Myers Park is home to many clubs, allowing anyone to make the Park their own. Myers Park juniors Holly Carrey and Hayley Brownlee did just that by forming the Moxie club, which focuses on women’s history, rights, and issues. The club is new to the park, being formed a year ago, but is still strong this year with lots of student support. The club meetings occur on Monday in Madame Gunn’s room, SC14, and feature topics important to women, and allows members an opportunity to discuss with one another, and educate themselves on the issues.
Club meetings in March, which is Women’s History Month, focused on the importance of the month highlighting women’s struggles and their history. When asked about the importance of Women’s History Month, Carrey and Brownlee responded, “We believe that women’s history month is important because it gives women a platform to advocate for equality, for progression, and underprivileged groups so that we can have a better society. Not only that but it educates people about women’s accomplishments and inventions throughout history that are typically overlooked or stolen which especially contributes to minorities.”
The club welcomes everyone to learn about these issues, offering “ a safe space for all students at Myers Park and an educational environment which influences others to learn about new topics and learn how to support movements regarding women. At every club meeting, we present a slideshow on a certain issue and explain it to all of the participants in the club. After the presentation, we have an open discussion where club members have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and discuss what they learned. We include everyone and hear every opinion regardless if we agree or disagree leading to an open conversation,” states Brownlee and Carrey.
When asked why everyone should learn about women’s struggles, they responded, “Everyone should be aware of women’s issues because women’s issues are human. Moxie does not only cover women’s issues, it covers all of feminism, which strives for equality for all, no matter the gender, sexual orientation, race, or ethnicity. We must be aware of the struggles women face on a day-to-day basis, from the banning of abortions, necessary medical care, the wage gap, the Pink Tax, and incapacitating periods due to things like PCOS and endometriosis. The more awareness we have of the issues that women face, the more we can do about it- we have to come together to create a change.” The club motivates everyone to learn about women’s struggles, history, and more through “ topics that are important to them and their real-life struggles and experiences. For example, we covered how to deal with harassment, in the workplace, school, or any other potential situation. We like to use current issues to help get our members involved and educated about the current day and have open conversations about it. A large number of our members use Moxie as a safe space to speak about their experiences with the topic of the day or talk about something that they might need advice on from other like-minded people. Having a personal struggle about being a woman be heard by other women makes people feel seen and heard, and it makes them motivated to learn about the struggles of others so that they can be safe and included too.”
Learning about women’s struggles and history is always important, and MP Moxie is a great space and opportunity for anyone interested to learn more to come. Throughout history, women have faced challenges and oppression, but the club offers for anyone to learn about multiple aspects of women’s lives, while also celebrating what it means to be a woman. Anyone can have moxie, not just women, so go check it out and learn more about something new!