Well, I guess this is the first post of the year over here. Been awhile...but I guess that's what's sort of appealing about blogging in the first place...picking up and leaving when and where you can...
Grad school has been a blur of emotions, tensions, egos (mostly deflating), and struggle, some good and some bad, most of them necessary, but often a bit soul-crushing...It's like finally lifting your head out of the sand to feel the world better, then desperately wanting to sink it back in only to find the sand is now glass.
I'm sure I'll feel differently once I'm distanced from the day to day experience of it, and when I look back at the people I've met, and the knowledge(s) I've both gained and problematized (hopefully, anyway) I'll think it worth it in the end (I just hope for the end to come real quicktimes). Its just hard to see clearly when you're too close, I guess.
At any rate, the point of this blog was not to indulge so much in my grad school anxiety as much as it was to send out love on International Women's Day. I've spent this weekend attending conferences, alternating between art collaborations and feminist theories of the state. I got to spend my Women's Day weekend hearing Gita Sen from DAWN speak, and put out the call for a feminist interrogation/action in regards to the financial crisis (of which so far have been few) as well as a plethora of intelligent, relevant and heartfelt discussions on welfare, compensation, and the interlocking oppressions that gender and race and class bring into this world...and here from a perspective of hope.
To Hope. Everyday.
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label random musings. Show all posts
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Random, Albeit Cheesy Thoughts...
Awesome.
This month is the first time I've ever noticed my menstrual cycle to be in sync with the full moon.
So not only have I already pulled most of my female friends into my cycle (at some point anyway), I've now complete control over the earth's gravitational pull over the moon...
muahahahahahahahaha!
This month is the first time I've ever noticed my menstrual cycle to be in sync with the full moon.
So not only have I already pulled most of my female friends into my cycle (at some point anyway), I've now complete control over the earth's gravitational pull over the moon...
muahahahahahahahaha!
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Bad posting habits...
I guess its more like "lack of posting habits..."
ah well, you see, its the dreaded month of March where EVERYTHING is due in the next two weeks, and a witch just doesn't have much time to poke her head out of the books and presses (unless, of course it is to procrastinate while supposedly doing research for one of two upcoming final essays...whoops).
I am looking forward to April like you wouldn't believe.
Some upcoming stuff though for future pontification:
-bought the divacup in attempt to be a little eco-fem friendly. Will review later this month, for the first time, whoo!
-took part in a feminist-inspired art show at Zacks Gallery at York (reception tomorrow night from 6 to 8pm! Be there, and later be drunk on complimentary wine!). Look for catalogue essay I'm writing to be out soon.
-my aging women project is almost complete! BIG BIG sigh of soon to be relief! I'm calling it "Auntie Hero(ine)s" and will be using this blog to discuss some of the issues that the characters I chose to depict brought up for me.
-and finally, READING FOR PLEASURE. My god/dess, how I've missed you so! Got a wonderful line-up of books, whetting my mental appetite...sweeeeet...
After all this is said and done, I get a summer to mentally relax while paying off some debts, then off to graduate school! Weeeeeee!
See ya soon.
ah well, you see, its the dreaded month of March where EVERYTHING is due in the next two weeks, and a witch just doesn't have much time to poke her head out of the books and presses (unless, of course it is to procrastinate while supposedly doing research for one of two upcoming final essays...whoops).
I am looking forward to April like you wouldn't believe.
Some upcoming stuff though for future pontification:
-bought the divacup in attempt to be a little eco-fem friendly. Will review later this month, for the first time, whoo!
-took part in a feminist-inspired art show at Zacks Gallery at York (reception tomorrow night from 6 to 8pm! Be there, and later be drunk on complimentary wine!). Look for catalogue essay I'm writing to be out soon.
-my aging women project is almost complete! BIG BIG sigh of soon to be relief! I'm calling it "Auntie Hero(ine)s" and will be using this blog to discuss some of the issues that the characters I chose to depict brought up for me.
-and finally, READING FOR PLEASURE. My god/dess, how I've missed you so! Got a wonderful line-up of books, whetting my mental appetite...sweeeeet...
After all this is said and done, I get a summer to mentally relax while paying off some debts, then off to graduate school! Weeeeeee!
See ya soon.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Groundhog Day
It's February 2nd, which means it's Groundhound day. Them good old critters are gonna predict for us whether we'll have six more weeks of winter hell, which we usually do. Last night's storm does not bode well for an early spring...
Don't you wish there was a similiar groundhog system for social justice? You know, just have some cute little animal pop its head out, and say, "Yup, all this bullshit is gonna end early this year! No more misogyny, racism, capitalist exploitation, violence, homophobia, transphobia, and general world unfairness. Time to celebrate!"
Sigh. I have a feeling that even such a thing existed, it wouldn't be good news.
Back to the grind.
