The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle's topics - tribe.net

It's not a dildo, its an educational model...

Brook — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 14:07:23 GMT

Watch this excerpt from "The Dildo Diaries"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYXUUsDGxkU

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 2 replies

the "Pornography Issue"

Jezebel — Fri, 08 Jul 2005 01:18:43 GMT

As a woman (not a first amendment issue but your personal opinion) where do you fall on the issue of pornography? Is it all evil smut that should be burned in the town square or is it hot and sex positive? What about the violent stuff like snuff films, kiddie porn, and rape fantasy stuff? How do you differentiate "good porn" versus "bad porn"?

Here's my 2 cents (that is why I brought this up after all), after reading Take Back The Night and also raising my consciousness in the sex positive community as well as previously being a sex worker myself I have come to the following truce with pornography.

In my opinion I do not like to see images of people in degrading postures and attitudes that depict violence against others as entertainment. This opinion is also directed at all forms of media including music, visual, and literary and not limited to my porn. I do like to see consentual sexual interactions between people old enough to know what they want and understand their personal responsibilities (especially if I think they are hot). I vote with my wallet and with my opinion and work to support positive porn and undermine negative porn.

Do I think that porn advocates violence towards women? Yes but not all of it. You don't even have to go as far as looking at pornographic images to see women being degraded and suffering violence just go to a movie, buy a mystery novel, or even a fashion magazine that promotes unattainable beauty ideals. We are continually portrayed by the media as being weaker, more prone to attack by a "bad guy", or just put into a degrading position than men are as a rule. What kind of message are we sending to the next generation of women when we allow, hell even support, this kind of image of what it is to be a woman?

Do I want to see porn banned? No, but I would like to see some changes in the appetite of our nation. Get rid of this beauty ideal that sexualizes children, it's gross. Promote positive, consensual sexuality for all genders and sexual orientations. For Goddess's sake can we just kill the beauty myth and enjoy naturally attractive people? Fake boobs just look painful and humans are supposed to have some hair between their legs. Get rid of this purtanical notion that all sex work is bad and sex workers should be punished, this attitude only feeds itself with lies and supports bad people who will take advantage of the weak. "Pimpen" is being a man that supports himself off the bodies of women working in prostitution, it is not a compliment or an ideal lifestyle.

It's an uneasy truce at best.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 8 replies

Women Who Run With the Wolves

Whipsnkisses — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 22:31:26 GMT

Hi!

I'm starting a book discussion group for women focused on the book by Clarissa Pinkola Estes' Women Who Run With the Wolves. I'd love it if you joined and shared your own stories, thoughts, feelings, and reactions as we read through each chapter of this wonderful book together.

I would like to begin reading the book together starting in the new year (Jan 15, 2007) and have a chapter read every two weeks. That should give us enough time to get through what can be rather dense chapters and think about them and discuss with each other. I think this will be an excellent way to get the new started.

Once you join, feel free to invite other women who you think might be interested in reading along with us. I'm going to keep the tribe private so that we can feel free to discuss our personal experiences and thoughts without fear of it being open to just anyone to read.

You can buy the book real cheap from Amazon.com's used book sale resellers or I have 6 copies that I can give away to the first women who ask for one.

If you're interested in joining, either comment here or just send me a message and I'll forward you the invitation.

Thanks and I look forward to sharing this book with you!

Kitty

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 5 replies

Don't trust the government

Jezebel — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 18:43:31 GMT

http://www.worksafewebsite.com/e.asp?r=373

Read this CNN atricle and be digusted at the hypocricy.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 3 replies

Enlarged Breasts Protest

Jezebel — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 19:10:31 GMT

I must laugh at the irony in this or I will die.

Guess which celebrity is protesting enlarged chicken breasts????

That's right, it's the queen of boob jobs, Pamela Anderson! Couldn't you just die?

She's tried to pass herself off as a serious actress, then the video of her and Tommy went out over the web like a bad disease. She has tried to make herself out to be a Feminist, but there are too many reasons to list here why that didn't fly. Now she's against geneticly modifying animals for consumer purposes, um......right.

Wow, I wonder if she realizes what a laughing stock she is or if she really thinks that everyone should be taking her seriously (which is even funnier).

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 2 replies

Letter to the Editor

Jezebel — Thu, 27 Oct 2005 21:14:19 GMT

As posted on Child Free By Choice (thread: I"m Mad)
"Dear Editor:
I am so disappointed Hillary Clinton received (your) first honorary doctor of laws. I applaud presenting diverse viewpoints, however, feminism is not "diverse" in our Barbie Doll "me-first," "no-kids," "Ken-is-optional" culture. Sadly lacking is the traditional mother-at-home, pro-family viewpoint.
Yes, women have been "liberated." Liberated from What? Too often, from sexual virtue, children, husbands, and homes. WHat have they gained? Too often, STDs, infertility and abortion, divorce and single-motherhood..... Trying to grab all, many have lost all.
If I sound passionate, I am. I went back to work full time when my infant was 6 months old: it was a disaster. I resigned my 20-year high-paid career to stay at home full time when he was 6: my best decision ever. Hillary urged us to "help women along," so I cannot be silent when I see the flawed promise of feminism foisted upon yet another generation. So: GET A GOOD EDUCATION, GET MARRIED, HAVE LOTS OF GREAT KIDS, STAY AT HOME TO RAISE THEM (emphasis original author's). After that, do whatever you want!
And for diversity, award an honorary degree to Phyllis Schafly, Ann Coulter, Dr. James Dobson or Father Frank Pavone next commencement."

Sincerely,
Ms. S

In response:

Dear Editor:
How dare Ms. S imply that Hillary Clinton is not a working mother or poor example of femininity. Senator Hillary Clinton graduated with a law degree, worked with her husband all the way through his presidency, was a stunning First Lady who wowed the world as the representative of American Womanhood, brought about a plan for Federal Healthcare, became a Senator for New York (not a tiny, no-name state mind you), raised a beautiful, intelligent daughter who is enrolled at Stanford, and is not stopping there. I applaud your honoring of her with a Law Doctorate because Hillary is one of the greatest examples that women CAN succeed without sacrificing their femininity (whatever that means).

