Awesome Woman offered multiple perspectives on her own work in relationship to the current events and issues she organizes around in her local contexts. In doing so, she considers multiple viewpoints and alternate ways of seeing the topics that she organizes around. To speak exponentially on local and global topics, she reads deeply:
EB: Let’s talk in terms of looking at literacy a little. What information do you take in – do you consume – that enhances your perspective on this stuff? Where do you get your information?
AW: So, I like to read a lot of blogs. Like, Saddam Hussein’s ex-mistress. And she is – well that’s what she is famous for. Or, that’s how I got to know her. But she writes all about racial tensions within the Black community um – and history and she writes a lot of novels also. She’s kind of just like a Renaissance woman.
EB: Is she in the U.S., or is she –
AW: She’s in the U.S. And so I follow a lot of people. So media, I dive into that. Also, I just have like – because I’ve been in all these different diversity trainings. And so I have a lot of texts. But, I’m really about reading traditional – well, not traditional. But the issues I am involved with, sort of like the bibles of these different topics. So like…
EB: So like...authors?
AW: Yeah. Like Audre Lorde is super important in that way. About being queer, or being Black and queer. Or being of color. And, I started to read Gender Outlaw. I’m not finished with it.
EB: Kate Bornstein?
AW: Yeah. I met her! Oh my god. She’s such a character. I met her at this, like this
“femmes conference.” (laughing) Yeah, that was really interesting. Yeah, so I’m reading the bibles. And I’m really interested in Richard Wright, and – in general, I’m also interested in spirituality and how that manifests in different contexts. You know.
Like, how people – based on age and… So, I’ve read the Bible sometimes. I can’t read the Qur’an for some reason. I’m going to learn how to read Arabic next semester so that I can really read Arabic and – so yeah. Those are kind of my sources and just like, I watch a lot of stuff. Things that are thrown out to me, I do watch. Yeah, so I put myself out there for information. So not – I’m taking stuff in, but I also put it back out there.
And I don’t really say anything rude, you know. But I still say like – I have an audience for some stuff.
At one point in our discussions, I asked her why she engages in activism around specific issues, specifically looking at issues related to women and to religion:
AW: Um, so - why do I do that? So, I feel like right now what I organize are things that are more like cultural programming. All of them are not necessarily acts of activism but they can be. Like I’m on the board for the Islamic Student Association at my school.
Usually, it’s kind of like we’re meeting together and we share a similar spirituality. But when things happen – like for instance when the NYPD surveilled us, like we’re on that big list of schools – I took a big part in organizing our teach-in. And that’s when it
becomes activism. When you organize, when you have this community, you keep it strong and whenever a threat comes to this community is when it comes to activism.
Organizing in general can be about that community and when you have an issue that arises, that is when it becomes activism.
In talking about these moments where cultural and personal issues become overtly politicized, Awesome Woman articulates ways in which she responds to moments of injustice, bigotry and hatred. In doing so, she highlights her own responsive output to the inputs she receives:
AW: I feel that my personal activisms are more about educating people. So I get angry a lot. I made a video one time and – well no one would say, or some people would say – that the video was like, me being an activist. But essentially it’s not very obvious. So there were a couple of people on Facebook talking shit about women’s bodies. Like,
“summertime is coming, I better not see your jelly rolls.” And blah blah blah. And,
“Ladies, you can wear one pieces.” And I’m just like – that’s not your body! Why do you have an issue with someone else’s body? And that pissed me off because that further perpetuates the negative images we have of women’s bodies. And we just allow that to happen. And it’s just like – who are you, man, to tell me what to wear? And who are you to say anything about my body? And I feel like – a lot of people have these negative – a lot of people are really uncomfortable with their bodies at all. There are so many body issues. And it’s like constantly we are being slapped in the face with it. And people say this is what we’re supposed to look like. But not – we’re humans and we’re supposed to look like a whole bunch of different shapes and sizes. People don’t know that. So I made a video and basically what I said was if you don’t like it, look away.
That’s what it was about. But I did outline why it is like that, why you can’t do that and
why you should stop doing that. So for me, that was an act of personal activism. And some people took it in and were like – you have a point. And it really isn’t for me. I really have no reason to say what a woman should wear. So, the person who was really adamant about this. When they saw the video, they messaged me and they were like – you’re right. And I was like, snap!
EB: That’s the goal though right? Some kind of education?
AW: Yeah. Education is super important to me and just in general – so I don’t let a lot of stuff slip by. People always think or say “oh you’re easily irritated or agitated” and I’m like “No! You’re just an asshole and I tell you why you’re an asshole.” [EB laughs] I’m not going to let you continue to be that way because that’s just not who I am. My mission on earth is not to let people just continue being how they are. I feel like I have to say something – I just can’t sit back and let things slide by. If no one says anything to you, you’re just going to keep doing that, saying that to other people and making other people feel like crap. And who knows what that one little comment can do to a person.
Um…I totally drifted. What was the question again?