what Grimshaw was trying to subtly get across was the context in which the word was being used. Despite backlash from the odd Twitter troll who argued that Lily was being hypocritical because all her dancers were half naked and black… (really?) ‘Hard out Here’ is an achievement for all those fed up with having limited music choice due to the amount with underlying connotations that you just can’t condone. I hope to find more people drunkenly slurring that ‘It’s hard out here for a bitch’ because she’s damn right, it is!

Miss Representation: A Review By Beth Watson and Beth Searby Let's not beat about the bush; as far as women in the media go, you're more ! likely to get an eyeful of boobs rather than brains. It seems every single branch and facet of the media is fascinated by the female body and sexuality, which deems it acceptable to present it as a commodity to be bought and sold by the masses. Hence, a fundamental query for us after the Women's Network's screening of Miss Representation was: why did it take until 2011 for the programme to be made and aired?

The documentary's purpose was to expose and explore the underlying influences of the undeniably skewed representation of women and, for us, to unveil powerful brain-washing effects of today's media which normalises the implication that a woman's worth is decided by whether or not she is wanking material.

Whilst Miss Representation deals primarily with media within the USA, it definitely provides food for thought, which disturb and enlighten the British viewer (or, indeed, viewers from all over the world). It was shocking to find the extent to which we as female viewers had been exposed to the objectification of our own sex yet had somehow missed a trick; so customary is the ubiquitous focus on our bums and cleavage that it actually took watching the documentary for us to comprehend the full extent of the injustice. The insight was remarkable, yet in that respect deeply unsettling.

From the unattainable, inescapable, inhuman perfection of airbrushing to journalistic wordplay (ie, calling Sarah Palin â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mrs Palinâ&#x20AC;? in news reports yet allowing her male counterparts to comment without attaching the yoke of marriage to their name, rather 'Senator' or 'President'), the accomplishments of women are always swept aside, unappreciated. It was agonising in the opening scenes of Miss Representation to witness high school children sobbing as they revealed shocking details of self-harm and eating disorder from a feeling of superficial inadequacy.

! Something that the documentary touched on that we would perhaps like to have seen developed further alongside the misrepresentation of women is the analysis of role models for young men in the media. Just as young women absorb messages of their appearance equating their value, so men see their worth presented in physical prowess, in the car they own, in whether or not they're a 'stud' or a sporting! legend. We think there's scope to taking a step back and wondering if whether the psychological damage done to women, which is accepted as a norm, also seeps into the lives of men.

On the indefinite nature and ! dubious use of princes By Emily Zinkin

Last night you crowned my head with pipe-cleaners And pulled me away from that guy who tried to kiss me, Telling me he was not The One And that someday my prince will come.

I stumbled in my charity shop glass slippers And slightly spilled my drink down both of us, Telling you that I was not an orphan And that today I just wanted some fun.

You pulled down the hem of my magically summoned EBay dress, And pulled me from the dance floor to prevent more chaos, Informing me that wishes do come true And I just needed to click my shoes.

I crossly took the goblet of water and drank a sobering potion, And told you I was not going home to wait for Prince Charming Informing you that if he knew my post-code It would but add to my woes. As he would be a creepy stalker.

You just broke the rhythm and rhyme she wickedly admonished, And you just broke the fourth wall of this poem I replied. But if we must leave when the clock has only just struck midnight, Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll not do it to only wait around for knights. For job applications are far more useful than princes.

Sonnet Fifty Shades of Grey By Natalie Popow ! “How can I prepare thee for Christian Grey? My Inner goddess pants under his gaze – Because holy hell he is hot as day – And my subconscious informs me it’s a craze. Am I like Tess so ready to succumb? My self the fool, the blame with me must lie, He beats me with a belt and I lie numb, Submit to the man with the gold grey eye.” His opulence does chain her more to him, His slave of love; her will is undermined, There is no freedom in a tortured limb, True love should not require her mind maligned. Reader, sign the contract; give your consent, To dominance and shoddy prose relent.

