Courtney Martin: Reinventing feminism

Prevodilac: Adisa Ejubovic Lektor: Mile Živković

So I was born

Rođena sam

on the last day

na zadnji dan

of the last year of the '70s.

zadnje godine sedamdesetih.

I was raised on "Free to be you and me" --

Odrasla sam uz "Slobodni da budemo ti i ja",

(cheering)

(Ovacije)

hip-hop --

hip-hop.

not as many woohoos for hip-hop in the house.

Nema baš puno fanova hip-hopa ovde.

Thank you. Thank you for hip-hop --

Hvala. Hvala za hip-hop.

and Anita Hill.

I Anitu Hil.

(Cheering)

(Ovacije)

My parents were radicals --

Moji roditelji su bili radikali.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

who became,

koji su,

well, grown-ups.

pa, odrasli.

My dad facetiously says,

Moj tata je šaljivo rekao:

"We wanted to save the world,

"Hteli smo da spasemo svet,

and instead we just got rich."

a umesto toga, samo smo se obogatili."

We actually just got "middle class"

Zapravo smo samo postali srednja klasa,

in Colorado Springs, Colorado,

u Kolorado Springsu u Koloradu,

but you get the picture.

ali razumete šta hoću da kažem.

I was raised with a very heavy sense

Odgojena sam uz dubok osećaj

of unfinished legacy.

nedovršenog nasleđa.

At this ripe old age of 30,

Sa svojih zrelih 30

I've been thinking a lot about what it means to grow up

mnogo razmišljam o tome šta znači odrastati

in this horrible, beautiful time,

u ovom užasnom i prelepom vremenu,

and I've decided, for me,

i zaključila sam da je za mene

it's been a real journey and paradox.

to bilo jedno pravo putovanje i paradoks.

The first paradox

Prvi paradoks

je da se odrastanje vrti oko odbacivanja prošlosti

is that growing up is about rejecting the past

and then promptly reclaiming it.

i njegovog naknadnog i brzog prihvatanja.

Feminism was the water I grew up in.

Ja sam odrasla u feminističkim vodama.

When I was just a little girl,

Kada sam bila mala,

my mom started what is now

moja mama je započela ono što je sada

the longest-running women's film festival in the world.

najstariji ženski filmski festival u celom svetu.

So while other kids were watching sitcoms and cartoons,

Dok su ostala deca gledala komedije i crtaće,

I was watching very esoteric documentaries

ja sam gledala konfuzne dokumentarce

o ženama koje su pravile same žene.

made by and about women.

Možete da vidite da je ovo imalo uticaja na mene.

You can see how this had an influence.

But she was not the only feminist in the house.

Ali ona nije bila jedina feministkinja u kući.

My dad actually resigned

Moj tata je dao otkaz

from the male-only business club in my hometown

u poslovnom klubu za muškarce u mom rodnom gradu

because he said he would never be part of an organization

jer je rekao kako nikada neće bio deo organizacije

that would one day welcome his son, but not his daughter.

koja će jednog dana primiti njegovog sina, ali ne i ćerku.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

He's actually here today.

On je danas ovde.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

The trick here

Kvaka je u tome

da je moj brat kasnije postao eksperimentalni pesnik

is my brother would become an experimental poet,

not a businessman,

a ne biznismen,

but the intention was really good.

ali očeve namere su bile jako dobre.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

In any case, I didn't readily claim the feminist label,

Uglavnom, nisam odmah prihvatila femizam

even though it was all around me,

iako je bio svuda oko mene

jer sam ga povezivala sa maminom ženskom grupom,

because I associated it with my mom's women's groups,

her swishy skirts and her shoulder pads --

lepršavim suknjama i naramenicama

none of which had much cachet

i ništa od toga nije imalo zeleno svetlo

in the hallways of Palmer High School

u hodnicima Srednje škole Palmer

where I was trying to be cool at the time.

gde sam u to vreme pokušavala da budem kul.

