Where Did 2008 Go?
I have been blogging on Menstrual Poetry for this past entire year and looking back, I really have no clue where this past year has gone! Every New Years Eve I find myself reflecting on the year that has passed and where I stand as far as my personal goals go and think about the year ahead of me.
It has been a true pleasure blogging here and meeting the people I have met through and because of this website over time. Every single person I have had the luxury of meeting either on or because of this website has taught me something about the world, life and/or about myself and I am a better person because of it, always.
Love yourself this new year; have respect for yourself, your actions, the people you choose to surround yourself with and for your body. Love who you are, inside and out because after all the shit fades, you’re all you have. I started Menstrual Poetry because I know who I am. Because I got sick of being told that my beliefs didn’t matter or that I didn’t know what I was talking about. I will continue to blog on Menstrual Poetry for (hopefully) many years to come for those same reasons.
I hope everyone has a very happy new year celebration and an even happier 2009!
Token Negress Alert
Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Renee and my blog is Womanist Musings. I am thrilled to have this opportunity to blog here and share some of the ideas that I have with a new audience. I am not known to mince words, so if you find my style abrupt oh well, I will not be policed. WOC have had our voices silenced for far too long for me too worry about anyone’s delicate sensibilities.
I would like to discuss something that I have come to refer to as the token Negro, or in the case of feminism the token Negress. All social movements have one thing in common; they must present a diverse progressive image publicly even if the hierarchy of the organization does not actually reflect a fair distribution of power. Ironically it is the least oppressed group – whiteness, that has become the face of oppression. Whether it is gay rights, fat acceptance, disability rights or feminism, you can guarantee the closer you get to a leadership position the whiter the faces become.
Maintenance of the power structure requires a token Negress, unless you can call on a black person, or a POC to play the role of the “diversity being” the obviousness of the exclusion is difficult to hide. What we see over and over again is the same pet blacks who have learned to speak the language of submission repeatedly being created as experts and given the authority to speak on behalf of POC by white people. Think that about for a moment…permission to speak on behalf of POC by white people.
This puts WOC in an untenable position. On one hand working towards social justice does provide its own reward; however continually being devalued is a constant reminder of exactly how racist society is. We have become accustomed to having our ideas shot down only to have them rephrased by a white person and immediately praised. We must walk a delicate balance between maintaining the little power we have and hiding from view the truth of our emotions and thoughts. Even speaking bluntly is often enough to illicit the charge that we are angry. Whiteness only wants us to be present for long enough to make the coffee and smile pretty for the camera. Say cheese everyone.
Even as we are being used to promote an atmosphere of diversity, we are well aware, but the only other option available to WOC is to fade into oblivion. We work diligently muting our rage in the hopes that one day the world will recognize that we are women, and that we are human too. Feminism has much invested in maintaining the status quo. Though some white women step forward for their daily bit of self flagellation, and depreciating commentary, in truth few are willing to listen with an open heart. We hear the “I am a white woman but” commentary daily. There is always a proviso, some need to insert the word but, as though there is any form of legitimization for the current imbalance in power. Somehow they can understand what it means to be silenced by relating it to their experiences of privilege. Somehow they can imagine what it is like being asked to speak on behalf of your people and then told that what you have to say is not good enough.
We are expected to be happy playing the role of token Negress because on some level we are supposedly being heard. The ethnic representative role is just as binding as being created as invisible because on one hand something needs to be said to represent black woman,but what we are allowed to express in these spaces does not close to the reality of our experiences. It allows no room for truthfulness and no room to challenge the status quo. The token negress ends up performing her race and gender in the hopes that at some point truth will be allowed to reign supreme. This is a role that at some point most black women will be asked to play. It preserves whiteness as good and powerful while relegating us to a mouth piece for hire.
Sarah Palin is a Grandmother
Bristol Palin, the daughter of former (thank. goodness.) Republican vice-presidential candidate, Sarah Palin gave birth to a healthy, 7lb. 7oz. baby boy on Saturday at 5:30am. The baby’s name is Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston.
Sarah Palin first released news of Bristol’s pregnancy after she was “tapped on the shoulder” to run for office with former Republican presidential nominee John McCain at a convenient time while rebutting rumors about a cover up of her own pregnancy.
On Monday, Bill McAllister, a spokesman for Gov. Palin said, “This office will not be issuing any statements on [Bristol's baby]. We’re here to talk about state government and that matter falls outside of that.”
And because politicians and their families are treated by people as well as the media as celebrities, baby pictures of Tripp are said to be going for upwards of $300,000.
The bidding for baby pictures started at $100,000 and the price tag didn’t seem to be going up due to Sarah Palin recently gracing the covers of People, US Weekly and OK!, all of which saw a drop in sales. I would guess it has something to do with America being over Sarah Palin, not interested to learn more about a defeated political candidate. The bidding for the pictures started before the baby was born, but what really jumped the price was when Levi Johnston’s mother was arrested on drug charges.
