Intersectional Femivision
March comes in like a lioness.
In 2019, some of the writers at the old Solute launched “The Womens+ Canon,” a look at the interests and creations of mostly women, but also people who were not men. We renamed it to Intersectional Femivision in 2021 to be a bit more, well, intersectional and inclusive. We want to carry on this tradition over here at Magpies. Welcome, if you’re new, and welcome back if you’re an old friend.
The basic thrust of Intersectional Femivision has always been “we spend so much time talking about men, let’s talk about something else.” I could rattle off Oscar statistics, or talk about that jackhole who called women in country music “tomatoes,” or refer you to the Geena Davis Institute (actually, I’ll do that; check out the Geena Davis Institute), but I think if you’re here you’re probably aware of the problem.
And this year, we’re looking at a problem that is almost certainly going to get worse in the near term. Social media algorithms, trained by rage, have been feeding up “tradwife” and retrograde content. Right-wing political movements are on the rise across the globe and currently have a (close to literal) chokehold in the US, where most of our writers are based. Major media companies are walking back from the DEI programs they usually only half-heartedly championed. Storylines have been cut. “Bury your gays” is starting to feel awfully literal.
We recognize that this is a full-bore assault on a lot more than “people who are not men,” but it’s Women’s History Month (no matter what Google tells you), so we might as well start here.
Kurt Vonnegut has a very famous quote about the power of arts in protest:
During the Vietnam War, which lasted longer than any war we’ve ever been in — and which we lost — every respectable artist in this country was against the war. It was like a laser beam. We were all aimed in the same direction. The power of this weapon turns out to be that of a custard pie dropped from a stepladder six feet high.
And, you know, he may have been right (the careful reader may cynically note that Vietnam has no longer “lasted longer than any war we’ve ever been in”), but I think that’s a little off the mark. Art might not move us to the picket line, but it moves us, anyway. In times that are dark and painful, they can shine a light.
They remind us we’re here. We’ve always been here, and we’re not going away. We might just be small candlelights, but we’re not the only flames out here flickering in the dark. We may be angry and we may be scared (hell, I’m both), but we are, and will never be, alone in this.
Stay tuned for articles that will, with luck, remind you of that.
If you’re here, you’re not a man, and you have something to say1, please reach out, too.
About the writer
Bridgett Taylor
Bridgett Taylor has a day job, but would rather talk about comic books. She lives in small-town Vermont (she has met Bernie; she has not met Noah Kahan), where she ushers at local theatrical productions and talks too much at Town Meeting.
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“Art might not move us to the picket line, but it moves us, anyway. In times that are dark and painful, they can shine a light. They remind us we’re here. We’ve always been here, and we’re not going away.”
Hell yeah. I believe Vonnegut is pretty much correct in what he writes but you nail the other side of that — art not as direction to/against but direction from. What a person made and has to say, both the uniqueness of that individually and the broader output from groups of persons who have been dismissed. Looking forward to this month, it’s off to a strong start.
Thank you! We can’t always predict what art will do – Jaws made people more afraid of sharks but it also spurred interest in marine biology – but we know that it makes us feel less alone.
This is a great torch to light the way at the start of the month. Looking forward to some days of appreciation and (purposeful) fury, with some good guiding lights.
Thank you!