Pulitzer Prize winner examines modern feminism movement, 9/11

Abigail Miner/The LanternSusan Faludi, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author of multiple best-selling books on the feminist movement, reaffirms the relevance of the feminist movement in post-9/11 society in Drinko Hall Thursday.

Faludi’s lecture, “The Heart of the Matter: How Feminism Explains America,” looked at the current state of feminism in America and how the attacks on 9/11 affected the feminism movement.

Faludi started her lecture by acknowledging that the feminist movement has made progress by putting more women into higher education and specialty fields like medicine. According to Faludi, women comprise 60 percent of undergraduate and master’s degree enrollment.

After citing that statistic, though, Faludi began rattling off statistics that drew gasps from the mostly female audience. One of her most shocking statistics noted America’s failure to put more women in politics.

“The U.S. ranks 77th behind nations like Uzbekistan, The United Arab Emirates, Estonia and Sudan for the proportion of female federal lawmakers,” Faludi said.

She also noted the lack of progress for women in areas such as journalism and film. She said the percentage of women in the newsroom has remained relatively unchanged since 1982, and CBS nightly news anchor Katie Couric’s job remains in question.

Faludi drew laughs from the audience when she examined the role of women in movies.

“Of the top 20 grossing movies last year, only three featured women playing a prominent role,” Faludi said. “Two of those women were pregnant and one was a princess.”

Faludi attributed feminism’s lack of progress to its portrayal in the media after 9/11. She said there has been a resurgence of traditional family values and the female role as a traditional housewife. She cited reports in the media that predicted a surge in marriage and birth rates after the attacks, as well as articles that said it was a woman’s patriotic duty to get married and have children.

“Women were being portrayed as helpless housewives,” Faludi said.

Mollie Berberich, a women’s studies and political science major, was shocked by the examples that Faludi cited.

“You always hears about the firefighters and policemen after 9/11, but you never heard anything about the nurses who were taking care of all the injured people.” Berberich said. “That kind of sexism is very subtle and subversive.”

After drawing attention to the media’s portrayal of women after 9/11, Faludi wrapped up the lecture by stressing the importance of recognizing blatant media bias and looking at events through a gender lens.

“Women’s issues aren’t just women’s issues; they’re society’s issues,” Faludi said. “The success of any political realignment in the U.S. has to be based on the success of the feminist agenda.”

Jason Cocca can be reached at [email protected]