What is Craftivism? Division over the Definition Explodes an Etsy Team
Now, this may read as a little gossipy, since I, myself, am a member of this team (for now, the reasons for which you’ll soon see), but I think these recent struggles within one group of crafters are important to share, because they say a lot about where our contemporary culture is right now, politically, socially, even globally.
You see, the Craftivism Etsy Team recently had a really big fight, so big that a lot of us actually left the team. Feelings are still hurt, and a lot of those who are left for now are left wondering exactly what our team is, after all, and what it actually stands for.
What did we fight about, you ask?
We fought about the definition of craftivism.
- » See also: A Review of the Green Guide for Artists
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Etsy Teams are groups of etsy sellers who come together because they have something in common, anything from what they sell to where they live to what they believe. Some Etsy Teams are loosely structured, some are highly structured, but all, however casual or organized, have a profile, a mission statement of sorts. Here’s the Team Craftivism profile:
The Etsy Craftivism Team is a team of progressive Etsyans who believe that craft and art can change the world. Some of us use our work to carry messages of protest and political activism. Others believe that the act of making craft can be an act of resistance. Still others see that by buying and selling directly from the maker we are challenging the all pervasive corporate culture that promotes profit over people. Some of our members make t-shirts, jewelry, pottery, and art with creative,thought-provoking messages. Others spin yarn, sew, hammer, forge, glue, knit, knot, alter and sculpt with an eye towards creating new forms of commerce and the making of goods. We gather to learn about and promote each other’s work; to learn about how art and craft are being used as acts of resistance and change around the world, and to creatively join forces in order to spend less, sell more, and empower each other so that we can work towards a more hopeful, thoughtful future.
Sounds good, right? And it is good–this is a good mission statement, and a good team. I became a Craftivist because I believe in DIY as personal empowerment, that instead of relying on the mass-market commercial culture, we can be in charge of the literal creation of our own wants and needs. I was also interested in how others utilized the act of craft to struggle for change, or achieve power, or practice resistance. Please forgive me–I’m an academic.
The problem arose very recently when the team leadership, during a virtual meeting, just sort of mentioned, in the context of another discussion, that the Craftivism Team has a liberal political agenda.
Yep, a specific political agenda. And the leadership also seemed quite surprised to hear that a LOT of team members not only had no idea that the Craftivism Team was even supposed to be politically liberal, but that these members were themselves not politically liberal.
Indeed, we had some right-wing craftivists on our team. Some were so offended by the immediate conversation that they left the team then and there, but as others stuck around, and the discussion continued over email over the course of a few days, several team members suggested that the definition of craftivism not be so tied to a political agenda (yes, you caught me, I’m one of these members).
What is craftivism, if it is tied to a specific political agenda? Well, it’s not only limited to American politics, but to one brand of American politics. It’s uninterested in how other political activists, other citizens in other countries, themselves use the act of crafting as activism. It’s implying that much of the work of crafting–buying and selling directly from the maker, challenging corporate culture, tying a work to a thought-provoking message–is necessarily politically liberal within the American system of politics. And I don’t think that’s true.
Our leadership thinks it is, though. Whatever craftivism the word means, Craftivism the Etsy Team is remaining (for now) implicitly (though still not explicitly, I believe) tied to a liberal political agenda, and the team profile is meant to be read through such a lens. I’m not sure what procedure the leadership is now going to use to vet potential members to make sure there’s no more right-wing craftivism in our midst, so perhaps we’ll fill back up again before things come again to a head. I might stick around, because I really am interested in crafting for change, and I actually am politically liberal (although I don’t think craftivism itself has to be). It would be fun, perhaps, to branch out and form my own etsy team focused around an idea of craftivism that’s less limited politically or geographically…
But another etsy team already has that Craftivism name.
What do you think craftivism means?
Please re-read our mission statement. The word progressive is in the first sentence.
These are all such terrific thoughts. I especially like the idea of rewriting the mission statement to make it very clear exactly what geographically-relevant political party the group serves will do all the work to encourage only like-minded etsyans to join, and this is being debated in Team Craftivism right now.
There are a couple more issues that I still find very intriguing, however:
1) Since a lot of people in Team Craftivism were not American liberals at the time that the leadership made the team’s implicit political affiliation explicit, who is the more appropriate choice for making a decision like whether or not to tie the team to a specific political party–the membership or the leadership? The leadership has made it eminently clear that Team Craftivism was always intended to be politically liberal, but since that wasn’t made clear and a lot of non-liberal people became members, now who gets to decide?
Of course, that one’s a moot point for Team Craftivism, since nearly all the non-liberals left very quickly after the first heated discussion, but it’s something interesting to consider for future groups.
2) What are the ethics of using the term Craftivism as a specifically liberal term? Etsy is a major venue, and a lot of people look at it as their source for what is going on in craft today. It seems problematic for craftivism as a whole to have it tied, in such a large and global place, to such a specific agenda.
It’s really such a fascinating discussion here.
LTA says “When reading your mission statement, it is completely neutral from an anthropological point of view.”
She then says: “IF you want to be a left-wing goup, your mission statement should include the word “progressive” or “liberal”. But the language you used was neutral.”
Our opening statement: “The Etsy Craftivism Team is a team of progressive Etsyans…”
Not sure what you were reading that you believed was a mission statement.
