The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) Womyn’s Centre held its first Fem(me) Talk on Feb. 5, titled “What the F is a Feminist? Self-Identification and the Politics of the F-Word.”
Due to the overwhelming response, the talk had to be moved to the Bill Ellis Centre for Mature and Part-time Students, where it was standing room only.
“I had no clue what to expect,” said Debbie Owusu-Akyeeah, the Womyn’s Centre’s programming co-ordinator. “I was really anxious, but I was happy with the turn out. It means a lot of students on campus like feminism or are interested in it.”
Owusu-Akyeeah and Emily MacDonald, a Carleton alumnus who is the host of the YouTube show EmF3m that discusses feminist issues, moderated the discussion.
Although the event was only planned to be an hour and a half, it extended to longer than three hours.
Students chatted over pizza about a variety of issues, including what a feminist is and why students chose to identify as one or not, what a good versus a bad feminist is, and whether “feminist” is a good word to describe the movement, as it is not just about the oppression of women.
“For me, feminism is the aspirations of having all the systems of oppression that may affect our lives eliminated,” Owusu-Akyeeah said. “Essentially it means there are so many things in our society that keep people marginalized and I want to get rid of that.”
Although the event was predominantly women, there were around 10 men in attendance too. The men shared their personal experiences with patriarchy, including one sharing his story of being sexually assaulted.
“I’m really glad they came out and they participated in chatting,” MacDonald said. “I was surprised they were willing to share their stories and they were willing to share about the pressures put on them by society such as . . . stifling their emotions.”
For Anthony Galipeau, a first-year political science student, attending the discussion was a no-brainer.
“I’ve identified [as a feminist] for a great many years and I will continue to identify until I am dead,” he said. “Men need to be included in feminism because things like the patriarchy and hegemonic masculinity are so damaging.”
“Many don’t fit into that ideal,” he added. “Without feminism we lose that platform to sort of invent an equality that is healthy, that is inclusive.”
Pauline Morrison, a third-year psychology student, said she too is a feminist but has not always identified with the term.
“I became one. . . by taking a women’s and gender studies elective, so I felt a little more inclined with my education to really identify myself as one,” she said. “It’s a far more open and inclusive concept than it is exclusive and male hating, which is the impression I always got.”
“There’s real ground to feminism. I always thought it was very superficial, this false notion of equality, but now I can really see it,” she added.
