The end of the semester is upon us at James Madison University, which means that Shout Out! will be going on our annual summer hiatus.

As always, we appreciate everyone who spends time reading and posting on the blog! Without you, there would be no Shout Out!

If you like the blog, be sure to subscribe so that you know as soon as a new post occurs. It is very possible that some of our bloggers will continue to periodically share content this summer.

Thanks again for another great semester. See you soon!

-The Shout Out JMU team

Ladychaotica21 found this article from Jezebel, where a female CBS reporter claimed that a NBA cheerleader was “too chunky” for her tiny uniform.  It’s so infuriating when women are criticized for their bodies, but it’s even worse when a fellow woman is responsible for fat-talk.  Here’s an example of how NOT to talk about a sister.

Hannah Grace found that on April 23, 2013, France voted to approve same-sex marriage, a bill expected to pass once it is reviewed by congressional congress; however, all is not well in the country. There has been a rise in attacks against LGBTQ individuals, allies, and supportive lawmakers, people who need to know we have their back – allies united will not be stopped by fear!

Kelly J. found this article on thefbomb site. She thought it was a short, yet sweet post that spoke to her a lot. She thinks that identity as a feminist, but also as an individual in general, is a central concept to finding happiness. She has finally reached a point in her young adult life where she is excited and happy to share with others who she is and what her identity means.

JGrand50 found this article about the so-called “queering of professional sports.” Does the reaction to Brittney Griner speak to larger societal acceptance?

ImagineHerstory is happy to have found this site to remind her why the world needs feminism.  As summer draws near most of us leave our feminist friendly atmosphere on campus and this site helps remind us why we need to continue the fight regardless of our location.

Recently, for one of my writing classes in my group final we had to focus on the rhetoric of comedy shows through the decades.  I was assigned the 50′s and 60′s.  The shows I chose to focus on during that decade were “Bewitched” and “I Love Lucy”.  The reason I chose both of those shows was because I wanted to focus on women who were probably the most influential at the time because audiences fell in love with these shows and the actresses.  I did most of my focus on “I Love Lucy” because I use to watch reruns of this show with my Mom and because of the impact she had on women during that time period.  I learned that the reason her character, Lucy, was always getting into weird and crazy situations, which usually ended badly, was because she was trying to portray the struggles of women at the time who were trying to enter the workforce.  Of course this was a little over exaggerated but she was trying to make a point in a subtle way that would still keep the audiences engaged in the TV show.  I also found out that she had one of the only women screenwriters at the time that helped her create this character.  I also saw the way men during that time reacted to women who were trying to enter the workforce.  Characters like Ricky, her husband, on the show would be against her trying to get a job.  Once he said “I just want a wife”, meaning he just wanted her to be a housewife and not a career woman.

Since I was already knowledgeable about feminist terminology and ideals it was easy for me to write that paper.  And it was thanks to all of my writing for this blog.  Not only did writing for Shout Out help me in school, but it helped me in my life.  I now feel comfortable and confident to talk to people about my thoughts on feminism.  Before this blog, I will admit I was intimidated by people who talked about feminism all the time because they seemed to know more about it than me or were updated on the current issues occurring in feminist topics.

Now that I am introduced to this world of feminism blogging, I still plan on reading others’ blogs to keep me updated on what’s new or changing in the feminist world.  As my title has said it looks like an Ending but it is actually just the Beginning for my journey with feminism.

First off, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who spent time reading my posts. Blogging is a difficult art form. Really successful bloggers are able to write in a way that is conversational—you actually feel as though you are engaging in a dialogue as you read their work. Unfortunately, this style of writing isn’t typically taught in school. As such, writing for Shout Out! is a trial by fire. I feel that I’ve become a better writer and blogger over time, and I hope those who have read my posts agree. Either way, thank you for sticking it out with me.

When I started writing for Shout Out!, I was armed with an introductory course in Women’s and Gender Studies and my own opinions. What I’ve enjoyed most about this experience is that I’ve had the opportunity to engage in consciousness raising and the ability to work through various issues. My posts have included a variety of subjects—from everyday inequality to major news stories. This past semester, I wanted to write about movies. Films reflect underlying cultural attitudes and speak to where we are as a society. Though movies may seem trivial in comparison to the major events of the week, the subliminal messages and subtle (or not so subtle) images in the media shape our world just as much as legislation, rhetoric, and action.

