35
DiscussionHow Do We Organize Ourselves?
This is for those who consider themselves radical feminists, women's rights activists, or anyone interested in getting more involved with politics.
Is it possible to revitalize a women's movement similar to the second wave? Of course, things can never be the same as it was then, but sometimes it feels like the conditions that led to women's lib in the 60s/70s are slowly being replicated today in some aspects.
Gender ideology encroaching on legal sex-based rights, prostitution, and surrogacy laws, abortion bans, the rise of AI and porn-fueled harassment, domestic violence, rape, and sexual assault centers being shut down or starved of funding for refusing males (trans-identified or otherwise), and much more are all issues we cannot afford to ignore or be complacent on.
One of my favorite podcasts called RedFem talks about how women have never been a revolutionary class with a revolutionary theory since we are divided and tend to live amongst men (most of us anyway) among other things and also tend to lean into individual lifestyle politics (today due to neoliberal feminism as opposed to organized mass actions. Feminists aren't the only ones who do this, it's the "Left" in general).
Political organizing takes a lot of time, effort, and patience to achieve success. I think women today have what it takes, there just aren't many avenues to go about this. The Left in the Western world (I live in the West so I can only speak on this region) is largely impotent (not just on women's issues) and lacking in many ways. Hordes of angry men have always sought to undermine feminism but that feels especially true today with Antifa crowds harassing women's rights protesters on a whim, something else to consider.
There are also unresolved issues within women's organizing like the devaluation and marginalization of poor and working-class women, lesbians, non-Western women, and women of color who cannot afford to continue if we are serious about organizing ourselves. We don't have to be exactly like our predecessors, but we can learn from their mistakes and take inspiration from strategies that worked. I am trying to get more involved with a leftist, radical feminist group in my area but it's going to take some time and help to build.
What are people's thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? I'd like to try and foster a respectful and healthy dialogue more often on this forum. DMs are also welcome.