When I first took up writing this column, I had imagined that I’d become the feminist writer of my dreams. I thought I would put all of the vivid discussion and heated debates I have had about feminism and women’s issues into print for the whole world to see and relate to the musings of a young woman. At first, that’s exactly how it went: I breezed through my first article, envisioning myself as an ambitious writer revealing all of the ways women have been excluded by lack of female-specific resources. However, after reading my first article in print, my heart sank when I saw the stack of Stute copies in the newspaper box outside of Burchard; I realized that anyone on campus could see my thoughts and opinions on issues that so deeply affect me.
Of course I knew that people would read my writing on feminism — that’s obviously the whole point of writing this column. Yet, I’ve realized that when I write about feminism, I’m writing about my personal problems too. As a woman, I can’t separate the problems suffered by all women from situations I have gone through myself. Whether it is periods, misogyny, birth control, or even mundane annoyances like being poked with bra underwire, when I broadcast these situations to the public, I can’t help but feel like the world is reading my diary in a way.
However, there’s a reason this column is called Girl Talk — women talk to each other. We talk about our careers, our educations, our families, our friends, and all of the unique experiences that we as women can relate to. When women see conversations initiated by women about women, we can relate and understand the struggles we face. We understand that there’s power in being able to say, “No you’re not alone; that’s happened to me too.” So even though I might feel apprehensive about writing about women, I know that I am not the first or the last woman to face whatever situation I write about.
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