The original list was for titled for “white guys”, but from my experience it’ll be useful for anyone socialised to dominate other attendees of the meeting - be that guys in mixed-gender meetings, as well as I’m sure it probably is for white women in women-only meetings etc.
- Practice noticing who’s in the room at meetings - how many men, how many women, how many white people, how many people of color, is it majority heterosexual, are there out queers, what are people’s class backgrounds. Don’t assume to know people, but also work at being more aware
- (a) Count how many times you speak and keep track of how long you speak.
(b) Count how many times other people speak and keep track of how long they speak.- Be conscious of how often you are actively listening to what other people are saying as opposed to just waiting your turn and/or thinking about what you’ll say next.
- Practice going to meetings focused on listening and learning; go to some meetings and do not speak at all.
- (a) Count how many times you put ideas out to the group.
(b) Count how many times you support other people’s ideas for the group.- Practice supporting people by asking them to expand on ideas and get more in-depth, before you decide to support the idea or not.
- (a) Think about whose work and contribution to the group gets recognized.
(b) Practice recognizing more people for the work they do and try to do it more often.- Practice asking more people what they think about meetings, ideas, actions, strategy and vision. White guys tend to talk amongst themselves and develop strong bonds that manifest in organizing. This creates an internal organizing culture that is alienating for most people. Developing respect and solidarity across race, class, gender and sexuality is complex and difficult, but absolutely critical - and liberating.
- Be aware of how often you ask people to do something as opposed to asking other people “what needs to be done”.
- Struggle with and work with the model of group leadership that says that the responsibility of leaders is to help develop more leaders, and think about what this means to you.
- Remember that social change is a process, and that our individual transformation and individual liberation is intimately interconnected with social transformation and social liberation. Life is profoundly complex and there are many contradictions. Remember that the path we travel is guided by love, dignity and respect - even when it is bumpy and difficult to navigate.
- Day-to-day patterns of domination are the glue that maintain systems of domination. The struggle against capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism and the state, is also the struggle towards collective liberation.
I’ve bolded my faves. No one is free until all of us are free!
Super useful info for male allies and for white/otherwise privileged feminists on how to stop ourselves from dominating the movement.
Whether you consider yourself radical or not Tips for Radicals is a fantastic resource to follow for anyone trying to enact social change and one of our favourite blogs!
- Becca x
Back from the Oxford Women’s Conference
I was the first speaker, which was 1000% terrifying, but also really cool and people liked my speech and I did a shitload of feminist networking and started taking some practical steps to get shit done in Oxford, cos feminists love to TALK but just talking feminism to feminists doesn’t necessarily acheive anything! Which now means I have a whole load of STUFF to do, which I just don’t have the time for, but ho hum getting shit done.
Also, it was mostly loads of women my mum’s age and so they totally loved me for being an enthusiastic baby feminist and they all congratulated me and one of them squeezed my cheek! :)
Subi went to speak at a feminist conference today. So damn proud! <3
Will see if we can post her speech up here later this week, as well as a long overdue transcript of Subi’s speech from Slutwalk London 2012.
ok so here’s a thing, fat friends
If you’re a smaller fat person and you embrace the word fat and use it descriptively and lovingly, that’s awesome. I just hope that you think about your big fat friends who can’t use weight limited gym equipment, are denied visas to countries, denied life saving operations, and can’t physically fit into this every day world leading them to live isolated and distressing existences.
I would hope that you’re totally cool with your privileges and that when it comes to taking up space in fat activism, there are marginalised experiences we need to talk about OTHER than how hard it is to find clothes (although that is important too!) and our fat friends on the super awesome deathfat end of the spectrum need a place to talk about the things that make it hard for them to live and thrive every day (including other intersecting oppressions!)
people don’t believe that i weigh over 400 pounds because “wait, can’t you like, not walk at 400 pounds? i saw a show about a man who was so fat he couldn’t wear clothes and had to live in a bed. it was horrifying!” and i have found that like, size 30, 400 pounds, suddenly that’s where “fat acceptance” stops for some people. lane bryant stores only carry up to size 28, so clearly that’s the end of the human size spectrum. suddenly, when you’re Really Big, you start hearing “well, i mean, if you’re like, really severely obese you should do something about it, that’s just not right” etc etc from people that start their sentences with “now, i’m all for fat acceptance but…”
i love that fat acceptance has resonated with smaller fats and inbetweenies and thin folks, but again, there is not a cut-off point for fat acceptance and activism. there shouldn’t be some magic size where you’re just too big to include or accept or listen to. the difference between a size 0, a size 6, a size 14, a size 22, and a size 30 or higher can be hard to fathom for people who just aren’t on the larger side of the spectrum. i see lists of all these ~amazing~ stores with plus size sections that all cut off at a size 24/26, and i’m left wondering what exactly i’m supposed to do with that. yay, you carry a wider range of sizes, boo, you still expect me to go naked or…not exist.
