tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79167840052042381212024-03-21T03:29:29.965-07:00Mother OutlawTheorizing and Representing the Feminist Mothermother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-42725940561380739002011-12-12T08:42:00.000-08:002011-12-12T08:47:10.460-08:00Taking a little break...be back soon!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMeNAPX1NXEf8LzXzJzNmYnz2aylS9PTHlxR4_pyLZlWrwW24pCkYWrjD7eZTiMrqfa8cK8qa4LGGfWgs1fUH4dO2Vn12_LeVGQqrrSVCC_UAN82Z9tELIhHDrEtU6huYDHSxprEEjMEj/s1600/holiday-tree-book-art.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlMeNAPX1NXEf8LzXzJzNmYnz2aylS9PTHlxR4_pyLZlWrwW24pCkYWrjD7eZTiMrqfa8cK8qa4LGGfWgs1fUH4dO2Vn12_LeVGQqrrSVCC_UAN82Z9tELIhHDrEtU6huYDHSxprEEjMEj/s1600/holiday-tree-book-art.jpg" /></a></div>
Hello Readers....just a note to say I am currently taking a short break from my blog to do some healing from an unexpected appendix rupture followed by surgery and a 5 day hospital stay.<br />
Will get back to blogging when I feel better.<br />
Have lots of great posts on the back burner...including a follow up to my last Mother Outlaws Speakers Series', guest writer interviews, and much more !<br />
Please check back for these posts.<br />
Until then, wishing everyone a peaceful holiday season celebrating with loved ones in all the ways that bring warmth to your heart.<br />
Blessed Be!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blackgate.com/2009/12/25/books-at-christmas/">Image credit</a>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-87234521728520003512011-11-20T10:05:00.001-08:002011-11-20T11:26:50.074-08:00We (Still) Need to Talk About the Truths of Motherhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vbcDeRcofbNdxR3PJ4JoMI1nRim4Qx1WL6SToyXVEOFIeeWLXMWvw7JDCuUx8JFa_d2hcj2oykAwehf1dkq5G8XwmAaV0Xhn-c1lPTB0fQraaMW-ENTIXDEgTh-H6OL3gEB41eLyDOeQ/s1600/linton%252C+speak+you+into+being.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vbcDeRcofbNdxR3PJ4JoMI1nRim4Qx1WL6SToyXVEOFIeeWLXMWvw7JDCuUx8JFa_d2hcj2oykAwehf1dkq5G8XwmAaV0Xhn-c1lPTB0fQraaMW-ENTIXDEgTh-H6OL3gEB41eLyDOeQ/s320/linton%252C+speak+you+into+being.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><em>"There are many masks of motherhood, but the one of silence is the most
treacherous one of all...the mask of motherhood keeps women from speaking
clearly what they know and from hearing truths too threatening to face."</em></span><br />
<span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">(Susan
Maushart, </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1714770347"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Mask of Motherhood: </span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Mask-Motherhood-Becoming-Mother-Changes/dp/0140291784"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> How Becoming a Mother Changes Our Lives and Why We Never Talk About It</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">)</span></span></em></span><br />
<br /><span style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In one particularly poignant </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcFCJnGPudg"><span style="font-family: inherit;">scene</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in Lynn Ramsay's film adaption of Lionel Shriver's novel </span><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/We-Need-Talk-About-Kevin/dp/006072448X"><em><span style="font-family: inherit;">We Need to Talk about Kevin</span></em></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>,</em> <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">the character of Eva (portrayed by the brilliant Tilda Swinton) attempts
to silence both her baby’s incessant crying and her own <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>maternal despair by pushing her pram next to a
loud drilling <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>middle of a busy city street. Viewers are positioned
to be bystanders to her transgressive
act, and like the passerbys on the
screen, we can choose to either engage or look and then turn
away.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although I will be writing a more full review of this <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>much anticipated film in the coming weeks
after its <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Toronto</st1:place></st1:city>
December release, I really wanted to talk <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>here in this post about the visual imagery of
maternal ambivalence and more generally, the subject of the unspoken yet <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>complex realities of the mothering experience.</span><br />
<br />
In a feature <a href="http://www.brainchildmag.com/essays/fall2011_read.asp">essay</a> in the most recent issue of Brain Child Magazine, Katy Read wonders:<br />
"<span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>So
which are we: A culture in which mothers hesitate to voice misgivings for fear
of social reprisal? Or one so inundated with maternal kvetching that onlookers
are understandably tired of it?"</em></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I would agree with this writer that “it is still rare and socially risky for mothers
to admit any discontent” and that “such intense societal disapproval” of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2006/oct/28/familyandrelationships.family2">maternal ambivalence</a> keeps the subject <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>under
wraps . Indeed, I believe that far from
reaching a “cultural tipping point”, there is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an ever increasing backlash against such
expressions of the taboo aspects of mothering. Read explains it this way: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">"<em>Cultural
constraints lead mothers to complain, which draws societal condemnation, which
makes mothers feel even more stifled, which provokes further complaint …".</em></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Our <a href="http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/moss.html">Mother Outlaws Speakers Series</a> this Tuesday Nov 22 in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Toronto</st1:city></st1:place> will address this
topic specifically by showcasing the work of three local artists who make
