We took some amazing photos, met some wonderful people and heard some inspiring stories this weekend at Slutwalk DC.

I was lucky enough to have the volunteered help of both my boyfriend and my father at the Fem2.0 booth. Just the fact that two of the most important men in my life spent their Saturday afternoon talking to Slutwalk-ers and, through their volunteering, fighting victim-blaming and rape culture was enough to make this day incredibly special. But it wasn’t just about the people who were there supporting me. It wasn’t about me at all.

It was about all of the people there supporting each other — friends and strangers. What struck me the most about this weekend’s event was seeing the sheer diversity of people supporting the walk, from all backgrounds and genders. You can see it in our photos: everybody was out supporting this powerful message- loudly. Everybody was open towards each other, was applauding survivors’ stories, was shouting along with speakers. Nobody was shy. Even tourists visiting monuments and museums on the Mall were drawn in by the music and noise, and told me that they had wished they had known Slutwalk was taking place that day so they could have marched, too. It sounds cliche, but it’s true that the energy was contagious.

We invited attendees to interact with our booth and express themselves however they pleased. If they wanted to draw graffiti on our signs and make their mark on our tables (or their bodies), they did it. If they wanted to show off their signs and their outfits and their friends, we asked them to pose for our camera. If they just wanted to stop by for refreshments, that was okay, too. And other booths encouraged just the same thing, from body painting to self-defense lessons to sharing stories and networking.

To the critics of Slutwalk: this is why I support this cause, and why I was so happy that Fem2.0 was able to be there. You can say what you want to me about the name, and about how the word “slut” may make you uncomfortable or nervous. But it’s not about the word “slut” and it’s not about your discomfort. It’s about being able to walk down the street in a big, busy city, wearing whatever you please, and not having to accept harassment or assault. It’s about declaring that you are a survivor, and knowing you’re not alone. It’s about conquering fear and embracing power. When that concept means that much to so many, to their lives, how can you focus on one word? How could you not, instead, learn something?

Big shout-outs to Defend Yourself, YWTF-DC and The Women’s Collective, who stopped by our booth with offers of support and collaboration, and a special thank you to the Slutwalk DC organizers, who put on an amazing event. Finally, a round of applause for the marchers and survivors who came together this weekend, stayed through the thunderstorm, talked to the media and gave us their time and their stories.

If you stopped by the Fem2.0 booth, like us on Facebook to find your picture and tag it!

Further reading and coverage:

WJLA, Hundreds Rallied for the Slutwalk

NBC Washington, Hundreds Participate in D.C. Slutwalk

Washington Post, SlutWalk DC marchers protest sexual assault and a culture of victim-blaming (some wonderful photos here!)`

Your Jewish News, Slutwalk protest breaks out in Washington, DC

AFP, Slutwalk comes to US Capital

iAfrica, ‘My mommy is a slut‘

Grazu, Why I Marched in Slutwalk DC

Forever the Queerest Kids, Slutwalk DC

Photos:

DCist

Glitterazzi

Slutwalk DC

Flickr

Lots of young fems making lists today. I’m joining in!

Why am I a young feminist?

• Because I will not give up my right to choose. And yes, I do think that right is in danger.
• Because I hate knowing how likely it is that I’ll have to choose between having a family and having a career.
• Because, even if I choose “career” (see bullet two), I know I’ll have to work harder and make less than my male colleagues.
• Because I do not accept that women deserve maltreatment and abuse simply because they are women.
• Because I don’t think that birth control is a “women’s” issue or safe sex shouldn’t be encouraged.
• Because it’s absurd to think that a woman cannot be trusted to make her own decisions.
• Because equality has not been achieved yet. And because I’m hopeful that it can be.
• Because there are women all over the world – who call themselves feminists, who call themselves something else, who just call themselves women or men or whatever they choose – who agree.

I’m comfortable calling myself a feminist and have been doing so for some time. But I understand the hesitation many young women have about publicizing their own feminist views by openly embracing the label. I find myself having to explain the word, over and over, to people who don’t think they understand it or agree (when they probably do!). I have to justify why I feel that, yes, feminism as a movement is still important – even in 2010. I have to explain why I don’t think Sarah Palin can call herself a feminist, and why women politicians deserve criticism from their female peers – no, just because you and I share a gender does not mean that I agree with your views, and I will not support you, regardless of your gender, if I feel that you’re holding women back or taking away their choices.

