A call for submissions by staff member Daniel Willey

One of my tasks at the Women’s Center is to make a Facebook post every Friday for Feminist Quote Friday. You’d think being surrounded by books written by feminists and activists would make it easy to come up with a quote to use each week, but I keep getting hung up on the question of what makes a feminist quote.

“Activism can be the journey rather than the arrival.” – Grace Lee Boggs, The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century

Is it a quote by a feminist? Is it a statement which follows feminist principles? What if the person who said it isn’t a feminist? Should I be responsible for pulling out the receipts and making sure everyone I quote has never said or done anything problematic first? Does the quote have to be a feminist statement or can it simply be related to feminist issues?

And besides all that, there are SO MANY great feminist words to choose from!

That’s where you come in: I want to hear your favorite feminist quotes. I want to hear what words inspire you, lift you up, make you feel called to action. I want to hear what made you think, made you reevaluate, what steered you in a new direction.

Submit this google form to send me your feminist quote and tell me a little bit about why you chose it! I’ll be using submissions for Feminist Quote Fridays and you can submit anytime!

 A post by staff member Daniel Willey

Wednesday, March 8th marked International Working Women’s Day and the Women’s Strike, or the Day Without Women. On that day, women were encouraged to not work or shop and wear red in solidarity as a way of protesting inequality and showing women’s economic impact.

Protest organizers Linda Sarsour, Tamika Mallory, and Carmen Perez arrested at New York protest on Wednesday

But, International Working Women’s Day has always been a day for striking. The first time this day was observed in 1908, women marched in New York City against poor working conditions and low wages. The observance of International Working Women’s Day (IWWD) spread quickly to other countries as a part of socialist movements and, eventually, as protests against WWI. In 1917, women, joined by female textile workers and eventually working men, gathered in the Russian capital to protest living and working conditions– a day which would spark the Russian revolution.

It is in honor of this history and this tradition that I write this blog.

There have been a lot of critiques of this year’s IWWD Women’s Strike. I’ve read about how only privileged women who can afford time off or have the job stability will participate. Prince George’s county schools closed on Wednesday because so many of their teachers requested the day off, leaving poor kids without school lunch and breakfast and working parents with nowhere to put their kids. Some just plain argue that the strike is a symbolic gesture and that it’s effectively useless as a strategy.

I’d like to make a different critique: when International Working Women’s Day becomes International Women’s Day, we lose the incredible power of the strike and deny the history paved by women in labor movements.

Okay, so let me take a step back and talk about labor and strikes for a second. In a capitalist economic system like the U.S, there are people who own the means of production (the tools that produce a product or perform a service such as factories, machinery, equipment, office space, etc) and there are people who sell their labor for a wage and work with this equipment or office space to produce the product or offer the service. For example, the owner of a manufacturing company (the capitalist) owns all the factories and resources necessary to make their product, but they must buy labor from workers in order to make this product. Of course, this system is a bit more complicated than that but that’s the basic gist.

So, if the capitalist wants to turn a profit, which most business owners do, they have to figure out how to make a product for cheaper than it can be sold. The ways of doing this are buying materials cheaply, paying for labor cheaply, or selling a product at a higher price. Nobody wants to buy an expensive product, so the capitalist generally relies on the first two ways. It is not in the interest of the capitalist to pay high wages or provide benefits to workers UNLESS…

Chicago Teacher’s Union Strike 2016

UNLESS the workers refuse to work without them. This is where the strike draws its power. An essential part of what makes a union effective is that it is a collective tool: a worker refusing to work because of low wages gets fired and replaced; a workforce refusing to work shuts down the business and stops production and sales. It is the collectivity and the organization of a labor union which protects the individuals within and makes a strike an effective tool.

Herein lies my argument: labor simply isn’t organized the way it used to be and the individualistic approach we take to labor in general–and to this year’s women’s strike– diminishes the power we have as workers. The people who go on strike are traditionally the most at-risk, not the most privileged. When we say the women’s strike is only for privileged women, we actually mean that there is no collectivity or organization of women workers which will protect the most vulnerable of women. We mean that there is no general Women’s Union which will negotiate with employers on their behalf. We mean that we no longer view labor as a tool we can leverage but as something we owe to our employer for allowing us to live. Many women chose to go to work on Wednesday because they viewed their work as too important. Teachers, childcare providers, nurses, and others went to work regardless of whether they could strike. But that’s kind of the point of the strike– to say “You can’t survive without my labor so you had better treat me that way.”

I mean, I get it. The Women’s Center remained open because we wanted to be there for women and others on such an important day and we wanted to provide programming which would uplift and educate the community. We view the work we do as not only essential but also coming from our own sense of duty and morals, not necessarily a way to earn a living. But sometimes I feel like the incredible amount of personal and emotional resources my coworkers pour into the work they do get taken for granted and I wish they, and the Center, got more recognition for that.

