Feminism Beyond Havergal

I hate to break it to you but, we can’t stay at Havergal forever. The grads of 2019 will soon be starting new schools in new places filled with new people. There will be some challenging moments, like having to choose an outfit every single day as opposed to rolling out of bed and throwing on your kilt. Our green and gold home is one where we feel respected every day, regardless of how we physically present ourselves. That is one of the many privileges to an all-girls education. Another privilege is the ability we have to represent ourselves as feminists in our community.

    Feminism, the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes, is an ideology commonly found in HC students. It comes up throughout our curriculum and is frequently mentioned in speeches in Prayers. Some of the works that our peers are doing to advocate for feminism are powerful and inspiring. Even if we don’t broadcast ourselves to be feminists, most of us share common values instilled through the Havergal community. Our strong sense of spirit and school pride allows us to together support our fellow girls in pursuing their goals. We are undeniably a network of inspiring young women that make HC great.

   But the world is not the same as we find it behind our ivy walls. What will happen after we graduate? How do we deal with hatred and ignorance? It is true that in many real world environments, our opinions will be valued less because they come from a woman?

For starters, it would sure be helpful to understand common misconceptions of feminism. When you picture a feminist, what do you see? Unfortunately, the answer to this question is often a negative stereotype -- a feminist is essentially considered a woman who hates all men. It is understandable why those who think feminism is hateful would choose to stay ignorant of it rather than learn more. It needs to be reiterated that feminism is not synonymous with hatred of one sex, but is about equality for all the sexes.

This label of feminists as “haters ”prohibits some women from standing up for themselves. To change this, we need to carry forth the strength we have gained from learning our true worth at HC. This doesn’t necessarily mean protesting your rights and solving a big problem, although these steps may be needed in certain situations. Instead, knowing that you are a valid individual who deserves equal opportunities will bring you confidence to speak up for yourself. Havergal teaches us to be strong, but we can’t rely on others, like our teachers, to look out for us.  All we have is ourselves, and we need to be the strongest possible version of us we can be. Recognizing our value will help us battle misconception that women are incapable of performing the same tasks as men.

  It also needs to be taken into account that we have been sheltered from the male view, aside from that of our teachers. We haven’t had the opportunity to be in a coed learning environment or working environment, and having these dialogues may be more difficult in the real world as others may tend to listen to the louder, booming voices of male company. Unfortunately, statistics back up these facts, and this is why many more men tend to be in senior positions in the workplace. It is not to say that men do not value the opinion of a woman. However, unfortunately, some still carry old-fashioned values that cause problems for women in the workplace.

   When asked to defend feminism, as many have to do to justify their strong stature, women are often asked questions such as, “Do you think women are the superior sex?” The thing is, men are often seeking a definition to feminism that includes them, too. And that is what feminism should be. A non-binary, inclusive support group to stand up when equality is not present. Havergal has taught us tolerance and to be proud of” being girl”, through our many campaigns such as #realgirlthings. Transitioning from such a sheltered ivory tower will be tricky. We have opportunities to talk about issues women are facing through Harknesses, Prayers and Safe Spaces. Our open dialogues create polite discourse, and even our disagreements are just another example of women standing up for what they believe in. If you carry this pride and strength with you, others will have no choice but to respect the admirable woman you are.