Dr. Lynell Hodge Heels of Power Women’s Leadership Institute Fall 2017 We Should All Be Feminist: A Case for Intersectional Activism in the 21st Century Dr. Lynell Hodge Heels of Power Women’s Leadership Institute Fall 2017

Objectives Discuss a brief history of women’s rights, feminist theory, and definitions. Discuss statistical differences affecting women who represent different communities. Discuss statistical dangers of one issue activism. Discuss basic strategies for self-care.

Women’s Rights History Suffragist Movement- right to vote Second Wave Feminist Movement or Women’s Liberation Early ‘60s: issues workplace discrimination, civil rights, reproductive rights Third Wave Feminist Movement Early ‘90s: intersectionality feminism, domestic violence, rape culture, sexual harassment Fourth Wave Feminist Movement (The Rebellion) Early ‘2ks to present: use of social media and technology, body positivity, human trafficking, ableism, calling out heteronormative standards Overview Timeline Voters Rights Timeline https://a.s.kqed.net/pdf/education/digitalmedia/us-voting-rights-timeline.pdf Women’s Rights Timeline https://www.infoplease.com/spot/womens-rights-movement-us-1

Feminist Theory and Definitions Feminist theory is shaped by the social injustices women face at the time, but the cornerstone of the movement is gender inequality of women (hooks, 2015). Intersectionality acknowledges race, class, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, nation, ability, age etc. are not mutually exclusive identities to an individual (Collins, 2015). Intersectional feminism recognizes systems of oppression overlap and need to be be addressed through structural convergence Born out of black feminist theory-”speaking to the void” (Crenshaw, 1989).

Differences Who controls the narratives controls the messages: Right to vote Pay rates Gender based violence Faith based decision making (non- Christian) https://nwlc.org/resources/the-wage-gap-the-who-how-why-and-what-to-do/ Asian- .87 White women- .80, Black- .63, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian- .59, Hispanic- .54, Trans women are paid ⅓ after the transition https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/sexualviolence/datasources.html

Blind Spots Violence against trans women Missing and murdered Indigenous women epidemic Mental health in the Asian American communities WOC income stability across ALL identities and abilities Cisgender silencing intersex/trans reproductive rights Missing the mark that identity is complex Treating POC as one monolithic community

Activism & Self Care Recognizing signs of compassion fatigue and secondary trauma Knowing your limits Creating safe spaces and boundaries (physically, emotionally, and mentally) Developing support systems Refueling regularly i.e. hobbies, art, etc. Counseling/Therapy Self Care Plan

Intersectional Millennials Feminist 1 @KimberlyNFoster Intersectional Feminist and ally 2 @fyeahmfabello Body Politics and Human Sexuality 3 @sydneyfreeland Native queer voice

Intersectional Millennials Feminist 1 @ashleighthelion 1 @ashleighthelion Body Positivity 1 Vestibulum congue tempus 2 @BlairImani Muslim/Queer and Black Lives Matter 2 @BlairImani 2 Vestibulum congue tempus 3 Vestibulum congue tempus 3 @kat_blaque Trans/rape culture advocacy @kat_blaque 3 Others?

References Collins, P. H. (2015). Intersectionality's definitional dilemmas. Annual Review of Sociology. 41: 1–20. Crenshaw, K.W. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: A black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. University of Chicago Legal Forum:139–67. hooks, b. (2015). Feminist theory: From margin to center. New York; Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2015.

Dialogue