visible the hidden and often challenging experiences of women’s lives as
mothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybFB2-NtkKp8BHXIUE-zSisyIE6YXKReubwKAbKKQ4qA0P1zbskvqPMShFeLYjUa9qpYAmoRIXzBmrFzpQ3Sazqz9a_ZGGm1td2Gvz6B6_bS7xb_IDJfQhWKryVBTvUEUAd-O4H6YIYwq/s1600/lpage_bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgybFB2-NtkKp8BHXIUE-zSisyIE6YXKReubwKAbKKQ4qA0P1zbskvqPMShFeLYjUa9qpYAmoRIXzBmrFzpQ3Sazqz9a_ZGGm1td2Gvz6B6_bS7xb_IDJfQhWKryVBTvUEUAd-O4H6YIYwq/s320/lpage_bed.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span><em><strong>Portrait
of the Artist as a Mother: Visualizing the Unspoken</strong>, consists of
presentations by Canadian visual artists: <a href="http://www.jenniferlinton.ca/">Jennifer Linton,</a> <a href="http://jenniferlong.ca/">Jennifer Long</a> and
<a href="http://lindsaypage.com/home.html">Lindsay Page</a>. Through their individual practices in photography, drawing and
video, these artists create work that challenges the myth of motherhood as
celebration and seeks to open up a dialogue around the aspects of this
transition that are, in a variety of ways, unspoken. <o:p></o:p></em></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em>
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Narrow";"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
artists in this <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>panel <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>discussion create work that seeks to address
the complexity of one’s relationship to the role of mother and in turn focus on how apprehension
and taboo, loss and disappearance intermingle with the celebratory aspects of
this transition. They challenge the stereotypes and critique the societal
pressures to conform to an ill-fitting mold that somehow still remains intact
and supported.</span></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Arial Narrow";"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Undoubtedly, more honest and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>accurate visualizations <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of mothering “realities" -such as the ones
expressed by these artists - can lead towards radical transformations and challenges
to the dominant representations of motherhood as all bliss and perfection . Of course, in conjunction with such diverse
visual representations, mothers themselves must do the essential <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>work of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“unmasking motherhood” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by speaking authentically and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>collectively with
other woman about these buried <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>truths.
As Susan Maushart wrote: “<em>Unmasking motherhood is a greater challenge to the
feminist imagination than all the other ‘women’s issues' put together”.</em></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynusuifZv6lIWHPfWVIL0j-ni3zCRVDMJC_R6FN3oB69hdLdZ8-UXVv-_q7ZVkxaxV8WtF9LMgn8gTaHe5fJMLH5pHx8NaC94qUi4kOEVN4CL1GMS32zfjcvYKWmwXkP67Fb7P2p-2KnD/s1600/JLong_Fold2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiynusuifZv6lIWHPfWVIL0j-ni3zCRVDMJC_R6FN3oB69hdLdZ8-UXVv-_q7ZVkxaxV8WtF9LMgn8gTaHe5fJMLH5pHx8NaC94qUi4kOEVN4CL1GMS32zfjcvYKWmwXkP67Fb7P2p-2KnD/s320/JLong_Fold2011.jpg" width="320" /></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">There is one
moment I remember very clearly from my own early years of motherhood. Pushing my
carriage alongside another new mother I had recently met in my neighbourhood,
we attempted to have a casual conversation about diapers and sleep deprivation above the din of her daughter’s shrill
crying (my son just happened to be asleep at that time). We approached the
top of a steep hill and this woman abruptly stopped herself in her tracks. I
looked at her directly and with my eyes<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>invited her to “ just say it, sister!” </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">She spoke her
truth: “ <em>I kind of feel like I just want to push this stroller down the hill</em>!” </span></span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I simply replied
with three words- “I hear you”- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and
advised her to go ahead of me taking my son and that I would continue behind
her at a comfortable distance <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>with her
daughter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew that she was not alone
in her experiencing of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> s</span>uch
contradictory feelings. And I knew <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that I
had found a true friend.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">I hope the readers of my post also have a network of support to discuss their true feelings about mothering.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><u>FYI: Upcoming Mother Outlaws discussion groups- Speakout and Speakeasy</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">For mothers in the London, Ontario vicinity, the next meeting of the London Feminist Mamas is Monday, November 21 at 6:30pm</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Topic- Mothering and Guilt</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
For further information, contact Coordinator Shawna at
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 8.5pt;"><a href="mailto:shawna@syncreo.com"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">shawna@syncreo.com</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For mothers in Toronto, the next meeting of the Toronto Feminist Moms is Sunday, November 27 at 7 pm</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Topic- <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">What are the reasons and
advantages in continuing to focus on mothers, motherhood and mothering, as
