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Greenwich Village High School Launches Blog on Feminism

By DNAinfo Staff on November 22, 2010 10:02am

Grace Tobin, 16, (l.) blogged about her experience testifying before City Council on the street harassment that women face in Manhattan for her class blog,
Grace Tobin, 16, (l.) blogged about her experience testifying before City Council on the street harassment that women face in Manhattan for her class blog, "F to the Third Power."
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Holly Kearl/ Hollaback

By Gabriela Resto-Montero

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

GREENWICH VILLAGE — High school junior Steven Susaña has girls on his mind — but it's not distracting him from class, it's his homework.

Susaña, a student at the private K-12 school the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School, is part of the team that created the school's new young feminists blog "F to the Third Power."

"I definitely think it's important for young people to speak out," Susana, 16, said of the blog, named after "fierce and fabulous feminists."

"There needs to be more men (who are) serious about the feminist movement," added Susana.

Since its launch on Oct. 21, F to the Third Power has received thousands of hits on students' posts about the role men play in feminism, sexism in marketing campaigns and sexy Halloween costumes, among other topics.

Students at the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School launched a feminism blog called F to the Third Power this fall as part of a class project.
Students at the Little Red School House and Elisabeth Irwin High School launched a feminism blog called F to the Third Power this fall as part of a class project.
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DNAinfo/Gabriela Resto-Montero

English teacher Ileana Jiménez was looking for a way to help her students put the lessons of her feminism-centered class into action when she decided to make the blog a part of this year's curriculum.

"Feminist activism has a really powerful place in the blogosphere," said Jimenez, who has her own blog called Feminist Teacher.

"Getting the blog itself has allowed the students to find a voice for not only their passion for feminism but how they connect to it through their personal experiences," she said.

Grace Tobin, 16, used the blog to talk about a traumatizing experience with street harassment after testifying at a city council hearing on the subject Oct. 28.

"I clenched my jaw and carried on, just the way all girls and women seem to react to all the harassment they face every day," Tobin said in her testimony before the council on dealing with a man's lewd behavior towards her on the 1 train.

Tobin credited the class with helping her find an issue that she hopes to continue to work on.

"The testimony was how I was able to find my voice and vocalize the empowerment of women that I feel passionate about," she said.

Jiménez said she hopes her students take the lessons from the class to heart and use their new multimedia skills beyond graduation.

"Now they're using their writing voice to do something else, which is change the world," Jimenez said.