so uhhh....what are YOU doing eh?

i realize you're frustrated. i get frustrated too.

but, there's nothing worse than someone writing a blog post instead of "doing something" complaining about people writing blogs instead of "doing something."

instead of calling on other people to form these groups and do these things why don't you do it yourself?

not that there aren't already SO many individuals and organizations fighting for our rights and doing wonderful necessary work.

it's really not that hard to find them. in fact it doesn't take much more than a google search. the very first hit for "women rights topless" is the topfree egaul rights association http://www.tera.ca/. seriously, how hard was that?

I want to first point out that you asked not to be flamed because you realize that you are essentially accusing everyone who reads this of being too lazy to do anything but whine, which is unfounded, unfair, and yes, made me angry. Knowing that, I think you would have done better to at least lead with your personal frustrations, rather than tossing in a disclaimer to make it my (or anyone else's) fault for being offended at this. It seems that if you had run a simple google search for feminist activism, you would realize that feminists do very concrete work every day to improve the world. You want a group that publicly fights for reproductive rights? What about Planned Parenthood? There are countless organizations which not only provide services to women, but are politically active as well. I'm saying this because the accusations you make in your post are so utterly unfounded.

But I also realize that this post isn't really about anyone's activism but your own. You mention your age and that you live in a red state, and I understand that those factors probably make you feel powerless.

The best advice I can give you is to look up activist organizations online: Planned Parenthood, Advocates for Youth, NOW...there are so many of them, and many are national. If you just keep looking, odds are very good that you will find somewhere to become active. Even if there isn't anything going on near where you live, some places will let you do phone banking from home. Maybe your school has some sort of student organization, and if not, consider forming one yourself. You could call or write to your state and local representatives and officials. You could start a petition at your school if something there needs to change. You could put up fliers with empowering messages in the dressing rooms at the local mall!

There is a great deal that you can do, you just have to be on the lookout for opportunities, and think creatively. Good luck, and keep up the fight!

But talking to other feminists is the first step in activism.

You cannot be an effective activist if you just go around saying "I believe x." You need to talk to other people to get ideas and perspectives and reasons to believe x. When you blog, you are engaging in feminist discourse, and strengthening your beliefs and reasons why you believe them. This prepares you to be an effective activist.

Also, blogging opens up peoples eyes to the reality of what the world we live in is like. Were it not for feministing and the awesome people who blog and comment, I doubt I would be active in feminism and I know my fiancee would not be active in feminism. One cannot be an activist if they don't even know activism is needed.

So in a word, use this blog to make yourself an activist. Don't just tell us to get out there and do it.

Blogging isn't exactly unproductive, though the productivity could be considered a little less direct.

Discussing ideas helps us to refine them. Additionally, this and other blogs, (as well as assorted other factors) is what woke me up to the more insidious social problems that I now concern myself with. They've shaped my feminist awakening and I don't participate in the patriarchy in the same way I used to. More importantly I don't *propagate* it as much as I did (though I probably still do to some degree, one step at a time, and all that). And that's exactly the sort of progress that needs to happen to stop more serious problems (prohibition of abortions, rampant slut-shaming, stigmatizing the 'feminine,' etc) from recurring.

While I agree with the spirit of the first comment, I can also relate to your frustration. I had a bit of a crisis of faith when it comes to some forms of liberal activism a few years ago.

Full disclosure: I'm a working class working mom with a chronic medical condition that limits my ability to a significant degree. So while I participated in a couple of feminist groups and went to a number of anti-war demonstrations when I was younger, that kind of active activism is physically and financially out of my reach at the moment. I bring this up because I know I'm not alone, and folks like us don't enjoy being asked "What are YOU doing to save the world?" when our time and energy is pretty much being consumed with saving ourselves and our families.

That digression aside, I became extremely disillusioned with the feminist groups and anti-war demonstrations I attended even before my circumstances changed. Nobody took us seriously, and I'll tell you why.

