If it bleeds, it leads. Or we'll just pick at the healing scab. Again.
I was at the Blissdom Canada conference this past weekend. I had a wonderful time and will tell you all more about it in a different post. This post though, is about what happened on Thursday at Concordia University in Montreal. I am sure you are all racking your brains right now trying to think of the news Friday morning and what, if anything, you read or heard about Montreal or Concordia University. Can't think of anything right? Didn't think so.
Friday was the day that I met an incredible man. A man who is has been through what can only be described as a parents worst nightmare. A father working to change our world, who has taken what has happened to him and his family and is working to make the world safer for our daughters and sons. Friday afternoon, I met Rehtaeh Parson's dad, Glen Canning.
Friday afternoon I also learned just how much of what we read (or don't read) in our newspapers and online publications is manipulated by those behind the scenes. Friday afternoon the concept of "if it bleeds, it leads" hit me harder than ever before. So much so that I asked Glen if I could write about it and share his (and Rehtaeh's) continuing story. He agreed and here is what happened.
..........
On Thursday, October 3rd, Glen Canning was at Concordia's Centre for Gender Advocacy to celebrate the university's new Sexual Assault Resource Centre. It's a program and resource that students and the centre have been campaigning for since April of 2011 and with the recent hiring of a full-time social worker and program coordinator, the Sexual Assault Resource Centre is finally ready to open its doors to students and the community at large.
This kind of service is much needed at universities across the country and a big step for Concordia University and the Montreal community at large. One in four students will experience some form of sexual assault during their post-secondary years and 80% of those are women.
The problem however was that the imminent opening of the Centre and these much-needed services and resources was not the story that was published on Friday morning.
On Friday morning, the headlines that were all over national media publications said this:
Rehtaeh Parsons wanted to go to media before
her suicide, father says (Toronto Star)
Rehtaeh Parsons’ father says daughter wanted to
go to the media before her death (National Post)
Rehtaeh Parsons' father says she wanted to go to
media before her suicide (CTV news)
Any mention of the Centre for Gender Advocacy and the new sexual assault centre were lost in the media's headline hunger and frenzy over one or two things that Glen had said during the hour long press conference. The news outlets sensationalized his words even more by reporting that Rethaeh had "hatched a plan" to go to the media, using language that, in my opinion, sounded dangerously close to blaming her for wanting to speak out.
I had a chance to ask Glen how he felt about the press conference and the media's reporting of this event and here is what he had to say:
"I was really disappointed actually, the story was about the Centre for Gender Advocacy. It was about opening a service for women in Montreal. I was asked a quick question about my daughter and what parents would do if they were in my shoes and I said that if you are there and you have done everything you can, don't hesitate to go to the media if you don't think you are getting results. Make your story known. Looking back I wish I had done that and actually, Rehtaeh wanted to do that.
They took that as the headline for the entire event, they didn't really say a whole lot about something that was really really important. I got up this morning and read it and I felt disappointed. My daughter was used by four people, her photo was shared and used by a lot of people, it's been on a dating website and now, if that's not bad enough, the media is using her name for a headline. That is just so unfair, they should have reported on what the whole event was about and what it covered, because that was the big story there. And that's what I feel about it."
I get that "the news" is a cut-throat business and that yes, more often than not, if it bleeds it is going to lead. That's the news that makes people want to watch or click or pick up a paper or retweet or share. And really, that's all the newsmakers want, because that is what puts money in their pockets. The even sadder part of it is that they work hard to create the content that WE want. They KNOW how easily we all get sucked in.
Until we can change the landscape of our desires, our need for "blood", for sensationalized stories about tragic events and all the details of the affected people's lives, the real stories, the not-so-sexy stories, the stories about how to prevent more "blood", will always get buried underneath the catchy, click-bait-y, bleeding headlines.
I am disappointed too. That every national publication in this country chose to use Rehtaeh's name and tragic story once again for a front page headline on Friday morning. I am disappointed, that after a two-year campaign by STUDENTS to open a sexual assault centre on their campus, that these efforts where not deemed the newsworthy piece of the day. And ultimately, I am extremely disappointed that mainstream media refuses to acknowledge how complicit it is in the narrative of the culture of rape that exists in our world and chooses to take the road of victim-blaming language and sensationalism once again and not the one of social and cultural change.
