Roll Call: Girls on my mind

I've been really interested lately in the development of a number of threads on the forum, from the body-hair thread, to the friendships-thread , to name just two. Because the blogs provide a different form of expression than the discussion-threads, I wondered if we might bring some common elements from those discussions into blog-entries, and see if, in carefully crafting these entries, our thoughts cohere at a deeper level even than in the forumn.

So. What am I seeing in common? I've noticed that we are all searching for ways to examine ourselves for internalized oppression, while at the same time support others who're working at the same task. (And let's not forget that this kind of self-analysis is Hard Work!) We look for allies on this site, but we're all at different places in our own, individual struggles, and sometimes this means that someone who appears to be an ally one moment, might say something (probably unintentionally) hurtful (from our individual perspectives) later on. It appears from thread-discussion that this same pattern dogs our offline lives as well.

So what do we do about it? That's what I'd like you to write about. How do you take the wheat and gently point out the chaff when both are part of the same person?

Ideas to help with writing: Give examples of times, online or off, when you've heard someone saying or doing really great, feminist things, and then turn around and say or do something virulently misogynist. How did you feel? How did you react? Were you happy with how you reacted at the time, or could you now think of a better way to address the conflict? When does the misogyny go too far: when is the ally not worth the hurtfulness?

Tag your post with "AGA Roll Call: Girls on My Mind," or, if you're a reader here, leave a letter at the All Girl Army forums, or a link to your letter at your own blog or journal in the comments here.

Click here to read all entries for this Roll Call.