1. FEB 2013VOL 5
Issue 1
 PREGNANCY
AND PRIVACY 1
 WOMEN AND WORK 3
 PROUD AND
PROFESSIONAL
SU WOMEN 3
A Page ofHer OwnDISCUSSING THE SUCCE SSES, NEEDS AND ISSUES OF W OMEN
IN BOTH THE SUSQUEHANNA COMMUNITY AND THE W ORLD.
The Women’s Resource Center of Susquehanna University
is located on the first floor of the Scholar’s House and is
welcome to all questions, concerns and visitors.
Pregnancy and Privacy
Pregnant stars—Beyoncé, Snooki, Adele, The Royal couple,
and Kim Kardasian— have been popping up everywhere lately (no
pun intended), and they all have and will handle their pregnancy
differently. Some of these women have been very open, and some are
trying to keep the news quiet. Before we can form an opinion, cast
judgment good or bad, we should ask ourselves some questions re-
garding pregnancy and privacy. How private is pregnancy for wom-
en? If you were in, let’s say, Beyoncé’s shoes would you feel obligated
to publicize your pregnancy? Would you allow Vanity Fair or Elle
Magazine to put an almost naked picture of you on the cover illumi-
nating your belly and breasts? How would you answer personal ques-
tions like the sex and plan for your baby? Would you disappear from
the limelight or embrace it?
Adele, an English singer-songwriter, musician and multi-
instrumentalist announced the news on her website, “I’m delighted
to announce that Simon and I are expecting our first child together,”
she writes, “I wanted you to hear the news direct from me. Obviously
we’re over the moon and very excited, but please respect our privacy
at this precious time.” A graceful plea for arguably the most popular
powerhouse singer of this generation. She has managed to remain
out of the public eye during her pregnancy, and only a few pictures
have been published. The Huffington Post quotes an insider, “She’s
an old fashioned girl and can’t wait to be a part of a family unit. She
just wants to focus on the baby and the man she loves.” Adele can be
seen as a relatively low-key star, even her music reflects her tradi-
tional style. But there is no denying how incredibly popular she is.
Adele is a reference point for other pregnant stars. She is one side of
the spectrum-- the most private side in the spotlight.
How are the Royals dealing with their pregnancy? “The
Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are an intensely private couple.
They are also the most famous couple on the planet,” says Max Fos-
ter, a CNN reporter. The Royal’s situation is a bit more complicated
since they each hold power as prince and princess. Even their baby
already holds power. They are obligated by status to be somewhat
public about even the most private matter. The couple let the world
see their wedding (literally), should they be expected to let the world
in on the next head of state? Kate Middleton has to be a graceful
woman when it comes to the news. She seems to be respected, and
respectful in her duty to let her people be a part of the baby. The cou-
ple has a tough job of juggling personal experience with their ex-
pected relationship with the press. This is an example of a couple’s
high status complicating personal matters.
Then, there is a star like Nicole Elizabeth Polizzi, or Snooki,
who is more than happy about being open about her pregnancy.
Jionni and Nicole’s relationship was created in the public eye on
MTV’s Jersey Shore. Therefore the lavish publicity of her new baby is
no surprise. She has pictures of her labor and newborn, Lorenzo, on
the Internet for anyone to view. She also regularly tweets and insta-
grams pictures of her family. Nicole’s relationship with the media has
always been very personal. As a couple they find nothing wrong with
publicizing their growing family. This is a smart strategy really—
WomenSpeakAn organization that welcomes all Susquehanna students and faculty who support
equality for all individuals, regardless of things such as sex, gender, race, religion or
sexual orientation. This semester they plan to host Take Back the Night on Friday,
March 22nd. They will be observing Eating Disorder Awareness week by having a
table in Deginstein. Check the WomenSpeak Facebook page for meeting times and
further information on campus events and ways to get involved.
By Larell Scardelli
Cont. Page 2

2. An interview with this semesters
production director, Erica Reed
The Vagina Monologues
Erica Reed, a senior women studies minor,
is directing this semester’s edition of The Vagina Mon-
ologues. The Vagina Monologues is an episodic play
written by Eve Ensler, and is made up of a varying
number of monologues read by different women. Each
of the monologues deals with an aspect of the feminine
experience, touching on matters such as sex, love,
rape, menstruation, female genital mutilation, mastur-
bation, birth, orgasm and the various common names
for the vagina. The monologue is embodied by the
speaker, and many times reflects that woman’s person-
al experience. A recurring theme throughout the piece
is the vagina as a tool of female empowerment, and the
ultimate embodiment of individuality. I asked Erica
her opinion regarding the importance of the play on a
college campus, and how she views The Vagina Mono-
logues as a tool for women worldwide.
