It's not about asking others to be less assertive. Women like Rosa Luxemburg, Emma Goldman, Sylvia Pankhurst and the Mujeure Libres didn't sit around whinging about "loud, confrontational" meetings or internet forums, they instead spoke up and asserted their voices, made people listen through the power of their arguments, rhetoric and ability.
Except of course
"in revolutionary Spain of the 1930s, many anarchist women were angry with what they viewed as persistent sexism amongst anarchist men and their marginalized status within a movement that ostensibly sought to abolish domination and hierarchy.""Citing the anarchist assertion that the means of revolutionary struggle must model the desired organization of revolutionary society, they rejected mainstream Spanish anarchism's assertion that women's equality would follow automatically from the social revolution. To prepare women for leadership roles in the anarchist movement, they organized schools, women-only social groups and a women-only newspaper so that women could gain self-esteem and confidence in their abilities and network with one another to develop their political consciousness."
Mujeres Libres felt they had to organise separately to be heard. Go figure.
from your favorite wee sniping lil' c*nt
LR, fair point. "Drivel" and "hijacked" were unconstructive, due to my own overheated typing fingers. I apologize. Here's the issue: this thread's topic is important. This thread has failed to address it, failed rather spectacularly. Given some of the conversational dynamics present or which developed, I think this thread won't be addressed productively by the current set of participants. To have a conversation constructively on this topic here will require chairing of some sort.