Guest Writer Series: Reflecting on 'The Goal'
*Note to Reader:
I've decided to start a guest writers series for VALE Blog. This semi-regular series will develop over time and as it continues to grow it will become an opportunity to share and amplify different feminist voices to illuminate the peculiar nature that is the feminist perspective.
I begin this series with Jacob Shorr; my partner and confidant who so graciously listens to my feminist rants on a regular basis. Jake's feminist perspective is most interesting because, as a man, he has the choice to engage with these ideas. They don't directly affect him the way they do me. And yet, he still chooses to do so.
It goes without saying that I believe that all women should be feminists. Whether or not women choose to engage with feminism, these arguments impact them on a daily basis. But this is why it's so important for men to endorse feminism. And if you think that feminism is not your problem because you're a man, then you serve as the primary example for to why this blog exists. By denying your social responsibility, you only perpetuate the problems which feminism seeks to solve.
xxVL
What’s the goal here?
In the infrequent, often fleeting, moments of introspection prior to falling asleep, I’d always “passed” when self-evaluated on the topic of feminism. Not with A’s, nor B’s...But well-intended…possibly lazy…stand-up-for-the-women-I-care-about, C’s. Further still, I deemed them satisfactory. I think in part as I genuinely felt some semblance of moral equilibrium at the time–after all, ignorance can be bliss, and in part because of the dynamic, often ambiguous, incredibly daunting task at hand.
It would be nice if there was a finish line, out there on the horizon–with participation trophies and hydration stations, like in the New York City marathon. A metaphorical place that, once reached, would memorialize a new era of equal opportunity, subsequently extinguishing sexism. But sadly, that's just not so.
In a utopic society, built atop a foundational pillar of equality, there’d be no need for feminism–the word would not exist. The movement is not recreational but reactionary. It’s self-defence. Back in reality, this makes for a difficult problem to tackle.
While some infractions are overt, and left to the judicial system when deemed ‘believable,’ others are less concrete. And to arrive ahead of such injustices–those abstract, and undefined infractions–is a lot like catching smoke. We all see it. We all smell it. It's kind of just hanging there. But try grabbing it. There's ideology at play here. It alters potential, opportunity, behavioral patterns and peace of mind–and while inflicted without physical harm or breach of law, it is in no way less damaging.
So how do you take on this problem?
“What’s actually the goal?” I asked this of Ginny recently. We were drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes–looking out over the Pacific Ocean, and she thought before she spoke.
“Visibility. Progress. More for women who follow.”
She went on to say that identifying infractions enables counteraction–and the opportunity to set precedent and resist–so vigilance and awareness are paramount. The answer inspired me, and she inspired me. The blog inspired me. And it inspired Jon, too…
Wait, who the fuck is Jon?
I was the best man in his recent wedding and he’s one of my dear friends. Presumably, he’d stumbled upon the blog while stalking Gin's instagram (the due diligence required when your boy tells you that he’s in luv).
“It’s not talked about enough and I’m going to be more mindful,” he wrote. “I hadn’t thought about it through that lens before.”
“Word. 💯🔥,” I wrote back- teasing. But I was fucking excited and proud of Ginny. Jon's comment was a quantifiable impact, emblematic of potential, and a microcosm of 'the goal'.
In activism, as in life, you do your best within the short amount of time given to you on this planet before you die–which, presumably, you will. And personally, when I lay my head down to do so, the inevitable introspection, and self-assessment will be neither fleeting nor casual–I’ll be proud of my efforts, or I won’t be. As enlightened or peaceful as it may sound, an activist's path is not that of least resistance. It’s a tug of war for equality. And if you aren’t pulling, nothing will change–you'll inevitably lose. When acting from a point of disadvantage, faced with an uphill climb, neutrality does not equal nothing–it's deadweight to carry. A downward force.
C’s aren’t good enough in this test and they never have been.
The last thing I’m trying to do is virtue signal. My list of fuck ups reads like an encyclopedia. It's alphabetised, in chronological order, with many volumes and updated editions, and re-released biannually–now in hardcover!
But I don’t intend to be a tourist here–someone who opts into the discussion when it flares up with a corresponding hashtag, the way I have with other social justice issues in the past. It need not be performative–on the ineffective battlefields of social media. I just hope to be consistent. For my sense of integrity, for my mother, for my sister, for my girlfriend–for whoever. Why? Because I can. I’ve never lacked conviction nor shied from confrontation.
In my case, ignorance wasn’t bliss, it was just ignorance. I’ve often hoped for the opportunity to die with courage, so why not live with it. Stand up to injustice when it’s inconvenient, or hard, or embarrassing, or whatever deterrent stands between a guy and doing so. I'm not the authority, frankly I’m new here, but I’ve been acquainted with my shortcomings, and I care. I’ve learned you need not be a victim of oppression to take a stance against it. Instead, what’s required is but empathy, and some courage.
[Written by Jacob Shorr]
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