accountability v. culpability (for my young sisters)
sisters, if you have been following me you know that i am deeply invested in supporting my young sisters in any way i can.
recently i came across a reblog that expressed anger at me “resenting” other women for conduct that harms women. it seems that as i was writing my response the user deleted the post. which is her right.
so this felt like an opportunity to reaffirm that i highly value the insight and wisdom of my young sisters. they see things i cannot, and i am grateful to be held accountable for any conduct that devalues or demeans them. when i make mistakes and am asked to apologize, i will, and do. i am their sister, and my additional life experience means that i hold myself to a higher standard of accountability, humility and kindness. this does not make me “better than”, because sisters are sisters. at the same time, i will not lie to a sister by pretending that we are the same and that what i have learned in my 36 short years means nothing.
in the now-deleted post, the sister also expressed anger around the concept of accountability. and i am grateful to explain now why personal accountability is so important to me as a radical feminist. i sense that the sister might feel that accountability is the same as culpability, or being to blame for her own oppression. and whoa boy am i super happy to offer clarity on the huge difference between the two: accountability and culpability.
first, a definition of terms, or “what is radical feminism?” and how does it relate to accountability/culpability?
radical feminism is about the collective liberation of all women from male supremacy. therefore each woman’s individual conduct is examined against the goal of collective liberation of all women from men. and if a sister’s conduct is harmful to any women, then the sister is held accountable as an act of collective liberation. this is profound compassion, because collective liberation means that no sister is left behind. not a single one. it also means that no sister is blamed for her own oppression.
radical feminists acknowledge that women are forced into conduct that is harmful, because they have no choice under the patriarchy. so we (radfems) do not blame women for their oppression. we realize the responsible party is men. men are agents of oppression against women. at the same time, radical feminism is a collective liberation movement with a defined ideology. and those sisters who do not agree with or support those ideas are within their rights to disagree, but are not recognized as radical feminists. also: no woman is to blame for her own oppression!
the reason holding sisters accountable for their actions is compassionate is because accountability and power are the same thing. it is dehumanizing to not be accountable for actions, because it means that my actions do not have consequences. and if my actions have no consequences, that i am without any power. if i am without power i am unable to change the conditions that create society as part of a collective effort. if i am not accountable, i have no power.
radical feminists uphold accountability because we believe that women are powerful and can be trusted. we believe that a woman’s individual actions have consequences for all women. because we see women as a class of people united by our shared experience of male oppression. we do not consider the individual to be a unit of making change.
if young sisters want to be treated as a full sister, yet use their age to avoid being held accountable, then this will affect a young sister’s power to change this world for the better. because you cannot have it both ways. you are either a full sister and therefore fully accountable, or you are a child. it is your decision to choose which one you want.
so thanks for listening. and thanks to my young sisters for the love, support and accountability (which are all the same thing).
young sisters, you are the future of women and the world, and without you there is nothing but death. i am determined to fight with you for a better life for all women.