opposed to parents, parenthood and parenting?</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For further information, contact Coordinator Rebecca at <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><a href="mailto:torontofeministmoms@gmail.com"><span style="color: blue;">torontofeministmoms@gmail.com</span></a></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">A London, England group is in its initial planning stages...please contact Jane at <a href="mailto:mothers@ambitiousmamas.co.uk">mothers@ambitiousmamas.co.uk</a> for more details.</span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">For information about starting your own Mother Outlaws discussion group in your community, please feel free to contact me at <a href="mailto:linnbaran@sympatico.ca">linnbaran@sympatico.ca</a></span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Image credits:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Jennifer Linton, <em>I Speak you into Being</em>-Gravid Series, 2003</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Lindsay Page,
<em>untitled</em>-Spawn Series, 2007</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Jennifer Long, <em>untitled-</em> Fold Series, 2011</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /></div>
</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-21269089687370275962011-11-13T16:41:00.001-08:002011-11-17T07:53:09.709-08:00Mother Outlaws Speak the Unspoken about MotherhoodMy full post on this topic will be up soon ...until then please see information about our next <a href="http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/motheroutlaws.html"> Mother Outlaws Speakers Series</a>` on Nov 22, 2011 in Toronto. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDngrF-pZ3JX3J2CQS3QKLA8eKdKhJRjFK58dvwtQY0b9KC3uUtDDKC2cc-bLrqwN0-LvERQVmbVIsiEG1X3Z_ZqeEDgOdUwWQnjeC63MaFCwNlmOxqcswTWVxE7qqt29ijPikvJ1LY9CU/s1600/jennifer_linton_genesis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDngrF-pZ3JX3J2CQS3QKLA8eKdKhJRjFK58dvwtQY0b9KC3uUtDDKC2cc-bLrqwN0-LvERQVmbVIsiEG1X3Z_ZqeEDgOdUwWQnjeC63MaFCwNlmOxqcswTWVxE7qqt29ijPikvJ1LY9CU/s320/jennifer_linton_genesis.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Image credit: "Genesis" by <a href="http://www.jenniferlinton.ca/">Jennifer Linton,</a> 2004<br />
<br />mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-32520633433199048122011-11-13T14:56:00.001-08:002011-11-21T03:46:29.648-08:00Mothering for Schooling: Beyond Bake Sales (The Marketization of Motherhood -Part Two)<span style="font-family: inherit;">The issue </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> I addressed in my <a href="http://motheroutlaws.blogspot.com/2011/11/mommy-blogs-marketization-and-why-this.html">previous post</a> regarding the ethical </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> implications
of </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">how to resist corporate capitalism’s continuous
encroaching on family life was further illustrated for me the other weekend when I attended </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the annual </span><a href="http://www.peopleforeducation.ca/"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: blue;">People for Education conference</span></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on"><place w:st="on"><placename w:st="on">York</placename></place></st1:placename></st1:place>
<st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">University.</placetype></st1:placetype></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">Although </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on"> Executive Director and Founder, Annie Kidder truly summed up this amazing </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">conference <a href="http://tvoparents.tvo.org/video/167992/annie-kidder-2011-people-education-conference">here </a>, I remain perplexed in my questions about how "mothers" are often </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on"> the hidden gendered labor behind the scenes of a</placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on"> school's (and its students) perceived </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">success or failure. </placetype></st1:placetype></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">Just as was </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">detailed in this groundbreaking <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mothering-Schooling-Critical-Social-Thought/dp/0415950546">book,</a> mothers' work in and on behalf of their childrens' schools </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">has highlighted </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">inequities </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">of educational opportunities for all children and been increasingly intensified</placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on"> as resources are withdrawn from public </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">schools and our </placetype></st1:placetype></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><st1:placetype w:st="on"><placetype w:st="on">governments shift much of the work of teaching and learning to families. I would also add fundraising to this list as an assumed duty for all mothers of school-aged children to perform.</placetype></st1:placetype></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9awoMH4epReUSLSWnJZBmTOSpOkxwJ144SE-NmNfv2SGXXrEIw83h-e1lgoL-lYC5qB7xUOG4yTnX_VRP9m2ozDk1D4L_-z5YybQbx04fXqMPmSFYxb52g_M_MZI677iQwSs6lKB77wn/s1600/beyond+bake+sales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="205" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj9awoMH4epReUSLSWnJZBmTOSpOkxwJ144SE-NmNfv2SGXXrEIw83h-e1lgoL-lYC5qB7xUOG4yTnX_VRP9m2ozDk1D4L_-z5YybQbx04fXqMPmSFYxb52g_M_MZI677iQwSs6lKB77wn/s320/beyond+bake+sales.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">In a panel session entitled <em><span style="font-family: inherit;">“Public Schools and Private Money: The Fundraising
Dilemma”,</span></em> discussions highlighted the “desperate times call for
drastic measures” notion whereby s</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">hort on money for everything
from math workbooks to pencils, public schools are seeking corporate sponsors,
promising them marketing opportunities and access to students in exchange for desperately
needed donations. Of course, we all know that many public schools are
struggling financially and with the threat of closure due to decreased
enrollment. We also are aware that several schools are seeking alternative solutions
which include big money corporate sponsers entering the schools, using our
children as salespeople, and essentially moving from bake sales to big business.