Ms. S should be ashamed that she would trash a woman who so greatly exceeded any of her ambitions. Ms. S couldn't even hack going back to work, let alone becoming a Senator and possibly getting the nod to run for President (Hillary in 2008! It's about damn time.) To call women un-feminine, to imply that women that choose to take charge of their own reproductive fate, and to insinuate that Feminism is the cause of promiscuity, STD’s, and the death of the Family harkens back to the days when we believed that demons caused diseases.

I believe that Ms S should examine her own demonization of Feminists and ask herself why she would rail against her ancestress that have given her the right to choose to stay at home and raise her child instead of being forced into economic and social slavery to an enforced image of Family. That “false promise of Feminism” is what gave her the right to vote, control her own money, legal benefits, reproductive choices, a good education, and the ability to stay at home with her child or go to work if she chooses. Ms. S, if you can’t handle the responsibility of being a self-actualized woman that is your choice, but don’t try to take those same advantages away from the next generation just because you couldn’t hack it.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

Bound Together Books (San Francisco) is seeking new collective members

Monica — Tue, 11 Oct 2005 03:16:27 GMT

Bound Together Books is seeking new collective members. We are a volunteer-run collective (been going since 1976!), and we could always use more people to help us run the bookstore.

Why join?
- You get to work with a long-running, (in)famous and diverse anarchist collective;
- You get to meet a wide variety of customers and help spread anarchist and other subversive ideas and publications/
and, dear anarchist,
- You get a fabulous discount on stock.

Basic guidelines for membership:
- Please have a decent understanding of anarchist theory and practice, and a desire to spread this information. This does not mean you have to have read the complete works of Bakunin, but does mean you've at least read some anarchist lit. and could give a basic definition of anarchism to some average Joe or Jane off the street, and recommend some books;
- Be committed to membership in the collective (meaning, ongoing - not just dropping in and working once or twice);
- Be approachable and able to communicate easily with the public.

For more information, come in and speak to one of us at the store (1369 Haight Street, at Masonic), or call (415) 431-8355.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 2 replies

anybody here still alive?

Mon, 12 Sep 2005 09:21:07 GMT

Hi! Too quiet. What's up, ladies? I've been pouring my lifeblood into the burning woman tribe debate over goddess worship. my head hurts. what's up with y'all?

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 3 replies

Take 2 - The Master's Tools

Jezebel — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 20:48:46 GMT

Audre Lorde - Exerpt from "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference"

“ What are the particular details within each of our lives that can be scrutinized and altered to help bring about change? How do we redefine difference for all women? It is not our differences which separate women, but our reluctance to recognize those differences and to deal effectively with the distortions which have resulted from the ignoring and misnaming of those differences.”

“As a tool of social control, women have been encouraged to recognize only one area of human difference as legitimate, those differences which exist between women and men. And we have learned to deal across those differences with the urgency of all oppressed subordinates. All of us have had to learn to live or work or coexist with men, from our fathers on. We have recognized and negotiated these differences, even when this recognition only continued the old dominate/subordinate mode of human relationship, where the oppressed must recognize the masters’ difference in order to survive.”

“But our future survival is predicated upon our ability to relate within equality. As women, we must root out internalized patterns of oppression within ourselves is we are to move beyond the most superficial aspects of social change. Now we must recognize differences among women who are our equals neither inferior nor superior, and devise ways to use each others’ difference to enrich our vision and our joint struggles.

The future of our earth may depend upon the ability of all women to identify and develop new definitions of power and new patterns of relating across difference. The old definitions have not served us, nor the earth that supports us. The old patterns, no matter how cleverly rearranged to imitate progress, still condemn us to cosmetically altered repetitions of the same old exchanges, the same old guilt, hatred, recrimination, lamentation, and suspicion.”

“For we have, built into all of us, old blueprints of expectation and response, old structures of oppression, and these must be altered at the same time as we alter the living conditions which are the result of those structures. For the master’s tools will not dismantle the master’s house.”
**************************************************
We Don’t Want A Bigger Slice, We Want A Different Pie
by Jezebel Blessing

Reading the above passage written by Audre Lorde in the 1970’s and seeing it’s relevant application to the state of today’s women tells me that while we may have accomplished much in the past 100 years of women’s liberation we are still woefully behind on the one change that will make the most difference, how we treat one another as women. We are all guilty of labeling differences and dismissing issues because of those differences, I have a strong prejudice against Yuppies and tend to sneer at anyone driving an SUV. But really, who am I serving when I continue the same old patterns of hatred and suspicion? I’m serving my oppressor and using one of the master’s tool to set myself apart and distance myself from the solidarity of sisterhood.

Divide and conquer is not an immediate weapon like a gun or oppressive law; it is a poison that seeps into our brains creating a gap, then a chasm of fear and suspicion. The opposition uses differences as weapons to keep us from seeing the real issues facing all women regardless of race, age, sexuality, or class. We cannot lead a successful revolt if we are dividing ourselves into separate camps, focus upon your similarity and create a united front. Women waste so much of our resources upon what our oppressors define for us as the success of a liberated woman that we lose sight of the fact that what they are handing us as victories for our fight are crumbs. “You’ve come a long way, baby,” but we still have a long way to go; and I’m not your fucking baby.

I have the right to smoke cigarettes and drink booze until it kills me, over or under eat to compensate for my emotional need to feel “good enough”, the right to wear high heels and tight clothes that hobble me and injure my body. I have the right to poison my body and my planet with chemicals to make me feel more feminine, the right to compete for a husband, and to spend as much of my energy as possible to keep that husband happy. I have the right to vote for candidates that don’t represent me and only give “women’s issues” lip service, then dismissing campaign promises as not being the “real issue” once they are elected. I have the right to work outside of the home for lower pay and fewer benefits in a subordinate position to men and the right to choose between raising a family or being successful in my field (if I can get past the glass ceiling). I have the right to walk down the street or live alone under constant threat to my safety and well being, and I have the right to choose whom I will have sex with so long as I’m careful not to be labeled a cocktease or a slut.

