Patricia Boyett, director of the Women’s Resource Center, said  hopes to promote a deeper understanding of feminism at the Women’s Resource Center’s second annual Feminist Festival.

“To me, it’s important to celebrate feminism and advance it forward, because I see feminism as inclusive for everybody,” Boyett said. “There’s been a negative connotation of the word ‘feminism’ because of the way it’s been portrayed in the past, but in reality, feminism is all about
gender equality.”

Promoting equality and erasing the negative connotations of “feminism” are common themes throughout the festival, as events like the Feminist Concert and the “Fourth Wave Feminism: Building an Intersectional, Intergenerational and Inclusive Movement” academic panel, which are both co-sponsored by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, present strong messages of inclusion and acceptance to
its attendees.

The Feminist Festival can also be an opportunity for students to express themselves through poetry, film, art or music. Events like Open Mic Night and the Feminist Concert give students the chance to show off their talent and ideas about social equality today.

According to Serena Hill, psychology freshman, one of the focuses of the Feminist Festival is fourth wave feminism, which emphasizes issues of intersectionality.

These “waves” of feminism are how U.S. historians label pushes for feminism in different eras. With the Women’s March on Washington, historians believe we’re now entering a fourth wave of feminism, according to Boyett.

“Fourth wave feminism is about empowering women of every background and accepting those who haven’t felt inclusion from previous feminist waves. It’s something that I think those who haven’t felt accepted because of sexual identity, sexual orientation or race can support,” Hill said.

The fourth wave feminism focus on inclusion of all backgrounds and orientations are celebrated in the festival through events like “Putin and the Lesbian Community in Post-Soviet Russia” with speaker Natasha Bingham, political science professor, and an exhibition of an Ahadi Quilt produced by survivors of gender violence in Africa.

Emmaline Bouchillon, general studies freshman, believes that the Feminist Festival is an opportunity to create unity throughout Loyola.

“As a part of the Wolf Pack, we strive for equality and an embracement of diversity, so events like this Feminist Festival really bring us together as a community,” Bouchillon said.

The Feminist Festival runs March 7-18, with different events and exhibitions happening almost every day.

March 7 at 12:30 p.m., Natasha Bingnham, research talk: “Putin and the Lesbian Community in Post-Soviet Russia” in Marquette 315.

March 8 at 6:30 p.m., in honor of National Women’s Day, “Sewing Community: Ahadi Quilts, NGOs, and the Politics of Textiles in Africa,” the exhibition of an Ahadi Quilt produced by women survivors of sexual violence. It will be held in the Audubon Room.

March 9 at 12:30 p.m., Speaker: Judge Tiffany Chase: A Life in the Judiciary, in the Audubon Room. At 7 p.m., “Feminist Speak Out – Open Mic Night at Satchmo’s,” in Satchmo’s. 

March 10, 12:30 p.m., Feminist Fridays: Discussion of Feminist Voices in Pop Culture, in Marquette 315. At 3:30 p.m., Feminist Concert, headliner: Tank and the Bangas, in the Peace Quad. At 7 p.m., film screening of “She Was Famous” and talk with director Kenna J. Moore in Miller 114.

March 11 at 2 p.m., International Feminist Film Festival with screenings of short films from around the globe in the Danna Center Basement.

March 13 at 6:15 p.m., Movement Monday’s Meeting: Feminism & the Resistance, in Marquette 315.

March 14 at 7 p.m., “Fourth Wave Feminism: Building an Intersectional, Intergenerational & Inclusive Movement,” a panel event, in Nunemaker Auditorium, Monroe Hall.

March 15 at 5 p.m., “Successful Women in the Arts” panel, St. Charles Room, Danna Center.

March 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m., Mélange Dance Company presents HerStory, in Roussell Hall.

March 17 at 12:30 p.m., Feminist Fridays: Discussion of Fourth Wave Feminist Politics, in Marquette 315. At 3:30 p.m., Feminist Happy Hour in Collins C. Diboll Art Gallery, Monroe Library, fourth floor.

March 18, noon to 5 p.m., Running Start, at Tulane University. Registration required.