Expanding Microfeminism to Everyone
Photo courtesy of Lua Eva Blue/Wikimedia Commons
Not every act of feminism has to be involved in large scale organizing or protest. The little actions we take daily create change and contribute to a more equal and welcoming environment!
Microfeminism has often been referred to as the next new thing in the feminist movement. Microfeminists believe that little things such as holding doors open for men, writing a woman’s name first, and having the man be the scribe on the group project normalizes the equal treatment of all genders. Small acts of microfeminism can be just as or even more effective than protests or outright confrontation in the mission for gender equality. They do not just need to be acts that uplift women; small acts of kindness and respect towards any gender also function as acts of feminism. Uplifting everyone creates an environment of respect and equality for all genders, which is the goal of feminism.
These acts of “microrespect” are important on a college campus, not just as actions for the feminist movement, but as acts that ensure every student feels respected, welcome, and important. Making space so that the woman being talked over can be heard, alongside those acts listed above can be implemented so that they too serve as acts of respect for any individual feeling disempowered or walked over. Take the opportunity to write the name of the person being spoken down to or ignored first on the document; have the individual doing the talking down take the notes.
Most of us can name a situation where we have seen this in action, even if we didn’t realize it. In my time at Geneseo, I have seen many instances of these small respectful acts: I have seen many people go up to the quiet person and empower them to speak up in class or contribute to the conversation and have even felt empowered to speak up in social circles when I’ve felt like an outsider as a result of these small acts. These actions are an extension of microfeminism that may not have the conscious intent of establishing gender equality, but still work towards it regardless through the empowerment of the individual.
Microfeminist-inspired actions can form a blueprint for ways to show others that you see, support, and want to uplift them. This is not to say that these things should not be done for women; the fact remains that the one being spoken down to in the room is often a woman.
Nevertheless, everyone could use an indicator that there’s someone in their corner from time to time, regardless of their gender. Using microfeminism as inspiration: small acts of respect and uplifting can be done to ensure that every individual feels seen and valued. Microfeminism is an effective system to create gender equality in any environment. Its success can be an outline for little ways to empower those who need it while still contributing to the movement towards gender equality.