The Women’s Network and UoN Feminists Present:
that’s what we said. said.
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Women’s 0fficers’ Blog A Feminism for All
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Fem News
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Your Women’s Network Reps
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Betty
Intersectional Icons Collage The Zine Reviews : India’s Daughter Untitled Illustration UoN Feminists Statement Musings on Global Feminism My feminism is…
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hanks for grabbing a copy of the last zine of the 14/15 academic year, and what a year’s it’s been! This year we have reclaimed Page 3, with students voting for inspirational women to represent you. Past Page 3 girls have included Nicki Minaj, Laverne Cox, Jessica Ennis-Hill, and I’m very pleased that the final Page 3 girl is the late Maya Angelou– an inspiration to women across the globe!
The intention of this zine is to promote a feminism inclusive of everyone: a feminism that acknowledges the different forms of oppression faced by different groups of women, otherwise known as ‘intersectional feminism’. Included in the zine, alongside the regular features (Women’s Officers’ Blog, Fem News, etc.), is a range of submissions that identify the importance of intersectionality. Highlights include ‘A Feminism for All’, which discusses transexclusion in feminism; a review of India’s Daughter; and an exclusive look at photographer Emma Wilkins’ project Betty, which examines trivialised perceptions of women with mental illnesses. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been involved in the zine this year, particularly my fantastic zine team and the numerous contributors who have made the zine such a success. I have thoroughly cherished the opportunity to be zine editor, and sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading the issues. Wishing you all the best,
Amelia Bauer Editor.
reclaiming
Page 3 Voted for by you, the final (reclaiming) Page 3 Girl of the year is the late Maya Angelou! A clear winner, it is impossible to do justice to the countless, inspirational credentials as an intersectional feminist that have made Maya an icon for women worldwide. After suffering the trauma of child abuse, Maya’s start to life was nothing short of tragic, but these early experiences led to her lifelong promotion of equality for women. Hugely involved with the civil rights movement, Maya became a vessel for black women in a society that is still largely detrimental to WoC. Throughout her life, she supported female autonomy by advocating pro-choice arguments and opening a dialogue about important taboo subjects, such as abuse, in her numerous published works. Overcoming sexism, poverty, racism, and the stigma attached to single-parenthood, Maya Angelou’s legacy as a feminist icon is truly global, making her an excellent choice for the zine’s (reclaiming) Page 3!
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” “I’d love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass!”
1928-2014
Women’s Officers’ The year is drawing to an end. Exams and deadlines are almost over, Hallward Library is every student’s personal hell, and we are reminiscing about the year we have had. It has been an interesting couple of terms and the Women’s Network has achieved a lot. We are extremely thankful to the entire Network and also our extremely dedicated committee, without whom we would not have survived. Looking back there are two things we are especially proud of: Firstly, the successful Body Confidence Week in November took University Park Campus by storm and we showed that everyone should be able to feel comfortable in their own skin. This project opened our eyes to our own insecurities and taught us how to embrace them. To keep fighting for more body positivity lies close to our hearts which is why we aim to bring back Body Confidence Week next year and integrate it into the Student Union’s annual agenda. You have not seen the last of Body Confidence Week! Secondly, last term we once again had the honour of organising the V-Day performance in aid of violence against women. This years V-Day Coordinator Rachel Angeli embraced the challenge of organising the event and did it with the most outstanding skill we have ever witnessed. The performance ‘A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant and A Prayer’ moved the audience with its beauty, thought-provoking message, and phenomenal acting. The performance raised £141 for the Nottingham Women’s Centre. The event was a triumph; there is no other way of putting it.
Blog:
Now, all focus is on the future. We are currently in the middle of electing a new Committee for next year. To be on Committee has been one of the most rewarding experiences we have ever received and we would recommend everyone who feels like it to nominate themselves as a candidate in future elections. Once again, thank you to our current committee– you have all been exceptional. This entire year has been a learning curve for both of us. We therefore want to thank everyone for being patient with us and for showing us support. As the re-elected Women’s Officer and together with the new co-officer Emma Quaedvlieg, Emma will mainly lobby and campaign to bring more street lighting to University Park Campus, and do more to tackle Lad Culture. As we leave an exciting and fruitful year behind us, we welcome a new year with the hope that it will be even more successful than this one.