</span><br />
<br /><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">However, one cannot overlook the “bigger picture” and
"make the connections" – as was emphasized at the entire People for
Education conference.</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Why are parents and school councils having to resort to
such fundraising measures to compensate for a lack of support for public
schools by our current government?</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">What does it mean to contribute via such fundraising
mechanisms to the creation of </span><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">‘Have’ and ‘Have-not’ schools?</span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In her presentation based on a
recent report by Social Planning <city w:st="on">Toronto</city>, entitled</span><strong><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"<a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_507583451"><span style="color: blue; font-family: inherit;">PUBLIC SYSTEM, PRIVATE MONEY:
Fees, Fundraising and Equity in the </span></a></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.socialplanningtoronto.org/?p=3579">Toronto District SchoolBoard"</a> </span></strong><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Lesley Johnston,
Research and Policy Analyst, highlighted how socio-economic, ethno-cultural and
neighbourhood divides in the city are being institutionalized in a number of
ways so that the principles of equity and inclusivity in our public education
system are being undermined.</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"></span><br /><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In this session, participants asked each other:</span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">"</span><span style="font-family: inherit; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Should Private Money Fund Public Schools?" </span><o:p></o:p><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Should
public-private partnerships be formed to shore up gaps in school budgets?
"</span><br />
</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">This Mother Outlaw is curious what others think about the equity and ethical concerns on this current issue.</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Where </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">are lines being drawn on equity principles and how much longer are parents (albeit mothers) expected to fill in with </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: inherit; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> their time and skills to compensate for our current government's inability to provide adequate funding and support for all public schools? </span><br />
<br />
** * Added note: I have no skills in baking however I DO have many other skills to make changes in how we discuss important issues that effect mothers...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnUNeKBtinijv_RU2GHRr7dtLil34w-1nnvZKdIYETaqvM_N5YbtXV8j9r47xS3POoyK3IFjdHq-DTHbA8V8eXnHAn8SCpBVM_ZyH_ubWQ2wCEoIo4GoBgjA8A3tRIezEHreVwxVNANBB/s1600/bloggingforcommunity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFnUNeKBtinijv_RU2GHRr7dtLil34w-1nnvZKdIYETaqvM_N5YbtXV8j9r47xS3POoyK3IFjdHq-DTHbA8V8eXnHAn8SCpBVM_ZyH_ubWQ2wCEoIo4GoBgjA8A3tRIezEHreVwxVNANBB/s320/bloggingforcommunity.jpg" width="288" /></a></div>
<br />
Image Credits:
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
"Cupcakes Clone" via <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonibduguid/2836161961//">Toni Busch</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
"Blogging Hands" via <a href="http://socialsolutionssite.com/">Social Solutions</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-23237079260129287402011-11-08T10:25:00.000-08:002011-11-21T03:38:38.638-08:00Mommy Blogs, Marketization and why this Mother Outlaw will Never Contribute to a Half-Baked Sale of Her Feminist Soul (Part 1)<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">One of my favourite <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feminist mother bloggers had <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>an interesting post the other day entitled “</span><a href="http://www.phdinparenting.com/2011/11/02/bad-pitches-ive-spared-you-from//"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bad pitches I’ve spared you from”.</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Annie of </span><a href="http://www.phdinparenting.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Phd in Parenting</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> addresses the oft-discussed issue in the mamasphere of <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">how one should <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>react to corporate <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pitches that are inappropriate to your blog or your audience. </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I loved her transparent honesty in discussing this topic because it reflects my own concerns regarding the intentions for my blog as a community building tool versus an outlet for “mommy marketization”.</span></div>
<div align="left" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">In t</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">he groundbreaking collection of essays </span><a href="http://www.demeterpress.org/MotheringandBlogging.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mothering and Blogging: The Radical Act of the MommyBlog</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> by MIRCI’s Demeter Press, several contributors also highlighted these same concerns. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">her chapter <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<em>Web 2.0, Meet the Mommy Bloggers”</em> </span><a href="http://www.anndouglas.ca/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Ann Douglas</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> parenting writer, discusses this <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>darker side of the “mamasphere” — how the influx of marketers and marketing make mothers compete against each other for a slice of the pie. This pie is not just financial recompense, though, as she notes: </span></span></div>
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">…social networking sites are able to attract hundreds of thousands of members who are willing to accept popularity — or even the promise of popularity — in lieu of cash payment for the content they provide to these sites. [...] This can, in turn, create an atmosphere of competition rather than cooperation between mothers.</span></span></i><br />
<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Jen Lawrence, formerly of MUBAR and now blogger at <a href="http://dwellonthese.wordpress.com/">Dwell on These Things</a> furthered this discussion in her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>great chapter <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“<em>Blog for Rent: How Marketing is Changing Our Mothering Conversations</em>” ,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by addressing how the advent of the monetization movement for mommy bloggers completely altered the dynamic between bloggers and readers, and among bloggers themselves. She includes one of my favourite analogies of all time, with respect to marketing and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mommy bloggers:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I think that blogging can be an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to building community, even if there are blog ads running down the sidebar. [...] But I don’t want blogging to become just another guerilla marketing technique. I don’t want to be invited to a friend’s home, only to discover I was </span></i><em><span lang="EN-US" style="font-style: normal; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">really </span></em><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">invited to a Tupperware party.</span></i></span><br />