It's a good thing we have awe-inspiring and incredibly resilient people like Glen Canning around to help lead the way down that far less travelled road. Even when that road is riddled with potholes big enough to swallow him whole, this is one man who will not let his daughter's life and the memory of her be one without purpose and without hope for a better future for all of our children.
And I have to believe that no matter how far off base the news headlines may try to steer us, the truth will emerge and prevail and change will happen.
natasha~
Feminist Fare Friday: Edition #7.
Todays feminist fare is brought to you by boobs. Why? Because God knows that the sight of any part of one gets the whole damn internet/media/complete strangers in a crazy uproar! So without further ado. I give you the boobs of....
1. Amanda Palmer. This past June, the UK's Daily Mail reported on her little nip slip (and practically nothing else) after her show at Glastonbury. Amanda wrote this lovely little ditty for them.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/RRWp4B0qsW8[/youtube]
2. Tina Fey. It seems that last weeks Emmy's were so far from exciting that the only thing anyone wanted to talk about the next day, aside from Bryan Cranston being ROBBED, was Tina's nipple. So, talk all you want people, IT'S JUST A BOOB!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/NEqG---qVp0[/youtube]
3. Breastfeeding Moms Everywhere. It is World MilkSharing Week and human milk donations all over the world are helping to feed babies. Whether it is in our own informal milk sharing mother communities or through donations to milk banks, for some of these babes, every drop counts and is a labour of life and love! In honour of that, and for breastfeeding in general, I'd like to re-post this beautiful spoken word poetry from Hollie McNish.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/KiS8q_fifa0[/youtube]
Have a wonderful weekend everyone!
XO
natasha~
To tweet or not to tweet: That is the question.
I have been active on Twitter for almost 4 years. I was @naturalurbanmom for most of that, @SAHFeminist for a bit and now you can find me @NatashaChiam. I have sent almost 28,000 tweets in that time, have just over 4000 followers and am following ~1900 folks myself. I use Twitter in a few different ways. It is a way for me to stay up to date with news and world events (I follow a few trusted news agencies), to know what's going on in circles that matter to me (feminism, parenting, #YEG), to share my writing and blog with a larger audience and to stay in contact with friends near and far.
I LIKE Twitter. A LOT. I like that it is a real-time social tool and I like a lot of the people I have "met" via this platform. And on Twitter, I am ME. Yes, it also says Stay@HomeFeminist on my profile, and I live that reality every day, online and off.
But like anything in our highly digital world these days, Twitter has an ugly side. Or rather, Twitter allows for the ugly side of humanity to manifest itself a little bit easier.
We see it time and time again. A beautiful woman of colour wins the Miss America pageant and BOOM! The VERY ugly side of Twitter erupts. A woman wants to talk about Tropes in video games/pop culture and her life is threatened. And you can find countless awful examples of sexism and racism all over social media. These days Twitter is the no-holds-barred medium of the troll, the bully, the poor-priveledged-me's and the NIMBY's of the world and you can actually fit quite a few mean and hateful words into 140 characters.
Twitter seems to also be the place for people to have "personas". There is a whole subculture of Twitter, the so-called 'Weird Twitter', where people have anonymous accounts to which they can post all kinds of wacky, often highly inappropriate for everyday conversation things and they get to be all, well... weird. I am not knocking it, I just really don't get it.
And then there are the people who are "really nice IRL (in real life) or offline, but assholes online." To be perfectly honest, these are the ones that I have a hard time wrapping my brain around and the ones that piss me off the most. These are the subtweeters, the "I am not saying anything directly to you, or about you, but I'll just tweet MY OPINION about this topic and you can't get offended because it is only my opinion and it's not my fault if you don't like it." These online assholes are the subtle or not so subtle mockers of the internet. The ones that for some reason actually believe that their ONLINE personas do not represent the 'real' them and because of this and to keep up the act, think that it is totally acceptable for them to be assholes online.
The problem as I see it is this. An asshole is an asshole is an asshole. Whether you are online or off, 140 characters or 1200 words or face-to-face. And you can replace asshole with bully, or someone who plays the victim all the time, or any number of folks who insist on maintaining that their online 'personas' are separate from the real them.
This clip from Louis CK on Conan has been making the rounds this week and I am going to post it again. And while he is talking about why cell phones (and by extension what kids are doing on said cell phones) are toxic for our children, I think that too much of anything is toxic for ANYONE and that too much social media puts us all at risk of losing some of our empathy and turning into the "stupid kids".
