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nt RECLAIMING PAGE 3– p3 THE YEAR OF THE FEMSp4 BY-ELECTION INFOp6 COLLAGEp8 POETRYp9 WOMEN’S OFFICERS’ BLOGp10 THE F-WORD: A POST-FRESHERS PERSPECTIVE– p12 ILLUSTRATIONp15
Find us on Facebook /WNZine Twitter @WNUoNFems_Zine Tumblr @wnanduonfemszine
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The Events Manager is responsible for organising and executing group socials and ensuring attendance at the events.
They should be open to suggestions from other members.
They should also coordinate with External Events Manager to host external speakers.
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The Brand Manager will act as UoN Feminists Illustrator/ Graphic Designer. They should be familiar with UoN Feminists’ ethos, and design promotional material to reflect this.
The Brand Manager should work closely with the Internal Campaigns Managers and the Publicity Manager in order to produce appropriate promotion material to be used across various social media channels.
Promotional material will have to be political and persuasive, but can also reflect personal style.
Candidates must be comfortable with Photoshop and Illustrator.
The Branding Manager’s previous responsibilities have included: UoN Feminists logo design, ‘NottsSexism’ logo, branding for ‘Feed Your Fem’ and regular submissions to the Women’s Network and UoN Feminists’ Zine.
[This position is appointed by UoN Feminists previous Branding Manager; candidates must submit 250 words on your previous experience and a small portfolio.]
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Freshers’ Fashion, by Amelia Bauer
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Lady-like; no phrase causes me greater displeasure. Do not sit like that, be a good girl, behave like a lady. I spend my life being examined. You make me small under your microscope; I am an object, being tested against the patriarchal norms created by men for men about women, about me. But I am no longer malleable, you cannot bend and twist me to fit your warped mould. You cannot define my womanhood; to be a lady-like is to be strong, to be proud, to have autonomy, to be me.
Untitled, by Cherry Stewart-Czerkas
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Hello, and welcome to a new academic year at UoN! We’re your new Women’s Officers and this year we’ve got loads of events planned for UoN students; from teaming up with UoN Feminists for a pub quiz to performances of the Vagina Monologues for V-day, we and our committee want to make this a great year for selfdefining female students. The Women’s Network is in place to provide support and safe space for the self-defining female student body, as well as organising campaigns around the issues that mean the most to UoN students. We want to make sure the female voice is heard and represented at our university, both through our Zine (which any of you can write for!) and by bringing your thoughts, concerns and ideas to every Union council. Improving the student experience and university life for women is really important to us, and we want to make sure women are hugely involved in shaping the future of our university. As a part of this, we want to inspire UoN women to take leadership roles this year - whether that may be on your JCR Committee, in a society you’re involved 10 with, or on your course.
At UoN, Welcome Week is all about trying new things. From nights out in a new city to signing up to weird and wonderful sports you never knew existed, Freshers’ is the best way to immerse yourself in university life. Naturally, the university strives to make Week One events safe, and in an environment in which everyone will feel comfortable. Throughout Week One there will be uni reps in your hall and on nights out who will make your safety their priority and be there to offer advise should you feel uncomfortable or concerned.
In recent years, social media has played a massive part in exposing sexism on campuses around the UK. Despite it being a time when freshers need the most support, sexism emerges in Fresher’s Week in the form of chants, lad culture and sometimes even club night promotion endorsed by a university. We are constantly working towards stamping out sexist behaviour at UoN, and you can help by using the hashtag #nottssexism or tweeting @nottssexism to report. We can only stamp out campus sexism if we work together. We hope you have an amazing experience at UoN. Wishing you a happy Freshers’, Beth and Emma x 11
The F-Word: A (Post-) Fresher’s Perspective By Lizzie Passey-Heaton
So, here we are again; another year, another load of first years (hopefully) excited for their first taste of university life. Welcome, welcome!
Since I’m approaching the time when exams begin to mean something again, I’m brimming with parental second year advice: strangers will NEVER smile back when you walk past them on campus (we are not far enough north for that); Derbyshire natives should try their best to pronounce their T’s and H’s lest there be a language barrier; and finally, calling yourself a feminist won’t be the scariest thing you do at university, so don’t treat it as such.
I’m not handing out this advice naively. I’m handing out this advice because university should be a time when you can express and test your political opinion, rather than a time when your thoughts become suppressed by “...but what will everyone say about me?!” Granted, this can seem pretty difficult following the very first nights out – from chants encouraging devotion to Halls and dodgy comments from DJs – and I sincerely hope that your freshers’ week leaves a different impression than mine did on me. However, all these things are not representative of university life as a whole: you are.
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If you think that what the DJ’s saying about the group of girls dancing in the corner shows a pretty shitty attitude towards women, say so. What’s there to be afraid of? If you hear a person across the library ripping into someone else for not being enough of a ‘man’ and too much of a ‘woman’ then stare them down, or alternatively tell them to kindly leave their opinions on gender in the 1950s. If the group of people you’re with are revelling in the ‘joys’ of slut or virgin shaming, don’t join in. Instead perhaps bring in the wonderful pavlova analogy that I was told during my first year: you wouldn’t disparage an expert pavlova-making chef, and nor would you turn down an opportunity to spread the joy of pavlova-making with someone else, simply because they were inexperienced. Are pavlovas really all that terrifying?
At the end of the day, what you do or don’t do with regard to battling sexism is your choice. CHOICE, of course, is one of the most fantastic things that Feminism gives to both men and women. It’s the choice to carry on with your education, or to go out to work, or to stay at home and have shit-tonnes of babies with your partner because that’s what you want to do. Choice isn’t scary.
As of yet, I see no problem with being a feminist and supporting a movement striving to remove barriers and create more choice for everyone. As a representative of this university, I see no problem in supporting anything working towards an environment in which where men and women are equally valued. My name is Lizzie and I am a feminist. I won’t be ostracised by my friends for saying so. Writing this13 wasn’t scary.
The Women’s Network Art Show Coming in November 14
Pimps and Hoes, by Anon
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