Zoe Ballou
First of all, what is feminism? According to the dictionary, the term means “the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of equality of the sexes.” Perhaps more simply put, feminism is all about everyone having equal rights and opportunities. An integral part of feminism as a concept is intersectionality. Intersectionality refers to overlap between someone’s gender and other forms of discrimination such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, age, etc. Sexism isn’t the only issue that feminism challenges, as inequalities can link and overlap limiting people’s rights. Feminists fight for change in areas involving reproductive rights, domesic violence, workplace discrimination, fairness, equal pay, social justice, sexual harassment, and more. Historically, feminism started as analyzing the inequalities between the two sexes, but has evolved into a more nuanced approach, focusing on the social constructs regarding gender and sexuality.
Let’s talk about some common misconceptions. Feminism is not about hating men, nor is it about women being better than men, or advocating for female supremacy, or destroying femininity. None of the above. Feminism is believing in equality.
Feminism at FRS: What about feminism at Frontier? As you’ve probably gathered from the title, we have a feminist club here at FRS! Feminist club was founded by Maeve Huit and Kaitlyn Mackin at the beginning of last year. Currently, Feminist Club is run by Aine Carey and Chloe Felton-Emrick. We meet most Fridays in Ms. Moore’s room right after school, open to anyone and everyone grades 7-12! We would absolutely love to have you. What do we do in Feminist Club? Short answer, a lot. Long answer…here it is. Some of our past projects include adding free period products to all the gender neutral and girl’s bathrooms, organizing a school-wide walkout in support of Roe v. Wade and reproductive rights, and general education and advocacy regarding feminism. We are so excited to get to work on new projects this year for the students and by the students. If you have any ideas, suggestions, frustrations, projects, comments, or really anything else, you should stop by! Feminist club is a safe space for being loud and creating change or for just talking! We want to hold a space where our school community feels comfortable and encouraged to share. It could be something on your mind, something you want to see change at Frontier, or something entirely different. The possibilities are endless.