Students “Come Out” as Feminists

College students across America “came out” as feminists yesterday, showing their support for women’s issues.

At Harvard, about forty students assembled in Ticknor Lounge to celebrate the second annual Feminist Coming Out Day last night.

The event coincided with International Women’s Day and was part of Harvard College Women’s Week 2011 “Stand Up and Stand Out” campaign.

Wearing shirts with the message “this is what a feminist looks like,” students participated in spoken word performances, poetry, and photography to urge people to rethink their notions of feminism and gender equality.

“A lot of times, saying you’re a feminist has such a negative connotation,” said Suzanna E. H. Bobadilla ’13. “We want to promote a positive meaning. We are not promoting that women are better than men. We’re just saying that we are equal. Some people are threatened by it.”

The event was a collaboration of the Radcliffe Union of Students, Harvard College Queer Students and Allies, and the Athena Program. It was part of a larger campaign that has spread nationwide to college campuses at Yale, Stanford, Wellesley and others.

“Too often, feminists are seen as only white, middle class, straight women,” said Abby P. Sun ’13, co-president of Radcliffe Union of Students. “We wanted to change that myth. We wanted to put a face to feminism.”

The Feminist Portrait Project was intended to do just that. Many college students across the nation changed their Facebook profile picture to photographs of themselves in a generic frame labeled “this is what a feminist looks like.”

“We are trying to fight stereotypes,” Daily Guerrero ’14 said at the event, “Our society often has negative notions of powerful women. Women in power are often called ‘bitches.’ We want to redefine this image and show that women can have authority and confidence.”

Many attendees voiced their frustration at the limited portrayal of women’s issues and feminism in general.

“[Feminism] is often stereotyped as an aggressively women-driven movement, but it’s all about equality,” Christopher J. Masterson ’14 said. “You don’t have to be a woman to be a feminist.”

The Harvard College Women’s center will continue to hold events relating to women’s issues throughout the week. A follow-up event, “Blogging and Activism in the Feminist Blogosphere,” will take place on Thursday.

“We would love to continue and make it larger than ever ... not just one day,” Sun said. “The fight for justice is never over.”