You already know about the past year — some of our achievements and losses. We worry that the 2016 election denouement might undo much of what we’ve achieved and impede further progress. Thus, I don’t want to report on the past year. I want to grind 2016 under my heel, kick it into an abyss, and move forward. Let’s gather our fierceness and focus to address what comes next and not catastrophize potentialities. For the end-of-year War On Women, I’m offering glimpses of challenges we face and how women take charge and refuse to be defeated. I hope anyone needing to connect with their personal power will find inspiration here. In the comments, please add your thoughts and resources to fill in all the gaps I’ve left open.
I know many people are angry and wish to identify what went wrong and to assign blame. Some people are justifiably fearful. But now, nearly two months after the election, it is time to look ahead and remember we’ve already created helpful tools. Use your anger to fuel your activism. Use your fear to motivate connecting with like-minded people. Know who your allies are and remember that regardless of our differences we are on the same team. Focus on the topics and the fields where you have interest and expertise. We’ve been training for 2017 for decades and, in fact, many of us started our activism before we were old enough to vote. I began as a child in protest of expectations and limitations put on me as a girl. But we also need more than protest. We must find the joys of each day and the reasons to celebrate because these are what we protect and they allow us to resist without becoming bitter.
The young women at Feministing prepared their manifesto for the new year — A Feminist Resolution for 2017: Making Marginalized Voices Your New Normal. Installation of right-wing authority in all three branches of U.S. government (potentially) is an impetus to finally create a truly intersectional feminism that unites our voices. Feministing calls us to leave safe spaces so we might amplify and give credit to each other. They give five resolutions designed to move us beyond domination by white males who are automatically validated whether they deserve it or not. Feministing’s resolutions promote an increased value for the rich cultures represented by all the marginalized voices and encourage the interests of communities and individuals outside the powerful mainstream establishment.
1. Amplify female journalism.
2. Reject all-male echo chambers.
3. Resolving to read more fiction this year? Commit to female authors!
4. Looking to read more nonfiction, or engage in academic research . . . make an attempt to seek out women authors….
5. Check your activist spaces . . . Reaffirm, amplify, and put at the forefront women, especially women of color, in your activist movements….
A common theme in feminist resolutions at the end of 2016 is collaboration. Bustle offers 50 New Year’s Resolutions That Can Make a Big Feminist Difference. They remind us to stay hella woke (like Teen Vogue) in both small and major situations. This means calling out inequity when we see it, paying attention to the words we use, and being aware of how we credit each other. Identifying someone by their appearance, clothing, or youth overlooks our more enduring values. Strength, intellect, compassion, and generosity are how we empower ourselves and each other. Among the resolutions are small actions (only smile when you want to) and larger ones (get out and protest). Don’t hold back waiting for something big that will fix everything, or be frozen because your action won’t be enough. Each individual act is part of the larger mosaic of protection and change.
Words matter. Let’s pay closer attention to how we talk about abortion, sexual violence, equity of women’s rights, and how we label women based on their physical make-up (not all women have vaginas) and sexual preferences. For example, we need a gender neutral language for abortion access because transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people may also need abortions. The concept “no” means “no” too often is hedged with doubts by partners, friends, and the legal system. Let’s believe in ourselves and in each other. False reports of rape are not common, however women are accused of lying too often. Women are told they were “asking for it” or that they retroactively labelled as rape what was really consensual sex. Unite Women is working to end women’s inequality stemming from prejudice and discrimination and to promote human and civil rights of women and girls.
Cis men are responsible for a huge amount of violence against women, yet people of all genders and sexual orientations can be violent. Intimate partner violence is not automatically male to female and also happens in queer communities. The Human Rights Campaign provides statistics about and resources that help victims of LGBTQ sexual assault.
Refugee and immigrant women are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence and Amnesty International is helping. It isn’t just other male refugees and immigration camp members who are abusing women, it also can be from the humanitarian staff and citizens of the countries taking in refugees.