As Kalamu ya Salaam, a black male writer points out. “As long as male domination exists, rape will exist. Only women revolting and men made conscious of their responsibility to fight sexism can collectively stop rape.” Rape comes in many guises, not all is purely a sexual assault, and until we see this rape of over %50 of the population of the planet as an issue that crosses color and status lines we will continue to be raped all of our lives and doom our daughters to face the same humiliations.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

The Master's Tools Will Not Dismantle The Master's House

Jezebel — Thu, 18 Aug 2005 22:23:06 GMT

(Written by Audre Lorde, excerpt taken from "Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference")

“ What are the particular details within each of our lives that can be scrutinized and altered to help bring about change? How do we redefine difference for all women? It is not our differences which separate women, but our reluctance to recognize those differences and to deal effectively with the distortions which have resulted from the ignoring and misnaming of those differences.”
“As a tool of social control, women have been encouraged to recognize only one area of human difference as legitimate, those differences which exist between women and men. And we have learned to deal across those differences with the urgency of all oppressed subordinates. All of us have had to learn to live or work or coexist with men, from our fathers on. We have recognized and negotiated these differences, even when this recognition only continued the old dominate/subordinate mode of human relationship, where the oppressed must recognize the masters’ difference in order to survive.”
“But our future survival is predicated upon our ability to relate within equality. As women, we must root out internalized patterns of oppression within ourselves is we are to move beyond the most superficial aspects of social change. Now we must recognize differences among women who are our equals neither inferior nor superior, and devise ways to use each others’ difference to enrich our vision and our joint struggles.
The future of our earth may depend upon the ability of all women to identify and develop new definitions of power and new patterns of relating across difference. The old definitions have not served us, nor the earth that supports us. The old patterns, no matter how cleverly rearranged to imitate progress, still condemn us to cosmetically altered repetitions of the same old exchanges, the same old guilt, hatred, recrimination, lamentation, and suspicion.”
“For we have, built into all of us, old blueprints of expectation and response, old structures of oppression, and these must be altered at the same time as we alter the living conditions which are the result of those structures. For the master’s tools will not dismantle the master’s house.”
**************************************************
We Don’t Want A Bigger Slice, We Want A Different Pie
by Jezebel Blessing

Reading the above passage written by Audre Lorde in the 1970’s and seeing it’s relevant application to the state of today’s women tells me that while we may have accomplished much in the past 100 years of women’s liberation we are still woefully behind on the one change that will make the most difference, how we treat one another as women. We are all guilty of labeling differences and dismissing issues because of those differences, I have a strong prejudice against Yuppies and tend to sneer at anyone driving an SUV. But really, who am I serving when I continue the same old patterns of hatred and suspicion? I’m serving my oppressor and using one of the master’s tool to set myself apart and distance myself from the solidarity of sisterhood.

Divide and conquer is not an immediate weapon like a gun or oppressive law; it is a poison that seeps into our brains creating a gap, then a chasm of fear and suspicion. The opposition uses differences as weapons to keep us from seeing the real issues facing all women regardless of race, age, sexuality, or financial status. We cannot lead a successful revolt if we are dividing ourselves into separate camps, focus upon your similarity and create a united front. Women waste so much of our resources upon what our oppressors define for us as the success of a liberated woman that we lose sight of the fact that what they are handing us as victories for our fight are crumbs. “You’ve come a long way, baby,” but we still have a long way to go; and I’m not your fucking baby.

I have the right to smoke cigarettes and drink booze until it kills me, over or under eat to compensate for my emotional need to feel “good enough”, the right to wear high heels and tight clothes that hobble me and injure my body. I have the right to poison my body and my planet with chemicals to make me feel more feminine, the right to compete for a husband, and to spend as much of my energy as possible to keep that husband happy. I have the right to vote for candidates that don’t represent me and only give “women’s issues” lip service, then dismissing campaign promises as not being the “real issue” once they are elected. I have the right to work outside of the home for lower pay and fewer benefits in a subordinate position to men and the right to choose between raising a family or being successful in my field (if I can get past the glass ceiling). I have the right to walk down the street or live alone under constant threat to my safety and well being, and I have the right to choose whom I will have sex with so long as I’m careful not to be labeled a cocktease or a slut.

As Kalamu ya Salaam, a black male writer points out. “As long as male domination exists, rape will exist. Only women revolting and men made conscious of their responsibility to fight sexism can collectively stop rape.” Rape comes in many guises, not all is purely a sexual assault, and until we see this rape of over %50 of the population of the planet as an issue that crosses color and status lines we will continue to be raped all of our lives and doom our daughters to face the same humiliations.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

"Feminism....

Jezebel — Fri, 01 Oct 2004 18:30:37 GMT

the radical notion the women are people."

Feminism is such a touchy subject, many women would not identify themselves as Feminists because of the negative associations attached to the word. When did the image overshadow the idea and why haven't we taken back the identity?

Gay men revel in their media image, turning it into and icon instead of an insult. This has also happend with other negative stereotypes, except for Feminists. Many still fear being labeled as a Feminist because they associate the word with thick women with mustaches and no boyfriend. Come on ladies, when is it our turn to reshape that image into the reality of beautiful women of all shapes and sizes interested in being treated like a person with all of the rights and priveledges that men have? Why do I see bickering over a title hamstring the movement and rob us of needed voices for change?

I am a Feminist. It doesn't matter what I wear, how long my hair is, or how many children I do or dont' have I am still a feminist. I think that men and women should be treated like people, equal in potential and indivisable from their ambitions. If gay people can have Gay Pride to bring their issues about inequality to the table why haven't I seen Feminist Pride championing our causes?

Any thoughts ladies? What does being a Feminist mean to you?

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 11 replies

dealing with "strange" remarks...

alicia — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 06:25:42 GMT

OK, here's the situation. I work at a grocery store, and I'm a fairly friendly person, so a few of the regulars like to chat. One older fellow knows that I will be starting an MA program in archaeology this fall. But the problem is that whenever he sees me now, he always says the same stupid shit, "how's alicia the attractive archeaologist" or "how's alicia, the delicious archeaologist"? DELICIOUS?!?!? I want to run the opposite direction whenever I see him in the store. How do I politely say that this makes me uncomfortable while I'm in public and working?
Have you been in a similiar situation?

