Kevin Powell, former cast member of the original Real World, spoke about his life as a sexist male Tuesday night in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

Powell used his life experiences to speak out against sexism, gender oppression and gender violence as the first part of the Women’s Week celebration.

He admitted that his revelations about women are riddled with painful experiences, including giving his speech.

Despite the discomfort and shame of his past, Powell said it was important for him to help educate others, especially men, about women’s issues.

“I gotta own up to some of this stuff myself. I’d been perpetrating gender oppression,” Powell said.

He said change didn’t just “come overnight.” Improving himself was an “evolutionary process.”

“At a certain point we all have to ask ourselves, `What are the definitions I bought into?'”

Powell said his definition of masculinity was shaped by the absence of his father in his life, his church that was filled with single mothers and their young children and his school where boys fought during recess while girls drew pictures.

“If you’re not told women are equal to men, you will begin to think that women are inferior,” he said. “There was an omission of women from my education. All I learned about black history was that blacks were slaves, George Carver experimented with peanuts, Martin Luther King had a dream and Rosa Parks’ feet hurt.”

The audience of more than 200 laughed throughout Powell’s speech, acknowledging the truth and humor with nods and claps.

He encouraged others to speak out about the injustices around them and to question their own “critical thinking.”

“[Many] fear if you actually speak out about it, [others will think] there’s something wrong with you. Silence is acquiescence,” Powell said.

Lakisha Miller, junior in agricultural business, said she agreed with Powell.

“We have to be the example [of what] we want to see in the world,” she said.

Kristin Hassman, senior in marketing, said Powell’s remark about speaking out was one of the most powerful statements Powell made.

“I also agree [with Powell] that we have to challenge our critical thinking,” she said.