About two weeks ago, a few of us went down to Cambridge for WAM! 2008, a conference for progressive feminist activism. The energy there was very positive, inspiring women to analyse media content, claim their own image, and help others realise their own potential. Going to this conference changed my perception of what it means to be an activist and a feminist. While I don’t agree with every opinion there (because we are diverse even if we believe in the same cause), everyone I met there has been inspiring.
Here is our (very) little motley group:
Mostly I hung around the tables where I found some very, very cool women with very, very cool programs and projects. These women here represent the UMass Boston Program for Women in Politics and Public Policy and the media reformation movement Free Press.
The UMass program is a two-year graduate program that trains women in the theory and practice of politics and public policy. Also coming up at UMass is the Women, Wages, and Work Policy Conference on June 9th. Women have been and still earn less wages than their male counterparts, and this conference addresses what we can do to change that.
Free Press is a non-profit organization that campaigns for better media policies. The premise is that there has been too much leniency favoring corporate media, and the monopoly of media is detrimental to the democratic process. To learn more about the topic, visit the website or read the book Our Media.
This is the display for Red Sun Press, a printing press in Boston. What is great about this company is that are very socially, economically, and environmentally progressive. They take care to make green, eco-friendly publications. Every employee is also an owner and has equal share in the profits. They truly embody the spirit of equality. (Also, they’re designs are nifty. Check them out!)
At this table is Teen Voices, a Boston-based publication written by adolescent girls for adolescent girls, and Girls Write Now, a NYC-based program that helps high school girls find their strength through writing. Both these programs focus on empowering young women through writing, and the effects are inspiring and humbling.
Those are only a few of the tables I visited. (I just don’t have any more pictures!) The rest of the time at the conference was spent at panels about blogging and women in popular culture, and this amazing documentary on reproductive rights in African-American communities, Silent Choices. The breadth of experience at this conference has been eye-opening, refreshing, and inspiring all at once.
I’m so glad to have attended. It was a fabulous experience.
