A Day in the Life of a Feminist Activist
Have you ever dreamed of working as a calligrapher? Or perhaps you’re interested to know what it’s like to be a doctor? For our new day in the life series, the City Girl Network is delving deep into the diverse careers of women in our community. Whether it’s campaigning for women’s rights, setting up a business or working for the NHS, we’re here to get to know the women behind the professions.
Name: Amy Smith
Profession: Feminist activist and writer
City: Brighton
FIRSTLY, CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR ROLE WITH THE ANTI HARASSMENT CLUB?
Sure! If you’ve been following Brighton Girl over lockdown, you will have no doubt noticed that street harassment has increased. Due to this, our core committee formed outside of BG in order to tackle it and bring it to the attention of our local change-makers. My speciality and passion are being an activist, so it felt very natural for me to head up Community Activism in the AHC, and the team kindly accepted me on board.
It’s my job to work with collaborators to initiate and plan our campaigns, keep ahead of what’s happening politically and locally so we can act and react accordingly. I write content for our website/zines/educational resources.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MORNING ROUTINE?
I try to normalise the disabled lifestyle by avoiding ‘morning’ and ‘evening’ set routines. I have Fibromyalgia, so my days are very much dedicated to how I feel. If it’s an active well kind of day, I usually start by drinking coffee and reading The Guardian and Reddit.
I am a practising Green Witch so I draw a card in the morning and focus on that for a while if it’s a special day in my calendar I might make an offering or light a candle. I try and write a little every day, so I tend to put some thoughts on my phone or notebook.
I’m conscious of being on my phone all day, so I try to get out to my allotment as much as possible and play with my rats Bonnie and Luna and my cat Bean. I live on a council estate, so we have a community allotment that is perfect for a bit of serenity and gardening - I even work out there on my laptop when I can.
WHAT DOES A TYPICAL AFTERNOON AT WORK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?
I like to physically meet with people before I work with them. I have the pleasure of choosing who I work with for once (and that is a real, true pleasure!). However - the pandemic has meant I've had lots of online meetings, dressed top half and just pants on the bottom.
Usually, my days consist of speaking to various change-makers across the city and beyond. When you’re trying to create change, one of the most effective things you can do is put a face to a name and show that you can talk turkey. It’s important to connect and speak to people and show your passion; this way, you start to build an honest, effective network.
As well as meetings I often spend my workdays reading papers or research - it’s important to realise that if you’ve thought of it, chances are someone else might have, and they might have done the research for you! As a white woman, it’s imperative to amplify my friends and sisters of colour. Don’t assume your voice is the most valid when someone else may have said it/done it and not had the platform or privilege to share it. Amplify those voices.
I do quite a lot of social media work, but this tends to be behind the scenes, it’s an amazing accessible platform full of inspiration… And dogs.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TASKS THAT TAKE UP MOST OF YOUR DAY AND HOW DO YOU PRIORITISE THEM?
We use Slack which is honestly a game-changer. You can sync it with google calendar, and I get a wee message at 9 am every day telling me what’s occurring. This is especially handy if you are disabled as sometimes (emm...all the time) I have no idea what day it is when I wake up. The team uses it to talk through, and we have our google drive attached to it. It’s cracking as an all in one.
Meetings do take up the majority of the time, but we have found that by being strict with time and setting agendas, it keeps us right in AHC. Here is a tip - cap your meetings. When feminists get together oh my goddess, can we talk to each other's ears off? I've honestly found myself in hours of conversation well off the subject but putting the world to the right. Is it awesome? Yes. Does it use up all your time? YUP.
When you work in any world that includes disclosures, this can come up at any time - you need to be able to adapt and make constant priorities according to the risk they present. This means that plans go AWOL all the time. It’s cool - just keep your self-care and wellbeing as your top priority. Remember your overall goals.
HOW DO YOU MAINTAIN A WORK/LIFE BALANCE?
Being an activist is more of an identity to me. I feel like it’s my purpose as opposed to my vocation, so I don’t need as much ‘time off’ as I already feel calm and content doing what I’m doing. My spirituality is imperative as when I practice that it’s all about me, my feelings, my self-care and my growth.
If ever I feel overwhelmed with work, I can recharge by writing spells or letters, immersing myself in nature and my allotment or cooking up something tasty. I used to work as a senior manager in the NHS, and my life was a shambles. I had what most people would consider ‘a successful job’, but it was a corporate nightmare, and I found that I just didn’t suit that lifestyle.
I had suppressed my disability by pretending I was fine but cried in pain in the loos at lunchtime. When I left I was terrified I’d never been as valued and validated again, but it turns out seniority and money just aren’t the commodities that are very important to me, they help sure - but it’s not the be-all and end-all.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ANYONE WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET INTO THE PROFESSION?
Read, read, read and then read some more. Learn your subject and learn its history. If you have a library card, make full use of it. If your local library doesn’t have what you’re looking for in, they will order it for you! That is the beauty of knowledge; it’s almost always free.
Second-hand book shops are also your new best friend, and usually, they have a gem in or two. In terms of feminism, you want to study all waves and from multiple perspectives.
Authors I’d encourage for a newcomer are Naomi Wolf, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Harriett Martineau, Dora Montefiore, Laura Bates, Shirley Chisholm, Indira Gandhi, Bell Hooks and Kate Bornstein. That should cover the entire history of feminism and multiple different thoughts and theories over the years that are from a diverse range of authors from varying backgrounds and abilities. Enjoy!
I highly recommend the feminist book shop in Brighton too - it’s so good.
Finally, you are going to be challenged. Yes, things have improved but there is still a huge number of people who will disagree with you and feel threatened by you. People will try to get to you, attack your character, let you down and generally frustrate you. It’s even fair to say that there are groups that exist specifically to silence you (incels etc).
BUT there are so many incredible, righteous and fabulous parts of this life that these things matter less and less. Practice resilience, get therapy, prioritise self care and get rid of those toxic people in your life. Flourish queens!
You can find out more about Amy’s work by visiting her Instagram page here.
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Interview by Rosie Doyle