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 4 replies

So this is what I get

Jezebel — Wed, 03 Mar 2004 02:31:47 GMT

As you well know I was not happy at my job (see "Fucking Monkey Job" posting)and it just kept getting worse. I finally stood up to the asshole who was callin gme "Jezzy-Fae" and told him I felt that was not appropriate and disrespectful, but the butthead didn't see my point until I threatend to call him "Ricky-poo". But the nasty homo-erotic jokes/slander continued (Hey, some of my favorite people are butt pirates!) and the comments about women in a derogatory manner didn't stop. I overheard one guy bragging about his line up of women over the next month and he stated "oh but I don't know (insert name) so I guess it will cost me a pizza and some beer to get laid." Pizza and Beer! He would be lucky to get to sit across from me at dinner if I knew he felt that way about my company let alone the honor of sharing my body with him.

So I complained to my temp agency and asked them to find me another job so I could leave this one. I specifically said "I cannot leave this job until I have another one lined up". Wanna guess what happened? Yep, they pulled me from that job WITHOUT another job lined up for me and then treated me like a redheaded step-child until I made it very clear that I was not going to go away until I got another placement. (I"m on the Available list) What was their reason behind that? Basically covering their own ass so they dont' get sued in a harrassment lawsuit. So here I sit unemployed because I complained about an uncomfortable work environment. To add insult to injury a few of the men I have talked to about this (my boyfriend NOT included, thank Goddess) have advised me that I should have just "grown a thicker skin" and put up with it. ASSHOLES!!!!!

I believe you Anita Hill and respect you for not giving up and not letting that asshole forget that he treated you badly.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 3 replies

I will wear blood red

Jezebel — Thu, 19 Feb 2004 17:29:45 GMT

this is a poem froma friend of mine who is one of the sexiest, powerful, sparkly people I know. Enjoy, resonate, and recognize yourself.

When I am an old lady
or even now
I will wear purple
or blood red
and reveal my night stalker
were-wolf
or monster

I will not be safe
I will rage my truth
or perhaps be a spy
of Transformation
anyway

Walking by my side
will be my children
dear ones
and vulnerable artists

And they will know
that the power
of my Darkness
is in service
of the Light

For a life without
boundaries
fierce joy
and wrathful compassion
is either a daring
adventure
or nothing
- as Helen says

So come out
come out
wherever you are
and lets form a club
but not a clique
of empowered
self expression

Inannas and Ereshkigals
one big
full of our-Selves
family

- Francesca Gentille
February 19, 2004

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

Hooray Freaks!

Jezebel — Fri, 13 Feb 2004 17:58:49 GMT

So according to this Freaks live longer, have more emotionally stable children, don't polute the world with junk, are better educated, and are just generally better global citizens.

Have you hugged a freak today?

Read on:

WHAT'S NORMAL CAN MAKE YOU SICK

By Lloyd J. Thomas, Ph.D.

What is your favorite New Year's resolution? Social psychologist, Eric
Fromm once wrote, "Just because millions of people seem to share the
same forms of pathology it does not make them sane." Is what we see as
"normal" daily living in fact, making us crazy. If you engage in the
normal way of life for the majority of Americans, are you risking your
health? Is one of your New Year's resolutions to "normalize" your
life?

Newspaper columnist, Ellen Goodman writes, "Normal is getting dressed
in
clothes that you buy for work, driving through traffic in a car that
you
are still paying for, in order to get to the job that you need so you
can pay for the clothes, the car, and the house that you leave empty
all
day in order to afford to live in it." She asserts that such a
lifestyle is the norm for most Americans.

When the Surgeon General of the U.S. reports that 85 percent of the
illnesses for which we seek medical treatment are "related to
lifestyle," then is the American way of life making us sick? Dr. Paul
Pearsall believes it is. In his book, Toxic Success, he writes,
"Eating
too much, exercising too little, consuming at levels that boggle the
mind, and increased disconnection from people and nature, have become
the normal or usual ways of the successful American way of life, but
are
these behaviors healthy for our planet and us? Does going along with
this way of living and view of success really result in the sweet
success we long for, or is it a form of commonly accepted cultural
pathology that is polluting our planet and poisoning our souls?"

I want to review some of the specifics about what is normal for the
vast
majority of us. Here are some activities most of us have come to
accept
as normal:

---We overeat and under-exercise. More than 65 percent of Americans
are
obese. We take in thousands of calories more than we need, and we burn
a lot fewer that we ingest.

---We increase our debt load in order to purchase more than we need.
The
average American carries almost $8,000 in credit card debt. Given the
rate of interest on plastic debt, most of us pay twice as much that the
original price for our material possessions.

---We shop and watch television a lot more than we interact with our
children. The average American spends six hours a week shopping; 36-48
hours a week watching TV; and only forty minutes per week playing with
their children.

---We neglect our primary relationship. 60-65 percent of marriages do
not survive. The divorce rate is twice what it was 40 years ago. The
average American couple spends less than 12 minutes per day talking
with
one another, and then the topic of conversation is focused on problems
with the kids, with money, with themselves and little or no time
focusing on creating the relationship they both would like to have.

---We spend more money on acquiring "stuff" than we do on education.
Americans spend approximately $80 billion a year on watches and jewelry
and $65 billion on higher education. We have twice as many shopping
centers and malls as we have high schools.

---We build larger and larger houses. They remain empty of people and
filled with that "stuff" that we think we need to be happy. One ad
asks
us to bring our unneeded stuff to market so the "understuffed" can buy
it (probably with credit cards). Comedian, George Carlin cynically
describes our homes as, "just a pile of stuff with a cover on it."

Many years ago, psychologist, Abraham Maslow, wrote, "Certainly it
seems
more and more clear that what we call 'normal' in psychology is really
a
psychopathology of the average...so widely spread that we don't even
notice it." I hope you have the courage to not be normal. A cancer
patient once remarked, "Trying to be normal almost killed me. The only
way to survive in this crazy world is to be willing to be weird enough
not to fit into it."

Perhaps one of our New Year's resolutions needs to be resolving to be
calm, peaceful, loving, content, and connected with those we love. How
weird is that? Living like that is definitely not normal for most of
us.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

Fucking Monkey Job

Jezebel — Fri, 30 Jan 2004 18:54:35 GMT

I can’t take it anymore and I must bitch to someone but also ask advice. I know I can count on you Ladies to give me solid, ass kickin’ grrl support.