The Association for Women's Rights in Development is an international organization working to achieve gender justice and women’s human rights. Their role is to strengthen the impact and influence of women’s rights advocates and movements. Some of their priorities are to include women’s rights in development funding, challenge religious fundamentalism, and help at-risk women human rights defenders. Futures Without Violence is a health and social justice nonprofit working to heal people traumatized by violence. A coalition of international NGOs has created the #DefendHer campaign to help people who experience violence; end violence against women; advance LGBTQI rights; protect the planet and the rights of indigenous communities; and to defend our right to speak out.
Older women have a lifetime’s experience fighting the patriarchy and are not stopping now. Crone energy is resisting attempts to demote women’s rights and equality to pre-1970’s standards. Women over 60 are not stepping into the background. Crones have their wits, hearts, and experiences that taught them to not give up. Troublemakers Making Trouble was created by Persimmon Tree, a publication by and for women over 60, to collect stories and responses. Publisher Nan Gefen’s statement speaks to the heart of resistance and echoes my personal opinion.
I won’t feel satisfied with my response to this crisis until I select one issue to fight and give myself over to it. Otherwise I am pulled in every direction, feeling guilty that I’m not doing more against police brutality or the power of Wall Street when I sign a petition for voting rights. I need to find my place, gather my resources, and commit myself to working hard. This does not mean ignoring all the other issues, but I am more effective if I concentrate my energy.
Women endure. We fought for abortion rights and won with the passage of Roe versus Wade in 1973. Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in 1972 and sent it to the states for ratification. Thirty-eight states needed to ratify the ERA but the process stalled at 35 states. Women didn’t quit. We continued working on women’s rights issues individually, such as the Violence Against Women Act and Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Feminists haven't given up and we haven’t backed down. More than 4,500 women signed up to run for office since November. Over 200,000 people donated to Planned Parenthood in the week after the election, 40 times more than a typical week.
Women are taking to the streets for the Women’s March on Washington D.C. and sister marches in other cities across the U.S. on January 21st. The march is intended for women and our allies to take a stand for healthcare, social justice, and human rights. Over 200,000 people so far have committed to march in D.C. in support of equal rights regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and immigration status. The Guardian offers a guide to the post-inaugural social justice event. The Women’s March website gives more information on the main event, all the sister events, transportion, lodging, and volunteer opportunities. Buses are taking people to Washington D.C. and sister marches and many are already sold out.
The Women’s March on Washington will send a bold message to our new government on their first day in office, and to the world that women's rights are human rights. We stand together, recognizing that defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.
We support the advocacy and resistance movements that reflect our multiple and intersecting identities. We call on all defenders of human rights to join us. This march is the first step towards unifying our communities, grounded in new relationships, to create change from the grassroots level up. We will not rest until women have parity and equity at all levels of leadership in society. We work peacefully while recognizing there is no true peace without justice and equity for all.
Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network International (WECAN) will bring a Women for Climate Justice contingent to the march. Their group represents the reality that women are on the frontlines of climate change. They oppose climate skepticism, advancement of fossil fuels, environmental racism, bigotry and inequitable treatment of women and girls.
WECAN was created as a rights-based approach to climate justice that strengthens women’s leadership worldwide. They recognize that women are essential players in climate mitigation and adaptation. The organization was inspired by grassroots groups like India’s Chipko Movement and the need to transform and heal our relationship with Nature. Although WECAN involves all women, the focus is on Indigenous and low-income communites, and communites of color who are disproportionately affected by climate change and eco-injustice.
Equity for all underpins justice. If you are a member of a privileged class learn how to use your privilege to help others by #BecomingAnAlly. Ignite’s anti-racist toolkit offers specific suggestions on how to be an ally. Allies know they have privileges that buffer them from social injustice and they take responsibility for extending this to others and dismantling injustice. This includes feminist men, white people who work against racism, heterosexuals who oppose heterosexism, able-bodied people who are aware of ableism, Christians who believe all religious views deserve respect, and others.
