#EverydayFeminism: Everything You Need To Know About The Campaign For IWD
Daily acts of feminism can take many forms. For some it’ll involve calling out sexism during a discussion at the local pub, or dedicating an hour to mentoring a younger female colleague at the office. For others, it’ll be practising body neutrality everyday they catch sight of their reflection in the mirror, or trying to unlearn gender stereotypes and binaries. Most of us will demonstrate feminist acts in our day-to-day lives without thinking twice, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be celebrated.
To mark International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023 Womankind Worldwide – a women's rights organisation which aims to strengthen women's movements and change the lives of women and girls around the world – is launching its #EverydayFeminism campaign as a way to show how vital feminist acts – no matter how global nor nuclear – are.
‘Womankind's #EverydayFeminism campaign will remind us that we all hold power to bring about meaningful change in our homes, communities and world. It aims to defy feelings of individual powerlessness, and encourage people to take small steps to build an equal world – a feminist future,’ Caroline Haworth, CEO of Womankind Worldwide, tells ELLE UK.
‘By spreading this message of hope, we want to strengthen the global feminist movement, as well as demystify and normalise feminism - showing that, as bell hooks said, feminism is for everybody.’
So, how can you get involved? Here’s everything you need to know about the #EverydayFeminism campaign:
What is the #EverydayFeminism campaign?
If you’re thinking the campaign’s name sounds oddly familiar, then you’re not the only one. The name takes inspiration from campaigner and feminist writers Laura Bates’ Everyday Sexism project – a website launched in 2012 which invites individuals who have experienced sexism on a day-to-day basis to document their injustices online.
However, while Bates’ Everyday Sexism project aims to show just how normalised sexism is, #EverydayFeminism is dedicated to normalising feminism, and promoting an equal world where women, girls and people of all genders can thrive.
‘#EverydayFeminism is about inspiring people to do better; proving that no act of feminism is too insignificant to influence those around us,’ a blurb about the campaign reads. ‘It aims to build solidarity and strengthen the global feminist movement. Last but not least, it’s about demystifying and celebrating feminism in all its intersectional glory.’
Twasiima P. Bigirwa, Womankind board chair and feminist lawyer, tells ELLE UK why 2023 couldn't be a more ideal year to launch the campaign. 'This period we find ourselves in is the perfect time to recentre what we mean by feminism. For me, it's always been a movement that represents a belief for a more judicious and equitable future,' she says.
'As we once again reckon with the manifestations of systemic injustices and determine what kind of world will take shape from the rubble, is a time when we can explore the newness that is emerging. It’s the perfect time to imagine what kind of world can we allow emerge if we understood #EverydayFeminism as a call to action.'
How does the #EverydayFeminism campaign work?
In a similar vein to the Everyday Sexism project, Womankind is inviting people to submit their own #EverydayFeminism act (or celebrate someone else’s) on a dedicated form via its website that’s visible to the public.
‘We’ll be featuring stories from women in our partner organisations in the Global South, showing how feminism has changed their world and the lives of those around them,’ the campaigners explain. ‘We’ll be launching an “action guide” with ideas on day-to-day things you can do to make a difference.
‘And finally, we’ll be celebrating Everyday Feminism at WOW Festival (from March 10-12) where, among other things, we’ll invite attendees to pledge their own act of Everyday Feminism on our feminist ‘wish trees’. Laura Bates is supporting the campaign, and we’re looking to engage with other prominent feminists too.'
'Naming yourself a feminist is a political choice, but it is also a personal one,' explains Bigirwa. 'I am more concerned about how we, who have claimed this label get into better relationship with it, and action towards a praxis and understanding that transcends symbolic gestures and focuses on transforming true material conditions of our lives.'
Why is the #EverydayFeminism campaign so important now?
‘This campaign comes at a time when there has been a recent backlash against intersectional feminism and women’s rights globally; and when so many feel unsure of what they can do in the face of this backlash,’ its campaigners add. ‘#EverydayFeminism offers answers (and hope) in a world that can sometimes feel broken. Together we can build momentum for change.’
Despite so much effort having been made by feminist in recent years, from the increased awareness of the #MeToo movement to Time’s Up, Bigirwa says that amid the gains feminists have also received 'significant push back'.
'The last couple of years have only amplified how much more work is still left to do,' she says. 'From the rollback of legal protections around reproductive justice, to renewed gender binary rhetoric that excludes and other increased violence against the most marginalised in our societies. We are also all collectively dealing with the effects the Covid-19 pandemic that has further disenfranchised those already existing on the margins. I like to think of this campaign, and all others like it as a necessary reminder of the realities we still live in, and a space for the alternatives to it to emerge.'
Find out more about the #EverydayFeminism project here.
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