thanks anna

sorry it took all this time to do this

Activism

Part of what Lyz said last night really resonated with me, when talking about protesting the war - this idea of feeling a part of something, of removing ourselves from our isolation and witnessing that we are not alone in our dissent. I think there's something more to that as well - a notion of being seen, of feeling heard. When we protest, what we're doing, in part, is being witnessed as a dissenter. It is the act of standing and not keeping quiet. What does it do? What does it, in itself, really change? Ultimately, I don't think that's the point - as Renee said too - initially.

Going to a protest, holding a sign - these are only the beginnings of activism. That is merely the act of standing and voicing dissatisfaction and does not do anything other than tell the powers-that-be that there are people who disagree. Beyond that, it should serve as notice that we will not be passive, we will not participate, we will not be silent, and the next step is to organize around that initial notion of dissatisfaction to create change. Part of that is creating safe places where there are none, part of it is offering an alternative (so, in times of war, exploring notions of peace and creating peace however and wherever we can), part of it is to think of future actions (how can our dissent be heard and how can that change minds? how many people does it take?) and part of it, perhaps the most important part, is to organize around actual change, finding ways to subvert the dominant paradigm, finding ways to circumnavigate the powers-that-be to end oppression, change the reality, end the war. This involves a lot of organizing, disseminating information, outreach, and education. It's creating revolution, electing new leaders, finding ways to make the war less important by convincing the folks at home to abandon oil. Creating organizations that research alternatives, free women in other parts of the world from oppression, provide refuge to those who the war effects, change the government in Iraq to give us reason enough to leave.

There are a million ways to create solutions to the problem, and standing with a sign is just the start.

Things that empower me...

Since our meeting, I keep thinking about things that empower me as a woman...like Anna, I too really enjoy knitting, though I have yet to finish anything other than a washcloth :) I am glad that the third wave has allowed us to reembrace the domestic...though lately I am struck between the very sharp dichotomy between my life as a graduate student and my life as a wife and a mother--has anyone figured out how to combine these things into a seamless whole yet?!

Anyway, in thinking about things that have empowered me in the past few years, one of the best decisions I have made was to switch over to cloth menstrual pads (See Lunapads for an example). In my experience so far, whenever I tell anyone this the reaction I usually get is something along the lines of "ewwwww," but it has really made me reconceptualize my reaction to menstruation as something overwhelmingly positive, instead of something that forced me into bed with a bottle of Advil for a few days.

I've also found marriage to be empowering--though I know this doesn't sound very feminist. In my case at least, taking myself out of the dating scene has allowed me to focus on the rest of my life--rather than all of the bullshit that currently embodies the relationship between the sexes.

What other things have empowered us?

Is this what a feminist looks like?