I love the idea of a general Women’s Strike, but I think it must be organized on the principles of labor organizing and push against individualist approaches in order to be most effective. We must make demands for the benefit of black women, indigenous women, disabled women, undocumented women, mothers, and caregivers and all women must strike until these demands are met.   

Women workers in New York strike to demand safer working conditions after a fire kills 146 Triangle Shirtwaist factory workers

Women have always been prominent in labor movements. Garment and textile workers, laundresses, and many other industrial manufacturing jobs were populated almost entirely by women. Following the famous Triangle Shirtwaist fire which killed nearly 150 women in 1911, 20,000 women went on strike to demand safer conditions. We can’t afford to lose the “working” in International Working Women’s Day because it ignores the impact of labor organizing by women on anything from maternity leave to the Russian revolution.

So what comes next? Learn about labor history. Join your student union. Support workers rights and current labor movements. Use your privilege to support and advocate for marginalized people in your workplace. Talk to people about your salary and encourage others to share theirs. And remember: never cross a picket line.

A reflection written by Women’s Center Special Projects Coordinator, Amelia Meman

So here we are. Another day in this brave new world.

Are you exhausted yet? Emotionally, physically, psychologically?

If you’re not–congratulations! That’s really good and you are a sweet glowing angel.

If you are, though, you’re not alone and you are also a sweet glowing angel.

I’m tired, too. For all of us feminists, social justice warriors, and snowflakes, this is a tough time. The stream of executive actions and questionable cabinet appointments have rocked our communities and have malignantly affected some of the most vulnerable groups in the U.S. The fights we’ve been engaging in throughout every administration have been exacerbated and fear is alive more than ever. 

Seeing the reaction from social justice activists has been heartening for me in many ways. The women’s march was awesome and huge (though not without its fair share of criticism from Black women, the trans community, and many others). Other demonstrations against the refugee ban and the massive uptick in people contacting their elected representatives to demand accountability has shown us that massive swathes of the public have been activated to resist in a great variety of ways.

This work is both vital and neverending. Making an impact is difficult, exhausting work. It involves massive amounts of human energy. What I’m ultimately getting to is this: are you taking care of yourself right now? 

The Women’s Center is all about self-care, and I want to stress (get it?) how necessary it is to take care of ourselves as activists. Energy doesn’t come to us out of nowhere. It is derived from resting and caring for ourselves.

As you continue your activist work, here are some things to think about:

Give yourself enough credit

During this chaotic time, it’s hard to think that we can ever do enough to even make a dent in the system, but you’re so much more powerful than you think. Marches, rallies, and demonstrations are powerful events that increase the visibility of resistance. Regardless of the presidential administration, communicating with legislators is an important part of holding the government accountable to the people. Going to different forums and meetings is a great way to connect with others and get tasks completed. These are some of the actions a lot of people might associate with activism, but there are many other ways to be an activist.

If you are reading a book on social justice, politics, racial justice, feminism, queer theory, etc. you are participating in activism, because you’re learning and informing your activism praxis. If you talk with your friends about politics and learn from one another, that’s a way of participating in activism, because you are creating a transformative moment. If you’re in a class that is helping you talk to others, build things, write, manage money, research, provide medical care, whatever, you are learning skills that are so necessary for activists. 

Finally, taking care of yourself is important. It is paramount to being able to do anything ever. So give yourself credit for what you’re doing, whether it’s leading a march or knowing when you need a break.

Make a plan (for activism and for recuperation)

Whatever you’re doing, try to make a plan. When you tell yourself you’re only going to attend the rally for three hours, only attend the rally for three hours. Activism work can be all-consuming. It’s hard to do, and the work is always there, so it can be easy to fall into the rabbit hole. When you do activist type things, try to be informed about the event/activity (i.e. if you’re attending a march, try to have a buddy and/or know some emergency phone numbers) and also make sure to create a plan for recuperation afterwards (i.e. after you go to the march, take a relaxing bath or meditate by yourself). When you make a plan (and keep to the plan), you manage your time and help sustain yourself.

Be authentic to who you are and listen to yourself

Hey, if you don’t like going to big public protests, don’t go. If you dread the thought of being alone and reading a big political theory tome, don’t do it! There are always alternatives for activism. Reflect on what you like to do, what resonates with you, what gives you life, and then think about how that can be of use in the activist environment. Don’t go about forcing yourself to be something that you aren’t, because who you are is exactly what we need.

And if you feel yourself in need of a break from social media or calling legislators, take the break. Listen to yourself. You know you best.

