Feminism and Imaginative Time Travel.

I’ve noticed that the past few books I’ve read have had really strong feminist overtones, and it’s kept the topic of feminism at the forefront of my mind for the last several weeks. I read Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, which examines the societal ramifications of adultery committed by women in nineteenth-century Russia; Kathryn Stockett’s The Help follows a group of black maids who agree to tell Skeeter, a white woman writer, their stories about working for white women in Mississippi in the 1960′s, under a veil of secrecy and racial tensions and fear; and I just started reading Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, which is widely considered the manifesto of feminism’s second wave. Reading these stories has made me wonder, just like I always wonder when I watch Mad Men, if I would have been a feminist if I lived in a different era.

I definitely consider myself a feminist, and anyone who knows me well would tell you that I’m incredibly strong-willed and sassy: I’m not scared to be opinionated and I’m not scared to disagree with men or to tell them when I think they’re wrong. But as much as I’d like to think that these are inherent qualities of my being, I have to wonder how much these qualities are actually just a product of the generation I grew up in. My parents always told me that I was smart and that I could do anything I wanted to do; college was never presented as an option, but as something that was required and non-negotiable; I’ve always known what sexual harassment is and have always been encouraged to report it; I know that I can choose whether or not I want to stay at home with my children, or whether I even want to have children. All of these things have just been a matter of fact in my life.

But I wonder: what if I were Anna Karenina in nineteenth century Russia, would I have the courage and conviction to leave a husband that I loathed for a man that I truly loved, even if it meant social disownment and ostracism? What if I were Peggy Olsen in the sixties, would I keep trying to climb the professional ladder to the top rung even though all the other women I knew were just secretaries? What if I were just an average suburban housewife, would I see the same inequalities that Betty Friedan saw and fight for women’s rights as fervently as she did?

Betty Friedan leading a group of demonstrators in support of the Equal Rights Amendment in 1971

In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan calls the discontent that housewives felt in that era “the problem that has no name,” and she explains that most women, despite this feeling, simply adjusted to their domestic-bound role or ignored the problem, because “it can be less painful, for a woman, not to hear the strange, dissatisfied voice stirring within her.” I feel like that encapsulates so much of what it means to be a woman, even now. As women, I feel like we’ve shouldered so much of the blame for so many different kinds of problems, that it’s become second nature to think that if we’re discontent it is our fault. Would I have been one of those women who swallowed their dissatisfaction with their lives, who just kept on smiling until it hurt and who vacuumed the floor in heels and felt guilty for not having an orgasm over doing housework? I worry that I would have been one of those college-educated housewives in the suburbs, sitting at home all day with my children, bored out of my mind but resigned to what I knew was “my place.” I can see it. I could have been a Betty Draper. Because as opinionated and sassy as I am, I’m also a rule-follower; sadly, I’ve never been much of a rebel. And no mother would have raised me to be self-confident and self-sufficient and sharp-tongued if I was growing up in the sixties or earlier; I would have been raised to fall in line with all the other women, who were taught that all they should desire in life was to get married and have children. It makes me kind of sad to think that I probably never would have been a mover or a shaker in the feminist movement like the great Betty Friedan or Gloria Steinem or Simone de Beauvoir. But I’d like to think that even if I wasn’t marching for women’s equality, that I would support the cause in my mind and secretly know that feminism was right.

And even though there is such a long way to go in the area of women’s rights, I’m so grateful that I’ve grown up in the aftermath of the feminist movement, reaping its benefits unknowingly (up until recently, that is) and possessing an awareness of the inequality that women live with and put up with. With such awareness and such freedom as I have, how could I not want to be a feminist crusader, at least in my everyday life if not on a national or universal scale? I owe it to Betty.

my current disappointment in republicans.

usually, one of my favorite things about visiting my parents is having regular access to a television, namely to be able to watch msnbc. what i’ve seen the past week in regards to the health bill and the republican outcry against it has made me wish for tv-lessness. everything i’ve seen has made me lose faith in humanity in general, and republicans in particular.

for one, i don’t understand why republicans are looking on the health bill as if it were a sign of the apocalypse. there are no seven-headed beasts in sight; only the institutionalization of something that the majority of americans don’t have, but need in order to stay healthy and alive and to avoid having to claim medical bankruptcy. the united states is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t have universal health care. why is it a bad thing to want all americans, rich or poor, to have access to health care that will protect them and take care of them? it’s a recognition of human rights, and of humanity in general, to attempt to extend health care to all people, not just those who can afford it. i hear the word “socialism” being thrown around casually and as a synonym for “communism,” but i suspect that most americans don’t even know what the word actually means.

actually, i do know why republicans are having a coronary over the health bill: abortion. of the hundreds of pages of the health care bill that outline plans for comprehensive health care for all americans, the topic of abortion gets singled out and dwelled upon until the entire process is at a standstill. the democrats and republicans who voted in favor of the health care bill, as i understand it, were not condoning abortion; they were admitting that abortion is one small component of health care, and that americans’ right to health care shouldn’t be compromised by this single issue. as a result, democratic senators are receiving death threats from angry republicans and are fearing for their families’ safety, and republicans have done nothing to discourage them, and have in fact abetted this awful behavior. i say shame on you, republicans.