But I suspected there was something really important

Ali slutila sam da je postojalo nešto jako bitno

about this whole feminism thing,

u celoj toj feminističkoj stvari

so I started covertly tiptoeing into my mom's bookshelves

pa sam počela da se krišom motam oko maminih polica s knjigama,

and picking books off and reading them --

biram i čitam knjige sa njih

never, of course, admitting that I was doing so.

i pritom nikada to nisam priznala.

I didn't actually claim the feminist label

Zapravo, nisam se prozvala feministkinjom

until I went to Barnard College

dok nisam otišla na koledž Barnard

and I heard Amy Richards and Jennifer Baumgardner speak for the first time.

gde sam čula govore Ejmi Ričards i Dženifer Baumgardner po prvi put.

They were the co-authors of a book called "Manifesta."

Zajedno su napisale knjigu "Manifesta".

So what very profound epiphany, you might ask,

Možda se pitate koje duboko otkrovenje

was responsible for my feminist click moment?

je upalilo feminističku iskru u meni.

Fishnet stockings.

To su bile mrežaste dokolenice.

Jennifer Baumgardner was wearing them.

Dženifer Baumgardner ih je nosila.

Mislila sam da su bile seksi.

I thought they were really hot.

Zaključila sam da bih mogla da se proglasim feministkinjom.

I decided, okay, I can claim the feminist label.

Now I tell you this --

Ovo vam govorim

I tell you this at the risk of embarrassing myself,

uz rizik da ću se osramotiti

because I think part of the work of feminism

jer mislim da je deo feminističkog pokreta

is to admit that aesthetics, that beauty,

i priznanje da su estetika, lepota

that fun do matter.

i zabava bitni.

There are lots of very modern political movements

Postoji mnogo modernih političkih pokreta

that have caught fire in no small part

koji su se probili u velikoj meri

because of cultural hipness.

zahvaljujući tome što promovišu trendove.

Anyone heard of these two guys as an example?

Da li je iko čuo za ovu dvojicu kao jedan od primera?

So my feminism is very indebted to my mom's,

Svoj feminizam dugujem majci,

but it looks very different.

ali on izgleda veoma drugačije.

My mom says, "patriarchy."

Moja mama kaže "patrijarhat",

I say, "intersectionality."

ja kažem "intersekcionalnost".

So race, class, gender, ability,

Rasa, klasa, rod, sposobnosti -

all of these things go into our experiences

sve to sačinjava naše iskustvo

of what it means to be a woman.

onoga šta znači biti žena.

Pay equity? Yes. Absolutely a feminist issue.

Jednake plate? To je apsolutno feminističko pitanje.

But for me, so is immigration. (Applause)

Ali za mene je i imigracija. (Aplauz)

Thank you.

Hvala.

My mom says, "Protest march."

Moja mama kaže "protestni marš",

I say, "Online organizing."

ja kažem "onlajn organizacija".

I co-edit, along with a collective

U timu iznimno pametnih

of other super-smart, amazing women,

i neverovatnih žena uređujem

a site called Feministing.com.

sajt po imenu "Feministing.com".

We are the most widely read feminist publication ever,

Mi smo najčitanija feministička publikacija u istoriji

and I tell you this

i ovo vam govorim

because I think it's really important to see

jer mislim da je jako bitno videti

that there's a continuum.

da ovde postoji kontinuum.

Feminist blogging is basically the 21st century version

Feminističko blogovanje je metod podizanja svesti

of consciousness raising.

u 21. veku.

But we also have a straightforward political impact.

Ali mi imamo i direktan politički uticaj.

Feministing has been able

Naš sajt je uspeo

to get merchandise pulled off the shelves of Walmart.

da skloni robu sa polica Volmarta.

We got a misogynist administrator sending us hate-mail

Izvojevali smo da se mizoginistički administrator koji nam je slao

fired from a Big Ten school.

negativne mejlove otpusti iz škole "Big Ten".

And one of our biggest successes

A naš najveći uspeh je

is we get mail from teenage girls in the middle of Iowa

kada dobijemo poštu od tinejdžerki u sred Ajove koje kažu:

who say, "I Googled Jessica Simpson and stumbled on your site.