Talk with other activists

Sometimes the best way to take care of yourself is with a little “ventilation and affirmation” session (thanks School of Social Work for that phrase!). Talk with other activists! We need to support each other in this time, and I think many of us are eager to connect. Despite the sometimes overwhelming desire to isolate in the wake of bad news, sometimes reaching out can be just as healing.

Talking with other activists can also introduce you to new ideas, strategies, communities, all kinds of things. So whether it’s for support or to gain insight (or both), reach out and talk with folks.

Challenge yourself

I know I’ve discussed being gentle with yourself, but there’s “being gentle” and then there’s “coddling.” Self-care can oftentimes be misconstrued as an excuse to dip out of activism. Certainly, you shouldn’t force yourself to do something that you’re not interested in, but don’t let self-care be the reason you use to get out of something that might be difficult at first. If it seems challenging, it might be an opportunity for growth.

Something else to think about as you consider challenging yourself in activism comes with understanding your privileged identities. As a cisgender, queer, upper middle class woman of color, I have a lot of things to sort through, but I try to be cognizant of how my actions are working in solidarity, as an ally, or for me and mine to disrupt oppression.

For example, I’m not a big fan of calling people out on offensive Facebook posts; however, I like the idea of being very choosey and calling people in especially when it comes to transgender issues.hen somebody posts something offensive, I reflect on whether or not I definitely respect them and whether I believe they will listen. If I respect them and think they’ll listen, I walk out of my comfort zone to have a difficult conversation. This process is integral to my work as a cis ally.

By challenging ourselves, we are also taking care of ourselves. We are being stewards of our own growth. So, when you feel that sense of discomfort or anxiety you can step back–that’s always valid–or you can choose to challenge yourself and, potentially, find out more about yourself as an activist.

Use your resources

Finally, here are some resources that you might find useful as you get involved in activism (and while many of these guides focus on the here and now and this specific administration, these are good resources to serve throughout times on both the local, state, and national levels. Activists existed before November 8^th and they’ll continue to exists for years and years and years.):

5 Calls | Turn your passive participation into active resistance. Facebook likes and Twitter retweets can’t create the change you want to see. Calling your Government on the phone can. 5 Calls provides phone numbers and scripts so calling is quick and easy and uses your location to find your local representatives so your calls have more impact. (from the site)

26 Ways to Be in the Struggle Beyond the Streets | A list of ways to engage in activism that are all alternatives to being “in the streets.”

Apps for Organizing | A list of apps that help you get engaged in activism.

Indivisible Guide | A resistance guide compiled by former Congressional staffers.

Project 1461 | This project features daily call-to-actions for organizing under the current administration.

Resistance Calendar | A constantly updating calendar of resistance events happening around the world.

Resistance Manual | The Resistance Manual is premised on the idea that, “Action begins with information.” It is an open-source site that collects information for organizing against the current administration’s actions.

And here are some resources for self-care <3:

6 Apps for Taking Care of Yourself 

Free Mindfulness Apps

Self Care in Stress Culture

Radical Self Care

Thanks for reading this blog post and for taking some time for yourself. We’re proud of you over at the Women’s Center, and we’re here when you need support or just want to collect yourself.

P.S. If you know of any more self-care tips for activists or resources that would be useful, please let us know! We would love to hear your ideas and share them with others.

A sampling of “what’s next” from UMBC community members, curated by Jess Myers, Women’s Center Director 

Last week, I shared some of my hopes and desired outcomes from the Women’s March on Washington. While I was looking forward to marching and being in relationship with other women and people at the march, I was (and am) more invested in the what’s next. In my blog, I wrote, “I want the momentum and energy to continue after the march, especially for those who are new to the movement, new to activism, new to seeing things that are unfair and unjust. I want us to stay loud. To stay critical. To stay visible and demand what is right, what is necessary. I want you to volunteer. I want you to keep learning and growing. I want you to find your activism (if you haven’t already) and make a difference. I want all those things for myself as well. 

On Saturday night and Sunday morning, my entire Facebook timeline was filled with amazing photos of the March (and also really important critiques of the march which you should also take some time to read). What was even more exciting than the photos, was the plans people were committing to in their post-march glow. So many people are fired up!

In my last post, I also reflected on the mission of the Women’s Center and our commitment to advocating for and advancing the rights of women and marginalized people. While the Women’s Center is a space and the people who work in it are committed to putting in the work, YOU, our community, are a huge part of that mission. We need you to help us live and be our mission. So with that in mind, I put a call out to some Women’s Center friends and former staff and asked them to share what their post-plans march are so I could share them as inspiration and motivation to our larger community. What I share below isn’t necessarily the full list each person shared with me but I love the breadth of ideas and action items.

So, I’ll go first…

After the march, I began the divestment process from my bank that financially supports the Dakota Access Pipeline as one way to be in solidarity with the Sioux Tribe and particularly native women (knowing construction of oil pipelines can contribute to an increased risk of sexual assault for Native women). I also am committed to investing more of my time and energy in local politics and activism.

