I am a feminist. I am not ashamed or it, nor do I try to placate my male friends by telling them that I am the friendly sort of feminist. I stand up for my sisters here, in the US, and around the world. I believe that we, as women, must stand together to improve the living conditions of all women. I also believe that we need to work towards changing the stereotypes assigned to women. I am sure to tell people that my husband is the cook in the family, and I take care of paying the bills. I tell them that I have my second Dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and that I continue to study martial arts, and no it wasn’t my husband’s idea, it was mine. I am proud to tell people that I don’t want children, and no I don’t feel like less of a woman for it. I feel like more of a woman for knowing what I want and not just having children because that was what I was told to do.*
I am a writer. As a writer, I promote my beliefs. My main characters are often women, and they are never weak. I sent them into the heart of danger, into emotionally challenging circumstances, and into positions of authority. I want young women to read my work and know that there is a place for them at the top.
I’m sure you are wondering what set this off, well, it’s been a bunch of current events that really culminated in a really silly event. I saw pictures from last night’s America’s Next Top Model. Yes, I know that it is already a show that most feminists are shaking theirs heads at, but last night they posed the girls as sexy dead women. I personally am not comfortable with this. What does this say to women? To young girls who are watching this? Is it telling them that we don’t even care if they are alive, we still think they are hot. I am totally not against nude photos, or risqué photos, but this just reduces women to … well corpses.
* As a quick note, I am not against other people having children at all, but I do believe that you should want them more than anything else if you are going to bring them into this world.
3 comments:
If there is a market for women posing as beautiful corpses, I don't want to know about it. Even CSI wouldn't stoop to that...I hope...
What amazes me is when people grouse at one for showing my feminist, liberal, non-Christian or whatever attitude in my work. WTF is with that? I write fantasy or science fiction. I can write from the perspective of an S&M fetishist or a devil worshipper if I want, but for some people (thankfully a minority) it is heinous if I write from those perspectives.
I think that there's a trend (what I call the Marcus Welby syndrome) where people mix up the writer or actor with the characters or part.
"I do believe that you should want them more than anything else if you are going to bring them into this world."
I am so with you.
Get really, really tired of wimmin moaning about "the kids."
I hope that your novels with strong female heroines become hugely popular. I still remember learning the importance of role models when my younger sister (now 27, then 11 or so) had a role model of the actress Alicia Silverstone. Perhaps she is a wonderful, strong woman now, but at the time, she was a pretty teen actress who was most famous for pouting and being in Aerosmith videos. I thought then, "really? this is the best role model that you've come across of the 3 billion women in the world?"
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