The past few weeks, I’ve posted on a few issues that I just couldn’t ignore. The fact that I simply can’t overlook these events shows why feminism is important to me. Do abortion regulations, segregated proms, sodomy laws, idiotic politicians, and bad music directly affect me as a white, college educated male? It depends. While the inherent balance of inequality does not fall against me, that aspect is irrelevant. It is simply that there is inequality that matters.

I started writing for Shout Out! because I wanted to help to change the perception of feminism. I have (and still do believe) that the overarching goal of feminism is something that all rational people will agree with. Equality should be our goal as human beings. Individuals should not be deemed lesser because of elements of sex, ethnicity, and gender.

While writing for Shout Out! may be “just a blog,” I hope that I have done something positive. I also hope that all of our readers feel that the blog is something positive in general. In a society in which there is such an overflow of information, it is easy to miss various stories. I personally believe this blog does a great job of not only giving greater exposure to events, but also of giving readers a different kind of feminist analysis.

As I write this post, I feel sad that my time with Shout Out! is coming to an end. However, I will continue to read the blog, and I hope our regular readers do too. In fact, (shameless plug alert) if you haven’t bookmarked the site, do it now! I have been really lucky to work with such great, kind, intelligent, and passionate student posters and facilitating professors throughout my time on the blog. I know that with the help of returning bloggers, new bloggers, and some great professors, Shout Out! will continue to grow. Of course, it is not enough to just have writers. Our readers are the ones that get us to do this work in the first place!

What I really want to say in the midst of my rambling last post is, thank you. Thank you to everyone who has anything to do with Shout Out! Though I may no longer be a regular writer for the blog, my work as a feminist will continue throughout the rest of my life!

But in all seriousness I am thankful for this opportunity. So for my very last post, I would like to go over some things I have learned, and some things I am thankful for.

Um. Or we could just watch sports too?

Not all women are feminists

Are you surprised that this is something I did not already know? Yeah me too, but I was very surprised. I was shocked that not all people (minorities, women, children, homosexuals, heterosexuals, etc) believe that they deserve to be treated equal. I was angered that there are some women who will say ‘I believe that women and men are equal’ and ‘I am not a feminist’, all in the same sentence. I wanted to shake these women more than I wanted to shake the women who were too ignorant to realize that they were as valuable as the man they aligned themselves with. Above all else, I was shocked to have learned that in a ‘progressive’ country such as the United States, we are still so backwards.

Actually I do know what I want…..

Gender Roles are EVERYWHERE

And I mean everywhere. It was as though I was learning a new language and every time I heard one I knew I became so excited and wanted to scream ‘oh I know that one! I know what that means!’.  I would go out with my friends and they would say, ‘oh my gosh you’re such an old man with your whiskey drink’ and I would want to scream ‘WHAT MAKES WHISKEY MANLY?’. Or they would say ‘oh you have a black iPhone and not a white one? I don’t know a lot of girls with black iPhones’,  and I would suppress the urge to shout, ‘When did black become a man color and white become a woman color?!! THEY ARE NEUTRAL COLORS!!!’. What was so enraging to me was how long I had gone without noticing these things. I would say things like ‘that’s my inner man coming out’, or ‘god, I’m such a guy’. But I never questioned, what makes my aggression manly? What makes my honesty manly?

I am in over my head

As time passed and I realized how many times we separated men and women and how many times women were put second best, I didn’t know how to address all the discrimination. I couldn’t interrupt every conversation, ‘Hey! That’s sexist!’ and I couldn’t shut off the T.V, not listen to my favorite music, and not participate in social activities. I then realized I had to pick and choose my battles. I had to first change my own state of mind, because I realized that a lot of the injustices were happening in my own mind! I would say things, do things and think things that I would then second-guess and say ‘hey wait…’. I love rap & hip-hop, and watching reality television and watching comedies and action & adventure movies. But all these things were so jam-packed with misogynist messages. I was having an identity crises – ‘who am I?! What do I believe in?!’. Until I realized, hey wait – these things that I enjoy from time to time are jam-packed with misogynist messages! Aka I can recognize when something is wrong, and that’s the first step. I don’t have to change everything about lifestyle, I just have to recognize and try to educate myself about these things that in the long run may be harmful to me (aka I apparently have an addiction and I was practicing the 12 steps….).

How’s that for gender roles

But I am thankful

Mostly what I learned over this experience was that I was grateful. I was grateful to have received this opportunity. I was grateful to have been raised in an area and family that supported my individualism and my headstrong will that gave me my foundation as a feminist. I was grateful to live in a country that gave me a venue to research and learn more about such a topic. And lastly I was grateful to have met other people that taught me it was okay to be a feminist and still be a girly diva.