Yoo-Jin Kang, UMBC Class of 2015 & former Women’s Center staff member

“Post-march I’d like to commit to speaking up, leaning into discomfort, and having the tough conversations with people who are willing to engage and listen. I want to commit to intersectionality because my feminism is privileged and one-sided without it. I want to continue to support local calls to action– whether that’s calling local politicians, supporting POC-owned businesses, rallying people in my community, or looking up trainings and materials to help guide my understanding of complex issues.”

Dr. Kate Drabinski, GWST Faculty 

“I’m going to keep doing what I do, where I am, and I commit to continue learning, doing, and acting. Oh, and calling my reps–local, state, and national–over and over again while staying open to new strategies and tactics as they arise.”

Lexx Mills, UMBC Class of 2013 & former Women’s Center staff intern
“I had to call out sick from the march and be there in spirit. I am committing to regularly calling Congress and getting family and friends involved.”

Emily Frias, UMBC Class of 2016
“In my current position I’m already heavily involved in local politics, but going to the march helped me further understand the context of the work I’m doing. While protecting reproductive rights is certainly important, black rights, immigrant rights, trans rights and disabled rights cannot be sacrificed in the name of unity. I felt like I was taking in the state of modern feminism, and seeing exactly how important it is to insist on intersectionality. Going forward, I’ll continue to keep these ideas at heart in the work I do!”

Mariana De Matos Medeiros, UMBC Class of 2016 & former Women’s Center staff intern

“After attending the march I am going to be attending training to become an abortion doula and am hoping to continue to researching and learning more in hopes to have brave conversations with the people in my life.”

Jake Leizear, UMBC Class of 2016
“More dialouging (and learning how to make it a less anxiety-inducing experience), and more lobbying. I want my elected officials to know me and be sick of me.”

Dr. Dawn Biehler, GES Faculty 

Dawn with the Day-Biehler crew – Brigid, Alice, and Nathan.

“I’ve been calling members of Congress, though I don’t know how much they listen to me since I don’t have a Senator or full Congressperson as a DC resident… We have started attending services at a very progressive church, All Souls Unitarian, which has a long history of social justice activism.”

Megan Tagle Adams, Women’s Center Assistant Director

“I’m still figuring out my post-march plans and priorities, but to begin with I’ve started donating money more frequently to important organizations and causes. I plan to learn more about third party politics and ways to get involved locally. I’m also committed to recentering the truth by combating the spread of fake news and challenging the uncritical use of harmful euphemisms like “alt-right.””

What are you plans? What’s next for you?

For more ideas or ways to keep the momentum going:

Women’s March on Washington 10 Actions/100 Days 

Countable – an app that makes it quick and easy to understand the laws Congress is considering

Attend upcoming Women’s Center events – check out our spring calendar

Recently, I’ve been buoying myself in this onslaught of political shitstorming by listening to a self-care playlist. The playlist is chock full of all of the songs that help me get by when it’s hard to navigate the world and ones that I can sing very loudly.

One song that I gravitate towards lately is the Talking Heads’s “This Must Be The Place.”

Click here for text version of This Must Be The Place lyrics.

This song has a lot of meaning for me. It’s the song that my dad serenaded my mother with at their wedding. “This Must Be The Place” is the crucible of my parents’ love, so it’s sort of the thing that formed me. It’s a song I sing to myself when I want to cry and when I want to smile and when I want to scream. I sang it with my dad through a vocal harmonizer as we welcomed 2017 (and threw 2016 into the fire pit). I think my mom cried a bit, but I couldn’t see because I was crying.

Coming back to work at the Women’s Center, I am, yet again, thinking about this song’s resonance and its meaning and its magic.

The Women’s Center is home for me. It is a beacon when trauma strikes and when justice is sought. The Women’s Center simultaneously grounds us and lifts us up—like any good home does. It is a place of love, warmth, truth, and hope. A place so rare and crucial right now.

It would be an understatement to say I am happy to be back at UMBC and at the Women’s Center. I am elated, I am at peace, I am confident. This space, this place—the Women’s Center—fulfills the promises of feminist, queer, radical social justice theories by providing a home for me and all the other community members who occupy its world.

As the Special Projects Coordinator (a title Jess lovingly made for me), I am diving back into the constantly evolving environment of the Women’s Center. Over the semester I will be collaborating alongside staff and interns to enhance programming, expand social media outreach efforts, and design marketing initiatives. In short, doing everything I love to do for an organization I love.

I am so thankful to be back home at the Women’s Center and at UMBC. I am beyond ecstatic to join a team that inspires me everyday, and that I care about so deeply. I am enlivened by the opportunity to continue working with a mission centered on intersectional feminism and critical social justice.

