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51 Things To Do Instead of Writing that Think Piece About Gender

1. Make the drinks.
2. Take a nice walk.
3. See if you forgot to pay any bills.
4. Call HR to ask about parental leave policy.
5. Recognize domestic labor as a kind of collective action.
6. Say, “Really? I hadn’t thought about it that way!”
7. Shine a light on the floor for a cat to chase around.
8. Be quiet.
9. Read critical race theory.
10. Read feminist theory.
11. Protest police violence.
12. Take a (white male) colleague by the arm and steer him away from the visiting speaker and toward the mini-quiches at the snack table.
13. Make another round of drinks.
14. Stand between the police and the protesters; smile.
15. Have the backs of the women and people of color in your life.
16. Listen to the people of color and women in your life.
17. Ask yourself, “Could this behavior be construed as bro-ish?”
18. Reread Harriet Jacobs’ final chapter ten times before bed.
19. Oral sex, a lot of it.
20. Write a letter to congress advocating for equal pay.
21. Write a check to a local harm-reduction organization.
22. Regular abortion clinic defense.
23. Make the lunches.
24. Do pick up or drop off.
25. Protest Planned Parenthood Protesters.
26. Go to protests and not be THAT GUY at the protests.
27. Interrupt the Devil’s Advocate dude and tell him he can’t be the devil’s advocate.
28. Remember that your progressivism doesn’t excuse your behavior.
29. Take the bus.
30. Order take out, maybe.
31. Go to the library!
32. Make soup.
33. Volunteer at something with “women” in title. Do not tell everyone.
34. Couch to 5k!
35. Say this three times while looking in the mirror: I benefit from my (class, sex, race).
36. Change the light bulbs.
37. Log out.
38. Provide the cookies at a community meeting. Tidy up the crumbs after and pack out the paper plates.
39. Figure out if anyone in their life needs a casserole delivered. Make the casserole, drop it off but don’t go in.
40. Consider whether the kids are up to date with immunizations.
41. Promote the work of others. Cite women and people of color.
42. Just admit that you’re actually writing a feel piece.
43. Edit somebody else’s work.
44. Arrange the group meals at a conference.
45. Buy ten books by women.
46. Reread Angela Davis.
47. Volunteer to help with story hour at the local kindergarten
48. Coordinate the play dates, provide the juice boxes.
49. Be kind.
50. Just go do the thing your think piece would tell other people to do, and don’t talk about it.
51. Collaborate. Share the byline.

 

Sarah B., HesterClaireSarah M., & Kyla

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