Don't you wish there was a similiar groundhog system for social justice? You know, just have some cute little animal pop its head out, and say, "Yup, all this bullshit is gonna end early this year! No more misogyny, racism, capitalist exploitation, violence, homophobia, transphobia, and general world unfairness. Time to celebrate!"
Sigh. I have a feeling that even such a thing existed, it wouldn't be good news.
Back to the grind.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
How Many Feminists Do You Know?
I am quite late posting into this new year, but alas it has already been a mighty busy one. So I thought I would post an old reflection I wrote a couple of years ago, born of the frustration that would come out of people who would either get defensive about my studies, as if I just said the most offensive thing on the planet, as well as people who would seek to undermine my education armed with only their random opinions, rather than experiences and facts. I can't tell you how many people, despite never reading any feminist work, never meeting any feminists, never discussing feminist ideas or intersectionalities will tell me they know the "truth" about feminists and what they are really about, they know more than I do, even though this is what I study (and *try* to practice). Lately too I am coming across questions like "if we're talking about racism, then why do you need feminism?" Entirely frustrating not only because my feminism doesn't just inform my feminism, but because to frame a question like that is to pose the world's various oppressions as "either/or" rather than as living side by side, interconnected, as well as denying the space for the various feminisms that (importantly) exist to grow. I am the first to admit that feminism is not perfect. But what I find important about it is its ability to change, to grow, to give space for everyone to talk about the various things that I or anyone else may miss. Feminism is not to be dismissed because a couple of uninformed (refuse to be informed) people think all we want is women to control men, or that it is completely irrelevant to people's lives.
I should warn you, this old prose probably needs some updating and editing. I think I've come a lot farther in my thinking since this was originally written. But alas, I've got lots of homework right now to get to.
This is perhaps a shared experience amongst students of women’s studies. You are at work, at home, at a bar having a casual drink, or even at school itself. Someone asks you what you are studying and you tell them “I’m getting a degree in Women’s Studies.” The reactions can be as wonderfully diverse as congratulations, genuine interests, to blank stares, patronizing smiles, utter dismay, and in the worst case, total ignorance and indignation. “So, what, you’re studying how to hate men?” usually comes from the least informative. “What an ego you have” I say, when it is a man who says that to me. “Now, why would I fork over that much dough, just to spend all my time talking about you?” All I can hear in my head is Carly Simon whispering “you’re so vaaaaiiinn….” It can be pretty frustrating at times, trying to explain to people what it is exactly that you are learning about and why. For the most part, when people say stupid things to me about feminism, I can roll it off my back with a witty reply and leave the conversation with not much damage done. It is when people make general statements that are often ill-informed, about feminists and the nature of feminism overall, and I can see that they believe what they are saying to their core, that my blood boils and I get frustrated and I wonder why I bother to get into these kinds of conversations at all. No one seems to get as pissed off at me when I tell them that I’m also studying Visual Arts. What seems to be at the heart of a lot of peoples’ perception of feminism is a lack of education about it, a lack of clarity about feminist thought or experiences from which they can draw at the very least better arguments about why they feel they way they do about it. All I want to do then is take the blinders off their eyes about feminism.
I had a manager once who when he first found out that I was studying for a degree in Women’s Studies, seem to take a mild offense to it. Things like “Be careful now, Mo’s a feminist, she’ll tear you a new one” in random conversatons would pop out his mouth as if my chosen field of study were a type of vicious heresy against the world, and something that was turning me into an unreasonable monster. Once you are a Feminist, you are a suddenly a Type of person, usually militant and aggressive, which are bad things only if you happen to be female. Hairy legs and anger are common characteristics of the Abominable Feminist. (And you know what? So fucking what if my legs are hairy and I'm angry!) I’ve even had an old friend that I hadn’t seen in years comment not too long ago, “Now I know why you are so bitter. You’re a feminist!” No, fool, I’m not bitter because I’m a feminist. I’m bitter because that’s what everyone keeps saying to me when I tell them about my studies! No one can come up with anything more creative to say to me! And now everything I have to say about the world is invalidated by my seeing it through feminist lenses, as if they are foggier than any other way in which to view the world. I have to ask myself, why shouldn’t I be angry or bitter about the world? It’s not always especially hospitable to the women that populate it. Why should I be complacent about injustice and oppression and all the other multi-faceted issues that we Feminists talk about? Why is it not okay to be an angry Feminist anyway?
I’ve gotten into arguments with a co-worker about how ‘feminism today’ is about putting women on a higher pedestal then men. I almost choked when he told me that. I asked him where he got that idea from, to which he answered vaguely “oh you know advertisements on T.V.” I pummeled him with question after question. I asked him which ads and why did he assume they were feminist? I told him about activist after activist and the work they were doing today in various fields all over the world. He retorted back that he was only talking about North American feminism and that I can’t talk about the rest of the world. Puzzled, I thought why can’t I talk about the rest of the world? I can’t speak for all women, certainly, but as a Feminist I am obligated and interested in listening to as many voices as I can. After all, women live all over this planet. There may be several countries, but there is only one world. How many feminists do you know, I wanted to ask him. How many feminists can you list off the top of your head, how many theorists have you read, how many magazines have you picked up, how many women have you talked to, how many activists have you seen work that that was the opinion you came up with? Seriously, how many feminists do you really know that make you think the way you do?
