LIKE WHAT YOU SEE? FOLLOW ME! This is an eclectic feminist blog. I try to relate the articles back in some way to feminist and/or women's issues. I am particularly interested in ecofeminism, including animal activism, the environment, and current events. Contact Cherie: cherwyro@wowway.com
In the spirit of Fran Winant's poem, "Eat rice and have faith in women," here's a fun, free way fight global hunger.
Freerice.com is a nonprofit website run by the United Nations World Food Programme in partnership with the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.
It's goals are to provide free education to everyone and to end world hunger by providing free rice to hungry people.
It's simple. You can hone your skills in the areas of art, English, chemistry, geography or math. For every correct answer, 10 grains of rice is donated through the UN World Food Programme.
You'd be surprised how quickly the grains add up and you can do it while you eat lunch or listen to music.
I've created a team for my followers and readers. I invite you to join me in an effort to "Eat rice and trust in women." Here's how:
Click on "groups," then select "find groups" from the pull-down menu.
In the search window, type "Eat rice and have faith in women."
Click "join."
Play.
Those grains add up fast. I earned 700 over lunch.
Dr. Ruth Seymour has encouraged her grammar for journalists class to earn extra credit quiz points by practicing grammar and earning rice. One thousand grains equals one point up to 20,000 maximum.
I just finished studying "The Sexual Politics of Meat" -- 20th anniversary edition -- by Carol J. Adams for my gender and international studies class at Oakland University.
My professor, Dr. Laura Landolt, played this song for the class. The group is"Consolidated." The CD is "friendly fa$cism." The song is -- what else -- "The Sexual Politics of Meat."
What's interesting about this track is that it includes Carol Adams' actual voice making connections between the domination of women and the consumption of meat. It effectively packages the message into a three-minute nutshell.
I found excerpts from this poem in Carol Adams' book, "The Sexual Politics of Meat."
In the book, Adams discusses how meat consumption perpetuates the exploitation and violent treatment of animals and -- by extension -- perpetuates a similar violent exploitation of women.
If you think this is a stretch, think about this:
Have you been referred to -- or heard of other women referred to -- as a "piece of meat" or a "piece of ass?"
Well, then you can start to make the connections between these oppressions.As a postmodern feminist, Adams examines language. She specifically addresses the concept of the "absent referent" whereby -- through language -- women and animals are stripped of their living essence and become simply a benign piece of flesh.
By taking the living being out of the meat -- so we don't have to think about the fact that it was once a living, breathing earthling -- it makes meat consumption -- along with the exploitation and violence associated with it -- an acceptable, normal, natural activity.
The same applies to women. Through language they are cheapened and commoditized just like the animals and -- by extension -- violence against women becomes legitimized.
In the context of Adams' book, the poem "Eat rice and trust in women" speaks to adopting a kinder lifestyle that does not perpetuate violence, oppression and exploitation. Part of the way to make this happen is to eliminate -- as much as possible -- the meat consumption that fuels the cycle by eating rice.
This poem also advocates sisterhood and the way women should treat one another.It is so easy to become like the woman in the poem who is "too busy" for others and adopts a selfish attitude as a defense mechanism.
But, if we are not there for one another, if we do not teach and support one another, building up instead of tearing down -- how will we truly affect change? How will we ever begin to shake the foundation of the patriarchal systems that bind us and uphold the status quo?Nothing will change until women begin to nurture one another instead of harboring spite and petty jealousies.
It is only then that we will be able to "have faith in women."
"Poet, painter and activist Fran Winant was one of the early participants in the Stonewall-inspired gay rights movements of the 1970's. Through her poetry and visual art, she helped define the role and sensibility of lesbians in the contexts of gay liberation and radical feminism, especially during the 1970s and early 1980s.
"Winant had a natural affinity for the convictions driving the gay and feminist consciousness-raising efforts of the 1970s. She had been writing poetry since childhood, but had been unable to share her deepest desires. To express her feelings about women, and keep her classmates from discovering them, she invented a secret language, which she describes as 'a metaphor for an inner language of the socially inexpressible.' The new political fervor of the 1970s afforded a long-awaited opportunity for Winant to speak out.
"A member of the Feminist Lesbian Art collective (FLAC,) Winant began exhibiting her paintings in 1974 ... "The secret language she invented in childhood, a blend of math and Greek-like symbols, is often worked into the backgrounds of her paintings. Her passion for animals is inextricably linked to her feelings about how gay men and lesbians are denied full humanity in society that allows the 'murder' of less visible, and therefore unprivileged species."
It has to be the most enduring female stereotype -- the witch with her long nose, warts, broken teeth, a tall black hat, and a broomstick.
But who says witches -- who were originally wise women healers persecuted by the patriarchy -- ever looked like this?
That was the question raised way back in 1964 on the classic TV show "Bewitched" starring Elizabeth Montgomery (left).
In the episode "The Witches Are Out," Samantha's ad man husband, Darrin, encounters a client -- Mr.Brinkman--who wants a "highly-identifiable trademark" -- in the form of the traditional witch stereotype -- to promote his line of Halloween candy.
