WEBVTT
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Greetings Troublemakers
...welcome to Trouble.
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My name is not important.
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In the wake of the recent scandals
that have rocked Hollywood,
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corporate media outlets,
academia, amateur sports
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and, of course, Washington DC
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... the topic of sexual abuse
has become a recurring feature
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on the American news cycle.
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But while it’s good to see
a handful of powerful men
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at least beginning
to be held accountable
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for their misogynistic behaviour
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... the sexual harassment
and assault of women
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is obviously nothing new.
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And these recent stories are only
a microscopic representation
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of a much more widespread
and systemic issue.
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If even famous celebrities aren’t
safe from this type of abuse
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... what does that say
about the rest of us?
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Sexual violence is
the foundation of patriarchy,
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one of the oldest and most
insidious systems of domination
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in human history.
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This violence takes many forms
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from rape
and sexual exploitation,
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to the imposition of
misogynistic beauty standards
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and gender norms,
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to laws and social taboos
that seek to control
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women's sexuality,
bodily autonomy
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and reproductive health.
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Patriarchy is intricately woven
into the very fabric of society;
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it is rooted in
the nuclear family
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and the ways in which
children are raised differently
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depending on the gender
they're assigned at birth.
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It is encoded into our language,
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and amplified by religion
and popular culture,
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helping to shape our
perceptions of the world,
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and our place in it.
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It plays out in countless
everyday experiences and actions,
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forming a self-perpetuating
and self-reinforcing cycle
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that is passed down
through generations,
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extending its influence
into all spheres of
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human activity and behaviour.
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But far from accepting
the role of eternal victim,
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throughout history, women
have consistently pushed back
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against patriarchal systems
of social, political
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and economic control.
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Today, we are at the
forefront of revolutionary
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anti-capitalist and anti-colonial
movements around the world,
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in addition to playing
leading roles in resistance
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against white supremacy
and police terror,
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for LGBTQ liberation,
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and against ableism,
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carceral psychology and
the prison-industrial complex.
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Over the next thirty minutes
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we'll highlight some of
the ongoing struggles
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faced by women across the globe
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and speak with a number
of badass commentators
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as they talk about
confronting social taboos,
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fighting back against sexism,
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subverting systems
of male domination
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... and making
a whole lot of trouble.
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In a word, I would define
patriarchy as conquest.
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Beyond just sort of
everyday prejudices,
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it is a system of power
that is institutionalized
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in various facets of
our everday life.
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A social, economic,
political system
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that's rooted in
gender oppression.
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The system of
racialized gender regulation
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that socially and materially
privileges manhood,
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and men... and masculinity.
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Trans, queer
and non-binary folks,
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and all the things,
behaviours and attributes
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that we would associate
with the feminine,
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or femininity
is deemed to be inferior.
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It's a social system
that establishes,
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codifies the supremacy,
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the superiority of men in
every sphere of social life
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over women.
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The struggles of
women across the world
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show that there's
a lot of common issues,
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such as their under-representation
or marginalization
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in cultural, economic
and political spheres.
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One of the unifying
characteristics of patriarchy
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that is seen around the world
is the imposition of
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a gender binary, with
violence committed against
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those who do not fit
into the stereotypes
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– into the expected
representations
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of what is masculine
or what is feminine.
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The patriarchal system, as a
system of gender regulation,
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revolves around transmisogyny
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– which patriarchy
understands as a punishment
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of failed masculinity.
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Because trans women are not
understood as being real women
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but rather as failed men.
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And the violence against trans
women serves a twofold purpose.
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It allows cis men
to reassert and re-establish
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their own sense of masculinity
by punishing trans women
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for their own insecurity
about their heterosexuality,
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and their attraction to
trans women, which calls
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their whole
manhood into question.
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And then it also serves
a warning to trans women.
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The kind of uniform
experience of patriarchy,
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if there was to be one
... because of course
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patriarchy is experienced
differently by different genders
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and many other identities
that overlap with patriarchy
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– but is particularly, the subjugation
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especially if we look at
subjugation and inequality
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in intimate relationships,
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and in the so-called
'domestic spheres.'
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So that's one of the ways
in which patriarchy
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continues to be so dominant,
and yet so invisible.
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Patriarchal relations, the
dominance of men over women,
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it's a consequence usually
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of a system that
exploits human labour.
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And therefore
the control over women,
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over their reproductive capacity,
over their domestic work
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– it's in fact a goal, at least
of those who control society.
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Patriarchy is,
at least in my view,
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connected with a class system.
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With a system of exploitation
that goes beyond the relations
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between men and women.
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Economically, the subordination
of women and femmes
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plays out in pay gaps
and in the way that
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women's labour is undervalued,
regardless of what it is.
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And whether it's
in more traditional ways
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... if it's curanderas,
or medicine people,
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it's typically more women.
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When we talk about
the ancestral knowledge
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that's passed down
from grandmothers
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through matrilineal connections
- that kind of knowledge
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is dismissed more often.
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There is an appropriation
of the genius of women.
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Of the work of women
that men take credit for.
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All those clichés about there
always being, y'know,
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'behind every great man
there's a woman.'
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Like, behind every great woman
there's ten more women
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that are badass and that have
worked to uplift each other
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and to encourage each other
to find their power
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and to find their voices.
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Patriarchy ignores all that.
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Patriarchy erases the genius
of women throughout history.
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It erases the efforts
that we put in
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to help our
communities be thriving.
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To help our
children be thriving.
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I've spoken of 'the patriarchy
of the wage' to define,
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y'know, the way
in which capitalism maintains
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gender-based hierarchies.
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The patriarchy of the wage
says that,
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or implies,
the wage relation.
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And the fact that capitalism
organizes much of
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women's work on
an unpaid basis as being
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a fundamental material
condition for the creation
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of patriarchal control.
