What is Feminism?
What is Feminism?
umm lol. Let's not pretend like there's an actual true factual answer to that question. Any worded response could never adequately define what feminism is to the world. Each of us experience structural oppressions differently, and to try to manifest a single truth is not only detrimental to the feminist movement, but to our understanding of the world and its peoples as well.
Feminism is the lens in which I critically view the world.
Even before I knew what it was, I was viewing the world through a feminist lens.
Right, but what is that?
It's questioning the underlying patriarchal structure at work through our everyday lives.
It's seeing a board of directors that's 100% male and wondering why?
It's questioning of the status quo of what gender is and how its supposed to be performed.
It's seeing rape victims interrogated about what they were wearing, who they were with, what they were drinking, and why they we'rent already back home tucked into their beds like good little girls should be.
It's questioning why we gender things at all -- and what that means. Bic pens for her???
It's seeing your life as a woman having an inherent value equal to that of any other human being.
Turn it off. Like a light switch.
A super vivid moment from college -- While, I was sitting in my Sociology of Women class (which was doubly awesome because it was in the building I lived in, and could roll out of bed and into class) a girl raised her hand and asked how she could stop thinking that she was seeing sexist stuff all over the place. She said that seeing how the system of patriarchy had entwined its way into every aspect of her life. It had seriously disrupted her life, and she was very concerned. It reminds me a whole bunch of the sentiment behind Turn It Off from the Book of Mormon musical. Especially when you take the (sometimes violent, often harrassing) backlash against women who stand up for women.
That desire to turn a blind eye to the disparities and brutal unfairness of any social structure, let alone the social structures we ourselves take part in, is totally understandable. When you really break it down, things can look pretty fucking grim at times. Especially dealing with the everyday misogynist slog that comes with womanhood.
It's important to me, and I want to share it.
This shit is important to me. For a number of reasons. The biggest one is that every single woman I know and love (and don't love) has been treated as less than simply because she is a woman. From getting paid less money for the same work, to not getting into graduate schools or jobs because 'they might get pregnant', to getting harassed at work, at school, at home, on the street, in a restaurant, in a car, in the library, in church, AT A FUCKING FUNERAL, to being forced to stay in an abusive relationship, to leaving abusive relationships, to being spit on, or touched by strangers and about a thousand other ways we as women have been treated as less than; as others.
The number of friends I have who have been raped and sexually abused outnumbers those who haven't. That isn't okay and we need to continue this dialog and work together to break down the patriarchal system that subjugates women (and men). Yep men too, just ask the men -- (man)actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Aziz Ansari say feminism is good for everyone and smashing the patriarchy benefits both women and men.
The importance of intersectionality
Intersectionality, a phrase coined by Kimberle Crenshaw in 1989, is the way we look at overlapping systems of oppression. Feminism and the oppression of women could never be even partially understood without looking at the systems of racism, homophobia, class, education, location, ability, ethnicity and so forth. Because these systems overlap in various forms, quantifing oppression becomes nearly impossible. We will chat more about intersectionality in the future. It's complex and beautiful and deserves a lot more time than I can give it here.
Right, but what does this have to do with scrapbooking?
As a woman, just telling your story is a radical act. I personally love telling my stories with pictures and pretty paper. Through scrapbooking, I've learned more about the person I am, the things that I like, the things that I don't like, and the type of person I want to be. It's a my creative introspective lens. The best part? I get to relive my favorite life stories, any time I want -- it's like Netflix for my life. Feminism and Scrapbooking -- they're my jam (my lady-jam).
All that being said, here are the very basic tenets of My Feminism:
Equity across the gender spectrum is a civil and moral right.
Inclusion, empowerment, and visibility for women, and women's issues is the only way to accomplish this goal.
Viewing the world through a critical lens of the patriarchy is essential.
Learn more about Feminism:
Rutgers Women's & Gender Studies Department (my alma matter)
The Toast
The way you choose to interact with feminism might be totally different, and that's okay. That's good for the feminist movement. Believing in the equity of people, regardless of their sex or gender, is good for everyone.
We all have our own gifts to bring to the world, and this is mine. Telling you that you're awesome. Telling you that your story is important. Telling you that however you choose to express your womanhood is an integral part of your story, and I'm here to help you get that story out of your head and into a physical manifestation of sorts. Let's be feminist scrapbookers together and conquer the world with our stories, our photos, and our pretty paper.