I’m comfortable asserting this online and (thankfully) at work. Here’s the rub, and something that, in the spirit of this blog carnival, I’ll admit even though I’m really not proud of it: in my personal life, I find myself keeping it quiet. “I’m Katie, and I’m a feminist” is not the first thing I’ll advertise when I meet someone new. When I hear friends make sexist or misogynistic statements or jokes, I catch myself – not always, but often enough – keeping quiet instead of piping up to point out what’s wrong with what they just said. I try not to go off on long rants about sexist politicians and celebrities at parties (this, however, is not always successful) and find it easier for everyone if I keep these opinions to myself. I put a lid on the frustration I feel when my mother preaches about abstinence and judges friends of mine who are living with their boyfriends or who are pregnant. When I don’t, it can seem like I’m putting someone down or being overly sensitive or bossy. It ruins the mood. It starts arguments. It makes people uncomfortable.

There are plenty of times when I don’t think I should have to start ranting away. During a movie, or when we’re watching TV? There are some obviously sexist, racist, discriminatory things on the screen – often expressed shamelessly. Wouldn’t my rants just be pointing out the obvious? Everyone else has to see the same things I do, don’t they? And jokes are just jokes – surely my friends don’t actually feel this way. Surely not all women want to be objects and want to play into stereotypes and outdated, sexist, cultural norms. Surely not all men want them to. Right? Please tell me I’m right.

But I’m not. And that’s the hard part – that’s where I’m not doing any favors for a movement I love, for a word and an idea that’s changed my life like it’s changed so many others. The little things count. My voice counts. And I shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to use it, even when it might not be “appropriate” or it might someone a little uncomfortable. When it brings the conversation to a dead halt. When it might make my mother nervously change the subject.

What does a feminist look like? Sometimes she’s passionate, opinionated and a little too quiet. So here’s my Women’s Equality Day resolution: to pipe up and say what I feel all the time. And I’d encourage you, young fems and everyone else struggling with this, to do the same. Seems so easy, but I’ll be the first to tell you that it takes guts. Mostly lungs.

Thank you, Fair and Feminist, for hosting the THIS IS WHAT A YOUNG FEMINIST LOOKS LIKE blog carnival today! Check out all the posts here and join in.

Photo credit: incurable_hippie via the Creative Commons License.

So I’m skimming through an entertainment article in the Daily Mail (from across the pond) this morning when suddenly I come across a completely random rant against working mothers and maternity leave. Written by a woman. I just about choked on my coffee.

Check it out:

Excessive maternity leave hampers women in the workplace

Why has it taken so long for Labour’s equal rights laws to blow up in their face?

It is clear to anyone with three brain cells that excessive amounts of maternity leave and gigantic sex discrimination payouts – of the kind shepherded through by Sir Harriet Harman – have not strengthened the position of women in the workplace.

If anything, they have hampered the prospects of many, particularly in a credit-crunched marketplace.

If you are a young, ambitious woman of child-bearing years, any employer is going to think once, twice, three times about you, lady.

Particularly small businesses, who are hammered out of all existence by discriminatory legislation and given no help to thrive.

This government, desperate to appease working mothers at any cost, has alienated employers, not encouraged them.

It goes on and on, but what is clear is that that great citadel of gender gelding, the Government Equalities Office, is doing more harm than good.

The Government Equalities Office, by the way, is the UK government department that takes the lead on issues around equality and discrimination.

So you’re telling me that women who may take maternity leave and who file cases against sex discrimination are setting women back in the workplace? That women who challenge a work system that doesn’t let them to effectively take care of their families while holding a career OR encourage them to seek equal opportunities and compensation when they don’t get it are actually holding back the gender and destroying business? And there’s no mention at all of paternity leave or allowing men an equal chance to take care of their families? Are you joking??

It’s from the “Femail” section and was written by Jan Moir, and I had to search around to find out who she is. Easy to do, since right now she’s receiving vicious backlash over her comments in the same article about former Irish boyband member Stephen Gately, who died recently. She, uh, blamed his death on his being gay. Wow. The Wikipedia entry about her calls her a homophobe, and I agree, but I’m still pissed off about her throw-away comment railing against working mothers who need maternity leave.