How Did Feminism Find Me? By Laura Seddon

It did not hit me all of a sudden, I didn’t just wake up one sunny morning and think ‘you know what, I’m a feminist!’ At the same time, it didn’t just come out of nowhere. I have never really sat down and reflected on how it all came about, probably because I’ve been having such a wonderful time since. So while I’m writing this I am also re-discovering for myself the moment, the experiences, and the people I met and the opportunities that led to my feminism.

I need to take it back only 2 years ago; an eager and enthusiastic fresher, I wanted to get involved with as many societies as possible. As an English student I’m a massive drama geek so decided to check out the New Theatre.

It was here that I first spoke to members of the Women’s Network who were promoting their upcoming production of ‘The Vagina Monologues’. Oh my god, the play had the word VAGINA in it? What kind of a play is that?! So I signed up to audition! Little did I know, this was one of the best decisions I made in my time at University. Not only did I get a great monologue to perform but I also got to meet the most amazing and inspiring group of women! Taking part in ‘The Vagina Monologues’ opened my eyes to the problems that women are currently facing and have been fighting to change for years. I remember watching a video for Eve Ensler’s one million rising campaign and being moved to tears by the images of women and the suffering that they experience and face all over the world. It’s not that I was ignorant to suffering before this but I never really thought about how I could make a difference… until the time in my first year when I discovered how even just by creating solidarity with women and raising awareness of important issues could, in some small way, help.

11the Women’s Network committee and was I decided to run for Events Officer on nd successfully elected to take on this role in my 2 year. The first thing I

! My second year at University continued down this thrilling path of new experiences… taking me to ‘Reclaim the Night’ in Sheffield for my first peaceful protest march. It was such a liberating and wonderful feeling so I was incredibly exited to participate again when ‘Reclaim the Night’ came to Nottingham 2 weeks ago! Presenting a university radio show called ‘Women’s Words’ enabled me and Nina Humphries and Rose Bonner (last year’s women’s officer) to discuss current women’s issues and in particular, those that affect the student population. So to answer my question, how did feminism find me? Well maybe I got this wrong, because clearly… I found feminism. I embraced it whole-heartedly without even realising.

There seems to be a common misconception that feminism is a dangerous word and it upsets me when I hear how women are afraid to say they are feminists because of the ‘associations’ it has. But that is precisely the misconception, feminism is not simply a label, it is not something you can just pick up and drop when it pleases you, it is so much more than that. For me it is compassion, it is having a voice, it is being who you want to be. I never would have imagined the opportunities that feminism has brought me. It has altered my life in only the most positive ways, which I am so thankful for. Becoming involved with the university enabled me to find feminism… If you’ve not already, I hope you can find it too.

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A Breech of Fairness By Emily Goshorn

Two productions from Shakespeare’s Globe recently transferred to Broadway, Twelfth Night and Richard III. They are focused on a recreation of original Elizabethan theatre – the stage is lit by candles, the costumes are crafted by hand, the music is played on period instruments. And, following a practice of the time, the cast is made up of all-male actors, a trend that can also be found underpinning the ‘Propeller’ theatre company and the individual productions, by companies such as ‘Cheek by Jowl’.

The plays have received rapturous reviews in the American press, praising the original setting (rather than what some see as ‘condescending, high concept… anachronistic settings’). However, the productions, for all their Tudor trappings, are not strictly authentic as they suggest. Although Shakespeare’s actors were all male, the female roles were not performed by grown men as they are here, but teenage boy actors – the closet possibility at a time when women did not act.

It is galling when critics such as the New York Times’ Ben Brantley overlook this to tell us that these productions ‘make you think, “This is how Shakespeare was meant to be done.”’ It’s bizarre to suggest that there is one particular style for these plays, especially when they have remained relevant over several hundred centuries of performance through new adaptations and interpretations.

