Susan Faludi’s witness to patriarchal issues at a young age sparked her interest in exploring feminism.
Feminist, Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and author Susan Faludi was presented as the keynote speaker for women’s week March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Art and Journalism Building room 175. She visited Dr. Tanya Pearon’s Women and Gender Studies 410 class — feminist theory — at 2 p.m. March 26 to encourage discussion about feminism.
Faludi grew up in the middle-lower class community in the early 70’s, exposing her to several patriarchal instances. She often fell victim to the “traditional family” — husbands ruled and wives were miserable.
She said her trauma developed as she fell witness to several accounts of domestic violence. Faludi’s parents divorced several years later, but watched how the courts, lawyers and legal system perceived her mother as the issue.
She started writing about the problems she saw, which sparked her feminist interest. Her hope was to restart a movement she could be a part of through writing. Faludi worked as a journalist for most of her life and fell in-love with making a difference through exposing feminist issues through the written word.
According to Faludi’s website, “Faludi's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Nation, among other publications.”
She has also published four books: “Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women,” “Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man,” “The Terror Dream: Myth and Misogyny in an Insecure America,” and “In the Darkroom.”
A Ball State University professor for Women and Gender Studies, the director of disability services and author, Courtney Jarrett, had the opportunity to speak with Faludi over lunch.
“She wrote the book ‘Backlash’ a while ago, but some of the same things are still relevant. It’s just a different backlash that women and other minority folks are feeling from all different kinds of areas,” Jarrett said. “And so to have her come and learn more about our program and learn about the students interests, passions, and things they have going on, and then relate that to the work that she’s actively researching and talking about is just phenominal.”
Faludi’s speech addressed feminism from a political perspective offering information from a true scholar's perspective with the journalistic curiosity motivating her next question. She expanded on topics from political figures like President Trump and Elon Musk to diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) legislation and abortion rights.
Her intelligence showed through her designer and willingness to continue learning, growing and motivating more feminists.
Jamya Patton is a first year Ball State University student studying psychological science with minors in Women and Gender Studies, social work and counseling. She attended Faludi’s keynote speech and found encouragement in future aspirations.
“I’ve been feeling like this the whole semester, just like all these spaces of people who think like you and are fighting for the same things as you. It just feels very empowering and makes me more confident in my feelings, the things I want to do,” Patton said.
By the end of the event all of Faludi’s books were sold out and students, community members, and faculty lined up to speak to their inspiration and get their purchases signed. According to Dr. Tanya Pearson, Faludi's appearance was not intentional, but when she heard about women’s week, everyone was excited that she offered her time to speak and share her wisdom.
Ball State University is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the “Women and Gender Studies” program on campus during women’s week. Women’s Week schedule of campus events will continue through March 28.
Contact Meghan Sawitzke via email at Meghan.Sawitzke@bsu.edu.
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