A speech by the creator of The Vagina Monologues.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Sunday, December 6, 2009
To Be of Use, by Marge Piercy
The time has come, the walrus said.
This semester was truly inspiring. I can not say enough about what the collective has done for the New Paltz community and the individuals who make up that community as a whole. These past couple of months presented a lot of challenges for the women involved in the collective I know, including overwhelming feelings, family problems and health issues- personal issues that sometimes seem like the feelings of hardship will never cease. But I can speak from personal experience to say that it is in those moments of activism- in facilitating positive change and seeing the benefits reaped in not just your own personal development but in those around you- helps beyond words can express.
With that said, I would like to post a poem by Marge Piercy that was given to the students in my Practicum for Women's Studies class by Professor Nancy Schniedewind (a lovely and inspirational powerful woman.) Marge Piercy wrote Women on the Edge of Time... which is a novel about a woman who is presented an option for a world view based on independence and collective empowerment, a more anarchist based state of being, read it if you can. It really sums up my thoughts on activism and how everyone's personal experiences, if shown to the greater community, can be immensely positive for the group as a whole.
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bounding like half-submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck and move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
Have a great end of the semester, and thank you for being beautiful.
Ellie
This semester was truly inspiring. I can not say enough about what the collective has done for the New Paltz community and the individuals who make up that community as a whole. These past couple of months presented a lot of challenges for the women involved in the collective I know, including overwhelming feelings, family problems and health issues- personal issues that sometimes seem like the feelings of hardship will never cease. But I can speak from personal experience to say that it is in those moments of activism- in facilitating positive change and seeing the benefits reaped in not just your own personal development but in those around you- helps beyond words can express.
With that said, I would like to post a poem by Marge Piercy that was given to the students in my Practicum for Women's Studies class by Professor Nancy Schniedewind (a lovely and inspirational powerful woman.) Marge Piercy wrote Women on the Edge of Time... which is a novel about a woman who is presented an option for a world view based on independence and collective empowerment, a more anarchist based state of being, read it if you can. It really sums up my thoughts on activism and how everyone's personal experiences, if shown to the greater community, can be immensely positive for the group as a whole.
The people I love the best
jump into work head first
without dallying in the shallows
and swim off with sure strokes almost out of sight.
They seem to become natives of that element,
the black sleek heads of seals
bounding like half-submerged balls.
I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart,
who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience,
who strain in the mud and the muck and move things forward,
who do what has to be done, again and again.
I want to be with people who submerge
in the task, who go into the fields to harvest
and work in a row and pass the bags along,
who are not parlor generals and field deserters
but move in a common rhythm
when the food must come in or the fire be put out.
The work of the world is common as mud.
Botched, it smears the hands, crumbles to dust.
But the thing worth doing well done
has a shape that satisfies, clean and evident.
Greek amphoras for wine or oil,
Hopi vases that held corn, are put in museums
but you know they were made to be used.
The pitcher cries for water to carry
and a person for work that is real.
Have a great end of the semester, and thank you for being beautiful.
Ellie
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Hanger Project
Amplify has created what they have called The Hanger Project, made to spread awareness about the restrictions anti-choice legislators are trying to put on abortion through the health care reform bill.Join The Hanger Project, and learn about how you can help fight against politicians in Washington attempting to take away our legal right to have an abortion. Download and print the Hanger Project's awesome flyers and hang them on wire hangers around your town or on your campus. I think we could get many more people to join our fight, but first we need to educate them on what is happening. Awareness is key.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
November 5th thoughts
November 5, 2009
The Feminist Collective is by far the most beautiful space I have ever been a part of.
We are activist feminists.
We are human beings.
We are women who love (and I know there's some men out there too).
Tonight, at our meeting, some of us shared our feelings that primarily had to do with how to really run a collective in the best way possible. I think this happens in every collective after some time has passed and there have been many collectives throughout herstory before us. The discussion started due to having a lack of time at one of our events with the feeling of being rushed, which lead to some more thought and discussion about how the collective has been functioning in the past weeks.
Ultimately, this is our collective, our space to have a voice, and to do something about our thoughts, feelings, and OUR WORLD, NOT SOMEBODY ELSE'S...not the world of a suffocating patriarchy, or corporate America, or a nation at war, a silencing academic administration, a sexist and homophobic/heterosexist media, government, etc...not a world of racist or classist, or ageist policies and stagnant thinking....we're here to be heard, to listen to one another, to do something about it, and tonight we were working on it.
We've been getting a lot done: The Red Tent Event (to share our stories about menstruation and share knowledge about alternative menstruation products, alternative healing methods, and exposing some of the information about how toxic products like tampons are for a woman's body primarily because of pesticides and bleach), and we have been doing the consciousness raising groups and Speak-Out for abortion, we cosponsored an event with the African Women's Alliance about domestic violence....
