This time of year easily lends itself to thinking about gratitude and what you’re thankful for (regardless of whether or not you’re on board with the actual holiday of Thanksgiving that sugarcoats how the land was actually “settled”). We wanted to know what our favorite feminists were thankful for this year.
What are you thankful for?
“I’m thankful for a jobwhere I know with certainty that I don’t make less than men doing the exact same job as me… because there are no men who work at my company.” — Jessica Sutherland
“I just… hate Thanksgiving so much, for a lot of reasons, including colonialism and social expectations, but here goes: The charming cocktail that is Days of Our Lives and Extreme Couponing, which helps me write. Cats. New notebooks. My brain. Chosen family. Real books (the paper kind).” — Chanel Dubofsky
“If you know me personally, you know I encourage everyone to go around and express thankfulness at most dinners, tofurkey day or not. Try it!
I am thankful for family, given and chosen. I am thankful that I am privileged enough to travel and see them. I am thankful for a warm home and the privilege to not only eat, but choose what I eat! I am incredibly thankful for The Raging Feminists, which I can only hope is our Roller Derby name. I am forever thankful for those who amplify my voice and the ability to amplify others.” — Alex Blank Millard
More:How to survive a family get-together this holiday
“I am thankful for rad feminist writers like Kate Schatz and Sara Benincasa for creating things I can give as gifts to the young people in my life!” — Stefanie Le Jeunesse
“I am thankful that Indigenous Peoples Day will replace Columbus Day next year in Ann Arbor (and more and more places in the U.S.). It’s easier to explain celebrations to my kids when they’re worth celebrating.” — Meredith Counts
“I’m thankful for spaces (real and online) that are thoughtful, supportive, educational and forgiving. In the currently fearful climate, I’m so happy to have places to express my anger and heartbreak, and be heard in an empathetic, supportive way, but to also learn from others who have deeper understandings. It’s like being at an idyllic best practice university without all the associated fees.” — Asha Rajan
“I’m thankful for a life overflowing with warm friendships, loud laughter, brutal honesty and knowing that I have people who would miss me if I weren’t around.” — Rachael Berkey
“I’m thankful for baby feminists. The younger generation is fieeeeeerce, and it is making me happy.” — Bronwyn Petry
“I’M THANKFUL FOR THE CAPSLOCK KEY. SOME STUFF NEEDS TO BE SAID LOUDER.” — Rowan Beckett Grigsby
“I’m insanely thankful for feminist soul sisters who are always around to remind me that I did absolutely nothing wrong when I get called derogatory names/harassed online just for standing up for myself/my gender against the patriarchy.” — Sarah Khan
More:Thanksgiving quotes that will make you feel thankful all year
“I am thankful for my husband who pees sitting down and who taught his son to do the same, and it doesn’t diminish their maleness in any way (I had a convo with a parent whose male partner refuses to sit and won’t let his sons either — because that’s not the way ‘men’ do it.” — Natasha Chiam
“1. Divorce. 2. Birth control. Thanks be to Yoda for both of these! Can you imagine what the world would be like without these two things? Or holidays? Your sister would still be married to what’s-his-name and have even more children driving you crazy over the holidays…. (Note: My sister has never been married nor had children. This was a hypothetical example.)” — Shaindel Beers
“Thanksgiving Words”
I’m thankful that I have the will to fight
the demon hordes inside, and turn them out
as words. I cast them in a mighty spout,
and throw one span of darkness into light.
I’m thankful for my scars, that bind my reach
and turn my dance into a fractured thing,
and for my hoarse croak when I try to sing,
for one and all of us, frail, stumbling. Each
winter, I gather thoughts like frost-spoiled nuts
and stuff them in the hollow of my tree.
My heart rattles, and shakes my rustling leaves,
shaping my words. I’m thankful, for them, but
my voice will dwindle as each one descends.
I’m thankful, then, that winter always ends.” — Margaret Corvid
More: Do your clothes pass the ‘feminism test’?
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