The Feminist Lens

Lauren is a junior at Duke who will be working with Legal Momentum’s National Judicial Education Program.

Hi, my name is Lauren Katz and ever since I decided to take a women’s studies class, I have never stopped thinking about how the patriarchy is so pervasive and how women need to take over the world.  Ok, I’m slightly over exaggerating of course, but in all seriousness, deciding tomen's studies add a women’s studies minor (and hopefully a major) to my already crowded academic schedule at Duke has been both a blessing and a curse because it has caused me to look at the world through my newly acquired “feminist lens” that I hope to further develop over the summer as a Moxie.

What is this “feminist lens” you may ask? Let me give you some examples. Since I’ve been at home in Chapel Hell (I mean Hill hehe), I’ve spent a lot of time with my little sister Helena who is 10 (and the cutest kid in the entire world). Anyways, the other day, while we were acting out scenes with Barbie dolls using our “valley girl” impersonations, I couldn’t help but to be reminded of several articles I had read about how Barbie ingrains stereotypes of femininity into young girls.

Then, as I am dribeyving her to a play-date,  the first song to come on the radio is Beyonce’s Partition.  But wait… as I listen closely to the lyrics, I am disappointed. How can Beyonce, hailed world wide as a “feminist,” have a song with explicit lyrics that maintain that a woman’s sole purpose is to “please her man.”  Yes. I apologize America, I did just criticize the Queen B herself.   Of course Beyonce has songs that encourage female empowerment such as Flawless and Run the World, but some of her other music seems to completely go against her feminist agenda.

Alright, the next song is Robin Thicke’s thickeBlurred Lines.  Song? More like rape anthem.  Thicke basically advocates for men to take advantage of intoxicated women. Extremely popular songs like these that are constantly played on the radio help to objectify and sexualize women as “lesser”. Perhaps one in five college aged women is sexually assaulted because society encourages men to be sexually aggressive. Ugh. These are songs I use to like too, blessing and a curse, I told you.

Even though feminism, at its core, is the belief that women should be treated equal to men, there are SO MANY DIFFERENT TYPES of feminism and I don’t know which one is right and which one I want to identify with.  I mean, there’s liberal feminism, radical feminism, sex-radical feminism, the list goes on and on.  Of course I believe that men shouldn’t control the choices that women make.  But I also love fashion and putting on make-up! Does this somehow make me a lesser feminist?  And yes, I want to be treated as an equal, but if he doesn’t pay on the first date, no way am I calling him again.  Do I only like dressing up and believe that the man should “treat” because I personally think that is proper behavior or because society tells me that it is? I am pulling-hair-out-of-my head conflicted and I hope that this summer helps to clarify all of the questions I have about the society that I live in.

In order to create equality between men and women, it begins with changing the laws that govern our society.  That is why I wanted to intern at Legal Momentum, the oldest non-profit legal defense fund for women.  Legal Momentum has been at the forefront of many legal and policy changes that have greatly advanced female equality, such as the Violence Against Women Act, which was a landmark piece of legislation that brought crimes of domestic violence and sexual assault into the national spotlight.  Over the summer,  I will be drafting materials to educate judges about sexual assault, teen dating violence, and intimate partner violence, all extremely pertinent and tragically prevalent issues that I care deeply about.  This summer I hope to better articulate my definition of feminism, learn more about gender issues, and gain experience working at a law firm…it’s going to be a challenge and I can’t wait!

 

One thought on “The Feminist Lens

  1. The memes!!! so great. I loved your take on thinking about your younger sister. I have a younger sister and the same things that came to your mind also have worried me when I think about the world she is growing up in.

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