Q. In your own words what are The Vagina Mono-
logues?
A. The Vagina Monologues are a celebration! A cele-
bration of women and vaginas, and a critique of the
ways the world interacts and reacts to women and
their vaginas. The heart of the production is its ability
to give women in every corner of the world a voice,
especially to those who don't have the freedom or abil-
ity to speak for themselves
Q. Why do you think it's important to host
V-Day on a college campus?
A. Hosting a V-Day event on a college campus is ex-
tremely important for one big reason: we are the next
wave of feminism. If we don't enter into the 'real
world' after graduation with our eyes on the prize,
feminism will fall to the wayside. The voice of this
generation and each generation to come must be pro-
equality; we must understand what's at stake for wom-
en. V-Day events anywhere are important, but V-Day
events on college campuses keep the dream alive for
the next wave of heavy hitters in the fight for equal
rights for all.
Q. There has been some criticism on the event such as
a misrepresentation of male/female sexual encounters,
and unequal attention given to brutal sexual encoun-
ters vs. consensual ones. Do you feel the production is
a proper representation of the 'feminine experience'?
A. I think the greatest strength of The Vagina Mono-
logues is the truthfulness of it. Criticism that the mon-
ologues aren't positive enough is misplaced-- you're
missing the point if that's your focus. The monologues
are giving voices to women who maybe didn't and still
don't have the opportunity to speak for themselves.
Eve Ensler isn't here to sugarcoat the issues women
and their vaginas face. There are women all over the
world who have yet to have a 'negative' sexual experi-
ence with a man, but more importantly there are thou-
sands of women who only know brutality. So I say, to
anyone offended by the number of monologues con-
cerning brutal sexual encounters, in the words of Eve
Ensler, “Until the violence stops.” Wouldn't it be fabu-
lous for The Vagina Monologues, over time, to become
a series of monologues about happy endings between
women and their vaginas? But until then...
When and
Where?
March 15th, 16th
7p.m.
March 17th 3p.m.
Stretansky Hall
be the paparazzi yourself and you’re the main
source of publicity. No one is hounding down
Snooki’s door to see her baby because she isn’t
making it hard for the press to get information
and be a part of her life. Some could see this as
untraditional and unconventional, but the cou-
ple is happy and it reflects their personalities
honestly and shamelessly.
Lastly, let’s take the average woman.
She gets pregnant and has the joy and obliga-
tion of telling her friends and family. Then, like
the press, there are visitors, and phone calls,
and parties related to the pregnancy. It’s a time
of celebration and family. An article titled “On
Pregnancy and Privacy and Fear” expresses one
woman’s view, “Once you let people know
you’re pregnant, you’re entered into lots of con-
versations about your belly, your weight, your
breasts and how you plan on using them, what
medications you’ll take, and why you’re right
or wrong about them. I don’t want to have these
conversations.” Then later on in the article,
“But there is no such thing as a private pregnan-
cy.” Is this true? Unless there is a serious sepa-
ration from friends and relatives, people love
babies and that will always generate paparazzi
whether it be people who know and love, or
people who adore and admire.
However there may be various reasons
women might choose to hide their pregnancy.
Many times they are nervous of being viewed
differently in the workplace, often fearing their
job. It is a valid fear for many working women,
because although maternity leave is often
worked into a contract, it still leaves room for
the unexpected. Is the person that replaced me
for all those months going to take my job?
What if I want to have another baby soon after?
It also leaves a women feeling vulnerable, espe-
cially when one holds power in a company.
Authority can be taken away quickly, especially
since the stereotypical image of a pregnant
woman is being emotional and forgetful. An-
other reason women choose to hide their preg-
nancy is because the first trimester is often a
slippery time. It is the period of a pregnancy
when miscarriages are the highest. An average
woman and stars alike would have a lot to deal
with if they revealed their pregnancy too early.
Sometimes it’s about security. Women handle
their pregnancy differently. Each reflecting
their morals, values as a couple, and status as a
star. But every woman famous or not has a
slight obligation to making her pregnancy pub-
lic. A large belly is a hard thing to hide.