Home, is where I want to be

But I guess I’m already there

I come home, she lifted up her wings

I guess that this must be the place.

 An end-of-year reflection from staff member Daniel

I am far from the first and will certainly not be the last person to say this year has been… quite a time. In the last 362 and counting days, bad things have been happening all around the world . And like, bad things have always and will always happen and sometimes we create the illusion that more bad things are happening than normal by highlighting and paying more attention to the bad things, but to be perfectly honest there is something hellishly special about the year Two Thousand And Sixteen. There’s been a lot of personal stuff too. Most of the people I know– and me– have all been going through significant change in our lives, our social circles, our beliefs, and our goals. We’ve had some pretty big losses and intense life experiences. Everything is so strange lately, like we’ve clipped into an alternate universe where everything is exactly the same except that it’s… not.

My friend recently texted our group chat with the revelation that the 16th card in the major arcana of a traditional tarot deck is The Tower. Next year, 2017, is The Star and 2018 is The Moon. If you know much about tarot I don’t really need to say anything else but I will anyway. If you don’t know much about tarot that’s awesome because at least what I’m saying will be new to someone.

Let me tell you a little about The Tower.

The Tower is typically depicted as a tall cylindrical fortress with a few small (or no) windows built on a crop of jagged rocks. Flames burst from the tower as a storm of fire and lightning rages around it. Atop the tower is a crown being struck by lightning as the structure cracks and crumbles. Often, kings and court royalty are pictured tumbling down from the wreckage. It’s a lot to take in. A lot of people will read The Tower as death and destruction, chaos, disaster. When you interpret it this way, The Tower feels much like an omen if it comes up in a reading. But, here’s the thing. The Tower is ruled by Mars and when you read it through the lens of Mars, the meaning takes a whole new shape.

Here’s what my favorite site for all things astrology has to say about Mars: “Mars represents the energy and drive of a person, their courage, determination, the freedom of spontaneous impulse. It also describes the readiness for action, the way one goes about doing things as well as simple aggression.” Mars is the warrior. Mars is about fighting, action, and personal conviction. So what does this say about the tower? It symbolizes the crumbling of an empire. An era. Upheaval, social change, karmic consequences doled out to those who benefit from the exploitation. It’s not senseless chaos. It is action taken and the consequences which follow.

“The Tower signifies darkness and destruction on a physical scale, as opposed to a spiritual scale. The Tower itself represents ambitions built on false premises. The lightning bolt breaks down existing forms in order to make room for new ones. It represents a sudden, momentary glimpse of truth, a flash of inspiration that breaks down structures of ignorance and false reasoning.” –BiddyTarot

The Tower card from the Rider Waite deck, a trusted classic version of the deck

“It means great change forced by those who have been made to feel powerless.” TAROT.com

The tower itself represents the structures we’ve built to protect ourselves and block out the outside world. They can be as personal as your own emotional barriers and your social circle and support network but they can also be the social structures built to protect the ruling class and protect social stratification. The lightning represents truth and the fire represents consequence. The Tower reminds us that there are some things that cannot protect us from the consequences of our actions and that truth will prevail. The changes brought on by The Tower are sudden and great. Foundations are being destroyed and order is being overturned.

Some versions of The Tower. Featured center is from the Collective Tarot

Okay so back to the year 2016. So much has happened I can’t even remember what events belong to this year. I know that Donald Trump was elected president of the US along with a majority Republican Congress, an administration which will appoint at least one and up to three supreme court justices, signaling the end (or beginning) of an era. The tower of liberalism and “progressive” politics some of us have built for ourselves is being destroyed by the truth that white supremacy is alive and well and just as insidious as ever. Meanwhile, the tower we built out of privilege is struck by the cumulative weight of the actual human cost of struggles and wrongdoings we’ve chosen to ignore. As everything falls away we are finally able to see it all laid out before us.

A revelation: the way we’ve been doing things isn’t working. The way we’ve been doing things is causing harm.

That’s not news to a lot of people and we seek to create awareness and education about in the Women’s Center on a regular basis. For those who have been living outside the tower, these are the truths of their daily lives. Before #NODAPL Native Americans were fighting for their lands, their livelihoods, their cultures, and the basic rights of their people. Before Black Lives Matter, the Black Panthers and other groups of Black Americans organized against police brutality and white supremacy. Before Brexit and the US election, fascists and Nazis and the KKK have thrived and held active roles in upholding and advancing white supremacy. The difference is now that the tower is gone, there’s nowhere left to hide. It’s all right here. Now it’s up to us to dig through the wreckage and begin to rebuild or be left behind to lament to no one about the way things used to be.