After some urging from Samantha, Darrin proposes a different approach to his client, which challenges the stereotype.
It takes some convincing, but in the end Mr. Brinkman buys the new campaign and it's a huge success.
Is the new image a little sexist -- maybe.
And yet, I think the theme of discrimination based on gender stereotyping clearly shines through.
Click on the link above to watch the episode -- courtesy of hulu -- and see what you think.
My husband Chris drew my attention to what he called, "the best thing I've ever seen."
He was talking about a "Nature" program titled "A Murder of Crows" he watched recently on our PBS affiliate WTVS 56 in Detroit.
We watched it online together -- and I have to agree.
When we moved to Troy 10 years ago, the black crows were a common sight in our backyard.
(The West Nile Virus killed many of the crows in our area, but they are making a slow comeback.)
As we came to know them, we learned that they are familial birds and are highly intelligent.
Humans construct intelligence on their own terms with the belief it affirms their superiority over other species.
I believe intelligence is fluid across species and just because a life form is different does not give us the right to presume dominance over it. Instead, we must respect it because if we don't, this type of thinking can perpetuate other forms of oppression.
Crows have more in common with humans than you might think and the earth is as much theirs as it is ours.
Watch "A Murder of Crows." It will convince you and blow your mind!
Here's something to ponder over your Halloween weekend:
We forget that Halloween wasn't always "trick or treat." Originally it was called Samhain (pronounced saw-when) and was a time to remember our ancestors.
Correspondingly, we forget that the word "witch" -- and connotation surrounding it -- has also been distorted and lost with time.
Unfortunately, the denotations -- dictionary definitions -- that remain are ones similar to this one from Merriam-Webster:
1: one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially : a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar : sorceress — compare warlock 2: an ugly old woman : hag 3: a charming or alluring girl or woman 4: a practitioner of Wicca
And yet...
We forget that the women branded as "witches" were also once considered healers. In fact, many of the drugs we use today were used by these wise women long before the age of patriarchal medicine and capitalist drug companies.
This particular definition is interesting on two counts. First, Merriam-Webster includes "charming ... girl or woman." It is true that not all wise women -- later branded witches -- were old.
Second, the fact that it equates the word "hag" with an ugly old woman. Back in the days when older women were revered and respected, a hag was considered to be a wise woman.
Somewhere along the way, something changed. That would be around the time of the Renaissance when Europe went into a "witch craze."
What the history books don't tell us -- and history classes don't teach -- is that an estimated nine million women were killed over a 300-year period that included the "Christianization" of Europe.
Effectively, this was the "Women's Holocaust."
Do not confuse these events with the Salem witch trials -- these were different events within their own context.
I had never heard this story before until I took introduction to women and gender studies with Professor Kathy Patterson-Hawes at Oakland University. She showed an amazing film called "The Burning Times."
I'd like to share it with you now. I could not find the entire production available to embed here. What I did find was the film broken into 10-minute segments on YouTube thanks to the efforts of DMSelina. Watch a little, or watch a lot, but once you start, I think you'll want to finish this important -- and for the most part -- untold story.
So this weekend, take a few minutes to remember your ancestors, including all these wise women of the past who died because of the constructed definition of "witch."
While searching for music to accompany a recently-aired editorial on WXOU, a long-forgotten melody came to mind and would not leave.
The song is "Don't give up," a duet by Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush from my favorite '80s album "So" released by Gabriel in 1986.
I found the video on "YouTube" and for six minutes I was back in the 1980s. I was a different person living a different life with different thoughts -- far from the person I am today.
I wonder what I would say to my younger self and what she would say to me?
It was a different time. There were no cell phones, no Blackberries, and no Internet. Even fax machines were still rare. People still used typewriters and wrote letters.
Technology aside, life was not easy. There was unemployment, financial unrest, depression, and the pressures of everyday life. Some things never change.
"Don't give up" is not a catchy, inspirational tune. It's a soft, haunting melody with poignant lyrics that are as fresh today as when they sailed the airwaves in 1986. The raspy voice of Gabriel balanced with the angelic voice of Bush gave me hope and kept me going through some of the more challenging days of my young adulthood.
On a different note, the same album gave the world "Sledgehammer," a funky tune accompanied by an award-winning video that defined the MTV generation. Another track, "In your eyes," was used in the 1989 movie "Say Anything" starring John Cusack. In the film, Cusack's character serenades a young woman by blasting the song on a giant boom box he holds over his head.
Fast forward to the present day. In the 2010 release "Hot Tub Time Machine," Cusack and friends take a trip back to the '80s only to find out that things weren't exactly as they remembered. So, while it's fun to reminisce, I don't like to spend too much time celebrating the so-called "glories of the past." I'd much rather be alive in the here and now looking forward to the future -- even with all my current challenges.
However, if you'd like to take a trip back in time for just a few minutes -- here are the videos for "Don't give up" and "Sledgehammer." Tubular!
BONUS: Cherie's favorite '80s-themed films: "The Wedding Singer" with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion" with Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino
