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By jodyc • 15 years ago

Using Improvised Movies to Empower Young Women and Girls

I’ve wanted for a while to write a post about Nancy Fletcher’s ACT NOW! organization.  Starting in 2000 Nancy took the unique approach of using improvised movies as a vehicle to help empower young women.  The girls participating in the ACT NOW! programs do everything to make their movie, writing the scenario from which the action is improvised, making sets and costuming as well as filling the roles of director and producers.  Nancy’s stated mission is “to help people, especially young girls, change their experience of themselves, so that they feel connected to their authentic power to create, see options, make healthy choices and star in their own lives.”  And she has another subversive agenda of encouraging young women to enter the film industry.
By jodyc • 15 years ago

Gloria Steinem Interview

Not a lot new in this interview but I’m still always blown away by her intelligence and persistence.  She has some things to say about marriage that are relevant to some of the recent discussions here on Feministing as well. 

Steinem: We were more surprised than anyone else when we got married – I was 66 and he was 59 – but we loved each other and wanted to be together, and the women’s movement had spent 30 years equalizing the marriage laws, so why not? Of course, “husband and wife” still sounded like roles, not people, so we referred to each other as “the friend I married.” We got married legally in a Cherokee ceremony in Oklahoma. It turned out ...

Not a lot new in this interview but I’m still always blown away by her intelligence and persistence.  She has some things to say about marriage that are relevant to some of the recent discussions here on ...
By jodyc • 16 years ago

Vatican Says Washing Machine Source of Women’s Liberation!?

I received from my husband today this link talking about an editorial in the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. Apparently women owe their increased freedom to the invention of the washing machine. The contraceptive pill did not make any contribution other than polluting the environment and causing male infertility. One commentor felt this was a mis-interpretation of the article but I haven’t been able to find it online. I have found many other similar takes on it though, like this one which mentions commentators and politicians reading the editorial the same way.
So ladies, enjoy your “freedom”, get the washing done and while you’re at it have a baby instead of messing up the environment. ...

I received from my husband today this link talking about an editorial in the Vatican’s official newspaper L’Osservatore Romano. Apparently women owe their increased freedom to the invention of the washing machine. The contraceptive ...
By jodyc • 16 years ago

18 Clues He’s Still Crazy About You

This was on my MSN page this morning – “Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc” who publish Good Housekeeping. Made me so mad I don’t know what to say so I thought I’d give everybody here a crack at it.
We are moving forward aren’t we?

This was on my MSN page this morning – “Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc” who publish Good Housekeeping. Made me so mad I don’t know what to say so I thought I’d give ...
By jodyc • 16 years ago

Unchristian or unladylike?

I don’t normally read sports news but the headline for this story, “Texas girls hoops team seeks forfeit of 100-0 win” caught my eye.
The long and short is that one of these teams was far superior to the other – hence the score. The winning school is a fairly large Christian academy while the losing team’s school is very small focusing on supporting students with learning disabilities. Now the winning team’s school says it wants the forfeit because the game “does not reflect a Christ-like and honorable approach to competition.” I’m guessing an “honorable approach to competition” might also be called unsportsmanlike.
At any rate the story bugs me. Would this be happening with ...

I don’t normally read sports news but the headline for this story, “Texas girls hoops team seeks forfeit of 100-0 win” caught my eye.
The long and short is that one of these teams was far ...
By jodyc • 16 years ago

Starving Freezing and JUDGED

There was a crisis in Alaska this week. People in rural villages were having to choose between heat or food after their King Salmon catch was limited, an early freeze and home heating oil costs rising to nearly $11 a gallon. The Alaskan government wasn’t stepping up to the plate so the bloggers kicked into action and helped out, people from all over America sent cash.
A Native Alaskan woman blogger, Writing Raven, posted yesterday, grateful for the help that came and addressing the blame the victim, native bashing that has come with it.

There was a crisis in Alaska this week. People in rural villages were having to choose between heat or food after their King Salmon catch was limited, an early freeze and home heating oil costs rising to ...
By jodyc • 16 years ago

Pussification

So today my husband was telling me about some stupid joke e-mail he got and said “It’s what George Carlin called the pussification of America.” I stopped what I was doing not sure what to make of that and asked for explication. Essentially it’s making things too touchy feely, too soft – too pussy. Then the charming hubby added “It’s like your father’s – ‘the world love mediocrity’.” I’ve been stewing on this since. I’ve admired Carlin for years and tolerated my husband for about the same length of time but this really pissed me off. Am I wrong? Oh maybe I’m just too pussified.

So today my husband was telling me about some stupid joke e-mail he got and said “It’s what George Carlin called the pussification of America.” I stopped what I was doing not sure what to make ...