Coley Tangerina's blog post This is no country for women lays out all the things wrong for women in New Zealand. The pay gap, sexual harassment, violence and that no one seems to mind it so much.
The post doesn't suggest a way forwards from this. Now, dear reader, you're enlightened and saddened. This new knowledge has made your life a measurably worse: where do you go from here?
I suggest action. Moving forwards, even in the smallest steps, makes a difference. Even if the difference is just to you, because you consciously rejected the status quo which you know is wrong.
Write a letter. Tell someone they're an idiot. Write an angry blog post. Will it do anything? In the short term, probably not. In the long term? If everyone else does something too? How do you think we got the vote in the first place?
Take care of yourself: surround yourself with good people. I help run a feminist drinks group: we meet regularly and bitch about this stuff. We started with just two members, and now we're ten or fifteen or thirty. I've found having a place where I can blow off steam, and voice opinions without being shouted down for being female immensely valuable. Find a friend and start your own little group: write letters at the pub and tell each other what your saleries are so we can all see the pay gap.
You've seen the problem. Now be the change.
The post doesn't suggest a way forwards from this. Now, dear reader, you're enlightened and saddened. This new knowledge has made your life a measurably worse: where do you go from here?
I suggest action. Moving forwards, even in the smallest steps, makes a difference. Even if the difference is just to you, because you consciously rejected the status quo which you know is wrong.
Write a letter. Tell someone they're an idiot. Write an angry blog post. Will it do anything? In the short term, probably not. In the long term? If everyone else does something too? How do you think we got the vote in the first place?
Take care of yourself: surround yourself with good people. I help run a feminist drinks group: we meet regularly and bitch about this stuff. We started with just two members, and now we're ten or fifteen or thirty. I've found having a place where I can blow off steam, and voice opinions without being shouted down for being female immensely valuable. Find a friend and start your own little group: write letters at the pub and tell each other what your saleries are so we can all see the pay gap.
You've seen the problem. Now be the change.
0 comments:
Post a Comment