In the feminist groups we always seemed to be getting sidetracked by infighting, over what seemed to be all things big and small. We had issues with:

-Transphobia (some wanted a "women-born-women"-only space)

-Disablism (not all retreats were completely accessible; others though we should hire very expensive ASL interpreters to events which they had neglected to actually market to the deaf community)

-Classism (a lot of women kept wanting to go to very expensive retreats and insisted on pricey organic and free-range food for our gatherings)

-We had serious tension between some Jewish and Palestinian members for a while.

-We had vegans fighting with hunters about what we should be allowed to bring to potlucks

And there was more. I called it quits shortly after the scent sensitivity debate.

Don't misunderstand: I'm not trying to dismiss anyone's needs or concerns. Clearly most (if not all) of these fights are worth having. But it was at the cost of actually having a focus or getting anything accomplished. We were so busy fighting or mediating for each other that we never got around to fighting the patriarchy.

The anti-war marches at least happened. I went to maybe a dozen total, mostly moderate to large sized, but I did made it to one really big march. But looking back, I am increasingly disillusioned with the whole experience.

-Every demonstration I went to was very disorganized in it's messaging. A speaker whose focus would be anti-war and US foreign policy might be followed by somebody talking about legalizing marijuana, or the evils of welfare reform, or one of a variety of other liberal causes. Most of them were important causes, but they diluted the message of the day.

-Regarding the quality of the speakers: one minute you'd have a brilliant expert with legitimate points that could be backed up with verifiable fact, and the next you'd have some crackpot spouting de-bunked conspiracy theories. And each would be given equal weight and consideration in the line-up.

-People were openly smoking marijuana. I'm all for legalizing the stuff, but it IS still illegal at the moment. I really feel that it hurts a movement's credibility when it's proponents are getting stoned in public- even when the movement is ABOUT legalizing responsible marijuana use (which in these cases it WASN'T). Also families are far less likely to want to bring their kids to an event where people are engaging in illegal drug use out in the open, and these things are supposed to be inclusive.

-And the most deflating thing? Of course the mainstream media didn't cover the vast majority of the demonstrations I went to. Or if they did, it was a line or three hidden in the back pages of a newspaper.

As flawed as the demonstrations were, they were still a cross-section of diverse humanity that did not want the war to happen. And we were ignored. Perhaps because no one took us seriously for all the reasons I just outlined. It still wasn't right.

Now I'll allow that the feminist groups I attended may have just been the two suckiest feminist groups ever (and to be fair, the second was an offshoot of the first). And I'll allow that the demonstrations I went to might have been the worst examples of anti-war demonstrations in the country. That is certainly possible. But I do know that some of my more experienced activist friends (ones that still fight the fight) have echoed my concerns.

I know I'm offering no solutions here, but my intention was mainly for this olderfeminist to commiserate with newfeminist about disillusionment.

I honestly hope somebody here can talk us down. But laying responsibility for the setbacks of an entire movement on one somewhat disillusioned newfeminist isn't fair, and won't help.

I'm sorry that you feel the way you do about feminism. Are you in college? If you are, there is plenty that you can do to effect political change in that sphere. If there is a chapter of FMLA (Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance) or a feminist collective at your college, get involved. If not, talk to administration and find out how you can get one started.

Do you have any favorite feminist authors? See whether you can organize your school, or local community organization, to fund for their visit. Then advertise, lobby, and introduce the speaker yourself! That is what I did when I was frustrated that the tradition of African philosophy was under-represented at my predominantly white school. Dr. Kwasi Wiredu is one of the foremost Ghanaian scholars in the world, and a good friend of mine. Because I was willing to reach out!

If you don't go to college, see whether there are shelters for homeless women in your area or victims of domestic violence, and see whether you can volunteer or even get an internship there. And even if you're not attending a local school, I'm sure you can find someone who needs your help.

While I don't think the other commenters are giving you the benefit of the doubt here, I think their frustration is an attempt to express the knowledge that the disillusion you're talking about is up to you to end. No one will care about women's rights if individual women don't. And unfortunately being part of an oppressed group all too often means women are in a hurry to tear each other down out of fear and jealousy rather than work and live in solidarity.

No one can take the first step for you. Good luck.