It’s my job, yes I need a job but I’m not sure if I can put up with some of the shit that goes on around me. It started with R calling me “Jezzy Face” until I finally told him to stop because I don’t like it. My name is Jezebel, you can call me Jez, but I am not fucking Jezzy Face. Plus I have to listen to this jerk talk about his sexual conquests, the guys back there make off color comments about women (yes they try to keep it down but I’m not deaf), and sending one another computer files like a woman’s naked body set up on the computer screen so you can use her body parts as an operating board.

Yesterday I get the sales guy for our printers on the phone; he is placing an order for some back up cartridges for our printers and sending me a $50 American Express check for placing the order. That’s great; I could really use the money to buy myself a bed. Then I had to put up with him suggesting that I spend it on lunch with someone or if I take it to Victoria’s Secret I have to “send them pictures of me wearing what I bought”. That little fucker even had the balls to suggest that I buy lotion; implying I send them pictures of me naked. Did I mention that he suggested that my name is an oxymoron? I’m not super sensitive and I can take a joke just like everyone else but shit, I genuinely feel disrespected and harassed.

Maybe I’m a bit touchy by the end of that day but when Pam came up to me last night and said that one of the guys made a mess in the toilet and that it was “my job” to take care of it I just about exploded on her. Now that I have more perspective on the situation I should have called our janitorial crew and asked them to come out to take care of it that night but my emotional reaction was ‘I am not the Mommy and I will not clean up someone else’s potty mess’. Then C comes up to me this morning and puts the routing slip I updated in my face saying “I suggest you clear this with everyone before you distribute it. I want JH on this list.” No one has spoken to me like that in years! It felt like he was scolding me and I’m too fucking old to be scolded like that for an honest under sight. Am I supposed to read his mind?

I almost quit this morning; I don’t feel like I should have to put up with this horse shit. For the most part the guys here are great and treat me ok; it’s just those few assholes that are making me mad. Well, I’m also pretty sick of being a Receptionist when I my skills and knowledge qualify me for more responsibilities and better pay. I’m tired of my major job description being taking orders, doing mindless tasks, and cleaning up after people. I want projects, deadlines, scopes or work, and real results to my 8 hours a day. I got such satisfaction from working for Kehillah because everything I did mattered to the Project we were working on. My creativity was appreciated and utilized, my vast knowledge base was respected, and my skills we challenged. Right now a monkey could do my job, or at least someone right out of high school with half the brains that I have.

What should I do Ladies, should I cast my line back into the Sea and discover who is interested in my brains not my boobs? Should I stick tight and thank the Gods I have a steady job while I go to school? Maybe I will scout with my temp agency and see what they have available. My inner Kali has just about had it and she’s hard to control when she wants to kick some ass.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 4 replies

Opening to the glory within you

Laura — Sat, 24 Jan 2004 20:56:48 GMT

Here's an excerpt from a LiveJournal entry I just wrote. I felt inclined to share it here:

This past night, after logging off the computer at 4:20 this morning, I settled into reading Women Who Run With The Wolves. I tend to read this book in fits and starts, and whenever I pick it up, it always seems to have just the right thing to say to me for wherever I am in my personal evolution.

I picked it up again in the middle of the chapter on Skeleton Woman, which was where I had left off. The author, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, has much to say about the Life/Death/Life force in this chapter. In my work with Kali Ma, I feel as though I am becoming more intimately acquainted with this aspect day by day.

When I started working with Her, my friend and talented psychic Desiree said to me, "She'll come in and peel you like a banana and it'll be done." At the time it all sounded so brutal to me, particularly since she had been imparting these insights at a time when I was so fragile and hurting inside. The shedding of each outworn husk continually flays me open and prods me to confront my fears, suppositions, and illusions. Each time I ride each challenge She hands me, another dull husk is cast away, and the beauty that is me can more truly shine through.

Before falling asleep last night, She reminded me that there are two sides to every coin, and thus another side to the peel metaphor.

I fell asleep to the image of a red rose, petals closed up tight against the world, not yet open. The full beauty and glory of the flower is encased within the bud, and none outside can see what is there. The bud may be afraid to bloom and choose to remain closed up tight out of fear. The tragedy here is that none outside can experience the beauty inside. Even more tragic is that the bud doesn't get to experience the growth, the unfolding, the radiant joy of being a rose! Yes, unfolding and opening means risking a lot. It means opening oneself to the harshness of life and the elements. At the same time, by unfolding to one's potential, one can taste the sweetness of the sun and the admiration of the beholder along with the harsh blows of the wind, the pecking of the birds, visitations by bees and bugs.

Every day, I wake up with the resolution to continue casting off husks and opening up my petals to reveal the rose within. I'm proud to say that I wouldn't have it any other way.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

Safety tips that you may not know

Jezebel — Fri, 23 Jan 2004 00:21:54 GMT

Please take the time to read this. I know you are smart enough
to know these pointers but there will be some, where you will
go "hmm I must remember that". Especially #9, I never would have guessed sickos would stoop this low.

After reading this, forward it to someone you care about. It
never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in.

1. Tip from Tae Kwon Do: The elbow is the strongest point
on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!

2. Learned this from a tourist guide to New Orleans. If a robber
asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO
HIM. Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more
interested in your wallet and/or purse than you and he will
go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER
DIRECTION!

3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car: Kick out the
back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start
waving like crazy. The driver won't see you but everybody
else will. This has saved lives.

4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping,
eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or
making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS! The predator will be
watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to
get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell
you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR,
LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE.

5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or
parking garage:
A.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the
passenger side floor, and in the back seat.

B.) If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from
the passenger door. Most serial killers attack their
victims by pulling them into their vans while the
women are attempting to get into their cars.

C.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your
vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting
alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to
walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/
policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS
BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better
paranoid than dead.)

6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells
are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot).

7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control,
ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running
target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL
NOT be a vital organ. RUN!

8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP IT!
It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer,
was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played
on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a
cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or
with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

9. Another Safety Point Fwd: Crying Baby Someone just told me
that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before
last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought
it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT
open the door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby
had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would
crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, "We
already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open
the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's
cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes
thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not
verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they
hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at
night. Please pass this on! and DO NOT open the door for a
crying baby. This e-mail should probably! be taken seriously
because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's
Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial
killer in Louisiana.