The alternative explanation that crops up in the press is that this style is ‘how Shakespeare wanted it to be done.’ There is no proof that Shakespeare ‘wanted’ anything, as we have no concrete evidence of his opinions. Lacking the range of styles and effects today’s practitioners can use – including the Japanese kabuki theatre, which influences the character of Olivia in the Globe’s Twelfth Night – he would have worked within the confines of Elizabethan theatre, just as his contemporaries did.

Shakespeare’s female characters were not necessarily played by boys because he wanted them to be, but because he didn’t have much choice when there were no female actors in England until long after his death.

The other major issue with these all-male casts is the impact they have on the acting industry. !

Surveys by organisations such as the actors’ union, Equity, have shown that there are two males for every female role in television, and women struggle in theatre too. Roles are often felt to be stereotyped, and even if women can find employment they suffer gender pay gap and work/family issues, as they do in other industries. The female roles in Shakespeare, though not as large as they could ideally be in today’s society, are still significant (especially as his works are the most produced of any playwright) and wellwritten characters that can be a great opportunity for actresses.

Moreover, it is not only women who feel held back by the traditional nature of theatre. Equity research has found that around 57 of gay actors hide their sexuality from their agent and casting directors for fear of a negative impact on their careers. Even while playing with stereotypical notions of gender, the theatre still seems to be dominated by the figure of the heterosexual male, as it has been for centuries. It is therefore worth asking whether we are valuing an attempt at authenticity over fair opportunity. Many Elizabethan theatrical practices, and many aspects of that whole era, were left behind by the generations that followed. Nowadays, society has more accepting views of gender, and has moved on from the unequal, rigid gender roles of the past. As for recreating an authentic experience of a faded time, where should theatres draw the line? Why not speak the verse with the original, if hardly intelligible, pronunciation? Should the audience perhaps be forced to dress the part of Tudor groundlings? Why even take plays to America, a country where the original Globe Company never performed? This is not to diminish the power of these productions – I have seen Richard III at the Globe myself and it was excellent. All-male plays are an interesting dramatic device, but plays are never promoted simply for being all-male, Perhaps this is because producers know that this element alone is not a valid excuse. Unlike in Shakespeare’s time, there are many female actors available to fill female roles, and we should be giving them the opportunities they deserve. When a gender balance has been achieved in the theatre, these more historically authentic productions will be unburdened by the present sense of inequality.

How you see me

Front Cover, Contents and Princes Illustrations by Hannah Eachus Back Cover by Sarah Dear

Rachael Cooney

I Kept My Last Name By Harvey Slade I kept my last! name And told you that I think There are some parts of a person That should be kept And not be thrown away. Your family didn’t understand That I refused to simply be bent and worn Like the ring on this ‘ring finger’ Of my left hand But the truth is I’m already worn By so many people I no longer know Like a hoody left behind after a one-night-stand. As hard as I’ve tried To keep myself contained In each escape I’ve spilled over And given parts of me away. And I resent That someone somewhere Has my virginity screwed up In a pile of dirty washing on his floor. And someone somewhere Has my favourite place by the river Pushed back amongst the rubbish in his chest of drawers. And someone somewhere Wears my favourite song so smugly Every time I see his fucking face Contort that fucking grin that says ‘I know you’ In a way I can’t displace So when you tried to take my name I told you no, as it would only be Another part of me I can’t reclaim. I’ve learned to hold on tight to who I am Because so much of her is in places I can’t reach Or doors I can no longer open.

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Maiden Name By Alexa Robertson

Memory spreads like rain, now I possess a darkness you cannot see. That name spoke the end of time, spoke the sliding earth consumed by nouns. This was my name when I was maiden, rudely perfect, dangerously untouched; whole, an â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; of woe. Before I was renamed, before I was imprinted with another; icon, emblem, symbol in skin, in the air surrounding me. My name a grace in the brain of others, a bloom of utterances, the soft explosion of daring youth, the blood and hair, the lack of former wear. Now my name is dead. Placed in the grave at words Where the names of the dead crawl and are restless. The children are loose garish wishes born out of my former name, in their own space they blare and howl. And Him, our hands held in night. Love is taught, strictly, uninvited, Before the word, L V vowel, we do not know how.

