Yesterday was possibly the most dreich day of the year so far. I woke up to heavy rain and the greyest of skies. It didn't feel like a good day to be going outside.
But it was - I was off the the Scottish Green Party's Women's Network Day of Action!
I had been asked to host a craftivism element to the day. (For those unfamiliar, please do check out Betsy Greer's Craftivism and Sarah Corbett's work Craftivist Collective.) This is where I (try to) shine. I love crafts. I love working with my hands. I have also long struggled to find my voice politically. When a friend introduced me to the idea, it was like discovering coffee for the first time. Where had it been all my life? I ordered one of Sarah's Craftivist Collective Mini Protest Banner kits and reignited my love of hand stitching.
I made this for an anti-fracking demonstration at Ineos, Grangemouth last year. I did try to tie it to a post at the site, but rookie mistake - my cable ties were too wee! Now it comes to all demonstrations with me, and I have others in the making!
Back to yesterday... The Day of Action was a day to celebrate and empower women, coinciding with the United Nation's 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence. With talks from Engender, Zero Tolerence, Women for Independence and the NUS, the discussions were highly thought provoking and inspiring! The NUS workshop in particular reminded me of the importance, and power, of language and communication.
My Crativism project for the day was "Pom Poms in the Palms of Peace".
Taking the colours of Green, for the Party, and orange, the UN's 16 Days of Action colour, I asked attendees to trace around and cut out their own handprint. and write a message inspired by the discussions and topics of the day. Then we made pom poms from tissue paper, which were threaded onto the paper palms, and hung on a "tree". The tree was made from oak tree branches which I tied together and mounted on a plywood cross for support. I then wrapped an old green tshirt around the base for aesthetic purposes.
This turned out to be a fun and simple way for the women to express themselves. Some found it to be almost theraputic; this is something which craft in general does for me and why I love it. Many now had a simple yet effective project to take to other aspects of their lives and share. One girl even went home with supplies to decorate her Christmas tree with Pom Poms and Palms!
Hopefully "trees" across the world might one day be blooming with "Pom Poms in the Palms of Peace". I will keep this project going until my tree is fully in bloom.
Thank you to Sarah for organising such a great event and inviting me to be a part of it, and to those who engaged with my project.
If you would like "Pom Poms in the Palms of Peace" to come along to your event, please do get in touch! Email me - gillsndrussell@gmail.com.
I'm usually one to ignore "Days" - Everything literally has it's day now. But today, International Women's Day, I feel, is important. It may not be a day celebrated in the traditional sense, but what it represents speaks volumes.
We shouldn't have to have an International Women's Day. In 2014, we shouldn't be having to highlight issues of inequality, abuse, rights and sexism. Everyone should be accepted in all societies regardless of gender (and sexuality, religion, ability, physicality, age...) and everyday, everyone should be celebrating who they are and what they have achieved. Sadly this isn't the case. In some parts of the world, women are treated as sub-human, as property, and as worthless pieces of flesh. Cultural differences and religion are never an excuse for this. Whilst I am not religious, my understanding is that religion is supposed to promote peace and love. The reality, it seems, only promote patriarchy and power. These are the real reasons women are treated with such disrespect. Religion, I feel, is a smokescreen.
As a young woman in western society, I feel guilty for even suggesting I have hurdles to overcome. I had a free education. I even went to uni. I learned how to drive (which I love). I play sport. I vote. I have my own finances. I (co)own my flat. I have many things that women across the globe can only dream of, and I am thankful for all that I have and experienced. I fully embrace every opportunity this country has offered me. I just cannot understand why these same freedoms cannot be had for all women. There is no excuse. Every woman, like every human, should have the right to vote, to an education, to work, to drive, to be politically active, to be heard. It genuinely dumbfounds me. Scares me even. I worry humanity is regressing, beyond the point of no return.
We are not dirty because we bleed, this is what nature intended. We are not physically or intellectually inferior because of our gender. It's frightening that these Medieval ideas are still ingrained in many corners of the world. We are not superior because we are female. We are human. Equally capable and incapable at anything and everything. Not because we have boobs. Not because of the chromosomes. Not because of the oestrogen. It's the just the being human thing, honest. I want to be liked for my kindness and my sense of humour. It's only a bonus that I've got lovely boobs and great curves. It should not be held against me in any situation. I have seen men with bigger boobs who don't get treated differently, so why should I?
I want a job because I am good at it. I want money because I have earned it. I don't want to be overlooked for a job because I don't have a cock. I don't want to be treated differently because "Oh she might have kids one day and be of no use to us." (My main reasons for not wanting kids right now in life is the fear of the impact it would have on my job - this cripples me. Will that feeling ever go away?) I don't want anyone to assume I'm physically weak and that I can't lift things. I'm freakishly strong and look after my body, therefore only I know what it's capable of and I'll let you know if I need a hand. If I do get emotional, it's probably because I have mental health problems that make my day to day living that tiny bit more difficult, not because of my vagina. I want respect because I have shown it to others and I have earned it. I believe this isn't much to ask.
I am often told, mostly by men, that sexism doesn't exist in our society any more, particularly in the workplace. Unless my entire adult life has been one giant hallucination, then I can assure you it very much does. You have to be on the receiving end to appreciate this fact. Same goes for racism, discrimination against the disabled, ageism etc. I am not here to say "men are evil" or "I hate men", some of my most treasured friends are men. Again, not because of their gender, because they are all round good eggs. I am just using my personal blog as a space to air my thoughts on a topical matter (this is what personal blogs are for, no?) and perhaps strike up discussion. I have never in my life disliked someone based on gender. My main reason to dislike someone is usually because they are an utter cunt, in the genderless, bad egg use of the word.
We have so much to celebrate. Everyone does. And if everything else has it's day, why not women? If men want to have a day too, I say go for it. Get your diaries out. I want to celebrate the freedoms I have, ones that generations of women before me fought, and even died, for. As humans, we need to continue to evolve and work together, instead of segregating each other based on any aspect of biology. Humans can only succeed when we are kind, respectful and co-operative with one other. As I said, it's fine to dislike someone because they are not a nice person, but they world's a lot smaller than we think, and there's a lot to do in such little time. The party is waiting to get started and it's only narrow minds are preventing it from happening.