I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may
save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle.
I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love
your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to
pass it onto them, as well.

Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded
that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better safe
than sorry.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 1 reply

Fighting Back!

Whipsnkisses — Wed, 07 Jan 2004 22:39:53 GMT

I read this in a LiveJournal post by a friend of mine. Her mother is, I'm guessing, over 60 years old and lives alone. My friend, and her mother, gave me permission to re-post the story. I hope it provides some inspiration for you like it did for me:
-------------------------
"Called my mother again today to see how she was doing. She was mugged and almost raped in her own home Sunday night. Someone came to the door, she thought it was my oldest brother returning for something and opened it without thinking or looking. The black male forced his way in and started kicking and pummeling her to the ground. My mother, ever the fighter, struck back at him as fiercely as possible. The attack lasted approximately ten minutes with the male grabbing off her sweater and telling her, "I'm gonna get me something else too" while attempting to pull down her pants. She bit his hand quite hard (probably enough to leave a mark) and he kicked her to the ground once more, grabbed her purse and sweater, wiped the doorknobs clean and ran from the house...

"Her ribs are sore, she has a boot mark across her chest and this morning she coughed up pink sputum. But she went out and bought a gun today with my brothers. It's small, fits in her hand and she's pleased with the caliber. She's familiar with weapons but the shotgun she normally keeps in the house was under her bed at the time of attack. The whole thing never went past the foyer of the front door. She said if she had been close to it, he would have been dead.

"She stated, "You'd better fight back! It's better to die and fight then to die and not fought at all." What an incredibly brave woman."
-------------------------
What an incredibly brave woman, indeed!! May we all find that fighting spirit within ourselves. May we all so strongly believe that we our worth fighting for.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 5 replies

More on transformation

Laura — Tue, 06 Jan 2004 00:20:34 GMT

I've received permission from my sweetie, Hope Foureaux, to repost a portion of our IM this afternoon. I'd gone back to Santa Cruz to visit people for the first time since I left, and I noticed how differently I held myself in my old city, where I'd lived for ten years.

BadBadLaura27: I was walking through downtown Santa Cruz the other day, for the first time since I left.
hopefoureaux: did it feel weird?
hopefoureaux: like ghosts live there?
BadBadLaura27: I felt different.
BadBadLaura27: The ghosts were there, but they didn't try to saddle me like they did when I lived there.
BadBadLaura27: The Kali trance possession changed me inside in some profound ways.
BadBadLaura27: The ghosts left me the fuck alone.
BadBadLaura27: I had memories flooding back to me
BadBadLaura27: but I wasn't attached.
BadBadLaura27: There was a guy who tried to give me a Christian tract.
BadBadLaura27: Before, he would have forced it on me with "Awww, c'mon!" as I walked away.
BadBadLaura27: This time, I put out my hand, fixed him a look and said, "No thanks." and kept walking.
BadBadLaura27: He pulled his hand back and looked at me in stunned silence.
BadBadLaura27: I walked taller through my old city
BadBadLaura27: Stronger. Braver. Tougher.
BadBadLaura27: Yet more open.
BadBadLaura27: More aware.
BadBadLaura27: It clicked for me on my way back to Dreamland that I had realized what the word self-possessed really means.
BadBadLaura27: Owning oneself.
BadBadLaura27: And I really do, completely.
BadBadLaura27: Wow.
BadBadLaura27: Dude, I'm verbose.
hopefoureaux: It's nice
hopefoureaux: I like hearing about your transformation.

Just wanted to share more of what this bitchin' vixen is up to.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 7 replies

listen grrlll!

msspell — Mon, 20 Oct 2003 06:36:51 GMT

PHENOMENAL WOMAN
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care.
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

maya angelou

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 4 replies

Hurray for the Working Woman

Whipsnkisses — Fri, 28 Nov 2003 18:50:10 GMT

by Z. Budapest, from her book Goddess in the Office
(last look at amazon.com showed that you can buy this baby for only $0.35.. sweet.)

Hurray for the working woman, because you have resisted propaganda against your own interest, and you don't get scared when you are told that having a life and a job will be too much for you. You don't cave in when the media tries to make you wear uncomfortable clothes in the name of fabricated femininity. You buy clothes that are comfortable and define femininity according to your own needs.

Hurray for you, working sister, because when they told you to stay away from feminism, you embraced its principles and called it whatever was safe at the time. And more praises upon you, because when those doors of opportunity finally opened, you bravely marched right through and kept them open for the women who followed you. Hurray for you, working woman, because you started humanizing the workplace and began speaking out against sexual harassment. You demanded flexible hours, child care, and maternity care for both you and your spouse.

Equality needs examples, and it is you, my most respected one, who will be the conquering hera when this century is through. Do not despair if the courts do not protect you. It is the terrible backlash against your awesome effectiveness that is raging now. But never has history gone backward, and never have reactionaries been remembered by posterity. Who knows the names of men fought against the women's vote? We only know an revere those who worked for it. Your heras are working spirits: Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who a hundred years ago fought for your right to keep your earnings; Susan B. Anthony, who tirelessly worked for your right to vote; and Alice Paul, who drafted the Equal Rights Amendment, which still is not law.

From sweatshops to child labor laws, you have fought your way painstakingly to every level of management and government, opening the minds of the collective consciousness to accept women as effective employees. You broke the ice! But you have not yet achieved your goal. The Information Age is upon us, and now is when you will go "all the way, baby." You already can see that some jobs go out of style while others are born. The financial markets are changing; the need for your brain and brawn will be greater than the need to humiliate you and scare you back into low-paying jobs and servitude. You are now a true working majority. My blessings and respect to you, my working sister, and thank you for your perseverance and craft.

Enjoy your newfound power and remember that every time you make a choice, "Thou art Goddess!"

