Liberation.
The need for liberation, liberation of women and the plight of feminism. Everyday we read about how much a woman suffers, while we sit here arguing over and over again about all the things we can do and we might do. And then I look at girls around me, trying SO hard to fit in and achieve the unrealistic image of what an 'acceptable' woman is. Lose weight, work at home, be polite, meek, 'sweet', delicate and easily tamable. I realize that these things are nowhere near the greater issues regarding women, but it is these girls who are the face of our generation. Taught to be judgmental of sexual emancipation, they are afraid of liberation. Seek comfort and settle down as a beautiful pet. And then teach your children the same, ah the vicious cycle.
Phew!
FEW of the things I think about every other day, few of the questions I ask myself everywhere I go and on every page I read. Be it that of Althuser or Beauvoir, Cixous or Spivak, the uselessness of their words and the sheer minute affect of their lengthy essays fail to enchant me. And then I think. I think of how did they ever manage to change anything, the elitist group of scholars living amongst the geniuses of Sartre and Godwin. Maybe their words initiated a movement and maybe through them step by step this world has been becoming a better place. But then I look at myself, and I understand liberation (in terms of being a woman). My words here now, might sound very Romantic and Modern, but I believe in subjectivity. The ramblings in my head about existentialist arguments and insignificance of greatness, might never end. And maybe they will keep on getting worse, and the little steps I take to change my life will have repercussions much later. There are several dissatisfaction, but along with them are things that make sense. And one them are the people around me.
I go to college, study and binge, and then comes the most important part of my day, when I sit with my women and talk. We speak, speak our minds and object each other, question ourselves and never come to a conclusion. So we meet again and talk more, it has started to become a ritual and the most talked about topic is, sex. We share experiences and understand minds. We talk of Freud and the loserish men we have had, and also we understand sex through psychology. Our conversations might sound foolish and immature to many, in fact more than anything we simply discuss our experiences. How we like sex, and how do we feel about it. Is that insignificant or is it a bit abnormal? We A LOT of times end being an amusement and a great source of entertainment to the people around us (as we can barely keep our volumes down) and the Nescafe guy. But I confess, being in a group of women, free women, is liberating. I look at us and think of Mona Lisa Smile, but with a group of women happily chatting away their deepest fantasies and exciting moments. And then I think of Dead Poets Society, instead of a cave, sitting around openly in the washed off sunlight of a hot afternoon and paying as little attention as we can to time. It has started seeming rather natural to us, and we have stopped seeing it as out of the ordinary or unusual, though it began slowly and we still have some who are too confused and concerned to open completely, but the simplest act of participating is wonderful enough.
Me and my best friend, have always been like this, we never gave a rat's ass to the opinions of men. Which often gave us a wounded public image, but who ever cared about that, and our companionship has been the strongest bond ever since. But luckily, the number of people I see liberating step by step is amazing. We might not see it or don't comprehend it completely, but the evenings when we sit with little drinks beside, and open up, we are marking ourselves in time. I know the efforts are ant-ish in comparison to what really needs to be done for women liberation, but until I get involved in something big, this satisfies me. So, we are leaving a mark in history. I know many of us will get married and settle down for happiness, but what else I know for sure is that when these days will be looked back, it will be with amazement. Ten years down the line, when the people and world around us would have changed, our priorities would have been altered, it is these moments of freedom that we will run back to in our minds and remind ourselves of that time when we lost control and spoke. Spoke like free women. Generations can't be changed in days or weeks, it is these instances that will alter our lives. When we will be raising kids of our own, we will make them smell the freshness of liberty and freedom. Because I know what we experience as women in those meetings, is changing us and making us explore ourselves for better.
We might not be running completely amok, but baby steps..and we will get there. But until then we still are..
Women who run with the Wolves.
The need for liberation, liberation of women and the plight of feminism. Everyday we read about how much a woman suffers, while we sit here arguing over and over again about all the things we can do and we might do. And then I look at girls around me, trying SO hard to fit in and achieve the unrealistic image of what an 'acceptable' woman is. Lose weight, work at home, be polite, meek, 'sweet', delicate and easily tamable. I realize that these things are nowhere near the greater issues regarding women, but it is these girls who are the face of our generation. Taught to be judgmental of sexual emancipation, they are afraid of liberation. Seek comfort and settle down as a beautiful pet. And then teach your children the same, ah the vicious cycle.
Phew!
FEW of the things I think about every other day, few of the questions I ask myself everywhere I go and on every page I read. Be it that of Althuser or Beauvoir, Cixous or Spivak, the uselessness of their words and the sheer minute affect of their lengthy essays fail to enchant me. And then I think. I think of how did they ever manage to change anything, the elitist group of scholars living amongst the geniuses of Sartre and Godwin. Maybe their words initiated a movement and maybe through them step by step this world has been becoming a better place. But then I look at myself, and I understand liberation (in terms of being a woman). My words here now, might sound very Romantic and Modern, but I believe in subjectivity. The ramblings in my head about existentialist arguments and insignificance of greatness, might never end. And maybe they will keep on getting worse, and the little steps I take to change my life will have repercussions much later. There are several dissatisfaction, but along with them are things that make sense. And one them are the people around me.
I go to college, study and binge, and then comes the most important part of my day, when I sit with my women and talk. We speak, speak our minds and object each other, question ourselves and never come to a conclusion. So we meet again and talk more, it has started to become a ritual and the most talked about topic is, sex. We share experiences and understand minds. We talk of Freud and the loserish men we have had, and also we understand sex through psychology. Our conversations might sound foolish and immature to many, in fact more than anything we simply discuss our experiences. How we like sex, and how do we feel about it. Is that insignificant or is it a bit abnormal? We A LOT of times end being an amusement and a great source of entertainment to the people around us (as we can barely keep our volumes down) and the Nescafe guy. But I confess, being in a group of women, free women, is liberating. I look at us and think of Mona Lisa Smile, but with a group of women happily chatting away their deepest fantasies and exciting moments. And then I think of Dead Poets Society, instead of a cave, sitting around openly in the washed off sunlight of a hot afternoon and paying as little attention as we can to time. It has started seeming rather natural to us, and we have stopped seeing it as out of the ordinary or unusual, though it began slowly and we still have some who are too confused and concerned to open completely, but the simplest act of participating is wonderful enough.
Me and my best friend, have always been like this, we never gave a rat's ass to the opinions of men. Which often gave us a wounded public image, but who ever cared about that, and our companionship has been the strongest bond ever since. But luckily, the number of people I see liberating step by step is amazing. We might not see it or don't comprehend it completely, but the evenings when we sit with little drinks beside, and open up, we are marking ourselves in time. I know the efforts are ant-ish in comparison to what really needs to be done for women liberation, but until I get involved in something big, this satisfies me. So, we are leaving a mark in history. I know many of us will get married and settle down for happiness, but what else I know for sure is that when these days will be looked back, it will be with amazement. Ten years down the line, when the people and world around us would have changed, our priorities would have been altered, it is these moments of freedom that we will run back to in our minds and remind ourselves of that time when we lost control and spoke. Spoke like free women. Generations can't be changed in days or weeks, it is these instances that will alter our lives. When we will be raising kids of our own, we will make them smell the freshness of liberty and freedom. Because I know what we experience as women in those meetings, is changing us and making us explore ourselves for better.
We might not be running completely amok, but baby steps..and we will get there. But until then we still are..
Women who run with the Wolves.
great work.... :)
ReplyDelete