As someone who was a 20 year old feminist in a red state, I understand your frustration very keenly. One thing I learned from being in Oklahoma was that in some ways I had an advantage when it came to activism. I was never just preaching to the choir. There are so many people who are so deeply invested in gender roles that every person you talk to is a chance for reform. The number of people who have become more aware of women's issues simply by being my friend was amazing. And that's not me tooting my own horn-its simply that feminism is so contrary to the way many people think that when they see it applied to someone's life it will have an effect. Just down the street from my school they held a HUGE purity ball event with signs for it all over the city. Feminists in my area were the ones who's voices could be heard on why this event was harmful. The city didn't care about feminists from California or New York. They cared about their own. No, we didn't get the event cancelled-not even close. But if even one person heard what we said and took it to heart, they might raise their child in a more responsible manner. It is small, but it is progress.

That said, I know its hard. I know its easier to say "Go start a feminist group on campus!" than to actually do it. People will talk shit about you and try to bring you down. But if it wasn't a cause that people were afraid of, then activism wouldn't be necessary. I know that even in Oklahoma, which was the reddest state in the presidential election, there was a Planned Parenthood I could go to. There was the OKC AIDS Walk that had booths selling shirts that said "Start a Revolution: Stop Hating Your Body." There was an anarchist library with a great feminist section, and you could volunteer to run it for a few hours. There are many opportunities out there. I hope you find a cause that you think is worthwhile.

...and I hope you'll blog about it for us all to learn from when you're done :)

I remember feeling this way at your age, especially when I was in feminist theory classes where I felt like we were all just sitting around discussing what we could do, not actually doing anything.

But honestly, that all disappears once you start volunteering for an organization where you can see change taking place, where you can see your feminist values being lived - I volunteer at a women's shelter in town, and that has really made me appreciate my fellow feminists and all the hard work that goes into making this world a better place for women.

Also, if you are more interested in action rather than theory, get involved in an action-based school program and/or career - as I mentioned, I found university-based feminist theory really problematic, but now that I'm taking a college program to work with abused women, I'm really seeing the way feminism has made a major difference in people's lives, and I see first hand the way so, so many women are working towards respect and equality for women.

There are so many feminist organizations, collectives, shelters, places and programs that are actively changing women's lives - you just need to find some in your town + start volunteering!

Ok, no flaming, if you wanna get a feminist fire lit under your ass, so to speak - start investigating the wikipedia discussion pages because all day, everday, they are trying to keep women's words (opinion, input, research, articles) quiet... as much as feminists fight amongst themselves, you'll see by reading the feminism talk pages on wiki how anti-feminists work very hard to shut us all up. You can see them silencing women from the past, from the present, and trying to make it easier to silence us in the future. Really I think it's an important thing. Think about all the women just now googling up "feminism" hoping to get an honest answer from the internet, clicking to wiki to learn what feminism really is, and they are being told things that aren't really true. That's something you can do right from your computer - start editing wiki, making sure that young almost-feminists get the truth, not a bunch of anti-feminist propaganda which makes them think feminists are something we aren't... that's one of my current passions anyway...

Just a week ago, someone deleted the "feminist criticism" section of the "patriarchy" article - citing the reason that "... a discussion about women's rights and how far they still have to go is only indirectly about patriarchy. Also, it assumes that we are talking about something that all feminists find relevant." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Patriarchy#Criticism_of_patriarchy ---- you have the power to fight that, right this very minute, if you want to.

I do see where you are coming from and I really have nothing further to add to what has been said above, except that I firmly believe in the power of leading by example.

We sometimes wish for instant results on a grand scale, and that might be an unrealistic expectation. Still, use this site and the people on it as a resource and I know you'll find something with which you connect. Sometimes the subtlest lessons are the most powerful.

Since you mention rape kits, a good starting place might be your state's sexual assault coalition. There are likely many projects in your state where you could help. This can include active volunteerism and it can also include being an informed citizen who voices support for legislation or funding.

http://www.nsvrc.org/organizations

Perhaps before we all go about pointing finger and commiserating about the broken movement we can all give examples of what we do that will improve your outlook.

Until August (when I started back to graduate school) I volunteered 1 night each week at a domestic violence shelter.

Since 2004 I have been involved in Society of Women Engineers outreach to young women and girls to get them interested in Math, Science, Engineering, and Technology.

