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I like the pull quote from the article, but the much of what Happonen asserts is quite contentious. Read the full article on The Feminist Current. This is sort of my hope for the New Year – not the abandoment of psychology persay – but women coming together and organizing against the structures in society that oppress them. The first step, as in any revolution, is to meet and talk with people who share your oppression and realize that you are not alone in the struggle against it.
“Ironically, it is often a mental block that hinders so many young women from being effective feminists. But that block is not anxiety, depression, or stress — rather, it is the idea that our emotions and problems are personal, and to be overcome on our own. We have to let go of the idea that the wrong is with us, and not with the world. We have to reach out and organize in real life, help each other, be supportive and understanding, listening and empathetic, tolerant and kind, but also firm and truthful. We must understand that we are all hurt, frustrated, and angry — and that this is not something we have to deal with alone.
I urge young feminists who feel powerless and frustrated to meet each other in real life. Look for established feminist groups in your city or area to join, women’s shelters to volunteer in, reading circles, book clubs, self-defence classes — and if you can’t find any, start your own group. Be each other’s support network and strength, show up to rallies and demonstrations in groups; make signs, slogans, stickers, and pamphlets to distribute together; organize activities and protests. I strongly encourage having ties to older women, in order to learn from their experience and knowledge, though it is equally important to act independently as a new generation of feminists and form our own networks. I was able to find friends and eventually form a feminist organization, aimed at facilitating women-separatist spaces, through radical feminist forums on Facebook and blogs on Tumblr. Dare to take the next step and meet up in real life. Join the organizations and groups you’ve been eyeing forever. Push yourself to go out and meet new women.
Our goals should not be self-empowerment or self-improvement, but the liberation of womankind.”
The Vancouver Women’s Library has withstood the siege of entitled males. The need for female only spaces in our society cannot be understated. Women need a place to share their stories and communicate with each other away from male expectations and the male gaze. When I speak with younger women, I despair because they often know nothing about their revolutionary sisters in history, and sadly even less about feminist theory and praxis. This dearth of knowledge and, more importantly, the transfer of knowledge is not a bug in our society, but rather a feature.
Standing on the shoulders of those that came before you, is how any set of ideas progresses and evolves through time. Females are denied this key step in building their awareness and raising their consciousness and must start their discovery of their history and feminism alone and from scratch almost every time (and generation). This process slows the progress of civilization and retards the moral arc that feminism brings to society, and it is a travesty.
I think it should be an obligation of radical feminists to support their local women’s library, and if one doesn’t exist, start one because education and the sharing of values and experiences is what will reignite the feminist revolution that we are in such dire need of.
Oh, look, female sexual slavery is a bad thing. Go figure. :( P
The experience of being female in society, and thus second class always seems like such a mysterious and vague concept to the menfolk. Time to witness the otherside of the coin, dudes and perhaps start to understand that the experience you’re having is *not* the same for the half the world’s population.
Naming and deconstructing a problem on the societal level is not “shaming”. It isn’t about your personal ’empowerment’ or any of the other neo-liberal drek that passes for so much of mainstream feminism these days. So the example here is prostitution and no – I won’t call it ‘sex work’ or any other patriarchally approved euphemism for the female sex slave trade.
Prostitution is female slavery and is only around because men are unwilling to make the effort to regard women in our society as full human beings. Cheery stuff, I know, but fixing the problem doesn’t happen until we recognize that there is a problem and begin to take steps to rectify it.
We try to replicate what we see in our society and media. We as a society need to stop portraying women in media as mere eye candy for the male-gaze. Of course, if you happen to be Legolas, the rules do not apply. :)
bleatmop
Mystro
Dead Wild Roses 
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