Author Jessica Valenti takes aim at perceptions about feminism

Feminist Jessica Valenti brought new meaning to the word “feminism” Monday night in the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union.

“Obviously, something is there to be interrogated if people get so riled up just hearing the word,” she said.

The crowd erupted in applause after hearing an excerpt from her new book, which focuses on the tension between virginity and morality.

“Women are led to believe that our moral compass lies somewhere between our legs,” the introduction reads. Valenti said morality should be based on ethics, not
bodies.

Valenti talked about key points from her book “Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters” and introduced her new book, “The Purity Myth: How America’s Obsession With Virginity is Hurting Young Women,” which is scheduled to be released in April.

“It’s great that a woman can be up there and be so candid and so sarcastic,” freshman Kara Ingelhart said.

Ingelhart, who taught abstinence-only education when she was in high school to a middle school class, was most inspired by these ideas.

“I think I’ll move right on to ‘Purity Myth,’” she said.

Valenti has dedicated herself to transforming the old, stereotypical “man-hating” feminism into an accessible, acceptable form of feminism, using satire and humor to engage readership. Through her blog, Feministing.com, Valenti intends to educate a younger female audience.

At a half a million readers a month, and “literally hundreds of e-mails a week,” Valenti said the blog is doing its job.

“I really do think we are making some progress,” she said. “We have bloggers that are 14 years old and we have the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union).”

Dwight Cooper, a junior at Valparaiso University, came down to Bloomington to visit a friend and attend the lecture. Cooper, a self-proclaimed feminist, alarmed his fraternity brothers when he came out with the news recently.

“The reaction was sort of confusion and revulsion,” he said, “But at the core, it’s just equal rights and equal treatment for men and women.”

And that’s the message that Valenti strived to deliver.

“We need to address things that are making bad policy and everyday sexism possible,” she said.