On Earth Day this year, I made the decision to really “go green.” My husband and I already do our bit for the environment. Neither of us drives to work, and we keep the heat down and use air conditioning sparingly. We turn off the lights when we are not in a room, and I recycle paper by printing on both sides. Because we choose to live in a city, we have a small condo, which keeps us from “over consuming” simply because we do not have room for lots of new things—many of which would eventually make their way to the landfill.
I did however have a penchant for using paper towels. And because we take our lunch to work, we tended to use plastic baggies and to reuse the plastic grocery store bags as lunch sacks. Not anymore; I am now conscious of every paper towel that I use. Paper napkins are a thing of the past, and I have begun exploring non-plastic alternatives for storing our lunch items. We are going green, and once I made that decision, I began to reassess my every action. When you pay attention, you notice the waste and harm that you can do without ever intending to.
From the myriad articles that I read about Earth Day, that simple message emerged—there is power in raising people’s consciousness. In my neighborhood, everyone carries cloth grocery bags to the store; two years ago, that simply wasn’t true. Little actions make a difference, as we keep being told—especially when you multiply those by millions of people.
Funny, but wasn’t consciousness-raising the initial goal of the feminist movement? Perhaps if we commit to taking small actions to stop sexist remarks, we might raise our overall consciousness about how language (and the ideas defined by it) affects women and girls in our culture. You know, doing the equivalent of carrying a cloth grocery bag, or turning off the lights, or driving less.
So pick one day each week for the next six weeks—and on that day, be more conscious about how you think and talk about women and girls. It is amazing what you can discover about yourself simply by paying attention. Maybe if we all change our own thinking, and therefore our language and behavior, we will begin to make a difference in how women and girls are viewed and treated in our culture.
Because while going green is about creating a healthier and more sustainable environment, stopping sexist remarks is about creating a more gender equal—and therefore more sustainable—world.
Cynthia
Hi, cool post. I have been pondering this issue,so thanks for writing. I’ll certainly be subscribing to your blog. Keep up the good work