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We saw very recently
with the #MeToo movement,
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how the issue of harassment
or abuse against women
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is something that really
transcends
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all class lines
and all culture lines.
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It's also important to state
that patriarchy
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does not imply that all men
have power over all women.
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Take the case of the
United States, for instance.
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It's clear that the race relation
has a profound effect
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in the definition also
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of whose men have power
over whose women.
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I think about patriarchy,
not only in the way
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that it affects women,
but in the way
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that it affects men
in our communities.
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It stunts their growth.
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It stunts their
capacity for accountability,
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their emotional depth.
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Their willingness to grow
and to understand
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that they can become
better human beings,
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more connected
to their spirituality.
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More connected to
their purpose in this life.
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Especially in
– when folks talk about,
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y'know, a revolutionary sense,
there's this stereotype
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of having to be hard
and super militant.
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And we absolutely need that.
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We absolutely need
to defend our communities.
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But we also need to be able to
communicate with each other.
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And to be reasonable,
and to not default to anger.
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In the Book of Genesis,
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which just so happens to be
the main creation story
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for the world's combined
4.2 billion adherents
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of Judaism,
Christianity and Islam
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... it's a bit of
an understatement to say that
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women don't exactly
come out looking so great.
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And if the no-doubt
male authors of this text
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are to be believed
... it's all Eve's fault.
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Because even after being
granted an earthly paradise
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to frolic around in,
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this ungrateful harlot
did the one thing
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that her benevolent male
God had told her not to do.
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And worse than that,
she roped her husband
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into taking the blame with her
... even after he gave up
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one of his ribs
so that she could be created.
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By eating the forbidden apple
from the Tree of Knowledge,
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Eve was responsible
for original sin
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... and ultimately
the downfall of humanity.
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Pretty heavy.
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And for thousands of years,
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the chief institutions
of organized religion
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have done everything
that they could to ensure
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that nobody forgot
the awful truth
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wrapped up
in this vicious lie.
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The Catholic Church
has played a major major role
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in terms of fostering a
misogynist conception of women.
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The Church had
a tremendous role,
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in particular,
in defining women's sexuality
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as something sinful.
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As something that
has to be controlled.
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So the woman
is the great sinner.
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The woman is the one
who has to cover herself,
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because she is a continuous
temptation for men.
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Sexuality is a very intense,
potentially subversive force.
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Y'know, but here
I would add immediately
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that the concerns of
the Church were also shared
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by the political
and legal authorities.
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Because particularly in the
developing capitalist system
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at the end of the Middle Ages,
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y'know, the question of
the control of sexuality,
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the control of procreation,
became a strategic issue.
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Became a strategic objective.
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Those same techniques,
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values that were permeated
by a devaluation of women
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... were exported.
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Throughout colonization,
Christianity used the bible
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and its stories
to prove that patriarchy
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was the will of God.
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The Christian,
Catholic religions
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that have been imposed here
deify men.
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And deify God as a man.
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And they don't have any room
for the sacred feminine.
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Colonization needed to
divide and destroy communities
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in order to gain
access to land.
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And upon arrival,
settlers noticed very quickly
00:11:28.278 --> 00:11:30.898
that Indigenous women
often held positions
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of power in their communities,
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and in their own
governance systems.
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And so while there were
generalized attacks
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on Indigenous communities,
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there were
very specific attacks
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aimed directly at
Indigenous women.
00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:44.997
Looking back at history,
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looking back
at resource extraction
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... the ways that all of our
non-human relatives have
00:11:50.770 --> 00:11:55.043
been treated and commodified
and stolen and sold
00:11:55.043 --> 00:11:57.588
... it seems to me that
people from those religions
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don't hold much sacred.
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One of the first things they did
was convince the men
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in those communities
that their equality to women
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was a sign of inferiority.
00:12:07.329 --> 00:12:08.522
And this was done
through religion
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and a variety
of different ways,
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and actually got them
to aid in the process
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of removing women from
those positions of power.
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The way that
colonizers invaded,
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and continue to invade
and destroy
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and disrespect
the land that gives us life
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... is an extreme parallel
to the ways that colonizers
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also inflict abuse
on Native women in particular.
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The MMIW movement in Canada
00:12:38.957 --> 00:12:43.480
has been an Indigenous-led
response to the crisis of
00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:47.394
over-representation of Inuit,
Métis and First Nations women
00:12:47.394 --> 00:12:49.981
in missing persons
and homicide cases.
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Indigenous women make up
4% of the population,
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but 16% of the
homicide rates in Canada.
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Deaths and disappearances
of Indigenous women
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are often ignored
or mishandled by the police.
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The Tina Fontaine verdict
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... the recent not-guilty
verdict in that case,
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which was pretty devastating
00:13:06.999 --> 00:13:09.299
– you see this kind
of thing play out.
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And so you see things like,
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just before the verdict being
announced, The Globe and Mail
00:13:13.698 --> 00:13:17.048
doing an entire front-page
article talking about how
00:13:17.048 --> 00:13:19.551
she had drugs
and alcohol in her system
00:13:19.551 --> 00:13:20.480
when she was found.
00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:24.275
As if that somehow justifies
her being murdered
00:13:24.275 --> 00:13:26.578
and thrown into the river
in a sleeping bag.
00:13:27.589 --> 00:13:31.825
The European
systems of religion,
00:13:31.825 --> 00:13:36.349
of social structures
are all based on hierarchy.
00:13:36.349 --> 00:13:39.051
The hierarchies that
are in place now place women
00:13:39.051 --> 00:13:42.562
– women of colour –
at the very bottom.
00:13:42.562 --> 00:13:45.723
The Jezebel is one of
the controlling images
00:13:45.723 --> 00:13:48.546
of Black womanhood
that's grounded in this idea
00:13:48.546 --> 00:13:52.344
that Black women are
uniquely sexually aggressive
00:13:52.344 --> 00:13:54.729
and uncontrollably
promiscuous,
00:13:54.729 --> 00:13:57.551
and hyper-sexual
and animalistic.
