Small feminist acts

[Jeanhatchet]

Discussing this with a friend the other day. We don't all have the capacity/time/health/money to do big activism.

But feminist women help each other all the time in small ways. Tiny things can be feminist acts. Listening to a woman who is in pain . Bunging her a fiver when she can't feed her kids. Looking after her kids so she can go for a walk. Chucking money into a homeless woman's lap instead of a man's. Consciously finding out the woman to help.

Or choosing to read books by women not men.

Watch films with female leads and female focused themes.

Listen to music by women. Go to an art exhibition by a woman. If you can find one.

Retweet women not men. Read their articles. Post their articles not men's.

Reject conditioning. Try not to look at the women you encounter today and judge their weight, clothes, make up etc. We have been taught to be critical of each other by men and their media and their comments to and about us.

Instead flip your gaze as soon as you feel yourself conforming to that ... onto a man. Judge him. Does he look like a good man? Does he look like he treats women well or beats and rapes them? Or buys them for sex? You can't tell of course. But it moves the game away from women. It is a conscious feminist act not to play the game men have taught us.

Love this.

I have a male cleaner. Does that count?

Typing on the hop; it counts to me as I have two small boys. The cleaner is a man. I like this message.

Listen to music by women. Go to an art exhibition by a woman. If you can find one.

I just started a thread on my latest discovery:

twitter.com/barbiereports/status/1067759847687507968?s=21

@NeurotrashWarrior love this!

Not necessarily a feminist act but on a project I worked on I rewrote the code and renamed all the gender fields to ‘sex’ on the customer correspondence.

I know!!!
Did you see this one?

I read a book once on dead women in art. Wish I could remember who it was by.

It was by a woman, I know that.

@Sexnotgender

I like this too. Well done you

What bollocks.

Great ideas Jean I sometimes feel overwhelmed with the seemingly unstopable trans train but if I can do some of these small acts then I dont feel so helpless

@Ringdonna

How so?

Agree. I think many things can count, like supporting female writers and artists. Also giving appreciative feedback when an organisation does something very female centred On a more personal level, supporting the women in my life, valuing the different female relationships including special days, like Mother’s Day. One of my favourite photos includes all the women in my family, grandmother, greatgrandmother, Aunts, niece, sisters and daughters. Not for everybody I know but for me it feels empowering to be all women together and connected through that maternal line, a part of family history too. Also at work we chose specific charities to support, so that the money raised would go somewhere we valued, including a charity that specifically supports girls to get an education.

My new sil is pregnant. I'm going to ask bil if he's going to go part time after the baby's born.

At work I insist that the minutes of all meetings refer to the chairperson, that people are referred to by first name surname (no reference to marital status as irrelevant to meetings - for some reason men were being referred to as John Smith and women as Mrs/Miss Smith ) and that all policies and procedures refer to he or she (not just he throughout).
My tiny bit of activism - I do my best to stick up 10 Fair Play for Women postcards every day whilst I am out and about (always have a pile ready to post up in my handbag).
I ask my suppliers about their gender pay gap and let them know that it influences my decisions and I actively put work to those who have women in senior positions.

Great thread.

Not apologising (for being female).

As a Cub Leader, Complimenting girls on the efforts and achievements, not their looks, encouraging them to become sixers (team leaders), consciously not picking boys over girls. Encouraging resilience in girls.

"We have been taught to be critical of eachother by man and their media"

OP. It may have escaped your attention that the editors of virtually all major fashion/lifestyle magazines which women buy are actually women. Not men.

It's women who criticise other women. Most "womens magazines" are not only edited by other women, but full of articles body shaming their own readers.

Your list of things femenist should do is frankly embarrassing.

@Confusedfornow

It's "feminist"

@Confusedfornow

Just one major magazine publisher is Conde Nast. Who is at the top? Clue. It isn't Anna Wintour

I encouraged/insisted DH watched the womens rugby on tv with DD (he loves watching men play rugby) they both really enjoyed it, shame it’s only the highlights but better than nothing.

Ive got my guides to sing sisterhood instead of brotherhood during our opening song.

My point exactly. You picked "just one".

Please list, with annotations, the "media" you have referred to earlier.

@Confusedfornow

Nah mate. You're alright.

I no longer move aside / change my course / swerve on the street to get out of the way for a Man going Somewhere Important. It amazes me how much it shocks them and I always give myself a little fist pump

@BitOutOfPractice

It is these tiny things that don't hurt men - but make them realise what they have come to expect from women and what rebellion might taste like!