Sing it, sister!
Helen Razer does not always delight me but she rants good here about that pathetic little piece from Louis Nowra in The Monthly.
Last Friday, Australian magazine The Monthly published an essay on The Female Eunuch to “commemorate” the book’s fortieth anniversary. Here was an opportunity to contextualise what is arguably the most popular work ever written by an Australian public intellectual.
Instead, they decided to talk about how fucking ugly Greer is. Which she fucking isn’t. I hope I’m that hot at her age. But THIS is not, at all, the point.
And, more links.
Germaine Greer on why feminism hasn’t failed.
If anyone reading this believes that I am disappointed in today’s women, let me hasten to disabuse him. I have been talking to predominantly female audiences from one end of Britain to the other every week or so for the past 20 years, and they never, ever disappoint me. They are articulate, affectionate, independent, feisty, funny and brave. They are the best evidence that something fundamental has changed, but don’t imagine for one moment that I believe that I’m the one who changed it.
Bitch PhD on the best child development milestones for mothers. No, not toilet training but …
For instance. Potty training is nice and all? But what really matters is the day the kid starts to wipe its own ass. No longer having to get up in the middle of every damn meal to the cry of “Mama! Come wipe my butt!” is the moment when you’ve really transitioned out of babyhood.
the rachel papers on the modern marriage of convenience.
Basham is arguing that, since most mothers are choosing not to work full time, they may as well shift their focus on to supporting their husband’s career, as this makes economic sense all round.
Hers is the kind of conservatism that can dress itself up as pure “reasonable-ness”.
Rachel Cusk on the reduction of women writing to women’s writing.
It may be that today’s woman writer doesn’t have much to do with the concept of “women’s writing”. Feminism as a cultural and political crisis is seen to have passed. Marriage, motherhood and domesticity are regarded as so many choices, about which there is a limited entitlement to complain. If a woman feels suffocated and grounded and bewildered by her womanhood, she feels these things alone, as an individual: there is currently no public unity among women, because since the peak of feminism the task of woman has been to assimilate herself with man. She is, therefore, occluded, scattered, disguised. Were a woman writer to address her sex, she would not know who or what she was addressing. Superficially this situation resembles equality, except that it occurs within the domination of “masculine values”. What today’s woman has gained in personal freedom she has lost in political caste. Hers is still the second sex, but she has earned the right to dissociate herself from it.
And finally the rachel papers on a writing intensive for mothers being run by the author Rachel Power in Melbourne on 20-21 March. Maybe I should have called this post Here are links to the rachel papers.
I went to see Germaine Greer do ‘an audience with’ recently at a university theatre near where I live.
I was so impressed with her intellect, her warmth, and her sense of humour.
What she happens to look like is completely by the by, but actually, just for the record I thought her rather beautiful. She has a real sense of ease and confidence around her.
The atmosphere amongst the women and men in that theatre was amazing. We all came out buzzing with how interesting and right she had been.
So happy fucking Womens Day to you too Blue Milk. And thank you for rather fabulous blog.
Happy International Women’s Day to you.
I think that Germaine has her right to free speech as much as the next person, but one thing I can’t accept is any opinion that takes the responsibility of the individual of themselves.
Is “GG” feminism better because we should burn bras in the very lynch mob syndrome that perpetuates mass thinking.
Or should we take complete responsibility for our actions, stop looking to “big name” authority figures and just live.
Women = Man
Not Man > Women
Or Women > Man
I’m just happy to be a mother and don’t want to have to feel guilty, because it’s all I aspire to be
:)
Ah yeah. What on earth are you saying?