Author Archives: jrdreistadt

How to be a Feminist at Work

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There are a lot of ideas that ground and inspire the way we think about feminism. But feminism also requires action. Working toward policy or system change is one way that many people participate in enacting feminist ideas – such as through the many protests we have seen over the past week related to Roe v. Wade. But we can also employ feminist thought through our everyday decisions and interactions.

Here are just a few ideas about how to be a feminist at work:

  • Question and change policies and practices that marginalize, exclude, or patronize people based on their identity or group affiliation
  • Resist patriarchal ideas such as separation, duality, control, and ordering
  • Welcome multiple ways of approaching problems and opportunities
  • Create an atmosphere that promotes care, belonging, and healing
  • Respect the autonomy and self-determination of people who have different life experiences and perceptions 

Redefining Feminist Leadership

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In my last blog post, I discussed some of the troubles with feminism. While feminism is, very much like the world, imperfect–there are many ways that we can make it more inclusive, welcoming, and impactful.

Together, we can create a feminist leadership practice that…

  • Is intersectional (see the work of Kimberlé Crenshaw)
  • Values interconnectedness and complexity (see the work of AnaLousie Keating)
  • Makes space for ambiguity and nuance (see the work of Gloria Anzaldúa)
  • Welcomes multiplicity (see the work of Mariana Ortega)
  • Recognizes the complex relations we each have to systems of oppression (see the work of Audre Lorde and Patricia Hill Collins)
  • Includes but does not center the perspectives, needs, values, and goals, of White, middle- and upper-class, cis-gender, able-bodied, heterosexual women (see the work of the above referenced women)
  • Recognizes challenges, but also creates possibilities

I’m creating a space where all of this will happen. Stay connected with Jesstopia to get notified when this new space is released!

The Trouble with Feminism

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Many people have experienced and documented the exclusionary practices of feminism. Women of color, working class women, and other genders have been marginalized by mainstream feminism–to the detriment of the feminist movement and its ideal of a more inclusive world. 

In short, I was turned off by feminism as many other progressives have been since the beginning of the movement.

As a young woman, I met several self-proclaimed feminists. They were White, upper middle class, and dogmatic. I felt judged, rather than understood, by them. I felt pressured to conform to their way of thinking and their goals. My insights were overlooked, misunderstood, and ridiculed. I clearly was not one of them, nor did I aspire to be.

Yet, there is something in feminism that has called out to me over the years. In fact, when I recently turned in a draft of my dissertation to one of my committee members–who happens to be a gender studies scholar, she asked why I did not use the word feminism. Through a conversation with her, I realized that so many of my ideas reflect feminist thought and that using the word feminism can help to convey a myriad of complex ideas in a simple way. 

That’s because feminism is multidimensional, complex, and ever-emergent. There isn’t only one feminism, or one kind of feminist, or one way to be a feminist as my unfortunate early experiences suggested. 

Thankfully, mainstream feminism is starting to reflect this diversity. But we still have a lot of work to do to build a truly inclusive and equitable feminist movement.

This has been the second post in a series about feminist leadership. Next time, I’ll share my ideas about redefining feminist leadership for all of us.