The Soap Box

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What For? -Women’s Centre —

by Jes Burkitt

Well, this one’s going to bother some people for sure. But just to
screw up most people, I am going to support the Women’s Centre. After
meeting with the project coordinator from there, we had a little talk,
and after much brainwashing, I came out of it as a sensitive, caring,
intelligent individual. We hope that feeling passes soon.

The Women’s Centre is there “to provide a physical and social
environment which reflects and welcomes the diversity of women’s

‘ experience across sexual, cultural, physical, generational, and economic
lines.” It’s in Room 7-212, and the phone number is 960-5632. It is a
space claimed by women, for women, where all women can go. Any
woman can go there 24 hours a day; if the dooris locked, security will
unlock it for you. Women can go to the Women’s Centre to sit down,
relax, chat, socialize, study, read,-organize against oppression, discuss °
current issues, or just hang out,

Which leads me to the fun point: why us men aren’t allowed in there.
The centre serves as a haven for women who may have been through a
bad relationship, or just have had bad experiences with men. If men
aren’t allowed to just walk in, then these women can go in there and be
sure of not having to deal with those men. Women have been known to ,
leave university because they had no place like this to go, and so they |
would just stay at home or something. There are women who are at
university for this same reason, except that they have got the Women’s
Centre.

So there is a need felt for the Women’s Centre, especially by the
women who wouldn’t be here otherwise. The Women’s Centre is not
about men being excluded from power, it’s about women having their
own space. Is it too much to ask to have one little room in an entire
university? :

My opinion on the matter? I think that the bitterness felt by most

- men is due to them not knowing the purpose of the Women’s Centre.
It’s just that men being the dominant gender in a patriarchal society, we
tend to take it for granted that we are allowed to go pretty much anywhere
we please. When we aren’t allowed to go someplace, and we don’t
know why, we tend to get petulant, because we feel threatened. It’s

especially bad when it is with
women, because they are normally
viewed as being the lesser gender.
Us men have had our gentleman’s
clubs, lodges, etc., for pretty much
all of time, so it’s just women are
getting a little more of the equality
that they deserve.

Over the Edge Nov 22, 1995 page 1 |

Some endnotes: I AM male, I’m
not whipped, I’m not gay, this is
just what I think. And for you guys
that feel threatened by the
existence of the Women’s Centre,
they are planning to have an open
house next semester, so you can

go in there and see that it’s really

not that much; it’s a little room tha
women have ciaimed fo
themselves as their space; we’r
not missing anything by not bein;
allowed in there.

*

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THIS COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR AD...ISN'T IT
TIME YOU LOOKED INTO OVER THE EDGE?