Grace Edwards
Switch on the television, read a magazine or simply look around; contradictory messages about women are everywhere. The commercial media would have us believe ‘women’ are all blonde, busty, bronzed, ‘girly’ dependents, whilst history would teach us that women fall into two categories: the eternal virgin or the mother/wife/homemaker.
Frankly, I don’t buy that. Neither does any other woman I know.
I believe that to be a woman therefore is, first and foremost, to be an interpreter.
I am constantly amazed at the creative ways in which the women around me express their own brand of femininity. And of course, it’s more than just symbolic; navigating the waters of social acceptability is a particularly perilous task for women, whether out at a function or going for that job promotion.
I love the quote in bold. I think it reflects exactly what we have been saying in our sessions about the importance of listening in conversation.
Also I'm getting very excited about the performance now and the shrine
I like the themes that have been coming up that suggest that it is ok to not know what makes a woman, or to not know what makes a feminist.
ReplyDeleteConsistently I feel alienated by my own relationship with other women (specifically other 'new' women, not necessarily old friends). I don't really think of myself as a woman. That doesn't mean I think of myself as a man(!), more that I don't always feel part of a united female front. I don't know what that means. Quite often I don't relate to other woman, or the portrayal of other woman and that can leave you feeling a little shipwrecked.
I'm starting to feel a bit happier with the notion of engaging with a multiplicity of female voices, and also embracing my own female voice.*
Michelle x
*But I am still a bit awkward with notion of girl power and all that! ;)