Weekly Activism Log 3

1.       This week got me a little down. I didn’t feel like I did enough to help Animal Safehouse, and maybe I should have put more energy into doing so. On Sunday, I contacted Arielle about anything I could do for them this week to which she responded, that they were in need of fosters. So, being new to this whole activism thing, I attempted to reach people the only way I knew how: Facebook! I alerted to the fact that Animal Safehouse was looking for fosters and I put up their website link. I also contacted Arielle for fliers to put up around the school and then proceeded to do so. Unfortunately, no one has presented any interest yet, which is very discouraging for Arielle and I. Next week I know that I have to pursue a slightly more aggressive plan to gain fosters/money to Animal Safehouse. Valerie, who is also in WST with me, and I will be setting up a table to fundraise.

2.       This week allowed me to reflect on what activists must go through sometimes to accomplish their goals, and how it isn’t always easy. There are setbacks, and hopefully next week won’t be a copy of this one. Feminist activism is an uphill battle! Drawing attention to women’s issues is not easy. I was shocked by the amount of people that didn’t understand what Animal Safehouse does, and when I explained it to them so they finally could, they acted towards me as if “Oh, you’re one of those women’s rights girls.” I understand that Arielle has probably gone through the ups and downs of activism for a while now but it doesn’t seem to faze her. I realize that these kinds of people are resilient, and being a part of this makes me feel like it is my duty to develop that trait myself.

3.       From a feminist perspective, what I am getting from these experiences is the inherent strength I never knew I had as a woman. Although I am extremely humbled by the women who have fought the greatest fights, I still feel like a woman fighting for other women in a very small way. And the feeling of being one woman fighting for another is an incredibly powerful feeling and if had to guess, that high is what I imagine “the erotic” to feel like. Audre Lorde argues that it is that joy that makes you except nothing less, and that drives you to fight for a better existence. I think the miniscule work I have done so far for Animal Safehouse is the beginning of me feeling like me, in this tiny little frame of a body CAN in fact, make some kind of an imprint in this world.