Why December 6th Matters
It is
difficult to believe that it has already been 25 years since December 6th
1989. When I read Aimée Morrison’s (@digiwonk) powerful piece here on Hook and Eye, I really connected to the reaction she had and continues to
have. Sadly when you see 1989 on Twitter
most will connect more to this being the title of Taylor Swift’s new album (and
her birth year) than the events that happened that day in December in Montreal.
Academia in one way or another is about
advancing thoughts, about engagement-and activism is ubiquitous (in whatever
personal shape or form that takes in your own practice). On that day in December a man killed 14 women because
they were feminists, because they were smart, because they were studying
science, in essence because they dared to study in a field highly populated by
men. I could write thousands of words
about how I really disagree with the disengagement with the term “feminism”
for young women today. The connotation
of the term is so heavy, they argue, that they cannot claim it as their own. History
is doomed to be repeated if not remembered and this is not simply a rejecting
of a term but a rejecting of the history that allowed the ideas behind it to exist and have currency.
Rather than engage in a semantics war
over feminism, womanism, womynism, the principles at the core of these terms
remain the same- equality. Sadly equality and equity are terms that are floated
around yet have absolutely no socio-cultural weight at all. They are far
removed from their etymological roots of level and even. Equality is something
that is perpetually displaced for those who don’t have the mace of privilege
(usually women, usually non-white members of society). This is just one of the reasons why December 6th
matters.
We live in strange times, times where so much has advanced
yet absolutely nothing has changed. Times where sexism, racism, homophobia go
unchecked and mostly ignored. Lately I have seen some glimmers of hope however.
There is a movement towards active critical engagement (may I even say enragement)
with these issues. People are speaking, dialogues are happening; still not
enough but it’s a good start.
What can we do as teachers,
instructors, educators, pedagogues? We can make sure that important events like
December 6th are not forgotten. We can bring these events and the
discussion of the larger issues that reinforce them into our classrooms. Further to dialogue is application; words are
but the start of action. If we can foster the kind of safe space where these
conversations happen in our classrooms then that is an important step in the
right direction. In some instances, like
my women’s literature courses, these kinds of discussions come naturally for
the issues are front and centre in the texts. In other classes there may not be
that sort of organic development to discussing racism, gender bias, etc. That
does not mean we are not still responsible for fostering that dialogue. We can
and we must. We have an ethical
responsibility to promote this exchange of ideas as educators.
This Saturday I will pause and reflect, I will engage, I
will march, I will remember. I challenge you to do the same in your own way.
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