Tuesday, August 28, 2012

the next step

So it's time.  Time to quantify, however loosely, my campaign against sexism.  It's grass roots.  The scale is pretty small.  But I wage personal wars against things I feel strongly about (i.e. anti-gay business practices by companies like Chik-fil-a and Hobby Lobby), especially against media-based sexism.  There's a feeling of vindication and personal pride at the front-lines of my tiny tirades.  

As the gurus at MissRepresentation suggest:

Step 3: Set a goal for your campaign - from numbers of signatures to phone calls made - and begin implementing your plan. 

Then how can I measure or quantify my little personal protest?  I read blogs and tweets from credible sources I trust almost every day, depending on online access.  It's my goal to inform myself via reading (articles, blogs, trusted news sources) every time time allows me to do so.  I hope that to be almost every day, and the plan is underway.  The Twitter tag #MissRep shows the great response of other people doing the same.  I use several hashtags to make my tweets searchable.  Maybe there will even be an official count documented here.

As I've said before, my personal protests may fall on deaf ears.  They are most likely unknown to the companies and ignored by the interns handling menial tasks like social media mining for political candidates on the campaign trail.  I've had my say in my small way, and I know it's out there.  Someone like Todd Akin will probably never know -- much less care -- what I think, but I vow to voice my opinion.  Sometimes it's the only participation available to the mass public, and I'm going to use it.

3 comments:

  1. hey katie,
    i think your "personal protests" matter a lot. don't you feel great when you surf blogs and find other feminists who share your views? sometimes being a feminist can feel like a lonely thing. i'm always so happy to find like-minded women. that's something really important that your blog does. it contributes to this community of online women (and men) who need to hear that there are other people out there with similar worries, frustrations, and aspirations. thanks for writing!

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    1. Deb - It's just funny that I keep finding myself muttering, "Just another little personal protest that nobody cares about but me" at the end of a soapbox spiel. You're right, though, it is great to find other feminists online, and I've learned a lot that way. Now if only many more young women would do the same. It might make a big difference on the current "war on women."

      Misogynists are otherwise out there trolling feminist boards or Twitter posts with crazy or sick comments of their own. How do they find the time?

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