Bristol and Levi plan to marry in 2009 and raise their child together like all teenage victims of strict, anti-choice parents.
What struck me as a little odd, to say the least, is the name of Bristol and Levi’s son. Sarah Palin’s son’s names are Track and Trig, why would Bristol be extending the line of off the wall names by going with Tripp? Perhaps because Trig and Tripp are so close in age? I have no idea. Thoughts?
If Mormon Leaders aren’t “Anti-Gay” Why Won’t They Support Other LGBT Bills?
Whenever a church of any kind is getting shit for something a representative of that church said or did, their first inclination is to immediately (and repeatedly) try to sway the attention from the bad that happened to the good that they assure you they are doing or have done and if that doesn’t work, they blatantly lie. The LDS church is no different, especially when it comes to the Prop 8 battle.
During the period of time leading up to the voting of Prop 8, the LDS church not only condoned, but facilitated blatant gay bashing and what has been called the biggest hate message on Earth when the words ‘Yes on 8′ were written in the sky above West Hollywood. After taking a prominent role in ending marriage equality in California, the LDS church now claims that they are in no way “anti-gay.” They claim that they are not opposed to civil unions, domestic partnerships or other LGBT rights; just marriage equality.
The Human Rights Campaign has sent an open letter to President Thomas Monson of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asking him to sign on to Equality Utah’s “Common Ground Initiative.” Obviously the LDS church feels that all they have to do is say that they aren’t anti-gay and it will be true, but we know that isn’t the case. If the LDS church really weren’t against the LGBT community because they’re simply LGBT they would have no problem publicly signing onto the five bills that make up Equality Utah’s “Common Ground Initiative.” But since that letter has been sent, President Thomas Monson has not responded. Who isn’t surprised?
Given the story the LDS church is preaching now, there is absolutely no reason why President Monson would not agree to sign on to the five bills, which include:
- Providing domestic partnership rights and responsibilities for same-sex couples.
- Adding sexual orientations and gender identity to Utah’s anti-discrimination laws for employment, housing and health care.
- Giving domestic partners of public employees insurance and retirement benefits.
- Giving domestic partners access to the courts if their loved one is killed because of negligence or malpractice.
- Repealing the second clause of Utah’s Anti-Marriage Amendment which is used to prevent gay and lesbian couples from receiving any kind of relationship recognition in the state.
Every single human being deserves everything that these bills are outlining regardless of sexual orientation and gender, yet sadly not every human being is receiving their basic human rights. The LDS church has been given the chance to reclaim the name that they hold so dear, the name that they are trying to keep afloat, the name that they are further tainting by their own accord because they are blatantly refusing human rights to a certain group of people.
Ask the LDS church to start practicing what they preach by supporting pro-equality legislation.
Happy Holidays from Menstrual Poetry!
Posting will be a little slow for the next few days due to the holiday. I will be enjoying time with my family and I hope that everyone out there has someone to enjoy the holiday with; if you celebrate it, that is.
I will be easing back into posting regularly, I know things have been a little slow around here lately and will hopefully be able to start posting as much as I usually do very soon.
Good wishes and a happy holiday to all of you and your families.
The Nightmares Before Christmas from Santa Bush
As some of you may know, George Bush is hellbent on pushing through as many harmful, midnight regulations as he can before his term is up. While we do have a new president waiting to be inaugurated, it is easy to forget, due to our overwhelming relief, that Bush is still in the white house and he is doing what he can to ensure that president-elect Obama has as difficult a time as possible trying to clean up what has been done over the past 8 years.
To further show us just how much he cares about the people of this country, Bush has made (yet another) anti-democratic move, going right over Congress’ head to pass legislation that will allow factories to pollute more, further restrict women’s access to birth control and abortion services, cut off aid to low-income families during an economic crisis, allow loaded firearms to be carried in national parks, and he isn’t done yet.
Visit SantaBush.com for more information on how even during a recession, President Bush still thinks we all deserve a lump of coal and watch the video below:
Planned Parenthood Received over $1 Million in Honor of Sarah Palin
Gretchen Peters wrote the beloved, hit song, ‘Independence Day.’ What we saw a great deal of during the 2008 presidential election, was the RNC using inappropriate hit songs on the campaign trail; most notably we heard Heart’s ‘Barracuda’ during an event to introduce Sarah Palin, but the one misstep that did the most damage to the RNC and helped Planned Parenthood immensely was when ‘Independence Day’ was used by the RNC at an event promoting the McCain/Palin ticket. They most definitely should have thought twice about using a song that was written by a pro-woman woman when introducing one of the worst examples of a “feminist” to hit a political ticket; but what Gretchen said herself can sum up the entire Republican train wreck we saw during this past presidential campaign–The verse is the story, the verse is the message and when have we really seen the Republican party to do their homework?
When Gretchen heard that Independence Day was used on the campaign trail by the RNC, she decided to do something remarkable that would help literally millions of people–She donated all of the proceeds she received from ‘Independence Day’, from the time Gov. Palin took the stage the day Peters’ song was used until Election Day, to Planned Parenthood.