[youtube]http://youtu.be/5HbYScltf1c[/youtube]
The validation that people get with a RT or an LMAO or a 'LIKE' is NOT real. The mean words that people write on any social media platform are and can have profound effects on others and for the most part, there are no real world consequences for them. Often these exchanges get chalked up to, "You misinterpreted my TONE' , and/or the apology of the bully, 'I'm sorry you felt bad and misunderstood my words, but that is on you, not me'. Yeah, online or IRL, that shit doesn't fly with me (and for me that kind of behaviour online often results in an unfollow and/or block).
Like she was reading my mind today, Glennon at The Momastery wrote about the dangers of social media (and cereal). She took a 40 day hiatus from social media and learned some life lessons that I definitely needed reminding of today.
And I'd go one step further and say that social media is also a breeding ground for those that like to bulldoze over others in the name of "having an opinion" and for people to let their inner asshole out to play with little to no regard for others or the consequences of their 140 characters.
It's enough to make a girl want to go on an internet fast of her own.
Which is what I just might do.
Maybe.
Starting in about 10 days.
You know, after I get back from that, ahem... social media/blogging conference thing.
{I know, I know, I have a problem.}
Signing off
{for today},
natasha~
Feminist Fare Friday: On Saturday (again). Edition #6
I think from now on I should just take all of September off from everything else except getting everyone (especially ME) established into our school and activity routines. All this lunch making, homework doing, form after form after form-filling out and timing dinner just right on our extracurricular activity days is exhausting. Needless to say, this stay at home gig of mine is actually feeling very much like a 'job' these days! But feminism and the internet wait for now woman. And this week there a couple of DOOZIES out there!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1. "There she is.... Miss America...." Oh, wait, what?? She is NOT WHITE! Oh, hell NO!!
That unfortunately was the response of a lot of hateful, racist, disgusting people after the very beautiful Nina Davuluri, Miss New York, was given the ultimate in beauty pageantry bling last Sunday. I have to say that I did not watch the pageant, as I kind of have a rule about these things (as in, I would rather watch a 'Lady Hoggers" marathon before I ever watch a beauty pageant again!), but I was on Twitter that night and saw some of the tweets on the #MissAmerica hashtag. After a night of everything being about beauty and glamour, what happened on Twitter after the fact was like night and day, if day was a terrible racist with no ability to spell and an irrational fear of all things NOT WHITE!
There is more to the whole Miss America pageant that is disconcerting to me and I am not the only one. Elizabeth Plank at PolicyMic had this to say:
Yeah, why is that??
2. Oh and while one organization is awarding scholarships for women to go to college (albeit based on how they look in their bikinis and ball gowns), over here on the FAR, FAR, right, (and under the guise of some sect of Catholicism that they forgot to teach me at Sunday School), we have this guy telling girls that they should NOT be going to college at all! I know, I know, it really is all a bit baffling for us women-folk.
But just so our younger generation doesn't get all caught up in the confusion, Lindy West at Jezebel is having none of this ridiculousness and has something to say to all the "Good Catholic Girls" out there!
There is more. A lot more. It's a good read and Lindy, well, I really really dig her!
3. Since you are probably sick and tired of me going on on an about Blurred Lines, I thought I would share this little gem I found about the lyrics of a different song. Baby got (respect) Back!! Of course, now I can't get that song out of my head!
4. And this may not have much to do with feminism, but that damn Louis CK. He is SO right about so many things...
[youtube]http://youtu.be/5HbYScltf1c[/youtube]
Have a great weekend everyone! September is almost over and I'll get back on schedule soon. Right?
Cheers,
Natasha~
On transparency: More thoughts on our municipal election.
One of my favourite movies of the past few years is 'Get him to the Greek'. I am pretty sure I did not stop laughing for the whole 109 minutes of it's raunchy, terribly inappropriate, sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll-over-the-topness. It is also the movie that made me fall in love with Russell Brand. Who, despite what his appearance and general demeanor might convey, is probably one of the most eloquent social commentators of our current time. Watch a few episodes of his talk show Brand X (on YouTube now, the show was cancelled earlier this year), read his blog posts or even better, if you are in one of the lucky cities, snag some tickets to his world tour, and you will see what I mean. He's a comedian who says what a lot of us are thinking, but does so with an extra dose of perspective that makes us really think on what he is saying about our world long after we have stopped laughing about it.
