Dr. Maria Christina Santana, the UCF Women’s Studies Program Director, lets visitors know up front what she advocates with a small poster pinned to her door: “I Still Love Feminism More Than Ever.”
Upon walking into her office, the artwork geared toward women and female empowerment is even more prominent. But not to be alarmed, not all feminists are aggressive and in-your-face. The earthy tones of red, orange and brown in Santana’s office mirror her down to earth personality.
Santana, who sat assertively in her office, maintained an essence of femininity with her pearl necklace and pink sweater. She said that feminism is more of a collaborative effort that incorporates all members of society and doesn’t single out any particular group, especially men.
“Feminism is a way of building women without deconstructing other people,” Santana said.
Dr. Santana is one of the many people on campus who supports feminism, women’s rights and female empowerment amongst other gender issues. National Women’s Month in March featured events on campus such as “The Vagina Monologues”, Take Back the Night and the SlutWalk, which all dealt with charged topics. However, with National Women’s Month over, the topics of feminism, female empowerment, and matters that women face still linger and have shown no signs of ceasing.
Feminism, which began in the late 1800s, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities; as well as the organized movement in support of women’s rights and interests, according to Webster’s Dictionary. From fighting for voting rights to now, women have endured many peaks and troughs, literally. There have been two waves of feminism and the movement is currently in its third wave which focuses on the economic, social, and now political inequalities of women.
A misconception is that men cannot be a part of the feminist movement. However, sophomore Arius West, who considers himself a feminist doesn’t hold that thought.
“Feminism is trying to bring the equilibrium of men and women closer together. But in doing so, that means we have to both be on the same spectrum,” West said. “Therefore, it’s men and women fighting for equality for men and women.”
Arius West addressed any misconceptions about men being feminists and showing feminine qualities such as crying and empathy. He said that men need to understand that if they do things that seem feminine, it doesn’t make them weak and by accepting that, they are accepting themselves.
Elizabeth Fay, who was this year’s director of “The Vagina Monologues”, agreed.
“There’s no shame in showing the more feminine qualities that a male might possess,” Fay said. “There’s no shame in being a voice for feminism.”
UCF student Arturo Ugalde who was an actor and a choreographer for this year’s “The Vagina Monologues” believes that men should be involved in the movement to help make the women’s voices louder. With his passion for the movement, he created a dance number for one of the monologues that dealt with rape.
“The little talk about rape that is allowed in modern culture, on a college campus, is either under the guise of humor or it’s uneducated and it’s ignorant and it’s not to the way it needs to be done,” Ugalde said.
Santana, who was taken aback by the lack of representation of women at UCF’s Founder’s Day on Wednesday, said that women could have more leadership roles on campus. Still, she doesn’t denounce men, even those who don’t support the feminist movement—after all Santana doesn’t believe feminism is about deconstructing others.
“They came from a woman. They’re going to be working with women, seeing women, talking to women all their lives,” Santana said. “We’re not going anywhere, so join us.”