00:13:57.551 --> 00:13:59.800
And it relates to chattel
slavery in the United States
00:13:59.800 --> 00:14:02.311
in that enslaved Black women
were subjected
00:14:02.311 --> 00:14:04.606
to sexual violence
by their masters.
00:14:04.606 --> 00:14:08.571
Because they were seen
solely as bodies that existed
00:14:08.571 --> 00:14:11.891
for sexual consumption and
sexual domination by white men.
00:14:11.891 --> 00:14:14.023
This has fed into
a contemporary idea
00:14:14.023 --> 00:14:16.368
that Black women
are 'un-rapeable'.
00:14:16.368 --> 00:14:20.120
That we are purely sexual
beings that always want sex.
00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.089
And so when we are
victimized sexually,
00:14:22.089 --> 00:14:24.468
we're not understood
as being legitimate victims
00:14:24.468 --> 00:14:26.251
the way that white women are.
00:14:26.251 --> 00:14:28.429
In Syria you have the rise
00:14:28.429 --> 00:14:31.297
of a number of
authoritarian Islamist groups,
00:14:31.297 --> 00:14:35.022
which to varying degrees have
placed restrictions on women
00:14:35.022 --> 00:14:36.882
in terms of
their participation,
00:14:36.882 --> 00:14:40.357
or restrictions on movement
or on dress.
00:14:40.357 --> 00:14:45.209
But with Daesh, we saw
these extremes of horror
00:14:45.209 --> 00:14:47.674
being committed against women.
00:14:47.674 --> 00:14:50.576
The reintroduction
of sexual slavery,
00:14:50.576 --> 00:14:53.999
also the policing of
women in the social space
00:14:53.999 --> 00:14:57.605
– which was completely
alien to Syrian society.
00:14:57.605 --> 00:15:00.312
But I think it's also
important to recognize
00:15:00.312 --> 00:15:02.005
that women have been
at the forefront
00:15:02.005 --> 00:15:03.661
of countering extremism.
00:15:03.661 --> 00:15:05.842
Of course,
in the Kurdish areas
00:15:05.842 --> 00:15:09.395
the female fighters of the YPJ
have really captured
00:15:09.395 --> 00:15:12.464
the world's imagination
for the courage they've shown
00:15:12.464 --> 00:15:14.517
in fighting against Daesh.
00:15:14.517 --> 00:15:18.444
In Raqqa you had
an amazing woman, Suad Nofal,
00:15:18.444 --> 00:15:21.677
who became an icon
for Syrian revolutionaries
00:15:21.677 --> 00:15:23.695
because she carried out
these one-woman
00:15:23.695 --> 00:15:26.885
demonstrations against Daesh
for two months.
00:15:26.885 --> 00:15:31.006
Every day she was there
protesting against them
00:15:31.006 --> 00:15:32.814
and calling on them to leave.
00:15:32.814 --> 00:15:36.138
And in Idlib, you've seen
women at the forefront
00:15:36.138 --> 00:15:38.117
of protests against Nusra.
00:15:38.117 --> 00:15:39.971
I think it's important
to recognize
00:15:39.971 --> 00:15:43.883
that many of these women
are religious, hijab-wearing,
00:15:43.883 --> 00:15:45.061
Muslim women.
00:15:45.061 --> 00:15:48.402
But what they're saying is
that they refuse to submit
00:15:48.402 --> 00:15:51.143
to the regime's tyranny,
and they refuse any
00:15:51.143 --> 00:15:53.697
other tyranny
that tries to replace it.
00:15:53.697 --> 00:15:56.605
And they refuse anyone
who's trying to impose
00:15:56.605 --> 00:15:58.933
an authoritarian
agenda on them,
00:15:58.933 --> 00:16:01.286
or dictate to them
what they should wear
00:16:01.286 --> 00:16:03.351
or what their
social role should be.
00:16:05.848 --> 00:16:08.405
According to the UN
High Commission on Refugees,
00:16:08.405 --> 00:16:12.907
in 2017 there was
a record 258 million migrants
00:16:12.907 --> 00:16:14.762
living in countries
around the world.
00:16:14.762 --> 00:16:17.597
This figure includes
almost 26 million people
00:16:17.597 --> 00:16:20.025
who are officially
registered as refugees.
00:16:20.025 --> 00:16:21.760
And over
the past several years,
00:16:21.760 --> 00:16:23.894
for the first time
in recorded history,
00:16:23.894 --> 00:16:26.210
a majority of those
forced to make these journeys
00:16:26.210 --> 00:16:27.866
have been women and children.
00:16:28.276 --> 00:16:29.722
The decision to
leave your home,
00:16:29.722 --> 00:16:32.106
and the entire life that
you've made for yourself,
00:16:32.106 --> 00:16:34.429
is one that
nobody takes lightly.
00:16:34.429 --> 00:16:36.788
Forced migration is
a terrifying flight
00:16:36.788 --> 00:16:38.808
into uncertainty and precarity
00:16:38.808 --> 00:16:41.313
... and this is especially true
for female refugees
00:16:41.313 --> 00:16:42.645
and migrant workers,
00:16:42.645 --> 00:16:45.058
who face a specific
set of risks and dangers,
00:16:45.058 --> 00:16:46.722
on top of the many
challenges shared
00:16:46.722 --> 00:16:48.373
by their male counterparts.
00:16:48.973 --> 00:16:51.207
As war,
territorial dispossession,
00:16:51.207 --> 00:16:54.960
extreme economic inequality
and climate change continue
00:16:54.960 --> 00:16:57.909
to destabilize our world,
humanity sits poised
00:16:57.909 --> 00:17:00.570
on the threshold of an era
of even greater levels
00:17:00.570 --> 00:17:02.704
of dislocation
and displacement.
