The issues that matter to women also matter to communities... and these issues have a ripple effect all across the country. And the purist sense of the feminist tradition - feminism is not anti-man. It is pro-humanity.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes that women's issues are crucial for society as a whole and promotes a positive view of feminism as supportive of all humanity.
Nina Turner's quote highlights the interconnectedness of women's issues with broader community concerns, suggesting that addressing these issues can lead to positive changes throughout society. Furthermore, it seeks to redefine feminism in a more inclusive manner, stressing that it is not about opposing men but rather advocating for the well-being of all people, thereby fostering unity and understanding.
In practice
In a speech about community development, I referenced this quote to emphasize the importance of addressing women's concerns.
If not for food stamps, Medicaid, and various job programs, I would never have gone on to be the first in my family to go to college, the first black woman to represent my ward on the Cleveland City Council, and, ultimately, a State Senator.
I am a black woman, last time I checked.
I don't want our white working class sisters and brothers to feel as though their pain is not important because it is. But at the same time, I want my white sisters and brothers to understand that when we talk about income and wealth inequality, that disproportionately African Americans suffer a little more.
Whether it is access to voting rights, representation in government, or the outsized influence of money in our political system, the opportunity to interact with and participate in democracy is available to some, but blocked for many.
All of the great social justice advances that we ever had in this country have come not from people with big titles and not from people at the top, but just from everyday people getting together saying 'Enough is enough. I'm going to change this, and I'm going to get involved, and I am going to be engaged.'
Long before I became a feminist in any explicit way, I had turned from writing love stories about women in which women were losers, and adventure stories about men in which the men were winners, to writing adventure stories about a woman in which the woman won. It was one of the hardest things I ever did in my life.
Beyonce is not above critique. As a feminist herself, I hope Beyonce would welcome it.
I would much rather be the obnoxious feminist girl than be complicit in my own dehumanization.
We need a new kind of feminism, one that stresses personal responsibility and is open to art and sex in all their dark, unconsoling mysteries. The feminist of the fin de si?cle will be bawdy, streetwise, and on-the-spot confrontational, in the prankish Sixties way.
No self-respecting woman should wish or work for the success of a party who ignores her sex.
Feminists are asking the practical questions about how you want to live your life.
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