‘Activate Your Life’ is a network designed by women for women, but what does that mean? Are we empowered by our definition of gender or does it limit us and put us in a box? Do you think we as an organisation dwell too much on girlie issues, such as image, diet, chocolate, chick flicks? We know that these issues are of interest to some women but not all and maybe we are missing out by being too girlie? We strive to be relevant and culturally sensitive to other women in our families, streets and work places but maybe there are other issues and a different direction that we could take?
http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/24/turning-the-focus-beyond-gender-stereotypes/
Have a look at this article which challenges some of our stereotypes and look also at some great stuff on www.sophianetwork.org.uk
We’d love to hear your thoughts…
I think this is a fascinating question. I must admit that my first impressions of Activate were that it was too stereotypically girlie for me(or to be fair, not even girlie – more like wife-ie). But then I went to last November’s conference and discovered that you actually just use the girlie/wife-ie stuff as a hook to draw women in but then you sock them with more complex and meaningful stuff which is well worth hearing (Becky Higgs being a great example). I do think there is a danger that some women will never come near Activate because of that initial impression though. I was thinking of inviting one of my friends to the next conference but couldn’t face the job of explaining that, no, I haven’t sold out to the quilting/flower arranging/nailpolishing squad but that actually there was something deeper on offer. I love the materials on the SophiaNetwork site and maybe there is scope to broaden the activateyourlife site in that direction. Still, don’t take that as a rejection of what activate is doing – there’s more than enough girlie-types out there who need reaching!