Where The Tower was the upheaval and the change and the revelations, The Star in 2017 is healing and transformation. We’re left with something totally different from everything we thought we knew. We’ve endured so much but we’ve learned (or are in the process of learning) how to take care of ourselves and each other. Amidst this “massive garbage fire” of a year, we’ve built networks of resilience. It’s really hard to know what our future looks like right now and I don’t know what happens next but I do know that we are resilient. I know that we will be okay because we will take care of one another. We will build resistance and do more than just imagine a different world. Our survival depends on our commitment to change on a much larger scale because–GUESS WHAT–it’s happening whether we like it or not. Plus, we’re not the only ones gearing up for big change and a new era. When the tower comes down, it’s anyone’s game– and resisting change or being passive observers means handing our new malleable world over to white supremacy and fascism.

(Can I just take a second to point out that I’m telling you all to watch out for Nazis? Like, actual legit real life Nazis. How we got to this point is a whole other blog post, but I just wanted to make sure we’re all clear on the severity of the situation.)

I know this may seem like a lot to put on a deck of cards and some numbers but I think as humans we need to find some order in the world, something to explain the entropic chaos of the universe. I love astrology and tarot because it helps me interpret, understand, and come to terms with what I already know and I’ve connected with people in unique ways because of it. It’s one of the ways I build resilience and community just like some people do with religion or political organizing.

So, here’s my advice for the year 2017: don’t resist change. Don’t just let change happen to you either. Be an active agent in change— in your personal life and in the world. Build coalitions, build resistance. Resolve your beefs and learn to love with your whole body. Find what helps you understand the world and put your whole heart into it. We’re gonna be okay.

A blog reflection by Women’s Center intern Mariana de Matos Medeiros 

I’ve been working on a draft for this blog post for over 6 weeks. It’s been intimidating and scary to be vulnerable in such a public space.

I was hoping to describe how I self-silence and how I struggle to find words that match my thoughts and feelings. I often try to polish them, make them perfect and pristine. Drafting and editing about a million times and still feeling like what I’ve written is not quite right. Sometimes I feel that folks are all too willing to accept that femme women often struggle with expressing their unique voices.

Further, my ideas and how I express them through writing—in other words my voice—have often been devalued. Whether through my experience with academic writing or the constant rhetoric that lived experience is less valuable than ‘objective’ facts found through scientific research. Often, lived experience is closely associated with emotion and thus femininity. It feels invalidating and that my thoughts are only valuable if I can back them up with an outside source.

Recently, while scrolling through my various social media pages, I noticed that I share poetry quite often. In fact, out of 20 posts on my Facebook about 12 of them were poetry by Rupi Kaur.

Some of them include:

Sharing these images and words is how I communicate with my friends via social media. Often, the poetry I share is a reflection of my thoughts, ideas, and feelings.

Which sounds like the definition of ‘my voice’ that I described earlier.

Perhaps, it’s fine that I can’t find my own perfect words to convey my voice. I’m finding that self-expression does not have to fit into a box of what other people expect. Also, that there is value in empathizing and sharing other people’s words in addition to creating my own.

It is self-expression anyway and if I feel accurately represented by the words and images that others have created, then so be it.

Poetry has played an immense role in my healing from sexual violence. The words of others have also served as a reminder that I am not alone. My experience did not happen in isolation. The personal is political. I have a community and that realization has changed everything for me.

This journey to finding my voice belongs deeply to me and I can make it my own.

A reflection of what self-care really looks like for each of us, especially during finals, by Women’s Center student staff member Prachi Kochar.

It’s a common refrain that we’ve all heard, especially around this time of year. “Don’t forget to take care of yourself during finals week!”, “Remember that self-care is important!”, and so on. But what does taking care of yourself look like? Does it look like buying yourself your favorite drink at Starbucks? Does it look like going to the gym for a hard session on the treadmill? Does it look like sleeping in an extra hour? Does it look like going to the movies with your friends? Simply put, there is no easy “yes” or “no” answer to these questions. Self-care looks like what is right for you at this point in time. And self-care does not always fit into a neat little box of “Do this and you’ll feel great!” Self-care can be an ongoing process, a process that is sometimes painful and sometimes exhilarating. And it is something that everyone has their own interpretation of, which can be incredibly overwhelming – googling “what does self-care look like” yields over 29 million results!

Besides these yummy cupcakes, what does treating yourself look like?

For me, self-care can take the form of sleeping in a few hours and giving my body and mind the time to rest and recover from stresses. It can also take the form of waking up early and going to the gym for a 7 AM yoga class or going for a run. Sometimes self-care means showing up for all of my commitments, even when I am tired, and sometimes it means saying “no” or “I can’t do it.” Sometimes self-care means pushing myself to finish all of my assignments when I am not feeling my best so that I will not be thrown into crisis mode later when all of my commitments pile up. What is most important is that I take stock of how I am feeling, mentally and physically, and do not become upset at myself for not being able to do everything, but also recognize that sometimes it is necessary for me to push myself to take care of myself. In other words, self-care sometimes involves doing the hard things and showing up for yourself.