This same co-worker proceeded to tell me that what I am studying is not the ‘real world,’ that I am not studying what is actually going on around us. He said that to me, quite seriously, as if I am studying a fake world instead. No one would dare tell a doctor that he wasted his education studying fake human anatomy or fake science. I wonder then, where did all the theories I have studied emerge from if they did not come from the real world. And why are you assuming that I have not eyes and ears outside the classroom in which to take in the world? Why are you assuming I have no ability to question, analyze and decide for myself what I think about what I am learning? I am completely aware of the dangers of secluding myself in academic towers. I am not a drone of sorts that just recieves orders and cannot compute on her own. He is not the first to question the educational authenticity of my Women’s Studies. Another friend in another place asked me once if I really believed in feminism or if it is just something I picked up because of school. Does a doctor not just ‘pick up’ his medical degree from school? He’s not less a doctor because the poor fool needed to be taught how to perform surgery. Why is my feminism less authentic because my professors have inspired it? Am I not going to school to learn in the first place?
My friend who asked me about the authenticity of my feminism is someone who is so in control of her life, a motivated go-getter, intelligent, witty and with a no-shit attitude that I just love. I was quite surprised to learn her dismay about feminism. Actually, I am continually surprised when I come across women who live in ways that they consider free, who are educated and can pursue their dreams with vigour and determination, and they reveal that they don’t really think we need feminism anymore, and that they certainly are not feminists. Clearly, then, this is a privileged stance to take about feminism. Another set of blinders here need to be taken off. There is this Western assumption that women in our neck of the woods are completely free of oppression (at least genderwise anyway) and therefore choose to not see the problems that are right under our nose. Its also a dangerous position to take for feminists as well, as it can lead activists to thinking that they must save women in other parts of the world from their cultures, and themselves, as if privileged women/people have all the claim on agency in this world. A classmate once told me with disdain that she thought our professor in our art class might be a feminist. “We don’t really need feminism anymore,” she said. I thought, well, you like being able to breathe don’t you? You like your right to choose, don’t you? You like being able to express an opinion in an educational institution and have that opinion heard, don’t you? What about the rest of the us? What about all the women whose voices are still silent for various reasons? Is this really as far as you think we need to come? Is this all your willing to hear from women? Really? If I am asking the men how many feminists do they know, then I must also ask the women where have they all gone to? Where are they hiding, and can I join their club?
I will admit that sometimes, when I am tired, and just want to relax, I won’t admit the total truth of what I am studying. Sometimes, I am weak, and I just decide that today, this isn’t a battle I want to pick when someone asks me about my degree. But only sometimes. It is often hard work, with so many different voices that need to be heard but don’t always agree, though always compelling. I am not afraid to name myself Feminist, at the risk of hairy legs and angry messages (which isn’t really a risk if you ask me), and I am not afraid to be the Feminist that you do know. I’ll even tell you where I am should you find yourself in need of my feminist services. But I can’t be the only one.
I should warn you, this old prose probably needs some updating and editing. I think I've come a lot farther in my thinking since this was originally written. But alas, I've got lots of homework right now to get to.
This is perhaps a shared experience amongst students of women’s studies. You are at work, at home, at a bar having a casual drink, or even at school itself. Someone asks you what you are studying and you tell them “I’m getting a degree in Women’s Studies.” The reactions can be as wonderfully diverse as congratulations, genuine interests, to blank stares, patronizing smiles, utter dismay, and in the worst case, total ignorance and indignation. “So, what, you’re studying how to hate men?” usually comes from the least informative. “What an ego you have” I say, when it is a man who says that to me. “Now, why would I fork over that much dough, just to spend all my time talking about you?” All I can hear in my head is Carly Simon whispering “you’re so vaaaaiiinn….” It can be pretty frustrating at times, trying to explain to people what it is exactly that you are learning about and why. For the most part, when people say stupid things to me about feminism, I can roll it off my back with a witty reply and leave the conversation with not much damage done. It is when people make general statements that are often ill-informed, about feminists and the nature of feminism overall, and I can see that they believe what they are saying to their core, that my blood boils and I get frustrated and I wonder why I bother to get into these kinds of conversations at all. No one seems to get as pissed off at me when I tell them that I’m also studying Visual Arts. What seems to be at the heart of a lot of peoples’ perception of feminism is a lack of education about it, a lack of clarity about feminist thought or experiences from which they can draw at the very least better arguments about why they feel they way they do about it. All I want to do then is take the blinders off their eyes about feminism.
