less than men. Women do the vast
majority of unpaid domestic labour
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ę
senior positions in the workforce.
Australian taxpayers have spent
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centres in which reported cases of
abuse and sexual assault go
largely unaddressed. Together, women
have realised that the madness has
gone too far.
Already this year, we’ve found our
collective identity, taken to the streets
and learned to roar again. The sign of
a developed society is its capacity to
care for its most vulnerable, and the
feminist rising of 2017 is a cry for those
who are being left behind, trampled and
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success. And we’re not about to be
silenced by society’s disparagement of
the “angry woman”. ActressĴ
put it best when she observed: “When
a man gives his opinion, he’s a man.
When a woman gives her
opinion, she’s a bitch.” Not
much has changed. So often as
women we’re conditioned to
feel that expressing our opinion
is an aggressive act. But you
only have to google Ashley
Judd on stage at the Women’s
March On Washington reciting
an anti-Trump poem Ĵ
by teenager
titled “I Am A Nasty Woman”
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speaking out against the
patriarchal system can have.
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a way of communicating across
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class and cultural backgrounds
can be brought together by an
image, an object, assembled as
an audience around artworks
shared across screens and
streamed across continents. Art
is a core method for feminist
communication in this fourth
wave. From the Pussyhat
Project, aworldwide movement
of pink beanies ě ¢ȱtwo friends and recreational Ĵ
in the US, to feminist activist artists
the Guerrilla Girls, who spread their
anti-discrimination message globally
via street projects, posters, stickers
and stealth projections, women are
inserting their experiences into public
culture in ways that claim focus and
Ĵǯ
Feminism, whether you identify with
the term or not, is back in its truest form.
It’s been stirring in all of us – our mothers,
our daughters, our sisters – for some
time. The rise of Trump, the reality of
Brexit, the far-reaching consequences
of both for women throughout the world
are just the icing on the cake of
contemporary fascism and the trigger we
needed to stand up in solidarity and, in
the words of Gloria Steinem, “Put our
bodies where ourbeliefs are.” Because,
to evoke a well-worn Clintonism,
“Human rights are women’s rights,
and women’s rights are human rights.”
Shout it from the rooftops.INTERSECTIONAL
FEMINISM:
THE WHO, WHAT, WHY“I'm a feminist who wants
not only to hear the term
intersectionality, but actually
feel it, and see the evolution
of what intersectional
feminism can actually
achieve.” That was Solange
Knowles speaking out about
what feminism means to
her for a recent cover story
forBust(the magazine “for
women with something to
get off their chests”). The
30-year-old singer, who
has previously brought
attention to sexism in the
music industry and stood up
for her beliefs (and her big
sis) by calling out a lack of
diversity at the Grammys,
identifies as a “proud black
feminist and womanist”, and
calls for women’s rights to be
“equally honoured, uplifted
and heard”. She also echoes
a growing holler for the
“fight” to include all women
of diverse backgrounds,
ability and sexuality.
While the past few
years have seen more and
more high-profile women
like Knowles highlighting
intersectionality, the term
isn’t new. It was coined by
American professor and civil
rights advocate Kimberlé
Crenshaw at the end of the
’80s when she put a name to
the concept (first developed
in the ’50s) that recognises
that women experience
oppression in different
ways and to different
degrees. Rather than
a one-size-fits-all brand
of feminism, intersectional
feminism takes into account
the intersecting identities
of gender, race, social
class, religion, age and
mental health (to name
a few), and how these
create unique experiences of
discrimination. Essentially
it’s about appreciating,
supporting, championing
and campaigning for
women from all walks of
life so that we can move
together towards true
justice and equality for all.
Knowles couldn’t have put
it better when she said:
“I want to see us fighting
the fight for all women.”ANGRY BIRDS
Five ways to channel healthier anger by Deborah Cox,
trauma psychologist and the co-author ofWomen’s Anger- NOTICE ITAccept whatever feeling you have in the
moment. Just let it be. Know your anger is not permanent.
Many people make the mistake of trying to reason away
their anger. This backfires by creating internal stress,
whether you realise it at the time or not. You need anger
because it distinguishes “you” from all others around you.
It defines your boundaries and your selfhood. - AFFIRM ITUse a statement like, “Even though
I’m uncomfortable right now, I know it’s okay for me
to feel this anger.” Take a walk and repeat this phrase
several times. Walking provides bilateral stimulation,
a component of eye movement desensitisation and
reprocessing (EMDR) therapy, which calms the
nervous system and promotes clearer thinking. - SPEAK ITRegularly talk tosomeone about
anger. Women often need affirmation from trusted
others that what we experience is real and not “just
in our heads”. Study influential women, such as Joan
of Arc, Rosa Parks or Gloria Steinem. Notice how they
use anger to create change. - OWN ITSpeak your anger aloudto theperson
who triggers it. Say, “I feel angry when you...” Allow
your interlocutor whatever reaction they have without
criticising or blaming them. - PUNCH ITFind a physical activity to release
anger from long-term storage in the body. Talk while
taking a boxing class or locking yourself in a room and
throwing things. Yell all the things you would like to
say to an old bully or perpetrator. Hurl obscenities
for 30 seconds, then stop and breathe.
“Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong.
It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – GD ANDERSON72 ELLE AUSTRALIA