On Saturday I received a flurry of messages from friends asking me to participate in a “Female Blackout.” Here’s the gist of the message. In the case of the Female Blackout message, people are perpetuating the erasure and silencing of women in a time when women need to be seen and be vocal. Equally alarming is the tone deaf message asking women, especially black women, to swap out their photo for a black square. As Leslie Mac publicly posted, “I’d like to invite you to think about the optics & impact of you asking a Black Woman to join a “female blackout” on social media. If you want to urge your Members of Congress to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act or want to express your opinion about upcoming votes that impacts women call them today.

Source: Forbes September 30, 2018 16:30 UTC