Ford, who mentioned that Roxane was her mentor. Later, Debbie did an event with author Ashley C. “I didn’t ignore it, but I just sort of, you know, didn’t really, yeah.” She ignored it,” Debbie finishes with a smirk. “After that she wrote me another email in which she explained her connection to Hunger and how much she loved the book, and it was extremely flattering and beautiful and I… ” “At that time I was extraordinarily interviewed-out,” Roxane says. Debbie, author of six books about design, including her newest, Why Design Matters: Conversations With the World’s Most Creative People, sent an email to Roxane asking if she wanted to appear on her long-running podcast. One of its many readers was Debbie Millman. Never be afraid to continue to grow and educate yourself.A bestselling, diaristic record of sexual violence, fatness, and the back and forth of trauma and freedom from it, Roxane Gay’s Hunger was released in 2017. What is your feminist call of action to whoever is reading Another woman told me I helped motivate her to leave her abusive husband and escape somewhere safe with her child.
For instance, after #DoesAnyoneFuckingCare took off, a woman messaged me to let me know I helped motivate her to come out and talk about her abusive ex-husband and try to press charges. That lies in private messages in which women told me I have given them strength and helped motivate them to take a big step in their lives.
I will not bow down to somebody else's whim or to someone else's ignorance.”― bell hooks What is your proud feminist victory? That horrific incident is what prompted me to start the #DoesAnyoneFuckingCare hashtag on Twitter to raise awareness about domestic violence. Another key part of my journey was the loss of my cousin to domestic violence. I was a feminist long before I started a Twitter account, but as queer woman who was raised conservative Catholic there's a force of anger behind my activism. What is the unapologetic big ambition behind it? That's something I try to avoid at all costs. If you're just trying to be well-liked, it's easy to lose yourself and become someone you don't even recognize all for the sake of people's approval. Which is why it's so important to stick to one's moral compass above all else. And just like in real life, there can be a lot of toxicity. I've also learned that Twitter communities are what you make of them. I used to share photos of my husband and now I don't because of the droves of racist trolls and horrible threats I received due to our interracial marriage. I've learned that as much as I'd love to share more about my life, I have to stay private about many things for my own (and my family's) safety.
What is the the biggest learning you have had since starting your twitter account back in 2017? If I can help even just a few people feel validated and in control of their lives, it's all worth it. These are the interactions that mean the most to me. I can't tell you how many women have reached out to me privately to discuss their traumas and seek advice. The biggest impact actually occurs on an individual basis. What is the biggest impact of what you do? I'm all about being loud and unapologetically myself while I call attention to inequality. We have to fight for it and sometimes that gets messy. Intersectional feminism isn't about being demure and waiting to be given equal footing. I think it's vital not to sanitize ourselves, particularly in the field of activism. The title "Profane Feminist" refers to my atheism and my sometimes excessive use of profanity. In your own word, who is the profane feminist? I am so extremely happy to share her thoughts on feminism, her role as social media activist and her journey! I always learn so much from these interviews and they do wonders to reactivate my drive to do more, but also they remind me of how amazing this movement is, and how many smart voices it’s made of! Outspoken, honest, raw, caring, and determined to do as much as she can to change things, you can see all that just from the first look at her twitter account!