Emma and Beth
“WE ARE UNITY; WE ARE UNSTOPPABLE.” A FEMINISM FOR ALL. The LGBTQIA+ community today is typically seen as sharing a common goal with feminist networks: equal human rights for all. Unfortunately, however, this is not always the case. There are a number of elements of the LGBT+ community that are not fully accepted by (some) feminists, but my main area of concern here is transexclusivity. Typically, feminists create a ‘women only’ space in that people of the male sex are not welcome. Of course, there are some good reasons for this; it creates a safe space in which women can openly discuss the struggles specific to their sex, it allows women to talk about issues such as rape culture without fear of male intervention and denial, etc. Nevertheless, this is trans-exclusive because it creates a space in which male-bodied female-gender persons are unwelcome. Although their sex is male, they self-identify as female and this is their gender. Why, then, are they unwelcome in contexts specific to female-gender persons?
Another sense in which ‘women only’ spaces can be damaging is in terms of non-binary individuals. Non-binary gender identity simply means that one doesn’t conform to the gender binary (male/female). A non-binary person may feel as though they are somewhere between the two binaries, or identify as another gender altogether. Non-binary individuals can also be excluded from ‘women only’ contexts regardless of their sex. Whilst this makes sense to some extent because they do not self-identify as female, female sexed persons share much in common with self-identifying women. The struggle against the pink tax, for example, is fronted by feminists that self-identify as women, but there is no reason that this movement cannot be in solidarity with female sexed non-binary persons. In terms of trans-exclusivity, then, the intentions of feminists who exclude the transgender community are not always malicious; the objective is almost always to create a safe space and to further the aims of feminism. Nevertheless, exclusive ‘women only’ contexts are hindering the progression of the feminist movement because there are alienating consequences for the LGBT+ community. How is a movement that aims to change certain aspects of society to be successful if it separates itself from individuals who are affected by the very same societal injustices? Because feminism promotes equal rights for all, this should not be limited to the equality of men and women; the aims of feminism ought to extend to people of all gender identities and strive for the equality of all.
By Louisa Huntington
FEM NEWS: University Cancels Football vs Homophobia Event
“Due to the fact that we feel the recent negative publicity has done substantial damage to the tournament and the positive message it promotes, The University of Nottingham has decided to cancel this year’s tournament.” In a recently deleted statement, UoN cancelled its annual ‘Football vs Homophobia’ tournament following allegations of transphobia. Local resident, Luke Hutchinson raised concerns that in order to participate in the amateur football event, trans students were required, in conjunction with FA rules, to provide medical records, including blood tests. The provision of such evidence costs the individual up to £70. Final year student, Seona Deuchar, told us, “this whole event debacle is a major blow for trans inclusion at the uni, and therefore a blow to feminism”. In response to the cancelled charity event, Luke has organised a ‘Friendly Kick About’, which will be held on 31st May, 5pm, at Forest Recreation Ground.
FEM NEWS: Celebration as Ireland Votes YES to Marriage Equality On the 22nd May 2015, Ireland made history by becoming the first nation to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. The referendum saw the ‘yes’ campaign win by 62%, garnering over 1,000,000 votes. In an historic achievement for the gay rights movement, Ireland voted in favour of love and tolerance. Alex White, Minister of Communications, commented that as a result of this remarkable victory for equality, “[Ireland] can no longer be regarded as the authoritarian state [it] once might have been perceived to be. This marks the true separation of church and state.”. Following Ireland’s success, calls are now being made for Australia to hold a similar referendum on marriageequality. We are yet to see if other nations follow suit, but for now can celebrate this victory for the gay rights movement!
Your Women’s The Zine spoke with the 14/15 Women’s Network Committee’s BME, LGBTQIA+, and Disabilities reps to hear their perspective on the different intersections of oppression faced by women.
Feminist: a person who believes in the social, economic and political equality of the sexes. Whilst the definition of feminism is colourblind, many BME women feel that feminism does not relate to them due to the mainstream feminist movement largely being dominated by white, middle class women, and the constant bashing of black women in the media. Instead many simply do not identify as feminists or opt to identify as ‘black feminists’ – a movement that highlights the importance of race, sexism and economic inequality (i.e. intersectionality) and how they work together to create different experiences for different women from different walks of life.
