The Women’s Center is thrilled to announce our Women’s History Month theme: “Rage Renaissance: Challenging Gendered and Racialized Narratives”
Collective feminist rage is a powerful tool for activism. In a culture marked by sexism, ableism, racism, and discrimination of all forms, anger is a justified and appropriate reaction. We invite you to join us in examining—through an intersectional lens—the ways that controlling women’s emotions, especially our collective rage, and reducing us to tropes has served as a tool of political and social oppression for centuries. Women’s emotional liberation is an incredibly complex topic, and we are planning many events throughout March to provide opportunities for our community to dive into different facets of the way that society forces women to resist our rage as well as how we may harness it for political and personal change.
Women’s History Month Events
This month is filled with events in the Women’s Center, at Georgetown, and across DC. You can check out this listing of all the events, and we’d like to draw your attention to a few special events:
“Anger has a bap rap, but it is actually one of the most hopeful and forward thinking of all our emotions. It begets transformation, manifesting our passion and keeping us invested in the world.”
Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes Her
Soraya Chemaly (C’88) will deliver the Women’s History Month Keynote, entitled “Rage, Activism & Burnout: An Intersectional Approach.” The event is on Tuesday, March 26 at 7:30 pm in the OSEI space, HFSC Lower Level. All information is on the GU Events Calendar (new window).
Soraya Chemaly (new window) is an award-winning author and activist. She writes and speaks frequently on topics related to gender norms, inclusivity, social justice, free speech, sexualized violence, and technology. The former Executive Director of The Representation Project and Director and co-founder of the Women’s Media Center Speech Project, she has long been committed to expanding women’s civic and political participation.
Soraya is also the author of Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, which was recognized as a Best Book of 2018 by the Washington Post, Fast Company, Psychology Today, and NPR and has been translated into multiple languages. She is a contributor to several anthologies, most recently Free Speech in the Digital Age and Believe Me: How Trusting Women Can Change The World. Soraya is also a co-producer of a WMC PSA highlighting the effects of online harassment on women in politics in America. Her work is featured widely in media, documentaries, books, and academic research. As an activist, Ms. Chemaly spearheaded successful campaigns challenging corporations to address online hate and harassment, restrictive content moderation and censorship, and institutional biases that affect free speech.
Students can pick up a copy of Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger in the Women’s Center, HFSC lower level. This event is wheelchair accessible and there is assistive listening technology. There is a sensory room nearby. Please contact womenscenter@georgetown.edu with other accessibility requests.
