A Weekend of Feminism with Amber Rose and USC Dornsife Center for Feminist Research

By Ellice Ellis ‘18

Amber Rose rose to fame as Kanye West’s girlfriend in 2008, but just shy of 10 years later, she is now known for her efforts in the world of feminism.

This past weekend in Los Angeles, men, and women who identify as feminists came together for Rose’s inaugural OPENed Women’s Conference and the Amber Rose SlutWalk.

The weekend kicked off with Saturday’s OPENed conference, hosted by the Amber Rose Foundation and the USC Dornsife Center for Feminist Research in Ronald Tutor Campus Center.

The conference which is labeled as marrying “academics and edge,” was created to “address social injustice issues, to embrace those who feel counted out because of their self-expression or shame and to encourage families and businesses to be OPENed!”

I had the pleasure of attending the conference events where I learned more about feminist work at USC, Amber Rose the activist and much more.

The day kicked off with words from Ange-Marie Hancock Alfara, the chair of the gender studies program here at USC. 

Her presence at the conference was perfect considering the popularity and importance of discussions on intersectional feminism and her work in the area.

Rose then came to the stage and discussed her history with the word ‘slut.’ The modern feminist icon said once she became a feminist she felt like she was living her fullest life. Her goal from there on out was to “to spread the word, to help other women feel confident and not feel insecure.”

Before the conference attendees split off to discuss all things diversity, feminism, health, activism and more; Rose addressed her naysayers. “I’m going to continue to take the punches and throw my bush in their faces.”

The crowd flocked to Fertitta Hall where they had the choice of attending three of five sessions titled: Know Your Rights, Sex Talk and Relationships, Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy, Activism, and Policy. Each session was hosted by a different speaker who was an expert in their respective fields. 

I first attended the Sex Talk and Relationships session hosted by USC’s Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services (RSVP). The group, which operates as a part of the Engeman Health center, focused on rape and rape culture.

From the session, I learned that rape was not only a women’s issue and about the pipeline from seemingly harmless actions and occurrences that lead to rape and are a part of rape culture.

A student activist from the group also stressed the importance of minimizing sexuality as a marketing tool and clarified some of the myths on false rape reports.

Next, I attended the ‘Activism’ session led by USC associate professor Brendesha Tynes of the USC Rossier School of Education. Her research which focuses on youth experiences with digital media made her the perfect candidate to lead a session focusing on diverse depictions in the media.

I got to test her app and website ‘Rate My Media,’ where users can rate television shows, movies, games, podcasts and more based on their diversity and inclusiveness.

Ms. Tynes talked about how lack of diverse and positive images, especially for minority groups can foster depression, low self-confidence, and other issues in young people. She stressed the importance of commenting and analyzing media so content producers get the message that diverse content is important.

In a crown of older media consumers and young tech-savvy kids, the message resonated universally. Many participants raved about and even decided to rate HBO’s ‘Insecure’ for the show’s diverse depictions of black people and for opening a conversation about male bisexuality.

This was my favorite session because it allowed the audience to think of activism as something personal rather than a big political effort.

The last session of the day, ‘Know Your Rights”  was hosted by New York lawyer Carrie Goldberg.

She is known for her work stopping revenge porn websites and defending victims of stalkers, abusers and more from previous relationships.

Carrie said her “purpose in life is to stop assholes, pervs, stalkers, and psychos; and to teach other people they can too.”

In the session, she outlined many cases not only against individuals but against companies like Grindr to stop the use of revenge porn to publicly shame people.

Carrie’s session really drove home the idea that ‘slut shaming’ is not okay. Just how Amber Rose insinuated that she began to live her fullest life once she embraced her sexuality and womanhood, Carrie emphasized how having your sexuality used against you takes away from that.

After the sessions, conference-goers headed back to Campus Center to hear from artists, dancer, director, and creative legend Debbie Allen. She was the keynote speaker and emphasized how women have to stick together to get things done. Her message transcended race, class, nationality and sexual preference but focused on how in tough political times like now, women are leading the fight for change.

Ms. Allen also showed loved to strong women she works with her every day like Shonda Rhimes, Ellen Pompeo and her sister Phylicia Rashad.

The OPENed conference ended with a panel discussing sex, women in the workplace, and the future of feminism. Amber Rose; Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion at USC Debra Langford; author and leading sex expert Christopher Donaghue; assemblywoman Autumn Burke; YouTuber Lilly Singh; and the president of the LA County Board of Education Alex Johnson were all present.

After the conference, the panels and the session; I got a better idea of where Amber Rose stood in the grand scheme of feminism. The controversial pop culture figure’s main goal is for women to feel comfortable with themselves. She doesn’t want their sexuality used against them, she wants women not to fear being raped for wearing a skirt and to see healthy relationships of all colors, nationalities, sexualities and more depicted in our media.

I applaud USC Dornsife Center for Feminist Research for co-hosting this event. It was a great way to engage young women and promote healthy discussion on sex, relationships, and feminism. I encourage all reading this to look up Amber Rose and learn more about her SlutWalk beyond what you see on TV and hear on social media. She’s starting a revolution and I’m proud that this university is now part of it.

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