With planning our events in the past weeks, we looked straight towards the political (which is awesome) but the personal became a little less visible. Tonight some of us came back together and shared what we've been feeling about how things have been running from the inside-out. I think this breakdown and then building back up of our mission and intentions is a good thing. I think it's important to document this to show that it happens. How many collectives have honestly documented the inner workings of their space?
And at the end of the reconfiguring, revibing, and rejuvenating...I find that:
Our very existence is a liberating action and beyond that, I believe that we'll create some even more serious change. How can we not?
We're living through so much. We see sex, and art, and beautiful bodies. We see rape, and battered faces, and a constant critique imposed on us for how to be the right kind of a woman. We see love, brilliance, and safety. We see hatred. We know that we're hardly ever safe. We see tired smiles. We see reality. We hear that we're not good enough. We're told to manipulate and mutilate our bodies, to lose control in so many ways. The list goes on and we see both sides. We've tasted safety, self love,...we see, we hear, we think, we know, we keep listening, we keep learning, we continue to know more, and we recognise more. We can't stop thinking, learning, loving....We are present and we're ready....”rebel girls trying to change the world”
^That quote is from a poem I like called Soldier. I stumbled upon it from this website a while back: http://allecto.wordpress.com/category/poetry-is-not-a-luxury/
The Feminist Collective is by far the most beautiful space I have ever been a part of.
We are activist feminists.
We are human beings.
We are women who love (and I know there's some men out there too).
Tonight, at our meeting, some of us shared our feelings that primarily had to do with how to really run a collective in the best way possible. I think this happens in every collective after some time has passed and there have been many collectives throughout herstory before us. The discussion started due to having a lack of time at one of our events with the feeling of being rushed, which lead to some more thought and discussion about how the collective has been functioning in the past weeks.
Ultimately, this is our collective, our space to have a voice, and to do something about our thoughts, feelings, and OUR WORLD, NOT SOMEBODY ELSE'S...not the world of a suffocating patriarchy, or corporate America, or a nation at war, a silencing academic administration, a sexist and homophobic/heterosexist media, government, etc...not a world of racist or classist, or ageist policies and stagnant thinking....we're here to be heard, to listen to one another, to do something about it, and tonight we were working on it.
We've been getting a lot done: The Red Tent Event (to share our stories about menstruation and share knowledge about alternative menstruation products, alternative healing methods, and exposing some of the information about how toxic products like tampons are for a woman's body primarily because of pesticides and bleach), and we have been doing the consciousness raising groups and Speak-Out for abortion, we cosponsored an event with the African Women's Alliance about domestic violence....
With planning our events in the past weeks, we looked straight towards the political (which is awesome) but the personal became a little less visible. Tonight some of us came back together and shared what we've been feeling about how things have been running from the inside-out. I think this breakdown and then building back up of our mission and intentions is a good thing. I think it's important to document this to show that it happens. How many collectives have honestly documented the inner workings of their space?
And at the end of the reconfiguring, revibing, and rejuvenating...I find that:
Our very existence is a liberating action and beyond that, I believe that we'll create some even more serious change. How can we not?
We're living through so much. We see sex, and art, and beautiful bodies. We see rape, and battered faces, and a constant critique imposed on us for how to be the right kind of a woman. We see love, brilliance, and safety. We see hatred. We know that we're hardly ever safe. We see tired smiles. We see reality. We hear that we're not good enough. We're told to manipulate and mutilate our bodies, to lose control in so many ways. The list goes on and we see both sides. We've tasted safety, self love,...we see, we hear, we think, we know, we keep listening, we keep learning, we continue to know more, and we recognise more. We can't stop thinking, learning, loving....We are present and we're ready....”rebel girls trying to change the world”
^That quote is from a poem I like called Soldier. I stumbled upon it from this website a while back: http://allecto.wordpress.com/category/poetry-is-not-a-luxury/
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Red Tent & Radical Menstruation
Hi Everyone!
Don't Forget our Red Tent Event is on Wednesday October 28th! 6pm in the SUB MPR.
Check out Fear of a Crimson Planet: Information on Radical Menstruation.
Don't Forget our Red Tent Event is on Wednesday October 28th! 6pm in the SUB MPR.
Check out Fear of a Crimson Planet: Information on Radical Menstruation.
Zines!
Love zines? Me too! Here is a place where you can print free zines including Cindy Crabb's wonderful Learning Good Consent zine! Check it out!
http://zinelibrary.info/
Enjoy!
http://zinelibrary.info/
Enjoy!
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