BME Rep: Rianna Johnson
Network Reps
The LGBT+ community today is typically seen as sharing a common goal with feminist networks: equal human rights for all. However, feminists can be trans-exclusive because they think that malesexed female-gender persons and female-sexed nonbinary-gender persons are not ‘real women’. They can also be dismissive of lesbians (or other variants of same-sex sexual orientations) because they wish to disassociate with ‘man hating’ (because, of course, the love of women corresponds to the hatred of men...). These are extreme examples that are mainly issues for radical feminists. Nonetheless, milder transphobic and homophobic tendencies are common within feminism and it is our duty – as persons who advocate equality for all – to confront and amend these attitudes. As the LGBT officer for the Women’s network, I aim to ensure that people of all genders and sexual orientations are represented and included. I have taken part in organising the upcoming Networks’ Ball - in liaison with the LGBT Network - and habitually exclaim ‘but what about the gays?!’
LGBTQIA+ Rep: Louisa Huntington
I’m Molly, I’m the women’s network disabled representative on the committee and I’m also the disabled students officer for the next academic year. My gender and my disability are the two predominant domains of my identity; being a woman and being hearing and visually impaired. These are just two examples of my experiences of being a disabled woman. Society, in my opinion, judges women more on their appearances than men, or, at least, attitudes towards women’s appearances are judged differently to those of men. As a woman who is visually impaired, I am extremely mindful and aware of the visual nature of appearance. This can be quite interesting and even complicated when simply choosing what clothes to wear. It is well acknowledged that it is potentially dangerous for women to walk or be alone at night when it is dark. For me, however, I feel it is even more so, especially as it is practically impossible for me, as a visually impaired women, to be on my own when it is dark. Since my visual loss causes night-blindness where I am unable to see (or at least very little) when it is dark, I always require guiding assistance usually from friends or family. Being a woman and being disabled has an important role and perspective within feminism.
Disabilities Rep and newly elected Students with Disabilities Officer: Molly O’Brien
By Alex Jones
The Zine reviews:
India’s Daughter By Rebecca Marano
Trigger Warning: This article contains disturbing details of sexual assault.
On December 16th 2012, on a day which should have held cause for celebration, a young girl fell victim to the most heinous of crimes. Jyoti Sign Pandey, a promising medical graduate, was viciously and repeatedly gang-raped by a five men and one youth on a bus in downtown Delhi. She was attacked so violently that she was found with bite marks all over her body, her intestines pulled out by her assailants. After the monstrous ordeal, her and her friend were tossed aside the bus and left for dead. The appalling inhumanity was widely reported and the world reacted in horror at the crime. The sickening brutality verges on the unthinkable and caused uproars of condemnation around the globe. The mass protests that followed fought not only for justice for Jyoti’s tragedy, but for Indian women across the country. Leslie Udwin’s India’s Daughter is a startling insight into the horrifying repression of Indian women. The documentary exposes the victim-shaming culture engrained in India, with many of those interviewed holding Jyoti responsible for daring to be out at such a late hour. Jyoti’s parents courageously named their daughter and she has become a symbol of India’s disturbing attitude to women. A woman is raped every 20 minutes in India and many of these attacks go unreported. The shame that accompanies such attacks leaves the women reluctant to speak out. They are not seen as victims but as M.L. Sharma, the defence lawyer, argued ‘a flower...put in the gutter’. It seems the preconception is that women are precious and to be cared for, but once they are ‘damaged’ so to speak, they become merely a portal for men’s pleasure. One interviewee summed up the rapist’s mentality as it being their ‘right’ as a man; they do not see the women as human because women are not important in their ideal Indian society.
