I have considered myself a feminist for as long as I can remember, before I even knew what the term meant. One of my earliest memories of an actual conversation with my Grandma was when she asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I wanted to be a firefighter. I loved being around fire and thought playing with the garden hose was super cool. As you can imagine, no one wants her little girl to grow up to be a firefighter.
Every female has a role model of some sort whether it is Oprah, Mother Teresa, or a favorite college professor. I feel bad for the women who never get to meet their idol. I not only got to meet mine, but mine raised me. If you read my earlier post you can probably guess whom this amazing lady is.
Everyday I go to check my mailbox only to find that the only things I receive are pieces of junk mail, papers from the university, a waste of trees. It often gets to the point where I will go for days without checking it only to empty the metal box of its trash once a week. One day the junk mail was actually useful to me. It was a flier for a feminist art showing.
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I agree and disagree with the main points that Bridget Mallon has established with a strong opinionated view. Since I am a women of this age, technology has become very popular and using the different types of technology that Mac, Dell, and big companies have come out with are beginning to be more familiar with the whole world, not just computer technologists. I’d say that the Internet is a very important part of today’s culture. Bridget Mallon states that, “Idealogy and culture are located in communication,� I agree with this statement because teenagers and even middle class people are using the Internet more and more for their social lives. Women especially use the Internet more than males for their social lives. Things like Facebook, Myspace, and chat rooms have become popular with the women society. There are a lot of things on the Internet that can be viewed as offensive in the women society though. I do agree with Mallon when she talked about raciality and harassment on the Internet. These things take place on websites, group chats, etc. I think that the association between women and the Internet is becoming more positive as the new technological era of our world grows. People may have their assumptions about women and technology but I think that it’s all waste of time to debate because every feminist is different and they al have their different views.
My project is not coming along as well as I hoped. A lot of the video did not turn out, and the past 2 weekends that I wanted to shoot the weather did not cooperate. I have a lot of still pictures of games and individuals that I will be using. I am thinking that I will mesh a documentary and a digital storytelling piece together. I have gotten pretty far with this. I have 100’s of pictures to sort through and have gotten through many of them. I am revising my voice over and hope to be done by May 2nd. My goal for the entire video project is to be done the night of May 3rd, with the back up day being the evening of May 4th. I really am doing my best to set aside the time that I will need for the project now. I just got through a few crazy weeks of exams and am spending the next week primary on this class and project. I can’t wait to see the result!
My life lately has been chaotic. I am falling behind in all of my classes, and stressing out about everything. I feel most days that I have to choose between school and family, between work and friends. I remember the Judy Chicago video when one of the artists discussed with her that she felt she had to choose between her art and her family. I thought Judy was rather rude when she said that the woman could be a mother or an artist, but not both. It was a rather bold statement! I have always felt that women can multi-task better than men, and mothers of all people certainly seem to have mastered this task.
Feminism is strong, independent, and bold. It’s standing up for what you believe in even if it means you are standing alone. It’s that single mom working 3 jobs to support her kids and give them the opportunities that she never had. It’s the female basketball coach that stays up late watching tapes of other teams, and creating new plays. It’s the professional businesswoman that gets paid a portion of the men’s salaries, but still wakes up every morning ready to tackle a new project. It’s any woman that’s ever been called a bitch, slut, or dyke and resented it. It’s any female that’s ever been looked down on because of the clothes she was wearing, when any man could have put in less effort towards his outfit and be fine. It’s any woman that is late for every appointment when she spent that time on her looks. Because she doesn’t have the confidence to leave her house without make up because she thinks she’s not ‘pretty enough.’ It’s any woman that spends $180 on highlights and a cut, hoping that when she goes out to the bars the guys she meets notices her hair first and not her eyes. Her eyes filled with exhaust from trying so hard with no results. It’s the chemist that puts in 80+ hours a week, spending overtime leaning over test tubes and microscopes because she’s just not comfortable with the bar scene. Feminism is that crazy cat lady who doesn’t give a damn about men or relationships and can have a great afternoon knitting and watching Oprah with her cats, being completely content. Feminism is when you cried out loud when the gay marriage ban passed in Wisconsin. Because decades ago you fought for your rights, too.
