This past weekend 350 people came together for the Women’s Leadership Conference, held at the Auburn University Hotel and Dixon Conference Center. All walks of life attended the beautiful and inspiring event -even a group from Tuscaloosa! Topics like discrimination, sexuality, and women’s rights were discussed openly among several small groups. To top it off there was an award ceremony to recognize women of all ages, and a panel of women from the University of Alabama, who spoke about their experience during the “Final Stand of the Schoolhouse Door.”
In honor of the event, I decided to sit down and talk with a dear friend and feminist, Megan Skipper. Megan is majoring in Human Development and Family Studies, and double minoring in Spanish and Women’s Studies. This semester she received the Women’s Studies Undergraduate Achievement Award. Each year, the Women’s Studies program recognizes a woman who has had academic success as well as an impact on the Auburn community dealing with women’s issues, and that’s exactly what Megan has done.
Among many of her achievements, Megan is currently a mentor in the Young Women Leaders program, and plans on being a facilitator in the fall. The program pairs a pre-teen girl with a college-aged girl in order to help the “Little Sister” find a voice. Along the way, the mentees also shape the mentors into better leaders.
Applications for the program are out now.
Megan has been an inspiration to me by showing me social issues that I had never thought about before. As a sophomore, she is already on fire for her career, pushing the boundaries of the social system and making us question our beliefs for a cause bigger than our own. I know you will fall in love with this girl’s integrity and spirit as much as I have!
Megan, what are your career goals?
My major is all about how the family interacts, and how people develop within our society. I am extremely interested in the woman’s role. The role is such an integral piece, including the development of a child and the development of a nation. I essentially want to write and push public policies that will benefit women and the family as a whole.
What kind of changes do you want to see happen here on Auburn’s campus?
I know this kind of sounds cheesy, but I want the females to be aware of women’s issues and also aware of how girls view each other. Discrimination against women is so integrated in our society that even girls discriminate against other girls. I want each woman to feel like she can speak up, no matter how that makes her look, whether it be sexual choices, religious beliefs, in class, or being a boss. When you think about it, boys aren’t afraid of these types of things like girls are. We need a support system to help overcome these fears. I want every woman to support her friends when they want to speak out, or step up and be a leader. We have created competition that doesn’t need to be there, when it comes to responding to fellow women. We are all women, and we all have similar experiences, so we need to stick together.
What does it mean to be a “Feminist?”
There is no reason to be scared of the word “feminist“. The text book definition is equality of all genders. Katy Perry actually said in an interview one time that she was not a feminist because she loves men. That is not what it means to be a feminist; loving men and being a feminist are not mutually exclusive. She recently stated that she is, in fact, a feminist. That is just one great example of how the term has a bad reputation; however, after we realize what it means, we can associate ourselves with it.
Women are already powerful people but we need to allow ourselves exceed the expectations that society has put in place for us. That is what it means to be a feminist. You can be a housewife and be a feminist, you can work in a woman dominated field and be a feminist, or you can have a boyfriend and be a feminist. Whichever way you look at it, the point is that women have the right to be as equally powerful as men.
A hot topic currently is everything Beyoncé. What do you think about what she is doing and how she is effecting the feminist movement?
I think Beyoncé is a great example of the evolution of becoming a feminist. If you look at Beyoncé’s career, the definition of womanhood progresses from her earlier works to her latest album. In her first album there is some independence (think “Me, Myself, and I”), somewhere in the middle she was thinking that some of the standards just don’t make sense (think “If I Were a Boy”), and in her latest album she is empowered as a woman and proud (think “Flawless”, “Grown Woman”).
I think it’s awesome because she is the biggest woman in hip-hop, pop, and rap, and she is doing the same thing as her male counterparts, because she is not afraid to talk about her sexuality. She also says I’m a mother, I’m a woman, and I’m a boss. She is even involved in the “Ban Bossy” Campaign, and has written an essay on feminism herself.
There is some controversy surrounding a few lyrics in her new album, but, again, that goes back to the evolution of feminism. She is constantly changing her ideals just like the movement of feminism, trying to figure out what’s best. Overall, Beyoncé is a leader in the movement.
I know men have kind of a negative connotation with women who define themselves as feminist, so how do you feel about dating and chivalry?
“Being a feminist does not mean that you don’t want a romantic relationship, regardless of sexuality. Chivalry is a good thing, but sometimes it is taken too far. Women should have to be polite, as well as want to pick up the check on a date, just like men. An egaltarian relationship should be the goal, because there needs to be mutual respect for one another.”
What do you think it means for feminism since it is becoming trendy?
With the emergence of social media, everything becomes trendy at some point. It is a really really good thing [for feminism] to become trendy. It could be a bad thing in some ways, but I like to see the potential. I believe after you realize what feminism means, it becomes more than a trend for you. The trend is just how you start dabbling into it, and then you start reading feminist blogs and you start figuring out what it means to you. Also, awareness is so important for any movement and social media is just a gateway for that. It gives you an opportunity to find your voice, and I love that.
If you want to hear more from Megan, she has a blog, Meganskipper.wordpress.com, where she interprets hot topics like the Dove’s Real Beauty Campaign and how passivity effects education. What do you think about my conversation with Megan? Love it, hate it, or want more? Leave a comment below!
Photo credits: