Cara Luddy is tired of seeing women in Syracuse be victims of sexism and sexual assault.

“It makes me sad how many of my friends have been sexually assaulted,” she said. “That’s been really eye-opening to have so many people come out about that.”

Luddy said she hopes to reduce that number through an upcoming event titled LadyFest, which will give women the chance to share their stories. It will take place just a short distance from the Syracuse University campus at the Westcott Community Center on Sept. 26. Luddy, who is selling her art at the event, said she knows firsthand the kinds of problems women face.

The community center will be full of music, art, stand-up comedy and storytelling as Syracuse celebrates its second annual LadyFest. The first festival was held in Olympia, Washington, in 2000. Since then, mostly large, liberal cities worldwide have followed, celebrating feminism and female artists with their own LadyFests. Syracuse’s LadyFest brings many of those same themes.

With booths selling everything from zines to vagina-shaped jewelry, LadyFest offers a different experience for the Syracuse community. Several female punk bands will perform, including local Syracuse bands Malvinas and The Nudes, as well as Thundera from New York City.

“The reason I wanted to start a LadyFest was because that whole scene was kind of lacking,” said Meghan Tamilio, a graduate from SUNY Oswego and the organizer of the event. “It was hard to find people to connect with.”

Tamilio said she wanted to recognize the diversity that exists in feminist culture — an idea that often gets lost by the culture’s mainstream advocates. “White feminism,” or feminism that ignores intersectionality is often cited as a major criticism of today’s feminist culture.

The LadyFest of Syracuse hopes to move away from being a “white subculture” by being more inclusive in the event’s programming and advertising.

“When working on the fliers, [we] made it very explicit that we weren’t implying white cisgender,” said Cara Levine, a doctoral student in SU’s Counseling and Counseling Education program, who will also be MC-ing the event.

LadyFest aims not only to have an impact on feminism, but the city of Syracuse entirely, by being upfront and blunt with their message, Tamilio said.

Though they are loud, the organizers of LadyFest want more than just a celebration of women — they said they are hoping for healing in the community as well.

“We want an atmosphere which is a safe space. We want people to feel okay talking about their experiences,” Tamilio said. “I think it is good that people speak out and having a supportive community to do that.”

Last year, many women came forward at LadyFest to tell their stories. The act of sharing a deeply personal story left many women feeling empowered, Luddy said.

With all faces and forms of feminists encouraged to attend, Levine said the event will be a forum for diverse and inclusive experiences.

“Expect to see a spectrum of what it is like to be a lady,” Levine said. “There might not be a woman that looks like a woman to you.”

Published on September 23, 2015 at 10:14 pm

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