00:17:02.704 --> 00:17:04.611
And as
this process accelerates,
00:17:04.611 --> 00:17:06.989
women will continue to
bear the heaviest burden.
00:17:10.311 --> 00:17:13.674
The feminization of migration
is basically the reality
00:17:13.674 --> 00:17:18.290
that women continue to be
the most impacted by wars,
00:17:18.290 --> 00:17:22.416
by occupations, by militarism,
by climate change,
00:17:22.416 --> 00:17:26.697
by forced poverty as a result
of colonialism and neoliberalism.
00:17:26.697 --> 00:17:29.241
And that women are the ones
that are primarily on the move.
00:17:29.241 --> 00:17:31.079
In the Global South
00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:34.866
– in much of Africa,
Latin America, parts of Asia –
00:17:34.866 --> 00:17:38.067
what you have
has been a massive level
00:17:38.067 --> 00:17:39.362
of impoverishment.
00:17:39.362 --> 00:17:44.435
Starting with the debt crisis
in the late 1970s
00:17:44.435 --> 00:17:47.150
and then the application
of programs
00:17:47.150 --> 00:17:48.883
of structural adjustment,
00:17:48.883 --> 00:17:51.785
which are brutal
austerity programs.
00:17:51.785 --> 00:17:54.441
Y'know, what you have
across the continents
00:17:54.441 --> 00:17:56.793
is a massive pauperization,
00:17:56.793 --> 00:18:00.350
which then has triggered
big migratory flows.
00:18:00.350 --> 00:18:03.707
One of the biggest myths
is this idea that
00:18:03.707 --> 00:18:05.479
the so-called 'west'
and the Global North
00:18:05.479 --> 00:18:07.156
is so accepting towards refugees.
00:18:07.156 --> 00:18:08.621
The number of people
that even make it
00:18:08.621 --> 00:18:10.245
to the Global North
is a fraction.
00:18:10.245 --> 00:18:12.575
Most people who are displaced
are displaced, y'know,
00:18:12.575 --> 00:18:13.899
within their
countries of origin,
00:18:13.899 --> 00:18:15.657
or to neighbouring countries.
00:18:15.657 --> 00:18:17.844
The living conditions
of displacement,
00:18:17.844 --> 00:18:19.979
the poverty,
the hardship
00:18:19.979 --> 00:18:23.256
... these things have
increased domestic violence
00:18:23.256 --> 00:18:25.414
for women often
living in camps.
00:18:25.414 --> 00:18:27.942
Because men will take out
their frustration on
00:18:27.942 --> 00:18:29.403
the women in their families.
00:18:29.403 --> 00:18:33.070
I've spent a lot of time
with refugees in Lebanon,
00:18:33.070 --> 00:18:34.808
in Jordan and in Iraq.
00:18:34.808 --> 00:18:38.449
And in all of those places
I've met women that were
00:18:38.449 --> 00:18:41.847
organizing around issues
of domestic violence
00:18:41.847 --> 00:18:43.073
or early marriage.
00:18:43.073 --> 00:18:45.320
The kinds of racism,
and the anti-migrant backlash
00:18:45.320 --> 00:18:46.736
that we're dealing with
all around the world
00:18:46.736 --> 00:18:47.832
– we're seeing this in Europe,
00:18:47.832 --> 00:18:49.614
we're seeing this
with Rohingya refugees,
00:18:49.614 --> 00:18:51.435
we're seeing this
in the Mediterranean,
00:18:51.435 --> 00:18:53.935
we're seeing this
in New Zealand and Manus Island,
00:18:53.935 --> 00:18:55.098
in the United States
and Canada
00:18:55.098 --> 00:18:55.927
... really all over.
00:18:55.927 --> 00:18:57.240
Women actually make up
more than half
00:18:57.240 --> 00:19:00.306
of the world's migrants and so
women are dealing with that.
00:19:00.306 --> 00:19:01.557
And women are also
dealing with
00:19:01.557 --> 00:19:04.349
the particular vulnerabilities
of being women on the move,
00:19:04.349 --> 00:19:06.124
and facing fortified borders.
00:19:06.124 --> 00:19:08.670
So that means that, y'know,
women are really vulnerable
00:19:08.670 --> 00:19:09.963
to rape and sexual violence.
00:19:09.963 --> 00:19:12.915
60% of women who are crossing
the southern US border
00:19:12.915 --> 00:19:14.939
reported sexual violence
at the border.
00:19:14.939 --> 00:19:17.042
It's just another
level of something
00:19:17.042 --> 00:19:18.701
to be used against you.
00:19:18.701 --> 00:19:23.615
Undocumented women who are
in domestic abuse situations,
00:19:23.615 --> 00:19:26.016
or who have been
sexually assaulted,
00:19:26.016 --> 00:19:28.396
have little to no recourse.
00:19:28.396 --> 00:19:30.265
The fear of being deported,
00:19:30.265 --> 00:19:32.308
the fear of being
separated from your children,
00:19:32.308 --> 00:19:36.069
the aggressive deportation
tactics that are being used
00:19:36.069 --> 00:19:39.346
... leaves women
so much more unprotected.
00:19:39.346 --> 00:19:42.782
They have to face
years of isolation,
00:19:42.782 --> 00:19:45.724
exclusion, including violence.
00:19:45.724 --> 00:19:48.072
Because many times
when they arrive
00:19:48.072 --> 00:19:49.802
they don't have
all the proper documents,
00:19:49.802 --> 00:19:52.258
or their documents
are taken away from them.
00:19:52.258 --> 00:19:53.837
And they become exposed
00:19:53.837 --> 00:19:57.401
to very brutal
forms of exploitation.
00:19:57.401 --> 00:19:59.188
So people are
unwilling to speak out.
00:19:59.188 --> 00:20:00.991
People are unwilling
to speak out against
00:20:00.991 --> 00:20:02.922
unfair working conditions,
00:20:02.922 --> 00:20:05.316
or sexual harassment
by their employers.
