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November 22, 2015

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“Perhaps it isn’t about who wears the scent, But, rather, how it inspires a moment.”

Polo Black for Men and Romance for Women by Ralph Lauren for all of your romantic moments this holiday season.

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#WhyWeNeedFeminism We discuss why feminism is still relevant today.

No Comment. We analyze shady advertisements.

What About the Romance? What is it about Romance that keeps us talking?

Feminism & Romance Can there be harmony between feminists and romantics?

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So: the purpose of In-tersect is to share with you a magazine that ex-plores some of the differ-ent issues and ideas that intersect under the um-brella term of feminism. The main goal is to cre-ate a better understand-ing of what being a “feminist” means to-day. Lately, I’ve been doing some exploration into an intersec-tion of feminism that I, personally, find very interesting: feminism and romance. Happy to label myself a “hopeless romantic,” I totally believe that you can have the best of both worlds and be both a feminist and a ro-mantic. But some people feel that the two ideas are con-tradictory and incompatible with each other.

Stubbornly unwilling to give up either one, I looked for evidence of feminism in sev-eral romance media. I also took time to go back to the basics to remind myself what feminism is really about, reading theoreti-cal and even scientific texts—I know: who would’ve thought that the scientific meth-od could be applied to anything resem-bling feminism or romance??

Hey hi, from Kira

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While I have come to my own conclusion about whether or not an intersection exists among feminism and ro-mance, I want to encourage YOU to form your own opin-ion. That being said, this issue is all about celebrating both feminism and the romance. I’ve included some arti-cles to remind us what feminism is truly about—that way we have a solid basis to form an opinion on. I’ve also thrown in some fun, romantically inspired fea-tures to get us in the mood! For those of you who aren’t into the “mushy, cheesy”-ness of ro-mance, I ask that you at least give this issue a chance. What’s inside might surprise you—and even help you in your own romantic life. Boys, there is even content geared toward you! In general, as with every issue, I encourage you to keep an open mind. My primary goal with this magazine is to get conversations started—get people talking, sharing, and discussing these ideas. I bring you the articles, but what you do with the information from there is your business! I don’t want to force any ideology upon anyone because that goes against the very core of feminism. That doesn’t promote empowerment or understanding—and those are really the ultimate goals, here. So! Get ready for a fun and, yes, informative issue about loving yourself and others. And be sure to share what you think about it with me and other Intersect readers. With love, xx

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Editor-in-chief

Cover Photo: Kira Pratt

Models: Skyler Bowden and Bryce Armijo

Ralph Lauren Ad (Not an actual ad for Ralph Lauren)

Photos from the movie New Year’s Eve (2011), Google Images

Quote: Kira Pratt

Perfumes from Ralph Lauren line

#WhyWeNeedFeminism “5 horrible, sexist things the patriarchy demands of men” by Greta Christina from

Salon mag. http://

www.salon.com/2015/11/19/5_horrible_sexist_things_the_patriarchy_demands_of_m

en/

“The fourth wave of feminism: meet the rebel women” by Kira Cochrane

“Teaching the Conflicts: (Re)Engaging Students with Feminism” by Meridith A. Love

and Brenda M. Helmbrecht

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics

“Feminist Movement’s Future in Question After The Third Wave” by Devon Murphy

What About the Romance? Dangerous Books for Girls by Maya Rodale

“No Friend Zone” a DU survey by Skye Goodman, Morgan Carter, and Johnny Ortiz

“Falling for Your Friends” a DU survey by Brinn Busch, Kara Kammerer, and Kim Luu

Feminism and Romance Dangerous Books for Girls

“The Interpersonal Power of Feminism: Is Feminism Good for Romantic Relation-

ships?” by Laurie A. Rudman and Julie E. Phelan

No Comment. For more about the Bloomingdale’s ad, go to https://www.washingtonpost.com/

news/wonk/wp/2015/11/12/what-a-creepy-bloomingdales-ad-tells-us-about-americas

-understanding-of-rape/

ASOS Ad (Not an actual ad for ASOS)

Text: Kira Pratt

Photos: Getty Images, Google Images

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Editor’s Picks Here are some of the things I’ve been buzzing about lately!

< Nora Roberts’ Inn Boonsboro tril-ogy! Love how she focuses on both the guy and girl characters in the stories. Each one has its own per-sonality, so you can choose your fa-ve! Low-key in love with Clare and Beckett *swoon*.

J-Law and Amy Schumer (both self-proclaimed feminists) are friendship goals! >

<When Harry Met Sally is a classic rom-com which tries to answer whether or not guys and girls can be just friends.

Can Adele do any wrong? Her latest album will break your heart and make you fall in love. >

< Amy Poehler will be your new spirit ani-mal after you read Yes Please. She’ll win you over with her relatability.

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#WhyWeNeedFeminism

If you have a Twitter or Tumblr, chances are you’ve seen a hashtag like this before from female users far

and wide. But here at Intersect, we recognize that femi-nism isn’t just a women’s issue. Guys, listen up, because

this includes you, too.

