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Two years ago I moved back to Co
lumbus, in part to care for a rela
tive and in part because I missed the progressive community here (yes, there is one!). I moved away nine years before for a job in Lexington, KY and have since lived and worked within and outside of NOW, the National Organization for Women, in 5 states – OH, KY, WA, TN, MI and back to OH. Just before I moved back I went to a Columbus NOW meeting and decided to run for office hoping I’d have an immediate place to “plug in” once I got back and settled somewhat.
Frequently, when attending gatherings, meetings, rallies, workshops, conferences or classes I get asked two things: Isn’t feminism dead (or over)? and What does NOW do (I thought it didn’t exist anymore)?
These questions point to the myths about feminism (and, indirectly about democracy, rights, freedom, and liberty) and about the strengths, visibility and power of organizations like NOW.
The most important thing to make clear is that for most feminists, there doesn’t exist one type of feminism – as part of the ideology understanding and respecting the fluidity of such terminology and how language is used to support and detract from causes such as the cause for women’s rights. Most feminists refer to feminisms – recognizing there to be many places, ways and means that people – men and women – enter the women’s movement or, for us, the feminist movement.
NOW is an organization with mixed myths and truths as part of its reputation. It is true that many NOW members historically have been white, middle-class, and heterosexual women. However, it is also true that an early NOW president was African-American and that many of the most activist women identified as lesbian or bi-sexual. This movement is ever-changing in its accessibility to people of color, lesbians, and even men and NOW is force for the change as well as a beneficiary of it. This is just one example of mythology that may keep members of organizations from working together or thinking of each other when it comes to working on the many oppressions experienced by members of our community.
As to the question of what NOW is doing, I find this a complex question to answer. On the one hand, not enough that is visible or heard or the question might not be asked. On the other hand, the work we do might be so meaningful as to be purposefully rendered unimportant, insignificant, or whining thus impacting and reducing visibility of NOW’s work.
One thing I’ve been thinking of since returning to Columbus, having lived in places that were far more conservative and backlash-prone and some that were radical well beyond NOW’s reach, and that is about what I think of as the “feminist lens.” This is the lens that asks questions about the effects on women and girls and then, too, on men and boys.
Organizations, groups, and individuals push for legislation and policy changes that seek to rectify imbalances and then there are the unintended consequences. For example, the “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” military policy related to homosexuality in the military has had the unintended consequence of silencing people who have been sexually harassed or assaulted within the military or its corresponding training academies or schools. How could that happen in 2000 or beyond? I think for not applying a feminist lens to the situations.
The feminist lens can lend itself to taking actions where one sees and recognizes mistreatment or unjust or unfair treatment – in our schools, family, workplace, place of worship, government, business, parks, arts and social arenas – anywhere where there is reason to think that someone has been purposefully or even accidentally “left out” or excluded from a process, project, or opportunity, especially when the exclusion is connected to increasing livelihoods or one’s quality of life.
This lens is more than about gender or sex though it is deeply about them. It is also about envisioning a better way to live, work, and play, about more than tokenism, about REAL opportunity, about cooperation more than competition, about putting situations into context, about listening to how others make meaning of things, about non-violence, about fairness, about justice, about being whole people with minds, bodies and spirits, about recognizing cultural diversities in ways that honor all of us and so on.
Are there limits to this feminist lens? Isn’t the feminist lens about just being “nice”? Isn’t a concept of a “lens” limiting by definition? Well, perhaps but in NOW, as with other feminist and even some women’s, organizations this lens and the actions that the lens inspires are important steps to the vision of equality and beyond, recognizing even here that working towards equality with men might not be “radical” enough for many as that position doesn’t call for a real revolution and overhaul of the dominant socioeconomic and political forces at play today.
Thus, Columbus NOW works for “small” revolutions and, perhaps, is thought to sell out women and girls to the lowest bidder. We work for NOW because we think that when we speak up and are not silenced and when we show up and are visible and when we ACT – in protest to or by developing policy changes and within electoral politics, that we can make a difference and improve women’s lives. In these challenging economic times, remembering how far women have come in terms of access to and actually having power and economic strength is a source of inspiration. However, when working towards incremental (read “piecemeal”) approaches to equality and justice, it is perspiration that counts. We who work in NOW recognize that incrementalism, what some call pitting one group of victims against another, or one group of women against another, is what liberal feminist groups in NOW cause.
I, for one, reject this notion though see it for what it means in relation to radical feminism and overthrowing of patriarchy. With the war drums beating and the drums of victory looming, this overthrow seems far away. I’d rather work for some (spare?) change than work for no changes. We address issues about economic justice for women, violence against women, reproductive freedom, getting feminist women and men elected, racism, lesbian issues, issues facing women with disabilities, and each year NOW passes on average of 20 resolutions or stands on nearly every social issue imaginable. We do this at a conference at which people can come for free if they are a NOW member – even a member who paid reduced rate. (NOW was a leader in this area of improving access for national conferences, FYI).
Every time a NOW member or other feminist shows up and applies her/his feminist lens to understanding and action, we think we ARE doing feminist work. We’d like you to join us – for dialogue, debate, or for a demonstration OR, in the alternative, perhaps we can join you. “No one is free while others are oppressed”. Contact us: columbusnow@tgender.net or at the NOW Action line at 614-447-0012 or at our website: columbusnow.homestead.com or www.now.org (national).
