Post by secretlyevil on Jan 16, 2020 6:38:16 GMT -5
No, I am not participating. I have always been on the fence about them. I have participated locally in the past. It seems so commercialized. An example, Lip Slut has a Women’s March lipstick or rebranded their original “fuck you” color. I don’t know exactly. I enjoy this brand a lot, they’re trying to be a good corporate citizen but this feels... not good.
Here's a problem I have with marches in general (other than my anxiety at being stuck in a massive crowd with no way out.)
Marches fuel people's passion and excitement around a cause (a good thing) without the assistance or support to follow through and do the hard work in local communities (not a good thing.)
I feel like the Women's March in particular was something that fired up a lot of middle and upper-middle class white women and gave them a sense they were doing something good. But really I'd guess that the vast majority of those participants never actually followed through with any meaningful community engagement around the issues the Woman's March wanted to address.
I also feel that most middle/upper-middle class white woman, who tend to have the luxury of being able to march, aren't that interested in getting into the messiness of the work it takes to actually get lawmakers to hear you and make meaningful legislative change at the state and federal levels.
Let me tell you - a postcard/phone call/letter writing campaign isn't going to cut it. It takes A LOT of hounding your legislators, day in and out, being present and never letting them forget your face or your name to actually be able to make an impact. I'm not saying this to suggest that women who are passionate about the issues the Women's March brought up aren't doing anything, but the women who are doing the work were doing it well before pink pussy hats and celebrity feminists and the Women's March.
I also think the Women's March is exclusionary. The overwhelming majority of participants are not women of color. Additionally, and we've talked about this here before, ethnic and racial intersectionality with feminism is something that many white women don't want to acknowledge, let alone address. That is problematic.
I'm not against marches full stop. I think that they can be useful if directed at the right people and issues with follow up action and support. I really think if someone wants to be involved in actually making a change on issues that are important to them then the key is to find out when your state's legislative session convenes and make yourself a nuisance. Show up. Speak up. Be visible. Never let your target legislator forget who you are and the issue you're passionate about.
Marches are for the individual, not for the cause.
Here's a problem I have with marches in general (other than my anxiety at being stuck in a massive crowd with no way out.)
Marches fuel people's passion and excitement around a cause (a good thing) without the assistance or support to follow through and do the hard work in local communities (not a good thing.)
I feel like the Women's March in particular was something that fired up a lot of middle and upper-middle class white women and gave them a sense they were doing something good. But really I'd guess that the vast majority of those participants never actually followed through with any meaningful community engagement around the issues the Woman's March wanted to address.
I also feel that most middle/upper-middle class white woman, who tend to have the luxury of being able to march, aren't that interested in getting into the messiness of the work it takes to actually get lawmakers to hear you and make meaningful legislative change at the state and federal levels.
Let me tell you - a postcard/phone call/letter writing campaign isn't going to cut it. It takes A LOT of hounding your legislators, day in and out, being present and never letting them forget your face or your name to actually be able to make an impact. I'm not saying this to suggest that women who are passionate about the issues the Women's March brought up aren't doing anything, but the women who are doing the work were doing it well before pink pussy hats and celebrity feminists and the Women's March.
I also think the Women's March is exclusionary. The overwhelming majority of participants are not women of color. Additionally, and we've talked about this here before, ethnic and racial intersectionality with feminism is something that many white women don't want to acknowledge, let alone address. That is problematic.
I'm not against marches full stop. I think that they can be useful if directed at the right people and issues with follow up action and support. I really think if someone wants to be involved in actually making a change on issues that are important to them then the key is to find out when your state's legislative session convenes and make yourself a nuisance. Show up. Speak up. Be visible. Never let your target legislator forget who you are and the issue you're passionate about.
Marches are for the individual, not for the cause.
Yes. I thought the “huddle” idea was really great. They (the organizers, after the first march) encouraged people to form small action groups, often hosted by an already active group. I went to a couple hosted by the YWCA. They meant well, and probably had some good ways to support projects, but it also was clear they didn’t know what to do with us and were understandably reluctant to invest a lot in us when they weren’t sure if we’d keep showing up. (And it atrophied quickly.) I turned my attention to my local Planned Parenthood action group around that time.
I don’t know how effective the postcard campaigns are at influencing legislators directly, but the people I know who go to them (mostly retired boomers) are staying engaged and throwing money at politics in a way they weren’t before. I think that probably has some real value.