00:20:05.316 --> 00:20:07.140
Always and forever again,
y'know,
00:20:07.140 --> 00:20:08.957
in the interests
of their children.
00:20:08.957 --> 00:20:12.389
Of survival.
Of being able to make a life
00:20:12.389 --> 00:20:14.571
after being forced
out of your homeland.
00:20:14.571 --> 00:20:17.030
Women migrants are also,
again as often being
00:20:17.030 --> 00:20:18.812
the primary caregivers
to their children,
00:20:18.812 --> 00:20:21.159
are often the ones
who are responsible for
00:20:21.159 --> 00:20:23.217
the well-being of their kids
while they're on the move.
00:20:23.217 --> 00:20:24.991
Or are dealing with
family separations.
00:20:24.991 --> 00:20:26.484
So are separated
from their kids
00:20:26.484 --> 00:20:27.887
... sometimes for decades.
00:20:27.887 --> 00:20:31.283
And so these are completely
related to patriarchy
00:20:31.283 --> 00:20:34.194
in terms of the burden
that women face,
00:20:34.194 --> 00:20:36.130
of reproductive labour
and domestic labour
00:20:36.130 --> 00:20:37.141
within the home.
00:20:37.141 --> 00:20:39.328
If we look at communities
that are still land-based
00:20:39.328 --> 00:20:41.426
– so Indigenous communities,
peasant-based communities,
00:20:41.426 --> 00:20:42.608
farming communities,
00:20:42.608 --> 00:20:44.303
in the vast majority
of the Global South –
00:20:44.303 --> 00:20:46.118
we know that women
are on the front lines
00:20:46.118 --> 00:20:47.812
of tending to their homes.
00:20:47.812 --> 00:20:50.400
To their subsistence-based
economies in their communities
00:20:50.400 --> 00:20:51.507
and their villages.
00:20:51.507 --> 00:20:54.565
And so when we are faced with,
for example, climate change
00:20:54.565 --> 00:20:56.221
– whether it's drought
or flooding,
00:20:56.221 --> 00:20:58.607
it's women
who are forced to leave.
00:20:58.607 --> 00:21:01.305
Because women are actually
often the primary breadwinners
00:21:01.305 --> 00:21:03.740
in communities where
people still are
00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:04.899
rooted in the land.
00:21:04.899 --> 00:21:08.622
When your entire identity,
and your entire livelihood,
00:21:08.622 --> 00:21:12.256
and your spiritual practices
are all land-based,
00:21:12.256 --> 00:21:14.525
and you're forced
to leave the land.
00:21:14.525 --> 00:21:18.157
When you can no longer
go to your sacred places.
00:21:18.157 --> 00:21:22.110
Where your stories
of origin sprout from.
00:21:22.110 --> 00:21:24.578
Where your people came from.
00:21:24.578 --> 00:21:28.290
The cultural genocide that
happens is immeasurable.
00:21:28.490 --> 00:21:31.197
The use of women
to support colonial
00:21:31.197 --> 00:21:35.386
or imperialist intervention
is nothing new.
00:21:35.386 --> 00:21:37.605
The entire project
of colonization,
00:21:37.605 --> 00:21:41.397
of the civilizing mission
that dates back 500 years,
00:21:41.397 --> 00:21:43.475
has often used
a feminist logic.
00:21:43.475 --> 00:21:46.743
And these kinds of narratives
are possible because,
00:21:46.743 --> 00:21:50.047
of course, one of the ways
which imperialism works
00:21:50.047 --> 00:21:52.522
is to exclude native voices.
00:21:52.522 --> 00:21:55.629
And this is something that
Gayatri Spivak calls
00:21:55.629 --> 00:21:59.071
“the very old civilizing logic
of white men and white women
00:21:59.071 --> 00:22:01.413
saving brown women
from brown men.”
00:22:01.413 --> 00:22:03.836
Women's bodies being
used as a tool in the
00:22:03.836 --> 00:22:06.486
regurgitation
of these orientalist
00:22:06.486 --> 00:22:10.122
and islamophobic tropes
come not just from states,
00:22:10.122 --> 00:22:12.962
but sadly also from
many western leftists
00:22:12.962 --> 00:22:14.415
or western feminists.
00:22:14.415 --> 00:22:17.607
People go to Syria on
regime-sponsored trips,
00:22:17.607 --> 00:22:20.836
and then they come back
and they write articles about
00:22:20.836 --> 00:22:23.497
how they saw women
in bikinis on the beach,
00:22:23.497 --> 00:22:26.606
or women drinking
alcohol in night clubs.
00:22:26.606 --> 00:22:28.525
And the message that
that sends is:
00:22:28.525 --> 00:22:32.374
“OK... genocide's okay,
as long as the social and
00:22:32.374 --> 00:22:36.254
liberated elite of Damascus
can party in bikinis.”
00:22:36.254 --> 00:22:38.274
And it's obviously absurd.
00:22:38.274 --> 00:22:40.501
The thing about feminism
is that
00:22:40.501 --> 00:22:43.493
it can take on
so many different forms.
00:22:43.493 --> 00:22:46.033
And so it is not uncommon
for the state,
00:22:46.033 --> 00:22:49.790
and particularly Empire,
to take on feminism
00:22:49.790 --> 00:22:52.094
as a putatively
progressive logic.
00:22:52.094 --> 00:22:53.540
And we also
see it similarly in
00:22:53.540 --> 00:22:54.757
the Prison-Industrial-Complex,
00:22:54.757 --> 00:22:56.535
where we're told that
we need more prisons
00:22:56.535 --> 00:22:57.785
and we need more cops.
00:22:57.785 --> 00:22:59.431
Because we need
to protect women.
