There are just as many feminisms as there are feminists.
If there is one thing that I have learned from being active in the feminist community, it’s that.
The easiest way I know to explain this is that if you were to go around asking random people to define feminism, odds are you won’t hear the same answer twice. Sure, there will probably be a few who rattle off something about “equality,” but rarely will those people agree on what “equality” means. It’s even more rare for people to unanimously agree that it should be “equality amongst all genders” rather than simply “equality between genders.”
When you see this through rose-colored glasses, you might realize that there are limitless possibilities as far as what the feminist movement can achieve. And this is true. Any time that I have worked with people who are committed to inclusive feminism, we have always been able to sustain an environment where we could check ourselves, each other, and work together regardless of what any individual person’s definition of feminism was.
But it’s also true that sometimes when people have different definitions of feminism there can be more heated discussion and infighting than there is real work being done. Sometimes there is even violence within the feminist movement, whether through microagressions, or erasure-bent exclusive feminism.
I’ve been around just long enough to see both sides, and I figured I was more than well prepared to work on feminist issues outside the U.S. when I left for my semester abroad. In fact, when I realized that the Feminist Society at Maynooth University was holding open elections for the International Representative position, I was in.
Of course, it wasn’t until after I delivered a thirty-second speech, responded to a couple questions, and waited for the votes to be tallied that I knew I was actually in. But even then I was so thrilled to be working with a new community that I was nowhere near prepared for the challenges I would face working in the global feminist community.
First there were just the minor speed bumps. New school means new rules, which meant all the things I thought I knew about on-campus organizing was worth little to nothing. That includes knowing when the most popular time of the week to organize an event is, which room to book and how to book that room, what pop culture reference to use in advertising, even how to proceed in a basic meeting. Apparently the one thing you can’t go wrong with is pizza (although Maynooth does step it up a notch and provide wine at general meetings).
Communication has also been a struggle at times, and I mean more than just overcoming the accent. There are many differences between the Irish feminist lexicon and the American feminist lexicon, and I’ve tripped up on plenty of these. Some of the terms used in American feminist or LGBTQ communities would be considered offensive in Irish feminist circles, and still more terms are simply not recognized.
Knowing this beforehand, I refrained from using the term queer until I spoke with the Feminist Society members who told me that “queer” is being reclaimed by some in the Irish LGBTQ community, just as it is with the American LGBTQ community. During the same meeting, we spent another ten minutes defining terms not all of us were familiar with, and covered everything from gender identities to the concept of white feminism. Some of these were familiar to me, others were as foreign as the craic.
Still, being aware of which words are in play is just the first step in working on the global feminist platform. While there are a lot of overlapping issues that Irish and American feminists are working on (the pro-choice movement, for instance) there are plenty more that are unique to Ireland’s circumstances, and those of individual communities throughout the country. When it comes to confronting these issues, some of the strategies employed (marching, striking, boycotting, petitioning, etc.) are those that I am familiar with and have used myself. Yet, all of this is done in a political and social environment where the risks and gains are measured much differently than at home.
So, after my first week as International Rep, I started wondering if there was anything even remotely similar to what I’ve experienced working in American feminist organizations.
The stereotypes are certainly the same, for one thing. Whether you’re in North America or Europe, identifying as a feminist might very well brand you as a condescending, ball busting, overly aggressive, man hater. And, unfortunately, I have had enough conversations with the Feminist Society members to confirm that this does happen in Ireland.
But beyond that?
It’s the feminists.
Okay, maybe they are not carbon copy similar, but regardless of where I’ve been, the true feminists I’ve worked with have been well-spoken advocates, compassionate leaders, and unnervingly dedicated to the work they do. Certainly not they’re always the easiest people to work with, and you can never see eye to eye on more than a handful of things, but you know you that they will always be there to check you when you need it, and have your back before you know it.
Oddly enough, it brings me back a question I was asked when I was running for the International Rep position. Someone asked who my feminist role model was, and the first person to come to mind was Assata Shakur.
I gave my explanation for the choice, but all the while all I was thinking of a particular quote of hers, and how much it applied to my definition of intersectional, international, inclusive feminism.
“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other, and protect each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”