I volunteer to table for my local planned parenthood.

I Give microloans to women through Kiva.

My United Methodist Women's circle sends money to Uganda to help women who are HIV positive or otherwise in need.

I know everyone's time is in short supply but why don't we give Newfeminsit some (polite) ideas.

I generally agree with your post. I think the reason people think of feminism as something bad is a mix of media distortion helmed by MRA's, right-wingers and general misogynists, ignorance of what it is and the male misogynists who want to maintain status quo.

I would like tto see a more concerted effort by feminists to reemerge from this backlash and start to address and fight more coherently for womens rights and progress (as well as in other areas, ie, race, sexual orientation). I also think that we have to progress from where the Boomers left off and build a dialogue between oppressor and oppressed. I look at old film footage of the Boomer revolutions and I feel a bit of envy. They werent ashamed and they had what seemed like alot of unity.

I noticed that your name was 'new feminist,' and this gies you an advantage since you are able to keep a balance and remind yourself of what it was like before being a feminist and also help keep the perspective of someone uninitiated to the feminism to know how to bring it to them. I try to maintain that bridge too. I've been the misogynist (as a female) who held double standards, came from a Baptist Christian household, thought Faux News was real and generally thought of feminism as old and unnecessary. Keeping that in mind allows me to remind myself of ways of bridging that divide between the uninitiated and the initiated, ie step in their shoes.

Maybe its because one of my majors is PR but I think feminsim needs a new media campaign. I bet alot of women/girls would relate and it would clear the air of all the myths surrounding feminism.

I generally agree with your post. I think the reason people think of feminism as something bad is a mix of media distortion helmed by MRA's, right-wingers and general misogynists, ignorance of what it is and the male misogynists who want to maintain status quo.

I would like tto see a more concerted effort by feminists to reemerge from this backlash and start to address and fight more coherently for womens rights and progress (as well as in other areas, ie, race, sexual orientation). I also think that we have to progress from where the Boomers left off and build a dialogue between oppressor and oppressed. I look at old film footage of the Boomer revolutions and I feel a bit of envy. They werent ashamed and they had what seemed like alot of unity.

I noticed that your name was 'new feminist,' and this gives you an advantage since you are able to keep a balance and remind yourself of what it was like before being a feminist and also help keep the perspective of someone uninitiated to the feminism to know how to bring it to them. I try to maintain that bridge too. I've been the misogynist (as a female) who held double standards, came from a Baptist Christian household, thought Faux News was real and generally thought of feminism as old and unnecessary. Keeping that in mind allows me to remind myself of ways of bridging that divide between the uninitiated and the initiated, ie step in their shoes.

(sorry if this is a double post, but loading was slow)
Maybe its because one of my majors is PR but I think feminsim needs a new media campaign. I bet alot of women/girls would relate and it would clear the air of all the myths surrounding feminism.

"we"?
How bout looking in the mirror first?

I'm a 43 yr old woman in a blue state suggesting YOU stop whining and get out and do some good.
Go volunteer at Planned Parenthood.
Escort women into clinics that are bombarded by the domestic terrorists in your state.
Find the local woman's shelter and offer to read stories to the children there. Or clean! Can you imagine how profoundly moving it would be for someone so down and out to see a privileged young woman be so humble that she could clean a home that wasn't hers? It would be saying, "I know I'm not better than you and I want to help"
Offer to babysit while mom is in a therapy session.
Show up and ask the woman in charge, who has been active probably since before you were born, how you can serve the project.
In or near your town right now, there is at least one premie that was abandoned by a drug addicted mother who needs to be held. Go offer yourself as a volunteer in the hospital.
Continue your Gender studies, read the older generations stories. In particular, check out the stories of those who fought for our right to vote less than 100 yrs ago.

My expression of feminism is intrinsic to my art.
I volunteer twice per wk 8 - 12 hrs. per day.
My experience is valuable, my time is valuable, my words to you, though they may fall on deaf from frustration ears, are still quite valuable. I know I am valubale to the movement- and I know you can be as well, if you choose to move beyond whining in frustration.

I'm a single mom who works in a young, male dominated industry. That forces me to be active beyond my volunteerism, in far to many little and big ways to list here for your need today.

