The 2019 Project: Feminist AF!

Every year since 2014, TLT has picked a project or area of focus to help guide the year. We still post book reviews, program outlines and discussions, we still talk about librarianship and teen issues, but we choose one overarching theme that we really want to deep dive into and discuss. Previous years have included an in depth look at sexual violence, faith and spirituality, mental health and social justice in the life of teens and in YA literature. This year our guiding principle is this: Feminism. In the year 2019, TLT will be Feminist AF.

At it’s most basic, feminism is defined as: a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social equality of sexes. This includes seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to those for men. (Wikipedia, not a great source I know, but it’s the source that most people will start with.

This year we saw a man confirmed to the Supreme Court even though there were allegations that he had sexually assaulted Dr. Christine Blasey Ford. A little less than one week was given to investigating the allegations, which surprised no one that has paid attention to the way victims of sexual violence are treated. At the same time, men convicted of sexual violence against women often get zero to little time and are often put on probation for short periods of time. Even in the midst of the #MeToo movement, men are still being let off with very few repercussions for their acts of violence against women.

With the recent government shut down, Congress has allowed the Violence Against Women Act to expire.

Reproductive rights and women’s full bodily autonomy is under constant attack.

Beto O’Rourke, a man I voted for, is being touted as the next presidential contender for the Democratic party even though women like Stacey Abrams, a black woman and major political contender, are not being equally considered.

Trans women, particularly trans women of color, are still being murdered at alarming rates with very little press recognition or public outcry.

The ways in which we talk about teenage girls and the things that they love.

Toxic masculinity culture and it’s effects on all genders and those that identify as non-gender specific or non-binary.

Affordable childcare. Affordable healthcare. Affordable education. Equal pay. Equal rights. Marriage equality. Equal everything.

This list could, sadly, go on and on.

So in the year 2019, we’re going to be Feminist AF and talk about what it means to be a feminist and what it doesn’t. We’re going to make book lists, we’re going to discuss books, we’re going to talk about programming, and we’re going to dive into the issues. All of them. BUT WE NEED YOUR HELP.

That’s right, this discussion/project involves you. As always, you are invited to come and guest post. So if you would like to write a guest post (or a few, because you’re not limited to just one), please fill out the Google Form to let us know what you want to talk about and when you would like to talk about it. We will try and get back with you in a timely manner. Robin Willis is our primary guest post coordinator but we hope this project will be bigger than what she can handle so it may be Amanda MacGregor, Ally Watkins or myself (Karen Jensen) that gets in touch with you. Please take a moment to review our guest post guidelines here to help you know how you can streamline the actual guest post submittal process (please, please, please include a post title because I stink at picking good post titles). It’s a year-long, ongoing project so there is no deadline. If you find yourself with a brilliant idea for discussion in October, we will still gladly accept your proposal. Librarians, authors (yes, you can use this as an opportunity to promote your book), parents, teens – everyone is invited to participate.

Wishing you a Happy and Feminist AF New Year! We look forward to talking about feminism with you in 2019.

Filed under: #FeministAF