Look - I objected to the monkey poem because the monkey was a man and he
had a wife, whom he did not abandon which would have ruined her (and her
child's) life. The monkey was not a woman unless referred to as mother
monk. Of course I know it's a little bit of sarcasm, but within it was a
dangerous reinforcement of the view of women as property, and property
dependent upon a man for the quality of her life. I depend on myself for
happiness and security, and although I have a partner I am not his property.
Marriage is patriarchal - the history of marriage is a history of ownership
- and I as a woman refuse marriage. Women have a right to be in lasting
relationships and/or focus on child-rearing should they wish to - and
division of labor is fine as long as both parts are valued equally - but
there's no doubt that so-called family values are used as a tool by the
establishment to keep women and minorities without power. Women also have
a right to be serially monogamous or promiscuous should they so desire- but
few are defending that right during these conservative times.
Thanks, Lori Anne, for your understanding - and Marguerite, I'm glad you
are an activist. I too work hard for a better world; as a conservation
biologist I struggle against the devaluation of animals and the natural
world. I apologize for saying you should not have posted that poem,
because I know you had no malicious intent and therefore can post what you
like.
Sue
>From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Mon Aug 24 10:17:09 1998
X-WebTV-Signature: 1
ETAuAhUAv9Gz6izxi3K0DYmFJXWtGcmYQ/4CFQCdlH2daGdMm8N+n1Uo1WjoRV7fNQ==
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Victoria Mireles)
Date: Mon, 24 Aug 1998 11:16:54 -0500 (CDT)
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Activist vs. Academic
Hello:
I have been enjoying the recent monkey poem debate. A fellow lister
wrote something that peaked my curiousity re> a difference between
acadeic and activist feminists (please forgive my lack of remembering
who).
I would be most interested in a frther explanation of that (condensed )
statement. Questions that come to mind: Is there a difference? What
is it? What educational materials could "fill the gap"? Does this
difference hurt or harm the movement?
Looking forward to your responses.
Victoria