Now maybe my town did things a little more extreme than others, but the entire process of prom begins with the extravagant and over the top asking by the boy. Between my friends and I we were all asked many different and creative ways. For example, personally printed race car signs, decorated cars, fortune cookies, a pool of goldfish, strings of lights, during practice, at the friday night football games, and many more. It was intense, and honestly a lot of pressure on the boys for who could come up with the most creative idea.

After the the stress of finding a date was other with, the dress hunt would begin. My mom and I would make a tiring day of it and drive to a special (and hidden) place about an hour away and route through thousands of dresses, until our arms felt numb. Finding just the right dress was often easy for me, just because I have never been too picky with fashion, and tend to have a short attention span (opps). With the dress came the planning of alterations, flowers, corsages, limousines, and hair appointments.

Although I have been through the prom process more than enough, I can still remember the nerves and excitement on the morning of the big day! But why was prom such a big deal? Was there too much pressure on how the evening was “traditionally” supposed to go?

Prom creates the stressors of needing an excessive amount of money for all of the expenses, looking better than all the other girls, and possibly even pressured to have sex with your date because “it was prom”. I think that although I had a blast at all the proms that I attended, the over all idea of prom is materialistic and vain. What about the kids who could not afford the $50 tickets, or the $300 dresses that the “in crowd” was wearing that year? Many of us take part in this segregating event (including me), unable to see what setbacks we are contributing to, but I can see it all now.

Whether it is socio economic class, gender, sexual orientation, or religion, prom has many aspects that encourage the majorities, and reject the minorities. Having been two years out of high school now, I am finally able to take a step back and view it all so differently, but when we are so wrapped up in fitting in and doing what is “tradition” in high school, we cannot see the effects of our actions.

I am not saying that we should miss our prom, and having a night to remember with our friends, because believe me, I loved the prom experience! I am saying it is important to be able to realize what effects your actions and choices have on oppression today. An event as simple as prom can change the life of so many, for both the good and the bad. It is awareness that I think is key in today’s society. To be aware of your surroundings, your decisions and the lifestyle that others are living as well.

My feelings exactly

Who knew I would have had such an awesome experience in a class that I ended up in on a whim?  A fellow blogger was listening to my plight as I complained about needing another class, but because I was already at 18 credits it needed to be something on the easier side.  Lo and behold she just happened to be working on this thing called ShoutOut!  which she informed me was JMU’s feminist blog.  My first question was JMU has a feminist blog?  Followed by where can I sign up?  Next thing I know I’m hanging out with my fellow bloggers and faculty advisers and talking about my experiences with blogging (none) and feminism (socially some).  We get introduced to the class and our requirements, one of which is to read a book that deals with feminism and we’ll discuss them together at a later date.

Necessary history lesson

Being the procrastinator that I am I checked out a book about a week before our discussion date, and being even more of a procrastinator starting not actually starting it till two days before the fact.  I found myself camped out in the freezing cold waiting for Macklemore tickets and reading this book.  Honestly, I am so glad I was exposed to it even in those conditions.  A History of U.S. Feminisms by Rory C. Dicker gives a comprehensive overview of what feminism has looked like throughout its history here on U.S. soil.  It’s separated by the waves of feminism and discusses all the heavy hitters in the movement while also highlighting those who are well less known, but no less influential.  With its interesting factual excerpts and its easy flow the book was enjoyable and easy to get through.  More than that, for me, this book was invaluable.

I would say, and have said, that I have always been a feminist in terms of social issues though I haven’t always labeled myself that way the fact remains true.  This year my exposure to feminist thought has expanded greatly due to ShoutOut! and my other feminist tinged courses.  This resulted in me with vast amounts of knowledge about our current social issues and understandings of specific feminist rhetoricians, but no concrete historical context to place them.  This is why Dicker’s book was so beneficial, it allowed me to take what I had learned and place it within the right context and to see the patterns that have traipsed through time to affect us today.

Truth. So learn from it.

Without the past accomplishments of my feminist predecessors who knows if I would be sitting here writing this right now, I doubt that I would.  Being able to see how far we have come is amazing, but it has also showed me how far we have to go.  Now I am able to plan for the future because I know the past and this has allowed me to better know myself and my cause.  I have grown as a feminist because of my experiences this semester and I can’t wait to see what is next in store!

