12.07.2011

Feminist gang in the office

IMG_9780 ed med
See below for info on this picture.
We have quite the community of feminist icons in the Women's and Gender Studies office at the College of Charleston.  Some of them are actual empowered-woman-icons on their own, without reinterpretation needed--Rosie the Riveter and Princess Leia would be two examples.  Others have experienced paradigm shifts as they've become part of the WGS community.

Darth Tater's lightsaber has become a placard on which he proudly displays "This is what a FEMINIST looks like" stickers, and Han Solo has discovered that his sexual orientation is more fluid than he'd realized, as he's had meaningful relationships with Darth Tater and Becky--and now Princess Leia has arrived and is making things more complicated for him.

Becky--a Barbie doll who uses a wheelchair--has become a feminist disability activist, carrying signs and sporting a funky short haircut.  In fact, she's also now wearing Dutch shoes, a gift from a master's student from Amsterdam who's been studying masculinity at CofC this semester.

All these folks have been gifts, and they often experience paradigm shifts while I'm not around.  Many of the WGS students feel comfortable rearranging these folks and having a say in the activist messages they should proclaim.  I'm grateful that when you walk in the door to the WGS office, this is the community you meet.

And thank you to Trey for the Princess Leia bobblehead!

And thank you to my student Hannah for taking this great picture of the office gang!  The previous picture--a terrible one, taken with my cell phone, can be found here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think Darth Tater (who we also have, sans stickers - must find some pronto!) and Barbie are my favorites. What an awesome community to have in your office!

Blogless Reader said...

The poster for "Whip It" in the background caught my eye. And, I have a duck sitting atop my computer. Two such different people sharing similar cubicle decor. There's a moral in there somewhere, I'm sure.