You are currently browsing the daily archive for 3 December 2011.
Brief thoughts on feminism prompted by a friend who is doing a project. Her question was whether feminism is still necessary in 2011.
I believe that, indeed, feminism is still relevant and necessary today. I think the concept itself is extremely complex and eludes facile categorization or sweeping generalizations, but essentially it represents the amelioration of women’s status in all aspects of society. There is no easy way to define that, which is why feminism has gone through many phases, undertaken various projects, and had mixed results. I just read this article by the daughter of Alice Walker (http://ow.ly/7NDje), and I think she is totally right in repudiating her mother’s behaviour, and is in no way less feminist for it. It means that there is lots more work to be done and more boundaries to be shifted.
Personally, I think feminism should imply a shift in men’s roles corresponding to the change in those of women. If we believe women are ineffectual at work, and that men are naturally incompetent in terms of family and nurturing, we are being sexist on two counts. We cannot expect for female feminism alone to make the world better: that leads to a worldview that demonizes men and traditional femininity. Instead, let’s redefine gender roles to make them more harmonious, less abusive, and less stacked one way or another in terms of power. Let’s also let people decide for themselves what they want (whether it be women who are maternal or who prefer to devote all their time to a career, or men who are stay-at-home fathers or who hold more traditional roles), all the while with an attentive and critical attitude towards the decisions we make and the realities we live. Ideally, feminism should be a process of creating a more equal and just world; it should change with the times as it changes them.
Interesting to see where I am with this at this moment. It’s changed a lot over the years and expect for it to continue to do so. Wonder how it’ll change over time.
Chicken: sauted with onions, dijon mustard, grainy mustard, honey.
Rapini: blanched, because my kabocha squash in balsamic sweet sauce took longer to bake than I thought it would.
Cinerobotheque: met up with Chris, watched an experimental stop-animation 50s short film, Naomi Klein’s The Take, The Danish Poet short. Sipping on gin on the sly and spilling vodka when it got too funny. Starting watching The Socalled Movie (to be continued).
Biking drunk up St-Laurent to Patati Patata, eating poutine.
Brownies: at 3am, with Mariel, Chris, and Mehdi, listening to klezmer hiphop.
( 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cold large eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Special equipment: An 8-inch square baking pan
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and flour the baking pan.
Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa, and salt in a bowl and set the bowl in a skillet of barely simmering water. Stir from time to time until the butter is melted and the mixture is smooth and hot. Remove the bowl from the skillet and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.
Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring after each one. When the batter looks thick, shiny, and well-blended, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer, then beat vigorously for 40 strokes with the wooden spoon or a rubber spatula. Pour into the pan.
Bake until a toothpick plunged into the center emerges slightly moist, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool completely on a rack. Cut into squares.)
Look forward to getting out into this city more. Montreal is amazing.