Because of Gretchen Peters’ bold statement and unfailing generosity to help the women, men and teens who walk into Planned Parenthood in need of health care, Planned Parenthood invited her to join their Board of Advocates which consist of prominent individuals united by their commitment to reproductive freedom and sexual health. She was also invited to perform ‘Independence Day’ at a Planned Parenthood event hosted by actors Julianne Moore and Olympia Dukakis in New York City on November 6, 2008. Yes, I know I am ridiculously late with this, but I haven’t seen this video posted on any of my regular-read blogs and am so inspired by this story and decided to post it, so watch the Planned Parenthood event and Gretchen’s performance:
The statement that Gretchen Peters made was truly amazing since over $1 million was donated to Planned Parenthood in honor of Sarah Palin.
Menstrual Poetry is Kreativ & Loved (By Some, Anyway)
Menstrual Poetry has been very fortunate this past week in receiving two blog awards from two different Menstrual Poetry readers.
The Kreativ Blog award was given to Menstrual Poetry by Over Forty and Loving It and the I Love Your Blog Award was given by the amazing young adult author who I can say for sure is a gifted, dedicate and ultimately good woman, C. Leigh Purtill.
I am very honored to have received these awards and am immensely grateful that people see how much I put into Menstrual Poetry whenever I can and enjoy reading what’s on my mind.
I’m not following the rules when it comes to blog awards because I can’t pick a handful of my favorite blogs to give an award to and always feel bad for leaving someone out. I can, however, tell you that you should go pick up C. Leigh Purtill’s books that I reviewed on Woman Tribune; Love, Meg and All About Vee.
Thank you to both women who gave me these awards, I am so grateful.
Feminist Media Cannot Survive without YOU!
In mid-September Bitch Magazine released a call to action to keep independent, nonprofit feminist media going through this economic devastation we have been facing. Luckily, Bitch Magazine was saved but because of how much it costs to keep Bitch Magazine going every month, the funds they received from that call to action didn’t last very long.
Feminist voices are important and deserve an outlet. For that reason, Bitch has launched a new hangout for people dedicated to keeping Bitch Magazine alive, the B-Hive! Bitch recently released The Best B Movie Ever:
Help Bitch reach their goal of 500 dedicated bitchin’ bees by joining the B-Hive.
Book Review: Remember Who You Are
Remember Who You Are by Linda Carroll immediately caught my attention with the dedication and ultimately was the reason why I was so interested in reading her book. The dedication includes Carroll’s daughter’s names including Courtney Love and her granddaughter’s names including Frances Cobain. I jumped at the chance to read a book, especially a book about a woman’s spirit and learning and living with authentic power, written by the mother of the famous and never boring Courtney Love.
Linda Carroll is a practicing therapist whose life’s mission is helping women and in Remember Who You Are, you can clearly see her passion and dedication as she offers personal anecdotes and genuine wisdom she has gathered throughout her life and from the people she has met and bonded with.
As a person who blogs almost compulsively, I have often used the phrase ‘life got in the way’ to excuse my absence from the internet world, as disappearing from this technological world a lot of us become staples in, is bound to happen from time to time; but that phrase has many more meanings–Because life can so easily get in the way, obstructing our paths to what we truly want to do in our lives, we also have the ability to forget who we are in a sense. With the help of the words and wisdom of many inspiring and creative women such as Margaret Atwood, Anne Sexton, Jane Kenyon, Alice Walker and many others, Carroll makes her readers really think about their lives and the people they have grown to be. According to Carroll, a woman’s “journey of spirit” involves seven stages–Forgetting, Remembering, Exploring, Practicing, Shadows on the Path, Reclaiming and Acceptance. As Carroll takes us through the stages, her book makes us dig down inside of ourselves and fearlessly acknowledge what makes us tick by using the teachings of several different cultures and the world’s major religions.
Being an atheist, I did not think I would take much from this book, given that the subtitle mentions a journey of spirit; however, I was happily surprised by the outcome. The reason why I am an atheist is because I know a great deal about the world’s major religions and while most of these religions instill a series of teachings that are the equivalent of personal morals and common sense and what goes into being a good person, that alone does not instill a sense of faith inside of me or the belief in a higher power that will ultimately have their say in what is to become of my soul at the end of my life. Given those facts, Carroll is not teaching one specific religion in this book; she introduces us to many different religions and aspects of those religions that coincide with her seven stages that she believes every woman moves through, perhaps even several times, throughout her life. Ultimately, the goal Carroll is teaching us is to remember who we are as people before life got in the way.
Get Social
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Out Campaign
The OUT Campaign allows individuals to let others know they are not alone. It can also be a nice way of opening a conversation and help to demolish the negative stereotypes of atheists. Let the world know that we are not about to go away and that we are not going to allow those that would condemn us to push us into the shadows.