I had a manager once who when he first found out that I was studying for a degree in Women’s Studies, seem to take a mild offense to it. Things like “Be careful now, Mo’s a feminist, she’ll tear you a new one” in random conversatons would pop out his mouth as if my chosen field of study were a type of vicious heresy against the world, and something that was turning me into an unreasonable monster. Once you are a Feminist, you are a suddenly a Type of person, usually militant and aggressive, which are bad things only if you happen to be female. Hairy legs and anger are common characteristics of the Abominable Feminist. (And you know what? So fucking what if my legs are hairy and I'm angry!) I’ve even had an old friend that I hadn’t seen in years comment not too long ago, “Now I know why you are so bitter. You’re a feminist!” No, fool, I’m not bitter because I’m a feminist. I’m bitter because that’s what everyone keeps saying to me when I tell them about my studies! No one can come up with anything more creative to say to me! And now everything I have to say about the world is invalidated by my seeing it through feminist lenses, as if they are foggier than any other way in which to view the world. I have to ask myself, why shouldn’t I be angry or bitter about the world? It’s not always especially hospitable to the women that populate it. Why should I be complacent about injustice and oppression and all the other multi-faceted issues that we Feminists talk about? Why is it not okay to be an angry Feminist anyway?
I’ve gotten into arguments with a co-worker about how ‘feminism today’ is about putting women on a higher pedestal then men. I almost choked when he told me that. I asked him where he got that idea from, to which he answered vaguely “oh you know advertisements on T.V.” I pummeled him with question after question. I asked him which ads and why did he assume they were feminist? I told him about activist after activist and the work they were doing today in various fields all over the world. He retorted back that he was only talking about North American feminism and that I can’t talk about the rest of the world. Puzzled, I thought why can’t I talk about the rest of the world? I can’t speak for all women, certainly, but as a Feminist I am obligated and interested in listening to as many voices as I can. After all, women live all over this planet. There may be several countries, but there is only one world. How many feminists do you know, I wanted to ask him. How many feminists can you list off the top of your head, how many theorists have you read, how many magazines have you picked up, how many women have you talked to, how many activists have you seen work that that was the opinion you came up with? Seriously, how many feminists do you really know that make you think the way you do?
This same co-worker proceeded to tell me that what I am studying is not the ‘real world,’ that I am not studying what is actually going on around us. He said that to me, quite seriously, as if I am studying a fake world instead. No one would dare tell a doctor that he wasted his education studying fake human anatomy or fake science. I wonder then, where did all the theories I have studied emerge from if they did not come from the real world. And why are you assuming that I have not eyes and ears outside the classroom in which to take in the world? Why are you assuming I have no ability to question, analyze and decide for myself what I think about what I am learning? I am completely aware of the dangers of secluding myself in academic towers. I am not a drone of sorts that just recieves orders and cannot compute on her own. He is not the first to question the educational authenticity of my Women’s Studies. Another friend in another place asked me once if I really believed in feminism or if it is just something I picked up because of school. Does a doctor not just ‘pick up’ his medical degree from school? He’s not less a doctor because the poor fool needed to be taught how to perform surgery. Why is my feminism less authentic because my professors have inspired it? Am I not going to school to learn in the first place?
My friend who asked me about the authenticity of my feminism is someone who is so in control of her life, a motivated go-getter, intelligent, witty and with a no-shit attitude that I just love. I was quite surprised to learn her dismay about feminism. Actually, I am continually surprised when I come across women who live in ways that they consider free, who are educated and can pursue their dreams with vigour and determination, and they reveal that they don’t really think we need feminism anymore, and that they certainly are not feminists. Clearly, then, this is a privileged stance to take about feminism. Another set of blinders here need to be taken off. There is this Western assumption that women in our neck of the woods are completely free of oppression (at least genderwise anyway) and therefore choose to not see the problems that are right under our nose. Its also a dangerous position to take for feminists as well, as it can lead activists to thinking that they must save women in other parts of the world from their cultures, and themselves, as if privileged women/people have all the claim on agency in this world. A classmate once told me with disdain that she thought our professor in our art class might be a feminist. “We don’t really need feminism anymore,” she said. I thought, well, you like being able to breathe don’t you? You like your right to choose, don’t you? You like being able to express an opinion in an educational institution and have that opinion heard, don’t you? What about the rest of the us? What about all the women whose voices are still silent for various reasons? Is this really as far as you think we need to come? Is this all your willing to hear from women? Really? If I am asking the men how many feminists do they know, then I must also ask the women where have they all gone to? Where are they hiding, and can I join their club?
I will admit that sometimes, when I am tired, and just want to relax, I won’t admit the total truth of what I am studying. Sometimes, I am weak, and I just decide that today, this isn’t a battle I want to pick when someone asks me about my degree. But only sometimes. It is often hard work, with so many different voices that need to be heard but don’t always agree, though always compelling. I am not afraid to name myself Feminist, at the risk of hairy legs and angry messages (which isn’t really a risk if you ask me), and I am not afraid to be the Feminist that you do know. I’ll even tell you where I am should you find yourself in need of my feminist services. But I can’t be the only one.
