Anger Sample Clauses

Anger. ▇▇▇▇▇ and rage were often mentioned in discussions of how women became involved in feminist activism. Women felt angry that they were unable to do everything that boys could do at school, they raged at male perpetrators and colluding mothers, and were frustrated at the lack of power they felt in relation to street harassment. One of the women recounted her anger at her uncle’s violence and her continuing anger at men. I had an uncle who was very aggressive towards his wife and I hated him…he was very jealous and he hit his wife and, you know, talked to her in a very disrespectful way, and I kind of saw that, … and I remember very clearly when I was fourteen I hit him because I saw him hit his wife. (Shanaya) Feminism allowed them to channel their anger by providing both an explanation for their experiences and a legitimate way of fighting against the injustices that angered them. It enabled them to direct their anger against sexism and towards a more socially just and gender equal society. I used to just come home and say, ‘oh, a man just beeped at me from his car, what an idiot. Argh.’ And I just used to rant and shout all the time, but then I suppose throughout the summer, maybe a bit before, I’ve been writing things and I’ve got a blog, so she [mother] said ‘Look you need to write this down cos you need to channel it and stop just being angry and put it to some use’. (▇▇▇▇) It also allowed them to channel damaging emotions of shame and self blame outwards rather than being eaten up by them. Several of them mentioned that they had experienced periods of mental ill health which were linked to situations of domestic violence or bullying and sexual harassment at school. Discovering feminism in these cases had been part of the healing process and enabled them to become part of a feminist community. ▇▇▇▇▇ was also expressed at injustices within the feminist movement which was perceived as made up largely of young, white, middle-class women. Women were angry about the racism within and outside feminism, at how disabled people are treated, at how issues such as poverty and public expenditure cuts are marginalised, and at how trans people are treated both within and outside the movement. Anger motivates involvement and activism. It is also seen as too strong an emotion for conventional politics. One of the young women said, ‘Like I don’t think I will ever be a politician because I’m too angry and I’m too loud.’ (Shanaya)