by Justin Owumi

Have you ever walked into a room and had someone give you The Look? Well I have. In fact, I have received The Look more times than I can count. I am referring to The Look that says, “What the hell are you doing here?” “Why are you here?” “Are you lost?” or “Well this should be interesting.” People receive The Look because they are viewed as being out of their element, and as someone who is a Black male feminist, I am often perceived as being out of place when I step into a feminist environment. The Look has the power to prevent coalition building, because it makes people who care about issues that may not directly affect them–-allies–feel as if no space exists for them to join the struggle. Honestly, to hell with that. If you are passionate about a cause – whether it affects you directly or not – you have ability to join the fight, because no fight has ever been won without a diverse group of people working together. It is this mentality that allows me to overcome the overwhelming uncomfortable sensation I feel when I receive The Look.

I most recently received The Look when attempting to lead a workshop for 7th and 8th grade girls at the Hardy Girls Healthy Women GirlsUnlimited Conference at Colby College. I led the workshop with two other Colby students, both white women. The workshop was on activism, assessing lies the media tells girls, and helping girls express what they want to hear from the media instead. I was not present when the girls entered the room because I had to run and get markers, but when I returned I opened the door and there was a room of twenty-one girls all giving me The Look. I tried to mask my nervousness but could not stop sweating. Suddenly, I remembered I am here because I care. I am here because I want help these girls understand what activism means and develop a critical lens of the media. I want them to see that they have male allies that are willing to engage with these issues. When I took a moment to remind myself why I was there, I stopped sweating, and my partners and I were able to have a great workshop with these girls.

I am continuously able to overcome The Look because girls’ development and feminism are important to me. When I think about my own development, I always think about the strong women in my life. These women include my mother, aunts, sisters, and closest mentors. Without these women in my life, I do not know who I would be. The issues that affect them also affect me. I soon realized that these issues are not limited to the women that I care about, but all women, and I should do my best to join the struggle, deepen my understanding, and serve as an ally in any way shape or form.

I am a feminist because I want girls, and women, to be in a world that is just. I want to make sure that my nieces grow up with a strong sense of who they are in order to take on the world. I want to have a solid understanding of girls’ development and feminist ideals because I want to make sure that my interactions with my nieces–and all girls and women–allow their voices, creativity, intelligence, and uniqueness to shine through, rather than be stifled by hegemonic and normalized ideals. I also want to deepen my understanding of girls’ development and feminism in order to share it with my nephews as well as other boys and men. I have consistently done work with Mules Against Violence (MAV), a group founded by male athletes that works to critique mainstream notions of masculinity and raise awareness about sexual assault through engagement with male athletes and other men on campus. I want boys and men to see, through their interactions with me, that there are alternatives to these hegemonic and normalized ideals of women and men. In short, when I think about why I walk into the room The Look no longer means a damn thing.

Justin Owumi is a senior chemistry major with a minor in education at Colby College in Maine. He is originally from the city of Boston, and has been dedicated to feminist work since starting his studies at Colby. His future goal is to become a doctor.