A Riot of One’s Own By Emily Goshorn

Female Punk and Post-Punk Musicians in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. The 1970’s are notorious today for out-dated sexist, racist and homophobic attitudes, and not unreasonably. However, the second wave of feminism was underway, including the new genres of punk and post-punk. Rock music has previously been dominated by men, but the DIY, back-basics ethos of punk allowed young women, untrained in music, to get up on stage and perform. In truth, it’s not necessary to point these artists out for just being a female presence on a mainly male scene. Their music – innovative, unique and influential to this day – has rightly earned them a place in the rock pantheon. I take these women as an inspiration as have many others, including the riot grrrl movement of the 1990’s. The following are profiles of female artists whose work I love and whose actions I admire. I hope it can introduce you to a wonderful new world of music.

Poly Styrene – X Ray Spex Poly Styrene was among the many musicians who formed bands in the wake of The Sex Pistols and their raw-and-ready approach to music. As punk became a growing movement, middle England received a jolt with the X-Ray Spex single ‘Oh Bondage! Up Yours!’ An anthem, which promotes sexual liberation, but also subtly satirises the blind consumerism that grips society. Styrene cut an unconventional figure, with braces, afro and bright clothes. Her strong voice was probably the toughest of any of the punk bands at that time and gave a vibrant personality to X-Ray Spex’s songs.

Siouxsie Sioux – Siouxsie and the Banshees Another fan of The Sex Pistols was Siouxsie Sioux, who was among those stirring up national shock and outrage. Her radical, defiant appearance confounded the press. As an archetypal punk, she formed The Banshees with no musical training. Their first album, The Scream, features Siouxsie’s soaring vocals above dark, forceful guitars. Its unique expansion of threechord rock makes it a post-punk classic. Her inspiration on later singers, both male and female, is immense.

The Slits

The Slits seminal first album, Cut takes punk to new horizons with a reggae influence. The! lyrics paint a picture of grim life in a society that pursues objects and objectification. The songs remain relevant to this day; particularly ‘FM’, which features the lyrics ‘Frequent mutilation/ Transmits over the air/ Serving for the purpose/ Of those who want you to fear’. To my mind, it highlights the media’s portrayal of women as helpless victims. Hearing this song always reminds me that women should not be made to feel intimidated. It is our society that needs to end its lingering patriarchal views to enable women to live without fear. Drummer Palmolive went on to join the equally adventurous post-punk group The Raincoats who created stunningly dissonant folk-punk.

Pauline Black – The Selector The ska revival formed the foundation of 2Tone music, whose major female voice was that of Pauline Black, lead singer of The Selector. Although being black could be an isolating experience, as explored in her song ‘Black and Blue’, she refused to see race as a limitation. Upon joining The Selector she changed her surname to Black, a confrontational action at a time when a sizeable section of audience at 2Tone gigs were extremist skinheads. Combining upbeat songs with Black’s amazing, melodic vocals, The Selector leave a legacy as one of the best British ska bands.

Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre – Crass Eve Libertine and Joy De Vivre were vocalists in political and poetical anarchi-punks Crass. Rallying against the 1982 war, their satirical impersonation of Margaret Thatcher on the brilliantly obscene single ‘Sheep Farming in the Falklands’ incurred the wrath of the Tory Government. Advocating equality for all genders was a strong theme throughout the band’s existence. On Feeding of the 500, the words of the song ‘Women’ emerge from static like a subversive radio broadcast and are filled with bleak rage, spurring us on to fight back. Libertine and De Vivre’s masterwork was Penis Envy, an album in which they provide vocals for every track. In turn the lyrics are satirical, scathing, and sinister. It’s probably the strongest, most uncompromising expression of feminism ever set to music.