shame on randy neugebauer, republican senator from texas, who shouted “baby killer!” at michigan’s democrat senator bart stupak, who is pro-life. shame on sarah palin, who created a map with gun crosshairs in areas where the state’s senators voted for the bill, in order to identify republican “targets.” shame on the men and women who have called bart stupak’s home and threatened his and his family’s life. shame on the man who went to what he thought was virginia senator tom periello’s house (which was actually periello’s brother’s house) and cut the propane gas lines, and double shame on republican senators for not condemning it. shame on fox news and glenn beck for being brainwashers and propagandists.

there’s no reason why, if so many people are upset about the health care bill, that there can’t be a civil discussion and dialogue about it. there is absolutely no reason to threaten senators or vandalize their homes and offices. there is no reason that the health care bill has to be a partisan issue that splits our governing body and pits republicans and democrats against each other as enemies. there is no reason that republican senators shouldn’t be chastising the people who are vandalizing and threatening democrats, and urging americans to work together toward a solution that is viable for everyone, instead of egging them on to propagate violence against democrats who are just trying to do what they feel is best for the people they represent. republicans, you need to step it up. let’s be adults here.

thursday tidbits #2

1. i was listening to kexp this morning because my cd player in my car decided not to work, and i heard the unmistakable voice of paul banks (frontman for interpol). i thought that it was a new interpol song and got really excited, but alas, the friendly dj informed me that it was in fact julian plenti, paul banks’ side project. the dj also said that he thought it was the strongest work to come from interpol since their debut, so that’s pretty high praise (i guess). the song i heard was “only if you run,” and it’s lovely, but very different from interpol’s sound, musically at least. i downloaded the entire album, and i’m excited to listen to it.

2. speaking of music, i thank the almighty every day that i nanny for hip thirtysomethings who listen to good music. i am so fortunate that, when everyone leaves the house and i get to tidy everything up, i can listen to neko case or leonard cohen or sigur ros, instead of having to listen to celine dion or josh groban.

3. i am so tired of hearing people scream “socialism” when obama’s health plan comes up. even if we start to vaguely resemble a socialist nation in the single realm of healthcare, it’s probably better than millions of people not even being able to consider healthcare as an option. the government is here to serve us, not to let us suffer, so if they have to step in and regulate (/control) the healthcare system for a while so that people can go to the hospital when they need to without it costing them an arm and a leg, i am not remotely threatened by that. and it seems like all of the people who are bitching about socialism are the upper crust who can afford healthcare to begin with.

4. i started watching weeds and i can’t decide if i like it or not. elizabeth perkins is absolutely horrifying and hilarious, but the rest of the characters and the show in general seems like a caricature of real life. there’s something about that’s not quite tangible. maybe i’m just spoiled because i’ve gotten hooked on so many well-written and well-acted shows… or maybe not every show can be as good as six feet under. that’s probably it.

5. i got the 2010 ikea catalog in the mail the other day, and it has been one of the highlights of my week. and once josh gets back, we are going to spend an entire day at ikea and i’m probably going to spend a trillion dollars on stuff for my new apartment. i’m so excited that i get to live in a real room, instead of the hallway between the living room and the bathroom, and that it will be my room for the entire year, and that i can furnish and decorate and make it beautiful. i know for sure that when i go to ikea i’m getting a horse-shaped baking tin… best ever.

6. i’ve realized that i really enjoy making numbered lists.

the best and worst april fools’ day pranks.

i’m actually not going to qualify which were the best and worst. i’m just going to tell about one that made me happy and one that made me mad.

the good one: my parents and youngest brother surprised me by showing up in seattle! (they live in georgia, so it was kind of a big deal)
my mom and dalton came on thursday and surprised me, and josh was in on it, and had known about it for over a month. i was so happy and overwhelmed to see them. my godmother, gail, came up on friday, so the five of us got to spend a beautiful sunny afternoon together at kerry park.

we did other fun things too, like take josh shopping at bellevue square and eat at the cheesecake factory, and cook dinner together. then, when i had thought there would be no more surprises, my dad showed up too. so nice. he works so much that he rarely gets to go anywhere fun with the family, so it was such a treat to get to see him too. they went down to the old stomping grounds in the couve, but they’ll be back on thursday to hang out for a couple days before josh and i head to yakima for easter. family is beautiful.

the bad one: the federal excise tax on cigarettes jumped from $0.69 per pack to $1.01 per pack, according to an article in usa today. the taxes on other tobacco products, like cigars and chew, also went up. the money from the taxes are going toward children’s healthcare, which is good, but the whole thing is such an infringement on freedom of choice. the government is forcing people to quit, and it’s going to hit the middle and lower classes the hardest. just sayin’.
i’m glad i stopped smoking when i did, or i’d be in a bad way.

