{"id":151834,"date":"2023-03-16T10:52:23","date_gmt":"2023-03-16T09:52:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=151834"},"modified":"2026-01-16T16:59:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:59:34","slug":"visit-to-the-celebration-of-international-womens-day-i-feel-less-lonely-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/03\/16\/visit-to-the-celebration-of-international-womens-day-i-feel-less-lonely-here\/","title":{"rendered":"Visit to the celebration of International Women\u2019s Day: \u2018I feel less lonely here\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The celebration of International Women\u2019s Day at the Doelen attracted many young visitors on Wednesday afternoon. They came for inspiration, to show their feminist credentials or simply because it sounded fun.<\/p>\n

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About two hundred visitors were in De Doelen on Wednesday afternoon for the celebration of International Women's Day.<\/span><\/p>

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\u201cI\u2019m enjoying it already\u201d, said Eva van der Sande to her friend Fay before the event started. \u201cAt first I thought: do I have to go? But to be honest, it\u2019s really good fun.\u201d One musical performance, two lectures, a spoken-word session and a panel discussion later, the enthusiasm of the Public Administration student had not diminished.<\/p>\n

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Public administration student Eva feels inspired after the afternoon. <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThanh Nguyen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

Although she had a full day ahead of her, with an open day at the Dutch government for potential trainees, she was happy that she came anyway. \u201cIt\u2019s so inspirational. The first speaker, activist and artist Fleur Pierets, was really good. I already knew about the principle of the \u2018male gaze\u2019 (the idea that popular media is still often created from the perspective of heterosexual, white men \u2013 ed.) that Sanne Koevoets talked about, but I still learned a lot. And you know what I really liked? The fact that I felt connected to everyone in the room. It\u2019s a pity that the audience is mostly women, though. I\u2019m curious to find out how men feel about these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n

Feminist<\/h2>

Liang Wang is one of the men who did attend. \u201cI\u2019m a feminist, that\u2019s why I wanted to come\u201d, said the PhD student. \u201cI\u2019m from China, where it isn\u2019t as easy for men to proclaim that they\u2019re a feminist as it is here. As a feminist, I also support the LGBTQI+ community, so it was interesting to learn more about that from the two speakers.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nPhD students Qiaoling Hua (left) and Liang Wang both wanted to come to show that they are feminists.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThanh Nguyen<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Qiaoling Hua, also a PhD student, came with him. \u201cDays like these are important. We still have a lot to talk about\u201d, said Hua. She was particularly inspired by the panel discussion between four students. Among other things, this discussion focused on how much women learn about their own bodies from other women\u2019s social media \u2013 more than in secondary school biology classes \u2013 and the danger of constantly applying filters to photos. \u201cI learned that expressing yourself is a brave move. When I post a photo on social media, I often use a filter. I want to show more of myself \u2013 the person behind the filter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Escape Plan<\/h2>
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Exchange student Anna is grateful that she came. Most of all, it seemed fun to her, but it was much more valuable, she says.<\/span><\/p>

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Anna Montgomery attended the drinks party in good heart. \u201cI feel less lonely here\u201d, said the exchange student in Communication and Media. \u201cThe lectures by Pierets and Koevoets included the perspective of the queer community, which I belong to. When they talked about the fight for equal rights, I was reminded of my own country, the United States. Abortion is no longer legal everywhere. I\u2019m from Florida, which is not exactly an open-minded state. When I go out with friends to queer clubs, we always have an escape plan in case there\u2019s another shooting. I felt lonely in the Netherlands because I\u2019m a long way from home. It feels so good that this is also a topic of conversation here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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