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aishah · 07-11-2012, 01:17 PM

i had the opposite reaction kobi...in my experience, many initiatives that choose only to focus on women's issues pretty much erase the needs/experiences/presence of marginalized women. because they don't address the fact that we can't even get to the table to talk about sexism half the time because of colonialism, poverty, racism, etc. and that these other issues have deeply shaped what sexism looks like in our communities. so to me...any women's initiative that is going to be inclusive of us has to deal with that. it's not about watering it down...it's about making sure that initiatives to address sexism go beyond middle/upper class white women's communities and needs.

this is compounded by the fact that many women with disabilities, poor and rural women, and women of color who are descriptively lesbian or queer cannot or will not identify that way politically because it can threaten their access to community and resources, among other things. for many people it's a life or death issue and they won't have the freedom to identify this way politically because those other issues are not usually included or addressed at the political queer table.

since the political sphere is dominated by middle and upper class white folks...before i read that part of the initiative i had serious concerns about the possibility that this could be at all inclusive or address the needs of a more diverse group of women. i still have concerns but that at least gives me some hope that they are keeping this in mind as they move forward.

this is really awesome

thanks for sharing about it howsoonisnow!

07-11-2012, 01:17 PM	#4
aishah Member How Do You Identify?: queer stone femme shark baby girl Preferred Pronoun?: she, her, little one Relationship Status: dating myself. Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: dallas, tx Posts: 1,495 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 13,823 Thanked 6,437 Times in 1,288 Posts Rep Power: 21474850	i had the opposite reaction kobi...in my experience, many initiatives that choose only to focus on women's issues pretty much erase the needs/experiences/presence of marginalized women. because they don't address the fact that we can't even get to the table to talk about sexism half the time because of colonialism, poverty, racism, etc. and that these other issues have deeply shaped what sexism looks like in our communities. so to me...any women's initiative that is going to be inclusive of us has to deal with that. it's not about watering it down...it's about making sure that initiatives to address sexism go beyond middle/upper class white women's communities and needs. this is compounded by the fact that many women with disabilities, poor and rural women, and women of color who are descriptively lesbian or queer cannot or will not identify that way politically because it can threaten their access to community and resources, among other things. for many people it's a life or death issue and they won't have the freedom to identify this way politically because those other issues are not usually included or addressed at the political queer table. since the political sphere is dominated by middle and upper class white folks...before i read that part of the initiative i had serious concerns about the possibility that this could be at all inclusive or address the needs of a more diverse group of women. i still have concerns but that at least gives me some hope that they are keeping this in mind as they move forward. this is really awesome thanks for sharing about it howsoonisnow!