Statement received from NightShade PGH on 03.08.18

Today, March 8, 2018, marks International Women’s Day, and across the globe millions of women and gender non-conforming people are showing up in solidarity with one another—many folks taking part in an international strike, rejecting capitalism as a means of liberation from the patriarchy. Actions ranging from strikes and protests to rallies and meetings have been reported in Spain, Kenya, Afghanistan, the Philippines, South Korea, and countless other locations around the United States and world. Nightshade is keeping an active eye on these various movements, and stands in solidarity and excitement with them as those involved continue to fight for their demands, big and small.

Particularly, it is important to remember the roots of International Women’s Day, which originated in 1909 as International Working Women’s Day, and its direct relationship with labor movements. While massive attention was drawn to the Women’s Day march last year in DC, marked by a sea of stunningly-gendered pink pussy hats, along with it came critiques of white-feminism and other organizing strategies which neglected to honor the voices of women of color and trans-women, and neglected to address the position of incarcerated women, poor women, and other women marginalized on multiple axes, in relation to capitalism and white supremacy. This year, however, Women’s Day falls right amidst the Teacher’s Strike in West Virginia, where, like in many states, 75% of teachers are women. According to Tithi Bhattacharya, an organizer involved with the International Women’s Strike,

“the core strength of [the teacher’s strike] lies in the fact that it is vast majority women, and because women play a very significant role bridging the gap between the workplace, the home and the community, when the teachers went on strike, a vast portion of the community was immediately galvanized in support of the teachers. So churches came out, community members came out, because women are not just teachers, they’re mothers, they’re church members, they’re breadwinners in their family. So they sort of form this astonishing bridge between the workplace and the home, making visible both kinds of labor.”

Compensation for unpaid or underpaid labor, whether in community organizing, emotional/care work, teaching, or elsewhere, is demanded on this day by women worldwide. The failure of current structures, whether on an institutional scale or in the household, to provide due credit, compensation, and support to women and gnc folks is a direct result of the interplay between capitalism and the heteronormative patriarchy. As demonstrated by a recent crackdown on sex-work and strip clubs in New Orleans, neoliberal privatization and gentrification, also known as “(re)development,” goes hand-in-hand with violence against women and trans- people, particularly those already in close proximity to gendered and sexual violence.

It is true, and has been shown by all of the recent strikes and acts of feminist resistance, that capitalism cannot function without the exploitation of women and gnc folks. And until that exploitation ends, we will not be free. Beyond this, Nightshade also stands in solidarity with those demanding an end to all violence against women and gnc people–the physical and sexual assault, the policing and gendering of our bodies, the repression of our minds and spirits. Every year when this day comes around, we are as sick and tired of being oppressed as any other day. We recognize that our fight against capitalism is a feminist fight, it is an intersectional fight, it is a queer fight. And we also understand that the worlds we build together, here and now, are crucial to the then and there of our imaginations, to our liberated futures which connect us to so many feminists past, present, and to come. We realize that the end to violence does not come without ceaseless practice of healing, defense, accountability, and learning new ways to be with one another. This requires ongoing work, where we hold each other with care and bravery, and move towards a world beyond patriarchy and all other forms of dominance.

As March 8th comes to a close, we encourage you to show love to the women and gnc folks in your life, not just today but every day. We mourn those who have been stolen from us so far this year by acts of gendered violence, and will continue to fight like hell for the living. Remember that this fight does not end when the spotlight disappears: this month Nightshade is holding a queer dance fundraiser where all proceeds will go to Survived and Punished, a collective which supports survivors of domestic violence criminalized for defending themselves, and we hope to see you there!

With queer love and rage, today and every day,

–The Nightshade Collective

Statement from the Nightshade Collective

We are queer and trans. Our existence clashes against the gender binary, and its crushing grip which polices our bodies and threatens our safety. The ways that we live—relate to one another, dress, gesture, and dream—are all in inherent subversion to that binary, which seeks to classify, erase, separate, and homogenize us. In turn, we fight for spaces free from gendered expectations, places where we can function and thrive in peace.

These demands are no different than what any person or creature desires: We wish to be ourselves without falling victim to demonization, violence, or death.

Nightshade Pgh – Issue #1: Declaration

Nightshade is a collective of womyn and queer folks devoted to ensuring a safer community for women/POC/queer/trans folk in Oakland. Queers bash back! 

We are planning on putting our first zine out at the end of the month! The theme for the first issue is DECLARATION. So you can submit any type of art, writing, poetry, etc. which fits the theme and the groups ideologies. Create something beautiful about a topic you think the world needs to draw attention to.

DEADLINE: May 16th

Submit by emailing nightshadepitt@gmail.com

In Our Hands – Issue #2:
Breaking the Silence

Trigger warning: Sexual assault, violence, rape, abuse

In Our Hands—a survivor-centered community accountability reading, discussion, action and support group—is seeking submissions for the next issue of our zine. Our goal with this zine is to offer insight to other survivors on how to manage their own experiences and create an accountability process that is useful and empowering to them. We aim to dismantle Rape Culture by examining each piece of its extremely complex structure. One of the first steps in this process is to identify violent, abusive, and oppressive behaviors. We are looking for stories from survivors of sexual violence, abuse, and/or oppression about your experience and struggles with “breaking the silence.”

Some issues we would like this zine to address are:

• The process of identifying and recognizing what happened or is happening, and finding language to come forward about it;
  
• The problematic yet common occurrence of violence and re-traumatization that comes with survivor disclosure;
  
• The difficulty of dealing with other people’s emotions upon disclosure (such as coping with the emotional reactions of friends, family, intimate partners, as well as strangers, enemies, and allies of your perpetrator(s)); Conflicting emotions or confusing memory details.
• How did/do you reconcile those internal conflicts.

This zine is also aimed at supporters and allies of Survivors. We would like to hear from Survivors about:

• What types of support have you experienced that were helpful or harmful?
• What do you wish you had throughout your process of coming forward, holding accountability, and personal healing?

You may choose to address these questions directly, in essay form, or through other forms of creativity, such as poetry or visual art. We ask that written submissions please be limited to 2,000 words or less. Creative forms should be 2 pages or less, at 5.5×8.5″/page.

Please e-mail your submissions to in.our.hands.pgh@gmail.com.

To submit anonymously via email, you may use:https://anonymousemail.me/
<https://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fanonymousemail.me%2F&h=VAQFY9VaOAQHJEExz6b2kceaPxoyHSm_G-5tNrTKQ42-jow&enc=AZMi2dP-qgv42EiYzFZ3Q1pb3_bfLXIaqHbGNNVtC3tzCCcOto7qSLMQcBlpBhP5uYhPrxSGwIq-3t5dS5Q0-k2LipYEbDFPKV47-v8H9UOzlvcSNwtDVoB7yQCFVDyvHfOhUqEJTabIbZZR0PgnUDayDoTG1jMcGzEeeGA_a7gOxE9akhRP6HebN_H5qoYry_Y&s=1>
(make sure to write “anonymous” or a pen name in the section titled “name”).

You can also mail a hard copy or digital file to:
In Our Hands
C/O The Big Idea Bookstore
4812 Liberty Ave.
Pittsburgh PA 15224

The deadline for submission is June 1, 2016.

Link to first zine:
http://in-our-hands-pgh.tumblr.com/zine