The Feminist Organization Reclaiming Consciousness and Equality (F.O.R.C.E.) is on a mission to increase feminist consciousness at Cal State Long Beach, with feminist events and a magazine in the works for the spring.
One of the main purposes of F.O.R.C.E., according to its website, is “to simulate feminist ideology by raising consciousness of issues on equity, tolerance and acceptance among students.” F.O.R.C.E. held events on campus this fall, including its “F-Word” event on Oct. 9.
Co-chairwomen Megan Adams and Katie Sipes lead F.O.R.C.E., which, according to Adams, has between 10 and 20 members who are regulars to the club’s weekly meetings.
“As far as other members, we have over a hundred people on our listserv, and the same with our MySpace,” Adams said via e-mail.
F.O.R.C.E. strives to be a multifaceted group of open-minded women and men.
“Of course, I cannot speak for everyone, but I would say that feminism by nature is progressive and most, if not all, of our members would identify as liberal,” Adams said.
F.O.R.C.E. gives support to similarly liberal organizations, including the Campus Progressives Collective and the Campus Coalition Against Hate, of which some members of F.O.R.C.E. are also involved with.
F.O.R.C.E. is also involved with the Women’s Resource Center and its events, including Domestic Violence Awareness Day this past October.
For next semester, F.O.R.C.E. is organizing a “teach-in” to discuss women’s issues on a global perspective.
“We are going to invite other campus groups to speak about topics they feel passionately about, like femicide in Juarez, women in Islam [and] human trafficking,” Adams said. Other topics on the table for the event include gender in birth preference, rape as a weapon of war, and honor killing.
F.O.R.C.E. also plans to publish an “alternative zine,” similar to what the group did in the spring. According to the group’s online forum, the magazine “is supposed to be a collaborative effort of feminists coming together in art, poetry, literature [and more].” A specific theme for the magazine has yet to be determined.
Adams said she believes that the most important part of F.O.R.C.E., beyond the events the organization supports and sponsors, is raising consciousness.
“We try to leave the last half of our meetings for members to discuss any issues relating to feminism, or our experiences as women,” Adams said.
In discussions, F.O.R.C.E. members talk about what is going on in the world today, such as, “the media, popular culture, politics [and] ignorant and offensive articles being published in campus newspapers,” Adams said.
F.O.R.C.E. uses many media outlets to spread its ideas, with a blog, a forum, its student organization website, a Yahoo group and MySpace.