Journalism: “Finding Feminism”

Finding Feminism: Do the television and movies that we consume reflect who we are? Speakers Bureau presenter Amy Peloff describes the hidden role that feminism plays in popular television and movies.

I wrote some corporate journalism for Humanities Washington as a part of my internship in the communications office. In this Q-&-A with a public intellectual who serves on the HumWA speakers bureau, I helped the interviewee elucidate the value of feminist theory and criticism to their public audience. You can read the whole story on HumWA’s website.

Amy Peloff grew up believing in feminism as a “self-evident fact.”

When she was five years old, Peloff played in Louisville, Kentucky’s first co-ed T-ball league. The boys on her team were displeased about her presence, and they taunted her. “I have this very clear memory of calling these little boys ‘male chauvinist pigs,’” she said, laughing.

And thus, a vocal feminist was born.

Peloff, who got her Ph.D. in Women’s Studies from the University of Washington, is a member of Humanities Washington’s Speakers Bureau. Her free talk, Feminism and Popular Culture, explores what feminism means, how it is revealed in popular culture, and teaches how to take a critical approach to popular media.

Peloff’s remarkably articulate response to the insults of those five-year-old boys drove her interest in pop culture today. When she started her Ph.D. in 1999, she wondered: “How did I have the ideas and language to think about feminism from such an early age?”

She turned to pop culture to start answering that question. Her research focused on women like Dolly Parton, who embodied feminist ideals without ever saying they were feminists. “Feminist ideas already exist in the popular imagination,” Peloff said. That presence is the focus of her talk. She uses contemporary examples from film and TV to explore the expected and unexpected locations where one can find feminism: from Black-ish to Mad Max: Fury Road.

“Even if you might not be comfortable with the term feminism,” Peloff says, “you might actually be a lot more comfortable with the ideas than you believe.”

Journalism: Native advertising and college media

Navigating native advertising in college media: Sponsored content finding a niche in college media marketing

I was asked by College Media Review editor Lisa Lyon Payne to do some reporting on college reporting for CMR. I reported on how student journalists and their advisers are starting and managing native advertising in their newsrooms. You can read the whole story here.

Journalism: “Announcing the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions”

Announcing the Center for Washington Cultural Traditions: celebrate at a free all-day party in Seattle on Saturday, March 3.

I wrote some corporate journalism for Humanities Washington as a part of my internship in the communications office. In this announcement story, I was tasked with explaining the concept of “cultural traditions” and “folk art”—and representing their importance. You can read the whole story on their website.

But what are cultural traditions? While the name “folk and traditional arts” or “cultural traditions” may evoke a dry, historical connotation for some, [anthropologist Kristin] Sullivan insists that is not the case.

“I think of cultural traditions as any practices or objects/material culture that are reflective of the life or identity of a community, and that are practiced over time—often generations,” she said.

While a focus on cultural tradition means highlighting traditions that originated in Washington State, that’s not the CWCT’s exclusive focus. The CWCT also hopes to conserve “all traditions that are carried on in Washington—those of immigrant populations, both long-established and more recently arrived.”

ArtsWA executive director Karen Hanan explains that these traditions are a part of everyday life for everyone. For her, that’s what makes the work of the CWCT not just exciting, but a priority.

“Everybody has come from a culture. Everybody has things that they are carrying on and passing on, regardless of where they’re from. They’re all valuable: they’re the richness of our different lives all woven together in this wonderful tapestry that makes a state like Washington as alive with history and stories as it is,” she said. “It’s fundamental, and supporting it is critical.”

Journalism: Q&A with PLU alumna and activist

There’s more to ‘Tell’: Margaret Witt ’86 on fighting homophobia and being tokenized

Writing in Pacific Lutheran University’s student social justice journal, The Matrix:

News flash: there were gay people at Pacific Lutheran University before there was a Center for Gender Equity, a Queer Ally Student Union, or any celebrations of a pride week. Major Margaret Witt, who will give the Meant to Live Lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in the Scandinavian Cultural Center, is one of them.

…Her queer experience differs from mine. I came out at PLU with joyfully little fanfare: I announced my queer identity, and my friends said “Great, but… Duh?” and we moved on.

The first time Margie heard the words “Major Witt is gay,” it was from her attorney’s mouth in front of the press…

Read the whole Q&A here.