Yes: Men should be involved in Feminism ! By James Motteram

Yes, wholeheartedly I believe that feminist men are a force for good. Feminism as I understand it, is about more than just ensuring equal rights for women. It’s about fighting gender inequality in all its forms, and fighting fender norms that harm everyone who doesn’t conform to them, irrespective of gender. Sure, not all discrimination is made equal, the pressures put upon most men to fit into their gender tend to be easier to bear than those put upon women. But what about those who don’t fit into the cisgender and heterosexual expectations of their sex? The (sometimes fatal) discrimination they face is inextricably tied to how their sex is ‘supposed’ to act or look. Do they not have a place in the movement best placed to fight rigid gender structures? Should they be refused because their sex or gender is the same as those responsible for enforcing the structures? Most men feel the pressures of masculinity. Some revel in it but they probably don’t want to be feminists anyway. Some suffer for it. Some want to change it, like myself. I’ve never been the pinnacle of masculinity, and living in a society that seems to prize masculinity above all other traits takes its toll. Now I don’t care so much, but in my teens it could make me feel pretty shitty. Now, making a teenage boy feel a bit depressed about his identity isn’t among the worst cruelties of sexism. But it’s still a bad thing, and it’s still something to be fought against. For me it got better, For other, particularly young men, it’s a road that ends in them taking their own lives, because being depressed, and getting help for it, are not the traits of a strong, self-reliant man. When being a real man is held the most important thing to be, anything that risks that falls to the wayside. I believe that feminism is the best thing out there to change the way we view gender. The more male feminists we have, the fewer men we have urging their sons to toughen up and be real men (the future harms of which, to men and women, once could write much, much more on). You don’t show men that they don’t have to listen to gender roles by telling them they can’t do it as feminists.

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The F Word: A Fresher’s Perspective By Lizzie Passey-Heaton!!

Coming to the end of my first term at Nottingham I can safely admit a few things I have learnt so far. Strangers will NEVER smile back when you walk past them on campus (we are not far enough north for that); if Derbyshire natives forget to pronounce their Ts and Hs there will be a persistent language barrier; and, most regrettably, I will be forever wearing my last pair of Tesco Value tights. Yet, despite being surrounded by some of the most-educated people in the country, I would be naïve to testify that the majority could define what feminism is or would describe themselves using the F word. A general disregard towards the concept of social, political and economic equality has been pretty much intrinsic in #UNILYFE from the very first fresher nights out – from chants encouraging devotion to our Halls and dodgy comments from DJs, to that one guy who doesn’t understand the word ‘NO’ after a cheeky kiss in ocean. Now, I’m pretty sure that the majority don’t espouse these actions as acceptable, or even okay; the problem really is that NO ONE makes these objections known and so the sexism and objectification (of both men and women) continues. I’ll admit that it’s not all that easy to show your distaste, especially when ‘Slut shaming’ is the majority voice. Why? What’s scarier still is that student ‘womin’ themselves don’t know what equality and the F-word can bring them: CHOICE. That’s the Choice (with a capital C) to carry on with your education or go out to work or to stay at home and have shit-tonnes of babies with your man ‘cause that’s what YOU WANT TO DO. Too many people imply they feel alienated by a ‘feminazi’ of angry ladies who push for women to be the dominant force over men. This is the promotion of a matriarchy. This is not feminism. This is not equality. And from looking at how the mass media portrays radicals of any kind, I can damn well see why there is such a poor opinion of feminism today. It’s time this opinion changed and we embraced Equality and Choice as one. There are of course, a few divides among the feminist community, enriching the pool of choice. Personally, I object to the appointment of women to highranking positions as a result of their gender, rather than for merit. Others would say that quota filling is essential. This is just one example of how the F-word doesn’t mean the same thing to everybody. But one thing is clear: the F word isn’t as dirty as everyone says it is.