I would like to give thanks to our advisers Alison Bodkin and Janelle Bauer who have given me this wonderful opportunity of blogging my feminism.  My sociology professor Matt Ezzell for having such a great class that helped generate the vast majority of my posts!  All my fellow bloggers for making this such an amazing experience the conversations that we have had have been enlightening.  A special thank you to ladychaotica21 for reminding me that it’s okay to not be the perfect feminist, no one is going to take my card aware from me for it.  Finally, and most importantly, to my readers thank you for engaging, for listening, and for understanding you are all FABULOUS! I can’t wait till hear from you all again next semester!

If you didn’t know, the semester is wrapping up for the year.

When I look back on this semester I can only see a blur. It may not have been the toughest, but it certainly hasn’t been the greatest. Of the few real memories I can conjure up, I can distinctly remember every time I wrote for ShoutOut. Between long periods of writer’s block, cursing myself for again waiting until last minute and hollowly swearing I’ll start earlier the next week, I was actually doing something I was proud to be a part of.

Accurate, to say the least

This past semester I was introduced to another world. Unlike Alice’s journey into Wonderland or Dorothy’s to Oz, I couldn’t snap myself back to reality as I had unknowingly stepped into it. In this new environment I felt the patriarchy that held so many people back and created unrealistic expectations for all participants. I heard the language that was casually thrown around as if it didn’t sting like knives. I saw the pain in people’s eyes as they recounted events when they were affected by misogyny. The kicker though was the shame I felt realizing I played an active role in all of this like a chump.

Thanks to ShoutOut’s amazing writers and readers, I’ve begun changing my lifestyle. Taking small steps to turn my life around and lead it in an open-minded way, I’ve seen the positive it could do for the people around me. It’s been liberating to say the least, however I’ve recently felt like there was still something missing; a weight in my heart I couldn’t shack.

Yesterday I went to see writer and director Jennifer Baumgardner’s documentary on rape survivors, It Was Rape, and was awestruck. Afterwards I waited to introduce myself but was still so dumbfounded I couldn’t say a word. Imagineherstory was with me (thank God) and carried on a conversation as I nodded my head and maybe said 10 words. In the conversation Baumgardner laid down a profound piece of advice that answered the call deep inside me.

When asked about the best thing a blog like ShoutOut could do for advocacy Baumgardner said, “Almost everything on the internet is a carbon copy of the same thing. One of the best things a blog can do is cover local events.” She went on to point out Steubenville wouldn’t have been a part of the mainstream news if it weren’t for a local blogger who screen captured the tweet conversations and presenting them on the internet.

Life is within your grasp; do you use yours to actively shape the world around you?

Summer is a sweetly somber time for me. It’s the first time I get a little breathing room, a chance to sit down and relax. Better still, I’m able to process the thoughts that have nested in my head, some of which from as far back as January. This reflexive process is my greatest opportunity to contemplate what I need to/would like to change. Listening to Baumgardner I saw flashes of everything wrong I had heard or seen over the past few months and I realized what I need to focus on was actually speaking up to the people around me. She exposed the confliction I held in my heart for so long and what I must consider for ShoutOut and life.

To the world we are just one person, but to one person we are the world. What are we doing to influence that person? Will that person see me as a feminist who fights misogyny, or will they see me as another person afraid of going against the grain? ShoutOut has only been the beginning of what will surely be a lifetime of activism, but will I be a player in the game or a fan on the sidelines?

Too many times I’ve let open opportunities to address misconceptions of feminism slip through my fingers. For too long I’ve remained silent as my peers engage in the patriarchy. I no longer want to feel conflicted when I preach ideals and values that I strive emulate in my life, but won’t lift a finger to point it out to others to better the environment around me. I’m tired of talking to a wall like other types of social media; I want to make a difference.

I’m excited for the summer and what opportunities it holds, but I’m even more excited to return to ShoutOut next fall with continued growth as an activist. Until then I invite you to reflect too; where do you stand as a feminist activist? Are you satisfied or like me, do you feel like there’s something you could improve upon?

Thank you for reading over the past few months, your love and support is immeasurable.

It feels like just yesterday that I was a little freshwoman, well I still am little but hopefully a lot wiser.  People always say that college is when you find yourself, you’ll experiment but along the road you’ll come into your own as a small person in this big world.  You make mistakes, you learn from them and grow plus hopefully don’t repeat them but there’s ups and downs, break ups, hook ups and fuck ups, you may get an underage charge, you may find a soul mate, or just a best friend that you will always stay in touch with and you may very well may streak the quad.  There are papers and tests but those aren’t the things that shape your college experience.  You won’t care what you got on your geology test Sophomore year but the night you stayed up all night talking to a complete stranger, you will.  Along this wild journey that people casually refer to as college, I found myself and I can 100% thank feminism for the woman I am today.

