As it rings in its 40th year of coeducation, Dartmouth will soon welcome home its daughters. A congress of minds, Greenways is a weekend-long event beginning Friday that features panel discussions with alumnae. The conference is a community celebration of coeducation, nothing more and nothing less. Far from a feminist cult meeting, Greenways aims to engage students, faculty and alumni, regardless of sex or gender. However, though perhaps not surprisingly, registered attendees are overwhelmingly women.
Why has Greenways failed to resonate with men on campus? It is natural to assume that female students are interested in and can better relate to an all-female network. However, the successes, fields and wisdom of the speakers bear their own merit and should draw any crowd. Greenways is a celebration of coeducation, not uniquely feminism; of community, not uniquely women. Moreover, some women do not identify as feminists, whereas some men proudly carry the banner of feminism. Still, men lightly pepper the Greenways attendee list.
“Feminism” and its derivatives can be alienating terms. Broadly defined, “feminism” encompasses a spectrum of beliefs and goals, though the central tenet remains gender equality. Nevertheless, the heart of feminism is often mischaracterized or misunderstood. Consequently branded a pejorative, “feminism” may produce othering effects on men, even here at Dartmouth. If Greenways is portrayed or perceived as a feminist event, men may be deterred from attending.
How can Greenways reach out to men? For starters, a full-fledged, personalized advertising campaign would help. In the weeks leading up to the conference, Greenways has been advertised via campus blitzes, notorious for their inefficacy, a mere handful of times. More targeted advertising, such as blitzes to relevant classes, fraternities and coed organizations, would be beneficial. In an inclusive fashion, Greenways suitably markets itself as a celebration of coeducation. However, incorporating more male panelists, speakers or faculty moderators would lend credence to the coed audience and environment Greenways hopes to attract and foster.
Because Greenways rejoices in coeducation at Dartmouth, the event should cater to and inspire an audience diverse in sex or gender. Men and women alike must contribute to the dialogue surrounding gender equality. This should not be a difficult endeavor for men, let alone anyone.
For women, participating in the conference may feel like second nature. On biological and psychological levels, female attendees and panelists may be united by shared experiences, be it balancing work and family or mastering tactics of negotiation and assertiveness. On economic and political levels, however, the dynamic of female attendees conversing with and learning from female panelists is simply not enough; the voices and mobilization of men matter just as much to sustain a healthy democracy.
Gender inequality is not solely a women’s issue. Economically, gender inequality constrains development. Politically, a lack of women in public office grossly misrepresents the demographics of the electorate and undermines our country’s democratic legitimacy. Clearly, men have a stake in the fight for gender equality, the creed of feminism. Greenways is their call to arms.
The timeliness of Greenways could not be more appropriate. Gender equality currently permeates the national discourse, with Princeton University professor Anne-Marie Slaughter’s influential piece in The Atlantic last summer, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg’s recently published book “Lean In” and everything in between. Whereas Slaughter argues for structural and institutional change as prerequisites to gender equality, Sandberg believes change must occur within individual women. In any case, both authors emphasize the versatile roles of men in securing gender equality. Men can join women as partners who assume equal responsibility for household duties, recruiters who believe in and promote females in business and politics, legislators who mandate state-run child care and paid parental leave and watchdogs who regulate equal pay and discrimination in the workplace.
Greenways invites Dartmouth men and women to directly engage in the ongoing conversation. An investment in the sons, daughters and community members of Dartmouth, the conference can inspire attendees to help achieve equality. We students are fortunate for and must positively exploit the opportunity to make generational change. We are what feminists look like.