As sparks flew this week about intergenerational feminism and the current election circus, there was one thing that continually buoyed me: my girls. I got emails from Michelle at Lehigh and Debbie at Girl with Pen, I got calls and texts from my feministing co-editors and feminist friends offline, and, of course, Jessica's awesome post and Ann's great editing officially allowed me to feel "in cahoots" (best word ever?).
No matter what intergenerational misunderstandings may arise, it is so heartening to know that women my age stand in solidarity. We respect our elders, but god damn it's awesome that we also support, lift up, and value one another. I think we're getting better each generation at perfecting the psychology of abundance--the idea that one of us having success doesn't preclude anyone else's, and that in fact, the more young women's voices we get into the public debate and into positions of influence and power, the more all of us will be heard.
I know there are complexities within our generation of feminists--one can just look at recent blogosphere controversies for evidence of that--but I think it's important that we also recognize how much progress we have made in forming supportive friendships across class, racial, and other sorts of divides. We are down for the cause, but even more beautiful and radical, I think we do a pretty powerful job of being down for one another.
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You know, I love the women our age, too, but I'd thought that thank-you Thursdays began as a way of thanking the second-wave for what they'd achieved, in an effort to heal the intergenerational rifts, to give the second-generation their props even while we critiqued them. It just seems like using that forum to reify those generational lines runs counter to the original notion.
It is, in part, about thanking the women who have come before. It is also just about expressing gratitude and pointing out the wonderful things in our lives (we so often focus on the bad). So, in short, I think this is a place for this kind of gratitude too. (And I don't think thanking "my girls" is somehow about not thanking "my mothers".)
hmm.. i dont know.
"No matter what intergenerational misunderstandings may arise, it is so heartening to know that women my age stand in solidarity."
sounds kind of like saying, yeah the second wavers don't get it, but at least WE do, we understand feminism, we have it right.
and also.. DO we stand in solidarity? didn't several (i know of at least two) prominent women of color bloggers just recently stop blogging because there *isn't* solidarity?
You met Carly Simon? Badass!
"You know, I love the women our age, too, but I'd thought that thank-you Thursdays began as a way of thanking the second-wave for what they'd achieved"
I got the impression that it was for the ones who came before whether in the Second Wave, in the First Wave, even earlier, last week, etc. :)
My only question is how do you even find the time to prop each other up - what with all the pole dancing you apparently do.
Pretty much every post I see on this site about intergen. feminism winds up insulting older feminists. We're definitely getting better at "at perfecting the psychology of abundance", but I don't see how that progress can be tracked along generation lines, as it is on this post, or why it's even helpful to pretend/generalize that feminism gets better with younger women. In Courtney's TAP piece, the only 2 physical descriptions are of Butler (who "looked to be about 50"--and that's old!) and the unnamed speaker wearing a "boxy" blazer (read: shoulder-pad, unfashionable feminism), and both seem like subtle digs at their age and age-related out-of-touchness. What's the deal? Seriously, I know this is an older post, but I'd like to know why discussions on intergen. feminism on feministing always seem to pour fuel on that same fire.
Disclaimer: I'm 31 and never experienced *serious* problems between feminists of different generations before I started reading feministing, so I don't have an ax to grind on this question.
It's great how this group incorporates women into a supportive community. Keep up the good work, please. My daughters will be grateful-I know I am.