First of all, I want to give a shout out to Heather for organizing a great feministeppin competition-it was FANTASTIC!Ok…on to my real post
The Feministeppin competition was more than a bunch of ladies and one gentlemen (I have not forgotten you John) performing creative and well rehearsed routines but more importantly, an opportunity to challenge patriarchal domination and the subsequent promotion of submissive femininity. With each women studies 320 student stomping and shouting anti-patriarchal messages, Tory breezeway became a space where patriarchy was no longer accepted and instead the message of female mobility and independence heard. Mary Daly’s article Gyn/Ecology defines this dismantling of patriarchy as the creation of the “Background,” a space in which woman identified woman are valued and the “dormant senses,” of those previously repressed by patriarchy, “come alive.”
The Feministeppin competition was more than a bunch of ladies and one gentlemen (I have not forgotten you John) performing creative and well rehearsed routines but more importantly, an opportunity to challenge patriarchal domination and the subsequent promotion of submissive femininity. With each women studies 320 student stomping and shouting anti-patriarchal messages, Tory breezeway became a space where patriarchy was no longer accepted and instead the message of female mobility and independence heard. Mary Daly’s article Gyn/Ecology defines this dismantling of patriarchy as the creation of the “Background,” a space in which woman identified woman are valued and the “dormant senses,” of those previously repressed by patriarchy, “come alive.”
Thursday night represented the power and potential of taking up space, going against the grain, and the subsequent promotion of an important message. While some individuals passing by gave disapproving glances many stopped and took in the spectacle. It is my hope, that those who stopped experienced the “tactile touch,” the tangible character of each group’s words and actions, and reflected on the destructive nature of patriarchal hegemony. While Baudrillard may argue that presentations like the feministeppin competition hold little power over the masses, already accosted by information constantly, I choose to believe, however, that the stepping routines possessed the ability to encourage anti-patriarchal contemplation, even if only for one onlooker. But hey, maybe I am just an optimist.
Kelly Mac.
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