After the Mothers and Caregivers Summit were sessions that were “Just for Fun,” so I attended a laughter yoga session run by Ramana Lailah Heyman. The whole point of laughter yoga is to just crack up for no reason at all. It was definitely interesting, and left me feeling invigorated and refreshed for Plenary V: Young Feminists Organizing. I was unable to take notes on this session, since it was Shabbat (the Sabbath) and Orthodox Jews are prohibited to write, but I’ll do my best to share what was said and my impressions of the session.
As a young feminist and member of NOW's Young Feminist Task Force, I really
appreciated that time was set aside to talk about young women’s
accomplishments. It always frustrates me when older feminists ignore or marginalize
my generation. We are the ones who will maintain current feminist wins and
fight for further gains, so it’s important that women’s rights advocates
understand how vital we are to the future of feminism. I’m glad to see that NOW
agrees.
NOW Action VP Erin Matson and NOW
President Terry O’Neill introduced the Woman of Courage Award winner, Sandra
Fluke. Fluke, a law student at Georgetown,
was barred from testifying in front of Congress about no-copay birth control,
so she went on to speak only before House Democrats. Conservative radio host
Rush Limbaugh went on a three-day attack on Fluke, calling her a slut and
prostitute and otherwise casting aspersions on her character because she believes
the government should insure birth control. (Yeah, I know.) Fluke spoke about
her experience within the advocacy world and what it was like being in the
national spotlight for being pro-birth control and getting slammed by Limbaugh.
By far my highlight of this session was when we made eye contact. I kid you not,
I made eye contact WITH SANDRA FLUKE. It was amazing to connect with such an
influential feminist that way. Hearing about what Fluke went through in such
detail really shocked me, but what struck me the most was how Fluke had the
intestinal fortitude and sheer bravery and courage to withstand the insults and
criticism that were hurled at her. I don’t know if I could have ever been brave
enough to testify in front of Congress, let alone deal with the fire and
brimstone that followed. Fluke truly deserves the distinction of Woman of
Courage.
After Fluke, Krystal Ball, an MSNBC
contributor, political writer, activist, and former congressional candidate,
spoke. When Limbaugh slandered Fluke, she was on the frontlines defending the
law student and (successfully) turning public opinion against Limbaugh. In
addition to discussing this, she also spoke about her fruitless bid for
Congress. It's a shame that she was not voted in, since she would be an awesome addition to Congress. I forget if she or Matson credited this unfortunate loss to the
country’s backlash against the Democratic party. With the election coming up,
it’s important that people vote for pro-woman candidates, otherwise women’s
rights are seriously doomed.
She was followed by Tamika
Mallory, national executive director of one of the nation’s leading civil
rights organizations, National Action Network (NAN). Mallory spoke about her
experience as a young woman in a position of power, how her entire life was
defined by civil rights advocacy, minority women’s issues, and the importance
of activism and getting up and doing something. She was interesting to listen
to, and I found her in-depth discussion of (feminist) activism and how
successful it can be enlightening. I also appreciated her perspective as a young African-American woman refreshing, since it's unfortunately pretty scarce within the mainstream feminist movement.
I really enjoyed and appreciated
this session as a whole. I sincerely hope that young women will continue to
advocate for women’s rights like Fluke, Ball, and Mallory.
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