One thing that’s been rattling around in my head lately is how we (“we” as in authors and public speakers) can reach into other communities with our message (“our message” as in our articles, our books, our speaking engagements).
It’s honestly something I struggle with.
I’ve been pigeon-holed (sorry, pigeons … that was uncalled for) as only being able to write about vegan things (even though I write about and am interested in so much more than that)—including recently when I threw my name in the hat to publish some feminist pieces for a feminist outlet and was told that my experience (in veganism) wasn’t what they were looking for.
Gimme a break.
The vegans who listen to my podcast, read my books, and (when life is more normal) attend my talks are indeed my very favorite people (thank you).
But since my life goal is to change the world for animals, I need to work hard to reach far beyond what is already a community to which I belong.
In other words, I don’t want to only preach to the choir.
I was recently chatting with a new friend who is also an author. Though they don’t work within veganism/animal rights, they have a similar issue as I do. They’ve been lucky to be published and cited within their particular community, and they long to reach outside of it.
For activists of any stripe, this tends to be an ongoing challenge, so I know I’m far from alone. The list below is really one that I’m trying to figure out for myself; it’s by no means complete.
Ideas for Reaching Outside of Our Communities and Avoiding Preaching to the Choir
Figure out what other groups you naturally belong to. So, for me, in addition to being a vegan/AR activist, I’m also: a woman over 40; child-free; atheist (and culturally Jewish); a lesbian; a Rochesterian (of late).
Explore whether any of the other groups to which you belong have platforms, and what those are. So mine might be: an LGBTQ magazine or publication; a local paper or college/book store that invites speakers; a progressive Jewish outlet. Some of this will require us to think (far) outside the box, but I think it is key to growing our platforms.
Really explore what those publications (etc.) are standing for, what columns they have, what opportunities there are for collaborations. I’ve been on the other side of this for so long: People pitch VegNews constantly when they simply have an idea about a vegan-related story or they want coverage for their product and figured VegNews would be a slam dunk. But so many times, these pitches or requests completely lack any understanding (even a very basic understanding) of what types of stories or promos VegNews publishes (VegNews doesn’t publish book reviews, for example). So if you’re trying to plant some seeds outside of your main area of focus, do your research and be very specific about what program your talk or article would fit into.
Think about any overlaps in your advocacy or messaging. Are there subjects that could be of interest to your new crowd? I recently met with an anti-fat bias activist who is also vegan and told me she was planning on pitching a fat liberation journal with a story idea on how veganism is also a body liberation movement (since we don’t eat animal bodies). Cool! That’s a perfect overlapping issue that could naturally expand one’s audience.
Don’t confine yourself. This is advice I really need to heed. So many of us stand for a plethora of things and we don’t need to be defined by any one of them any more than our audience needs to be defined by any one of them. If we don’t confine the way we see ourselves, then we won’t confine the limits of our change-making. Obviously, that doesn’t mean we should ignore our main platform or appropriate a space in which we haven’t previously worked (I’m not going to get involved with my local PTA since I have literally no idea what their main priorities are). It just means that we are not overly associating with one group, even if that is where our heart (and maybe the heart of our message) mostly exists.
Reach out to prominent folx who work or are involved in other areas, especially if there is a tie you can find between you two. Speaking of anti-fat bias, I recently wrote an article for VegNews about that very subject—which allowed me the opportunity to connect with people working primarily in that movement. I even saw my article get shared far and wide with the Health at Every Size crowd, which was wonderful to see.
Start learning and growing. Any time we stop preaching to the choir, we’re making ourselves vulnerable to more criticism. A lot of the time, I actually embrace that kind of feedback (when it’s communicated considerately). Understanding other perspectives and how various different communities take in your message is a useful way to hone your message and ensure it is truly inclusive.
I know that some of what I am describing above is at least adjacent to some types of coalition-building, even though that’s not exactly my point. Regardless, being familiar with how to build coalitions can be very useful when it comes to expanding our circles, too. And to that end, I want to recommend a book I just finished reading called What White People Can Do Next: From Allyship to Coalition, by Emma Dabiri.
xo,
jazz
One Thing I’m Jazzed About
I wanted to put this here one more time. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is the virtual book launch for Antiracism in Animal Advocacy: Igniting Cultural Transformation. I’m excited to be the editor of this anthology and I hope you can join us tomorrow evening!