The following is an opinion article and opinion articles do not reflect the views of The Tulane Hullabaloo.

Tulane has a unique feminist culture fueled by the Newcomb College Institute and several active organizations on campus. Despite admirable efforts and achievements, the feminist movement still faces limitations and roadblocks in spreading its message across all facets of the university. 

Tulane is unique in that it has a strong institution that specifically and explicitly supports the advancement of women. In addition, our campus has multiple feminist organizations that are active within the community and have achieved great progress in different fields. These organizations include the Newcomb Gender and Sexuality Alliance, Queer Feminist Collective, the Vagina Monologue, Student United for Reproductive Justice and Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane. 

While these organizations have created safe spaces and promoted intellectual conversations, they have not successfully reached out to the majority of the student body and lacks attention on international perspective. This results in a disconnection between active feminist groups and a significant portion of the student body. Most organizations try and present feminism in a way that eradicates stereotypes and encourages students to join their cause through hosting educational presentations, panels and discussions.

Too often, though, some students associate these organizations with the stereotype of angry, man-hating feminists, which is not true. For these students who hold these stereotypes and don’t actively participate in feminist organizations, some more in-depth educational events, such as Audre Lorde Week, sound unfamiliar and therefore unattractive.  

The success of the Vagina Monologues, however, proves the need for different forms of outreach, which can be more effective in raising awareness and dissipating those negative stereotypes. This approach is more effective because it is more of an introductory-level event that interest students who wouldn’t necessarily attend the panels or discussions because they may be unfamiliar or even hostile with feminism. 

The Feminist Alliance of Students at Tulane was created with the goal of sponsoring more inclusive events. How the organization will approach this issue remains to be seen.

What is difficult and rewarding for everyone is to reach out to others with different backgrounds to push more people to think with a new perspective.

Rosie Li is a sophomore in the Newcomb-Tulane College. She can be reached at [email protected].