#wamnyc

Don’t miss our seventh annual WAM!NYC Gender Justice in Media Conference!

Date: June 25, 2016 Start Time: 9:00 am End Time: 6:00 pm Location: The Diana Center, Barnard College, Columbia University Address: 3009 Broadway, New York, NY TICKETS: wamNYconference.com

Each year, we bring together hundreds of journalists, activists, and creative thinkers for a full day of panels and networking related to social justice and the media.

This year will feature keynote presentations from leading civil rights activist Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York; and journalist Amy Goodman, host and executive producer Democracy Now!, the award-winning daily news hour.

The Supreme Court is ruling on abortion, Donald Trump is the Republican nominee, transgender rights are under attack, and Black women still make just 63 cents for every dollar a white man makes. We need a Gender Justice in the Media conference now more than ever.

Save The Date: June 25, 2016! WAM!NYC Conference

Last year the amazing co-founder of ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬, Alicia Garza headlined our WAM!NYC Gender Justice in the Media conference. We had an engaging day of panels on gender and racial justice in the media. Who do you want to see at this year's conference on June 25? Tell us! 

Share your opinion on who should speak at the conference or what panel topics should be covered. Just click here.

The WAM!NYC Book Club will discuss "The Salt Eaters" by Toni Cade Bambara!

HALLO-WAM-O-WEEN is coming up! DATE: October 26th, 2015! PLACE: PACIFIC STANDARD in Brooklyn. TIME:  8:00 pm – 10:00 p.m. RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/484220721757087/

Leaves are changing color, and cider's a-brewin'. It's that time of year again. Time to for WAM-o-Ween!  #WAMNYC's annual Halloween party! 

Pull out your best bitchin' costume of a famous feminist and we'll do the rest!  Think drinks, dancing,   cupcakes and a little something extra for those especially dressed up!   

I went to the Women Action Media conference at Barnard this weekend, which included a session on online harassment and how to deal with it.

Naturally, this meant the conference hashtag was inundated with tweets from anti-feminists complaining about how feminists were trying to shut down free speech, and how we were over-privileged cry babies who couldn’t deal with dissenting opinions.

So I thought it might be timely to share a few thoughts on what free speech is, and how online harassment, well, isn’t it.

Free speech is: The freedom to express your opinions. To say, whether in person, in an article, or on twitter: I think that advertisement is sexist. Australia’s asylum seeker policies are racist. Abortion is murder. Climate change is a liberal conspiracy. Taylor Swift is a terrible/amazing singer. Women and men are different, and feminists should accept that.*

Whatever you think, put it out there, argue it, debate it – ideally respectfully, arguing the idea, rather than the qualities of your opponent.

Harassment is: Tracking down people who disagree with you, and conversations that never involved you, just to tell the people they’re involved that they’re idiots. (It’s like showing up at someone’s party just to yell at them. “Free speech,” perhaps, but also really rude, and you wouldn’t be surprised when they asked you to leave.) Sending rape threats. Sending death threats. Orchestrating social media campaigns where you and your friends repeatedly contact the person in question telling them how much they suck.

I could go on, but I don’t want to give provide anyone with additional inspiration.

If someone blocks you (or just doesn’t reply) when you send them messages telling them they’re an idiot, or if they report you when you send threats, they’re not shutting down your free speech. They’re just refusing to engage with assholes.

If you want to express your opinions, go ahead and express them. Write articles, tweet like a mofo, update your Tumblr 46 times a day. Figure what you believe and share it with the world. But the best way to do that is to focus on just that: what you believe. Not chasing down the people you disagree with and buzzing around them like flies (or worse, creepy stalkers) because they don’t share your opinions.

I don’t care if you’re liberal or conservative, if you agree with me or if you disagree. Just don’t be an asshole about it.