Tag Archives: Hollaback! Boston

Doin’ Thangs

It’s been three months since my last post. The new year hit and away I went. For the past three months I have been quite busy. With each new adventure I vowed to blog about it and yet here we are three months later and zero posts to show for it. So in order to wipe the slate clean I’m giving you a good old fashioned roundup.

January:

  • I attended my very first Con, Arisia. Arisia is said to be “New England’s largest and most diverse science fiction and fantasy convention.” Now since I have never been to a Con, I can’t say whether this is the most diverse in the area. But if it is, that’s not saying much. Don’t get me wrong, although that was disappointing I did attend some amazing panels. I attended panels on zombies, vampires and Hunger Games-some of my favorite things. A few others that I really enjoyed were shame on slut-shaming and race and Identity in fandom. The feminism panel let much to be desired since it consisted of 3 white women and a white male, none of whom knew who Kimberle Crenshaw is (I reminded them from the audience). My favorite panel was on respectability politics. Not only did I get introduced to Daniel Jose Older, but I got to meet Mikki Kendall in person!!! All in all it was a pretty cool three days. I got to let all my nerd hang out and I was left thinking: how do I get on a panel next year?
  • I became an abortion doula. I first heard about abortion doula work in 2007 while living in NY. I knew immediately it was something I wanted to be a part of. I have been a reproductive justice activist for many years. Being an abortion doula seemed to be an important and much needed way to put my activism into direct action. Several months ago at the New England Women’s Center Conference during a self care workshop, the facilitator mentioned that she was starting the Boston Doula Project and I knew immediately this was my chance to get involved. The training was great. It gave me an opportunity to meet a wonderful group of people who felt as strongly about issues of reproductive justice as I did. The organizers made the distinction between reproductive rights, reproductive health and reproductive justice. This was a really important distinction that set the framework for the remainder of the training. I feel lucky to be a part of this organization from the ground up. I look forward to helping people and doing outreach in Boston about this work as part of the Public Programs team.

February:

  • I found my dress. I won’t go into too many details since my fiance will likely read this. It was a pretty easy process in that I had a clear vision of what I wanted. Some stores were better than others (nicer than others) but I refused to be swayed from my vision. In the end I found the one and it gave me the feeling I was waiting for. The moment I saw myself in the mirror I burst into tears because it was exactly how I want to look on my wedding day. It may be more traditional than one would expect from a feminist (yes, it’s white), however it is 100% me and that’s all that matters.

March:

  • I attended the Five College Queer Gender and Sexuality Conference. I attended this conference as a presenter, co-leading a workshop as part of the Hollaback! Boston team. It was a fantastic weekend. There were many engaging speaking including Tristan Taormino and Jiz Lee. The panels were really engaging. My two favorites were Queering Pregnancy and Media Representations of Queer Women of Color. Although the whole weekend was great, hands down the best part was the performance given by Darkmatter. Their slam poetry made me laugh and cry. I managed to grab a clip for you.

Needless to say I have been quite a busy bee. What have you all been up to in 2014?

 

Inspiration in the Form of HOLLA::Revolution

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Sisterhood as a form of resistance~ Nefertiti Martin

On July 25th I attended HOLLA::Revolution. It’s been a month since the event and I am still filled with inspiration and motivation. HollaRev was Hollaback’s first international conference to end street harassment. It featured Hollaback! site leaders, feminists, activists and academics from around the world. To see a rundown of the amazing speakers, see my last post with my twitter timeline recap. It was not only a day I’ll never forget but a day I needed.

Sometimes being a feminist, especially a feminist of color, can be isolating and exhausting. It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one thinking about these issues or nitpicking at the latest sexist commercial. Having an online community certainly helps. Being able to read my daily feminist blog updates or check twitter is definitely a reminder that I’m not alone in this fight. However, that human contact, that direct sisterhood cannot be matched. The feeling of empowerment I feel when I walk into a room full of women who care about the issues I care about and aren’t afraid to shout about it, is incredible. And this is exactly how I felt walking into HollaRev.

Although each speaker was great and brought something unique and powerful to the table, there are a few I need to highlight. This hilarious video by comedian Sasheer Zamata was shown:

It proved yet again that feminists do have a sense of humor.

I then had the pleasure to hear Jennifer Pozner‘s presentation on Media Representations of Street Harassment. As a long time admirer of Jennifer’s work I was totally geeked out. She did not disappoint. I spend much of my time deconstructing media and pop culture (damn you women’s studies). It is a topic I enjoy delving into. Jennifer’s presentation was not only entertaining but informative. How had I never realized how creepy The Way You Make Me Feel video is?!

Ana ‘Rokafella’ Garcia hip hop dancer/choreographer from NYC took the stage. She talked about the misogyny in hip hop and creating a space for women in the music and dance spheres that she loves so much. She spoke specifically about the sexist language often heard in reggaeton music. As a Puerto Rican woman, I have heard many a disgusting reggaeton track. She then performed a reggaeton song of her own, making her voice heard in the genre. Check out her awesomeness:

I couldn’t leave this post without mentioning the one and only Samhita Mukhopadhyay. Samhita is the executive editor at Feministing and a digital strategist at Purpose. She spoke on the importance of online movement building. As I mentioned, this is an important topic to me because often it feels as though online is where I feel my feminist community the most. She made sure to note, however, that online activism can and should be taken off the web. Her presentation was wonderful and really legitimizes the work I do both on and offline.

Change does not happen overnight. But in the 19 (!) years that I’ve been an activist, I have seen progress. As important, I have made my voice heard. Silence is the goal of the oppressor. As Julie Lalonde from Hollaback! Ottawa said, “To be a feminist is to be surrounded by haters.” This conference was another reminder to keep fighting and that the fight matters. Last week I became the Outreach Coordinator for Hollaback! Boston. Now it is guaranteed that I will continue to HOLLA!!

Holla::Revolution–Hollaback! First International Conference

In just two days I will be attending this:

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The description for the event is as follows, “ Hollaback! will provide the platform for leading feminist thinkers, activists and performers, including our very own Hollaback! site leaders from around the world, to give inspiring and empowering multimedia talks, performances and readings on subjects including ending street harassment, the future of feminism, online organizing, movement building and more!” It’s basically a feminist’s dream. I had absolutely no choice but to take a day off from work.

I first heard about Hollaback! several years ago when I had the pleasure of hearing Emily May, co-founder, speak at a feminist conference in NYC. Immediately it seemed like something I should be involved in but it never happened. Recently I attended a Hollaback! workshop here in Boston and immediately clicked with Site Director Britni. It is finally time for me to step up. I’m helping with some cool upcoming events that I’ll be sure to post more about soon.

I couldn’t be more excited to return to NYC on Thursday for a day of feminism and speaking truth to power. I look forward to updating everyone on the day of awesomeness that will be Holla::Revolution.