Tips for Radicals

Aiming to be a "blog of the gaps" to cover things that other radical blogs oftem miss — what we want, our journey there, and issues along the way.

To help you searching the blog, I use the following tags to categorise posts:

  • theory - ways of structuring the world
  • strategy - plans to achieve the theories
  • tools - specific ways to (help) achieve the strategy
  • tips - advice that could help you in your life and action
  • examples and analysis of existing campaigns

For more info, see the about this blog page.

Please send in your own blog posts, links, comments, or article ideas either as a submission or an ask - always welcome.
"if you don't have a strategy, you're part of someone else's strategy."
– a. toffler

"What can we do today, so that tomorrow we can do what we are unable to do today?"
– Paulo Freire


I also run a more scatter-shot blog full of incoherent rants and tumblr arguments. Sorry about that.

Posts tagged "feminism"
boudiccasrevenge: “We want a feminism that stays up late at the kitchen table convincing us that we deserve better.” View Post Well stoked to read this book!

boudiccasrevenge:

“We want a feminism that stays up late at the kitchen table convincing us that we deserve better.”

View Post

Well stoked to read this book!

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Abusers of the Left (TW misogyny) →
It’s a dirty little secret that misogyny and abuse run rampant in radical communities. From environmentalists, black block anarchists, queer radical groups misogyny and violence against women are covered up and ignored. Abusive men are protected while women are silenced or forced to leave because exposing these men would harm the main objective in the group. This gives the message that women are not worthy, they have no agency, their experiences are not valid. We will be silent no more.

Tell us your story Submit

Share your stories if you’ve been affected, with this new tumblr cataloguing sexism in the left.

It’s so rampant, we really need to cut that shit out.

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How should we deal with sexual harassment in groups working for social change? Often for workplaces and other institutions, the approach to sexual harassment is policies and committees. Formal procedures like this often fail to work; most targets of harassment never report incidents. People know it’s a problem, but policies often make managers feel absolved from responsibility. A far better way of dealing with sexual harassment is direct action: a general awareness of what is not acceptable, and an expectation of confident support when unwelcome behaviour is challenged. Feminist Martha Langelan recommends the best idea as “confrontation” at a personal level. Langelan spells out how women should proceed in a confrontation: name the behaviour hold the harasser accountable make direct honest statements demand that the harassment stop say that all women should be free of sexual harassment stick to your own agenda use appropriate body language respond at an appropriate level end the interaction on your own terms A necessary prerequisite of confronting individuals is the expectation that people will back you up, which can be started by informal discussions and bolstered by successful challenges. Confrontation isn’t just a good tool for sexual harassment - it could be used for defending against other oppressions too e.g. racism or bullying. From Martha Langelan’s book Back Off! via the article Activists and “difficult people” by Brian Martin. Check out similar posts in the difficult people tag.

How should we deal with sexual harassment in groups working for social change?

Often for workplaces and other institutions, the approach to sexual harassment is policies and committees.

Formal procedures like this often fail to work; most targets of harassment never report incidents. People know it’s a problem, but policies often make managers feel absolved from responsibility.

A far better way of dealing with sexual harassment is direct action: a general awareness of what is not acceptable, and an expectation of confident support when unwelcome behaviour is challenged.

Feminist Martha Langelan recommends the best idea as “confrontation” at a personal level.

Langelan spells out how women should proceed in a confrontation:

  • name the behaviour
  • hold the harasser accountable
  • make direct honest statements
  • demand that the harassment stop
  • say that all women should be free of sexual harassment
  • stick to your own agenda
  • use appropriate body language
  • respond at an appropriate level
  • end the interaction on your own terms

A necessary prerequisite of confronting individuals is the expectation that people will back you up, which can be started by informal discussions and bolstered by successful challenges.

Confrontation isn’t just a good tool for sexual harassment - it could be used for defending against other oppressions too e.g. racism or bullying.

From Martha Langelan’s book Back Off! via the article Activists and “difficult people” by Brian Martin. Check out similar posts in the difficult people tag.

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bell hooks resources

themindislimitless:

Some of the work bell hooks’ has done as available on the internet for personal education and reference. Certain books that were up are gone and I’m looking about finding them again. In the meantime if you need them, contact me by leaving a message with your email address in the submissions box and I’ll email them to you. If you find anything, please contact me as well. The most updated version of this list will always be here.

To note, this is meant in particular for those people who’d like to educate themselves but don’t have the resources to get these books for themselves. bell hooks has put a lot of work into these, and it would be horrible if you could afford to buy the books and didn’t.