I WAS GOING TO BOLD MY FAVORITE PARTS OF THIS POST. BUT IT WAS ALL OF IT. IT WAS ALL OF THE POST.
Just heard about this awesome charity #aisfor! A is for Accepting women’s Autonomy over her own body! #photoadayjuly #letter #catchuptime (Taken with Instagram)
A is for Art meeting Activism.
Slutwalk London 2012 is tomorrow at 1:30pm, will you be marching with us?
We’ll be by the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park corner from 12:30pm, before moving to the official march start point at the top of Piccadilly (a few metres away) at 1:15pm.
The march will finish with a rally in Trafalgar Square at 2:30pm where there will be speakers including our very own Subi!
For more details check the official SlutWalk London Facebook event.
Hope to see some of you tomorrow x
Additionally, in case anyone is worried, it’s worth noting you don’t have to dress “slutty” or in a revealing way to attend the march, unless you want to in which case go for it!
There will be people there in their underwear, but there will also be people there in dresses, in jeans, in hoodies and wearing hijabs.
For reference, I’ll (Becca) probably be wearing general every-day clothes, but the other Dames may be wearing something fancier/more provocative, so please just wear whatever you feel comfortable with. - B x
Slutwalk London 2012 is tomorrow at 1:30pm, will you be marching with us?
We’ll be by the Wellington Arch at Hyde Park corner from 12:30pm, before moving to the official march start point at the top of Piccadilly (a few metres away) at 1:15pm.
The march will finish with a rally in Trafalgar Square at 2:30pm where there will be speakers including our very own Subi!
For more details check the official SlutWalk London Facebook event.
Hope to see some of you tomorrow x
[TRIGGER WARNING - RAPE, RAPE CULTURE, SLUT SHAMING, VICTIM BLAMING]
More on the SlutWalk protest Holly-Rae attended today - please read, sign the petition and reblog to signal boost!
We went out to Downing Street in our underwear today!
SIGN OUR PETITION: TELL THE AUTHORITIES TO PROTECT ALL RAPE SURVIVORS AND PROSECUTE RAPISTS!
Why were we there?
Only 7 out of every 100 reported rapists are convicted. The other 93 go free.
SlutWalk wants justice for the thousands of rape survivors who were told by the police and courts that they were dressed too provocatively, they didn’t scream loudly enough, they were too drunk or too young or too mentally ill to understand what had happened to them, they must have consented because the rapist was their (ex) husband or (ex)boyfriend, they were sex workers and should be prosecuted rather than their attackers, they were asylum seekers and should be sent back to the detention centre or deported.
As women we know that the justice system will not protect us from sexual and domestic violence. When rape is reported, police often: dismiss or downgrade the complaint, lose or fail to collect evidence, refuse to interview witnesses or make arrests, and blame the victim (usually a woman or girl) rather than the rapist. Some victims are discriminated against because they are women of colour. Some victims are even accused of lying, prosecuted and imprisoned while their attackers go free.
It does terrible things to people when they don’t get justice. Without justice there is no protection for you, your friends or family – whoever got away with it and others like him will expect to get away with it again. There is no confirmation that what happened to you was wrong and wasn’t your fault, no closure. You are left with an open wound. And you are more vulnerable to being raped again as police are more likely to disbelieve you if you have reported attacks in the past.
Police, lawyers and judges need to realise that it could be their daughters, wives, girlfriends or themselves receiving this treatment.
What can we do to get protection? And what can we do when the police themselves are the rapists, the ones who falsify statements, and the ones who accuse rape victims of lying? In the same week, it has come out that the police lied to the Hillsborough families about their loved ones in false statements, and a police officer was convicted of falsifying rape documents in order to drop cases. We want all such injustices exposed and stopped.
By marching again this year, we are letting the authorities know that we will not go away until they take rape seriously by thoroughly investigating and prosecuting, so that more rapists are convicted, men generally are discouraged from sexual violence, and women get the safety and justice we deserve. We all have a right to live free from the fear of rape.
Check out Holly-Rae being a badass feminist superhero as part of a SlutWalk Protest outside Downing Street today!
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION: TELL THE AUTHORITIES TO PROTECT ALL RAPE SURVIVORS AND PROSECUTE RAPISTS!
Read more about the protest from the organisers of SlutWalk London in this post [TRIGGER WARNING]: http://slutmeansspeakup.org.uk/post/31873864997/we-went-out-to-downing-street-in-our-underwear
More links reporting on the protest [TRIGGER WARNING]:
- http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4546694/Underwear-protest-at-10-Downing-Street.html
- http://www.metro.co.uk/news/912506-semi-naked-slutwalk-protest-takes-place-outside-downing-street
- http://www.london24.com/news/slutwalk_protesters_gather_outside_downing_street_1_1522350
- http://www.lbc.co.uk/slutwalk-protest-outside-downing-street-60110
Subi will also be demonstrating her badassery by speaking on stage at the main SlutWalk London march is this Saturday 22nd September
If you’re planning to attend let us know and we can march together!