You see, when I am offering my voice, typed or spoken, I know it has value, whether you are aware of that or not.

I've been a active feminist too long to accept this sort of frustration as truth...Hah! As if!

Woman, you can get off your computer, if that's what it takes, & make yourself useful.

all that to say:

DIY!

It fucking amazes at the amount of people who become defensive at a young feminist's attempt to understand why there isn't more being done. Rather than answering her questions and mentoring her, and pointing her toward the right direction, you all jump on her for asking a question that is quite legitimate, given the pathetic state that NOW is in, and the division among various groups of feminists.

Yeah, I get you're doing stuff individually, and within your own organizations, but it speaks of something to have a collective political movement that doesn't seem silly - that goes beyond Codepink and protesting wars and screaming for abortion rights.

It's no wonder some feminists don't feel welcomed - it's because you're making feminism to be yourselves rather than about others. I've never, ever seen so many defensive rants in my life until this was posted.

Mentor her. Teach her. Work with her. That's what feminists are supposed to do. If nothing else, you're invalidating her own experiences as a young feminist, and that's not feministic at all.

Marc

Hi:

I agree with your post, and at times, have felt the frustration you do. I think there's something to be said for activism vs. feminist academia, as it appears women's studies and was blogs really fall under the latter category.

A lot of frustration, it seems, comes from that fact that we aren't seeing vast and big changes that we hope for, but there is change every day, and I've learned that while it can be frustrating to expect the big victories and never get it, our small victories can most certainly amount to something.

I am assuming that you're a student. If so, I suggest coordinating with the Women's Center on campus to start discussion groups about feminist-relevant issues, opened to everyone on campus.

Once this issues have been brought to light, it wouldn't be a bad idea to start a feminist group on campus. You don't have to start tackling world-changing issues at first, but if you can affect positively the life of women on your campus, and bring more women and men toward feminism, you'll have accomplished something for feminism.

The other thing is to start a women's studies honors society on campus - most departments would jump at the opportunity - not only to promote feminism and women's studies as an academia, but also to engage in service learning - that is, bringing together feminism activism and academia, where students do more than just learn in the classroom, but also use the knowledge to affect their community.

I left the link to the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance above - if you're interested in starting one on your campus, I am sure the campus organizers would be more than happy to help.

Good luck!

Marc

I think the problem with saying 'we need to stop analyzing things and start doing things' is that it suggests that 'doing things' cannot be MORE violent than 'not doing things'. (I use quote marks because I think it's really a false dichotomy in the first place... and for the record, I'm using 'violence' in the very broad sense of the term.)

We tend to think going out there and being activists is going to help the world rather than harm it. But the sad fact is, that is not always the case - we can easily find ourselves engaging in activism that harms more than it helps, or reproduces some particularly harmful patriarchal ideologies even as we fight against others, or reinforces ideas that hurt certain communities of women. This happens all the time in all forms of feminism (look at the current ableism issues here on Feministing!)

Learning theory, connecting with and listening to others, and all the stuff you are disillusioned with is part of what can keep us from doing that. Figuring out what ideologies we are promoting and what we are subverting or damaging, who we are helping and who we are hurting - all of this is necessary to engage in activism that minimizes violence. You may realize that the organization you wanted to get involved with is seriously problematic in certain ways, or you may find that your reasons for holding certain beliefs are upholding patriarchal standards in their own way, or that you are marginalizing certain groups without realizing it. The list could go on, but what I'm trying to say is, please don't give up on theory completely; just use it to supplement your activism.

I think I grew up watching too many movies or something. I always had this idea in my head that the good side always wins.... Just because feminism is correct doesn't mean we are going to succeed.

