A formidable panel of women who proudly wear that badge, Yassmin Abdel Magied, Van Badham, Lindy West and Fauziah Ibrahim took to the stage at the Opera House’s annual All About Women festival on Sunday to share their feelings on the label.
Thank you to the funny, smart, sharp @vanbadham @yassmin_a & #lindywest for giving women the courage to live loud lives #AllAboutWomen pic.twitter.com/73IYwVYPJS
— Fauziah Ibrahim (@fauziah_ibrahim) March 5, 2017
Here’s what you need to know about its uprise and the opportunity nasty women have, to change the game.
Exercise your power.
A majority argument will only be built through more people exercising their individual power together, Van Badham believes. Her advice? “Join a political party, lobby a politician, join a trade union.” It’s crucial that people in privileged positions refrain from sitting on their hands and instead reflect on the world they want and the change that’s required to make that happen. “If we’re not active in democracy, we get Donald Trump.” It’s that simple.
Surround yourself with like-minded people.
All three panellists see strength in numbers as critical. As Van Badham puts it, “any social change that’s occurred throughout history has been through the people.” People need to come together to enact change, to say “we want better, we deserve better.” West agrees that it’s all about critical mass. “That’s where power comes from that’s where leverage comes from” she says.
Hold strong to your values.
Don’t be complacent and remember your own moral compass. “Do everything you can to live within those values” says Abdel-Magied. Have the capacity to push yourself further, to stand up and say, “yes, that injustice does not directly affect me, but I believe in justice for all.” That’s the only way to have an impact on the world and “give our life meaning.”
Spread the message and challenge norms.
What’s the point in having an opinion if you keep it to yourself? Yes, entrenched attitudes are hard to shift, but not everyone is impenetrable. Many people are simply apolitical or apathetic. “Take the opportunity to talk to people who seem permeable,” says West. They may be open to other positions. “Collective change comes from challenging norms, challenging people’s opinions” Abdel-Magied agrees.
Don’t be brought down by the haters.
Ultimately, Trump’s referral to Clinton as a “nasty woman” stemmed from his own inadequacy and the threat he felt, watching a powerful woman “presuming to be better than a man” says Lindy West. “She was good at her job and doing what she was meant to be doing—talking about policy. She was better than him”
Rather than being thrown off by Trump’s personal attack, Clinton carried on the rest of the debate with the same level of composure and intellect. A response disarming for Trump, who expected her to crack.
For Abdel-Magied, Clinton’s response to Trump was spot-on. “The moment we shut up, the moment we stop doing what we’re doing, we’re letting them win.”
And, nasty women, we’re fiercer than that.