P.S. Your analysis of conservatives and liberals sounds slightly off to me. “For a liberal, conservatives control have control of the system.” There are so many instances of this being untrue I just don’t know where to begin. There are liberals who don’t care if liberals are in charge (as they are now in the U.S.)….there are still issues that they oppose, want to change, etc. Many liberals are critical of other liberals.
Anthropology is limited in its worldview. I know anthropologists who won’t condemn female genital mutilation…..they just want to observe it, report on it, study it, etc. Many other academics (and non-academics) abhor this view.
Yes. It is fascinating.
You might want to keep in mind that etsy has more than one green group, more than one christian group, etc.
Also, Betsy Greer, who is attributed with first using the word “craftivism” just joined our team (fully aware of the brouhaha), and my feeling is that she feels it is okay and ethical to use the word as the name of our team.
I’d like to weigh in as a member of this Etsy team.
I don’t think this kind of discussion is in any way petty or a waste of time. In fact, I think this discussion is fruitful, and probably the best thing to come out of this team. I think that this kind of discussion is an essential function of a democratic society.
Betsy Greer said:
“Why fight and explode over something unnecessarily when it’s about
creating energy and positivity, not destroying it?”
First, I don’t know if I would qualify the ongoing discussion in our Team as a fight. Second, how is this discussion destroying anything? The team still exists. I think this discussion IS creative, IS positive, IS necessary.
Second, what does it mean to be “about creating energy and positivity” anyway? That seems like a vague definition to me. I think a lot of the problems with this discussion stem from the vagueness of the definition of craftivism. If craftivism is an idea, what does it stand for? What doesn’t it stand for? If it’s a strategy, how does it work? What are its ends and means?
Again, Betsy Greer:
“Craftivism to me is way of looking at life where voicing opinions
through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper &
your quest for justice more infinite.”
So, the first thing that jumps out at me is “a way of looking at life,” which I’ll take to mean that Craftivism is a point of view, perhaps a rubric through which one’s opinions are measured and defined, like an ideology, or a religion, or a political stance.
Ok, if Craftivism is an ideology, what is its central tenet?
“voicing opinions through creativity makes your voice stronger, your compassion deeper, and your quest for justice more infinite.”
this also brings up many questions:
what kind of voice? political? operatic?
compassion for what?
what kind of justice? I think this is the trickiest bit - justice is a very loaded concept, and most people will have varying opinions on what constitutes justice. I think the death penalty is wrong, but many people will call it justice. Are we talking about environmental justice? economic justice?
Not to rail on Betsy, because as she said she didn’t start the fire, but now that it’s burning, I say we deal with it by having this discussion, by getting people’s points of view out there, not by saying that this is petty and a waste of time.
What’s petty and waste of time is not the discussion. It’s the vocabulary of the discussion.
Anger rarely solves anything and rarely involves learning.
As an outsider who didn’t know a thing about any of this until I read this post & slew of comments, seems to me that you are debating a pretty obvious thing… the word “progressive” is in the FIRST sentence of the team description. In American English, Progressive = Liberal. End of story. If anyone debates this, they are just being argumentative. Kinda seems obvious from my perspective…
Let me first say that I am about as liberal as they come. I spent all of October in heated email arguments with a few conservative family members (spending hours researching and footnoting all of my points). I believe in the statement, “Better a Bleeding Heart, Than None at All.” Also, I’m not a part of your group so my opinion is completely objective. (I’ve never even heard of this argument before now.)
Having said that, and based on the group’s original mission statement, I think that you should have the group inclusive of all political ideas. I say that because I believe the best thing to do, the grown up thing, in any situation is to be inclusive. One of the most exciting aspects of Obama’s presidency (which I went door to door for and donated a not-insignificant amount of money to, BTW) is the fact that he wants to hear from people who disagree with him. That place of openness to others’ ideas is the place where real progress is made because many times, our goals are the same. (Like when he said that we may not agree on a woman’s right to choose, but we all want to reduce unwanted pregnancies.) And it sounds like, left or right, your goals really are the same.
I remember a point when ‘Made in the USA’ was a slogan that uber-patriotic, freedom loving Republicans used to use. Now it’s been taken up by liberals in order to encourage local consumption. When we all work together, and the current mission statement of the group seems to encourage this, the potential is huge.
I ask you this, do you want to make real change in how goods are manufactured (and what better way to do it than by including folks from both sides of the isle) or do you want to be totally in control? Because I think those who started the group have the *right* to make it whatever they want, but they’ve been given a huge (and frankly surprising) opportunity to partner with a new group of people. Incorporating their ideas in how best to serve the group’s mission statement, might allow you to reach an entirely new level. In my personal experience, conservatives don’t have much of a problem with Wal-Mart. Work with those who do, and you have a huge opportunity to make major change.
So I say, personally invite each one of them back (all 7 of them) and ask what they think is necessary to further your common goals. Then, if you really need to, start a liberal Etsy group in addition to this one.
One final point, I believe that assuming that someone is liberal just because they joined a group like this is as unhelpful as assuming that everyone is the same religion. (As a Buddhist, I find this particularly tiresome.)
We are all different. That is our strength.
Good luck. And peace out.
-Wendy
Oops, ignore my ‘final point’, I missed the word ‘Progressive’ in your mission statement. (as well as the second page of comments) Still, though, I could see how some might see ‘Progressive’ as meaning ‘Change’ (even though it does also mean liberal).
I still stand by the rest of my statements. Finding conservatives who want to be progressive is a great thing.