Yay! Intros from WSAC

(Molly & Aidan at our favorite vegan-friendly all-night cafe)

Howdy! My name’s Aidan Sullivan from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities’s Women’s Student Activist Collective. Talking about myself is, um, odd. Let’s see – I’m 19, awkward & geeky, studying political science, economics, & gender studies. Things I do at WSAC: fill out tax forms, show people how to use Microsoft Excel, sign checks, & take too much responsibility onto myself. I joined WSAC for two reasons: I was sick to death of being called a hypersensitive bitch when I called people on misogynist & privileged language, and I was pretty sure I needed to dump all my misogynist & privileged friends. Now I spend far too much time in the WSAC room and bore my non-WSAC friends to tears with my thoughts on how I feel the gender binary is outdated & how the patriarchy hurts men. I started reading Feministing when I was a fourteen year old baby feminist and I actually shrieked when Vanessa emailed us about contributing. Basically I’m completely rad and almost more excited than if I found the TARDIS, totally can’t wait to get to know all of you.

So, I’m Molly Looze (my last name rhymes with booze), and I’ve walked this earth for a little more than two decades, and am known to have a boisterous laugh. I am an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and have no idea what my major will be. I can say with certainty that I am leaning toward combination of English, Sociology, and Sustainability but have not thought very hard about how to get that rolling. I’ve been a part of WSAC for almost a year now. I joined out of desperation, really. I needed a place to voice my frustrations about gender oppression, and a place to talk about all things queer. One fine day I plopped my butt down on a comfy couch in the WSAC office and have been a dedicated member ever since.

My responsibilities at WSAC have been extensive, from emceeing events, to planning and leading discussions, to restructuring an entire budget. I’ve learned that activism is by no means easy, and has been one of the most frustrating and rewarding parts of my life. I don’t know whether I should say that in bursts of glorious zeal, or with my face in my hands, tearing at my muscles, wondering if any of my work is worth it. That statement is reason enough not to quit, to see where the feminist movement will take the world. I’m excited to be a part of the blogging world, and especially in conjunction with Feministing!

WSAC is the only feminist oriented group on campus. Our mission statement is “to empower women, transgender, and gender non-conforming people to make positive changes in society by eliminating interrelated inequalities that produce oppression, with a focus on gender and sexuality.” In order to fulfill our mission statement, we put on events to raise awareness about such things as gender oppression, sexual violence, the need for healthy sex education, body image & eating disorders, & mental health issues in the University community.

This coming year, we plan to have discussions and teach-ins related to feminism, the different types of feminisms, and how they all intersect. Each semester has its own concentration. Fall semester is all about action & education focusing on feminism itself, while spring semester is action & celebration focusing on positive self-image. We are a collective, which means that every member of WSAC has an equal say in our programming and the direction they want our group to go in. Each of us has our own opinion of what feminism is, what feminism could be, and what feminism should accomplish. This makes for lively discussions & totally rad outcomes. The collective process is difficult at times – once we had an hour long discussion about how a certain panel should be titled – but absolutely worth it.

We look forward to the coming year & the challenges that arise, and we are especially stoked to share our experiences with the Feministing community and learning from other campus feminist groups!