I'm going to let my friend Laura Leischner, the Prevention Specialist at The Collins Center, blog this one out...
It's a pretty informal setting with people finishing their lunch, but the caucus is going to be moderated by Kyla Bender-Baird and Lisa Rast, both of NCRW. Everyone went around and introduced themselves. There are a wide range of women in the room, from freelancers, college students to attorneys.
Lisa talks about how one of her favorite quotes is by Madeleine Albright, "There's a special place in hell for women that don't support other women." She poses the question, "How can we support other women while looking out for ourselves?" A tough one indeed.
A NCRW intern Shirley raises the point that she appreciates the quote, but doesn't like how it focuses on the individual. Sisterhood is powerful.
Another participant transitions and talks about corporations and the lack of support that they give women here in the US (especially with maternity leave) as opposed to other countries. She explains we are taught here to compete with men.
Lisa raises the point that in New York, in all sectors of business, the norm is leaving the office at 7pm. This point alone shows the importance we place on work as our livelihood and in turn how it's becoming our whole life.
Someone brings up the point about women's organizations and how there is an internal glass ceiling there. She says that If the older women don't get out of the way, how can we as young women get a move on and take the reins? It's a constant struggle for us as young feminists and something time and time again we end up talking about.
Courtney speaks up about the WomenGirlsLadies panel and how they worked together to be open and honest with one another, while not getting offended if they disagree. She also touches on her experience with Feministing and how she's learned to be honest and real with her feelings that are much deeper and connected to her work as a young woman whether that be in the feminist blog world or not.
With all this talk of support, someone raises the question of "What should you expect from a mentor?" A good question. Courtney responds that there's no one answer. She says she seeks out people she's authentically drawn to and also has different mentors for different parts of her life.
Marriage Marriage Marriage. A 25 year old woman questions the pressure she feels from her parents in regards to marriage. She's been with the same person for three years, but has many other things on her mind right now. Totally okay. Another woman responds by saying that she feels a lot of pressure not just about marriage, but also to pursue higher degrees in education. Does it ever stop?
Lisa talks about the differences with pressure put on by parents whether that be towards marriage or jobs or higher education. Someone speaks to that by saying that pressure put by them relates to them wanting to just be successful. Success is different to them, thus a generational gap shows.
Latoya Peterson adds to the conversation by saying that mentorship can be informal. There isn't necessarily one way to do it. She makes an excellent point and says it's also important to have a network as well. Extend the hand to women. Latoya speaks specifically to women in the gaming world and the point she makes to extend her hand to them and connect with especially women of color.
Lisa wraps things up by encouraging people to network with one another. Thus the point of this caucus!
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First, I would like to thank Courtney from feministing for coming to our conference, I know it was a thrill for me as a young feminist!
I really enjoyed the Young Women's Caucus in particular because it allowed us to come together and discuss these important issues in an informal setting.
This topic of the competitive dynamic between women is a pressing one. I mentioned that I do not like the focus on the individual in the above quote by Madeleine Albright, not just because sisterhood is powerful, but because there are powerful forces in our society (aka the patriarchy)deterring us from realizing our connectedness and the power for change that can come this realization. The maintenence of the patriarchy depends on this competitive dynamic. Thus, the saying "There's a special place in hell for women that don't support other women," is not really acknowleding that this is a socialzied pressure to relate to other women in this way, and doesn't exactly warrent the "special place in hell" claim. Rather, we should focus on how we get women to relate to each other in a more productive and positve way, which will benefit everyone. At the same time, we should make women aware that this competitiveness that has been socialized into them is superficial, not inevitable, and in the end, holds them back and prevents them from forming alliances that could make some real change in our society. Sisterhood is not only life-changing on a personal level, but truly treatening to the patriarchy.
Sorry for the long comment, but coming from a college setting where I am exposed to a competitive and completely frusterating dynamic between women on a daily basis, I have a lot to say on the matter. Until I stop hearing other women pick each other apart about a hundred times a day, my rants will continue!
Thanks so much for clarifying Shirley. This is an awesome insight. It was great to meet you!