00:22:59.431 --> 00:23:01.712
I think that it's important
to highlight how Black women
00:23:01.712 --> 00:23:04.255
are affected by carcerality
and by state violence.
00:23:04.255 --> 00:23:06.853
Black women are incarcerated
at something like four times
00:23:06.853 --> 00:23:08.551
the rate of white women.
00:23:08.551 --> 00:23:10.363
The criminalization
of Black women
00:23:10.363 --> 00:23:13.471
is also indicative of
this idea of a public,
00:23:13.471 --> 00:23:16.297
and public safety that
revolves around the threats
00:23:16.297 --> 00:23:17.427
to white women.
00:23:17.427 --> 00:23:19.486
Which includes all
Black and Brown people.
00:23:19.486 --> 00:23:21.820
And so the police
and prisons
00:23:21.820 --> 00:23:25.064
and military are part
of an imperial logic.
00:23:25.064 --> 00:23:29.592
A part of the carceral state
that uses, often, a feminist
00:23:29.592 --> 00:23:31.729
logic to advance
white supremacy,
00:23:31.729 --> 00:23:33.021
to advance social control.
00:23:36.844 --> 00:23:39.349
It is often said that
revolutionary theory
00:23:39.349 --> 00:23:41.528
is the domain of
bearded old white men.
00:23:41.528 --> 00:23:44.958
Not only does this myth
invisibilize the countless
00:23:44.958 --> 00:23:47.945
theoretical contributions
made by female revolutionaries
00:23:47.945 --> 00:23:49.003
over the years,
00:23:49.003 --> 00:23:52.330
from Rosa Luxembourg
to Comandanta Ramona,
00:23:52.330 --> 00:23:55.168
it also ignores the fact
that during the long period
00:23:55.168 --> 00:23:57.676
when men enjoyed the
near exclusive right to have
00:23:57.676 --> 00:24:00.150
their ideas published
and debated, women were
00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:03.427
busy putting revolutionary
theory into practice.
00:24:04.107 --> 00:24:06.500
From Louise Michel,
who held down the barricades
00:24:06.500 --> 00:24:09.894
of the Paris Commune while
tending to wounded comrades,
00:24:09.894 --> 00:24:10.824
to Lucy Parsons,
00:24:10.824 --> 00:24:13.203
co-founder of the Industrial
Workers of the World
00:24:13.203 --> 00:24:15.904
and a woman the Chicago Police
once described as
00:24:15.904 --> 00:24:18.328
“more dangerous
than a thousand rioters”.
00:24:18.328 --> 00:24:19.541
From Emma Goldman,
00:24:19.541 --> 00:24:22.211
who once beat Johann Most
on stage with a horsewhip
00:24:22.211 --> 00:24:23.540
for talking shit,
00:24:23.540 --> 00:24:25.117
to Maria Nikiforova,
00:24:25.117 --> 00:24:27.704
the feared Ukrainian
anarchist military commander
00:24:27.704 --> 00:24:30.962
and executioner of White
Guards and Bolsheviks alike.
00:24:30.962 --> 00:24:32.380
From Kanno Sugako,
00:24:32.380 --> 00:24:35.249
who was hanged at the age
of 29 for her failed attempt
00:24:35.249 --> 00:24:37.256
to assassinate
the Emperor of Japan,
00:24:37.256 --> 00:24:38.672
to Assata Shakur,
00:24:38.672 --> 00:24:41.745
who managed to escape the
bowels of the US gulag system
00:24:41.745 --> 00:24:44.047
and has now been on
the FBI's Most Wanted List
00:24:44.047 --> 00:24:45.581
for nearly four decades.
00:24:46.141 --> 00:24:47.879
Not to mention
the countless other women
00:24:47.879 --> 00:24:50.056
who've carried out
propaganda of the deed,
00:24:50.056 --> 00:24:53.350
rioted, led peasant revolts,
and fought on the front lines
00:24:53.350 --> 00:24:55.062
of revolutions
around the world.
00:24:55.062 --> 00:24:57.926
And to this day, women
are still holding it down,
00:24:57.926 --> 00:25:00.467
taking the lead in countless
struggles around the world,
00:25:00.467 --> 00:25:03.212
whether they're those waged
against resource extraction
00:25:03.212 --> 00:25:05.715
and the ongoing theft
of Indigenous lands,
00:25:05.715 --> 00:25:08.737
the liberation of Syrian
territories from Daesh
00:25:08.737 --> 00:25:11.603
and the fight against
Turkish aggression in Rojava,
00:25:11.603 --> 00:25:13.662
or the struggle
against racist policing
00:25:13.662 --> 00:25:15.470
in the so-called
United States.
00:25:16.138 --> 00:25:18.819
I think that any organizing
should be feminist organizing.
00:25:18.819 --> 00:25:21.026
I think that if there is
something that's affecting
00:25:21.026 --> 00:25:23.338
your community
that you want to address,
00:25:23.338 --> 00:25:26.278
it should be
with an anti-colonial,
00:25:26.278 --> 00:25:29.372
women-centered,
matriarchal focus.
00:25:30.452 --> 00:25:33.614
And so for me
the kind of feminism that
00:25:33.614 --> 00:25:36.632
I'm interested in talking about
is not a kind of feminism
00:25:36.632 --> 00:25:38.636
that is interested
in social control.
00:25:38.636 --> 00:25:41.361
Is not a feminism
that is interested in
00:25:41.361 --> 00:25:44.155
who the fuck a CEO is,
or who the next president
00:25:44.155 --> 00:25:46.003
is going to be, of Empire.
00:25:46.003 --> 00:25:47.854
But it's a kind of feminism
that's based
00:25:47.854 --> 00:25:48.956
on liberation, right?
00:25:48.956 --> 00:25:50.979
That is anti-capitalist,
that is anti-racist,
00:25:50.979 --> 00:25:52.080
and more and more and more.
00:25:52.080 --> 00:25:53.117
And that seeks freedom.
