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?

one thing i love about the "third wave" is the return to traditional crafts. my personal fave of all of these is probably (at least at the moment) knitting. i love knitting. i like knitting scarves and washcloths, loved the first time i knit something in the round, and adored this one baby hat i made so much that i think i might need to make a million more of 'em (so if you ever have a baby, lemme know because i need babies to knit hats for). one can knit just about anywhere, which makes it the most perfect craft ever. i have knit in just about as many places as i have nursed my son, which is saying a lot. i love the knitted tree at severence center, outside the cleveland heights town hall, which i like to refer to as a "tree cozy." this is why i so much love the graffiti knitting movement. it's awesome, and most importantly combines my love of all things radical, subversive, and stockinette stitched.

feminism posts

So as not to overload this group blog effort....I have created a blog called "Feminism Now and Then".

(click onto: contributors: Michelle Murphy's profile: "Feminism Now and Then")

I will be adding research texts, photos, and opinions....

*I have also typed out the "Femi-what?!" pamphlet that a group of women created to address the current state of feminism by giving a hands-on overview.

Thank you everyone! Looking forward to Sunday.

Michelle

The F-Word... or, "I'm not a feminist, but..."

From Megan Seely's book, "Fight Like a Girl: How To Be A Fearless Feminist" (p. 1):

"These are some of the negative words that regularly surface when I ask people what comes to mind when they hear the word 'feminist'":
Bitch.
Fat.
Ugly.
Dyke.
Man hater.
Bra burner. (Note: [from me] no bras were burned -- they were thrown in trash cans along with other accoutrements of femininity at the protest of the 1968 Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, NJ, which received a lot media attention)
Hairy.
Butch.
Loud.
Militant.
Radical.
Angry.

Seely then goes on to say: "But for me, 'independence', 'strength', and 'equality' come to mind when I think of feminism."

Me, again: What's wrong with "bitch," "loud," "butch," "hairy," "radical," "angry," etc.?

I get very angry when I think about the recent supreme court ruling that makes it more difficult for women to sue employers for gender-based wage discrimination, or when I think about how hard it is for poor rural women to have access to abortion, or that women in the military have difficultly getting access to emergency contraception. Does that make me a feminist -- yes. An angry one, yes. A "bitch," maybe. Am I radical? Yes. Am I loud? sometimes. Am I hairy? Sometimes.

A lot of women don't like labels. "Feminist" is too monolithic, old fashioned, hippy-ish... but labels sometimes create community and communities incite change.

I have to come clean before Sunday... I am very steeped in generational ideas about Feminism, as my dissertation is on connections between second and third wave feminism and I've been reading and researching this topic all summer. Still -- like all of us, I get very emotional when this topic comes up.

The goal of consciousness raising is to listen to each other -- to try to understand each other's feelings and understand where these feelings come from and find *commonalities* among our experiences.

Wimmin and grrrls, we are all in this together.

See you Sunday - 6 p.m. my place.

In sisterhood,
Lyz