Really bloody angry.

[FloralBunting]

I'm watching newsnight and the exploitation of young girls in gangs. I scroll through Twitter and read an article in the Telegraph about a woman raped in a tolerated prostitution area who wasn't a prostitute and it's not going to be prosecuted (not that it would be any less heinous if she was a prostitute). I come on here and the safeguarding discussions are making it very clear that some seriously nasty fuckers are going to have free reign before any loopholes are closed.

I'm not a feminist, but fucking hell I feel like identifying as one right now, rolling up my sleeves and getting my hands properly dirty in working to protect women and girls who are being so royally screwed over.

I already volunteer, and I write letters. But I need to channel this rage into something useful. Any tips from seasoned women about practical stuff I can do?

I don't know Floral. Sounds like you're already doing positive stuff which you should be very proud of. But yes, that feeling of impotaent rage gets to you.

(BTW, I remember from another thread your reasons for not calling yourself a feminist, and I respect them, but FWIW, you walk the walk, and that's pretty damn good and a hell of a lot more than most).

Curious about why you wouldn’t call yourself a feminist - thread linky? :)

Face facts. You are a gender critical radical feminist.

Let me ask: upon what do you disagree

Feminism broadly refers to equal status and rights for men and women. Confused as to why someone would consciously deny they want that. There are lots of different types of feminism and you don’t have to suscribe to every type. Part of the reason why so many inequalities continue is because women deny feminism or the need for any focus on women’s rights. Then they discover that, whoops, maybe we do need continued concerted efforts focused on this.
Good luck with your continued campaigning.

@PeakPants - good point. I also feel that "feminism" has become a dirty word. It used to be something to be proud of.
You're a feminist, OP, and right to be angry.

Leaving aside the terminology... what about a media break, or switching to a weekly news digest? You will never be able to fix everything, there will always be infuriating stuff happening out of your reach, and you are already engaged and working to improve things. I am finding river swimming working wonders for my mood at the mo.

I think we have to face facts that there is some pretty dark stuff going on in West Yorkshire among the institutions - police, university, etc.

Of course you're a feminist, Floral! Anyone advocating for women and girls is a feminist. I think feminism is better understood as a verb. It's about actions and a way of being more than it is about specific tenets of ideology so I think you're asking a great question.

I honestly think one of the most powerful things you can do is speak up. And you are doing that. I think you're fab!

(I don't label myself as a radfem for a couple of reasons (eg not a blank slatist) but of course I'm a feminist!)

I don't call myself a Feminist because it's not accurate, not because I'm embarrassed or don't think there's a need for it.

I'm aware that abortion rights are a pretty central tenet of the feminist position, and as I am pro life, I don't think it's it's helpful for me to call myself a Feminist. I think it's misleading to use labels if they don't reflect what you believe - I wouldn't call myself an 'evangelical Christian' or 'socialist' just because I broadly agree with many of the ideas, as I disagree with some significant elements of those beliefs.

I agree that unplugging is a good idea, but it's a temporary solution to my personal angst, and I am keen to actually make a difference to other women. Feeling a bit calmer this morning anyway, so, deep breaths, plough on.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/07/25/teacher-living-next-legal-red-light-district-raped-man-believed/

D Telegraph article OP is referring to.

FloralBunting

I think some people reconcile the abortion conflict of rights between the woman/embryo/fetus issue by saying 'I am not pro abortion, but I think forced pregnancy is as cruel for a girl or woman as is forced abortion' - I am thinking in particular in the cases of incest and rape or rape/forced abortion used as genocide. Very few people want to see a woman or girl hurt or killed by being forced to continue with a pregnancy which is dangerous for her or is the result of rape/incest.

However, I don't want you to feel you have to respond to this or spell out where you draw the line. I am just saying that some women who are very much 'pro-life' do not feel this means they can't be pro women and girls - ie a feminist.

Clarice, yes, I understand that for some women, there is nuance that means they feel able to call themselves feminists. I'm not making judgements on who else can call themselves a feminist, just outlining why it's not a label which readily suits me.

And I've tried really hard to be as honest as I can be about my pro life position without trying to proselytise for it here, so I'm not sure how appropriate it would be to lay out my arguments.
I do see an enormous disconnect between those rightly pointing out the horrendous stats about how many girls are aborted in utero because of their sex, and at the same time advocating for complete liberalisation of UK abortion law - I think there perhaps is a feminist case to be made on the pro life side - but in the grand scheme I don't think there is anything useful to be gained by me trying to have that argument here.

Besides, the original post wasn't so much about why I don't easily call myself a feminist, it was about focusing on the things which make me angry as hell which most definitely are feminist issues.

Sure fair enough.

This is whole has got me in touch with my inner-feminist too...and it should get us sitting up and taking notice, including men. I never thought of myself as a feminist as it conjured up an impression that I didn't relate to. So much has already been achieved by those who have gone before us too that it hasn't seemed like a pressing concern to many of us...until this.