slow feminism

a tiny manifesta

We need to slow down. We need to read more. We need to pay less heed to short-form videos. The Second Sex is about 800 pages. Read it, reread it. Read another book. Read as many books as you can get your hands on. Read as many papers as you can find. Talk to people. Have long, intentional conversations over tea with your mom and your grandma and older feminists about their experiences. Feminism strives for rapid progress, but good, solid progress is made through being informed and knowing the weight of things. We should push quickly but without being sloppy.

Shortly ago, I mentioned just this: instead of moving at the breakneck speed social media incentivises, we should be sure to pay attention to quality literature. I’d rather newcomers to feminism spend a while working through Sexual Politics than rattle off a series of sloppy TikTok videos. The bad feminist TikTok videos will have more reach than anything that comes out of deep engagement in movement literature, but that’s part of the problem. We shouldn’t feed into the feminism that social media loves, the feminism of quick, thoughtless takes and takedowns. Instead, we should feed our brains and hearts and souls. Any feminist efforts we undertake should pour forth from a deep well.

It is entirely possible to read, engage with, and accept or reject Judith Butler’s Gender Trouble and Bodies That Matter. Look up unfamiliar jargon. Take a few pages at a time if needed. Slow down. Know what you’re talking about. Anyone can read anything if they put the work in. And it’s worth knowing what someone as important as Butler (or Irigaray, or Haraway…) has said, even if you don’t like it. (I don’t.)

Read and pay attention to your internal opposition. If you’re super into intersectionality, read a feminist who isn’t, like Holly Lawford-Smith. You don’t have to dignify a lot of antifeminist insult-hurlers, but other feminists of any stripe deserve your time.

History is informative. Check out Clara Bingham’s recent tome, The Movement: How Women’s Liberation Transformed America, 1963-1973. Go slowly, read the early second wave in its own words. And there are so many other historical works to choose from, documentaries and books alike.

Now, some might argue that slowing down and reading deeply will slow down movement in general. That’s not the case. Shulamith Firestone wrote one of the most important feminist books ever written — while being on the ground. Or standing on someone’s desk. One of the best feminist activists in my area became so while getting two MAs and a PhD. Not everyone is in a situation in which they can do either of these specific feats, of course. But clearly they’re possible and they were more common during the second wave, which had a lot less to work with than we do now.

Another possible critique would be that literature isn’t necessary for activism. Firstly, yes it is. If you don’t know what you’re doing, or even what you’re fighting for, on whose behalf, you’re just going to follow likely stupid trends. Secondly, you need to think to be an activist, and the way you learn to think is by reading thinkers. Do you want to be thoughtful or thoughtless? Everyone would pick thoughtfulness if they paused to consider the choice.

A call for “slow feminism” might sound like a call for easy feminism. But it’s easier to be a quick feminist, flitting around the algorithm and maybe getting into a useless fight at Thanksgiving. Slow feminism requires patience, reading, listening. Slow feminism may challenge you to change your mind on some issues, which is hard.

Slow down. Read. Talk to people — online if necessary, in person ideally. Pay close attention; be mindful. Feminism shouldn’t be about having the quickest hottest take.

A frequently cited line in the Jewish tradition tells us, “when you pray, know before Whom you stand. For doing that, you will merit the life of the World to Come” (Berakhot 28b). May we acquire the knowledge we need to bring about a better world.

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