An ally understands that as part of an oppressor/dominant group they did not individually create the power dynamic they benefit from, and they cannot just solve it by acting out of goodwill. They understand that they must act with others to contribute to change. They believe that to do nothing is to reinforce the status quo; not to decide is to decide; if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
tell yourself what Laurie Hernadez said at the olympics — I’ve got this.
Allies and marginalized, advocates and resisters, protectors and trouble-makers — all are needed. Your place in protesting and protecting starts where you already feel empowered and able to act. If you look at everything that is threatened and all there is to do, you can feel paralyzed and overwhelmed. Find your territory and begin where you are. It won’t be easy and safety isn’t guaranteed. It never has been. None of 2017’s potential challenges surged into existence since the election although many were escalated by it. Long before 2016, we began to refine our oppositions to injustice and to establish actions promoting change.
Everyone can’t do everything, but each person can do something. Use your fierce compassion and strength to support and promote the causes that suit your abilities and interests. By taking action we move beyond reacting with despair and move into proactive problem solving. If you’re not sure what is your area of activism, begin by supporting others.
We still are stronger together. We’ve got this.
organizations that support women need our donations and support. Please add others in the comments. (check here for information on how to verify that a group deserves your donation.)
- Planned Parenthood donations will be triple-matched until midnight tonight, December 31st.
- Donations to NARAL, an organization of pro-choice women and men protecting a woman's right to choose, also will be tripled.
- Texas Equal Access Fund provides financial assistance to low-income people who want an abortion and can't afford it.
- D.C. Abortion Fund makes abortion accessible to patients in the DC area.
- Women’s Health Specialists serves Northern California. “We give women tools to evaluate their authentic health care needs - not based on a societal myth, but on women’s reality and experience.”
- The Boulder Abortion Clinic (Colorado) has a fundraiser for renovations and security upgrades.
- Camelback Family Planning Legal Fund is seeking donations for their lawsuit against the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to block investigators from inspecting names and unredacted records of patients who have had abortions and donated fetal tissue.
- Find the local women’s health/abortion group in your area that needs donations and support.
- Kentucky, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, Mississippi and North Dakota only have one abortion clinic each. If you know of clinics and organizations in these states please add them to the comments.
- Feminist Majority Fund is dedicated to women's equality, reproductive health, and non-violence.
- The Global Fund for Women works to find, fund, and amplify the courageous work of women who are building social movements and challenging the status quo.
- Support our Daily Kos group: This Week in the War on Women. Go to the link and click on Follow for the group’s weekly WOW and other stories associated with women’s rights to be in your Stream. Join as a member and sign up to write one of our Saturday diaries. You won’t have to find all the news on your own. Together we gather items each week and discuss them. Members ramara, Tara the Antisocial Socialworker, elenacarlena, officebss, cinnamon68, NoBlinkers, Penny GC, and Besame were this year’s writers. All members are invited to take a turn writing the Saturday WOW. If you wish to join send us a request. (I apologize for anyone I neglected to name. Please remind me in the comments.)
IN HONOR OF OUR SISTER LINDA MCCLURE, LET US CARRY HER LAST REQUEST
“THE CIRCLES OF WOMEN AROUND US WEAVE INVISIBLE NETS OF LOVE THAT CARRY US WHEN WE’RE WEAK AND SING WITH US WHEN WE ARE STRONG.” (SARK)
Linda mcclure joined Daily Kos in 2005 under the name patriot daily news clearinghouse. Her profile page lists 524 diaries, 25,763 comments, and 633 followers but she was much more than these data. lin was lively and thoughtful, dedicated and spirited. The fundraising group a lake for lin offers stories about lin’s achievements and her last chapter as an eco-warrior in the fight of her life. one month after the first fundraising diary, lin walked on into the light.
lin wished that HER SISTER AND CARE-GIVER DAILY KOS MEMBER GABRIELLA (laura) be protected and supported financially, emotionally, and spiritually. a fundraiser for lin is now dedicated to helping her sister pay remaining medical bills and regain footing in her own life.
please honor lin’s last request. donate to and share her you caring fundraiser.
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