"Uguglala sam Džesiku Simpson i naletela na vaš sajt.

I realized feminism wasn't about man-hating and Birkenstocks."

Shvatila sam

da se feminizam ne vrti oko mržnje prema muškarcima i anatomske obuće."

So we're able to pull in the next generation

Uspeli smo da usmerimo novu generaciju

in a totally new way.

u jedan sasvim novi smer.

My mom says, "Gloria Steinem."

Moja mama kaže "Glorija Stajnem",

I say, "Samhita Mukhopadhyay,

a ja kažem "Samita Mukopadej,

Miriam Perez, Ann Friedman,

Miriam Perez, En Fridmen,

Jessica Valenti, Vanessa Valenti,

Džesika Valenti, Vanesa Valenti,

and on and on and on and on."

i tako dalje."

We don't want one hero.

Mi ne želimo jednog heroja.

We don't want one icon.

Ne želimo jednu ikonu.

We don't want one face.

Ne želimo jedno lice.

We are thousands of women and men across this country

Mi smo na hiljade žena i muškaraca koji širom ove zemlje

doing online writing, community organizing,

pišemo za sajtove, organizujemo zajednice,

changing institutions from the inside out --

menjamo ustanove iznutra.

all continuing the incredible work

Svi mi nastavljamo neverovatan rad

that our mothers and grandmothers started.

koji su započele naše majke i bake.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

Which brings me to the second paradox:

Što me dovodi do drugog paradoksa:

sobering up about our smallness

osveštenje o tome kako smo mali

and maintaining faith in our greatness

i održavanje vere u našu veličinu

all at once.

u isto vreme.

Many in my generation --

Zbog dobronamernog roditeljstva

because of well-intentioned parenting and self-esteem education --

i obrazovanja o samopoštovanju mnoge iz moje generacije

were socialized to believe

je društvo nagnalo da veruju

that we were special little snowflakes --

da smo mi male posebne pahulje -

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

who were going to go out and save the world.

koje će da spasu svet.

These are three words many of us were raised with.

Ovo su tri reči uz koje su mnogi od nas odgojeni.

We walk across graduation stages,

Uzimamo svoje diplome

high on our overblown expectations,

na krilima velikih očekivanja,

and when we float back down to earth,

a kada se spustimo na zemlju,

we realize we don't know what the heck it means

shvatamo da nemamo blage veze

to actually save the world anyway.

šta uopšte znači spasiti svet.

The mainstream media often paints my generation

Mejnstrim mediji često oslikavaju moju generaciju

as apathetic,

kao nezainteresovanu,

and I think it's much more accurate

ali ja mislim da je preciznije reći

to say we are deeply overwhelmed.

da smo paralizovani.

And there's a lot to be overwhelmed about, to be fair --

I to s razlogom, da budem iskrena.

an environmental crisis,

Zbog ekoloških kriza,

wealth disparity in this country

nejednakosti u bogatstvu u ovoj zemlji

unlike we've seen since 1928,

koja je veća od one iz 1928.

and globally,

i koja je globalno

a totally immoral and ongoing wealth disparity.

apsolutno nemoralna i sveprisutna.

Xenophobia's on the rise. The trafficking of women and girls.

Ksenofobija je u porastu. Trgovina ženama i devojčicama.

It's enough to make you feel very overwhelmed.

Sve je to dovoljno da budemo itekako paralizovani.

I experienced this firsthand myself

Ja sam ovo iskusila iz prve ruke

when I graduated from Barnard College in 2002.

kada sam diplomirala sa koledža Barnard 2002.

Bila sam živa vatra. Htela sam da uvedem promene.

I was fired up; I was ready to make a difference.

I went out and I worked at a non-profit,

Radila sam bez naknade,

I went to grad school, I phone-banked,

otišla sam na postdiplomski,

I protested, I volunteered,

protestovala sam, volontirala sam,

and none of it seemed to matter.

ali činilo se da to nije ništa značilo.