Last week, Russell wrote a very interesting post for the Guardian, after he allegedly got kicked out of a GQ Fashion Awards after-party over some comments he made in his acceptance speech. I highly suggest you read his post and also watch the video of his speech for more of the back-story, but why this post is relevant here is because of his comments about the relationship between industry, politicians and the media.
"Why are public officials, paid by us, turning up at events for fashion magazines? Well, the reason I was there was because I have a tour on and I was advised it would be good publicity. What are the politicians selling? How are they managing our perception of them with their attendance of these sequin-encrusted corporate balls?
We witness that there is a relationship between government, media and industry that is evident even at this most spurious and superficial level. These three institutions support one another. We know that however cool a media outlet may purport to be, their primary loyalty is to their corporate backers. We know also that you cannot criticize the corporate backers openly without censorship and subsequent manipulation of this information."
I read this post after having two separate and interesting conversations about these very relationships, first with one of my local city council candidates and then again on the topic of campaign donations with some involved Edmontonians on Twitter. As you can imagine, there are mixed feelings on this topic.
Some believe that knowledge of campaign contributors BEFORE an election places undue blame and 'guilt by association' on candidates and takes the conversation away from the issues that really matter for voters. Perhaps this is true to some extent. This kind of information could sway votes away from candidates who seem to be heavily funded by corporations or individuals with a special interest in having some kind of influence on politicians and their decision making.
My response to this kind of thinking is this; if politicians claim that they are NOT being unduly influenced by these contributions, then there should be no issue with disclosing who and where the money is coming from before they are in office. In light of the kinds of corruption and financial abuse that we have seen in this country from politicians at all levels of government, transparency in politics and in the economics of public service is becoming more and more one of the issues that really does matter for a lot of voters.
Yesterday, Karen Leibovici, my outgoing city councillor and one of the front runners in our mayoral race released her fundraising details and the list of all of her up-to-date campaign contributors. Our other mayoral hopeful, Don Iveson, has also committed to releasing his details next week.
I am not surprised by Ms. Leibovici's list of contributors (especially the corporate donors) and I suspect that Mr. Iveson's list will be quite similar (campaign contributions for certain kinds of companies are often seen as a general cost of doing business). The big question now is, how do I feel about Ms. Leibovici (or any candidate) now that I know who is "backing" her?
The answer to that is that I applaud her forthrightness in this regard and her willingness to show a level of transparency that has not been seen (in my voting lifetime) in municipal elections. I too look forward to others in this election following her lead. Do I also think this was a smart political move? Absolutely. This is an election people. EVERYTHING is a political move right now.
The one thing that this information hasn't done in regards to my vote or decision-making process is make me look at Ms. Leibovici with a sense of "oh, so THAT's who you are 'working' for" that many think this kind of disclosure inevitably leads to.
I am still an undecided voter in this municipal election and am looking forward to the next month of campaigning to hear more from all of the candidates. Is there going to be that one person that fits all my criteria and will be the perfect representative for ME, Citizen Natasha of Edmonton? No, of course not. That would be silly and unrealistic of me to expect that. What I do expect from my elected representative(s) is someone whose opinions and integrity are not for sale, who is a true representative for the people of Edmonton, who is willing to make decisions for our city that have sound backing and are forward thinking and who has a vision for our city that goes beyond, "fix the damn potholes" and let's all just sit back and watch us spread out like a BP oil spill (and we'll just fix it all later).
I want more from my political leaders and transparency is a BIG part of that. Is it too much to ask? Maybe. I guess in that way I am still a little bit enamoured with the spectacle of it all and not feeling quite as jaded as Russell was after that night at the GQ Awards:
We all know it, we already know all the important stuff, like: don't trust politicians, don't trust big business and don't trust the media. Trust your own heart and each other. When you take a breath and look away from the spectacle it's amazing how absurd it seems when you look back.
Optimistically yours,
natasha~
The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win
without proving that you are unworthy of winning.
~Adlai E. Stevenson
Faking it on the playground catwalk!
I have gotten a few comments lately from some of the mamas at the kids school that I always look so put together in the mornings. First off, I'd like to point out that most of these lovely ladies probably haven't had their first coffee yet and therefore they may be slightly groggy and not seeing things straight. And second.... HA! I've fooled them all. Now, I am not a fashion/style blogger by any stretch of the imagination, but man I do love all those pretty, pretty websites. One look at A Beautiful Mess or Adventures in Fashion and I am lost in post after post after post of beautiful photography and happy pictures and gorgeous outfits and I end up pinning and bookmarking for hours!