More wise words from Parks and Recreation!

As you might be guessing, self-care involves a large amount of self-reflection – taking stock of your feelings, needs, and wants. This can be difficult for many of us, especially in our fast-paced world where we are praised for chugging caffeine and pushing past our human limits. However, it is necessary to know yourself in order to take care of yourself.

Ask yourself:

What stresses you out? When do you feel most stressed out? Is it those papers that you always seem to leave to the last minute? Is it the way that the dishes pile up in the sink during a busy week?

What can you do to reduce these stresses?

This may consist of creating a detailed schedule or setting aside a specific block of time for completing particular tasks. It may also consist of doing little things to reduce your stress during periods of time that you know will be particularly stressful for you. Remember some of the self-care methods I mentioned at the beginning of this blog post? Doing something like eating your favorite food, getting a workout in, or putting on a facemask with some cucumber slices can be great ways to reduce stress during these periods of time, but no one can tell you exactly what works for you.

And finally, show up for yourself! But don’t be afraid to ask for support from those around you – and don’t be afraid to reach out to others. If you notice that a friend is stressed or going through a rough time, you can reach out to them.

Taking care of yourself is an ongoing process that is not always easy, but you can do it. As we head into finals week, good luck, and don’t forget to take the time to take care of yourself, whatever that looks like!

Resources

• What Nobody Tells You About Self-Care
• The Self-Care Revolution
• An Interactive Self-Care Guide
• “Twice As Good”: On Being a Woman of Color and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome and Perfectionism
• Treat Your Body Lovingly: A Twelve-Step Program
• Self-Care for Thanksgiving

 A reflection by Women’s Center staff member Daniel

Trigger warning for suicide mention; resources at the bottom of the post

My community experienced a tragedy early this October, and the ripples from the impact are still cascading across campus and beyond. I woke up that morning to several messages from friends and coworkers telling me what I already knew: a dear friend had passed from suicide.

This friend was a very private person whose spouse has also asked for privacy. In order to respect their wishes, this blog post isn’t about her. That said, I’m incredibly sad about her passing and I miss her every day and I certainly don’t want anybody to forget her. Ever. She was insatiably curious and incredibly smart. She cared deeply for her community and the students she encountered. And now she’s gone.

My friend was a trans woman and she was active in the community of queer and trans students on campus. Her death had an enormous impact on that community, and we continue to be impacted by it for many reasons. Many, and in fact most, of us in the queer and trans community live with mental illness, neurodiversity, or both, and to see it overtake someone who tried so hard for so long is discouraging at best. Mostly, it’s frightening. According to the National Transgender Discrimination Survey Report on health and health care, 41% of trans people attempt suicide in their lifetime. In the face of all of this, it’s been so hard for my community to see the light.

But also in the face of all of this, I’ve seen some incredible coming together. We are a community who has had to learn how to take care of each other. It can be difficult because sometimes we can’t even take care of ourselves, but when shit really hits the fan I know I have people I can be with. There are people with whom I can cry and talk frankly about how fucking bad it feels. And then we hold each other and support one another and even though we’re all having a hard time, we’re doing it together. 

Last week during Critical Social Justice week, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha had lunch and a small seminar with the Women’s Center and Mosaic Center staff, and she said some things I’m still thinking about. She talked about the ways in which queer, racialized, and disabled folks work together to navigate and circumvent systems which oppress us and were never built to support us in the first place.

Leah speaking at the CSJ Home keynote event

In her keynote lecture, she talked about how she and her other disabled friends can construct a ramp out of practically anything when they need to make a space accessible to those with limited mobility. Trans people who want hormones (but can’t get them because of the many many barriers to trans-centered healthcare) buy or get them from those who can. It is not safe to take any sort of medication without the supervision of a licensed physician, but half the time trans people are the ones telling their doctors how hormones and dosages work in the first place. Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P Johnson headed STAR House in New York City in the 1970s as a way to shelter and feed homeless drag queens and runaways. The Black Panthers began a movement and social programs for black americans and black youth in response to police brutality, structural racism, and white-perpetrated violence. Marginalized people have been carving out spaces and networks for themselves since forever. Their communities had a need and the structures in place weren’t helping– in fact, those structures were (and still are) half the problem. So they did something about it.

