Book Review - Click: Moments When We Knew We Were Feminists

As part of my Well Women duties for next year, I am duty-bound to read a book from our library - you can imagine how giddy I was to receive this assignment. It's like summer reading, but revamped to suit my feminist and inspirational needs. In keeping with these themes, the first of two books that I chose to read was Click: Moments When We Knew We Were Feminists, which is edited by Courtney Martin (of Barnard and Feministing) and J. Sullivan.

Happy Feminist Coming Out Day!

Today is International Women's Day and, as indicated, National Feminist Coming Out Day! The purpose of this day is to show that many people identify as feminists and that they do not come in any one "package." I was out in style wearing my "This is What a Feminist Looks Like" t-shirt (pictured above) and handing out stickers to the general masses. We also had a Buffy-watching party and knitting club in the Well Woman office to complement the day's festivities.

If you identify as a feminist, you should definitely check out the website and add your picture to the feminist portrait gallery!

You may also be interested in reading my opinion piece Single Sex Education for Women and Girls or my book review of Click: Moments When We Knew We Were Feminists.

A Quasi-Post

It has been quite a while since I last got the chance to share my writer-ly hangouts. These past few weeks have marked the end of my first year at college and, as is to be expected, I have been caught up in academics and clubs and all the requisite processes that seem to all crash together into a two week period. So, this post is not going to be about the places I have wandered to for the past few weeks, but will be focused on what I have been working on.

First of all, there have been great honors afoot!
I was recently honored at the SGA Leadership Dinner as a First Year Leadership Award Recipient. I don't know who nominated me, but I am really grateful to whoever it was! The embarrassing part of the story, however, is that I did not believe I was being recognized for anything at first. They sent a formal invitation to my father and, when he called me to say that he got it, I shrugged it off and said "they must be giving those to everyone." It was only when they emailed me a second time to RSVP that I caught on.
When I arrived at the dinner, everyone was in formal attire and there were parents up and down the aisles - how I wish my father could have been there! It was a fancy setting with catering and butter shaped like little flowers! It was by far the fanciest event I have gone to in a while. I regret not bringing a proper camera...

On to things that I did know were happening - I am next year going to be a Well Woman!
For those of you that don't know what that is, Well Women is an organization of peer educators that learn all about women's health and issues; since Barnard is a women's college, they run an office that provides educational services to all the students. I am really excited to meet everyone and learn about all of these different topics! When I was going through the interview process, I felt really comfortable and welcomed, so I am happy that I got on.

I was also offered to work at ZAPP, the zine library in Richard Hugo House during the summer! While it is not a full internship, it allows me to keep my zine skills working and probably will encourage me to finish my own personal zine (which I will also be working on during the summer). Hooray plans!

On to the second group, the hard-work-that-paid-off category!
This past weekend, we both finished this semester's publication of Awaaz (in which I am both an editor and a writer!) and mounted Nazaara's play Kanyadaan. Although I was biting my nails about the performance to the very end, we pulled through and there were a lot of strong responses in the audience - for good and for ill. It was nice to hear that the play was so provocative, as it is a very powerful text. Fun fact: they are performing it in Seattle on the 14th, so I might be able to go see it (again and in a different language, but still!)

Aside from all of these things, I have been working diligently at all the things that I usually do. Today was the last day of classes so I finally feel that I have run the race to the finish line - I no longer have any essays to complete and just a few final exams to pass before I head off into wild blue yonder (pretty much literally). And today was a nice relieving break because Liberty and I went bowling with my adviser and our first year class dean, as well as some students and a Spanish professor. It was a great time! Although, I didn't do too well on bowling...

I think I will be keeping up my writer-ly explorations in Seattle, so stay tuned for some more recommendations (albeit, about the other side of the country) and some writing. Yes, I promise to put up some actual writing after this.

Postcard Moments in NYC

Postcard Moments from New York City
Here is a snippet of my big city life:
A few days ago, I went on a day-long rug search.
I was walking down the street nearby Chinatown and staring at the ground in a typical Seattle fashion - keep your head down and shoulders tight so no one notices you. In Bellevue, we try to slip gracefully out of existence.
But, in a momentary upward glance, then I noticed.
No one else was acting this wa. I am no New Yorker, by far, but I realized that hunching myself down was even more conspicuous than standing tall. Amidst the clamor of signs in Chinese and English, hawkers of African, East and South Asian descent boasting their wares, and people who walk well within your personal space bubble, it was almost fatal to portray yourself as weak. It makes you a target.
So, as I continued on my rug search, I straightened ut my spine and walked with a swing in my hips. Even if it started out as pretending, I felt more like a confident New Yorker - hell with it if I got on the wrong train or pushed people into the street along the way!
Alas, I still didn't find a rug.
***
A small niblet.
Today I make my foray into the philosophy of women's health.
On campus, we have a program called Well-Women, whose primary focus is providing education about womanhood (though they do provide condoms and lube as well, haha).
I had been interested from the first health forum I attended during orientation where a bombastic woman boasted of the office where they treat you to, among other things, massage chairs and dark chocolate. So today, after figuring out their office opened at 1pm (I had mistakenly come at 12:40pm) and returning then, I was greeted by a sweet receptionist who led me to a couch and a book called Our Bodies, Ourselves. Now, I had remembered tiheir director (that bombastic woman from before) touting this hefty tome as she espoused rapid-fire Well-Women specs - but at the time, my head had been a whirlwind of shiny new information about my college at large. I had no space for a book on my own health.
Now, however, when the swelter of newness abated, in this comfortable office with shelves and shelves of books, stress balls, chocolate offerings and couches, I was ready to investigate.
The first chapter, on body image, was of particular interest to me. A psychological journey into why we objectify ourselves was presented. Why are we sexy or pure? Why can't regular-sized women feel attractive? Amidst common answers, there were also new insights. It was empowering to read the words of such dedicated women - for us and no one else.
Needless to say, I picked up my own copy of the encyclopedic-width book and toted it home on the subway.
An eye into ourselves is the most important eye of all.

I've been working on getting back into the writing habit - this is what I have to present this week. Alongside that, I am drawing nearer to the idea of personal wellness - we have to take care of ourselves first!

Want to read more about my college experiences? Check out my posts about Barnard and NYC.