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Oh HI... SEE! I was a total goner for a bit there.
What was I saying again? Oh yeah...
If there is anything I have learned in all my years dressing myself (remember, I am really OLD), from the ladies of the style blogs and originally from my grandmother, is that one's style does not have to be complicated. And as most of us are moms and busy parents getting our little ones dressed and out the door in the mornings too, I thought I would share a few of my own simple style tips and share my "oh-so-put-together-look" secr.... hahahaha!! Oh, man, I can't even say it without laughing!
But if you really want to know, here's how I do it....
1. One word. Accessorize! I have always been an accessory gal and I have embraced my jewelry drawer (yes, I have a FULL drawer) once again with a zest that makes my husband VERY nervous whenever a new Stella & Dot catalogue comes out! Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, it's all coming out these days! Don't be afraid to jazz up the jeans and t-shirt practical mom uniform with a big chunky necklace or a long chain with charms or a funky cuff bracelet. And EARRINGS! I am obsessed with big dangly earrings (I highly suggest you check out the selection in the above S&D link).
And baby mamas, you are no longer being left out of the jewelry game for fear that your little one with wreck everything. Companies like Chewbeads, MommyNecklaces and KangarooCare on Etsy are providing moms with very fashionable and functional pieces to complement everyone's wardrobe and style!
2. Do not be afraid of colour! It's easy to get into a black/grey/neutral rut with your clothes. Yes, yes, I know, black is slimming and I am not saying get rid of all your black leggings (Ooooh! Remind me to tell you about THE BEST LEGGINGS EVER a bit later!!), but try to avoid the full head to toe black ninja look. Throw on a cardigan in a great colour or a bold scarf to break up the monochrome! Colour is your friend mamas. Trust me!
Even on a cold rainy day at a music festival!
3. Diaper bags have ruined me forever. I can't function without a big purse anymore. Even though I am no longer carrying an extra change of clothes for everyone, wipes, diapers, snacks, crayons, various lego pieces and something unrecognizably sticky at the bottom of it, I still need to have a big bag. And a nice big purse is a FABULOUS accessory! Again, try something in a different colour and move away from the practical black and browns that "go with everything". RED goes with everything. As does yellow, a great turquoise and a funky leopard print too! I am a sucker for the purse aisle at Winners and I do so love the stores that colour code all the bags too.
This is my current carry-all.
4. Make-up. I have a couple of must-put-on products in my make-up drawer and I seriously can't leave the house without them. One is my BB cream. I am currently using this one and it really is a little bit of magic in a tube. Then I add my bronzer and my favourite mascara and I am good to go. This simple routine takes me under 5 minutes to do. A little lip gloss in the car and then I am super fancy!
There you have it. My tips for looking like you're "all put together" on the playground. No one needs to know that you probably haven't had a shower yet or that under that scarf is a jam stain from a little person's sticky breakfast fingers. And here is another little tip from me to you.
Putting on those fancy earrings or that great necklace not only gives your look a boost, it gives you one too. It's something you are doing just for you. So YES, go get those earrings that you think are only for special occasions and wear them today and ROCK that playground!
“I admit it's tempting to wish for the perfect boss, the perfect parent, or the perfect outfit. But maybe the best any of us can do is not quit, play the hand we've been dealt, and accessorize what we've got."
~ Carrie {Sex & the City}
natasha~
P.S. I am smiling in this photo, but not 5 minutes later I was swearing a blue streak because I was 2 minutes late for my parking meter and got a martha-fockerring ticket!
But HOT DAMN, I look good in those earrings!!
P.P.S. Here are the leggings I was talking about! I bought a pair of the 3/4 length ones at Wilde & Sparrow (my favourite store in Parksville) when we were on holidays this summer and have just ordered another high-waist full length pair too!
P.P.S. DISCLAIMER: Not one of the products or stores mentioned in this post has compensated me for mentioning them. When I love something, I love it and I like to share with those who might love it too!
For your viewing pleasure...
Here's the deal. I had this really deep, insightful post that I was working on earlier today... and then something shiny must have grabbed my attention, because I totally lost my train of thought and couldn't get it back on track to save my life or the post, which is now sitting in my ever growing draft folder. BUT...
