April 17, 2002

by Rebecca Farmer

I want to be elected to public office someday. If you met me on the street you might be surprised by this, thinking I'm not the politician type. And I'm not, which is precisely the point.

Working in the feminist movement has been my inspiration. We talk about getting women into the political pipeline, starting out with small local elected positions, like City Council or County Supervisor or the school board, and moving up from there.

Getting feminist women to run for office is undoubtedly a difficult task. When encouraged to run, women often cite lack of experience or political know-how as a deterrent. As if that ever stopped some conservative guy from running!

Just look at most state legislatures. Look at Congress. Look at the current occupant of the White House. Clearly, in-depth knowledge of relevant issues is not a prerequisite for holding an elected office. So I don't see any reason why I shouldn't be in Congress someday. And I don't see any reason why more young feminists shouldn't start considering it as an option.

"I'm not a political person," some of my friends say. I see that as an asset. They say that politics is a dirty game, and one that many people want nothing to do with. But why not play the game for a good cause? Besides, changing the players can also change the nature of the game.

In the social justice movement we often say, "If we can't change their minds, we'll change their faces." And I plan to do just that. In fact, let's change the whole look of elected offices. Many hip and funky young feminists today will look at Congress and think "that's so not me." For young feminists across the country, the chance of relating to the suits in Washington with the big coifs is often slim to none. Which is why, when I'm in Congress, I'm going to do things differently. If the staff that work for me want to have piercings, tattoos and wacky hair color, no problem. In fact, I just might too. A few years ago my dream was to be the first member of Congress with purple, spiky hair. Because if the non-status quo women and girls across the country saw a different face of what an elected official can be, these positions would likely become more accessible in their eyes.

Changing the look of elected office is by far not my only reason for wanting to be a state legislator and later, a member of Congress. I want to run and win because I would do a good job, make a difference, effect positive change. Because I would be there to do the right thing for my community. The attacks on abortion rights that find their way through state legislatures and Congress are appalling. Someone's got to be there to block them, so why not me? With all the current talk about welfare reform, I wish that more members of Congress right now were actually concerned about the welfare of poor people and were standing up for their economic justice. In short, I want to be the kind of legislator that I wish existed. I'd be there to advocate for women's rights, civil rights, lesbian and gay rights, human rights, economic justice, the environment, for children and families, workers, education.... the list goes on.

People have told me that all it really takes to run for office is money and the audacity to go for it. I've got the audacity, and money can be raised. Broken down to simpler terms, running for office doesn't seem so far-fetched.

Politics may be a dirty game, but glaring at the system from the sidelines isn't going to make any changes. If young feminists across the country banded together and started planning our campaign strategies, just imagine the difference we could make.

The author, NOW's press secretary, is a young feminist activist living in Washington, D.C.