<br /><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">At MIRCI’s </span><a href="http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/motheringeducation.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">most recent conference</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> in October this year , one of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my fellow feminist motherhood researchers,<em> </em></span></span><a href="http://www.andreadoucet.com/"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andrea Doucet</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>presented a paper entitled “<em>Maternal Thinking in a Digital and Neo-Liberal Age: Mommy Blogging and the Blurring of Care, Work and Consumption”.</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Her awesome presentation was rooted in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sara Ruddick’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>revolutionary work on </span><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Maternal-Thinking-Toward-Politics-Peace/dp/0807014095"><span style="font-family: inherit;">maternal thinking</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> and how this feminist scholar’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>theories of care are being both expanded and challenged by current <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>21<sup>st</sup> century mothering practices. Specifically, Doucet’s paper discussed how maternal subjectivities are being altered by new social media and the rapid proliferation of “mommy blogging”. Doucet argued that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>although this social medium can disrupt the binaries of mothers’ <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>paid and unpaid work , it <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>often remains firmly entrenced in notions of consumption <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>over care due to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2009/07/14/trusted-mom-or-sellout.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the proliferation of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>corporate sponsorships and marketing products being directed towards and accepted by <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>these bloggers. </span></a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s320/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" width="320" /></a> Of course, Doucet-and myself, too in this post -are not saying that women who are currently the primary caregivers of their children should not take advantage of additional sources of income that can be accomplished from their home base. My own mother operated several small businesses-child care provider, house cleaner, and Tupperware salesperson, to name a few-while she was home with her young children.<br />
<br />
However, in the case of "mommy blogs"- established as essentially a virtual community of support for mothers-there is <a href="http://blogs.babble.com/momcrunch/2011/08/26/what-does-selling-out-mean-when-it-comes-to-bloggers/">a concern</a> about how corporatism and commercialization are usurping an otherwise powerful medium for women as mothers and social activists.<br />
<br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">What remains most illuminating to me personally from Doucet’s presentation was her thought-provoking questions to the audience:</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“ What happens to notions of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>care when there is a constant </span><a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520214880"><span style="font-family: inherit;">commercialization of intimate life?</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">"</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">“ How can 'mommy blogging' resist hegemonic forms of mothering and remain <strong>a radical act of maternal re-thinking</strong>?”</span><br />
<br />This Mother Outlaw is curious what others think about this issue?<br />
<br />
Image credit: <a href="http://annetaintor.com/">http://annetaintor.com/</a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKNZu6lqmAsQiSB6j2tFkiCoTNBJZStMRFVDw-QW60TNReFQ5EVuB1IK8F2kypEMbsJFGnV0dDuM6uowSd9p7WlKoDezTC6MwM_BtiKqz389CgDnD-0Kn_l4bohXjvP_mSIQb5NXG3qRx/s1600/housewife+Anne+Taintor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a name='more'></a></span></a><br />
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%;">
<br /></div>
<div style="background: white; line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-1049684629599082892011-11-01T12:24:00.000-07:002011-11-17T08:14:27.934-08:00Street Hauntings: Outlaw Mothers Taking Back the Night<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The title of this post <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>alludes to several themes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, as it is being written the day after Halloween, it is meant to incite “spooky” interest about a night that celebrates dressing up in “costumes” that may or may not reflect our “other” selves. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">The title also is an ode to <a href="http://www.picklemethis.com/2010/10/19/notables-street-haunting-by-virginia-woolf/">Virgina Woolf’s famous essay </a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>about a woman <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who, in the quest to buy a pencil, enjoys a day of carefree <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>street sauntering in the city.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And finally, the subtitle refers to : the empowering process of being a “mother outlaw” and and the need for all women (and their children) to reclaim “the night” and “the streets” as their own without a fear of violence.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been a proud supporter of “<a href="http://www.blogto.com/events/44665">Take Back the Night”</a> events in <city w:st="on"><place w:st="on">Toronto</place></city> since I was a teenager. The idea <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that all women should feel confident and safe walking <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in their neighbourhoods and city streets without worrying about dangerous “boogie men” who lurk in the darkness, was a powerful message for me as a young feminist.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>proudly reclaimed the streets with other women and did it with an empowered sense of bold defiance that only <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>comes with those moments of feminist activism when you know “you are not alone” . I also took my neice <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to these events for many years-from the ages of 8-13- and she fondly remembers them now as a young woman, as being the consciousness-raising moments for her own feminism.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">HOWEVER, it saddens me that, in 2011- women (and children) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>still cannot walk our city streets without fearing for their safety. I am angered that, in 2011, women and young girls are still told that they should refrain from dressing in a certain way , more specicifically, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not dressing like “sluts”, to avoid rape and sexual harassment. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Although, the global movement of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SlutWalk">Slutwalks</a> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this year <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has continued to raise <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>both media attention and individual awareness to the continued issue of violence against women, I remain disheartened about <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/10/15/ban-school-uniforms-to-foil-perverts-say-police-115875-23489688/">continued patriarchal dictates regarding safety issues for women</a>; whereby the blame for potential sexual harrassment (and possible rape) is placed on what a woman wears versus the onus and focus being placed on the actual perpretrators of such crimes. I also find it quite disheartening that a healthy <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/24/magazine/clumsy-young-feminists.html?pagewanted=all">divisional faction within the feminist movement</a> itself on this issue - ie. how activism regarding violence against women should be publically addressed- is being used in the media to further a discrediting and silencing on such an important topic.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">YET......here is my truth....</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am still walking the streets alone as an independent woman , yet contine to look over my shoulder for concerns regarding my safety.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I continue to receive critical comments from others regarding my decisions to allow my ten year old son his own freedom - for example, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>this year I supported my son to go trick and treating alone with his friends -albeit with a 15 year old elder sister that did accompany them. Some how, I was being a "bad mother" in allowing my son this opportunity to roam his neighbourhood without the surveillance of his parents as chaperones.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
Furthermore, women are still being told that if they dress in certain "costumes" for Halloween, they can guarantee that their "trickster" performativity can only guarantee one thing...<a href="http://womensissues.about.com/b/2011/10/31/la-times-opinion-piece-dress-slutty-for-halloween-and-youre-asking-for-rape.htm">a really "bad treat".</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyuhqRbaLfDmmwCBUnjoIzH8sjRqVn1iQzGS4ygW7lcCMyhh93QafAJacENCQNBkEfPVX8X-RUKQjBlrAtQaqq2IdXNk7RjDvKxazjMgIipk5D6Ku5kQCLOYZ21CcZ9Asds4am-Vw00nJ/s1600/mother+outlaws+slut+walk+2011+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyuhqRbaLfDmmwCBUnjoIzH8sjRqVn1iQzGS4ygW7lcCMyhh93QafAJacENCQNBkEfPVX8X-RUKQjBlrAtQaqq2IdXNk7RjDvKxazjMgIipk5D6Ku5kQCLOYZ21CcZ9Asds4am-Vw00nJ/s320/mother+outlaws+slut+walk+2011+2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">This Mother Outlaw has to wonder: When will our streets be truly safe for everyone to “saunter” and “street haunt” without such worry?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I attended the Toronto Slut Walk in April 2011 as a proud Mother Outlaw….I plan on attending again next year.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">BUT- I have to say.... this is one feminist community <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mobilizing event, I wish wasn’t even in need of my support or attendance . </span></div>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-68021232341058762442011-10-17T16:33:00.000-07:002011-11-15T08:24:49.111-08:00A Blog of One’s Own….and my Dreams for a Common Language<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><em>No one lives in this room / without confronting the whiteness of the wall / behind the poems, planks of books, / photographs of dead heroines. / Without contemplating last and late / the true nature of poetry. The drive / to connect. The dream of a common language.</em></span></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; mso-bidi-font-family: Georgia; mso-fareast-font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Adrienne Rich, “The Origins and History of Consciousness” from <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Common-Language-Poems-1974-1977/dp/0393310337"><span style="color: #888888;">The Dream of a Common Language</span></a></span></span></span></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">This quote by Adrienne Rich hangs above my writing desk. I look at it every time I sit down to write.</span></h3>
<div class="post-body entry-content" style="background: white;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJYsdoV0hDcRFUZU8MtAoH8_E1KdlrAiTNF-4s_RWFgtIjTIVjBbkNy-u950Cx7Unc3tAWCmTS3hnuOeFtbKXWDCONuHkm0pBhA-rwcGQqmscua_WSpmPfat27Zbf2NAeRddZ4c7yv2wo/s1600/room+of+ones+own+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyJYsdoV0hDcRFUZU8MtAoH8_E1KdlrAiTNF-4s_RWFgtIjTIVjBbkNy-u950Cx7Unc3tAWCmTS3hnuOeFtbKXWDCONuHkm0pBhA-rwcGQqmscua_WSpmPfat27Zbf2NAeRddZ4c7yv2wo/s320/room+of+ones+own+2.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">I believe some of the best blogs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>about feminism and motherhood are those which do not declare themselves to be unique creations; singular<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>births.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To me, the best blogs in this area of<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>focus are those that believe in the power of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>communal thinking <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">… "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice"</i> as Virginia Woolf stated in <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Room-Ones-Own-Virginia-Woolf/dp/0156787334"><span style="color: #888888;">A Room of One's Own</span></a>.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">My belief </span><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>is that the feminist mother who never writes a word because she is currently buried at the crossroads <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in her life still lives. She lives in us all reading now , and in many other women who are not reading this post , for they are either washing up the dishes or putting their <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>children to bed. Amongst other acts they are doing as mothers, feminists, activists, etc.</span></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">I want my blog to be my “room of one’s own” but I also want it to be a </span>space where MANY women can speak their truth , connect, and express their unique voices.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtZhF6X6oyGCL4m4dlnAc0ZGr4_smP3bIalx1wRtebEhH1TKBoeStVLYnYlpu4s6wapXtB_3xLrj5_bzY16aB1fvqBnsxZ6Gl-AXD1JsZBAq3SPY_HIDCSYp4B7yRb06rB72IKJwwOBk/s1600/ARM-Mockup-1_03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" closure_uid_4nhlqf="4" height="188" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtZhF6X6oyGCL4m4dlnAc0ZGr4_smP3bIalx1wRtebEhH1TKBoeStVLYnYlpu4s6wapXtB_3xLrj5_bzY16aB1fvqBnsxZ6Gl-AXD1JsZBAq3SPY_HIDCSYp4B7yRb06rB72IKJwwOBk/s320/ARM-Mockup-1_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I don’t feel any mother should feel lost in a tunnel of isolation on their own without the potential possibilities for connection and community.