Helen By Emily Zinkin

When the dust of Ilium settles, when soldiers have either found the cold taste of valour or the sweet arms of death, history will ultimately be in the hands of the story weavers. Only that will be left behind. Helen knows history will not be kind to her. It very rarely is to women; you can either be a victim or a sinner. She already hears tales of her exploits – whispers, true, but they whisper loud enough for her to hear. Victim or sinner; she was either kidnapped against her will or she was a slut who ran from her husband (her owner). History will not be the truth, because history is not Helen’s to tell. The truth is both much simpler and more complicated. The truth is she chose to go with Paris. Legend says Helen is beautiful, and that is true, but as no one has seen every woman in the world, it must be somewhat difficult for anyone to judge if she does rank as most beautiful or not. Not that she objects to the title. Power comes so rarely to women, but Helen found that beauty brought her power. King’s and Princes would send their supplicants to beg for her hand, or even come in person, just to get a glimpse of he face. It was intoxicating, noble men kneeling at her feet, as they never had or would anyone else. Heady. She still remembers that feeling sometimes, in bed. She chose Menelaus because he seemed kind; like he wouldn’t beat her, or murder her family. Menelaus because of all the men in her father’s palace’s hall, he smiled at her, open and hopeful. Menelaus because he was the second most powerful man in the room and Agamemnon was already promised to her sister, and if she was going to become a man’s wife she was damned if she wasn’t going to exchange one position of power for another. Menelaus was kind, and he was as open as Helen couldn’t be. Locked up in his Spartan fortress and displayed at banquets like the prize she was. Menelaus was a fool. Was that why she went with Paris? After being kept inside so long, her husband so scared to lose her to another man; how fun would it be to just… go. Or maybe she was bored, and wanted some excitement, and wandered off looking for it, as the bards praised heroes for doing.

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Or maybe she just liked Paris and wanted to go with him. There would be consequences for her actions, oh yes, but how delicious it would be to feel important again. Love was very rarely bandied about.

Sex was a man’s domain and a woman’s worth. She belonged to her husband and so her worth belonged to him. Never mind that a man might have as many women and slaves as he liked, his wife trapped. Never mind that there was pleasure to be found in a lover’s arms, spouse or not. Never mind that Paris had looked at her like she hung the stars in heaven and had the powers of the Pantheon. Paris was dead now, but she thinks of all the Trojans he enjoyed the war the most, so feels less sorry than she probably should. Actually, stricture would dictate mourning ever gazing on him and considering more to him that as her husband’s guest. But she remembers the sensual way he pressed kisses to her spine and the way Ilium’s towers glowed from his window too well to do that. She does feel sorry for Priam though. Kindly Priam, who had welcomed her even though he knew the trouble she brought better than any. Priam, who had lost child after child to her war, and still kissed her every night as tenderly as if she was his own blood. Maybe he too recognised that the Achaeans were after Eastern blood, and the glory of battle, and she was their handy figurehead to rally behind and blame. He was probably dead too. She almost hoped he was; it would have been kinder. Helen was back at Sparta now, beloved wife of Menelaus once more. They will probably grow old together, lucky to still be accepted by him and his court. Certainly luckier than her sister, and she hopes Clytemnestra found her own power and revenge in the fear in her Warrior King husband’s eyes just before she struck. She also knows that the bards sing of a different position for her, and few will every really connect her to Sparta. Should she be shamed that history will always label her on the fine line between innocent victim and sinning slut? Mostly she feels a quiet sense of pride, never to be vocalised or expressed. She will always be remembered now, better than half the blessed hero kings who supposedly died in her name. And she will always be connected with the glimmering towers of her chosen Ilium. Helen of Troy. The truth is she had a choice, and despite everything, society will not shame her into regretting it.

Open Your Eyes.

And look over your shoulder.