And on a particularly dark night

Jedne posebno mračne noći,

of December of 2004,

u decembru 2004.

I sat down with my family,

sela sam sa svojom porodicom

and I said that I had become very disillusioned.

i rekla im da sam se jako demoralisala.

I admitted that I'd actually had a fantasy -- kind of a dark fantasy --

Priznala sam da sam zapravo imala mračnu maštariju o tome da

of writing a letter

napišem pismo

about everything that was wrong with the world

o svemu što je loše u svetu

and then lighting myself on fire

i onda se zapalim

on the White House steps.

na pragu Bele kuće.

My mom

Moja mama

took a drink of her signature Sea Breeze,

je otpila gutljaj svog omiljenog koktela

her eyes really welled with tears,

i očima punim suza

and she looked right at me and she said,

pogledala me pravo u oči i rekla:

"I will not stand

"Neću podržati

for your desperation."

tvoj očaj."

She said, "You are smarter, more creative

Rekla je: "Ti si pametnija, kreativnija

and more resilient than that."

i jača od toga".

Which brings me to my third paradox.

Što me dovodi do trećeg paradoksa.

Odrastanje se vrti oko cilja za divljim uspehom

Growing up is about aiming to succeed wildly

and being fulfilled by failing really well.

i osećaja ispunjenosti kada dobro omanete.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

There's a writer I've been deeply influenced by, Parker Palmer,

Postoji pisac koji je duboko uticao na mene, Parker Palmer,

and he writes that many of us are often whiplashed

i on piše kako smo često razapeti

"between arrogant overestimation of ourselves

"između arogantnog kompleksa više vrednosti

and a servile underestimation of ourselves."

i pokornog potcenjivanja."

You may have guessed by now,

Do sada ste sigurno sami zaključili

I did not light myself on fire.

da se nisam zapalila.

I did what I know to do in desperation, which is write.

U periodima očaja, radim ono što znam, a to je pisanje.

I wrote the book I needed to read.

Napisala sam knjigu koju sam morala da pročitam.

I wrote a book about eight incredible people

Napisala sam knjigu o osmoro divnih ljudi

all over this country

koji po celoj ovoj zemlji

doing social justice work.

zadovoljavaju društvenu pravdu.

I wrote about Nia Martin-Robinson,

Pisala sam o Niji Martin-Robinson,

the daughter of Detroit and two civil rights activists,

ćerki Detroita i dvoje aktivista za ljudska prava

who's dedicating her life

koja je posvetila svoj život

to environmental justice.

borbi za ekološku pravdu.

I wrote about Emily Apt

Pisala sam o Emili Ept

koja je postala savetnik u službi za socijalnu pomoć

who initially became a caseworker in the welfare system

because she decided that was the most noble thing she could do,

jer je zaključila da je to najplemenitija stvar koju je mogla da radi.

but quickly learned, not only did she not like it,

Ubrzo je saznala ne samo da joj se to nije svidelo

but she wasn't really good at it.

nego da nije bila dobra u tome.

Instead, what she really wanted to do was make films.

Ono što je stvarno htela je da snima filmove.

So she made a film about the welfare system

Snimila je film o sistemu za socijalnu pomoć

and had a huge impact.

i ostavila je time veliki trag.

I wrote about Maricela Guzman, the daughter of Mexican immigrants,

Pisala sam o Mariseli Guzman, ćerki meksičkih imigranata

who joined the military so she could afford college.

koja se priključila vojsci kako bi mogla da priušti školovanje.

She was actually sexually assaulted in boot camp

U kampu je bila seksualno zlostavljana

and went on to co-organize a group

i onda je bila jedna od organizatora grupe

called the Service Women's Action Network.

po imenu Mreža akcije žena.

What I learned from these people and others

Ono što su me ovi i drugi ljudi naučili

was that I couldn't judge them

je to da ne mogu da ih sudim

based on their failure to meet their very lofty goals.

na osnovu njihovog neuspeha u ostvarenju nekih visokih ciljeva.

