"I want to get involved, but I don't know what to do!"

This is something I hear a lot both online and offline. I hope this will be helpful to anyone who feels an itch to do something for women, but doesn't know where to start.

Oftentimes people respond to such statements with a list of suggestions. "Go stickering!" It's good to brainstorm together, but the proposed solutions sometimes (often) won't appeal to the asker. Maybe your hands tremble so stickering doesn't seem like a good fit. Maybe you just feel out of your depth and want to start smaller, or want to start with something that really speaks to you.

A while ago I read the book Grassroots: A Field Guide to Feminist Activism. I found it really helpful in developing the kind of thinking that leads to effective, integrated activism that is challenging but not overly burdensome. Here are a few quotes that express the main ideas of the book, though I'd recommend reading at least the first few chapters of it for the full picture.

"My activism is simply in my life - it has to be, or it couldn’t get done."

"What separates simple ‘responsibility’ in life - motherhood, for example - from the fine line that one crosses to become an ‘activist’?"

"Being an activist didn’t mean adding an identity or tasks to our lives, but simply recognizing the opportunities for change that our lives already included. Our mode and expression as activists are based on what jobs we have, where our talents lie, what we care about, where we live, and other individual details."

"Activism: Consistently expressing one’s values with the goal of making the world more just."

"An activist is anyone who accesses the resources that she has as an individual for the benefit of the common good."

"What is revealed is the potential power and efficacy of the many invisible organizations an individual already has at one’s disposal - resources which can be leveraged for one to become a successful activist."

"Helping people living in poverty isn’t always about convening a think tank, changing a law, or writing a letter to your representative. Sometimes it is ripping out mite-infested carpet. Many issues were contained in this story - welfare to work, Medicaid, the environment, education - and the act that resolved it is one that might be accessible to any of us."

"It is our goal to encourage the reader to make feminism her own, rather than simply complain that feminism didn’t sufficiently address sweatshop laborers, for example."

"Often “What can I do?” means taking a good look at what resources you already have and committing to using them."

"Our qualification was that we took the initiative. We were as entitled as the next person to do our homework and present a perspective."

In terms of process, the book suggests taking a deep look at how you spend your average day/week, and especially taking note of all the opportunities, resources, and communities that already exist around you. First note them, and then brainstorm how you could make use of them.

A big car is a resource and creates an opportunity to carpool people. Are you an accountant? Maybe you could help a feminist org or woman-owned small business with their accounting - or if you don't have the bandwidth, maybe you know other accountants who'd be up for it. Were you involved with intactivism when you were younger? You probably still have some of those connections, and I bet a lot of people who oppose mutilation of children's genitals when done for reason A will also oppose it when done for reason B.

These are just some examples - there are a lot of other potential options out there. I'd love to see some people share, if you go through the thought exercise. What opportunities did you find, when examining your average week? What resources do you already have? How could they be used?