Musings of Ms. Volatyle

August 22nd, 2009

Feminist wallpapers, anyone?

For some strange reason, my blog is being visited by more and more people looking for “feminist wallpapers”. This, when I’ve never posted any wallpapers on my blog, ever! And I only have a couple of posts on feminism.. nothing that would bring my blog in the top search results for “feminist wallpapers”. Lol.. Google’s dumb, and it’s making us dumber. Gosh, we need intelligent search engines, and soon.

I tried googling “feminist wallpapers” myself and came up with negligible relevant results. Surprising, isn’t that? Is that because there are no feminists left or no one cares about feminist wallpapers? But then, how does it explain at least 25 hits on my blog everyday just looking for feminist wallpapers?

Among the top 5 Google results for “feminist wallpapers” were the following really ridiculous images:

June 18th, 2009

Battered But Back

Most battered women go back to their husbands ‘for the sake of their kids’. Strangely, most women don’t seem to think of what an example they’re setting for their children. And so, it’s amazing to hear the child of an abused woman say this to her mother,

‘What kind of an example would you set for me if you go back to the man who broke you?

No Comments | In: Feminism | tags: abused, battered women. | #

March 7th, 2009

Reviewing Hirshman’s Get To Work

So finally, I found the time, the energy, and above all – the WILL – to take on a monumental task I committed myself to a couple months ago. Mind you, this is despite several other monumental tasks that remain smouldering on the backburner of my brain. Hopefully, they will not be charred ashen before I can summon the WILL to complete them to.

I’m guessing, dear reader (always wanted to write that a-la-mode Jane Eyre, the dour-faced romantic heroine of my adolescence), that you would not really care to know what the taskes uber-unestimable are on my calendar, and for the sake of my own sanity, I will not care to repeat them here either.

Linda Hirshman

On we march to the mountains of Atlas, or in this case, the great feminist article Ranjani sent me to review. There, I said it. Feminist. Can’t help myself. I love being one. I love the word. Such a powerful word, I like the busty sound of it. No namby-pansie this. Feminist – a word so full of energy, rebellion, ambition, determination (WILL – mankind’s collective WILL to change the stinking status quo).

I will keep referring to some lines, words.. but it is just so much better if you have an overarching idea of the ideas I will be talking about. Of course, it is best to read the whole article, which is available at here

February 20th, 2009

Subversion and coercion in missionary circles

The former Kerala nun who has published a harrowing account of harassment during her time in service raises the most serious questions in the history of sexuality. It’s a fact, whether ‘man’kind accepts it or not – Women are harassed, by Men, whether they are in convents (in Kerala), pubs (in Mangalore), or homes around the world.

From Indian Express:

In the Malayalam memoir called ‘Amen’, former Sister Jesme lifts the dark veil over sexual abuse, corruption and power struggles in the catacombs of convents where she lived for about 30 years.

The church is yet to officially respond to the tell-all reminiscences of the 52-year-old Jesme, holding they would react to it after studying the book.

An English professor and the Principal of a church-run college in Thrissur, Jesme quit the convent in 2008 after spending years of ‘sufferings and struggles’.

January 18th, 2009

Rich and feminist

Here are some excerpts from an article Ranjani sent me to read and comment on. The entire article is available at http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=10646

LINDA HIRSHMAN wrote in her article Homeward Bound in 2005. I do not agree with everything she says, but some of her thoughts, for reasons other than belonging to the endangered species of feminists, are valuable enough to be reproduced here. In another post that will follow, I will – alternatingly – fight some of these thoughts to the ground, and toss the others around with their bedfellows in my brain.

“Choice feminism” claims that staying home with the kids is just one more feminist option. Funny that most men rarely make the same “choice.” Exactly what kind of choice is that?

I found that among the educated elite, who are the logical heirs of the agenda of empowering women, feminism has largely failed in its goals. There are few women in the corridors of power, and marriage is essentially unchanged. The number of women at universities exceeds the number of men. But, more than a generation after feminism, the number of women in elite jobs doesn’t come close.

The real glass ceiling is at home.

December 10th, 2007

Fateless kissa of the Jeans

I was too naive to think this wouldn’t happen. I thought if I say it over and over again, they’d take me seriously. I didn’t say it in moments of mirth, I didn’t say it in fits of furiousness (which sadly, happens all too often with me).

But since I began to think about it, I said I wanted to get married in jeans. Why? Because big fat Indian weddings never appealed to me, not even the ludicrously lovely Jan wedding this year. Hey, weddings should be about family and friends getting together, not blowing your lives’ savings in a day.

I remember wanting a beautiful lehnga for Summi didi’s wedding, and the only one I liked was for 16k, and mom and pa saying, ‘ why don’t you save that sort of lavish lehnga for your own wedding?’ and very quietly I said, ‘because I’ve told you that I want to get married in jeans.’ Well, and pa agreed.

No Comments | In: Feminism | tags: jeans, marriage, wedding. | #

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