Many of them are working in deeply intractable systems --

Mnogi od njih rade u rigidnim sistemima:

the military, congress,

vojsci, Kongresu,

the education system, etc.

prosveti, itd.

But what they managed to do within those systems

Ono što su oni uspeli da unesu

was be a humanizing force.

u te sisteme je ljudskost.

And at the end of the day,

Na kraju krajeva,

what could possibly be more important than that?

ima li išta važnije od toga?

Kornel Vest kaže: "Naravno da je to neuspeh.

Cornel West says, "Of course it's a failure.

But how good a failure is it?"

Ali koliko je dobar taj neuspeh?"

This isn't to say we give up our wildest, biggest dreams.

Ne kažem da treba da odustanemo od naših najluđih snova,

It's to say we operate on two levels.

nego da treba da delujemo na dva nivoa.

On one,

Na prvom

stvarno pokušavamo da promenimo ove falične sisteme

we really go after changing these broken systems

of which we find ourselves a part.

čiji smo deo i mi sami.

But on the other, we root our self-esteem

Na drugom, mi temeljimo naše samopoštovanje

in the daily acts of trying to make one person's day

u svakodnevnim radnjama kojima pokušavamo da učinimo nečiji dan

more kind, more just, etc.

lepšim, pravednijim, itd.

So when I was a little girl,

Kada sam bila mala,

I had a couple of very strange habits.

imala sam par jako čudnih navika.

One of them was

Jedna od njih je ta

da sam imala običaj da ležim na podu kuhinje u svojoj kući,

I used to lie on the kitchen floor of my childhood home,

and I would suck the thumb of my left hand

sisam palac leve šake

and hold my mom's cold toes with my right hand.

a desnom rukom se držim za mamine hladne prste na nogama.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I was listening to her talk on the phone, which she did a lot.

Slušala sam je kako priča na telefon, a to je radila često.

She was talking about board meetings,

Pričala bi o sastancima odbora,

she was founding peace organizations,

osnivala je mirovne organizacije,

she was coordinating carpools, she was consoling friends --

koordinirala je putovanja, tešila prijatelje -

all these daily acts of care and creativity.

radila je sve ove svakodnevne aktivnosti bržnosti i kreativnosti.

And surely, at three and four years old,

Naravno, sa tri godine

I was listening to the soothing sound of her voice,

ja sam slušala njen umirujući glas,

but I think I was also getting my first lesson in activist work.

ali mislim da sam takođe dobila svoju prvu lekciju iz aktivizma.

The activists I interviewed

Aktivisti koje sam intervjuisala

had nothing in common, literally, except for one thing,

nisu imali ništa zajedničko osim doslovno jedne stvari.

which was that they all cited their mothers

Svi su naveli svoje majke

as their most looming and important

kao najsvetliji i najvažniji

activist influences.

uticaj u svom aktivizmu.

So often, particularly at a young age,

Često, pogotovo u ranoj dobi

we look far afield

gledamo u daljinu

for our models of the meaningful life,

ne bismo li pronašli modele značaja u životu

and sometimes they're in our own kitchens,

i ponekad su oni u našoj kuhinji,

talking on the phone, making us dinner,

gde pričaju na telefon, kuvaju nam večeru

doing all that keeps the world going around and around.

i rade sve ono što održava svet u pokretu.

My mom and so many women like her

Moja mama i mnogo žena poput nje

have taught me that life is not about glory,

su me naučile da se život ne vrti oko slave,

or certainty, or security even.

ili izvesnosti ili čak sigurnosti.

It's about embracing the paradox.

Vrti se oko prihvatanja paradoksa,

It's about acting in the face of overwhelm.

oko vašeg delovanja uprkos paralisanosti,

And it's about loving people really well.

oko pružanja ljubavi na pravi način.

And at the end of the day,

Na kraju krajeva,

these things make for a lifetime

ove stvari čine da je vaš celi život pun

of challenge and reward.

izazova i nagrada.

Hvala.

Thank you.

(Aplauz)

(Applause)