March On
How our marching doesn’t require us to trip over one another’s nuances
I just put my daughter down for her midday nap. She’s a real cranky-pants when she misses more than a day or two of them in a row.
While she is adrift in the throes of whatever it is that three year olds dream about, sucking on her finger and snuggling tight with her blankie, hundreds of thousands of women all across the world are engaging in a march.
They march to defend their rights against a now unthinkably misogynistic Whitehouse staff, to promote their rights to those who are yet unaware of the issues at hand, and to please for justice, righting the wrongs waged against their rights, both in ad-hoc and systemic fashion.
I’m unable to march in person, but I’m cheering every single one of them on as best I can from my current place in life. This post is one more small act of solidarity that I hope is but the first. While I strive to not be part of the problem itself, I hope even more to be contributing to the solution as well. I have several posts and related interviews cooking right now that are intended to add one more voice, however small, to the dialog of continued progress.
On messes and necessities
While the feminist project can be a bit of a cluster at times, finding itself facing friendly fire as oftentimes as it has to guard against its actual enemies, it is undoubtedly a necessary one.
One feminist finds herself leaning pro-life. Another thinks that is an oxymoron and that the former is no true feminist. Yet another wants to talk about LGBQT rights more than reproductive rights or equal pay because it just so happens that she was born and had lived as a man until a few months ago. Still more push back against Marissa Mayer types who can ‘lean in’ precisely because of other advantages they’ve experienced that have put them in a metaphorically patriarchal position. And, finally, some feminists will be peeved that I dared to use non-neutral pronouns throughout this paragraph to begin with.
The point is that battle lines are drawn all over the place, including within the army’s own encampment. But such is the mess inherent in a large movement.
And, to be certain, having this mess says nothing of the necessity of the movement itself. If anything, it’d be indicative of just how much a mess the external situation is that has required the movement to begin with.
In other words, when such systemic overlording has occurred in any context, it takes multiple strands of resistance to break free of the encumbrances.
Each of those strands are representative of the different experiences and values guiding them. Each has its own recurring pains and injustices. Each has its own set of wounds in need of healing. Each has its own list of casualties.
So, whatever level of feminist you might ascribe to yourself: march on.
And let’s all make sure we’re marching with one another in solidarity, by way of compassion and empathy, against those that stand in the way of a better future rather than against our own fellow soldiers in the fight for equity.
I have begun giving to a charity for every recommend my articles get. This post and all the others I intend to write along the topic lines of feminism will have their contributions going towards the likes of V-Day or Equality Now.
About the author
Hi there, my name is John. I love having conversations. My posts are an attempt to start some. Please join in the conversation via commenting or sharing.
Also, I’ve begun committing to donating a dollar to the Against Malaria Foundation for every recommend my posts receive. This isn’t a gimmick. It’s a quantifiable method for encouraging me and reminding me to give to things I care about. (See above note for modification)
Thanks for reading!
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