Monday, December 31, 2007
End of Year Reading List
This past year, I decided to keep track of books read just because. And also because reading stimulates the mind, and I think its important, as academics and non-academics, as people who love to read, to try and keep up with.
I figured I would include books I actually finished for classes as well, cuz really I did have to take the time to read them whole, and most of them were pretty good, so why not...Though this list certainly does not include all the numerous journals, essays, articles, and chapters I've had to read for school...then it'd be considerably longer...muahahaha...
I'm also including the MUCH MUCH shorter list of graphic novels...
While my list isn't terribly long, it's more than I thought I could get in between working and going to school.
To a literary 2008!
Legend: *--book read for school
%--re-read
And in no particular order: Books in 2007
The Lovely Bones--Anne Sebold
Middlesex--Jeffrey Euginedes
Halfbreed--Maria Campbell
Stone Butch Blues--Leslie Feinberg
Past Due--Anne Finger*
The Loss of El Dorado--V.S. Naipaul
Player Piano--Kurt Vonnegut
Slapstick--Kurt Vonnegut
To the Lighthouse--Virginia Woolf
Witches of Eastwick--John Updike
Brideshead Revisited--Evelyn Waugh
Rendezvous with Rama--Arther C. Clarke
Mostly Harmless--Douglas Adams
A Perfectly Good Family--Lionel Shriver
Breakfast of Champions--Kurt Vonnegut
The Fire-Dwellers--Margaret Lawrence*
Beloved--Toni Morrison*
I Don't Know How She Does It--Allison Pearson*%
We Need to Talk About Kevin--Lionel Shriver*%
Vagina Monologues--Eve Ensler*%
The Good Body--Eve Ensler*
Of Woman Born--Adrienne Rich*
Waiting in the Wings--Cherri Moraga*
God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian--Kurt Vonnegut
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves--Lynne Truss
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--J.K. Rowling
The Colour Purple--Alice Walker
The Rez Sisters--Tomson Highway
Baghdad Burning--Riverbend
The Crone--Barbara G. Walker
Women and Social Transformation--Judith Butler, Lydia Puigvert, Elizabeth Beck-Gershiem*
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories--James Finn Garner
Graphic Novels:
We Are On Our Own--Miriam Katin
Late Bloomer--Carol Tyler
The Job Thing--Carol Tyler
The Little Man Comics--Chester Brown
Chicken With Plums--Marjane Satrapi
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home Vol. 1--Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty
Happy New Year, witches.
I figured I would include books I actually finished for classes as well, cuz really I did have to take the time to read them whole, and most of them were pretty good, so why not...Though this list certainly does not include all the numerous journals, essays, articles, and chapters I've had to read for school...then it'd be considerably longer...muahahaha...
I'm also including the MUCH MUCH shorter list of graphic novels...
While my list isn't terribly long, it's more than I thought I could get in between working and going to school.
To a literary 2008!
Legend: *--book read for school
%--re-read
And in no particular order: Books in 2007
The Lovely Bones--Anne Sebold
Middlesex--Jeffrey Euginedes
Halfbreed--Maria Campbell
Stone Butch Blues--Leslie Feinberg
Past Due--Anne Finger*
The Loss of El Dorado--V.S. Naipaul
Player Piano--Kurt Vonnegut
Slapstick--Kurt Vonnegut
To the Lighthouse--Virginia Woolf
Witches of Eastwick--John Updike
Brideshead Revisited--Evelyn Waugh
Rendezvous with Rama--Arther C. Clarke
Mostly Harmless--Douglas Adams
A Perfectly Good Family--Lionel Shriver
Breakfast of Champions--Kurt Vonnegut
The Fire-Dwellers--Margaret Lawrence*
Beloved--Toni Morrison*
I Don't Know How She Does It--Allison Pearson*%
We Need to Talk About Kevin--Lionel Shriver*%
Vagina Monologues--Eve Ensler*%
The Good Body--Eve Ensler*
Of Woman Born--Adrienne Rich*
Waiting in the Wings--Cherri Moraga*
God Bless You, Dr. Kervorkian--Kurt Vonnegut
Eats, Shoots, and Leaves--Lynne Truss
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix--J.K. Rowling
The Colour Purple--Alice Walker
The Rez Sisters--Tomson Highway
Baghdad Burning--Riverbend
The Crone--Barbara G. Walker
Women and Social Transformation--Judith Butler, Lydia Puigvert, Elizabeth Beck-Gershiem*
Politically Correct Bedtime Stories--James Finn Garner
Graphic Novels:
We Are On Our Own--Miriam Katin
Late Bloomer--Carol Tyler
The Job Thing--Carol Tyler
The Little Man Comics--Chester Brown
Chicken With Plums--Marjane Satrapi
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Long Way Home Vol. 1--Joss Whedon and Georges Jeanty
Happy New Year, witches.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
I'm Not A Grinch But...
