Posted by stella on 2007-03-12 20:49:33
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i was jut thinking about how profoundly fucked up it is, from a feminist perspective, that a drug like Xenical is becoming available over the counter, but birth control isn't. apparently women are too stupid to take care of their own fertility, but by all means, make sure to give them something to keep them skinny.
Posted by soapandwater on 2005-07-25 13:56:50
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You didn't put "all of the above" for the poll's options! My sister taught me how to caulk a bathtub. My aunt taught me to knit. GetCrafty has taught me a ton. I've learned how to cook from watching my mother, food network, and reading about what other people cook and how other people combine ingredients.
A lot of my self-sufficiency has come from having to figure out most things on my own, if no one shows me. For instance, not many of my friends have to fill out their financial aid forms by themselves. I do. My mother certainly doesn't know how to do it. I figure it's just the type of person you are. If no one makes you do it yourself, you won't learn until you HAVE to, which results in more struggling because the stakes are higher, you're more alone.
It'd be nice if there were feminist empowered home ec classes taught in high schools, but the teachers would have to teach it from a feminist perspective, and in high school, I met so few feminist teachers! Would they really teach the class so that it didn't reinforce gender roles? I'm not sure about that.
I think experience paves the way for most of us, and if a friend is having some real trouble figuring things out, it's sort of our job to say, "No, no, you need to start that scarf over" or "No, no, reconsider how many payments you'll really be willing to make on a car."
We need guidance from everywhere. It's just difficult seeing people go through the same things you do without being as self-sufficient.
Posted by delqc on 2005-11-30 09:05:31
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I've been spending more time on glitter lately, for several reasons. Firstly, it's community guidlines adopt a feminist perspective, which is a big defition of the craft movement for me. Now, not that I think everyone who crafts has to be a feminist, or has to be anything, but a healthy respect for diversity IS a feminist perspective, and the formal embracing of that and rejection of personal judgments reassures me in that community. Get crafty's FAQ and community guidelines do not address this, and while I in no way suggest that this has any implications for your personal ethic, Jean, it means that I personally find it increasingly difficult to discuss things here that are ouside of crafts, cooking, and domesticity. The "menknit" thread, for example, has generated "feminazi" comments, although I personally believe that the people who commented early in the thread, mostly women, and including me, were trying carefully to be honest about what bothered them, and to be honest about their own biases, and to be fair to all, NOT a perspective I noted with some later posters ...
I should note that I feel so uncomfortable even addressing this that I have written this post three times and deleted it. I feel that this is such a taboo topic now that I have serious concerns about posting it here at all.
So for me, getcrafty has become more of a strictly craft site, and I've begun to limit myself from discussing other "life" issues here, because I don't feel that discussion is embraced and defended here. Perhaps my sensitivity is unwarranted, or I'm being unfair, but that's how I see it.However, I will continue to come here, start threads, and respond to threads about craftiness, and about other life things (e.g. weight loss) that I deem to have little if any feminist/political connotations. I have made friends here (shout out!) and I would not want to leave them!
Ultimately Jean a community is made and defined by the people in it. I'm not sure what you can do or not do to "define" it other than to let it grow and develop, and to see what happens.
Oh yeah, and I really, REALLy like the tidyness of the site. Glitter is way loud and unnecessarily flashy.
Why do I feel like I will seriously regret posting this?
delqc (who fully expects to delete this post in afew days)
