Michelle Hennessy – News Writer
A campaign that started at Duke University has come to Southern, raising awareness for feminism, according to graduate assistant at the women’s studies program Tiffany Trowbridge-Bernard.
“The aim of the program is to show people that feminism isn’t just about burning bras – to break the past stereotypes of feminism,” said Trowbridge-Bernard. “We want to show people that feminism is inclusive and anyone and everyone can be a feminist.”
The campaign works by writing on a poster why feminism is needed which is then displayed in Engleman B229 and across social media sites like Facebook, said Trowbridge-Bernard.
“The main line of the campaign is, ‘I need feminism because…’” said Trowbridge-Bernard, “so then everyone that comes in will write ‘I need feminism because…’ and you write your reason that you feel you need feminism.”
Trowbridge-Bernard said most of the faculty and students from the women’s studies program have got involved, but students across campus have also become interested in the campaign, writing why they think feminism is still necessary.
“There’s one that says, ‘I need feminism because I shouldn’t be afraid to walk down the streets at night,’ said Trowbridge-Bernard. “And ‘I need feminism because equality pertains to men and women.’”
A poll by YouGov and the Huffington Post found only 6 percent of Americans consider themselves a strong feminist, with a 30 percent majority saying the word ‘feminist’ is a mostly negative term.
This campaign aims to eliminate some of these labels, said Trowbridge-Bernard. She said it aims to show people that feminism isn’t the same as it was in the late 19th century, with the first wave of activists.
“[The campaign is] overcoming some of the stereotypes surrounding feminism and helping people to realise that it’s not the dirty word that it’s always been associated with,” said Trowbridge-Bernard. “It’s not just about women and it’s not just about being a radical feminist and burning bras and stuff like that, it’s for everyone.”
She said over the years the term ‘feminist’ has evolved to now include everyone in the fight for equality.
“It’s not the same as during the women’s liberation, now everyone can be involved in it, everyone can be a feminist,” said Trowbridge-Bernard. “Women should be in powerful positions and so should men, everyone has that right.”
Despite the finding from the poll, YouGov also found that 82 percent said men and women should be social, political and economic equals. She said support for the cause has also been coming from men, who have had a say on why feminism is needed.
“We had a guy come in just the other day actually. He said ‘I need feminism because I don’t want people to judge me for being a feminist.’”
The reasons for feminism through the campaign have varied from issues surrounding equal pay to sexual assault. Trowbridge-Bernard said one of the posters reads “I need feminism because, jokes about rape aren’t funny.” The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network reported that every two minutes, an American will be sexually assaulted.
Trowbridge-Bernard said one of the biggest issues surrounding rape is the “normalization of it in our culture.”
“You have to bring awareness to the subject, you have to bring awareness to the fact that jokes about rape aren’t funny,” said Trowbridge-Bernard. “If we keep normalizing it or passing it off as a joke, then it’s only going to continue. We need people to say ‘that’s not funny, rape is a huge issue and it’s a heartbreaking thing for someone to go through.’”
Trowbridge-Bernard said though she hasn’t been enrolled at Southern for that long, the university is progressing in terms of its support of feminists.
“Southern I think is definitely doing more than it did in the past,” said Bernard-Trowbridge. “I think through the Women’s Studies and the Women’s Center, that we are bringing awareness to the issue.”
For Trowbridge-Bernard, her reasons for feminism are to protect women’s rights to be successful.
“I would say I need feminism because I shouldn’t have to fight to be in a position of power,” said Trowbridge-Bernard. “I shouldn’t have to fight for rates of equality.”
