There is nothing sadder to me than apathy. I can watch oppression, I can watch bigotry, I can watch bullying-- as long as I know it is being fought by those who feel it most. But I cannot watch apathy. I recently read a comment on Bitch Magazine in response to a user who wondered why anyone was bothering with feminism because “this is how things are, they‘ll never change”. The response was this: “If no one ever speaks up, nothing will ever change. Of course, your argument is just a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you never speak up against things that are sexist, misogynist, etc, then they will never go away. If there is no movement that demands a change, no change will come.” PLEASE don’t be apathetic. Please speak up. If you see something wrong, point it out, fix it, rally against it (better still, rally for an alternative). It’s not something that you will receive only praise for-- often you’ll be criticized for working for the “wrong” thing-- or a too trivial thing. Feminism is difficult, because it is a mixed bag of both desperately important issues- like the sex trade- and ones that are important in a quieter way. Take for example a woman getting angry about sexist t-shirts. She’s be criticized by people (men and women) who insist that she needs to get a “sense of humor”, or work on something more important, or the worst of all “JUST IGNORE IT”. For the love of god, I want you to spit in that person’s fucking eye and say “I will not ignore what is going on in front of my face.” I will not refuse to examine my surroundings. I will continue to analyze why men in my country still believe that every woman’s place is in the kitchen, why wages are not equal, why 5-10 million women in America suffer from an eating disorder, and if I find that any of it has to do with something “trivial” like an ad campaign or a waitress uniform then I will fight it.
I don’t want this blog to just be a vehicle for me to pander my own ideas to you, but if we’re going to fight together, I just need to get that out of the way right now.
XO,
Lee
Oh and PS I’m loving the comments, people-- keep it up!
Thank you! I am told quite often to "get a sense of humor" because I am quickly angered by jokes targeting a sex, culture, or race. Looking back in history nothing would have ever been accomplished for any oppressed or undermined group if they simply "ignored it." To the women who criticize feminists I say, "do you enjoy voting because it took women standing up together to win you that right!"
ReplyDeletep.s. I LOVE Bitch magazine.
The worst opinion one can have in a democracy is no opinion at all.
ReplyDelete