Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Political Activism 101, or Why I'm Paranoid as Shit That I've Become a Manic Depressive

Jessica Valenti is coming to Allegheny. I've decided.

Problem is, I have no money and really poor persuasion skills. As the VP of Young Fems, I feel it is my duty to bring Valenti to speak to our campus as she can cater to both a feminist and nonfeminist audience. In addition to being the center of my universe, she is an incredibly witty and talented writer and speaker.

To shift the focus to me for a moment because I'm narcissistic, this sudden JESSICA-IS-COMING revelation was somewhat disconcerting to me, as I have been terrified of developing bipolar disorder since I learned the first episode generally occurs by the time you turn twenty (which, incidentally, happened to me yesterday. The turning twenty thing, that is). My last blog was about my general disinterestedness in Valenti's Purity Myth, so this dramatic shift was like ZOMFGNOWAI WHERE DID THIS COME FROM? But, I've decided that rather than seeing this mood shift as signs of my inevitable manic depressive doom, I'm going to take this as a sign that I'm on my way to mental wellness.

Shifting focus again, sans narcissism.

So as I'm sitting bored as shit at my job, I start thinking about my future as VP of Young Fems. What should we do this semester? I've always been a fan of speakers, but I don't know that everyone shares that sentiment. Also, they're hella expensive (I apologize for my use of the word hella...I've been trying to bring it back but it's just not happening and the sooner I get that through my subconscious the sooner my writing will be less post-Just a Girl Gwen Stefani-esque). I thought it would be neat to have a woman come in and teach some self-defense moves, but after reading several passages of Yes Means Yes: Visions of Female Sexual Power and A World Without Rape (edited by Valenti and Jaclyn Friedman) I began questioning the need for women to have to defend themselves. That, of course, is tied in with women's bodies being marketed as cultural rather than personal (as in, the woman's) property, which ties in with the way women's sexuality is commodified and how men are socialized to believe they have some sort of, I dunno, RIGHT to women's bodies and sexuality. Therefore, Valenti. Her books are a huuuuge FUCK YOU bold underline exclamation point to the social, political and ecomonic powers who have specific interests in perpetuating the commodification of the female body. (Sorry I insert waytoomany words into sentences but I am an highly caffeinated feminist English major.)

I guess what I'm going for here is that I think I'm finally in a place where I am mentally well enough to really push for a speaker like Valenti on our campus. Ghandi wants me to be the change I want to see in the world, and I can see no better way to change the world than to open my campus's (goddamn I can't figure out how to pluralize that correctly, I hope that's right) eyes to feminist consciousness. I'm ready to rally Young Fems with the FMLA (Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance), SPEAK (Students Promoting Eating Disorder Awareness and Knowledge--may be a bit of a stretch, but the pres is my sister), ASG (student government) and the Women's Studies department to get her on campus. Plz can has?

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