Every third Friday, university members bring lively conversation to Rebel Market with what they call Famished Feminist Friday.
Faculty, staff and students from across campus participate in these FFF discussions, the brainchild of the Sarah Isom Center for Women and Gender Studies, the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the Chancellor’s Commission on the Status of Women at the University of Mississippi.
The idea formed when the current director of the Sarah Isom Center, Jaime Harker, was being interviewed for the position at a luncheon with her peers.
“It was a part of her interview, so she was answering questions and things like that, but it was so much fun,” said Kate Kellum, AAUW chair and associate director of institutional effectiveness and assistant professor of psychology.
Kellum said she and others felt there was a need to continue these conversations.
“Sometimes we aren’t talking about feminist issues,” Kellum said. “Sometimes we’re talking about class or ‘that football game,’ but having these places where people have these open conversations are, I think, important.”
While so far FFF has mostly been attended by faculty members, it is open to all who wear the feminist label proudly.
“Men come, women come, students, staff, faculty, as long as they’re comfortable with the term feminist being applied to them,” Kellum said. “Even if people don’t know they’re feminist, most people are. It’s just the belief that men and women should have equal rights, that we should be treated fairly and equally.”
Harker said the lunchtime meetings are simply a time to be together as a group.
“Usually we all just chat and talk,” Harker said. “You see people, and you meet folks you don’t know from across campus. So that’s what fun about it – you meet people from places that you don’t run into … people making ideas and plans.”
While the AAUW has university women in its very title, Harker said the AAUW is a community-university sponsorship, open to anybody.
“You have to pay for lunch,” she said. “That’s all you have to do.”
The tagline of FFF is that there’s no agenda, just lunch, and the group tries to maintain a laid-back feel to each meeting. There is never any set subject, and depending on the size of each meeting, there could be several conversations going on at once. The length of time spent together is intentionally unplanned.
Kellum said although she feels the disadvantages women face are easily visible, these FFF meetings have led to more discussion about those issues.
“The arc of history will always bend towards goodness eventually. We’ll always bend towards equality,” Kellum said.
Information about FFF can be found on the AAUW Oxford branch’s Facebook page along with the specific date, time and location of each luncheon. While FFF is generally on the third Friday of every month, there is always the possibility of a change in location, and the Facebook page is where any changes are announced. There will be a sign reserving an area for FFF in the back of Rebel Market, past the glass etching of the UM symbol.