I’m a young woman. I have a career. I could have a baby at ANY TIME. Does that mean employers should think twice about hiring me? Because of my uterus and my unborn future children? What about yours, Jan?

A few of the commenters on the article agree with me, and I hope you do as well — hop over there and let them know that passing comments like these are unacceptable, no matter who the author is.

Photo credit: cali.org via the Creative Commons License.

Just in time for me to read an article about the Navy considering allowing women to serve on submarine vessels, I receive the IAVA’s newest report on women veterans and soldiers: Women Warriors: Supporting “She Who Has Born the Battle.” If you don’t know about it already, hop over there and read it — you probably knew that women have a high risk of sexual harassment while in service, but there are several things I was surprised to learn.

One (unrelated line) stuck out to me in particular:

And unlike in the civilian world, female troops receive equal pay for equal service.

I snooped around to see if this is true, and apparently it is. Military pay is determined by rank and years of service, mostly. Here’s a handy pay estimator from the Department of Defense, in case you’re curious.

Despite the touting of equal compensation, however, women are underrepresented in higher ranks and have lower promotion rates and rates of extending their military careers. There are many reasons for this, starting with what we all know about women: they are usually taking care of somebody. According to the report, more than 40% of active-duty women have children, and they are increasingly single mothers. And over 30,000 single mothers have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan as of March, 2009. As a Navy brat, my family was supported by my dad’s service, but he was gone for most of my early childhood. What if my mother hadn’t been there? What would he have done? Where would I have gone?

Another point that struck me was about healthcare: active duty women are more likely to report that they do not get enough time or are not treated with the proper respect by their doctors. Now, I’ve never served in the military, but I’ve had TRICARE, and it’s pretty effing hard to get some proper medical attention on a military base. Granted, I was a dependent civilian, but I saw the system firsthand at Fort Belvoir in Virginia. And for a woman it’s quite frankly not that different from regular care. Not only is it hard to get appointments, but I’ve been sexually harassed in a doctor’s office by a male doctor WHILE only wearing a dressing gown and during a gynecology appointment. Talk about degrading. Although I now have the luxury of being able to choose a female doctor, I can’t imagine what it might be like on a military base in the middle of the desert. Just think: limited access to routine health care or medical supplies while deployed, no privacy, limited access to hygiene products or birth control and commanders who don’t understand or care about women’s healthcare needs OR allow female service members the time to take care of those needs. Awesome.

I started this piece talking about sexual harassment and assault, and, as expected, the rates are mindboggling. In 2008 there were almost 3,000 reports of sexual assault involving service members — up 9% from ’07 — and 163 reports in war zones. Half of all sexual assaults go unreported (not surprising at all — ever been to college?), yet nearly 1/3 of female service members say they have been assaulted or raped while serving. AND the majority of assailants are older and of higher rank. Say your ranking officer assaults you one night. Imagine waking up the next morning and serving alongside him — trusting him with your safety and your life — and being expected to perform your duties competently. Want a rape kit or Plan B? Good luck.

Only 8% of sexual assailants were court-martialed in ’07, yet almost 15% of female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (who have gone to the VA for care) have screened positive for Military Sexual Trauma (MST). This combined with high rates of mental health injuries — many women have seen combat and suffer from PTSD and depression — make women more likely to seek treatment and more likely to do so via the VA. Yet the issue of how to change this typically male-dominated healthcare system is an important one. The rates of female veterans looking to the VA for healthcare are going up (44% of Iraq and Afghanistan vets seek care and remain in the system), yet women often don’t know what care they are eligible for or are made to feel unwelcome. And their accessibility is limited: in 2003, it was “made mandatory” to provide a minimum level of women’s health services, but only “where feasible.” Care is fragmented, which means that some women are forced to travel more than 2 hours to receive routine care through this system. Routine care like, you know, a PAP or a mammogram.

Although female vets can expect to earn more in the civilian workforce than those women who have not served, they will still earn less than their male counterparts. And, to top it all off, rates of homeless veterans are going up. What can we do?

Collectively, bold steps must be taken to improve healthcare for female troops and veterans — taking their unique health care needs into account — and expand existing support services and transitional resources. Female veterans should no longer have to choose between a homeless shelter and the streets at night. The military must also work aggressively to eliminate sexual assault and harassment from within its ranks, and widen career opportunities for women. This will make our military stronger and our country more secure.

Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the IAVA, just launched Week of the Women Warriors and their Women Warrior Center, and you can read his HuffPost piece on it here. Want to take action? Do what I did: sign the open letter encouraging Congress to help female veterans and:

•    Provide comprehensive VA health care and transitional resources for female veterans.

•    Aggressively address female veterans’ mental health injuries.

•    Improve counseling for veterans who have experienced Military Sexual Trauma (MST).

•    Expand programs for homeless female veterans.

It’s the least we can do.

Photo credit: The U.S. Army via the Creative Commons License.

Don’t forget to take a look at Liza Sabeter’s post about our last Twittercast on men and feminism.

Our topic for Sunday will be the Fem2.0 Agenda: What do you think? What themes are missing? How can we improve next time?

Bring your feedback, questions and any other topics you want to discuss. See you Sunday! And if you haven’t registered for the conference yet, it’s time. Monday is coming up quick!

I don’t know the feminist movement personally, but I want to.

I consider myself a feminist, yes, but what does that mean to me? I care about women’s issues, and there are so many  to care about! I care about what happens to women and girls, all over the world, I care about what will happen to my future daughters and what happens to my friends, and I want people to hear about it. When I asked my mom what it meant to her, someone born in the ’50s, she talked about bra burnings and said something about the ’70s, and added, "But it’s really not that important anymore, I guess."

Uh… what?

In 2003, Bush passed the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. As an editor on my high school newspaper that year, I designed and wrote a two-page feature section on partial-birth abortion. I was upset and angry that something like this could happen, even at 16 years old, and I and my journalism teacher knew that we needed to talk about it. But after news of what I was doing spread, I spent two weeks fighting my school’s principals just to get it published.

I attended the March for Women’s Lives the following year, and I took my mom with me.

That same year I entered college to pursuing an English/Cultural Studies degree, and I added a couple of Women’s Studies classes on a lark (Feminism in Islamic Literature, Women’s Studies 101, Women Who Kill — about female criminals through history. Yep, as fascinating as it sounds). Not only did they add credits to my degree and interest me on a personal level (I am a woman; this class will be about women; I should take this class), but the other students were from many different backgrounds, and we all brought incredible perspective to discussions two or three times a week. I went to one of the most diverse high schools and universities in the country, by the way, so, really, I got that in all of my classes.

However, although I felt I was a feminist, I saw the classes more as "study." Which was fine — I had so much to learn. But lessons about self-identity and -awareness echoed my Psych classes than anything else. Learning about sexism wasn’t a real shocker; if it hadn’t been obvious up to that point, then clearly you hadn’t been paying attention. But I never learned what anyone should do about it, so I walked away when class ended worried more about my thesis paper than issues of sexism, discrimination and calls to action. Something was missing, but I was too young and inexperienced to pinpoint exactly what it was. So, unfortunately, I walked away from it.

But I couldn’t stay away. I had studied storytelling for four years. Looking back, what was really fascinating and empowering for me was seeing these women express themselves so openly. They didn’t feel like they had to hold back or edit themselves; they just let it out. But as we discussed and debated so passionately in that "safe space" of our classroom, I wondered if any of us truly felt safe doing the same thing outside of those walls. Campus was a bubble; everyone wandered around pondering things and telling each other about those things, but it was mostly a commuter-school. Many of us (myself included) drove away from it at the end of the day, back to reality (job, family, responsibility) and away from grandiose ideas and theories. How many of my friends in these Women’s Studies classes kept speaking up when they left the building? Did we still feel so empowered and honest when we went home?

The Internet, I realize now, is helping these young women keep it going even when they drive away from the safety of academia. For me, this is about communication and empowerment, two concepts that are solidly linked. Screw the "safe space." There shouldn’t have to be a dedicated space and time when you can allow yourself to share your opinion and feel passionate about something — it should be whenever and wherever you want. I read plenty of blogs, websites and articles written by women who are compelling, informative and proud, and these voices get louder by the day.  Working on this conference, I’m meeting women who have been participating in this conversation for years and who are just starting out, who want to cross generational divides and learn from each other, who want to make friends and want to take action — just like I did back in college.

This is powerful and important, and I’m proud to say that I finally, truly, get it. Feminism, it’s nice to meet you.