feministhemes.com

Not much of a contribution of my own today, but check out these cool recent posts from other bloggers (props to Laura at Adventures of a Young Feminist for the formatting inspiration):

An analysis of Purity Balls at Jezebel:

Why is the focus solely on getting girls to protect their “purity” and so little on preventing boys from violating it? After all, I think the term “purity balls” would be much more appropriate for Christian males who pledge to remain virgins. But aside from that, there’s a laundry list of reasons why I think purity balls are not only ridiculous, but harmful to the females who are pressured into participating in them.

Part 2 of Jukebox Heroines’ defense of my girl Gaga:

Now, I know there will be some Gaga haters out there, and still others who think her and feminism are like oil and water. They never mix. Nope, sorry, they do. Those who will chid her feminism based on how she looks or the style of music she writes are guilty of the same sexism they propose to be fighting. Judge not by the outfits one wears, but by the content of their character!

A list of the top 10 best films for women in 2009 from Stiletto Revolt:

2009 has provided a lot of opportunities for female filmmakers and has brought some breakout female performances in unlikely places. A variety of films addressed women’s issues with depth, clarity, and honesty this year. After watching marathons of movies, both poignant and compelling, a compilation of the best was born.

What else have you been reading?

This might be reason #11 to love Lady Gaga: that crazy nutbag Fred Phelps thinks she’s evil!

From scribd via Jezebel.

Carrie is a classic horror-meets-coming-of-age flick, and it incorporates a wide range of themes, from menstruation to bullying to domestic violence to religiosity.  Stephen King has fallen from favor over the years, but a number of his works have stood the test of time.  Carrie is one of those gems.

Of the films I’ve watched for our Halloween Movie Marathon, Carrie has been the most frightening, and also the most deeply tragic.

Carrie is the story of a high school senior (Carrie White) who is outcast by her peers largely as a result of her strict religious upbringing.  Her mother makes the rounds to visit the parents of her classmates in an attempt to convert them, and when Carrie has her first period (a traumatic locker room experience) her mother punishes her for the sin she has committed.  Taken under the wing of her gym teacher, Miss Collins and asked to prom as an act of charity, things momentarily look up for the young woman until a terrible prank at the prom (dumping pigs blood on her after she “won” prom queen – surely another jab at the locker room incident) unleashes Carrie’s telekinetic rage on the community.

Even in this brief synopsis we can glimpse the following themes: the dangers of female sexuality and sexual development, domestic violence, questions about charity and outreach, and religiosity.  I take a closer look at each of these after the jump.

Ani DiFranco has been my hero since the seventh grade, and some of the best relationships in my life have evolved from a mutual love of the little folksinger.  I could list 100 reasons to love her, but music aside, these snippets of her politics should give you some insight into the worldview of one of the most outspoken (and idolized) feminists of the modern era.

1. On feminism today:

“When I do many interviews and I’m faced with the is feminism really relevant anymore question … I’m sort of trying to put [it] out there more than ever now [that] our idea of feminism has stagnated and almost been abandoned by many, many people at a time when we should have evolved it. It should be embraced by men and women. I mean why don’t we call ourselves feminists? Young women don’t even [call themselves feminists] anymore, let alone women and men; and instead of feminism as equal pay for equal work – okay, we got that – but try to understand it as a consciousness shift. We have to use feminism all together as a tool to dismantle patriarchies so that all of us together can rise.”

2. On patriarchy in world politics:

“It’s the elephant in the room.  As I get older, I really understand peace to be a product of balance. And there’s a fundamental imbalance inherent in patriarchy. Unless you have a dynamic interplay between the sensibilities of the two sexes, you can never create peace. It’s impossible.”

3. On the power of the people:

“I’m still very optimistic for the potential of grass roots change. I still see and feel it out there. It’s what allows me to get up in the morning, the immense possibility that exists all around us right now… We don’t need to change the world. The world is changing around us. We just need to direct that change. And our power to direct it is immense once we use it.”

Click here for 7 more reasons to love Ani

“[Feminism is] a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”

- Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson is a Southern Baptist televangelist and host of the 700 Club, as well as a controversial public voice for the Religious Right.

On the afternoon of her fourteenth birthday Lily Owens’ life changed.  She went from selling peaches for her cold and violent father to running from the law in a matter of hours.  And this was just the beginning of her journey.

Set in South Carolina in 1964, immediately after the passing of the Civil Rights Act, The Secret Life of Bees takes us on Lily’s journey to find safety from her father and the truth about her mother, who died when she was only four in a gunshot accident.  Lily and her black caretaker Rosaleen are on the run from the police and a mob of angry white men following a run in with the men as Rosaleen prepared to register to vote.  Lily knows she can’t go back to face her angry father, and fears for Rosaleen’s life.  Her only clue about a potential safe haven is “Tiburon, SC,” written on the back of a mysterious picture of a Black Madonna plastered to a block of wood that once belonged to Lily’s mother.

Lily and Rosaleen hitch a ride to Tiburon where they discover the Black Madonna is the emblem used by a trio of beekeeping sisters, who quickly take them in.  Lily finds her oasis in the sisters’ pink house where she learns about beekeeping, sisterhood, faith, and family.  She also learns what it means to be the only person around of a certain color, and what life was like for progressive families in the south at the onset of integration.

Female spirituality and the sacredness of motherhood are two more important themes in the story.  Lily is initiated into the Daughters of Mary, an eclectic congregation of strong black women and men with a faith rooted in the story of Our Lady of Chains, an emblem of strength and persistence passed on from the times of slavery.  The maternal power of women is also symbolized through the social patterns of the bees the sisters keep.  As the story progresses, these new realizations of feminine strength prepare Lily to learn the truth about her mother, and allow her to finally begin to heal.

The Secret Life of Bees is a page-turning, heart-wrenching read.  Filled with secrets forbidden love and family losses, it is easy to put yourself in Lily’s shoes, wishing for things to be one way, but learning how to accept the way they are.

Visit these links to learn more about The Secret Life of Bees or author Sue Monk Kidd.