« April 2007 | Main | June 2007 »
Thursday Thirteen: Films by Women
In honour of the absolute excitement I have today that I received the documentary "Searching for Angela Shelton" in the mail, this is Thursday Thirteen about women's films. Mostly documentaries. I give you - Thirteen women's films I want to see.
1. Searching for Angela Shelton by Angela Shelton.
2. I Had An Abortion by Gillian Aldrich and Jennifer Baumgartner.
3. I Was a Teenage Feminist by Therese Shechter.
4. God Sleeps in Rwanda by Kimberlee Acquaro and Stacy Sherman, narrated by Rosario Dawson.
5. NO: The Rape Documentary by Aishah Shahidah Simmons
6. Belfast Girls by Malin Anderson
7. Tomboys! Festive Girls and Spirited Women by Julie Akeret and Christian McEwan.
8. Picture Me An Enemy by Natalie Applewhite.
9. Love, Women and Flowers by Marta Rodriguez and Jorge Silva
10. THIN by Lauren Greenfield.
11. Enemies of Happiness by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al-Erhayem
12. Hot and Bothered: Feminist Pornography by Becky Goldberg
13. Transnational TradesWomen by Vivien Price
Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
There are times that I forget entirely just how difficult it is to be a feminist in this world.
How hard the world really does make it for us.
Its easy to forget these things, when surrounded by a group of people and by a community where everyone is activists and feminists. Where it is acceptable to speak about your feminist viewpoints, to rage against sexism and misogyny and patriarchy, to talk about your body, or menstrual and sexual health, or violence against women.
When you live in such a community, its easy to fool yourself sometimes that it is like that for everyone all the time. That it is like that everywhere.
But its not.
The other evening I had the opportunity to chat with an amazing, powerful, strong woman. A grad student like myself, I knew of her feminist values and she knew of mine. My friends and I ran into her out on the town with her own group of friends, and it was suddenly that she was leaving her own group to sit and talk about feminist experiences with us - or lack thereof.
She spoke of how much she believe in menstrual health - but how society makes it impossible to use alternative products without suffering social consequences. Her examples was of her using a diva cup once at work and suddenly being labelled a feminist and the entire office talking about her diva cup. She has not used alternative products since.
The entire night suddenly was filled with her stories - and all of it came down to suffering the social consequences of being a feminist - and how she was not strong enough at this point in her life to do so in so many ways publicly.
It broke my heart. I ached for her and I wanted to help to empower her to be able to embrace feminism.
And really what it comes down to is a disdain, a hatred, a social and cultural punishment against the word and the idea of "feminism" itself.
I.
AM.
A.
FEMINIST.
I say it loud and I say it proud. I wear it on my sleeve, and on my heart. I talk about it, I embrace it, I hear it, I yell it, I feel it. Its in my blood. Its me.
But in society, it is not accepted. And what social movement has been okay in the past? I can't think of a one. Social movements are always punished and berated and society finds new ways to force it down. They get twisted and turned into something ugly that is no longer acceptable in society. The same is true of being a feminist. Every stereotype and nasty joke you've ever heard - apply here.
Its time to reclaim it.
I want it to be okay for my sisters to talk about their feminisms, to act them out. I want them to feel safe to be who they are.
So lets reclaim it.
I am a feminist!
-Artemis.
Given my little rant earlier on, this just makes me happy.
I wish I could see signs like this all day long while walking around the city.
Thanks to Incurable Hippie for the pic.
This one is courtesy of Wacky Mommy. The idea was ten scillintating things about me that my family and/or friends and/or cat doesn't know about me - I'm extending it to thirteen.
This is easier said than done - I'm a pretty open person and there's not much that most people who know me don't know!!!
Here goes:
1. A One Woman Army - while some of my friends have had the privilege of knowing this blog, my family does not know. There is a safety and security in having a space to write and a place of one's own.
2. My cat doesn't know that I'm thinking and wishing of getting her a friend to keep her company - and I doubt she'd be all that pleased with the idea.
3. How much I actually do love being naked - in my own comfort zone and space. Nudity is a hard thing to get comfortable with - and sure, as a feminist, I can say that we should all learn to be comfortable in and with our own bodies and not care about society around us. I love being naked, I love wearing bikini's - in my own comfort space and privacy and without the glare of anybody on me.
4. My family would probably disapprove to know that I would be completely happy I think working a minimum-paying job for the rest of life and living on a tight tight tight tight budget if it meant I got to work with feminist ideals and principles every day of my life.
5. Also that I really don't care that much that I've taken 4 years to do my master's so far and its still progressing (2.5 x longer than its supposed to take).
6. My brother does not know that as a kid I continuously snuck into his room to pilfer coins from his piggy bank.
7. I read PostSecret and like to imagine the various postcards were written by me, to me, are someone I know. I can be way too empathetic at times.
8. I secretly fear that I will never be able to have children simply because I want them so much.
9. I also fear that I will never be able to get a job that I really love - or even one that I don't love.
10. I secretly like scary movies.
11. If I weren't living in a district with an amazing NDP candidate (Lorraine Michael); I might actually have considered voting Conservative in the next provincial election - I think Danny Williams is doing an amazing job standing up for Newfoundland and Labrador!!!
12. I watch home movies of my mother and secretly still don't forgive myself for our fight.
13. Loving having secrets and still won't share certain ones.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)
I am Artemis.
Named for she who is both the huntress and nurturer.
I am a feminist and activist.
I am a One Woman Army.
"i do it for the joy it brings
because i'm a joyful girl
because the world owes me nothing
and we owe each other the world
i do it because it's the least i can do
i do it because i learned it from you
and i do it just because i want to
because i want to"
|
Recent Comments