Krista Lutz Introduction

 

 

Hi, my name is Krista Lutz. I originate from Malverne, Long Island. I am a 5th year Senior or a "experienced Senior" as I would like to call it; I am a double major is both Public Relations and Sociology, with a minor in public health. I am a member of the peer education group S.T.E.P.S, this is my 9th semester in the group and also the current Publicity Chair for the 2014 year e-board. After my time at SUNY Fredonia, I'm not too sure what my first step will be. I have the next 15-20 years planned out for what I would like to do, but getting to the starting point is the part I don't know where to go. But what I would like to see happen is to start off in a PR firm, working for pharmaceutical representation for HIV/AIDS medications. From there I would eventually like to work my way up to non-profit organizations, as well as  staying with a firm at the same time, to create campaigns for sex education, safe sex, HIV/AIDS awareness, and for getting tested. The next and final step of my plans for my future, would be to work for Planned Parenthood as part of their internal PR team and work on their political and everyday campaigns. Though every organization has its flaws, I do believe Planned Parenthood offers more good than the harm those protest about.

I have two pictures above with two different signs on why I need feminism. The first sign says "I need feminism because my breasts are not inappropriate". As someone who has had a C cup and bigger since I was in 8th grade, I am no stranger to my breast being an issue. One memory that I think of was when I was in 8th grade at the Halloween dance my school hosted. I went with my best friend Brandon and we stuck with each other the entire night. As we were dancing during one part of the night, I started to take off my hoodie, having a tank top on underneath. Before I got the zipper down to the bottom, I felt a pull on my arm to which it was the Principal, Mr. Zimmerman, pulling me off the dance floor, telling me that I couldn't do that because "I couldn't dance with my breast out, because it was inappropriate for a school dance"; I was 12 years old. I needed feminism at 12-years-old because my body was objectified and shamed because I was hot. I still need feminism almost 11 years later because at 23-years-old, being told my breast are "inappropriate", is more of a recurring thing.

 

The second sign I have says "I need feminism because my mother told me my ex-boyfriend "expected better from me" when I told her he used to threaten to hit me." I need feminism for more reasons than this sign says alone; I need feminism because my mother victim blamed me when I came to her. But looking back on that now, I realize that my mother needs feminism too because that's the idea she was raised with, with having a mother who was born in 1921. I also need feminism because I stayed with my ex for four years even though he was controlling, threatening, and manipulative just because I thought things would eventually be OK. It wasn't until I first saw S.T.E.P.S. at orientation, that I realized I needed to be done with that relationship for good. But in honesty, if it wasn't for the relationship I was in, I would have never found a sense or a grasp of feminism until later on during college. I always knew I was in a bad relationship, but I never knew that feeling of what being empowered was until I told the bastard off. That's when I became a feminist.