Student group takes over the halls to redefine what feminism means in the modern world

Your fellow classmates want to ask, what does feminism mean to you?
As part of their work for a third-year social movements course, seven students chose feminism as their social issue to campaign for. Entitled “Feminism is…,” the campaign involves Tumblr and Twitter accounts, flyers, and tabling in Vari Hall, while asking students to explain what feminism means to them. “Our mission was to have it redefined because a lot of people have a hard time associating with the feminist movement,” says Emmanuella Kaputo, a third-year communications student.
“We wanted to bring a positive vibe to York students and have them redefine it for themselves.” The group tabled at Vari Hall on November 3 and says they’ve received mostly positive responses. Passing students engaged in conversations and shared their experience on what feminism meant to them and were asked to sign blank shirts with their definitions.
Rebecca Denyer, a third-year communications and political science student, says this was a learning experience as she talked to different members of the community, including students from Afghanistan and Egypt who wanted to share their stories.
“We had one guy who gave the analogy of a necklace with a bunch of beads, each being a different intersectional issues like sexism, racism, and agism connected by a string. They’re all separate experiences, but all connect under oppression,” says Denyer. Other members of the group include fellow communications studies students Laura D’alessio, Andrew Hatelt, and Andre Cavalieri.
“Feminism only concerning females is something this group wants to clarify. When you really understand what feminism is, you won’t have any issues because it’s about equality,” says Cavalieri, an exchange student from Brazil. Feminism is often associated with radical females burning bras, a symbol from the second-wave feminist movement of the 1960s.
As a male, Hatelt wants to dispel this association. [su_pullquote]“It shouldn’t be strange for me as a human to want to have equality. I shouldn’t be seen as a man, since I might have some privileges that other people don’t, and that shouldn’t care about them (women). It’s just natural for me to want to be here,” adds Hatelt.[/su_pullquote]
With posters and slips defining what feminism means, the group encourages discussion to continue beyond the halls of Vari. Their Twitter account, @FeminismIs_ had one of their tweets favourited by the official Malala Fund account.
Victoria Goldberg
Arts Editor