Feminism is the little girl who cries on the edge of the sandbox because she wants to play with the trucks and the boys. It’s the little girl who dresses up in white and dreams of her wedding and the Prince Charming she hopes will be there. It’s the teenager that stays home from her prom because she doesn’t have a date, and it’s the court member that wonders how she got on because of the things she had said about others. It’s the college freshman struggling alone in a big city, and the one that realized she is fine with a long-distance relationship because she didn’t love him as much as she thought she did. It’s the woman in her mid-thirties petrified because menopause started early for her, and it’s the lady in her fifties that realized unplanned pregnancies and painful periods were good trade-offs for a decreased sex drive. Feminism is the woman in her 70’s that picks her head up and moves forward when her best friend of 50 years dies. It’s the 90 year-old ladies that realize all the men their age are dead and wishing that they had used better skin care so they could attempt to hit on the ‘hot young 70 year-olds.’ It’s the women that get called gay because they are introverts and don’t like playing the desperate card. It’s the one’s that get called it and laugh, because they’re pretty sure everyone else already knew.
Feminism is every mother, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, niece, and idol. It’s in all of us all the time. Not always as prevalent as it should be, nor as hidden as it could be. But it’s there in all shapes and sizes, just like the packages that embody it.
For as long as I can remember I have interpreted the American feminist icon as Rosie the Riveter. I have to admit that out of all the female cartoons from that era, Rosie is definitely the coolest and most “bad ass.�
For as long as I can remember I have interpreted the American feminist icon as Rosie the Riveter. I have to admit that out of all the female cartoons from that era, Rosie is definitely the coolest and most “bad ass.�
When choosing a quote, I wanted to choose one that I found interesting. After choosing one I realized that the one I chose wasn’t really interesting at all. But that was exactly why it was so interesting to me.
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Ever notice that once you allow yourself to fall behind it is so much harder to catch up?
Well that is the case with me. There are so many things happening in my life right now that I put school on the back burner. Now with a few more weeks left in the semester, I am kicking myself for taking the amount of credits that I did. I am disappointed in myself for how I am doing. Disappointed in the system also. The U is a tricky place. I'd like to do so much more, but always seem to be held back. Take for instance my final project.
I have fallen behind a little on personal posts, and am trying my best to catch up. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize some one who has opened my eyes not only to feminist art, but to all art. I went to the Walker to with the intent to look at a little bit of art, write a paper, and be done with it. I walked out of there with so much more.
My digital storytelling piece is entitled “The Struggle.� It is about a bizarre dream that constantly reoccurs for me. Many psychologists believe that our dreams tell us much about ourselves and can help make sense of our lives. I never realized how true this might be.
When I heard about the assignment I had no idea what I was going to do. I just moved to Minneapolis, and I don't know the city very well. I also don't associate myself with it. It's not me, and I hope it never will be me. I feel like everything that is me is back in Wisconsin. Everyday I wake up feeling like I don't belong here, feeling like a person I do not know.
So how was I supposed to make a digital story on my life? And in a week? The way I left home, I had left without most of my things. Everything that truly defines me is 6 hours away.
Or so I thought. Even though I have changed drastically into a person I barely recognize, a few things have stayed with me.
The aims and goals of this collection were hard for me to pick out at first. But then I realized that this anthology was one big feminist project. The photos depicted different images of the feminist life. Many different topics and issues were included in the collection whether they were obvious of a subliminal message. Some of the photos captured me with their strong issues. I would stare at the photos trying to take it all in. These photographs really proved that pictures tell a thousand words.
Continue reading "Reframings: New American Feminist Photographies" »