25 Feminist Resolutions to Kick Off the Decade

If you’re a goals-oriented person (or are trying to become one), starting with a blank slate of goals can be a great way to ring in the new year and say goodbye to the 2010’s. Kick off the decade by adding some of these feminist resolutions for 2020 to your list:

Personal Resolutions

1. Take (better) care of yourself! Whether that’s drinking more water, getting more sunlight, or remembering to breathe and slow down every now and then, figure out what your body needs and give it that. Everyone needs a break sometimes: find things that make you laugh, and take time for the things that you enjoy with the people you enjoy.
2. On a related note, taking better care of yourself may mean taking time off from social media. This doesn’t have to be a social media “cleanse” per se, although it can be. Start by taking inventory of whether the different forms of media you are consuming are wearing you down or lifting you up. Does scrolling Twitter endlessly make you smile or is it more of a chore? Do you open Instagram out of habit or actual interest? Are you posting because you feel obligated or engaged? Allow yourself the space to disengage sometimes.
3. Be self-reflective. What are your passions? What are the issues you care most about? What are your skills and strengths? What do you want to improve at? Answering these questions are important not only for professional development but also personal growth. Find what guides you and let it lead.
4. Love your body! Focus on what makes you feel good and caring for your body in the ways that it needs. This looks different for every person, and part of loving your body is loving yourself, which means trusting yourself!
5. One of the easiest ways you can fight back against patriarchy is by doing your part to end the stigma around the word “feminist.” You’re a self-identified feminist, but do others know that? Wear your f-badge loud and proud!

Resolutions to Practice Solidarity

6. Continue the process of unlearning and re-learning. Much of what we’ve been taught is rooted in oppression: from textbook history to etiquette and social norms. Unlearning, like growth, is not always a linear process and sometimes the things you need to unlearn are internalized patriarchal beliefs or behaviors. Challenge yourself this year by questioning what you’ve learned and continuing to educate yourself.
7. As part of the unlearning process, start (or continue) to divest from ableist, racist, and binaried language.
8. Be an accomplice or an ally to other marginalized groups (a brief explainer of ally vs. accomplice here).
9. Part of being an ally or accomplice is listening. Listening more to the marginalized voices around you will enable you to know when and where your voice is needed, when and where your solidarity is needed, when and where your action is needed, and what message you need to be making.
10. However, listening does not preclude you from speaking. Speak out about injustice to those in your life practicing willful ignorance (or worse). Learn where your voice is needed and use it carefully.

Activist Resolutions

12. We’ve seen the power of the feminist movement swell over the last few years, and 2020 is no time to let up! Make a commitment to push your activism further this year.
13. There are so many ways to be an advocate: going to the statehouse to lobby in favor of or against legislation; developing a campaign on your campus to activate other students; holding educational sessions, workshops, teach-ins, and trainings to teach others; using sit-ins, die-ins, rallies, protests, marches, walkouts, and other forms of demonstration to make a statement; volunteering with a local organization doing direct action or service work; rallying support around an issue through letter-writing parties, phone banks, canvasses, and Tweetstorms and other concerted social media efforts. Pledge to get organized and make change happen on your campus, in your community, or in your state on an issue that you’re passionate about. Step 1? Make a plan of action.
14. You can’t mobilize other feminist on campus without finding them first! An easy way to find others is by joining the feminist student organization on your campus. No feminist organization? Start one yourself! Contact both your department of student life and the Feminist Campus team about starting a new feminist student organization; we are here to help you launch, develop, and sustain your feminist group.
15. Support abortion access in your community! With ongoing attacks to reproductive healthcare, it is imperative we support independent clinics; you can use our Adopt-A-Clinic campaign to get started.

Resolutions for Civic Engagement

16. If you haven’t heard yet, 2020 is going to be a BIG year. So for yourself, your fellow feminists, and future generations, make sure you are registered to vote! (If you won’t be 18 by the 2020 election, you can still pledge to register, and if you are unable to register to vote based on documentation status, see #18.)
17. Registering to vote is only the first step–make a voting plan and get yourself to the polls (or vote early!) on both Tuesday, November 3 and your state’s primary date.
18. GOTV! Get out the vote by mobilizing your friends and fellow feminists and focusing on the issues that matter to you; the 2020 election will be a huge decision maker for issues like climate change, gun control, reproductive rights and freedom, college affordability, healthcare, trans rights, and so much more. Use our Vote Feminist toolkit to get out the vote on your campus.
19. Continue to write letters and emails, make phone calls, tweet at your representatives, and show up to their district and national offices to hold them accountable. Voting for our representatives without ensuring that they live up to their promises weakens our strength as constituents and permits legislators to uphold the status quo.
20. Show your support for the Equal Rights Amendment. It’s astonishing that in the year 2020 (almost), we still do not have equal rights on the basis of gender guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. Feminist Campus and the Feminist Majority Foundation are working to change that in 2020 with our Ratify ERA Campaign. We are so so so close to ratification–find out how you can make a difference and help pass the ERA once and for all. (We’ll have more updates coming to our ERA campaign with the new year, so be on the lookout for all new materials!)

Professional & Financial Resolutions

22. Put your money where your mouth is! Support local businesses and try to divest from toxic corporations as much as possible. (Of course, this isn’t easy or even possible for everyone to do as these corporations often dominate the market by providing goods at the lowest possible prices.)
23. Practice salary transparency in your workplace. The age-old arguments of keeping what you make to yourself are being turned on their heads, and workers–especially those who have been financially disadvantaged through discriminatory hiring and pay practices–have had enough. We won’t close the pay gap just by telling each other how much we make, but it’s a damn good place to start.
24. While you’re at it, unionize your workplace! After decades of anti-union propaganda that has lead to a stagnation in wages and salaries and worker’s benefits and rights, unions are on the come-up again. Every workplace is different, but nearly all non-management employees have the right to unionize. Don’t know where to start? Here’s a helpful guide.
25. Serve as a mentor to other feminists in your life. Mentorship is critical to our personal, professional, and activist growth, and it is important to pass on institutional knowledge, best practices, and other pieces of wisdom you have learned. We can’t grow the feminist movement without growing each other.

Comment below: what are your feminist resolutions or goals for 2020?