Daily acts of feminism - a thread for ideas

[teawamutu]

Pinched the idea shamelessly from another thread after an hour of speechless rage reading the papers and Twatter. I need to DO something.

I pledge to do something positive every day to stand up for women. Deeds not words.

Today was taken care of for me - a subscription to The Radical Notion for Mother's Day. I'm also going to fill out the VAWG consultation.

Thought might be good to share anything else we come across here, so anyone in need of ideas could check?

Write to your MP about feminist issues.

I wrote to my own MP when during earlier lockdowns local loos were converted to mixed sex without appropriate thought and planning. My MP was supportive.

I wrote to a couple of representatives of the House of Lords to thank them for representing women in discussions about the recent MP maternity policy. The response was good.

Ignore obvious attempts at derailing feminist threads to become about men rather than centering women

Donate to crowd funders if possible

Always write sex when sex is what you mean & challenge any org listing the protected characteristics of the equality act 2010 incorrectly usually gender when they mean sex or gender identity when they mean gender reassignment

Doing our very very best to ignore derail attempts on FWR threads and staying focused on what we can achieve

Feminism centres women and campaigns for sex based rights. Which in the past were non existent and today still are either ignored or still need action on. (Aka women's rights but no one appears to know what a woman is now.)

Transmen have certain rights due the the fact that they were born female and still have female biology.

If you ever have to do Stonewall-style workplace training and you are secretly GC, you can try to ask innocent questions that highlight the pertinent issues for others, and cut through the obfuscatory language.

Only donate to orgs that use full transparency; so you know who they are, where the money is going, how it will be used, and where any spare funds will go in advance.

Good advice, Ineb. I’ve been reading very worrying concerns over who’s got about £360,000 raised in memory of Sarah Everard and whether it is actually going to women’s causes.

Reply to and share this reopened survey:

www.gov.uk/government/consultations/violence-against-women-and-girls-vawg-call-for-evidence

I've signed up for Glosswitch's emails and will put some more money into Raquel's crowdfunder tomorrow.

Doing our very very best to ignore derail attempts on FWR threads and staying focused on what we can achieve

Yes this is good advice, and across social media generally.

Share short reads and feminist books.

A program for feminist consciousness raising
womenwhatistobedone.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/notes-from-the-second-year-a-program-for-feminist-consciousness-raising.pdf

I recommend Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. I always encourage my GCSE and A-level students to read her.

Ah, thanks for reminding me! I thought I ordered one of her books already but it turned out I didn't (adding too many books for a 'to read' list makes for a horrible organisational solution). Will also be adding Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions to the list (or, well, buying - it's... unfortunately got the same date indication that so far has gotten all books I ordered pushed back, so I'm hoping I'll actually get it in a reasonable time).

Thelnebriati

Only donate to orgs that use full transparency; so you know who they are, where the money is going, how it will be used, and where any spare funds will go in advance.

Excellent advice. Look at WHO and WHERE the money us going to. And WHAT the money is going to be used for.

Raquel's second one is already up btw

[quote Thelnebriati]Share short reads and feminist books.

A program for feminist consciousness raising
womenwhatistobedone.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/notes-from-the-second-year-a-program-for-feminist-consciousness-raising.pdf[/quote]
I have just ordered Joan Smith's Misogynies.

Feminism centres women and campaigns for sex based rights. Which in the past were non existent and today still are either ignored or still need action on. (Aka women's rights but no one appears to know what a woman is now.)

Transmen have certain rights due the the fact that they were born female and still have female biology.

Trans men have gotten and are getting shooed away from reproductive (organ) health care facilities on the basis that they're women-only facilities, though. Listing them under 'women' and expecting people (especially financing companies that seem to love nothing else but to not cash out) to include them is, thus far, proving to be lethal.

@Evarish Her collection of short stories called ‘The thing around your neck’ is excellent.

Encourage charities (esp any you donate to) to use clear information re: cervical cancer, pregnancy, breastfeeding, etc instead of obfuscation.

Evarish, are you U.K.?

Challenging sex gender stereotypes daily, especially with children.

Encourage charities (esp any you donate to) to use clear information re: cervical cancer, pregnancy, breastfeeding, etc instead of obfuscation.

Oh, yeah, that seems a good one! I hope they also increase education towards people on which organs they have, as I've heard most cis women don't know they have, or can't locate, a cervix. I can't imagine anyone thinking it feminist that women are expected to agree with a cervical smear when they don't even know they have them, or where it is.

Clear, concise language and additional educational campaigns would be stellar!

@Shizuku

Wear a badge like this to show that your feminism is inclusive.

Love this 💚

Jane Clare Jones runs a series of courses via the Institute of Feminist Thought: feminist-institute.org/courses/

Schools - if your child's school signs up to Stonewall, ask what due diligence the school have undertaken in terms of girls rights / safety and child safeguarding?
Why are they funding a political organisation that campaigns to remove women and girl's rights to single sex sport, single sex showers, changing rooms and sleeping accommodation?
Have they asked Stonewall why they openly appointed someone with an appalling track record re safeguarding children? (suggest they google Aimee Challenor Verita report).
If they allow this political lobby group access to children, what other political groups are they giving access in defiance of longstanding government guidelines about impartiality and neutrality in schools?

Ask those difficult questions and make schools think about what they're doing to our girls.

Decent education around human biology seems to be extremely important.

@persistentwoman

Schools - if your child's school signs up to Stonewall, ask what due diligence the school have undertaken in terms of girls rights / safety and child safeguarding? Why are they funding a political organisation that campaigns to remove women and girl's rights to single sex sport, single sex showers, changing rooms and sleeping accommodation? Have they asked Stonewall why they openly appointed someone with an appalling track record re safeguarding children? (suggest they google Aimee Challenor Verita report). If they allow this political lobby group access to children, what other political groups are they giving access in defiance of longstanding government guidelines about impartiality and neutrality in schools?

Ask those difficult questions and make schools think about what they're doing to our girls.

Excellent advice.

@WarriorN

Decent education around human biology seems to be extremely important.

Definitely! I was shocked to find out that trans people seem to know more about human biology than the average cis person (I've yet to meet any trans people who don't know what a cervix is, and about half of them would prefer not knowing they have one or where they are).