volume 3

cooties

feminist ideasexpressed through

collage and writing

presented by the

emersonfeminists

by Paul SpearsFor any movement to proceed, it needs dialogue. Since the Vietnam war era, many

groups protesting or trying to change the status quo have been stifled by misunderstand-ing, concern or mistrust from the public, even outright slander. And at the end of the day, the problem with the status quo is that it doesn’t really want to go away. There’s a level of comfort associated with “the way things are,” which often fails to account for existing prob-lems in a society.

Men, or at least the male gender, have had a long time to get used to a superior position in Western society. Even in the US, men on average earn more than women. The mere fact that restaurants like “Hooters” still exist is a testament to the enduring legacy of a male-dominated society.

But as time progresses, that society is changing. New generations with new ideas have begun to replace the established pillars of thought. Internet access allows for a co-mingling of thought never before seen or anticipated in the country. Feminism, cis-sexism, and many other movements can progress and grow outside the limited sphere of national politics and cultural guidelines.

However, one important component of feminism still has yet to catch up to the move-ment: Mankind itself. Men who are aware of what feminism is, and have the ability to dis-tinguish its many variations and understand its complex politics, are few and far between—even on the Internet. Many men, according to feministing.com, still see feminism as a “fringe” movement and are not interested in exploring it.

In some ways, this makes sense. The male gender and its dominance have, after all, been the central “antagonists” in the narrative of feminism. Logically, it would not proceed that men would be eager to learn about a movement that they see casting them as the “bad guy.”

But this should not prevent menfolk from learning about feminism, and why it is neces-sary to help a culture progress out of misogyny and mindless objectification of the feminine. After all, when feminism succeeds, it succeeds by creating an understanding between the two prevalent genders, an understanding that can remove archaic laws and improve the communication between the twin sides of our extensively gender-based society.

There are a lot of walls between men and a comprehensive understanding of what femi-nism, is and what it can accomplish. These include, but are not limited to, a fear of feminism due to the stereotypes it has unfortunately been associated with. In addition, the automatic perception of male feminists as “p-whipped” or otherwise coerced into the movement must be addressed. (No one should have to be coerced into understanding the basic concept of equal rights, but that’s besides the point.) This sort of “man-splaining” of feminism makes it easy for male culture to disregard the advances and potential of the many components of the feminist agenda.

Clearly there’s a long way to go before our culture is willing to accept the ideas of femi-nism as something commonplace and logical. Indeed, feminism itself needs to solidify its central goals, conclude on its methods and reach more common agreements between its many members before it can proceed. But if feminism can reach out to more men, and help them understand the problems women face and how to solve them, perhaps the movement can get a head start on the centuries of status quo it faces—and in doing so, change the world.

It Takes Two to Tango

by Maureen McDermotthow romantic ideals manipulate women

I have a shirt that says, ‘Romantic Love Was Invented to Manipulate Women.’ It’s one of my favorite pieces of clothing, and the only thing I don’t like about it is that the writing isn’t larger. I can’t say that kissing in the rain is repulsive, but romanticism is one of the most detrimental cultural movements to the feminist cause. It IS repulsive to think that girls and women live their lives believing they’re failing at an impossible goal created by society. It’s not about the details like rose petals, moonlit walks and upheld boom boxes, but the mo-tivation behind these acts. Romantic love, the notion that everyone has one perfect match and must spend their life searching for them, is an unachievable goal that is preventing women from focusing on and succeeding in other parts of their lives. Perfection is impos-sible, and compromise is not defeat.

Though romanticism origi-nated in Europe, America is alone in our endless pur-suit of one true love. In his book The Culture Code, Clotaire Ra-paille breaks down why cultures think the way they do about products and ideas by ex-plaining that im-prints made when we are young guide our thinking for the rest of our lives. Ap-pealing to our reptilian brain to sell a product is a controversial idea in the mar-keting world, but Rapaille’s tech-nique is a novel way to explain why we come to think the way we do, and why it’s so difficult to change.

Rapaille’s findings one sex and love are not surprising to many feminists. Americans equate sex with violence on the reptilian level, explain-ing the prevalence of euphemisms like ‘bang-ing’ and ‘nailing.’ We think seduction is syn-onymous with manipulation, explaining why most people’s first experiences with flirting are uncomfortable and negative. His con-clusion about love, however, is unexpected

katherine heigl lies

and cynical. Rapaille explains, “Participants spoke repeatedly of the desire for love, the need for love, but they also spoke consistently of being disappointed in this quest… Amer-icans--regardless of age- -view love the way an adolescent views the world: as an exciting dream that rarely comes reaches fulfillment. The America Culture Code for love is FALSE EXPECTATION.”

The entire country knows that the search for one true love is useless, yet it is still many women’s top priority. It tears apart friendships and pits women against each other. We spend millions of dollars every year to see movies portraying stories we know are unrealis-tic. Romanticism is forced down our throats from the time we’re old enough to understand that a princess always finds her prince in the end.

It takes generations to change a culture’s way of thinking about an idea, but it can’t hurt to become more aware of how you think of yourself and your lovers. Have you ever broken up with someone or not considered them because they weren’t perfect? It’s hard not to do.

We all want a fairy tale romance with no exceptions, but accept that perfection is impos-sible. This ain’t a fairy tale, said Taylor Swift in a brief moment of clarity before immediately resorting to songs about how Heaven-sent boys are the only reason to live. Attempting to find your one true love will have you constantly looking for them, even over the shoulder of someone who makes you perfectly happy. Happiness is the name of the game. It’s a compli-cated notion, but you should be on the lookout for someone you can picture yourself with in the long run despite their flaws. I’m not encouraging settling. Be with a person because they’re the best for you, not because you’re the best thing for them.

To put it another way, you should look back on your life proud of your career, family, and friends, but most importantly you should be proud of how valuable you are to your-self. Never consider your own worth through the eyes of another. The media wants us to believe that our highest priority should be finding our soul mate. Keep this in mind: They want your money. What do you want? I want a successful career, a healthy family and re-spect. No grand gestures of devotion necessary.

“This ain’t

a fairy tale, said

Taylor Swift in a

brief moment of

clarity before

immediately resorting to songs

about how

Heaven-sent boys

are the only reason to live.

”

I am made so aware of my gender, ‘I’m a girl,’ it screams off my skinof my bare legs,of my modesty – it’s everyone’s businessof the makeup Icarefully applied that morning or the lack thereofthe world seems to want to get their hands on me, or in meor so you say,and it’ll be my fault if they do becauseI forgot to ask if I could, forgot to wait for the no

No:you can’t wear that dressyou shouldn’t smile that waydon’t talk to him for that long – speak to him not to be rude, but you should knowwhen to stopnot that routetry not to draw notice to yourself but are you really going to wearthose jeans, they’re so not ladylikehonestlyhow are you going to get a boyfriendwear something nice for achange please

I’ve decided to stop asking and I myself am trying out the wordit’s no longer a sympathetic, well-meaning way of saying‘you’re too weak, you’re just fragile wrists waiting to be grabbedso this is for your sake’like the mere thought of my body can incite violenceand that hate and expectations are all mine to bear

by Taina Teravainen no more

when all I was doingwas walking down the street

But you,so simply say,without even trying to conceal the uneasiness that grips you;this imbalance of power and privilege that you help fuel,like the very thought of my choice to do what feels right or what I want is thething that’s shocking here,‘But you’re a girl, you can’t do that.’

So no,I will not be made afraid or made example ofI will not smile pretty, quietly, calmlyBecause I’m more than a body to hang clothes off ofBecause these streets are mine to walk too