With the third annual Women’s March in Washington, D.C. underway on Saturday, USC women are reflecting on their beliefs on feminism and activism.
“Feminism for me just means having opportunities and women supporting each other in those,” first-year French language student Sarah Parsons said. “I think feminism in its actuality, what the movement is truly about ... is about women supporting each other in any option that they choose.”
The feminist movement has grown into a national emblem of unity against sexism, sexual assault, gerrymandering and human trafficking among other social issues and stigmas affecting women.
In light of these issues female students in particular have feminism on their minds.
“I’d say feminism means just equality of both genders,” said Jane Marryat, third-year biology student and president of the College Democrats. “And sort of effort to dismantle any systemic prejudices that have existed in the past.”
Marryat said her political activism comes as a result of her feminist identity.
Like Marryat, first-year English and media studies student Rachel Read hopes that while feminism is often considered a partisan issue, it may grow to be a joint value between political parties.
“I believe that feminism tends to be partisan because people who say they are feminist tend to also be liberal," Read said. "However, I believe it shouldn't be partisan; equality is something that I think everyone should believe in."
Students showed frustration at discrepancies in the collective understanding of feminism, some saying people often define it incorrectly. Noticing a lack of exposure within USC's community, they expressed a desire for change.
“People use the term 'equalist' instead because they don’t want to seem like they're trying to push women above men, which is understandable," said Parsons. "But I think the reason we use the word 'feminism' itself is because we acknowledge that women are treated worse than men in most cultures around the world, so we're just trying to lift women up to the level, and not above men.”
Marryat said there is a problem on college campus with sexual harassment and assault, and she knows it to be a big part of why people march.
While students expressed strong opinions on the importance of feminism and equality, they also consistently expressed disappointment in the cancellation of the Columbia rally, which was removed from the Women’s March official website.
“I would say that’s probably because there’s a lack of interest in general,” said Marryat. “It's not a huge city, it's not a liberal city either.”
Some also spoke out, questioning the effectivity of the Women’s March itself with the primary location being in Washington, D.C. during the semester. Although Read identified herself as a feminist and supporter of the Women’s March, she wondered about its ability to affect political change.
“In terms of drawing awareness it is definitely effective,” Read said in a Google form response. “But in terms of enacting lasting political change I'm not quite sure. We'll have to see what happens in the future.”
Despite varying opinions on the Women’s March’s effectiveness, students seemed to agree that the Women’s March is a necessary effort in combating major social justice issues.
“I believe the Women's March is important because it draws attention to issues that women face in their day-to-day lives that people might not have been aware of or might have been willfully ignoring,” said Read in a Google form response.
While a sister march will not be held in Columbia, rallies can be attended in Greenville and Charleston.