00:25:53.117 --> 00:25:54.807
Any kinds of feminism
00:25:54.807 --> 00:25:56.619
– imperial feminisms
and otherwise –
00:25:56.619 --> 00:25:59.651
that seek more control,
that seek more domination,
00:25:59.651 --> 00:26:02.842
are the antithesis
of what feminism is about
00:26:02.842 --> 00:26:06.069
if we understand feminism
to be a lens of liberation.
00:26:06.919 --> 00:26:10.596
I hope that the new
emerging feminist movement
00:26:10.596 --> 00:26:13.134
is learning
the lessons of the past.
00:26:13.134 --> 00:26:16.972
You cannot imagine to
change the condition of women
00:26:16.972 --> 00:26:20.936
simply by shifting
forms of exploitation.
00:26:20.936 --> 00:26:25.873
It's very important instead
to understand, y'know,
00:26:25.873 --> 00:26:29.143
what are
the structural mechanisms
00:26:29.143 --> 00:26:32.486
that allow for
that exploitation?
00:26:32.486 --> 00:26:35.035
And this is where
we have to organize.
00:26:36.725 --> 00:26:39.684
Feminist projects that
are really exciting right now
00:26:39.684 --> 00:26:43.351
are feminisms that understand
the different connections
00:26:43.351 --> 00:26:45.823
between all the different
systems that we're living in.
00:26:46.593 --> 00:26:48.851
Working-class feminisms,
for example.
00:26:48.851 --> 00:26:52.727
Feminisms that center the
experiences of sex workers.
00:26:52.727 --> 00:26:55.312
Transfeminisms,
Indigenous feminisms,
00:26:55.312 --> 00:26:56.888
Black feminisms,
migrant feminisms,
00:26:56.888 --> 00:26:58.179
all of these things
that understand
00:26:58.179 --> 00:26:59.715
that these systems
are connected,
00:26:59.715 --> 00:27:01.333
and that feminism
is not simply
00:27:01.333 --> 00:27:04.414
the advancement of some women
at the expense of others.
00:27:04.414 --> 00:27:08.198
I'm also most interested
in feminism that is aiming
00:27:08.198 --> 00:27:11.186
to visibilize all the
different kinds of labour
00:27:11.186 --> 00:27:13.645
that exists in our society.
00:27:14.415 --> 00:27:16.715
We need to learn
from their experiences.
00:27:16.715 --> 00:27:18.802
We need to
promote their voices.
00:27:18.802 --> 00:27:21.193
And in that way,
we can address some of this
00:27:21.193 --> 00:27:23.992
current imbalance
and ensure that Syrian women
00:27:23.992 --> 00:27:27.368
are able to speak for
and represent themselves.
00:27:28.278 --> 00:27:30.486
Just make a girl gang,
you know?
00:27:30.486 --> 00:27:31.280
Everyone should just have
00:27:31.280 --> 00:27:33.043
their own girl gang
in their neighbourhoods,
00:27:33.043 --> 00:27:34.271
and in their communities.
00:27:34.271 --> 00:27:35.736
Our movements
will never be effective
00:27:35.736 --> 00:27:37.197
if we don't feel safe in them.
00:27:38.217 --> 00:27:40.069
Both anarchism
and Black feminism
00:27:40.069 --> 00:27:43.420
are theorizing about the
violence of racial capitalism.
00:27:43.420 --> 00:27:45.647
They're theorizing
about the violence
00:27:45.647 --> 00:27:47.464
of the American state.
00:27:47.464 --> 00:27:48.870
To synthesize the two
00:27:48.870 --> 00:27:51.749
into a Black feminist
anarchism, for example,
00:27:51.749 --> 00:27:55.703
would be to make
more efficient the racial
00:27:55.703 --> 00:27:57.554
and gender
critiques of the state.
00:27:57.554 --> 00:28:00.260
And to also racialize
the anti-state
00:28:00.260 --> 00:28:02.483
politic of anarchism.
00:28:03.483 --> 00:28:06.722
I encourage women
and femme folks
00:28:06.722 --> 00:28:10.045
to get involved in
male-dominated spaces
00:28:10.045 --> 00:28:12.165
... but go in and
have each others' backs.
00:28:12.165 --> 00:28:14.472
And change those
spaces into something
00:28:14.472 --> 00:28:17.386
that's more welcoming
and more inclusive
00:28:17.386 --> 00:28:19.043
of people of all genders.
00:28:19.043 --> 00:28:24.370
And that doesn't necessarily
mean making it less radical,
00:28:24.370 --> 00:28:27.351
or taking less
confrontational action.
00:28:27.351 --> 00:28:30.510
And it doesn't mean
shifting priorities to
00:28:30.510 --> 00:28:34.388
try to prioritize care work
over revolutionary struggle,
00:28:34.388 --> 00:28:36.087
or aggressive or
confrontational work.
00:28:36.087 --> 00:28:40.327
It means to re-contextualize
those kinds of things
00:28:40.327 --> 00:28:42.750
as not in the
realm of machismo,
00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.897
but as something that people
of all genders engage in.
00:28:46.707 --> 00:28:50.136
I don't know that violence
is always the answer,
00:28:50.136 --> 00:28:53.486
but I think in some situations
it can be an answer.
00:28:53.486 --> 00:28:57.715
And if you're talking about
femicide, rape culture,
00:28:57.715 --> 00:29:01.352
sexual violence, the rise
of the misogynist right
00:29:01.352 --> 00:29:04.303
... I think that's a situation
in which everything
00:29:04.303 --> 00:29:06.660
should be on the table
to at least discuss.
00:29:06.660 --> 00:29:09.405
You don't wanna give up your
ability to engage in that way.
00:29:09.405 --> 00:29:10.938
That makes you
very vulnerable.