What do you get when you add being broke + picky teenagers/kids to shop for + a feminist ethic in regards to what you are buying?
Answer: NOTHING FOR CHRISTMAS!
Seriously! I hate Christmas shopping...
This witch hails from one large-ass family and this year we decided out of mercy on our credit card debts that we would buy only for the kids this year. That still leaves me with eight people between the ages of 19 and 1 1/2 years old to shop for. And an extremely tight budget. Not easy. Especially as I realize that the older these kids get, the less I really know about them. What the hell do I get for these kids?? And when did I start to become the distant aunt?
I saw things that I know I would love to get for Christmas. But then I remembered that I'm the "strange" aunt, so I ended up second-guessing everything I picked. Then I would get really frustrated, because, FUCK, why can't the thought count just as much as the actual gift? Christmas shopping really kills my holiday buzz. Thank god/dess for vodka.
Then of course, because I'm on a budget of $20 MAX per kid, I wasn't left with a lot of great ethical options. I've found decent gifts in that price range before at places like the Gap, but my conscience wouldn't let me do it this year. I can't shop at BabyGap and hand-over gifts of sweatshop origin. But shopping so conscientiously doesn't leave me with a lot of options when a witch is poor.
*And I'll bet you anything that I get a Gap shirt this year under the tree too. Sigh.*
I also don't want to promote gender stereotypes by giving my six and seven year old nieces all the pretty and pink princess merchandise they so crave. But all they want to do is bask in pink princess-ness!
Oh wait, I've just been told they've outgrown all that. Now they're into "Hannah Montana" and "Zoey 101", the latter starring a now-pregnant teen. And I only know of these shows because of such gossipy smut (I fucking LOVE gossipy smut--secret shame revealed)! If it were Degrassi, at least we could all look forward to a poignant, honest, straightforward addressing of the issue with a message that I would be willing to support with a cheesy keychain purchase. But it's a Nickelodeon show so probably, it will get swept under the writers' table. Still, I must walk into stores that make me feel old in my mid-twenties by being tailored to the Hilary Duff/Avril Lavigne brands of "individual" style. I suppose I should be happy that its not the Britney-style over-sexualization of children that's all the rage.
None of this helps me with my Christmas selections.
What's a witch to do...
Well, I did this:
For Julian (19), I bought him some warm house slippers and a Portugal Soccer toque. He's getting comfort this year.
For Dane (17) and Erik (16) I bought them a copy of Maus I and Maus II respectively, that as brothers, they can swap. My sister told me that though they're not big readers, they do enjoy war literature, and I love that book, so therefore I shall command them to love it too.
For Adam (12) I bought him the first volume in the Scott Pilgrim series. He's into video games and anime so I thought Scott Pilgrim, though neither, would be a relatable but decent break that doesn't undermine his age.
For Abby (11) I bought her a Lenore collection called Noogies. I love the Lenore comics, they have a dark sense of humour that she will appreciate (I hope and also command) plus the drawings are great.
For Emily (7) I bought her a Roald Dahl treasury that she can enjoy having read to her and also enjoy as she continues to learn to read.
For Serena (6) I bought her socks, cuz my sister told me she desparately needs new ones, but also a purple-ish and comfy bath robe that was on sale for 50% off at Bluenotes.
For Liam (1) I bought him a stuffed Snoopy doll where five bucks off the purchase price went to a children's charity.
I hope I did okay. If not, well, there'll be lots of wine at dinner for me anyhoo.
I really wish I wasn't so weak and could go to my family dinner and just honestly say "I'm broke, I'm sorry but at least we're all together, right?" I just end up feeling unreasonably guilty...Sigh...such a product of my culture...
Off to work I go so I can make rent this Christmas.
Answer: NOTHING FOR CHRISTMAS!
Seriously! I hate Christmas shopping...
This witch hails from one large-ass family and this year we decided out of mercy on our credit card debts that we would buy only for the kids this year. That still leaves me with eight people between the ages of 19 and 1 1/2 years old to shop for. And an extremely tight budget. Not easy. Especially as I realize that the older these kids get, the less I really know about them. What the hell do I get for these kids?? And when did I start to become the distant aunt?
I saw things that I know I would love to get for Christmas. But then I remembered that I'm the "strange" aunt, so I ended up second-guessing everything I picked. Then I would get really frustrated, because, FUCK, why can't the thought count just as much as the actual gift? Christmas shopping really kills my holiday buzz. Thank god/dess for vodka.
Then of course, because I'm on a budget of $20 MAX per kid, I wasn't left with a lot of great ethical options. I've found decent gifts in that price range before at places like the Gap, but my conscience wouldn't let me do it this year. I can't shop at BabyGap and hand-over gifts of sweatshop origin. But shopping so conscientiously doesn't leave me with a lot of options when a witch is poor.