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">In my chapter entitled “ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mother Outlaws: Building Communities of Empowered Feminist Mothers in the Mother’hood</i> “ in <span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.demeterpress.org/21CenturyMotherhood.html"><span style="color: #888888;">The 21st Century Motherhood Movement: Mothers Speak Out on Why We Need to Change the World and How to Do It</span></a>, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I describe<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> how important a "community" of like-minded individuals means to feminist mothers:</span></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><em>" It has been understood by many feminist scholars of motherhood that having a community or network of supportive peers is essential for women who choose to challenge and resist dominant discourses. </em></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em><span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In her <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>book, <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Feminist-Mothers-Tuula-Gordon/dp/0333446577">Feminist Mothers</a>, Tuula Gordon <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>emphasizes this point:</span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em><span lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>…'feminist mothers have been able to develop critical orientations towards societal structures and cultures, stereotypical orientations and myths of motherhood. They do that in the context of exploring how the personal is political, and with the support of the networks of women which place them beyond collective isolation'. </span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em><span lang="EN-US">For this reason, the provision of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a judgment free space for mothers to share their personal experiences in challenging dominant discourses of motherhood was not only central to the mission of Mother Outlaws,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>but also built on the history of earlier feminist consciousness raising groups of the women’s movement. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<em><span lang="EN-US"></span><span lang="EN-US">In speaking collectively about how personal mothering <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>challenges are linked and connected to larger social and political structures, Mother Outlaws strives to operate on the level of 'changing minds to change the world'. </span></em><em><span lang="EN-US">And, in building on the work of feminist theories that call for a transformational consciousness to mobilize mothers into inclusive maternity coalitions , </span><span lang="EN-US">Mother Outlaws was designed to transform the way <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feminist women talked to one another about their mothering experiences and to develop <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>strategies of community activism that could lead to making life better for all mothers."</span></em></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Changing minds to change </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">the world.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div class="post-body entry-content">
This may sound like a big endeavour….but I believe in the power of a community of those who can speak a “common language”.<br />
<br />
</div>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7916784005204238121.post-19886054154764305982011-10-10T12:58:00.000-07:002011-11-15T08:14:21.170-08:00Why I am a Mother Outlaw...<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My first blog post ever !<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">How exciting!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have to admit however that I was <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a little hesitant to hit send….I have a tendency to <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(over)worry <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(standard Cancerian trait) about where my writing will end up in the blogosphere and the world <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>wide net.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess a big part of me wants to ensure I am connecting with an audience of readers <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>appreciate and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>value the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>posts I am putting out into this world. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">My hesitation also stems from the fact that I have two very distinct writing voices….one that is more academic and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>political (proudly left leaning and feminist) and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">the other being more literary, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>personal (often very self-revealing) and disjointed in the way I narrate a topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Although both voices are representative of my authentic and sincere self-– I did wonder which writing voice to use for my introductory post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I have decided to just write without thinking about IT <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>too much and leave it to my readers to decide which voice they are hearing.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So …..</span></div>
<h1 style="margin: auto 0cm;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5IzytynMQf7DvdJ8hn7lqRuj1F8a3fjHUzt9osXqO7ijgly6fYjDrZ57k8p0TE39VrbW2d0UkKhwfFc6NBIZXyRy0m3F0KQLJpewNvMGCmJimNf1Oh0aigBoZlbTeD8z62_RGh7H-BJo/s1600/livv+and+linn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-5IzytynMQf7DvdJ8hn7lqRuj1F8a3fjHUzt9osXqO7ijgly6fYjDrZ57k8p0TE39VrbW2d0UkKhwfFc6NBIZXyRy0m3F0KQLJpewNvMGCmJimNf1Oh0aigBoZlbTeD8z62_RGh7H-BJo/s1600/livv+and+linn.jpg" /></a><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">My name is Linn…which is a self created moniker <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from my given name Linda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I decided to change my name about a decade ago <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to reflect exciting new transformations that were happening to me professionally and personally.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not want to abdicate my parent’s chosen name <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>too much <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as it held a herstory of cultural heritage, being that it was the English version of the Polish Linka .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>decided on a name that would be <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“similar but different” and held personal meaning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I took the “similar but different” vein even further by deciding on Linn vs Lyn (an English Literature graduate, I have this “thing’ for <a href="http://rebel-speak.de/level5/chapter1/hononyms.html">hononyms</a>)</span></span></span></h1>
<div style="margin: auto 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<h1 style="margin: auto 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><em>
<span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span>The Norwegian actress and film director, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Liv Ullmann wrote a memoir<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in 1977 simply and eloquently entilited </em></span><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Changing-Liv-Ullmann/dp/0553247352"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><em>Changing</em></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em> . While many young girls were given either a complicated and boring <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>This is your Body" manual or a copy of Judy Blume’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></em></span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Are-You-There-God-Margaret/dp/0440904196"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><em>Are You There God? Its me Margaret</em></span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><em> (albeit, a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>favourite of mine, too) by their mothers <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>upon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a certain age , my mother gave me Liv Ullman’s personal story of womanhood on the occasion of my<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10 th birthday <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and on the year of the memoir's world wide <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>publication.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></em></span></span></h1>
