Women Are Going on Strike From Fake Niceness This Weekend
Women are under constant pressure to look and act nice, whether we’re being treated unfairly for speaking our minds at work or getting yelled at to smile in the street. You might say dudes feel entitled to our niceness and our emotional labor.
Since our new president feels entitled to women in so many different colorful ways, women are taking a stand this weekend by refusing to be fake nice.
Today and tomorrow, some badass women are striking against all forms of paid and unpaid labor, which includes emotional labor. This protest is separate from the Women’s March, and you can participate without even leaving your hometown.
Over 7,000 women have pledged to stick it to the patriarchy and strike from not only work, but chores, makeup, and more.
According to WomenStrike.org:
“Women had many good reasons to strike before this election, but now we have a president-elect who openly disrespects and assaults women, and wants to limit our roles to servant, mother, or sexual plaything. This strike comes from anger at men in our lives who didn’t vote, or who voted for Trump, or who aren’t taking seriously the threat that his presidency represents. And it is a reaction to an election campaign that—apart from Bernie Sanders in the primary—ignored the universal programs that women and all people need, and that work well in so many other countries, from paid family leave to childcare to national health care.”
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READ MORE: I’m An Angry Feminist And IDGAF
There are a bunch of behaviors that we perform uncompensated every day and still go unrecognized as work. This strike calls attention to the ways that work is important. Women who cannot afford to take time off from their jobs are still encouraged to pick other behaviors from the list, like cooking or fake smiles.
The strike is being called by the National Women’s Liberation, a feminist group devoted to combating male supremacy. They believe strongly in the role of everyday people in sparking change.
Some of the strike’s demands are for an end to racist and sexist assaults, an end to all forms of bigotry, for our reproductive freedom, and for child care/paid family leave. You can pledge to take the strike here.