Zsuzsanna Budapest
May 5, 9992 A.D.A
(After the Development of Agriculture)

------------------------------------
*whips, kisses, 'n employment vibes*

Kitty

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 1 reply

Monika — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 19:56:03 GMT

Free your mind and your ass will follow!!
I just found that sentence in my favorite horoscope, FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny, and had to share. If you are not a Gemini and want to see your horoscope, e-mail me and I'll send it to you or go to www.freewillastrology.com.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I have just finished skimming Hiroyuki Nishigaki's surprising book *How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? or Effective Way?* Though I haven't had a chance to try out his simple and revolutionary approach to mental health, I feel confident about recommending it to you. It's time to take drastic, perhaps unconventional measures to disperse the funky moods that have plagued you recently. Regular butt-squeezing may be able to accomplish what no other therapy can. As one satisfied reader testified after achieving miracles with this technique: "Free your ass and your mind will follow."

Isn't that funny?
Lots of Love from Alaska!!

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

My road as a warrior woman

Laura — Tue, 28 Oct 2003 08:43:05 GMT

This is a livejournal entry I posted a few hours ago. I decided to re-post it here, with a few editions, because of the relevance to this group.

Kali Ma is such a harsh mistress and a wise teacher. Sometimes, in the midst of one of her teachings, I want to throw up my hands and just fade away from this existence and marvel that had she forced her way in, the whole process would be much, much worse. But it is in the calm, stable places I am finding that I can see the relevance of what I am learning, and how I am stronger and more solid within as a result.

November 9th will mark the one year anniversary of the onset of my Saturn return. It has been the most painful year of my life, and also the most wondrous in terms of growth.

The most important lesson I've learned this year has been one of impermanence.

Times change. Lives change. Relationships grow and change and transform. Sometimes the growth moves two (or more) people closer together, their lives entwining and forging a partnership. Sometimes it moves people in directions so diverse that the nature of the connection changes to something more casual or ends altogether.

I used to obtain security from promises, from iron-clad agreements. To breach said agreements and promises was to undermine the security. Within this paradigm, the security is dependent on things staying the same, of the nature of things going in the direction we want them to go.

Sometimes the Universe has other plans. That's not a bad thing. It's part of life, and there is always a lesson to be learned from the experience.

I had based my securities on the artificial notion that things must go the way I want in order for me to be okay. What I have learned this year, after many decidedly unsubtle cosmic beatings, was that I need to base my "okayness" on my worth as a person, and not on how the external things in my life were going.

When I saw the writing on the wall for my most recent ex-lover and myself, my first instinct was to hold on to him for dear life. This was not my dream! This was not what I wanted! I believed that I had to clutch, to grasp for his love and affection and to earn it because I believed that losing it meant losing all hope for happiness. Rather melodramatic, eh?

I feel like I finally began to grok the universal ebb and flow of relationships when I finally let him go. Yes, I cried my eyes out for several weeks. Yes, I was angry and bitter and wanted to leave the planet. But, somewhere along the line I realized that the relationship ended, but life was still going on around me. I could choose to live a Miss Havisham-esque existence, or I could go out and seize life by the balls and learn how to live.

Here is where normally in my life, I have found someone else to latch onto. I swore that I didn't want to go down that path again. Kali Ma in her torrential way found a way to say "Okay!"

The next Knight in Shining Armor did not come along. My sweeties were unavailable either due to illness, overwhelm, or being out of the country, and I suddenly had nobody to cling to in order to soothe the pain. I was left to wallow through my demons. I went all the way to my emotional edge before I even started to come back.

The world looks different as I come up from the abyss. In the past, I have thrown myself into taking care of others to prove my worth, so that they in turn would take care of me. In the depths of my sorrow and overwhelm and depression, I saw that the only way out was to take care of myself first. Instead of looking to my next Knight to rescue me, I slogged through the mire, got rid of the chaff, and set to forging my life, my destiny. Instead of being the damsel in distress, I stood before Kali Ma bedecked in spiritual chain mail. In the process of clawing my way out of the pit of despair, I achieved Knighthood. I no longer needed the father figure to cling to. I had become my own caretaker.

I feel like overall, I am becoming more accepting of the ebb and flow of relationships and the external trappings of being. I have my moments. I have my times of frustration and wistfulness and anger. More and more, though, I am finding a state of happiness and calm. The things I am working for are coming to fruition and opening in sweet fullness. I can experience deep and powerful connection with a loved one in one day, and have them be scattered the next, and it's okay.

And so, this warrior woman continues strong on her path, now with a sword in her belt.

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 3 replies

Goddesses who shape us

Jezebel — Fri, 31 Oct 2003 02:12:10 GMT

Laura inspired this topic, thank you Laura.

So I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that most or at least some of the ladies here are acquainted with various Goddesses and the effect of their archetypes upon your lives. I would like to share my dealings with these female deities in my life and how it has affected me.

Isis, mother of my consciousness asked for a year of silence from me. A year to meditate upon what I was learning instead of spewing it for like evangelical doctrine. A year not to speak to anyone about the radical changes in my perception so as to be present to the whole of my visions and feelings. I stopped talking and learned more than I ever had before in my life. Isis taught me the value of stillness, the reward of experience, and helped me to see the diamond clarity of my own mind.

Kali Ma kicked my ass up and down the block for years on end, she still kicks me around and keeps burning my life to ashes but I've gotten better at rolling with Her punches. I've walked Her burning grounds following a trail of bloody footprints and leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind me. It's hot on those Burning Grounds, a heat like you've never experienced before but it burns from within instead of from without. Kali taught me that I have nothing but My Self, everything else is paper and match sticks in Her fires. She taught me what being a Phoenix really means.

Gaia, mother of my body. She is the Empress in the tarot deck, everything she creates has a purpose and She loves all of Her children, even the ugly ones. I connect with Her when I walk in nature or dig in the garden, I feel Her kisses in the wind and the rain, I know that no matter how we poison or exploit Her body we are only harming ourselves. Gaia taught me about love, deep love as from an eternal Mother not the romantic twittering of Eros.

So tell me, what archetypes have you had the pleasure of being acquainted with?

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

Difficult questions for the mirror

Jezebel — Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:57:33 GMT

Lady's it's time for a call to action, there's too much going on in this world that is undermining our freedoms and killing our self-esteem. Our enemies are obvious:

Fashion magazines - their continued campaign to remind us that we are not thin, pretty, or fashionable enough to be taken seriously has got to be stopped. Break the cycle of abuse and boycott those magazines. Better yet write letter to the editor telling them that the crap that they are feeding us does not add to the quality of our lives and if the magazines really were for women and about women then maybe they should start focussing on real women who have made real differences in this world and not fashion models or someone's trophy wife.