the first day of the rest of our lives.

obviously, today is important. but does anyone fully grasp how big this moment is? i am a living, breathing part of history happening, and that is a weird and humbling feeling.

i don’t have a tv at my house, so i went to my school and watched the inauguration in our auditorium, along with hundreds of other students and faculty. it was kind of incredible, all of us coming together to celebrate coming together, and being one together. the inauguration was beautiful… i really loved elizabeth alexander’s poem, and how she asked that seemingly stupid but entirely profound question, “what if the strongest word is LOVE?” this is so much what we need.

when the inauguration was over, all of us in the room ended up singing “amazing grace” together. that sounds really cheesy, i’m sure, but it was really unifying and poignant.

when i left the auditorium, i walked down to the canal for a cigarette and started singing “america, the beautiful” to myself. again, that probably sounds cheesy, but i was feeling, and still feel, so triumphant and so hopeful in that cold foggy air, like things are going to start looking up. even the ducks in the canal were honking in celebration.

the best.

i don’t think any arrangement of words can express how utterly grateful and happy i am right now.

yes we can, obama.

edit: texts i received between the hours of 8pm and 10 pm regarding obama–
“i’m crying tears of joy.” 8:03 PM
“i hope you’re sharing the excitement i have right now.” 8:17 PM
“i love this man.” 8:59 PM
“YEAH DUDE WE DID IT!!!” 9:50 PM

debate, shmebate.

i have to say, i didn’t particularly care for the town-hall format of the debates tonight.

another thing i don’t care for is mccain’s personal attacks on obama, the way he referred to obama as “that one” (unwittingly using language typically associated with the idea of “the other”), the way he interrupted obama throughout, and his uncalled-for jab at the moderator tom brokaw. to me, mccain looked entirely desperate, and i think the above comments about his behavior legitimize my claim… his behavior shows that he’s clamoring for attention and support and that he’s losing steam. i had heard that mccain is really good in these town-hall type settings, but i was unimpressed tonight… i thought he did better in the first debate. obama, ever the cool-calm-collected fellow, was the clear winner in my mind. i guess i have a slight bias, though.

best part of the debate: when brokaw told mccain to get out of his way because he was blocking his teleprompter (in so many words). classic.

veep debates.

there are a million things i can say about the veep debates, but i think my mom sums it up best in a text message she sent me as the debates were going on:

“sarah is able to put sentences together.
biden is way more knowledgeable and it shows.
sarah is just saying what she has been taught.”

my mom is a pretty smart cookie. (and this is a fact because after the debates, the msnbc commentators said the same thing.)

the guess who – old joe.mp3
death cab for cutie – what sarah said.mp3

oh, great.

so the $700 billion bailout plan was approved by senate and is moving on to the house to be voted on.

let me tell you why this is balls:

for one thing, just on principle alone, this whole bailout is moronic… what is it teaching people? that these companies, that have been unwise and corrupt with other people’s money, don’t have to take any responsibility or be held accountable for their actions; they essentially receive a get-out-of-jail-free card… no pun intended. for the youth, the generation of instant gratification, i don’t think this is the best message to be sending.

second, these crashes in the economy are natural and necessary, on top of being burdensome and annoying. i don’t know hardly anything about wall street, but from the people i’ve talked to who do know something about it, the impression i get is that when big companies and/or the stock market crash and burn like they’re doing, it’s because something is intensely awry. when things become corrupt or take a turn for the worse, the way to remedy the situation is to let it run its course, let it crash so that the bad can be filtered out before it tries to resume and carry on. like the phoenix… rise from the ashes of itself. yeah? yes. so i feel the appropriate thing for the government to do in this situation is to let the fannies and freddies and big banks really feel the weight of what this all means, let them die, and let them rebuild themselves fresh.

i can’t wait for the veep debates tomorrow. i’m giddy with anticipation.

on a musical note (haha), paige and i were listening to thao and the get-down stay-down the other day, and she was gushing about how cute thao’s lyrics are and how she’s like a female isaac brock from modest mouse. i find this to be an adorable statement, and also a fairly accurate description… her vocals, at least sylistically, are uncannily similar at times to brock’s.

modest mouse – paper thin walls.mp3
thao – swimming pools.mp3

thoughts?

hrmph.

“burn after reading” was kind of a let down. it started out really slow, and all of the funniest parts were put in the trailers. not a bad movie, but not the coen brothers’ best work.

although, brad pitt was pretty hilarious.

he makes a decent movie every once in a while.

lots of good previews though! i’m very excited to see the oliver stone film on george w. bush, aptly entitled “w.” (and the tagline is “a life misunderestimated”… brilliant!), and the harvey milk biopic, inconspicuously titled “milk,” with sean penn as the title character. with gus van sant as director, you can’t go wrong.

ps. watched john mccain on “the view”… it was almost painful. those ladies were merciless, especially bawbwa wa-wa. they basically ripped him a new asshole.