The YWCA has launched the Own It campaign, in conjunction with their 150th Anniversary, aimed at motivating women between the ages of 18 and 30 to take "purposeful action." The campaign will include a series of reports over the next year, one of them just released on Monday. Check out the video:
I'm torn. On the one hand, I'm always excited when national institutions with long, rich histories of helping women set their sights on the younger generation and commit some resources to reaching out. The YWCA should be applauded for looking forward, not backward, on their 150th anniversary.
On the other hand, I feel like efforts to reach out to younger women often end up feeling pretty patronizing (i.e. the lead in to the video) and/or vague ("own it"? "take action"? What do these things really mean?).
A few questions come up for me:
What younger women did the YWCA engage younger women in creating this campaign? I know they're surveying them over the course of the year, which is fantastic, but what about involving them in the strategic planning of the movement itself? If they did, it would be nice to see that indicated in the website either through some kind of young women board of advisers or just a strong commitment in the literature.
Which women between the ages of 18 and 30 is this campaign aimed at? There are certainly women in that age range who aren't activists, and indeed, I commend an effort to engage those folks. But, and this is a big but, there are also so many young women--in fact far more, according to most studies on youth activism and volunteerism, already engaged in social action (Samhita just posted a video that includes many of them.). Is the campaign a repository for their stories? What will be done with all these stories?
Who are the girls in this video and what is their action? I imagine that this video was modeled after the infamously viral Wyclef video for Obama (as it seems so many others have been lately), but those were known celebrities touting a known entity. These girls are intriguing, but rather than hearing them repeat the same phrases continually, I would have loved to see them tell a story or two. This would have helped substantiate that the campaign recognizes that there are young women doing a lot of important work in the world beyond talktalktalking about how much they hate racism.
Again, very excited to see such venerable institutions devoting dollars and energy to the next generation. Just hungering for some clarity, some stories, and some clear indication that young women are the ones shaping this campaign.
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I can't speak for this specific campaign, but I'm a young intern at a YWCA near me, and they're always directly involving me in various campaigns and events that we organize. They ask for my advice, take my suggestions, and give me challenging projects that are largely important to the operation of the campaign.
I see this as a remedy for all the generational tensions that have plagued feminism. Throughout the 3rd wave, there was far too much animosity between the older 2nd wave feminists and the younger 3rd wavers. I don't think the Own It campaign is condescending - I think it's a way for older women to be mentors to younger women. We need to learn from 2nd wavers - they were the ones in the midst of all the action, and they're experts on how to propel a social movement.
I recently went to a discussion group that involved feminists under 30 and feminists over 60, and we were able to converse without any generational tensions. Instead, they asked us how they can help us in the creation of a new wave. That's how it needs to be. The generational conflicts don't have to exist. There is enough oppression and conflict from patriarchy, without bringing it into the movement itself. While I understand your critiques, I see this as an honorable attempt to remedy past mistakes.
Great to hear about your experience as a YWCA intern Appetite for Equal Rights! Thanks for chiming in. It would be nice to analyze what created the conditions for that intergenerational conversation to be so productive and reproduce it!
I don't see it as fair at all to bash the YWCA or that video for what they did.
It didn't seem patronizing at all.
It made references to past feminist movements and is trying to rally young women of today together in a positive, supportive way to fight for the issues that are relevant to them today and that they feel are important.
They mentioned some specifics: affirmative action, civil rights, the wage gap, equal opportunities for jobs, and more, as well as the pregnant woman suggesting reproductive rights. It's not nearly as vague as this post seems to imply it is.
I think it's a great video and in no way should the YWCA be criticized for not being deeply specific or listing ways many young women are already performing activism. Of course many are - but a video like this just motivates more people to take action - more so than might if you said to them "so many young women already are".
It's not a documentary on the ins and outs of all feminists issues and the actions/activism of young women. It is a motivational tool.
Let's attack the enemies instead of fellow feminists for not being more specific in every aspects of their feminism...
Jennifer, I really didn't mean to bash, and I think I make that pretty clear in my analysis. I compliment the YWCA for this effort, but I think it's important that feminists are capable of critiquing one another. There are important resources at stake!
(ahem) "I imagine that this video was modeled after the infamously viral Wyclef Will.i.am video for Obama"
I don't know, it was a nice video, and it looks like a good effort, but it's so vague. "Work for women," "eliminate racism"... What does that mean? What kind of activism are they promoting? And to me, nothing in this video addressed reproductive rights as an issue.
Jennifer: I don't think Courtney was bashing or attacking YWCA for this video, but critiquing it is fair game. If they're trying to reach young women, then they should be happy for the in-put.
Oops, meant to scratch out the Wiclef in my previous post. Although Wyclef does have an Obama video, the one with the celebrities is by Will.i.am.
As a young woman (19), this didn't come across as patronizing at all to me. The "own it" phrase is a bit slangy, but it also seemed to me to mean to take control of your community and its problems.
I didn't feel like the women in the video were talking down to me at all or lecturing me on the importance of equality. It is assumed that the audience is smart enough to know the importance of these issues.
I would have liked to hear more of a shout out to reproductive rights, but at the same time it seemed implied in addressing health care and the shots of the pregnant woman.
I think the purpose of the video was to intrigue women to find out more about the issues, the organization, and what the YWCA was doing to solve equality problems. It obviously worked if the author of this article wanted to know more about specific action. Google is always a wonderful thing to find out more.
I agree, the video is weak. I personally am always turned off by activist-y platitudes like these. But of course the YWCA and its affiliated organizations in this campaign do really great work on the ground, so hopefully people will be able to see past the (in my opinion) lame video and get involved with specific campaigns.