Spotlight: Lidia Alvarez
This interview took place Friday, August 21, 2020 and was conducted by Samantha Jacobson and Jennifer Reres.
Lidia Alvarez is a fair labor and sustainability advocate. She is currently pursuing her Master’s in Risk, Resilience and Integrity Management at Glasgow Caledonian University. Lidia has over 10 years of experience in the fashion industry and earned her Bachelor of Arts, Fashion, and Textiles from California State University of Los Angeles.
Lidia has been a supporter of Our Repro Rights Community since day one; she is a community member that we know will always show up for reproductive and social justice. We thank her for sharing her time and experiences with us for this quarter’s interview series.
What is a typical morning for you?
Today was the start of my new morning routine. I’m currently looking for a new job and starting grad school soon. I’m trying not to spend a lot of time on social. I’ll take my dog for a walk, make some breakfast, wash some dishes, and get to my to-do list, which I usually write out the night before.
How do you manage your time and find a healthy balance?
I don’t. I usually go until my body tells me to stop. I want to be more mindful of that. I’ll go, go, go--and then won’t for 2-3 weeks. I’m excited to get back into a more balanced routine when I start my grad program this fall.
How do you manage stress? How do you wind down after a heavy day?
I can tune out watching tiny home videos and my obsession with living off grid. I can turn off my mind by watching some TV or boxing and imagining Trump’s face on the punching bag.
Who inspires your activism?
I started my feminist and sustainability work in college, but the real beginning was moving to New York. I learned about the Ms. Foundation for Women. The first time I met Gloria Steinem, I gushed about how much she has inspired me, she responded with, “I can’t wait to see all that you will do.” That really inspired me to go further with my activism. The community that we created at Ms. made me realize that I could do this work too--meeting you, Rachel Cargle, Dana Suchow. I learned more through Angela Davis’ work. She is my touchpoint and moral compass in my feminist work. My late grandmother, mom, and sister, navigating their womanhood in this world are always an inspiration to me too.
Are there any books that have influenced you?
I found Gloria Steinem’s Revolution from Within on a bus stop walking through Clinton Hill one day. It was meant to be! That book helped me realize that my self-esteem issues were connected to larger systemic issues. Steinem talks a lot about matriarchal society and how that model comes from the Indigenous community. She also mentions Paula Gunn Allen’s The Sacred Hoop, which I ended up reading too. Indigenous people believe in a linked society, not a ranked hierarchical one. We are all connected.
What does feminism mean to you?
I’m a feminist and don’t have any qualms about saying that. I know people say womanist or humanist. I believe in anti-fascism, anti-racism, anti-capitalism, abolition. I was introduced to feminism through a white lens and I knew I couldn’t stop at that neo-liberalist level. Angela Davis’ abolition feminism is where I want us to be. Dismantling the patriarchy, as well as hierarchical systems--facism, racism, capitalism--that come with maintaining power. I hope we come to the point that’s what we know and understand feminism to be. Otherwise, it’s bullshit.
If you had to pick one champion of reproductive health, who would it be?
That would be my tia Ofelia Barrios, Senior Director of Community Health Initiatives at Iris House. Ofelia has been breaking down the stigma of HIV/AIDS for over 20 years and she’s allowed me to talk about reproductive health issues more freely. Even when she was teaching in East LA or going to grad school in Albuquerque, I’ve seen for myself the impactful work she’s done for the community.
What is your vision of reproductive justice? What does equity look like to you?
Take immigration, for example. People come here because they want to create a better life for themselves and their children. New Sanctuary Coalition just had a client who was detained for 6 months because she was a sex trafficking victim who was held for prostitution. They helped her reunite with her family and heal from her trauma. That’s reproductive justice.
Reproductive justice is not just abortion. You can’t use pro-choice language and dismiss children at the border. Immigrant justice--a parent worrying about their child’s safety--is reproductive justice. Environmental justice--everything inside and outside of your body--is reproductive justice. You can’t overlook people with disabilities or the violence that transgender individuals face. When you’re fighting for reproductive justice, you’re fighting for all these things.
We also need to create a world beyond cis-gender, heteronormativity. We need sex education from an early age, from kindergarten through high school. It can’t be one class in high school, focused on heterosexual relationships. If we have good, inclusive conversations about consent and body autonomy, people with vaginas can feel more confident to ask for what they need. They’ll have the language and the tools.
What is missing from the RJ movement?
We need more transformative justice work. I’m reading Beyond Survival: Strategies and Stories from the Transformative Justice Movement. The contributors are talking about how we need to create our own communities or pods to keep others accountable and ourselves safe. We need to be able to ask trusted people for help. We are not taught to do that. It’s not the American way. But we need to imagine alternatives to calling the police in order to have a more just future.
What are you most proud of?
Taking proactive steps to manage my depression and anxiety. Taking that responsibility has allowed me to accept the power I have within myself and talk about it without shame. Sometimes it’s embarrassing, but I talking about mental health has allowed me to be more comfortable with vulnerability and it has helped people open up to me. There is power in vulnerability.