I truly formed a relationship with feminism last year and I can’t believe I went 20 years without identifying as one, what was a doing with my life?  I’ve aways had feminist tendencies but my first day in Intro to Women’s Studies, I knew I found my place.  I learned so much in a time span of 2 weeks and was so eager to learn more, it was the second time that I actually enjoyed getting out of bed to go to class, the first being my major Sociology.  I don’t know if it was the radical notion that women are people concept or the fact that everything we talked about was applicable to my life or really that I feel like I was seeing the world through an entirely new lens, a scary and slightly disheartening F’d up lens.

Knowledge is power and whoever came up with the whole “ignorance is bliss” mentality is an idiot, sorry but we cannot create change without an extensive knowledge of our oppression.  We cannot fight patriarchy blindfolded, well you can’t really do anything blindfolded but all I’m saying that is without feminism we are ignorant to the patriarchal concept that women are seen as the “other” sex, vaginas are our anatomical dictators that provide a reason to get paid less, restricted to the private sphere and our worth lies in our reproductive ability.  We are vessels for a man to use for his, and his alone, sexual desires then toss us to the side.  Because of our slight genital differences we are told how to act, how to dress, there is only one type of beautiful, we must like sex but we can’t be too sexual because then you’re a slut, everything that men are praised for makes me look like a bitch and the fact that sexual assault is a fear in general.  I could go on but you get the point but I honestly think that you have to see all the wires of the birdcage to even begin a rescue mission.  I came across a tumblr site about needing feminism and people send in pictures of the reasons they need feminism which is amazing to see. The world needs feminism but I took a photo of why I need feminism…

There were so many things to say, so many reasons but this is probably my numero uno because if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last four years, it’s that I am a strong and independent woman.  If I there is a man in my life, it’s because I want him there, I do not need male validation and I do not need a penis in my life to feel complete, I am complete.  My vagina does not limit me, it only empowers me and is a strength not a weakness. This is why I need feminism.

How I feel like I started this semester…

I started off the semester with a strong-willed, girl-power piece entitled “Insights from a Lipstick-Wearing Feminist.”  Here, I voiced a budding confidence in my “feminine feminism,” in spite of the notion that femininity can threaten feminism.  I waved off this logic, asserting that I should be true to myself, because that’s the heart of the movement, right?

Go ahead, call me a feminist.

I progressively became less bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and incrementally more pissed off, as my consciousness-raising semester continued.  I started to realize that any deviation from fulfilling my prescribed gender norm was, well, unwelcome, as I discussed in “Speak Like a Lady.”  I also started to question why other women were criticized, and made to feel like outsiders, for not buying into standardized female behaviors.  For example, I enjoy wearing lipstick, dresses, and high heels.  That’s all well and good, and no one is going to give me a double-take for buying into the social norm for how a woman “should” look.  But what about a woman who chooses to not wear makeup?  She’s criticized, as we can see from countless headlines of celebrities who “forgot” their face.  If women are going to be humiliated for making the choice to stray from the norm, then do we really have the freedom of choice to behave, dress, act, and speak as we please?

I learned to apply the term “personal is political” to my everyday life.  I’ve come to understand that I need to make some changes to the conversations I choose to engage in.  I’ve challenged myself to refrain from gossiping about other women—and when I fail, my friends never hesitate to call me out: “hey, that’s crabs-in-the-bucket talk!”  I’ve been much more in touch with the notion of sisterhood this semester, and understanding that as a woman, my words and my actions have the capacity to empower or cripple another woman.  As a feminist, I choose to empower, and I have been actively working on transforming my language to build my sisters up.

Perhaps the most important personal development I’ve experienced in writing for ShoutOut! is my increased comfort in calling myself a “feminist.”  I used to shy away from “the other F word” because of the stigmas attached to the title.  Through this experience, though, I’ve become comfortable promoting my posts on Facebook and Twitter, and openly engaging in these discussions with my readers and my friends.  I’ve been able to make my feminism my own, which encouraged me to claim the title of “feminist” as a fundamental part of who I am.  My heightened sense of liberation and empowerment derived from my feminist consciousness-raising has in turn made me a more confident woman.

Who says we don’t need feminism anymore?

So, in short, it’s been quite a ride this semester.  I’m grateful for the participation of my fellow bloggers, advisers, readers, and friends, for shaping my politics and making me the best version of myself.  I can’t wait to engage in dialogue on even more of these issues next semester!