From: falcao@felix.Metaphor.COM (Ronnie Falcao)
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: social activism
Date: 28 Sep 1992 20:58:58 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu
Originator: muffy@remarque.berkeley.edu

> I am a newcomer to this bulletin board.  My email address does not
> identify me very well, so I will tell you that my name is Wendy
> Naumann-Sandoval.  I wanted to ask for some feedback on your views
> concerning social activism.  I am struggling with this concept, so
> your honest feelings and experiences are appreciated.
> 
> I keep mulling over a number of questions, so I will just list them
> and see what everybody has to say.
> (1) Is social activism necessary to being a feminist? or is social
> activism necessary to reaching an "ideal feminist state" if you
> believe one exists?

In my mind, feminism is a mindset rather than an activity,
so I don't think social activism is necessary to being a
feminist or reaching an "ideal feminist state".  However,
feminists are often driven to activism by an inability to
be passive in the face of such injustice.

> (2) Do those of you who are social activists have trouble giving the
> views of non-activists equal value?  I just want to know if you
> experience this, I am not asking for whether this behavior is right or
> wrong.

It's been my experience that activists take other activists
more seriously than non-activists and that non-activists
take other non-activists more seriously than activists.
That is, people are more likely to lend credence to those
like themselves.  I think this may be due partly to activists'
often seeming like a fringe element and thus irrelevant
to the majority of non-activists.

So I guess the best strategy for effecting change is to be
an activist in non-activist's clothing.  :-)

Mind you, this is just from my experience.

> (3) For those of you who are activists, is it hard to have truly close
> relationships with those people who hold feminists beliefs, but who
> overtly say they do not want to deal with the hassle of activism?

It's not clear to me whether you're asking about someone else's
reaction to *your* activism or someone else's rejecting activism
as a possibility for themselves.

I've occasionally had friends who expressed discomfort at my
level of activism; this has generally been in situations where
my activism has reflected on them, e.g. friends at work.
I recognize that not everyone can or wants to accept the
risk that often accompanies activism, and I'll try to be
sensitive to this by being clear that I'm acting alone.

I wouldn't use someone else's activism as a litmus test for
whether we could be friends, but I'd consider shared activism
or support for my activism to be positive aspects of a friendship.

> As I am at that point in my life to decide to take on an identity as a
> social activist, I stuggle with these questions.  I am truly
> interested in your honest feelings and experiences, and in your
> thoughts as to what an ideal answer would be to these questions.
> Thanks for your input.

Somehow, "taking on an identity" sounds so black and white
and irreversible, maybe as if you're considering civil
disobedience that might land you in jail?  If not, maybe
you could ease into it slowly and see how it affects you?

Good luck.

	- Ronnie

falcao@metaphor.com



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