Raquel Reichard

Question 1: Do you consider yourself a sextivist? Why or why not?

I don’t self-identify as a “sextivist;” but, according to your description of the term, I guess I can be considered one. I am a Latina feminist, and I focus my personal, professional and scholarly work around feminist issues that fall under “sextivism.”

 

Question 2: What sextivist issue does your work address? (Feel free to mention any and every type of sextivism you participate in, or whatever way you brand it for example: abortion issues, LGBQT awareness, feminism etc.)

As a Latina feminist, I focus much of my work on the intersection of gender, race and class, which sometimes involves reproductive rights and LGBTQ issues. All of which, however, I believe falls under “feminism,” because my feminism is intersectional.

 

Question 3: How are you involved with that/those issue/s?

Both professionally and scholarly. I have four jobs and three of them are in the social justice fields, one — Everyday Feminism — deals with these specific issues regularly. My background is in media, so I do communications work — social media, PR, graphic design, etc. for all. As an MA student, I study the intersection of gender, race and new media, and feminist theory and critical race theory are very much a part of that.

 

Question 4: How did you become involved with this type of work?

When I was a journalism undergrad, I was appalled by what I was learning about the role of women in journalism history. From that grew an interest in women’s rights outside of journalism, and I quickly formed my feminist identity. I also then focused my journalistic and media work almost exclusively on feminist issues from then on.

 

Question 5: What groups, clubs, organizations etc. do you work on these issues with? (Please specify organizations, in DC, with which you are involved)

I live in NYC and did my undergrad in Florida, so I haven’t done much in the DC Metro Area. However, I did social media work for Stop Street Harassment, which is based in the Metro area. Though I no longer volunteer at the nonprofit, I still maintain a professional relationship with its founder and co-host various tweet chats with the organization (there will be one at the end of this month on street harassment and race).

 

Question 6: What forms of everyday activism do you suggest that people incorporate into their lives?

I think that depends on the person and what they’re physically and economically able to do. Thus, everyday activism will look different for everyone.

 

Question 7: How do you incorporate sextivism into your life? Do you participate as part of your career? Do you intend to? Do you participate in addition to your other responsibilities?

I’m a journalist and social media strategist who — for the most part — centers stories on intersectional feminist issues and provides social media services exclusively for feminist, social justice and/or women-owned organizations/businesses.

 

Question 8: What takeaways will you want my reader to walk a away with? Feel free to write about your personal brand of sextivism or why you care or why others should:

Though I identify as a Latina feminist, I think the work — not the label — is the most important. However, having a label can be really empowering for some. I think you mentioned something important in your question, which is one’s “personal” form of sextivism, etc. Make sure your work is true to who you are. It’s OK if the issues you care about aren’t mainstream. You can tackle just about any social ill from a feminist perspective.

 

Wanna hear more from Raquel Reichard?

In observation of  International Anti-Street Harassment Week (the week of March 30 to April 5, 2014) she will be co-hosting a Stop Street Harassment tweet chat on street harassment and race on March 30 with Holly Kearl, Zerlina Maxwell, Nuala Cabral and Patricia Valoy.

Follow her blog: http://raquelreichard.wordpress.com/

Follow her on Twitter: @RaquelReichard