By Eva Wilton
A group of women hosted a women only party on Saturday, September 30, with the idea of creating a healthy space where women could be in each other’s company without the worry of men approaching them aggressively.
In the entryway to the townhouse where the party took place, a silk bra hung from the doorway as women’s voices belted out every single word to “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani.
This is the fourth time that this group hosted a party for women only. The event was held three times last year in Residence Hall 4 with low turnout and it was shut down each time by Public Safety for a noise complaint. This year, the roommates registered the party with Residence Life in order to minimize the chance of getting shut down.
The central aim of the event was to promote female empowerment and female friendship on the weekends, creating space where women could have fun and ultimately not feel anxious for friends’ safety, said party co-host Samantha Sidorakis, ‘18.
“I know that when I go out, we are always very careful to look out for one another, and that can be exhausting,” Sidorakis said. “So an all girls party is a way to be in a space without having to worry if all your friends are okay.”
Mike Bosia, associate professor of political science, said that men are often seeking ways to prove their manliness to other men. “Manliness is accentuated when men are in groups when men can pressure each other,” Bosia said.
The Facebook event stated “Saturdays are for the f****ing girls.” This was in retaliation to the popular slogan ‘Saturdays are for the boys’ trademarked by Barstool Sports, a satirical men’s lifestyle and sports blog.
“The idea that ‘Saturdays are for the boys’ seemed stupid to me,” Sidorakis said. “If they can have their bro time then we can have our girl time. It is not that guys are not allowed to have their own space to be guys,” Sidorakis said.
Olivia Nestro, ’18 helped co-host the event and thought that this could be an open environment where women can claim their own space. “I feel like the slogan is boys claiming another thing that is just theirs,” Nestro said, “and they already have everything else. Well, specifically, white boys have everything.”
The four women who hosted the event said that they did not intend for it to be a controversial political stance. “To claim a space that is free of an intervention in order to be empowering, is political in a good way,” Bosia said.
“There is a risk that when you struggle against masculinity as a woman, you isolate yourself.”
“It definitely is a political statement to create a space that is inclusive of one gender and exclusive to another gender,” Nestro said. “It is sticking to a gender binary format. We were aware of this so we made it a point to include non-binary, transgender, bisexual women, lesbians, and straight women.”
Crystal L’Hote, associate professor of philosophy, said that women have a need to express themselves when they are feeling dominated by men. “Women’s empowerment can be threatening to those in power,” L’Hote said.
The Facebook event stated, ‘Just a whole bunch of strong, intelligent, beautiful females celebrating other females’. “We just wanted to hang out with our friends and have fun,” Nestro said. “If that’s being a feminist, then that is okay.”