_____, a feminist conference organised by _____, for _____.
FiLiA is rebranding to be more gender-inclusive
By Ariane Silva, FiLiA’s newest volunteer! Ariane is a feminist journalist and lesbian activist based in Brazil. She's one of the founders of GARRa Feminista, the oldest Brazilian radical collective still active. Follow her on Twitter here: @arianecinco
Last month, important conversations about inclusion and diversity within the feminist movement took over social media. FiLiA didn't say much, as we are busy preparing for our 2021 Conference. But we were listening. And we thought it was important to update you all on how this impacts us as we approach the 16th.
Just in case you missed it, here's a quick recap: the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published a startling posthumous quote from the late American justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, about reproductive rights. And then The Lancet, a respected English medical journal, revealed the cover of its new edition with another very provocative quote about bodies with vaginas. Let's take the time to understand what they mean.
Social justice from beyond the grave
RGB tells us that the real issue with reproductive rights is that "the decision whether or not to bear a child is central" not only to some but to any "person's life, to their well-being and dignity". And she goes on to say that "when the government controls that decision for people, they are being treated as less than a fully adult human responsible for their own choices".
We scratched our heads. Such a visionary, and to go on even after death fighting for living people's rights and offering her unique perspective on our struggles! Such an inspiration.
It's not so easy to understand this enlightened message though, but we at FiLiA are not afraid of challenges. After much thought, we come to the conclusion that one possible interpretation of her words could be that men too (and people from all genders, really) ought not to be burdened by fate or other people's choices and must not be forced to parent. Or pay child support. I mean, the child will be "a fully adult human" soon enough, no reason the State should withhold the right to self-determination based on such an arbitrary detail like age. People of all genders and ages should be free to make their own decisions about their lives and bodies. Right?
Her direct quote, as dictated by ACLU's own psychics. According to Anthony Romero, ACLU's executive director, Ginsburg would have supported this sentiment if she were still alive. We'll just have to take his word for it because when she was alive no one was talking about gender and queer theory. She died all the way back in September 18, 2020.
The revolution has already happened
And then a few days later The Lancet launched its new edition with this revolutionary quote on the cover:
"Historically, the anatomy and physiology of bodies with vaginas have been neglected."
Do we all understand how progressive this is? By moving away from person-centered language, we give way to a new politics of equality and freedom, unconstrained by history or material reality. We do not need to comprehend the reason this has happened historically, or which groups of people had these kinds of bodies, and why they were neglected. Words matter. They build realities. Yes, realities, plural. And, in this case, they've built a new world where we can safely say that, even though there's still much to be done in the name of social justice, feminism has won. There's no need for it anymore.
The future of activism is neutral and all-inclusive
As we move forward, there are some big changes we need to make so that we can keep saying and thinking the world is a better place. And we took the first step in this article. Nowhere to be seen is that outdated word we can barely remember (Wumben? Wimpund? Woomud?).
We have been profoundly impacted by the ongoing conversation. We've checked our thinking. We listened. And we are trying to do better. So we'll be rethinking all of our panels to reflect this change in direction, and FiLiA — which means offspring with vagina — will also be going through a rebranding and will now be called simply Offspring. If trademark allows.
Update: We have been alerted by our lawyers that "Offspring" is already taken and will now be called SPROG. Thank you.
Here's our new mission statement:
Offspring SPROG is a Human-led Volunteer organisation and part of the All-Genders' Liberation Movement.
Who is FiLiA Offspring SPROG?
Sprog means child/recruit; we are the multiple-gendered descendants of the people who came before us and we fight so that all people can be free.
FiLiA Offspring SPROG is a Human-led Volunteer organisation and part of the All-Genders' Liberation Movement. We have charitable status for our work promoting All-Gender's Human rights.
FiLiA Offspring SPROG's vision is a world free from everything where everyone is free.
SPROG's mission is to contribute to the All-Genders' Liberation Movement by:
Building siblinghood and solidarity (locally, nationally, globally)
Amplifying everybody's voices (particularly those less often heard or purposefully silenced)
Defending men's All-Gender's Human rights.
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WE ARE OBVIOUSLY JOKING.
Are you tired of this? 'Cause we are. Come join us in planning how feminism can do better: Building Sisterhood and Solidarity -
FiLiA Conference 2021 | Portsmouth, 16 - 17 October.