*And I'll bet you anything that I get a Gap shirt this year under the tree too. Sigh.*
I also don't want to promote gender stereotypes by giving my six and seven year old nieces all the pretty and pink princess merchandise they so crave. But all they want to do is bask in pink princess-ness!
Oh wait, I've just been told they've outgrown all that. Now they're into "Hannah Montana" and "Zoey 101", the latter starring a now-pregnant teen. And I only know of these shows because of such gossipy smut (I fucking LOVE gossipy smut--secret shame revealed)! If it were Degrassi, at least we could all look forward to a poignant, honest, straightforward addressing of the issue with a message that I would be willing to support with a cheesy keychain purchase. But it's a Nickelodeon show so probably, it will get swept under the writers' table. Still, I must walk into stores that make me feel old in my mid-twenties by being tailored to the Hilary Duff/Avril Lavigne brands of "individual" style. I suppose I should be happy that its not the Britney-style over-sexualization of children that's all the rage.
None of this helps me with my Christmas selections.
What's a witch to do...
Well, I did this:
For Julian (19), I bought him some warm house slippers and a Portugal Soccer toque. He's getting comfort this year.
For Dane (17) and Erik (16) I bought them a copy of Maus I and Maus II respectively, that as brothers, they can swap. My sister told me that though they're not big readers, they do enjoy war literature, and I love that book, so therefore I shall command them to love it too.
For Adam (12) I bought him the first volume in the Scott Pilgrim series. He's into video games and anime so I thought Scott Pilgrim, though neither, would be a relatable but decent break that doesn't undermine his age.
For Abby (11) I bought her a Lenore collection called Noogies. I love the Lenore comics, they have a dark sense of humour that she will appreciate (I hope and also command) plus the drawings are great.
For Emily (7) I bought her a Roald Dahl treasury that she can enjoy having read to her and also enjoy as she continues to learn to read.
For Serena (6) I bought her socks, cuz my sister told me she desparately needs new ones, but also a purple-ish and comfy bath robe that was on sale for 50% off at Bluenotes.
For Liam (1) I bought him a stuffed Snoopy doll where five bucks off the purchase price went to a children's charity.
I hope I did okay. If not, well, there'll be lots of wine at dinner for me anyhoo.
I really wish I wasn't so weak and could go to my family dinner and just honestly say "I'm broke, I'm sorry but at least we're all together, right?" I just end up feeling unreasonably guilty...Sigh...such a product of my culture...
Off to work I go so I can make rent this Christmas.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Name Change.
So yeah. Not particularly world-rocking, but I've decided to use a new alias. I'm thinking it might be interesting to change it up as I continue to navigate my mind within the blogosphere, as I change, develop and grow. Originally, I went with "Electric Furr" because it came from my favourite line in my favourite e.e. cummings poem :
Also, it is the name of the last litho project I spent all of last school year working slavishly on and really held personal and artistic meaning for me.
Fuck, I still may end up changing it back.
At any rate, this name change has been on my mind, especially as I was growing tired, and out of, this Electric Furr. I found the term 'revista' instead. I was researching names for another blog author, who shares the same cultural background as me (Portuguese-Canadian)and came across 'Saudade' (loosely translated as mournful longing but my portuguese is crap so I could be wrong). I also came across 'Revista', meaning social or political commentary, sometimes in the form of dramatic satire. I think if this was a Portuguese-language blog, that name would come off as a little too simplistic. Perhaps in time, I will find some other appropriate words to augment it more specifically. Until then, I really do like the ring of that word/name as it sounds and means in English.
I myself am probably not nearly so deep as this new name suggests. But it struck a chord with me about the ways in which I'm learning, and the ways in which I am thinking about the world. I may change this again. I may even eventually use my real name, and really claim the things that I say. We shall see...
In the meantime, Electric Furr=Revista. For now.
"i like kissing this and that of you,i like, slowly stroking the shocking fuzz,of your electric fur, and what is-it-comes over your parting flesh..."
Also, it is the name of the last litho project I spent all of last school year working slavishly on and really held personal and artistic meaning for me.
Fuck, I still may end up changing it back.
At any rate, this name change has been on my mind, especially as I was growing tired, and out of, this Electric Furr. I found the term 'revista' instead. I was researching names for another blog author, who shares the same cultural background as me (Portuguese-Canadian)and came across 'Saudade' (loosely translated as mournful longing but my portuguese is crap so I could be wrong). I also came across 'Revista', meaning social or political commentary, sometimes in the form of dramatic satire. I think if this was a Portuguese-language blog, that name would come off as a little too simplistic. Perhaps in time, I will find some other appropriate words to augment it more specifically. Until then, I really do like the ring of that word/name as it sounds and means in English.
I myself am probably not nearly so deep as this new name suggests. But it struck a chord with me about the ways in which I'm learning, and the ways in which I am thinking about the world. I may change this again. I may even eventually use my real name, and really claim the things that I say. We shall see...
In the meantime, Electric Furr=Revista. For now.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Update, Anyone?