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The feminist movement began more than a cen-tury ago, with the suffragette movement, in which women fought to secure essential women’s rights,

like the right to vote and own property. Since then, the movement has undergone many turns, slowly progressing the social status of women. In

the 1960s and 1970s, second wave feminism struggled for more personal rights in the face of harassment—especially in the workplace. The

third wave, which arose in the 1990s, attempted to fill some of the gaps that the previous waves

had left, including racial, class, and sexual identity issues in the fight for equality as well. While some people today think that feminism is an outdated piece from our past, others feel that the move-ment is in full swing—and necessarily so—in this new, mediated and digitized world. Read on to see why we think feminism is still a relevant

concept.

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#WhyWeNeedFeminism

Women who work full time earn annually only 77% as much as full time male workers.

Some women in certain indus-tries, such as the gaming industry, regularly receive insults and threats for their work.

Many pop, rap, hip-hop, and met-al songs have been criticized for their sexist and misogynistic con-tent against women.

Members of the LGBTQI

community are regularly discrimi-

nated against in society and the

media.

Men are expected be physically violent in or-der to resolve issues.

Men’s emotions are not valued in society.

< Anita Sarkeesian of the “Tropes vs. Women” video series has been targeted by gamers.

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Fewer women hold decision-making posi-

tions of power in higher educa-

tion than men.

Women tend to earn more bach-elor’s and master’s de-grees than men, but hold fewer PhDs.

Companies in the beauty and retail industries still at-tempt to form idealistic images of beauty and per-fection for men and women.

Men are supposed to be the primary providers for the family—working, not staying at home to care for the kids.

Domestic violence accounts for 15% of all crime.

Gender roles and stereotypes put rigid constraints on us as individuals and lead to dis-crimination. The reality is that the sexes aren’t equal, and we still need feminism.

#WhyWeNeedFeminism

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What About the Romance?

Whether it means a dozen red roses ac-companied with chocolates and a teddy bear, or corny and predictable pickup

lines, the idea of romance is widely visi-ble in society. In the form of rom-coms (romantic comedies), romance novels,

and love songs, love just seems to be on our minds! Even so, the concept of ro-

mance is not openly discussed and often not taken seriously as a genre. Despite this, there remains a large and growing

audience for the sweet, sappiness that is romance.

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Bestseller Romance novels outsell almost all other fiction. It makes up 17% of the adult fiction catego-ry.

Guys included! Though women make up the majority of read-ership, 16% of romance readers are men.

Not Alone Many romance readers read in secrecy. 51% of readers have felt the need to keep their novels secret.

Between Friends Having troubles navi-gating that sticky situ-ation of crushing on a friend? You aren’t alone! 52% of college students surveyed have thought about being more than friends with one of their close friends.

More than Roses Many college students associate dating and romance with a “deep, authentic connection grounded in mutual respect.”

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Feminism & Romance Some people don’t believe that there can be an intersection between feminism and ro-mance because the two thoughts contradict each other. However, we here at Intersect collected a few ideas on how feminism and ro-mance can exist together harmoniously. 62% of readers think romance novels are

empowering to women 60% of readers identify as feminists Studies suggest that men who identify as femi-

nists may be important for healthy roman-tic relationships. They also reportedly ex-perience greater stability in their relationships! Feminism for the self and partner may ac-tually be beneficial to relationships.

Feminist stereotypes have been found to

be largely inaccurate, meaning feminism is not necessarily unattractive.

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Besides these facts and figures, there are other thoughts on why feminism and romance can exist together. For example: feminism is largely fo-cused on empowerment of women, but also on empowerment of men to step outside of gen-der roles. This means that, w ith feminism, guys can feel free to express their emo-tions, which is healthy behavior in romantic relationships. And with women empowered to do what makes them happy, have careers and aspi-rations, AND have a relationship, everyone wins. Plus, the idea of romance is to experience a sort of escape from reality. Romance stories are said to reflect, in some ways, our hopes of finding someone to care for us and give us love. If that makes a woman (or man) feel happy and fulfilled, then who are we to stop them? Finally, romances often tell the story of a young, vibrant heroes and heroines, who can actually serve as good role models. The hero/heroine who wants love also often has other dreams and aspirations central to the story. He/She embodies our feminist ambition to “have it all”: love in our lives and whatever fulfills and empowers us in our hearts. So, in the case of feminism and romance, I say: “Why not?”

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NO COMMENT. In honor of Ms. Magazine—one of the feminist magazines that started it all and paved the way for magazines like Intersect—our monthly issue includes a “No Comment.” section, in-spired by their famous feature. Here is the lat-est find that caught our attention.

Unfortunately, your eyes are not deceiving you. This comes from a recent Bloomingdale’s adver-tisement. And yes, the caption reads: Spike your best friend’s eggnog

when they’re not looking.

Why Bloomingdale’s would think that this is an appro-priate ad, we’re not sure. This sends a message that

supports sexual assault. Spiking a friend’s drink is shady behavior in general, and attempting to act on

that in any manner is entering sexual assault territory. This is why consent education is so important. Do not

mistake this interaction as anything resembling ro-mance. Remember: romance should include active and willing participation and it should make

both people feel good and safe. Something like this is unacceptable.

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All Is Fair Out on the Field

New ASOS athletic wear for men and women because you both deserve to

feel and be at your best.