Michel Coconis is a political activist and college instructor currently serving as President of Columbus NOW. She also sits on the Board of the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism that publishes the Free Press.
Frequently, when attending gatherings, meetings, rallies, workshops, conferences or classes I get asked two things: Isn’t feminism dead (or over)? and What does NOW do (I thought it didn’t exist anymore)?
These questions point to the myths about feminism (and, indirectly about democracy, rights, freedom, and liberty) and about the strengths, visibility and power of organizations like NOW.
The most important thing to make clear is that for most feminists, there doesn’t exist one type of feminism – as part of the ideology understanding and respecting the fluidity of such terminology and how language is used to support and detract from causes such as the cause for women’s rights. Most feminists refer to feminisms – recognizing there to be many places, ways and means that people – men and women – enter the women’s movement or, for us, the feminist movement.
NOW is an organization with mixed myths and truths as part of its reputation. It is true that many NOW members historically have been white, middle-class, and heterosexual women. However, it is also true that an early NOW president was African-American and that many of the most activist women identified as lesbian or bi-sexual. This movement is ever-changing in its accessibility to people of color, lesbians, and even men and NOW is force for the change as well as a beneficiary of it. This is just one example of mythology that may keep members of organizations from working together or thinking of each other when it comes to working on the many oppressions experienced by members of our community.
As to the question of what NOW is doing, I find this a complex question to answer. On the one hand, not enough that is visible or heard or the question might not be asked. On the other hand, the work we do might be so meaningful as to be purposefully rendered unimportant, insignificant, or whining thus impacting and reducing visibility of NOW’s work.
One thing I’ve been thinking of since returning to Columbus, having lived in places that were far more conservative and backlash-prone and some that were radical well beyond NOW’s reach, and that is about what I think of as the “feminist lens.” This is the lens that asks questions about the effects on women and girls and then, too, on men and boys.
Organizations, groups, and individuals push for legislation and policy changes that seek to rectify imbalances and then there are the unintended consequences. For example, the “Don’t ask, Don’t Tell” military policy related to homosexuality in the military has had the unintended consequence of silencing people who have been sexually harassed or assaulted within the military or its corresponding training academies or schools. How could that happen in 2000 or beyond? I think for not applying a feminist lens to the situations.
The feminist lens can lend itself to taking actions where one sees and recognizes mistreatment or unjust or unfair treatment – in our schools, family, workplace, place of worship, government, business, parks, arts and social arenas – anywhere where there is reason to think that someone has been purposefully or even accidentally “left out” or excluded from a process, project, or opportunity, especially when the exclusion is connected to increasing livelihoods or one’s quality of life.
This lens is more than about gender or sex though it is deeply about them. It is also about envisioning a better way to live, work, and play, about more than tokenism, about REAL opportunity, about cooperation more than competition, about putting situations into context, about listening to how others make meaning of things, about non-violence, about fairness, about justice, about being whole people with minds, bodies and spirits, about recognizing cultural diversities in ways that honor all of us and so on.
Are there limits to this feminist lens? Isn’t the feminist lens about just being “nice”? Isn’t a concept of a “lens” limiting by definition? Well, perhaps but in NOW, as with other feminist and even some women’s, organizations this lens and the actions that the lens inspires are important steps to the vision of equality and beyond, recognizing even here that working towards equality with men might not be “radical” enough for many as that position doesn’t call for a real revolution and overhaul of the dominant socioeconomic and political forces at play today.
Thus, Columbus NOW works for “small” revolutions and, perhaps, is thought to sell out women and girls to the lowest bidder. We work for NOW because we think that when we speak up and are not silenced and when we show up and are visible and when we ACT – in protest to or by developing policy changes and within electoral politics, that we can make a difference and improve women’s lives. In these challenging economic times, remembering how far women have come in terms of access to and actually having power and economic strength is a source of inspiration. However, when working towards incremental (read “piecemeal”) approaches to equality and justice, it is perspiration that counts. We who work in NOW recognize that incrementalism, what some call pitting one group of victims against another, or one group of women against another, is what liberal feminist groups in NOW cause.
I, for one, reject this notion though see it for what it means in relation to radical feminism and overthrowing of patriarchy. With the war drums beating and the drums of victory looming, this overthrow seems far away. I’d rather work for some (spare?) change than work for no changes. We address issues about economic justice for women, violence against women, reproductive freedom, getting feminist women and men elected, racism, lesbian issues, issues facing women with disabilities, and each year NOW passes on average of 20 resolutions or stands on nearly every social issue imaginable. We do this at a conference at which people can come for free if they are a NOW member – even a member who paid reduced rate. (NOW was a leader in this area of improving access for national conferences, FYI).
Every time a NOW member or other feminist shows up and applies her/his feminist lens to understanding and action, we think we ARE doing feminist work. We’d like you to join us – for dialogue, debate, or for a demonstration OR, in the alternative, perhaps we can join you. “No one is free while others are oppressed”. Contact us: columbusnow@tgender.net or at the NOW Action line at 614-447-0012 or at our website: columbusnow.homestead.com or www.now.org (national).
Michel Coconis is a political activist and college instructor currently serving as President of Columbus NOW. She also sits on the Board of the Columbus Institute for Contemporary Journalism that publishes the Free Press.