FINALLY - I got a chance to hear this - I've been away on business for the past week and a half.
What a fantastic speaker and a hot, hot, hot sexy woman Isabel Allende is!!! It makes me want to run out and get some of her writings - right away. I am thrilled that you posted this as I am certainly going to post it around to some of my other circles of friends. I'm afraid I fall into the category of her daughter as far as the term 'feminism' goes in my world here in the US. I think the term feminist has become horribly contorted. It's the opposite side of the pendelum. Often, I find absolutely no 'feminine' energy at all inside of most 'feminists' I meet - they have anything BUT compassion and love inside of them. They are often ugly (inside - and sometimes outside too), man-hating women who think that EVERYTHING wrong with the world was done by a man. Well let's don't forget something - all men have had MOTHERS somewhere along the way - and here in the land of plenty, I have seen plenty of woman be equally if not more so, abusive to their husbands or men in domestic violence situations. Here is something curious to think about: it is absolutely acceptable in common television ads, sitcoms and average tv here in the US for women to regularly slap, pinch, punch in the arm or otherwise 'put down' a man verbally because he's 'obviously stupid and inadequate' and there will be an accompanying 'laugh track' to go with it. Try changing it around the other way and see how many people would get seriously bent out of shape about it. I don't watch them enough to know a lot of names of programs - but you can almost do it with the sound turned down - it's alarming how perfectly acceptable it is for women to be physically violent in common domestic situations (and I'm talking mostly about sitcoms on regular network television - not just dramatic movies where the main characters are 'supposed' to be like that) - I'm talking about 'Friends' or the comedies about 'raymond' or whatever - I'm not good with names. But, as far as all of the things that Ms. Allende was saying about the need for feminine activism in a global sense, in Third world countries where women are so horribly abused as she was describing - yes the need for disassembling the social processes that foster those environments is obvious and absolutely essential. I have met women in this country in strip clubs - within the past several years who are from Eastern European countries who were brought here by 'pimps/"friends"' - men who have paid their way out of worse conditions over there to bring them here to work in strip clubs - then the girls presumably 'owe' the 'pimp' so much money for bringing them here - that they are constantly paying him back and can't get out of stripping - then they get into drugs and basically are oppressed so much by their situation...their self-esteem is already so low, they can't figure out how to get out of this cycle of abuse and dependency. The problem is, I think these are social problems - not a sign of a lack of 'feminine energy'. There are other women who work in the strip clubs who are doing it so they can pay for their college education - but I don't see them 'empowering' their fellow 'sister' to get them out of the cycle of abuse with their pimps. Want to see/hear some interesting ideas about women's situations - watch 'Dancing at the Blue Iguana' or a short performance art clip by Laurie Anderson about picketing in front of the Playboy Bunny club. Often times, women themselves continue to choose situations where they whore their own selves out - for money, cocaine (I know young girls in their 20's from white, affluent, upper middle class neighborhoods who will do whatever the boys want just so they can get a little attention and some coke), for getting their plumbing fixed (I've got perfectly nice female friends who work in good 9 - 5 jobs who will sell out their sexual charms (or at least the smile and the 'idea' of possible sex to get a man (who they aren't necessarily sexually attracted to) to fix their broken toilet - or porch - or car or whatever other service they'd rather bat their eyelashes for), and then there are those who just generally hold out for the highest priced bidder who gets to walk down the aisle and buy the whole pie (as opposed to the slice). Do you think women behave like this because they aren't 'empowered' and this is their learned 'mechanism' for dealing with a society run by men? I don't necessarily think so. I know a lot of young women who have the wealth and education to behave differently - but don't. Women keep wanting the 'alpha male'. They want the best provider and protector (motivated by their biology) - unfortunately, in our society today it is often the most insecure, abusive men who masquerade the best as alpha males. These are like social problems to me - not necessarily indicating that we are lacking in feminine energy. What exactly IS feminine energy and masculine energy anyway? I'm open for learning what it is that people really mean by these terms? I get the feeling that some women (and men for that matter) equivocate the feminine/matriarchal with all things that are good - and the masculine/patriachal with all things that are bad.. So I'm curious...what is meant by feminine energy/male energy? What do you all think? Anyway, thanks for the forum for the rant - maybe SA is right about me being the one with some kind of issues about this since I react so 'passionately' about these ideas...something to think about. But mostly - with posting this video, I'm very glad for Marsha that we now know that there are a few men out here on this group who have indicated with a few posts about women and feminism that you aren't all male chauvinist pigs... > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of MarshaV > Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 11:51 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: Re: [MD] A Passionate Woman > > > At 05:37 PM 1/4/2008, you wrote: > > >http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/204 > >Isabel Allende > > > >Old men beware. > >Ian > > Ian, > > Many, many blessings to you. This seems to represent the broken > arrow. Thank you. > > Marsha > > > > > > > Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the > stars... > > Moq_Discuss mailing list > Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. > http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org > Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ > http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/ > > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.13/1213 - Release > Date: 1/7/2008 9:14 AM > > No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.19.1/1219 - Release Date: 1/11/2008 10:19 AM Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