Pregnancy and Privacy Continued from page 1

3. Proud and Professional SU Women
The Women’s Studies program is
hosting a series of events this semester that
focuses on Women and Work. The first
event, a screening of Norma Rae, took place
on February 4. The film portrays the strug-
gle by women to unionize in order to im-
prove wages and working conditions in the
textile industry. The second occasion, titled
“Bread and Roses,” will occur on Feb. 25,
from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Scholar's House,
002. The event will include a brief presenta-
tion about the 1912 Bread and Roses textile
strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Audi-
ence members will receive roses, and re-
freshments, including bread, will be provid-
ed. The term, “Bread and Roses,” signifies
the call made by working-class women in
the early twentieth century for better work-
ing conditions and higher wages. Many
women today still struggle to balance their
work life with home and family life, a fight
that embodies the very idea of bread and
roses. The final event of the Women and
Work series is a showing of North Country,
a film that documents sexual harassment
and the fight to end it.
For more information e-mail:
weaverk@susqu.edu
This months featured female professor is Catherine Zobal Dent,
a creative writing professor and fiction writer.
Interviewing Catherine Zobal Dent,
a creative writing professor here at Susque-
hanna University, was my pleasure as I
learned just how devoted she is to the study
of gender and equality. Dent was one of the
first two Women Studies majors at Duke
University where she earned her undergrad-
uate in English, French, and Women Stud-
ies. She received her Ph.D. in fiction from
Binghamton University, and has worked at
SU teaching introductory, intermediate and
advanced writing workshops, as well as
literature and composition courses for 4
years. Her first book, a collection of stories
titled Unfinished Stories for Girls, will be
published in 2014 by Formite Press.
Dent shares her position as a writ-
ing professor with her husband Silas Dent
Zobal, who is also interested and committed
to achieving equality in the workplace and
at home with their children. Dent praises SU
for having the vision for hiring a couple.
They planned their careers around raising
children, and want to share each responsibil-
ity equally. The couple has been featured in
books such as The Libra Solution: Shedding
Excess and Redefining Success at Work and
At Home and Equally Shared Parenting:
Rewriting the Rules for a New Generation
of Parents which illuminate their equally
shared parenting style. In 2009 they were
interviewed by USA Today in an article ex-
ploring how people balance parenting,
working, and fulfilling their passions with a
follow up appearance on The Today Show.
Dent is deeply committed to equality and
naturally practices her visions through
teaching, parenting, and writing.
Larell Scardelli: Besides Karla Kelsey who
hasn't been here this semester, you're the
only other female creative writing professor.
What is it like to work in a mostly
male environment?
Catherine Dent: So, let me start by admit-
ting that I miss Karla dearly, but for reasons
other than her gender. I can understand the
question, of course. I don’t actually feel
like the Writers Institute is a mostly male
environment. I spend most of my time with
students, and they’re so often female stu-
dents.
But more importantly, I think that
people’s sex (male/female) is not the issue.
My understanding of gender is that it is a
range of performed behaviors. Some people
challenge heteronormativity, and others
don’t. If I’m around people with a range of
gendered behaviors, then I consider it a bal-
anced and interesting and diverse crowd.
My creative writing colleagues run the gam-
ut, and I appreciate all the variety.
Scardelli: Do you think your teaching style
is a reflection of your gender? In other
words, how do you think being a female
influences your methods or attitude during
class discussions (or workshops)? If at all.
Dent: That’s a great question, and one that I
can’t answer simply. Yes. My teaching
style is a reflection of my gender. I am a
product of a lovely, conservative, deeply
Christian family and the society in which
my parents raised me, a world that told me
from birth to eighteen what it meant to be
human. Much of my personality has been
formed by sexism and prejudices of all vari-
eties, and I don’t imagine that I have
thought through all the values on which I
was raised. That said, I devote a lot of ener-
gy to questioning my biases. Part of my
personality has developed in opposition to
my culture.
