Activism Log #2

Activism: This week, our group met with Nina to discuss the details of carrying out our project. The primary action that I took this week toward that end was to create an online petition for our cause. I titled it “Creation of a Federal Holiday Recognizing the Struggle for Women’s Rights Petition” and posted it everywhere I could on facebook. The url of it is here: http://www.petitiononline.com/w2238868/petition.html. I post it at least once a day and have more recently been sending it to specific people that I know would support it, whether because they feel strongly about its content or just in order to help me out. I made sure to post it to the facebook page for our group, and I also wrote a message in an “update” to all the fans of our page.

Reflection: I have to say, I’m somewhat discouraged at the relatively low number of signatures we have managed to get on the petition so far. After a few days, we were at 48 last time I checked. I think the reason I find this so discouraging is because it had been easy so far to get people to support us, both through discussing the issue and getting people to become members of the page. The most plausible reason for the discrepancy that I can come up with is that it takes a few more seconds to sign a petition than it does to click “become a fan.” I feel like it’s easy to relate this project to the ideas in our textbook about the macro, meso, and micro levels of society (93). It’s difficult to get people to care about this because it’s difficult to look at anything on the macro level. On the macro level, it becomes clear that recognizing and appreciating the ongoing fight for equal rights is imperative.

Reciprocity: The motivation for this project is somewhat self-reinforcing. That is to say, encountering ignorance of what of the fight we want recognized just makes me realize again how important it is that we, as a country, find a way to commemorate the sacrifices of women in fighting for their rights. I’m learning in this process too. Wanting to explain to people why this is so important has motivated me to learn more about the history and significance of this issue.

Seely, Megan. "Identities and Social Locations: Who Am I? Who Are My People?" Fight like a

Girl: How to Be a Fearless Feminist. New York: New York UP, 2007. 92-96. Print.