This week, Women’s Caucus co-sponsored a trip to Washington, D.C. with the Black Students Union. The trip’s mission was to build civic engagement at UR by bringing a diverse group of students to the National Mall for the historic inauguration of Barack Obama.

As an organizer of the trip, I frequently received questions about the trip’s mission and about whether Women’s Caucus endorsed President Obama. In answering this question, I repeatedly stated, “Women’s Caucus has never endorsed a candidate or party but began organizing the trip for this year’s Martin Luther King Commemorative Week.”

Unfortunately, I frequently received follow-up questions about why the campus’s undergraduate feminist organization would support a man. While again emphasizing that Women’s Caucus as an organization never supported any candidate over another, this comment frustrated me because of its narrow understanding of feminism.

For simplicity purposes, Women’s Caucus recently chose a definition of feminism by a Women’s Studies professor and theorist, bell hooks. According to hooks, feminism is “a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression.” While intentionally vague, this definition says nothing about hating men or even about the gender of feminists. According to hooks and Women’s Caucus, feminism is about ending sexism, something that President Obama has made a major goal for his administration.

Additionally, President Obama appeared on the cover of the winter edition of Ms. Magazine, an independent feminist magazine, in a T-shirt that reads, “This is What a Feminist Looks Like.” As a self-identified feminist who is committed to ending sexism, President Obama deserves the respect of organizations such as Women’s Caucus, regardless of his gender.

Finally, if feminism is about ending sexism, it is imperative that feminist organizations, such as Women’s Caucus, recognize the connections between racism and sexism. In order for American women of all races to be free from “exploitation and oppression,” feminists must dedicate themselves to fighting racism, as well as sexism.