The feminist group which I help run just had a cake day.
It's a social group, with almost no activism at all (that one time we wrote letters is the extent of it), which may explain why we only remembered our birthday two months after it, and decided to wait until we turned 1.5.
We had cake. (One cake picture further down this post is somewhat NSFW.)
I read out a speech I'd prepared and everyone pretended to listen politely. This is what I said:
"This is our one-point-five birthday, and that's amazing.
What we're doing here might seem like a small thing. Getting together with friends at the pub for a drink - no biggie right? Except we've done so much more than that. Before this, most of you were strangers to me. Now you're my friends. We've built a supportive, inclusive community - a safe space in what can be a really hostile world.
You remind me that I'm not crazy to rage against the patriarchy. That I'm not the only one who things like this, who wants to get ahead at work and cuss like a sailor and only wear makeup when I feel like and get beer on a Monday as a political act.
Because this IS political. What we're doing - living our lives as our authentic selves, whether or not that lines up with patriarchal ideals - is an act of protest.
I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me in this. I especially want to thank K, who really started it all - I just came along for the ride. You've made my life measurably better, and I am so, so proud to be part of this, and so proud to call you my friends.
Let's raise our glasses to a great year-and-a-half - and many more to come!"
It's a social group, with almost no activism at all (that one time we wrote letters is the extent of it), which may explain why we only remembered our birthday two months after it, and decided to wait until we turned 1.5.
We had cake. (One cake picture further down this post is somewhat NSFW.)
"This is our one-point-five birthday, and that's amazing.
What we're doing here might seem like a small thing. Getting together with friends at the pub for a drink - no biggie right? Except we've done so much more than that. Before this, most of you were strangers to me. Now you're my friends. We've built a supportive, inclusive community - a safe space in what can be a really hostile world.
Because this IS political. What we're doing - living our lives as our authentic selves, whether or not that lines up with patriarchal ideals - is an act of protest.
I want to thank each and every one of you for joining me in this. I especially want to thank K, who really started it all - I just came along for the ride. You've made my life measurably better, and I am so, so proud to be part of this, and so proud to call you my friends.
Let's raise our glasses to a great year-and-a-half - and many more to come!"
0 comments:
Post a Comment