I'm trying to keep up. I WANT to keep up! I like the idea of this blog as a record of my life, my questions, my reflections, as well as anyone else's, and whatever else is going on in the world outside of me.
(I'm not always about me me me, as re-reading my previous statements seem to suggest).
So yes, Ladyfest came and went, and I've yet to post a review, though I had a great time, and took tonnes of pictures.
And the WARC 'Zinefest passed as well. All summer I meant to post about my volunteer time there, and didn't...then meant to post my reflection of my time there following Zinefest...and didn't...
and now my phone rings...
I'll be back.
(I'm not always about me me me, as re-reading my previous statements seem to suggest).
So yes, Ladyfest came and went, and I've yet to post a review, though I had a great time, and took tonnes of pictures.
And the WARC 'Zinefest passed as well. All summer I meant to post about my volunteer time there, and didn't...then meant to post my reflection of my time there following Zinefest...and didn't...
and now my phone rings...
I'll be back.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Should You Be Male or Female?
Ripped off from Daisy's Dead Air:
Seems kind of a ridiculous question for someone who believes that men and women are social constructs, but I can dig this answer.
 | ||||||||||||||||
Should you be MALE or FEMALE?* created with QuizFarm.com | ||||||||||||||||
| You scored as Either You brain is neither specifically male, nor female in the way you perceive your surroundings. As bad as this may sound to some, it can easily mean that you are capable of combining both gender aspects to your advantage. Rather than being genderless you are possibly able think freely. This does not mean that you are bisexual or androgynous or indecisive, but it might.
|
Seems kind of a ridiculous question for someone who believes that men and women are social constructs, but I can dig this answer.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Egads!
I went to check on the blog, and when I typed in the address, I got redirected to some Bible College thing. Ick!
Ladyfest pictures and review to come shortly. I'm just pretty much ass-deep in academics and broke-ness right now (thank god/dess for lazy landlords!). Though anyone else is welcome to come a-posting *cough cough looking directly at every other author on this blog cough cough*.
And there you have it.
Will re-emerge shortly.
Ladyfest pictures and review to come shortly. I'm just pretty much ass-deep in academics and broke-ness right now (thank god/dess for lazy landlords!). Though anyone else is welcome to come a-posting *cough cough looking directly at every other author on this blog cough cough*.
And there you have it.
Will re-emerge shortly.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Giving Condoms a Bad Name
So I've been reading this Jackson Katz article where he's talking about media representations of masculinity and how they are all infused with machismo and violence and virility. One of his points of reference was the names of the top-selling (at the time of publication anyway) brands of condoms: Ramses and Trojan.
So I got to thinking: those are actually pretty horrible names for condoms. I mean, if the point of condoms is to provide a barrier against sperm, other lovely juices, the things that they can carry, and therefore pregnancy and stds, then I don't think that calling your brand either Trojan or Ramses, whatever beacons of masculinity those names may represent, does your product much justice.
I mean, Ramses, he was an Egyptian pharaoh, right? Didn't he have a ridiculus amount of kids in his time? Like seriously ridiculus? So yeah, this was clearly a virile man, getting a lot of action, but getting A LOT of women knocked up too. Doesn't that seem to refute the part about the condoms where they are supposed to prevent unwanted pregnancies?
And then we have the Trojans. If my slightly drunken memory serves me correct, the Trojans were on the losing end of a classical Greek myth battle. The Greeks managed, in sculptural disguise, to sneak into Troy undetected and ravage the city. That doesn't bold to well with an analogy of protecting and guarding against stds, does it? You know, letting one slip past the goalie because you're so high on yourself that you weren't paying attention? Seems like a pretty bad reference in general to practising safe sex.
So, Trojan and Ramses: reiteration of masculine virility or horrible metaphors for safe sex? I'm going with the latter.
So I got to thinking: those are actually pretty horrible names for condoms. I mean, if the point of condoms is to provide a barrier against sperm, other lovely juices, the things that they can carry, and therefore pregnancy and stds, then I don't think that calling your brand either Trojan or Ramses, whatever beacons of masculinity those names may represent, does your product much justice.
I mean, Ramses, he was an Egyptian pharaoh, right? Didn't he have a ridiculus amount of kids in his time? Like seriously ridiculus? So yeah, this was clearly a virile man, getting a lot of action, but getting A LOT of women knocked up too. Doesn't that seem to refute the part about the condoms where they are supposed to prevent unwanted pregnancies?
And then we have the Trojans. If my slightly drunken memory serves me correct, the Trojans were on the losing end of a classical Greek myth battle. The Greeks managed, in sculptural disguise, to sneak into Troy undetected and ravage the city. That doesn't bold to well with an analogy of protecting and guarding against stds, does it? You know, letting one slip past the goalie because you're so high on yourself that you weren't paying attention? Seems like a pretty bad reference in general to practising safe sex.
So, Trojan and Ramses: reiteration of masculine virility or horrible metaphors for safe sex? I'm going with the latter.
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