You don't need a golden lasso. Via bbaltimore @ Flickr.
“Well, not everyone is an activist.” or
“Not all of us are cut out to be activists.”
ORLY? The definition of activist varies, but if I pull out my Tenth Edition Webster’s, I see that “activist” is related to active, adj. 1: characterized by action rather than by contemplation or speculation. At its base, an activist is one who acts on behalf of a given cause.
That doesn’t have to mean that your day job is working for Planned Parenthood. (But if it is: thank you, from the bottom of my heart.) That doesn’t have to mean that you spent hundreds of hours volunteering for a women’s shelter. (But if you did: thank you, your work is so valuable.) That doesn’t mean that you donate hundreds or thousands of dollars to NOW. (But if you can: thank you, your generosity helps our sisters.)
Here’s my not-so-secret agenda: I want you to think of yourself as an activist. I also want to expand the definition of activism. Not to get all slippery-slope, though, to the point that “anything a woman does is feminist activism,” cause it ain’t, but if you:
–donate your money or time to a political action committee, charity or NGO that helps women anywhere in the world;
–vote for candidates who support woman-friendly policies (equal pay legislation, family leave, subsidized family planning, etc.) and/or write letters to your elected officials asking them to support policies that effect women’s lives for the better;
–teach–formally or informally–other women and/or girls that their value is in their words and actions, and not in their looks, or sexual or marital status, and give them the tools to name the Patriarchy and claim what power they can from that recognition;
–support mothers (and, yes, fathers), whether they work in or out of the house, and help them raise their children to be free of gender-coding
–call yourself a feminist, and do the endless, tiresome work of explaining to your friends and family what that means (you believe in the political, social, economic an social equality of women and men) and why it matters;
THEN YOU ARE A FEMINIST ACTIVIST. Really. These are just a few ways, there are literally thousands of others. You are an activist. Tell me how in comments. And thank you. What you do matters.
- You stand up to ignorant individuals and overall assholes who make statements that cause your blood to boil. And instead of silently seething, you tell them why they offended you and call on them to justify their statements.
- You create safe spaces on the scary, scary Internet where women and men can come together to think about gender, freedom, and equality and do their best to imagine a world outside from the grip of the patriarchy. Thanks to you, harpies.
- You talk to younger siblings and cousins so they learn to believe in feminism, and help them cope with (and recognize) the sexism and just plain meanness around them so it won’t be as hard for them to find a voice as it may have been for some of us.
You mentor younger women climbing the career ladder and support/care for female friends who’ve been hurt by the Patriarchy.
@kithkin: Glad to have you here! [hug]
-You point out movies that use rape–or the almost “thrilling” possibility of sexual slavery and torture–as entertainment, and explain to your date why you would prefer not to give those movies your money.
I didn’t write it so well, but I realized while watching movie trailers –”Last House on the Left”, and “Taken”—this weekend that every one my dude clicked on was churning my stomach. It’s so ingrained that even I am just now finding a way to verbalize it.
- You give thanks to your mother and to the other b.a. women who have encouraged and supported you so far, so they know their efforts have borne fruit.
- You work hard every day to remember the power structures in which you make your decisions so that you may remind others, like la sooz does, to do the same.
BS- glad to be here
la sooz- you’re a better woman than I am. I’d just run screaming in the other direction rather than taking the time to say why and possibly get a dude to think about these things, like you did. Good on you.
I said just this the other day on Jezebel and someone “corrected” my way of thinking in a similar fashion.
You’re absolutely right, but the word “activist” within the confines of feminism (among other things) means something very specific to some people.
In the end it’s just semantics and it depends on the context. In the particular Jez post it was about a feminist, whose name escapes me, essentially talking about taking feminism to the streets – so to speak – and I said that it’s really not my personality to do that, I am not an activist.
It’s not bowing out or diminishing what I do, necessarily.
Penny, I think I was one of the people who tried to assure you that yes, what you do is still activism. And I still agree with this post and what people replied to you on that post- activism is so much more than just ‘doing’. Anything that supports a feminist cause is feminist activism.
Oh, and I found the post you were talking about, it was this one: http://jezebel.com/5168351/blogger-annoyed-by-drunk-pole+dancing-workaholic-women-writers about how Debra Dickerson thinks that young feminists aren’t doing anything “for the struggle.”
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This post is an outrageous act. It’s right on target and a perfect support for Gloria Steinem’s advice that we each do one outrageous thing for simple justice. We’d love to post this as an outrageous act. Let me know if we can. Thank you. (Thanks also for the post on GS’s birthday and the burst of visits.)
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