At the culmination of its first active year on campus, a UW-Madison student organization gave faculty, students and community members the opportunity to engage in conversations about feminism.
UW-Madison’s chapter of the National Organization for Women, as part of its Week of Empowerment, hosted two speakers Tuesday and Wednesday night to speak on an assortment of topics surrounding feminist history and activism.
Tuesday night, assistant professor in the Department of English Ramzi Fawaz led a discussion titled “Radical Feminism,” in which he offered a diverse background of feminist theory and a discussion of the audience’s perception of radical feminism.
Fawaz opened the floor for participants to offer their opinions on feminism, share their investment in the movement and explore their preconceptions.
“I assumed, falsely, that the modifier of ‘radical’ in the title ‘Radical Feminism’ meant something drastic, like beating up men or radically violent,” freshman Helen Rottier said. “But it actually tends more towards the difference between reformative feminism and revolutionary feminism, which is something I believe in very strongly, so about halfway through I realized that I am, and always have been, a radical feminist.”
Wednesday night, assistant professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication Molly Steenson shifted the conversation from theory to action and shared her history as a feminist activist. Steenson also offered advice on ways to incorporate feminist ideals as students progress in their careers, including seeking mentors and leading by example, particularly in male-dominated fields.
“I want to speak to something that was underlying what you’ve all said,” Steenson said. “This question of ‘do I have to give up my ideals?’ The answer is absolutely not. The question is ‘how do you express them,’ and there are many different ways you will do this throughout your life.”
Attendees from a wide range of backgrounds affirmed the importance of having open events for students to discuss relevant issues like these. Particularly, engineering student Carolyn Stone said, for students who are not exposed to these discussions in their coursework.
“It’s important to get people thinking about it in the first place because I’m not in a Gender and Women’s Studies class, and I just don’t think about these things because they’re not presented to me on a daily basis,” Stone said. “Even just throughout this week, going to these events, it’s been so cool to think about it and it’s been so awesome to have that food for thought.”
