Women's Strike Dec 12 2016
Dec. 12th, 2016 11:16 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soniaWomen's Strike Dec 12 2016 and in Portland, Women & Allies Strike Out and Protest PDX Dec 12 (Facebook link). Part of the point is to publicize a Change.org petition to the Electors of the Electoral College to make Hillary Clinton President. (ObDisclosure: I haven't signed that because I have Opinions about petitions, but I did send them all email via asktheelectors.org.)
I'm participating in the strike by not running the errands I planned to run today. Not buying cat food. Not mailing packages. Not making copies of sheet music for my singing group. Not making my bank deposit. It's a very small yawp, but it's something.
Of course, I'm going to catch up by doing all those things tomorrow, so I'm not sure what the net effect is. I'm also visualizing software companies with 5-10% women in their engineering departments. If the women didn't show up, I'm imagining that at least some men would be relieved, pleased, comfortable, maybe even without noticing why. I worry that we're giving (some)(many) men exactly what they want when we step back.
What I am doing today: Well, writing this post. Working on image resolutions for the ebook of Presence After Trauma, which is productive work, but no one sees most of it once the thing is finally done. It's amazing how many hours it takes to make something look right in a way that doesn't call attention to itself. I may bake gluten-free muffins. I'd love to just sit and read, but probably I will do at least some productive things. I'm washing my sheets. It's hard to stop doing "women's work," since I value orderly space.
I also have dinner out scheduled with a friend, so I suppose that's strike breaking, but at least it's at the end of the day. I thought about cooking for her, but I'm not sure I could accommodate her dietary needs.
ETA: Cleaning leaf muck off the bike and lubing the chain accomplished, while it's dry and 47F out. In a skirt (see: going out to dinner later), wearing vinyl gloves, to be properly girly about it. Glad I thought to do that before it goes back down to freezing for a while.
I'm participating in the strike by not running the errands I planned to run today. Not buying cat food. Not mailing packages. Not making copies of sheet music for my singing group. Not making my bank deposit. It's a very small yawp, but it's something.
Of course, I'm going to catch up by doing all those things tomorrow, so I'm not sure what the net effect is. I'm also visualizing software companies with 5-10% women in their engineering departments. If the women didn't show up, I'm imagining that at least some men would be relieved, pleased, comfortable, maybe even without noticing why. I worry that we're giving (some)(many) men exactly what they want when we step back.
What I am doing today: Well, writing this post. Working on image resolutions for the ebook of Presence After Trauma, which is productive work, but no one sees most of it once the thing is finally done. It's amazing how many hours it takes to make something look right in a way that doesn't call attention to itself. I may bake gluten-free muffins. I'd love to just sit and read, but probably I will do at least some productive things. I'm washing my sheets. It's hard to stop doing "women's work," since I value orderly space.
I also have dinner out scheduled with a friend, so I suppose that's strike breaking, but at least it's at the end of the day. I thought about cooking for her, but I'm not sure I could accommodate her dietary needs.
ETA: Cleaning leaf muck off the bike and lubing the chain accomplished, while it's dry and 47F out. In a skirt (see: going out to dinner later), wearing vinyl gloves, to be properly girly about it. Glad I thought to do that before it goes back down to freezing for a while.
