"Aberystwyth at times appears to be entirely nocturnal. I have spent many a night wondering around its cosy, sleepy little streets only to encounter several students doing exactly the same thing as myself.

It appears that the night time for students is a time for lucubration, an idea that we study and perform better at night.

The most interesting conversations I have had with my fellow peers has been at late hours of the night, right up to the early hours of the morning.

It is at times like this that we discuss politics, philosophy, social constructionism and many more pressing and interesting issues that face us daily.

A topic that recently came up in these debates was women and their role within Aberystwyth. Evidently as a woman studying at Aberystwyth I had much to say upon this matter. There are striking differences between two types of women in this town, the emptomy of the subservient "chick" and the radical educated feminist.

Many girls studying in Aberystwyth have been able to embrace this new affluence with female identity and confidence, women are not an object at a University, they have got there through the exact same means as every man and are not considered any different.

Sex is obviously an important aspect of student life but both genders, what ever sexual orientation have been able to fully express, or contain, themselves.

Yet it appears that a few girls are uncomfortable with this and take a wholly essentialist view of femininity.

They are women, made for cooking cleaning and child-bearing. Usually these girls have no passion in their subject and appear to be fully subservient to men. This can't continue and I think Aberystwyth has the right environment to let a woman fully identify with whoever she wants to be.

Many theorists have stated that we are all subject to social constructivism, society makes us what society needs and in Aberystwyth its great to see many girls filling ever role and finding a new identify within femininity. Mainly girls here can be what they want to be, even if that is only a housewife. Yet it should also be the job of the emancipated women to challenge social stigma and cross gender lines. Aberystwyth is a good place to be a woman, for now."

Article by Siobhan Bligh