Edit as of 19th April, 2013: list updated and alphabetized. Many thanks to wretchedoftheearth, elainecastillo, grim-dark, erosum, mmmajestic, andreaisace, ebookcollective, cantbereallif and ericstoller who all helped add links and resources.

who doesn’t love some bell hooks??

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The focus on building autonomous power does not imply separatism. In fact, this model of radical women of color organizing is not simply based on a narrow politics of identity but more on a set of political practices designed to eliminate the interlocking systems of oppression based on heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, capitalism and colonialism—a vision that is liberating for all peoples. Unlike the demobilizing reformism of the mainstream women’s movement, this organizing is about asserting power and taking responsibility for transforming the world. As Native feminist activist Justine Smith stated: ‘You can’t win a revolution on your own. And we are about nothing short of a revolution. Anything else is just not worth our time.
INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (via days-turn-to-night)

(via wretchedoftheearth)

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It’s very hard, when in a privileged category – male, white, and so on – to perceive how many actions might affect those not in the privileged category. That’s why it’s one of the key features of intersectional feminism that language and behaviour can be challenged or examined publically. It’s not because feminists want to embarrass men, or because people of color want to make white people feel bad. It’s because it’s really hard to know whether an action or a political position, something embedded in the complexities of language and the heirarchies of privilege and the messy realities of social life, is in fact harmful, does perpetuate privilege. It’s best to involve as many people’s points of view as possible when doing so, especially a variety of those in the oppressed category – in the case of sexism, women- so that we, as a group, can figure out what’s right, what we should do from here.
from Sexism and the Left
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Asker anonamuss Asks:
Regarding your post on sexism/racism after capitalism falls: They tried the same thing with Civil Rights / Women's Suffrage, where Black people and women worked together to help each other's cause. After slavery ended, guess who forgot their obligation? And about 60 years later, finally it happened. All the revolutions need to happen at once, or else they get forgotten.
tipsforradicals tipsforradicals Said:

on one level: yes, totally!

on another level: the way you said it made it sound like (a) “black people” and “women” are two separate groups (b) the civil rights movement was to blame for sexism, or something?

I dunno your background, obv, but I think it’s worth mentioning that anti-racist movements throughout history have had both feminist and patriarchal parts, and the blame for that lies (in my eyes) solely in the patriarchal society that we live in, and at the door of those who benefit from the system without doing anything to change it

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How does anarchism fit into other ideologies, you say? Like this!

How does anarchism fit into other ideologies, you say? Like this!

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Maybe if organizers made collective accountability around gender violence a central part of our practices we could neutralize people who are working on behalf of the state to undermine our struggles…someone who creates chaos wherever he goes is either an informant or an irresponsible, unaccountable time bomb who can be unintentionally as effective at undermining social-justice organizing as an informant. Ultimately they both do the work of the state and need to be held accountable.

When we allow women/queer organizers to leave activist spaces and protect people whose violence provoked their departure, we are saying we value these de facto state agents who disrupt the work more than we value people whose labor builds and sustains movements.

Why Misogynists Make Great Informants

Summary of the article: misogynists may be informants, and they may not, but they’re shitty anyway and we should organise in a way to (a) diminsh the impact they can have (b) get them the fuck outta there when necessary.

Challenging and dismantling misogyny in our movements isn’t work that should just rest on the shoulders of women. We need to make a “queer, radical, feminist ethic of accountability” central to our movements.

Suggestions of how to do this: support survivors as a collective; talk about how to make our communities safe for everyone; develop and practice community accountability.

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IN PRAISE OF NON-HIERARCHICAL POLITICAL ORGANISING →

The reasons for wanting to experiment with new ways of political organisation are as true today as they ever were. Hierarchy, leaders, “experts” create an illusion that feminism is a structured, non-dynamic movement led by individuals who have clear, singular goals. Within that framework, there are leaders and followers along the same lines as with patriarchal institutions. It is no coincidence that, currently, the resurgence of feminism is predominantly taking place among white, middle-class liberals who believe that “gender equality” can be given to “everyone” by changing laws and structures a little bit. New creative ways of thinking and acting cannot be born in sterile contexts.

The hetero-patriarchy divides women. It sets women in competition with each other for male approval. Radical feminism should be actively promoting  ways of political organising which subverts competition, ego and “expert” status. By doing so, it will break down the very structures, dynamics and behaviour which has had women at logger-heads and prevented them from coming together to smash patriarchy.

Non-hierarchical organising achieves one goal vital  for the success of radical feminism – it enables the movement to be organic, flexible and, above all, creates a space for women to come together and fight patriarchy without internalising its distractions.

Great!

Feminism needs non-hierarchy, non-hierarchy needs feminism.

Ignore the glorifying on second wave feminism/unqualified “radical feminism” (without caveats about cissexism) though. Ech.

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