April 5, 2002

Women's History Month brings prominent women to campus

by Caitlin Rull, A'03, Intern in the Offices of Public Affairs and Publications

Guerilla Girls Use Humorous Tactics to Fight Discrimination

Loyola became the target of guerilla warfare on March 7 when the world-renowned Guerilla Girls lectured on their unique battle against discrimination. The Women's Resource Center sponsored the lecture by two members of the group of female artists, writers, performers, and filmmakers who fight discrimination. Nunemaker Auditorium was filled to capacity as the Guerrilla Girls spread their anti-discrimination message through slides of their artwork and an explanation of the meaning behind each piece. They dub themselves the "conscience of culture" and in 17 years have produced over 80 posters, printed projects, and actions that expose sexism and racism in politics, the art world, and the culture at large.

In 1985, New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art had a retrospective featuring, out of 169 artists, only 13 white women and no women of color. This prompted the Guerrilla Girls to start their fight for equality in the art world. Their work has been translated into several languages and displayed in major cities, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Paris.

The Guerrilla Girls focus a unique spin to their anti-discrimination message by keeping their real identities secret. They adopt the pseudonyms of deceased female artists and wear gorilla masks in order to keep the focus on the issues and not their personalities. The women use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny. The group began by simply hanging their posters all around New York. They went out at midnight with a bucket of wheat paste and posters and plastered their messages on walls everywhere. Now walls have turned into newspapers, letterheads, buses, and billboards. They attend protests, gallery openings, award ceremonies, and any public place where their message will get attention. They send out postcards to art collectors questioning the lack of women and minorities in their collections. One poster they hung throughout New York City read, "Do Women Have to be Naked to Get Into the Met. Museum? Less than 5 percent of the artists in the Modern Art sections are women, but 85 percent of the nudes are female."

Their most recent billboard advertises the "Anatomically Correct Oscar, he's white and male, just like the guys who win. Best director has never been awarded to a woman. 94% of the writing awards have gone to men. Only 3% of the acting awards have gone to people of color."

NOW President Kim Gandy shares her stories

President of the National Organization for Women (NOW) Kim Gandy, L'78, was part of a guest lecture series in the law school on March 20. Loyola University School of Law presented Gandy with the Gillis Long Public Service Award for her dedication to serving women throughout the state of Louisiana and around the world. gandy's appearance was co-sponsored by the Women's Resource Center.

Gandy has put her Loyola Law degree towards a long struggle for equality. After graduation she began work as a New Orleans District Attorney and as a public sector prosecutor in domestic violence and battered women's cases. She founded the Louisiana Women's Lobby Network and help to enact several instrumental bills in the state legislature. Prior to her presidential election in June, she served as a member of the State Child Support Task Force and a national officer of NOW.

Gandy leads the 450,000 member organization in support of issues such as: abortion rights, affirmative action, constitutional equality, disability rights, economic equity, family, global feminism, health, lesbian rights, media activism, racial diversity, women athletics, violence against women, women in the military, and women at work.

With knowledge of the controversy surrounding her appearance at Loyola, she began by congratulating Loyola. She explained that living in Washington D.C. for the past 15 years, she has learned a lot about political and economic pressures. She expressed her pride in her alma mater for not giving into either pressure and for sticking to its foremost purpose, to educate students from all angles.

"I like to tell stories," Gandy explained as she began. Her congenial personality and comfort with Loyola audience was evident as she relayed the tales of hearings, trials, and governmental actions that many would never have heard about. She shared many interpretations of the Clean Air and Safe Food Acts. Her stories lead to moments of silence and shock. But the actions that both Gandy and the entire NOW organization have taken or are planning to implement lead to uproars of applause and confidence.

Gandy spoke as a woman and as a mother. She shared the dreams she has for her two young daughters. She has dreams, she said, of equality amongst the genders, ages, and races, and her actions are daily efforts to find this new world for her children and grandchildren. She said she believes, "We can see the top of the glass ceiling, but we have not broken through it yet." She continues the fight with the support of men and women throughout the world.