Guest blog: A goodbye from our intern...

Kate Mitchell has been California NOW's Legislative and Advocacy Intern since last September. She graduated in 2006 from Smith and lives with her partner in Sacramento.

Sometimes I act my age. I haven't read a newspaper in print for at least four years, I'm a member of more than one social networking website, and most of the time I identify as a Third Wave feminist. And of course, I'm an avid Jon Stewart fan. At the same time, I deeply respect the feminists who have come before me. I believe in my heart of hearts that the future of feminism does indeed lie in "old-school organizations." I bristle at the notion that I don't need a NOW or a Gloria Steinem (I went to Steinem's alma mater, Smith, and "icon" doesn't begin to describe my worship of the one and only).

That's not to say that Steinem and NOW aren't flawed--when I moved to Sacramento last summer, I never thought about working for NOW--too mainstream, not in touch with 21st century feminism... I was looking for an internship in the city, and when I saw the word "lesbian" on the California NOW homepage, I bristled. I'm queer, and while I respect NOW's commitment to "lesbian rights," it's just not my politics. But I gave it a shot; the homophobia I had encountered in Sacramento made me long for the company of feminist friends and colleagues.

It was the best decision I could have made to intern with California NOW, and both the Third Wave and the "old school" in me were sated. There's nothing like the feeling of being supported by compassionate, brilliant, and dedicated mentors who are personally invested in seeing you succeed. I don't agree with everything NOW does or says, but I'm grateful there's a voice out there (so often the only one) that speaks with integrity and passion. Over the past 5 months, I've realized that feminist organizations like NOW won't make it into the new millennium with a politics that marginalizes the input of the young, the radical, the queer (and especially the trans)---but the feminist blogosphere and the Third Wave can't do it without the lived experiences and wisdom of women at established organizations like NOW. One can't exist without the other.

Thank you for including me in the trials and tribulations of working for social justice, and helping me further define my own feminist voice. I'm forever grateful.