I think that some frustration may stem from the fact that as far as our popular culture is concerned feminism appears to be an old dead issue. While many people are volunteering for causes and you can google those causes and go join up, it all feels like it's happening below the surface. Coming onto feministing I learned a lot and I learned that some issues aren't as won as I'd previously thought.
Much of what occurs on the comment strings here would appear to be ideological masturbation. There's a lot of effort expended that's often preaching to the choir. Then of course much devolves into arguing whether such and such is feminist enough. So much conversation delves into such minutia that nobody outside of the feminist community can comprehend or relate to. So many terms only mean things to feminists, and just seem petty to the outside world.
Let's suppose that you're living your life in a perfect world where women have unlimited opportunity and having a conversation about Disney movies, and all of the sudden someone is assaulting your beloved characters for not being good role models for empowered women. Maybe someone points out that you're not being properly inclusive without adding cis onto your genders. Maybe you're all proud of yourself because you stopped using the word gay when you meant that something is lame, and someone gets in your face because lame is an ableist term and you don't have a freakin' clue what the heck an ableist is. Or you're all happy with your new shoes and someone tells you that your shoes are furthering your oppression by the patriarchy. In the perfect world without widespread sexism, that many people believe that they live in, these kinds of issues support the idea that feminism is a moot point.
There are some real valid issues, but I think that they get lost in all the trivialities. This community also does treat "men" as a monolithic enemy group a lot of the time. Do you know how well that goes over when you're trying to win over hearts and minds?
So with all the energy here, the fact that feminism still appears to be dead can be pretty demoralizing.
I don't think that it has to remain dead, and I'd like to see it revived. I think that there are issues that need to be addressed, but it will be hard to get them addressed with the current way that this movement appears to be going.

I'm pretty sure I'll get some "Why are you here if you don't want to drink the Kool-Aid" responses. I care about women being treated like real people, and I like healthy debate. So bring it.

Ignore all these older feminists who give the rest of us a bad name.
Give this girl a BREAK.
I'm nineteen too, and I FEEL YOU.
Btw, don't post your frustrations on this site, it's known for getting only bitchy remarks and no support...

Anyways, I totally understand what you are going through. I feel the same with feministing, but this is a blog site. There are many links here though that you could physically help like joining you're local N.O.W (not sure how good that group is now a days)

I do feel as well that it seems feministing is so vast yet...what have we accomplished so far? If there ARE so many feminists...where the fuck are they?
We do need to do something, but this site is basically for helping awareness to the issues.

I also think its funny that I've met more bitchy hypercritical air heads on this site then I have in my so-cal area. To all of those who gave this girl hate, fuck off. She's a fellow feminist, you should support her not attack her.

If you want someone rant with *only with mature, intelligent feminists, not bitter trivialists who just wanna attack people who have different ideas and experiences then they do* feel free to AIM me--christinasayrawr

lots of love,
christina

"Advice is appreciated."
My advice:

Volunteer

Create your own non-profit that serves the movement in some way

Continue your education

Travel

Ok, wow. I apologize if my post was insulting to people. It was absolutely not my intention to say that everyone on this site is useless, and I am very sorry if that is how it came across.

I understand the importance of academic feminism. I do. Moving on.

Accusations of me being a "spoiled privileged brat" are unfounded, unfair, and uncalled for. As are assumptions that I am not doing anything or seeking out ways to help on my own. I escort at my local clinic every weekend and am a member of the local NOW chapter. I am not in college, I cannot afford it as I have a daughter to take care of.

But you know what? I don't have to justify myself to you people. You're just words on a goddamn screen, and fuck you and your assumptions.

and before everyone starts screaming "ageist ageist!

a 19 yr. old dissing the movement, blaming the movement for her frustration, and the comment that begins, "Ignore all these older feminists" is dissing the elders-

but here I am
OLD
and not ignoring you at all.

I have met and worked with women in the 18-25 age range who are grateful for the opportunity to join in and help with organizations that are run by women in their late 30's and up.
I've heard them speak of how much sexism they encounter at school, while in the presence of a woman who couldn't go to Harvard because they only allowed one woman in. When they hear her story, they tend to appreciate their own efforts, realizing one day, they too will hear complaints, and have stories to tell that will inspire.

I work with a former Olympic athlete who was denied a scholarship to UCLA, back when there were no scholarships for women. She has seen how far we've come and yet, one of her commitments is to make women's athletic events more popular and lucrative. So lucrative that it can support all sorts of female athletes.

You currently don't seem to be able to understand how difficult it is to take in a post like yours.
It's like hearing suburban kids whine about being bored when there is so much to do.