PROPOSALS FOR
THE FEMININE ECONOMY
Three years ago, we were asked by the CreativeMornings lecture series to speak on the theme of "revolution." We used this opportunity to flesh out ideas we'd been having around gender, capitalism, art, and business. The result was Proposals for the Feminine Economy, a 20-minute talk on our theory of the Feminine Economy, introducing the 12 Principles for Prototyping a Feminist Business. This presentation succinctly conveys the conceptual framework for our work at Sister. If you are new here, we recommend you spend some time with this short video to learn more about our vision.
![IN THIS TURBULENT POLITICAL MOMENT, ARE YOU (YES YOU, CREATIVE ENTREPRENEUR) CLINGING TO CAPITALISM?
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I have been immersed in Robin DiAngelo’s work on white fragility and @wildmysticwoman's evincing of white solidarity. This includes an examination of the way white people comfort and emotionally caretake one another around the feelings of fear, shame, or discomfort that arise when they are confronted with their own racism. This emotional solidarity lulls white people back into feeling good about themselves and gives them permission not to do the work of taking accountability for their own participation in racist systems, actions, and beliefs.
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This week, I have begun to notice what I call “Capitalist solidarity”—entrepreneurs rushing in to comfort and assuage each others’ anxieties about participating in Capitalism in the current political climate. Small business owners are starting to question the premise of their business, their offerings, their modalities, the relevance of their work.
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The task of the present moment is to SIT WITH THAT DISCOMFORT.
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If you are an entrepreneur who has claimed to be feminist, Capitalist-critical, or committed to social justice, and you are suddenly wondering if your work aligns with your values, it is important to sit with that wondering until you know the answer. You might discover that your business, your approach, your practices are no longer relevant. I realize this is frightening. But, it’s very necessary if we are to move forward and create the better world we know is possible.
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What if… you sat with your discomfort and you learned that your purpose, your personal calling has changed, and your business *isn’t* making your highest contribution to society? Your ego will tell you this is an utter disaster. That you have failed. Your ego will tell you to cling to what you’ve spent years creating, to buckle down, and craft an elegant justification of why it really is still relevant (when you know it isn’t). But, what if the truth is, your business *doesn’t* make sense right now?
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This is not a failure. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY.
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