I really, really wanted to publish something today and I have been watching videos on Youtube for the last 40 minutes. So now you get a list of what makes me cry, laugh, laugh some more and then drool. I won't blame you if you never want to come back again... but I do hope you will. Please tell me some of you 'get me'.
1. This one might make you cry. I did.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/TUM4Mb9rUTU[/youtube]
2. I know you've probably all seen "The Fox" video from Ylvis, but this one is my new fave!!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/PaEnaoydUUo[/youtube]
3. Best poop commercial EVER! Also, B tells me that they have some of this at his office and it totally works!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/ZKLnhuzh9uY#aid=P-6YCzt26Ik[/youtube]
4. Miley Cyrus released her new video last week and then this happened! I can't stop laughing!
[youtube]http://youtu.be/2XQGcMrq4bQ[/youtube]
5. Not a video, but you have to check out these shots of my TV boyfriend, Kit Harington. Makes me wish Winter would just get here already (sadly it won't until Spring 2014)!! Mama needs some SNOW!
Good night all!
natasha~
Feminist Fare Fridays: Edition #5
This week kind of kicked my butt. I fell completely off the Summer Blog Challenge wagon and managed to only publish a couple of picture posts of my kids being super adorable. And yes, this post is now 2 days late, something I vowed not to do. {le grand sigh} Oh well. My husband keeps telling me I need to be more liquid and just to go with the flow (also, he may have been watching a bit of You, Me and Dupree earlier this week.). So while I may not have been writing a whole lot this week, I was still reading and here are my thoughts on a few compelling posts I found this week!
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1. A few weeks ago we were downtown enjoying our wonderful City Centre farmer's market. We had just picked up some watermelon iced tea (yes, it was as good as it sounds) and the kids and I were sitting on a bench enjoying our treat and taking in the sights and sounds of the market. A man in his late twenties walked up to us, went up to my 6 year old son and motioned for a fist bump (which C kind of shrugged off) and then pointed to my 4 year old daughter and said in a booming voice, "YOU, little girl are GORGEOUS!" and then he walked off. The kids both looked at me wondering how to react to this and I was a little taken aback at that moment and just shrugged it off too. But maybe I shouldn't have. Had I read this post about street harassment by Soraya Chemaly earlier I may have even used it as a teachable moment for my kids. A moment to teach them about respect for others and about respect for themselves. Because all too often I have been subjected to various forms of street harassment and...
2. And GOOD NEWS everyone!! In case you haven't heard.... the Patriarchy is dead!!!
No really, according to writer and "The End of Men" author Hanna Rosin, we killed it. For reals!
And if you can't read my dripping sarcasm in the above lines, then you are on the wrong page of the internet. I still am wrapping my head around Ms. Rosin's essay (an updated epilogue to her book) and in doing so I have come across some great commentary about her {ahem} take on our current feminist world. One very compelling post is from Nora Caplan-Bricker at The New Republic;
3. Speaking of people telling other people how to do things and trying to LEGISLATE their tyranny too...
The Parti Quebecois and its leader, Premier Pauline Marois, have devised a plan called the "Charter of Values" that calls to secularize (is that a word?) all public sector workers and make it a law that they can not wear any garment or jewelry that symbolizes their religious beliefs. No turbans, no hijab, no Star of David, no kippah and supposedly no crucifixes either (but the big one at Quebec's Legistlature building is still OK). Here is a quick FAQ post for you to get up to speed on this bigoted ridiculousness and then please read this beautifully written post by Fariha Naqvi-Mohamed, who has a lot to say to Premier Marois about HER Quebec.
4. My last book club book was 'The Red Tent', by Anita Diamant. I had never read it before and was completely enthralled with the world of Dinah and her mothers and the traditions and rituals of their lives. As I read the book and afterwards I longed for a red tent of my own, of a celebration of womanhood and of time to retreat and not worry about everything and everyone. And it seems I am not the only one...
That's all I've got for this week everyone. I kind of had too much sangria at our annual block party last night and I told a whole bunch of my neighbours that I am a feminist writer/blogger. I am all about making friends and influencing people.... Let's just hope I get an invitation to the party again next year.
Otherwise who is going to build one heck of a wicked fire for everyone to roast marshmallows over!!
'Til next week,
natasha~