00:29:10.938 --> 00:29:14.086
I don't believe
in silver bullets
00:29:14.086 --> 00:29:16.345
... or I think there's
a lot of important
00:29:16.345 --> 00:29:18.894
and meaningful
work to be done.
00:29:18.894 --> 00:29:21.295
That's less about
the specific issue
00:29:21.295 --> 00:29:23.250
or area that
you're focusing on,
00:29:23.250 --> 00:29:25.888
but more about
how you're engaging with it.
00:29:25.888 --> 00:29:29.788
Are you looking at things
beyond just individual actions?
00:29:29.788 --> 00:29:32.868
Trying to look at it in
terms of collective responses
00:29:32.868 --> 00:29:35.088
... material responses?
00:29:35.088 --> 00:29:37.953
Are you looking at
trying to build autonomy
00:29:37.953 --> 00:29:39.367
outside of the state?
00:29:39.367 --> 00:29:42.151
Are you looking at trying
to build a feminist politics
00:29:42.151 --> 00:29:46.352
that isn't just about
petitioning to representatives
00:29:46.352 --> 00:29:50.327
or trying to get more
institutional representation?
00:29:50.327 --> 00:29:52.849
I think the world
is generally shit.
00:29:52.849 --> 00:29:55.207
But I think because
it's generally shit,
00:29:55.207 --> 00:29:57.873
the only worthwhile
thing to do is struggle.
00:29:57.873 --> 00:30:01.988
And I feel like there's a lot
of really inspiring history
00:30:01.988 --> 00:30:04.127
and a lot of
really amazing people
00:30:04.127 --> 00:30:06.472
who have fought back
and struggled
00:30:06.472 --> 00:30:07.921
in a lot of different ways.
00:30:07.921 --> 00:30:09.224
And it's useful to sort of
look at some of
00:30:09.224 --> 00:30:10.511
the different things
that they did.
00:30:12.602 --> 00:30:14.218
Although there's still
a long way to go
00:30:14.218 --> 00:30:16.655
to the abolition of
gender-based inequality,
00:30:16.655 --> 00:30:19.281
the past few decades have seen
major advancements
00:30:19.281 --> 00:30:20.735
for women around the world.
00:30:20.735 --> 00:30:22.674
Each step forward
has been a struggle,
00:30:22.674 --> 00:30:25.057
as men of all stripes
have sought to retain
00:30:25.057 --> 00:30:27.549
the various manifestations
of power and control
00:30:27.549 --> 00:30:29.380
afforded them
under patriarchy.
00:30:29.910 --> 00:30:32.207
But today, even many of
these hard-fought victories
00:30:32.207 --> 00:30:34.106
are under threat
of being clawed back
00:30:34.106 --> 00:30:36.533
by resurgent movements
of male reaction,
00:30:36.533 --> 00:30:40.187
authoritarian nationalism
and religious fundamentalism.
00:30:40.187 --> 00:30:42.837
From MRAs, who blame feminists
00:30:42.837 --> 00:30:45.968
for the many hardships
that men face under capitalism
00:30:45.968 --> 00:30:48.699
to the violent misogyny
that has embedded itself
00:30:48.699 --> 00:30:50.106
at the heart of the alt-right,
00:30:50.106 --> 00:30:52.401
to the religious fanaticism
of Mike Pence
00:30:52.401 --> 00:30:53.813
and the Islamic State.
00:30:53.813 --> 00:30:55.964
This is no time for us
to rest on the laurels
00:30:55.964 --> 00:30:57.655
of our past achievements
00:30:57.655 --> 00:31:00.491
... it is crucial that we
continue to deepen and extend
00:31:00.491 --> 00:31:03.076
the struggle against
patriarchy on all fronts,
00:31:03.076 --> 00:31:06.112
and that we prepare ourselves
for the battles to come.
00:31:06.112 --> 00:31:08.283
So at this point,
we’d like to remind you
00:31:08.283 --> 00:31:11.099
that Trouble is intended
to be watched in groups,
00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:13.453
and to be used as a resource
to promote discussion
00:31:13.453 --> 00:31:15.068
and collective organizing.
00:31:15.068 --> 00:31:16.801
Are you interested
in starting up
00:31:16.801 --> 00:31:18.943
a revolutionary
feminist collective,
00:31:18.943 --> 00:31:21.771
or helping to better
incorporate feminist analysis
00:31:21.771 --> 00:31:23.867
into your established
organizing projects?
00:31:23.867 --> 00:31:25.724
Consider getting together
with some comrades,
00:31:25.724 --> 00:31:27.342
organizing a
screening of this film,
00:31:27.342 --> 00:31:29.181
and discussing
what this would entail.
00:31:29.181 --> 00:31:31.420
Interested in running
regular screenings of Trouble
00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:33.756
at your campus, infoshop,
community center,
00:31:33.756 --> 00:31:35.916
or even just at home
with friends?
00:31:35.916 --> 00:31:37.644
Become a Trouble-Maker!
00:31:37.644 --> 00:31:39.536
For 10 bucks a month,
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00:31:39.536 --> 00:31:42.323
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00:31:42.323 --> 00:31:44.544
featuring additional resources
and some questions
00:31:44.544 --> 00:31:46.478
you can use
to get a discussion going.
00:31:46.478 --> 00:31:49.710
If you can’t afford to support
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00:31:49.710 --> 00:31:52.709
You can stream and/or download
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00:31:52.709 --> 00:31:53.634
off our website:
00:31:56.340 --> 00:31:58.523
If you’ve got any
suggestions for show topics,
00:31:58.523 --> 00:32:01.067
or just want to get in touch,
drop us a line at:
00:32:03.648 --> 00:32:05.514
This episode
would not have been possible
00:32:05.514 --> 00:32:06.764
without the generous
support of
00:32:06.764 --> 00:32:10.070
Carla, John, Devin
and Nikos Pelasgos.
00:32:10.070 --> 00:32:12.052
Now get out there,
and make some trouble!