manifesto
“There are no new ideas, just new ways of giving those ideas we cherish breath and power in our own living.” - Audre Lorde
we create media for a healed future.
Chicks for Climate was started on Instagram in 2019 to bring intersectional feminism and environmentalism together.
We recognized through our work that the patriarchal values of exploitation, domination, greed, and individualism were at the root of all societal ills.
The culmination of these damages is the climate crisis, which is happening now. While crises are difficult and horrific, they also allow us to reflect and make changes.
Now we’re called Chix, and we create media for a healed future. For us, this healed future is matriarchal.
We have a deeply hopeful stance in everything we do. We believe in the good of humanity, and that with enough determination, we can create a healed future.
vision for a healed future:
This section will describe the kind of society CHIX is working towards creating.
This is not a utopia. This is the kind of society that needs to exist in order to prevent the destruction of our planet and everyone who lives on it.
When a regenerative, loving, reciprocal, and community mindset is adopted in:
government
business
institutions
culturally
within you (hi! 👋)
or wherever it already isn’t, we will know we are succeeding.
Keep reading to learn where we are in society, and the criteria we will use in measuring our progress towards creating a healed future.
From exploitation to regeneration
We live in a world defined by exploitation.
A very small percentage of people own most of the economic wealth. In our society, getting rich at the expense of others is accepted and even celebrated.
Our systems actively benefit from the unsustainable and destructive use of nature in order to extract a profit.
This has caused toxic pollution, and the destruction of ecosystems, and could spell the extinction of humanity and millions of other species.
We have inherited a system of hierarchies - in terms of race, gender, humanness, ability, sexuality, etc - which has normalized the exploitation of those “lower” on the totem pole by those with power and privilege.
For a better society, we must adopt a regenerative mindset within our societies and systems.
When this happens, human societies will:
prioritize rest, sleep, and relaxation
integrate Indigenous teachings with “Western” science to ensure we have a regenerative relationship with nature
put well-being first (not profit)
design resilient and circular systems that use waste creatively and for the benefit of humanity and nature
From dominance to love*
The society we live in is built upon domination and hierarchy, and this defines every aspect of our lives.
In our society, being human, being born male, white, heterosexual, rich, able-bodied, in the West, etc. gives you the power to dominate others.
Having any other identity gives you less power and less ease in your way of life.
This way of constructing society leads to violence and abuse in many forms - towards nature, women, people of colour, queer people, disabled people, people not born in the West, etc.
Violence and abuse of any kind signify a lack of love.
German social psychologist, Erich Fromm’s definition of love is “the will to extend one's self for the purpose of nurturing one's own or another's spiritual growth”. Nurturance cannot coexist with abuse or violence.
For a better society, we must adopt a loving mindset within our societies and systems.
When this happens, human societies will:
treat ourselves and others (including nature) with care, trust, respect, empathy, and compassion
see our unique intelligence as human beings as an honour and a privilege to leave the planet better than we found it
allow our differences to become opportunities to learn and grow
reject the shame, guilt, and fear that surrounds sex and love in many cultures around the world, instead openly embrace the healing power and teachings of sexuality and love
make political decisions in a grassroots rather than top-down manner
*these ideas are inspired by bell hooks (principally All About Love)
From greed to reciprocity
We live under capitalism, an economic and political system that allows, openly encourages, and rewards greed.
A handful of men own more wealth than half the world.
Greed has become so normalized in our systems and societies that many people think greed is simply human nature.
It’s not.
Greed is a maladaptive emotion, a reaction to scarcity or lack. The endless pursuit of more money and more things is usually an attempt to feed unmet emotional needs.
Our society offers no alternative to our emotional needs except to buy and accrue. So that’s what most people do.
According to this Harvard study, greed begets more greed, equality begets equality, and generosity begets equality. If we want to escape the toxic cycle of greed in our society, we must all strive to treat others with either equality or generosity.
For a better society, we must adopt a reciprocal mindset within our societies and systems.
When this happens, society will:
socially reward generosity and equality more than the accruing of wealth
give to nature as much as or more than we take
normalize sharing, not owning
have communal solutions for problems like physical and mental healthcare
give everyone equal tools to live a dignified life
instate a gift economy
From individualism to community
An individualistic society puts the needs of the individual over the needs of the whole.
In this kind of society, independence and self-reliance are seen as aspirational qualities. Asking for help is seen as a weakness.
Everyone is encouraged to seek out what is best for them individually, even if that brings harm to something or someone else. Other people are seen as competition, not collaborators.
Equally, if something bad happens to someone, or if they make a mistake, it’s considered to be the fault and responsibility of the individual.
This kind of society ignores two indisputable facts: that life is inherently and inescapably interdependent, and that human beings are deeply social animals.
For a better society, we must adopt a community mindset within our societies and systems.
When this happens, society will:
have high-quality, free public spaces to create community and meet new people
give everyone the tools to reach their highest potential, recognizing that prioritizing the good of the whole leads to prosperity overall
reduce the amount of time humans need to spend on labour to free time up for community-building
place higher value on community interaction and involvement than individual land ownership
our promise:
We will inspire, educate, and empower our community and others to create a better society.
Everything we produce will reflect the objective truth, but it won’t be unbiased. We do have an agenda (see above).
We will do everything in our power to move society toward being more regenerative, loving, community-based, and reciprocal.
We will keep this page updated, and remain flexible to changing times. Human societies are dynamic. Though our vision will remain the same, the tools and the plan may require adjustment.