One alternative space I want to highlight in this difficult time is Healing Justice. Healing Justice is both a space and a framework. Both began as a formal movement around 2010 during that year’s Allied Media Conference. Queer, disabled activists of color met and developed a set of principles and values. Some of those activists were Badass Visionary Healers Mkali-HashikiI, Mareclo Garzo, Rico, Tieraney Carter, Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and Jonah Aline Daniel, as well as shay(den) n. gonzalez, Hong Gwi-Seok of Iyengar Yoga Detroit, Nina Metsovaara, Robbins, Autumn Brown of Rock Dove Collective, and Rico Kleinstein Chenyek*. They created a space in which social justice activists and healers can come together to practice care.

Badass Visionary Healers

The Healing Justice Practice Space asserts that “The way we care for ourselves and each other directly relates to our resilience and that of our communities, collectives, and movements.” We can’t continue to do the work, or sometimes even simply continue to exist, if we are not caring for ourselves and one another. We place so much value on hard work and sleepless nights that we wear ourselves out and cause our movements fizzle away. It also makes our movements and work inaccessible to people who cannot operate their lives in this way. Healing Justice asks us to integrate care into our activism and everyday lives. It asks us to set aside space and time to care and be cared for.

Healing Justice can be a way to circumvent traditional health and mental health care practices and institutions for those who cannot or do not wish to access it. Healing Justice Practice Spaces might provide services such as acupuncture, crystal healing, herbal medicine, massage therapy, “energy and bodywork, tarot & divination, visual, auditory, and movement arts, meditation as well as skillshares such as community medics workshops, trans*body workshares, body support for grief, and inducing menstruation strategy shares.” Some collectives and groups which operate within a healing justice framework toe the line of legality by providing medications and other services typically reserved for licensed physicians. Many of the practitioners in these collectives are licensed and have a vast knowledge of their field, but choose to practice in this way because they are better able to serve a community of people in need.

While some might consider these practices to be dubious at best, I challenge you to think about why a person might seek care in this way, what barriers one might face to accessing western medicine, and why we devalue medicinal practices not based in western medicine. What “legitimate” systems can’t (or won’t) provide, “illegitimate” systems often do.

The Women’s Center often holds space for communities to gather and heal after difficult events

One of my favorite aspects of Healing Justice is the idea of interdependence. Interdependence is understanding that “the ways we live with and treat each other has a direct impact on our wellness and collective well being towards liberation, healing and transforming our conditions.” Interdependence rejects individualist approaches to self care and acknowledges the ways in which we are all connected to one another, the environment, and the harmony of the natural world. Interdependence requires us to think about the ways in which we impact one another and allows us to rely on others.

Healing Justice is what my community needs now. It needs healing space which acknowledges trauma, practices harm reduction, allows us to trust our bodies and ourselves, and allows us to depend on one another. This isn’t to say it will be easy. Not everyone has the same needs and some of these needs will be in conflict. But, doing the work of building a structure which can support us is essential to our survival.

If you feel like you’re missing this community, it’s okay to ask for help.

Women’s Center Spectrum program

There are many places online to find your community, but there are also some spaces on campus. The Women’s Center hosts Spectrum, a discussion-based program for trans, gender non-conforming and questioning students, every other Thursday at 11am. The Counseling Center offers a support group for trans students Fridays at 2pm; you can email Dr. Stuber-Lawson at estuber@umbc.edu to join. The QSL (Queer Student Lounge) is a space in the UC (on the second floor; follow the flags all the way down the hall) where students can hang out and where Freedom Alliance and QUMBC (student orgs for LGBTQ students) meet.

If you feel like you DO have this community, think about how you can open it up to other people who share your struggle.Think about how you can help make your space inclusive, accessible and inviting to those who need it.

For anyone interested in collective organizing which is accessible to all bodies and conditions, and accounts for healing and interdependence, check out the resources below.

If you or someone you know is struggling and needs help, please contact the UMBC Counseling Center (410-455-2472), Campus Police (410-455-5555), or this toll-free suicide hotline (1-800-273-8255).

You can also text this crisis line (Text START to 741-741) or contact the Trevor Project via text, chat, or phone.

The Trevor Project and It Gets Better are both crisis support and suicide prevention resources aimed at LGBTQ people. Trans Lifeline is a crisis hotline run by trans people for trans people.

A crisis can look like a lot of things– questioning identity, experiencing hate or discrimination, difficult situations at home, etc. A crisis is never not serious enough to contact these resources.

More About Healing Justice and Resources:

• Healing Justice Practice Space
• Badass Visionary Healers
• Health And Healing Justice and Liberation Values
• Health and Healing Justice and Liberation Organizing Principles
• How To Build A Healing Justice Practice Space
• Models of Consensus
• Consensus Process Flow Chart
• Tips on how to make a space/event accessible
• Tips for maintaining safety during an event/organizing meeting

*Badass Visionary Healers makes a point to acknowledge their lineage: who came before them and who inspired their work. I am following their lead and acknowledging the wisdom and hard work of the activists who often go unmentioned.