On Friday, October 11th over 700 students participated in a discussion focused on ideas about feminism presented in Chimamanda Adiche's essay, "We Should All Be Feminists." Leading up to the event, students engaged with the topic and text in classes across disciplines. During the event, student leaders facilitated discussion in small groups composed of students from varying grades. Inspired by Adichie's challenge for all of us to "do better," discussions moved towards brainstorming how we can better support each other in achieving the common goal of equality for all. Let's look at some highlights from the day's conversations.
"People need to understand that culture is changing and be open to other people's views on how they see or experience things." -Aziz, 12th
"People should be feminists if they want everyone to have the same opportunities." -Ramirrah, 10th
"If girls are playing the block, they're talked about, but when boys do it, it's okay." -Amil, 12th
"We should see that when we take away everything, we are all just humans." -Kyndall, 10th
"Some things are considered to be too girly for boys and other things only for boys and that's not right." -Sanaa, 10th
"When you say "that's gay" you're making it seem like being gay is not okay." -Crystal, 10th
"We are never gonna get to that equal point because someone always has to act superior." Kiala, 12th
If women want to show their bodies and express themselves, that's their choice. It's not their fault that [men] are sexually attracted by what they wear." -Zayna, 9th
"Guys shouldn't just bottle it up because stuff that happened years ago will hit you like 20 years after." -Gavin, 11th
"Acting my own way, being my own self, not following somebody else's standards of being a man." -Chris, 9th
"We need mandatory gender studies classes; people need to be educated. One 1 hr session isn't going to help." -Emma, 12th
Let's keep the conversation going!
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