Our legislating Government - too long have white Christian men been telling us what is good for us and our children while our schools are under funded because they voted to give themselves a raise. Too long have they made laws that limit our access to healthcare, contraception, the ownership of property or business, and to the fulfillment of our very happiness. First thing you have to do is vote! We worked damn hard to be able to vote and I'll be pig fucked if I'm going to allow them to say that they *gave* us the vote, we fucking well demanded it so get out there and seize your rights.

Ourselves - I bet you didn't think I'd say that did you? How many times do you hear women cut one another down? If one of us gets too successful others will talk about her behind her back, call her names, and just generally beat her down until she is back in the same muck that they are wallowing in. Misery loves company. Don't kill our revolution from within, don't join the ranks that are trying to keep us in their place, rise above and support your sisters for trying something different. Rise above and support women owned businesses in your area, form a study groups so that you can be as successful as they are, mentor a girl in your area, do whatever you can to build esteem not cut it down.

I'm a prime candidate for all of this. I used to read magazines, no actually I studied them, to learn how to be successful and beautiful. It was hard to see myself in either of those roles because I didn't fit what I was looking at. I was pessimistic about the power of my vote, the power of my voice, until I had it taken away from me by a power hungry monkey man who now sits in office. Never again will I allow my voice to go unheard. I used to sneer at women who had made it big, they must be bitches or sluts to get where they are. Yuppie women who drive big cars and have fancy clothes were an insult to womanhood because they had sold out to a man's world. Boy do I sound dumb. Successful women are just like you and me, they are scared, lonely, and sometimes hopelessly lost because it's hard not having someone to follow. But they don't deserve my scorn, they deserve my applause and my encouragement because despite everything in their way and everyone who told them that they couldn't make it because that's just not what women do they stayed true to their dreams and achieved them anyway.

Lady's we comprise 53% of this world's population, we are the mother's of the future, why do we allow ourselves to be ruled by someone esle's best interests? Why do we choose religions that make us feel dirty, ugly, or keep us in ignorance? Why, oh why, do we nurture our killers with our devotion to false images of beauty, mindless gossip and rumor that distracts us from our true education, and then kiss the feet of those who would treat us like so much chattel? These are questions I have been asking myself about the choices I make, is it time to start asking yourself some hard questions too?

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 4 replies

You go grrl! Praise Allah.

Jezebel — Mon, 20 Oct 2003 20:03:36 GMT

== The Media Skew ==
Fertile weeds from the savage garden of the SF Gate newswires

Allah Loves To Gaze Upon Thy Lovely Face, Oh Nubile Temptress

At least 17 expatriate teenage girls in eastern Saudi Arabia have been
suspended from school for a week for uncovering their faces on the
school
bus, the school's headmistress said, scowlingly, with lots of deeply,
deeply
repressed anxiety and bitterness and a quiet, desperate cry from deep
within
her soul that endlessly screams out during her sweaty fever dreams how
someday, somehow, she knows her full naughty delicious feminine power
will
be able to burst forth and flourish and orgasm like a firehose and
squash
the uptight rigid demons that devour her very soul on a daily basis.
The
girls also had to sign an agreement not to repeat the act, said Malika
Al-Duseiri, headmistress of the Eighth High School in Dammam, 250 miles
northeast of the capital Riyadh. "I noticed that they had removed their
head
covers on the school bus when I did a surprise call," Al-Duseiri told
the
daily Okaz. The girls were, understandably, not pleased. 'I was all
like,
what the hell, bitch?" said Fahmeeda al-Fatween Habibah, 14, from
somewhere
relatively unpronounceable. "Tomorrow I'm showing not one, not two, but
*three* inches of ankle, praise Allah," she taunted, proudly, as
everyone
gasped. "That'll show that uptight bitch. Oh, plus I'm getting a
massive
tattoo of Buddha on my butt. Praise Allah."

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

I'll go crazy if I live a lukewarm life.

Jezebel — Sat, 18 Oct 2003 17:18:54 GMT

I got a new job yesterday, I start on Mon. I don't think it's going to require rocket science or solve the problems of the world but it's a job in my field. I'm an Administrator, right now I'm still an Assistant but I'm building on my talents and I want to go into Program Coordination or Management. My specialty interests are in education, especially teens. I also want to start getting together the capitol to be able to buy a storefront with an apartment above and open up my store where I create and sell recycled fashions. Yep I"m a woman with a plan and the drive to back it.

I'm not a Type A personality (sometimes I wish I was) but I"m a pretty solid B+/C when I apply myself. All of this future planning and making it happen scares the shit out of me but I also know that I'll go crazy if I live a lukewarm life. Most of it is just building opportunity in the right areas. Studies show that if you educate yourself your actions in the outside world will follow and opportunities will open up that you probably didn't see before. So I'm gonna get me some books (I usually study better independently) and I'm gonna sit down and read them. Later, I'm gonna check out schools and see what courses are available; and next thing you know opportunities will be falling from the sky.

I've been reading this book by Gloria Steinem, "The Revolution Within", about self-esteem and how to get over, under, or through the blocks we put up to stifle ourselves. It's not what you would expect; it's not about man hating or patriarchy bashing (althought she does point out how our current social models are not good for fostering whole people). Gloria states in her foreward that this book is for everyone, and it really is. She faces men's issues with self-image and the competition syndroms that many men carry. She faces gay issues about lack of positive role models and alienation issues, and Gloria also covers women's issues which are a little bit of both plus added guilt and "nice girl" conditioning. She gives exercises on how to break out of patterns, she gives real world examples that touch a bit of the identity in all of us, and finally she has given me a great meditation that will help me to connect my Current Self with my Future Self and that way I can guide myself into the future I want to have.

I can't recommend this book enough ladies, it is one that I will be placing in my Feminist Studies library and hope to pass on to another generation. All I can really addis a personal note to Gloria: "Thanks Gloria, I needed that."

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies

:)

msspell — Fri, 17 Oct 2003 03:11:58 GMT

chicks rule and boys drool!!!
hee hee thanks for the invite... i feel so at home!!! :)

posted in The Ladys' Anarchist Stitching Circle - 0 replies