I like creating communities within
the classroom, and teaching people to think,
and to lead, and to listen. My mother loves
to sit back in a group and listen; I both re-
peat and challenge her stereotypically
“feminine” style in my role as professor in
the classroom, as I encourage students to
take charge, but I also step in (sometimes
heavy-handedly!) when I think things are
going awry. My father, involved in Boy
Scouts for his entire life, also provided me
with an early example of the importance of
community. He sees leadership as a form of
service, and I know that part of my teaching
Women And Work
Article by Karol Weaver
Head of the Women Studies Program
Cont page 4

4. Stop By and Meet
Our Staff…
Professor Karol Weaver
Larell Scardelli
Women’s
Resource
Center Hours
Monday 11:00-12:20,
12:30-1:15, 2:00-4:00
Tuesday 2:30-4:00
Wednesday 11:00-
12:20, 12:30-1:15,
2:00-4:00
Thursday 2:30-4:00
Friday 11:00-12:20
Jasmine Jones
The Women’s Resource Center offers
faculty, staff, and students:
*A place to relax and study
*Information about issues related to women and gender
*Referrals to campus and community services
*Library relating to women, history, education, psychology,
biblical studies and much more
style is modeled after him. I enjoy leading
by example. I like to organize experiences
for young people. I love being involved in
something larger than myself.
Scardelli: In your personal writing, do you
naturally take on a female voice? Have you
been a male narrator or character? If so, how
do you accomplish this effectively?
Dent: In the collection scheduled to be pub-
lished next spring, the leading story is told
by an anonymous, peripheral, male narrator,
but the story centers on the sad life of a
young woman named Ella. At the beginning
of the story, the narrator tells us that Ella
goes down to the river, and he says, “That’s
how she met all the men. I’m not telling
which one I am.” The story refuses to fully
identify him, a move I’ve stolen from Toni
Morrison, whose first line of the novel Par-
adise reads: “They shoot the white girl
first.” I think it’s a phenomenological ap-
proach to writing: I’m interested in how
people construct the world, and I want sto-
ries to challenge readers’ biases. In Morri-
son’s novel, readers never learn which char-
acter is white, and in my story, readers can’t
pin the actions (or failures to act) on a single
character.
Most of my short stories do feature
female characters, but the narration varies
from a non-gendered “we”—thanks, Wil-
liam Faulkner; to a story narrated by brother
and sister twins—thanks, Andrea Barrett; to
a large, lonely, single man sitting in a li-
brary—thanks, Ron Mueck. As I mentioned
earlier, I see gender as being performed on a
continuum. When I’m writing from a male
character’s point of view, I try to access
parts of my own experience that fit that
character. Characters give me—all of us—
the chance to see the world in new ways, or
to consider the patterns in which we are
stuck.
Scardelli: J.K Rowling felt she had to dis-
guise her name to be taken seriously and
without prejudice. The literary environment
seems like it should be the least judgmental
in terms of male/female work. Do you think
there is sexism in the publishing world? If
so have you ever personally felt this?
Dent: I don’t know. I’m not an expert on
the publishing world. There are some sys-
temic issues that can make it harder for
women to do well at publishing literary fic-
tion, especially at a high level, but there are
also biases that can make it harder for men.
When I dive into the newest issue of The
Paris Review and find male authors of four
out of five of the fiction pieces, I get wor-
ried. But then I turn to Glimmer Train, and
six out of nine stories are by women. And
in 2012 Best American Short Stories, twelve
out of the twenty stories chosen by Tom
Perotta are written by women. There are so
many different ways to look at this question.
But I will share a personal story,
one that perhaps reveals too much. Last fall,
I rearranged the order of my short story col-
lection and retitled it. I’d been trying to pub-
lish the book for four years. I’d sent it to
contests, queried agents, and written directly
to editors of small presses, all with no inter-
est. At some point over the summer, Silas
and I were discussing our recurring observa-
tion that what gets published by women,
especially in debut collections or novels, is
often either highly sexualized or focused on
gender. Silas suggested that I try an experi-
ment: why not try an experiment? Write a
book that’s all about sex and see what hap-
pens? Hmmm, I thought. The idea didn’t
really inspire me. But then I realized: I had
written a story that really highlights sex,
illicit sex, sex that leads a young girl down a
strange path. Maybe I should bite the bul-
let—accept this disturbing belief for purely
practical purposes—and put that story first.
I retitled the collection to highlight gender,
rearranged the order of all the stories, and
sent it to an editor at another small press.
Within two weeks, he accepted it. So. We
will see what kind of attention it receives. Is
“At the Mouth” it the best story in the
book? You be the judge.
Proud and Professional from page 3