I was surfing the internet the other day when I came across this blog that has quickly become a favorite.

GenderAcrossBorders.com describes it’s mission as being an international feminist community where issues of gender, race, sexuality, and class are discussed and critically  examined. The article that intrigued me was examining women and how we have traditionally been left out of history and what we as women can do to ensure that our stories are told in an intelligent, articulate, and accurate way.

Because it is Women’s History Month and a lot of the work that the New York City Latina Writers Group does revolves around women it immediately grabbed my attention especially because we are having two events this month that are specifically designed to address women, our past, and our future. In fact, this month’s workshop theme is Writing Women Back Into History.

In the article the author discusses how she has been reading in the media and on social networks about great women who inspired change, whether politically, socially, within the fields of science, music, the arts etc. and how inspiring it is to see so much media that sheds light about womens’ contributions to the history of the world. However, she further states that while women have made many contributions not “all of us are going to get interviewed on BBC, speak at a UN convention, amass the most followers on Twitter, or write a book that makes Oprah’s highly coveted reading list.”

I happen to agree with her. That’s just reality, but does this reality make any of us less important? No, it doesn’t — but how many of us have convinced ourselves that it does? How many inspiring women — mothers, wives, teachers, students, scientists, artists etc — equate being a part of history with being a famous celebrity, or tech innovator, winning an election, or leading a political revolution? My guess is many. But, history doesn’t always have to be so dramatic to count — it just needs to be documented.

In the article the author gives a very detailed definition of the word history: “History, contrary to the popular misconception that the word is derived from “his” and “story” put together, actually has its roots in an ancient Greek word ἱστορία (hístōr), which can mean “inquiry,” “knowledge so obtained,” or — my favorite — “a written account of one’s inquiries, narrative, history.” Note that no part of the definition of history inherently suggests a limitation of “written accounts” to men, or white people, or any other marginalized group for that matter. So why have women’s stories been (and continue to be) left out of history?”

This is the question that I continuously ask myself and the question that I am trying to eliminate with my work with the New York City Latina Writers Group. Women must start to believe that their stories matter. We must thread ourselves into the American fabric as proof that we were here, that we made a difference, so that we can leave behind a legacy for our daughters and our daughter’s daughters. If we do not document our lives who will? Who will tell our stories if we don’t? Better still, who will make sure that our stories are told accurately?

Below are some of the key points addressed in the article:

Perhaps rehashing the etymological roots of a single word won’t change the fact that history has long been recounted from the viewpoint of dominant groups; Hollywood, arguably the world’s most influential movie industry is still run by white people, or men, or Americans (depending on which way you look at it); the op-ed pages of major news outlets — through which policy and thought leadership are driven — are also dominated by men who don’t understand women’s issues; and while stories of minority groups do make their way into history archives, the fact that they are often told from the point of view of the oppressor often leads to unrealistic, dehumanizing, biased portrayals of the people whose history is being documented for them. But, embracing the revelation that history is simply “a narrative accounted for” actually makes things less complicated.

In order to address the dearth of women’s histories — our stories, and voices being undocumented, under-valued, and falsely represented without reprimand — women must begin telling their own stories. We must essentially write our way back into history. Incidentally, one doesn’t always have to “do” something huge to be someone important — sometimes sharing the complex, intersecting pieces about ourselves (and inspiring others to do the same) can do just as much, if not more, to change the world.

Now, some of you may be thinking, “Well, even if I want to write, my life is not that interesting. I’m just a [insert perceived mundane role here that has everyone wondering why you’re being so self-deprecating] with nothing to say…” That is simply not true. Bertrand Russell (a man) once said, “The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.” When I think about how many boring history textbooks written by men are out there, it motivates me to keep writing, no matter how insignificant the voices in my head insist my perspective (on anything) is. And if positive-thinking doesn’t work for you, here are some other factors to consider:

• Women are less likely to run for office in part because they don’t feel “qualified enough”
• “Mommy Blogging” has gotten the attention of a $750 million blog marketing industry; companies want to know what moms — not “experts” — think before they spend a dime developing new products
• The It Gets Better campaign — videos created by regular people — has dramatically increased awareness of issues facing LGBT youth
• There are too many men who really shouldn’t be talking (Rush Limbaugh and David Bahati come to mind) writing and saying all kinds of things, and even worse influencing millions of people with their biased point of view — shouldn’t we at least join them?

See, the problem with women not telling their stories isn’t just an issue of “balance” (i.e. we need men and women’s voices in equal measure), but an issue of “influence.” Thus, the reason I write as often as I do is not because I think I have more to say — rather, I’ve learned to tap into the deep dread I feel at the thought of someone else speaking for me, now, but especially when I’m gone; someone giving my children their version of who I was instead of doing the work to make sure my children get to read my words. My writing ensures accountability to my voice, my perspective, my journey, my history, which is worth telling, and worth telling right.

So, for women’s history month, I challenge you to take charge of your own history by writing it. Instead of passively supporting history as recounted by others, how about you begin the process of formally documenting — journaling, blogging, creating art and media etc — about your own life? You could create your own blog using a free Blogger or WordPress account, sign up for Twitter and share snippets of your history using #myherstory.

Blogging and tweeting may seem trivial given the bigger picture of revolutionizing history, but tell that to the voters (29 and under) who leveraged the power of social media to elect the first US Black president, or the people of the Arab Spring who tweeted, YouTubed and shared their revolution with the world, and in turn sparked many more revolutions worldwide. Yours truly will be participating in Gender Across Border’s Blog for International Women’s Day, and thus joining thousands of women all over the world to celebrate this year’s theme, “Connecting Girls, Inspiring Futures.” You could be one of them. Your words matter. Our words matter. Words by and about women matter.

Whether you’re a male teacher who has girls in his classroom, a mother of four who loves to write erotica, a hiphop artist who has a thing to say about gender discrimination in the music industry, a bus driver who bakes cupcakes, a sibling with an outspoken, queer, activist of a sister, please speak. Please say something. You have to — the world is counting on you.

To read the article in its entirety visit: http://www.genderacrossborders.com/2012/03/06/for-womens-history-month-writing-our-way-to-the-revolution/