This blog talks about two live-streamed talks from the Sydney All About Women event, but after looking at their website I've realised how many interesting talks are happening that aren't live-streamed. For instance Life on Mars, about Carmel Johnston's year living in the HI-SEAS Mars simulation on Hawai'i. (I just re-watched The Martian so it caught my eye.) Luckily All About Women is filmed and put on Youtube so those of us who missed out can still watch when they're uploaded.
Geena Davis on Gender in Media
If you're skeptical that media representation and the lack thereof can influence the way we view ourselves and others, Geena Davis and her institute on gender in media can provide a few facts that might change your mind. In 2012, the year of Brave's Merida and The Hunger Games' Katniss Everdeen, the participation of girls in archery competitions more than doubled. Which is great! What's not so great is how rare that positive representation actually is. The gender disparity in film is just as bad now as it was 1946, and that's not an exaggeration. I recently read Jessica Chastain's essay on how amazing and rare it was to work on a set that has 20% women (The Zookeeper's Wife, directed by Niki Caro). 20%! Sometimes she was the only woman on set at all. I sometimes forget, working in a field that is so woman-friendly, how isolated we can be in the workplace.
As depressing as those facts are I highly recommend having a look at Geena Davis' website and the footage of her All About Women speech when it goes up. In person she is very, very funny and has inspired me to look even more closely at the media I consume. I recommend you do likewise, particularly animated children's movies, which from the stats seem to have the worst record of gender disparity and negative stereotyping.
Backstage interview with Jessa Crispin
Crispin rejects the label of feminist because today's feminism isn't feminist enough. Too many people are calling themselves feminists, she says, by just co-opting the ideology others have created rather than inventing their own. To make real change we need just a few really hardcore radical women willing to tear down the system, we don't need to convert everybody to the cause.
If feminism is universal, if it is something that all women and men can "get on board" with, then it is not for me. If feminism is nothing more than personal gain disguised as political progress, then it is not for me. If by declaring myself a feminist I must reassure you that I am not angry, that I pose no threat, then feminism is definitely not for me. I am angry. And I do pose a threat. — Jessa Crispin, Why I Am Not a Feminist
I found listening to Crispin frustrating because while I agreed with some of what she said (feminism needs to be more inclusive racially and economically) I disagree with how she thinks we should solve it. Slacktivism is a problem for many causes, not just feminism, so rather than sneering at the lip-service feminists as not being feminist enough, why not work to inspire more of them to take more active roles in achieving gender parity?
If you were there (or have read Crispin's book, Why I Am Not a Feminist), I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
Nasty Women
So many smart, articulate ladies on this panel. Some of the best quotes:
No one is looking after us, it's only us. And if you don't get active in democracy, you get Trump. — Van Badham
The moment we shut up we let them win. — Yassmin Abdel-Gamied
Simply presenting my body to the world and insisting that it has value is a political act. It freaks people out. — Lindy West
You have the strength of all the women with you, who came before you, and who will come after you. — Van Badham
We have to mobilise everyone. Tell our kids that activism and standing for office are part of our civic duties. —Lindy West
It's when people mobilise around the issues that are actually more important than the vacuum of hate, that opinions can change and we've got to have hope in that message and our capacity to organise, to speak to people about what's really important to them. It's only a tiny percentage of people who are really defined by hatred and will vote hatred more than anything else. — Van Badham
The idea of changing the entire world is overwhelming, but the idea of having an impact on the few people who are around us is very very achievable. — Yassmin Abdel-Gamied
One (very small) way that I try to make a difference is to support marginalised authors by buying, reading and reviewing their books. It takes very little effort on my part and I get to read great books! Win-win. If you're looking for new authors to read I recommend We Need Diverse Books as a great place to start.
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