Sharma sums up the patriarchy declaring ‘we have the best culture. In our culture there is no place for a woman’. This perception is engrained in large parts of Indian society. Negative cultural values pervade women and they are consistently seen as less important. India’s Daughter highlights the lack of respect for women, showing their repression into the roles of daughter, wife and mother. Divergence from these roles puts them in danger. ‘In our society we never allow a girl to come out of the house after 6.30’, one interviewee declares. They are to be under constant supervision or ‘deserving’ of their assault. In one chilling interview we see A.P. Singh, the second defence lawyer, venomously states if his daughter or sister ‘engaged in premarital activities’ he would pour ‘petrol on her and set her alight’. Central to the documentary is Udwin’s interview with one of Jyoti’s attackers, the unremorseful Mukesh Singh. His lack of guilt is an unnerving watch as he defends his atrocious crime. ‘A decent girl won’t roam around at night. A girl is more responsible for rape than a boy’ he protests. The documentary exhibits this widespread and unrepentant culture of victim-shaming.
The five rapists were swiftly convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, the juvenile only to serve three years. Mukesh Singh condemned his sentence saying ‘now when they rape they won’t leave the girl like we did. They will kill her. Especially the criminal types.’ It is this mentality that has sparked such mass protest. Rape should not be so commonplace; it should not be seen as an inevitability. The message of Udwin’s documentary is one of hope and optimism; education can change this. Give women self-worth and men the ability to value their importance. It is important to transform Jyoti’s harrowing plight as symbolism for change, as her father says; ‘in death, she lit a torch...whatever darkness there is...should be dispelled by this light’.
Anon
UoN Feminists’ Statement of Solidarity with Goldsmith’s Diversity Officer, Bahar Mustafa. UoN Feminists wish to publicly state their support for and solidarity with Mustafa following the disgraceful public attacks they faced following a BME women’s and non-binary event. We believe in the importance of safe spaces, and will defend them. Safe spaces are vital for people to discuss safely within themselves, to share experiences with those who will have the same or similar experiences, and to heal without fear of facing racism or oppression based on their gender. We are of the opinion that the measures taken by Mustafa were not racist or sexist, due to the fact that white people and men, especially cis men, are privileged in society. We want to make it clear that this does not mean that they do not face problems, merely that they do not face oppression because of their race or gender identity. It is for these reasons that we condemn the smearing of Mustafa and the work they have done. Especially given that in the statement used to vilify Mustafa, they clearly stated that events would be done for “lads and allies”, and the media have misconstrued what went on. Solidarity.
Musings on: Global Feminism. There’s a trend online of women taking the “I need feminism because… “ trend and making it “I don’t need feminism because…”. Ok. So, some women are saying they don’t need feminism. That may be because they don’t feel oppressed, they don’t feel like they’re are victims, they have good stable jobs and/or they’re happy. Fine. I’m not going to go into someone’s happy life, patronise them and tell them “no, you are oppressed– your life isn’t as fabulous as you think it is because of x, y, z”. If they can see the news articles, see the rape culture, be presented with the information, and still feel like they don’t need feminism, who am I to go in and have a massive argument with them? If you don’t feel like you need feminism because it will not benefit you, and you want to use that to state that feminism is irrelevant or outdated, you can. But here’s the thing. Feminism is not about you. It is about all women. Black women, Latina women, trans women, poor women, disabled women, queer women, lesbian women, bi women, jobless women, CEO women, sex worker women, women who work, women who stay at home, women in Western countries, women in peace, women in war, women
in Eastern countries, religious women, atheist women, women who have been abused, Asian women, intersex women. It is about all women. If you are a cis, straight, well off, Western, white woman, and you don’t feel victimised by the patriarchy, fine. But that does not mean that we, as a collective, don’t need feminism. There are women out there dying because they are women. If you chose to throw feminism out because you don’t need it, then what about them? Feminism should be a global movement of solidarity. It means thinking about your campaigns, how they might negatively affect other women, and how they can be expanded to include other women. It’s about thinking critically about what’s important right now to feminism on a global scale. It’s about thinking about reproductive rights for women in war zones and living under genocide. It’s about solidarity in actions more than words. Feminism is not about you. It’s not about if you need it. It’s about the fact that women across the world do need it, and we will stand in solidarity with them. Our feminism will be intersectional or it will be bullshit. It will be inclusive or it will be bullshit. It will be about more than you and your life experience, or it will be bullshit.
By Seona Deuchar
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