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Original poster

How do I become a feminist activist?

41 replies

Springheeled · 18/04/2014 21:08

Getting increasingly frustrated with the sexism all around and in particular violence against women and girls. But what do you do, where do you go and who do you see about doing something about it? Since leaving university many moons ago it's not especially obvious. Do you join a political party? Write letters? Chain yourself to something? Go on the internet? And then what sort of feminist do you have to be? I just want a change in the culture and law. I want men to want that too. So....?

OP posts:
Grennie · 19/04/2014 22:43

Local feminist facebook groups though can be a great way of finding real life groups.

BOEUFster · 19/04/2014 22:42

I would do your best to engage with some real life groups- I know many people who are almost exclusively "active" on the internet, and it seems to bog them down in ideological minutiae and pointless twitter/Facebook comment thread fights.

I read somewhere recently that "the most radical act you can do as a feminist is to love women". That makes sense to me.

Grennie · 19/04/2014 22:40

Feminism has been in retreat. But it is very slowly building up again.

Original poster
Springheeled · 19/04/2014 22:40

I'm in the people's assembly but no exact feminist focus there, broader anti coalition agenda.

OP posts:
Original poster
Springheeled · 19/04/2014 22:38

I seem to remember that in my childhood there was so much more in the culture that was feminist. I'm talking 80s... It just seemed to be much more on the radar and in the discourse I picked up on from the media. What changed? Was it postfeminism? New lad?

OP posts:
Grennie · 19/04/2014 22:38

Left Unity is a new socialist party which also says it is a feminist party. Depends what your local branch is like though. But might suit you.

Original poster
Springheeled · 19/04/2014 22:37

I can't join the Labour Party because I'm a socialist. I think men do need to be engaged. First up though I just want to connect. I feel awkward with twitter. I will keep googling around and see if there's a local group. I've raised money for women's aid before but sort of in isolation. These are really helpful suggestions.

OP posts:
Grennie · 19/04/2014 22:33

Pans - The Labour Party has a bloody poor record in addressing women's rights. Join if you want to spend your life banging your head against a brick wall.

Grennie · 19/04/2014 22:32

There are lots of feminist groups and campaigns where I live. Lots of areas have feminist book groups, there are a few local radical feminist groups as well. Google your area and feminism, and see what comes up.

Forget about engaging with men. I think for your first feminist activism you will get a lot more out of it, if you get involved in women only feminist groups/campaigns.

Also a lot of local areas have a feminist facebook group. If you join your relevant one, you will find out what is happening locally.

SconeRhymesWithGone · 19/04/2014 19:28

I second WhentheRed's suggestion. Volunteering with a domestic violence organization is a good place to start.

PansBigChainring · 19/04/2014 19:23

As a male round here, I'd very strongly urge that a big step forward for womens rights is to engage males in your life, be it in RL or beyond. Being exclusively 'angry and frustrated' has a short shelf life in terms of effectiveness.
fwiw I'd also sign up to the Labour Party, and be an active member. It isn't the panacea BUT when it comes to a power shift in terms of legislation and promotion of womens rights it's the best we have. For membership it's about £3 per month. To vote Labour it's free.
Get on twitter or any other web based initiative for support and ideas to change opinions into actual action, rather than typing about it all of the time.
Ultimately though I suspect men are the lever, not women. That's where the educative bit lies.

Original poster
Springheeled · 19/04/2014 16:11

Thanks very much for those suggestions and links, really useful.

OP posts:
DonkeySkin · 19/04/2014 10:42

I'm not British, but I understand the UK has a number of large and very active feminist activist groups.

UK Feminista is the biggest, I think. It's a mainstream organisation that seems to tackle a wide range of issues, from government cuts to sexism in schools.

ukfeminista.org.uk/

If you're in the London area and after something a bit more radical, there is the London Feminist Network, which was founded by the amazing Finn MacKay.

londonfeministnetwork.org.uk/

www.opendemocracy.net/5050/finn-mackay/feminism-we-are-not-calling-for-equal-inequality

WhentheRed · 18/04/2014 21:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Springheeled · 18/04/2014 21:37

Do you just google? I know there's a local 1 billion rising event but that's only once a year

OP posts:
VashtaNerada · 18/04/2014 21:13

Start by looking at the groups already out there and see if there's one you want to join. If you spot a gap in the 'market' and find a specific issue that isn't already being tackled, come back here and ask for help!

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