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Anna Matenaer
Feminism at Marquette
Feminism is an incredibly relevant topic in today's society. More and more women, and
even some, continue to begin identifying themselves as feminists because of the growing
popularity and increase of information on the internet. Marquette encourages discussion on
topics that are prevalent in the news and popular media, and feminisms popularity of campus
seems to be growing as well. Being on a Catholic campus, however, can cause a bit of
discomfort when students come across the topic. There are many areas of popular feminism that
go against many of the traditions that Catholicism upholds, causing a confusion for some
students on campus. There is also a discomfort when male students are encountered with
feminism when they have to decide whether or not this is something they agree with. Fostering
conversations about feminism on campus is important to help students understand their beliefs
about women in society and especially women at Marquette. Students from all backgrounds have
different ideas about the subject and how it has or has not influenced their lives. Looking at
different types of feminism at Marquette and how those are viewed by other students is important
as well. Not all people feel accepted in popular feminism, as it sometimes forgets to include all
aspects of issues and focuses on mainly a white storyline. Many issues discussed at Marquette
can follow this storyline because of the unequal distribution of students of color. It is important
to look at all sides of an issue to tackle it in the most efficient and accepting way possible, which
Marquette is still working on.
Feminism comes in many different forms. Anyone can theoretically identify as a feminist,
but that does not necessarily mean their feminist values intersect with another self identifying
feminist. As there is a growing popularity with the idea of feminism in mass media, we see more

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and more women and young girls identifying themselves as feminists. This new wave of
feminism dubbed pop feminism by some, is focused on issues such as rape culture, the wage
gap, body image, and reproductive rights. The pop feminists praise Beyonce and are
disappointed with Lena Dunham- but still continue to support her. Many are With Her, Her
being Hillary Clinton and all are strongly opposed to Donald Trump. Pop feminism is often
associated with white feminism, which is feminism that only focuses on issues that pertain to
white women as well women of color. The issue with white feminism is when a feminist
advocates for the closing of the wage gap and only uses statistics that represent the wage gap
between white men and white women, which is 78%, but fail to mention that black women are
paid 60% and latina women are paid 56%. White feminism is close, but fails to intertwine
viewpoints of all types of women to really advance all types of women.
We see pop feminism at Marquette the most frequently. The growing popularity in the
media makes it appealing to young women to learn about the subject that really does fight for
them. However, refusing to look at the intersections between sexism, racism, homophobia, and
more does not allow for the voices of all types of women to be heard. We have all types of
women at Marquette, but we still tend to only see the voices of sororities that are made up of
mainly white women, rather than from organizations that are of another religion or one that
supports the LGBTQ+ community.
This is not to say that Marquette feminists are racist or homophobic, but their education
on the subject is just not educated enough. Marquette administration fosters little to no
environments for discussion on these topics, so the weight is put on students to find places they
can speak on the subject. The Women and Gender Studies department, while only about 7 seven
years old, gives one area of academic focus on the study of feminist history, literature, and

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values, but the subject area is often stigmatized as useless- especially by those who have not
had any formal education on the subject. While pop feminism is not bad, it could be better, and
we could educate the students at Marquette about the subject because of its relevance for all
women.
Being at a Catholic school, a vast amount of the students on campus identify as Catholic
or of some Christian denomination. Traditional Catholic teachings tend to go against some of the
ideals that most feminists stand for, such as reproductive rights and the acceptance of people who
identify as LGBTQ+. However, despite these Catholic teachings, we cannot say that women who
are Catholic cannot be feminists, because that simply is not true. Marquette for Life, a student
organization on campus, advocates for the end of abortion practices, but they still consider
themselves feminists. No one can tell them they are not feminists because feminism is a concept
that accepts all viewpoints, whether or not everyone agrees with them. The feminists in this club
may believe in slightly different views than other feminists on campus, but that does not make
their feminism less valid.
While it is important to acknowledge that Marquette is a Catholic campus, it is also
important that we looks at the values Marquette embraces and how they impact the students.
Marquette seems to pick and choose which Catholic values they uphold at the school, and they
tend to choose ones that negatively impact women and shame students about sex. There is a vast
amount of support for LGBTQ+ students on campus, which interferes with Catholic values and
teachings, but there is no sexual education or resources provided to students because of these
Catholic values. While we can agree that Marquette is Catholic, we cannot say that every student
on campus is, and even if they are, they are not necessarily following the Catholic Tradition to a
T. The lack of sexual health education and resources negatively affects students, especially

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women with the risk of unplanned pregnancy, and leads to high rates of STIs on campus. The
lack of education also fosters an environment where sexual assault is not spoken about often.
These are issues that the feminists on Marquettes campus are and need to work on tackling to
create and environment that is safe for all types of people.
Intersectional feminism, while less prominent at Marquette, still has a presence on
campus with the student organization Empowerment. This group focuses on the intersections
between race, sex, sexuality, and other ways of identifying yourself. Their presence is often
challenged on campus with their production of The Vagina Monologues each year. The group
is full of members who identify as intersectional feminists and have tried to distance
themselves from the idea of white feminism. In the meetings, they discuss the types of people
on campus and how they fit into the Marquette community. Efforts to hold events with feminists
from groups such as Marquette for Life have been successful in starting a dialogue between
different viewpoints of the two groups. Empowerment also pairs with different religious and
ethnic background groups to hold events that are all-inclusive. Their feminism is important on
campus to help educate Marquette women on intersectionality how it pertains to our everyday
lives.
Although the idea of feminism does not appeal or seem important to many people on
campus, many of those being men, the students of Marquette are still moving toward a more
feminist campus. There has been an increase in calls to action to administration, the Marquette
Police Department, and Residence Life to try to address issues such as sexual assault on campus
and to try to get a dialogue going about how it does affect Marquette as well. These
conversations, while they can be uncomfortable to have, are the only way we can help students to
learn about equality and moving toward a more just society. If we foster discussions about

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feminism and the issues it pertains to, we can move toward addressing these problems both on
Marquettes campus and in the greater society. If Marquette really wants to be men and women
for others, we need to make sure our campus is a safe and equitable environment for the men
and women here.