Let me start by saying that I love Ani DiFranco. Anyone who can produce over 20 amazing albums in under 20 years, while raising a child, never abandoning her roots in activism, and continually kicking ass pretty much rocks in my book. With her new album, Red Letter Year, DiFranco brings it back to her classic crunchy radical folk rock. For the most part, the older her stuff, the more I like it. But with songs like Alla This, The Atom, and the title track Red Letter Year, this quickly climbed to the spot of one of my very favorite of DiFranco’s albums. (Imperfectly and Living in Clip remain my favorites.)
I’ve grown highly critical of musicians proclaiming to mix feminism and music into one through their art, abilities, and passion. And although a person can always do more, DiFranco has repeatedly found a way to mix it up and make us think. This particular album spans the spectrum including the upbeat (and nearly too sappy for this pessimist) Smiling Underneath – “long as I’m with you/I’ve got a good attitude/long as I’m with you.” My personal favorite track, Alla This, brings me back to the late 1990’s DiFranco – “I won’t rent you my time/I won’t sell you my brain/I won’t pray to a male god/Cuz that would be insane.”
Without listing quotes from each and every song on the album, I’ll sum up by saying that the passionate DiFranco has done it again; only this time, with the wisdom that comes from being a new mom. A great album, even if it takes me months to get used to the occasional sappy lyric.
Filed under: music on December 19th,
2008 by maggiehope | 1
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The Progressive Brethren gathering was full of wonderful people with deep passion and faith. It also perpetuated some damaging sexist principles. Who would have thought that God would be referred to as male 3 times in the first two sessions of the summit? Who would have thought that pastors would be referred to with male pronouns? These matters of language continue to be important to all who yearn for gender equality and for women to view themselves as whole and holy. Until women truly have similar encouragement, support and opportunity to be leaders in the church, we must be intentional about our language. (In the last session of the conference, God was referred to with a female pronoun.)
We are appropriately determined to achieve equality and wholeness for queer folks within the church, but cannot skip over straight women in the process. Our full inclusion will come together (if it comes at all) since the reasons we are denied access are the same. Allowing all genders and sexualities into full leadership would demand looking into gender and sexuality in our own lives. What if we find out something we don’t want to know about ourselves? What if we realize that we can’t keep living the way we’ve live? What if we can no longer depend on a powerful, righteous Father God to be in charge and make meaning in our confused and aching world? Read more »
Filed under: conferences on November 18th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | 2 Comments »
Krista Tippett’s weekly radio show (available in podcast) Speaking of Faith integrates a wide variety of perspectives on religion, spirituality, mystery, hope and culture. I often appreciate Krista Tippett’s interviews, and was particularly moved by the words of Rabbi Sharon Brous on Thursday’s show Days of Awe. Here is a clip of one of my favorite parts, and one that is particularly insightful for any woman wrestling with patriarchal religion:
Rabbi Sharon Brous, speaking about her relationship with Jewish texts krista-tippett-sharon-brous1.mp3
Of course, the relationship metaphor works so well in this context because (generally speaking) husbands have been able to inflict such pain upon their wives and wives have not had options for resistance. It is dangerous to romanticize being in love with a damaging tradition or person.
How do women (and men) in these patriarchal religious traditions resist powerfully and constructively?
How is the metaphor of tradition as husband or partner helpful and harmful?
Filed under: radio on September 29th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | 1
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Thank you Ralph Nader!
Ralph made many insightful, right-on comments during this show, but I want to thank him in particular for calling Bill Maher out for making sexist comments about Sarah Palin. Sure, Sarah Palin isn’t a good vice presidential candidate, but does that make her a bimbo?
Bill responded to Ralph’s schooling by saying that George Bush is a “bimbo with a penis.” Even “liberal” Bill Maher doesn’t seem to understand the power that prejudice gives to words, and that words like bimbo carry specific and damaging weight because they are part of a patriarchal tool kit.
In the comments section for this clip on YouTube, one commenter called Ralph “arrogant.” Another wrote “that fat woman lisa – she seemed extremely nervous…” Read more »
Filed under: television on September 27th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | 4 Comments »
Kate Jacob’s The Friday Night Knitting Club is a delightful novel about community building among women. The story is inspiring – single mom creates successful business, and influences other women to go after their own dreams and overcome deep fears, as well.
If the book had pushed a couple of sociological issues a bit further, it would have been much more meaningful:
- the cast of characters is a perfect pop culture diversity display: young, hip Read more »
Filed under: books on September 26th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | No Comments »
I was drawn to the theatre to see this movie. I was looking forward to it for a couple weeks, as three of my favorite actors (actresses?) (Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Debra Messing) star in it. I was hoping for a good couple hours filled with the bonds between women, the hope of a happy life without men, the strength found within a person — I hoped to leave the theatre after seeing it with a proud, rejuvenated sense of what it means to be a woman. Perhaps I wanted too much. I realize this… now that none of those hopes really panned out.
As I summarized my feelings to a close friend immediately after leaving the theatre, “I feel offended as a lesbian. I feel offended as a woman. I feel offended as a feminist.” Breaking that down into each complaint:
Jada Pinkett Smith’s first lesbian role was what I hope will be her only lesbian role. Read more »
Filed under: movies on September 18th,
2008 by maggiehope | 4 Comments »
The Constant Gardener is a wonderful movie, and even though I’m going to complain about it, I really recommend it!
Not only does this film tell an incredible story that many of us would rather ignore (corporate greed, dehumanization of poor people of color, depths of corruption and horror in Kenya and Sudan) but the female lead character is fantastic.
I want to be friends with Tessa. She’s tenacious, resolute, compassionate and vivacious. She’s also beautiful, so it’s no surprise that she’s a sexual/romantic interest for several men in the film.
Unfortunately for these men (and eventually for Tessa) the very passion and resolve that attracts these men to Tessa is what they eventually want to squelch in her. It is her very uncontrolable-ness that makes her so desirable, but the men who care for her then want to control her. Perhaps they secretly wish that she will only be tenacious, vivacious and compassionate for them? Or only use these traits in their service? Read more »
Filed under: movies on September 15th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | 2 Comments »
Once upon a time there was a single New Yorker in her 30s who had great friends, a few bad break-ups, no civic or community engagement other than chronic shopping, and a Mac. She goes through life surrounded by people who rarely stretch or challenge her, and makes a bunch of mistakes. Then she ends up with the guy that broke her heart a bunch of times, but also rescued her from the cold Russian. And they lived happily ever after, once she stopped making the wedding dress the highest priority of their union. Read more »
Filed under: movies, television on September 13th,
2008 by Anna Lisa | No Comments »
I admit, not being a huge ABBA fan, I was a little hesitant to see the new version of the film “Mamma Mia.” But after an enjoyable couple hours in the theater, a few things stood out to me:
- Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, and Christine Baranski were the highlights of the movie for me. As the plot circled around a twenty-something woman getting married, all of her twenty-something tanned and beautiful friends dancing around her, and a large amount of half-naked twenty-something year old men running around, these three women continued to draw my attention. Read more »
Filed under: movies on August 26th,
2008 by maggiehope | 2 Comments »
The Feminist Review welcomes its newest author, Maggie Miller! Thanks, Maggie, for your thoughtful review of National Young Adult Conference, and for all of the comments you’ve made on the site – you have contributed a lot to these conversations!
Would you like to write for The Feminist Review? Contact editor@thefeministreview.com (anna lisa) and we can set you up!
Filed under: uncategorized on August 21st,
2008 by Anna Lisa | No Comments »