<h1 style="margin: auto 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><em>
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can still remember unwrapping the book eagerly <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(I knew it was a book and this in and of itself <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was thrilling for me …a passionate reader). And I can still recall turning to the dedication page- Ullmann had written “To my daughter, Linn” and underneath that line, my mother had written in her fanciful scrawl and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>utilizing her <place w:st="on">Yorkshire</place> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>dialect <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– “To my daughter, Linda….luv Mum xoxo”</em></span></h1>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">That book changed my life!</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was the most honest and soul-searching writing I had ever read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was about being a woman, an artist, a lover, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and a mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagine if it was to be published today, it would be termed a “<strong>momoir”</strong> and relegated to a parenting shelf at <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a big <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>box bookstore <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>as opposed to being given its ideal prominent location- the front window !</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">At the time I received that gift from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>my mother, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never imagined how that book <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>would predate and foreshadow the life I would lead as a woman, as an academic, as a mother and as a writer. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">I also never knew until many years later that my mother <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>was reading and discussing that book at the time of her gift giving with her Women’s Book Group- meaning a Feminist Consciousness-Raising Group during the heart <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and heat of second-wave feminism.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em>Changing</em> is chockful of meaningful insights into<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the ways in which both men and women have been limited by traditional views of masculinity and femininity. Ullmann’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>view of the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>relations between the sexes belongs <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to a feminist ethos that insists that <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the liberation of women will also free men. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strangely, it never appears on many Introduction to Women’s Studies reading lists. Odd <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>too that it was never mentioned once during my own undergraduate and graduate university courses in Women’s Studies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Some may argue that its omission in the feminist canon was because it was at variance with certain (mis) understandings<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>second wave feminism - that this movement suggested women cannot be free until they are free of men.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Furthermore, there was- and still remains- <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>further (mis) understandings about <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the connections between motherhood and feminism….more specifically the potentially empowering relationship a woman has to her experience of mothering.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed the central relationship in <em>Changing</em> is between Ullmann and her daughter Linn- her “love child” with <span style="mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN">Ingmar Bergman</span></span>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Added thoughts: don’t you just love the term<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_child"> “love child”</a> as opposed to the oft-used term “bastard”???…I hope to address my own experiences of mothering a “love child” in future posts about the patriarchal dictates of the institution of motherhood versus the empowered and feminist experiences of “actual and lived" mothering)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ullman <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>returns again and again in her memoir <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the subject of maternal guilt- how a woman should and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>can reconcile seemingly opposing conflicts between art/work and mothering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interestingly, the term now used in the media and popular culture about what I (and Ullman) would agree is a false construct <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> of such a dichotomy is </span> <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/family-and-relationships/mommy-wars/article1191246/">the mommy wars.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Myself and other current <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>researchers of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>feminist motherhood would debunk <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> such </span>notions of <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> inevitable </span>maternal guilt , while at the same time acknowledging the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> possible </span> (but potentially empowering) experiences of what Rozika Parker has termed “<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Torn-Two-Ambivalence-Rozsika-Parker/dp/1844081710">maternal ambivalence</a>”.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I also love that the Norweigian translation for “maternal guilt” is</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;">bad conscience” !!!!</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">______</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">And so you may be wondering where I am going with this long and winding post about my name change???</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just over a decade ago, I made a decision to change my name to reflect the awe-inspiring transformations that were happening to me in my personal and professional life. I chose the name <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“LINN” and that name change remains <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>both extremely <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> serendipitous</span> and profoundly meaningful.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">ALL of my work, research and writing is about feminist motherhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; tab-stops: center 216.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>For further details , see <a href="http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/">The Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement </a></span><br />
I am currently the Community Outreach and Promotions Coordinator for MIRCI , which includes the development and coordination of our <a href="http://www.motherhoodinitiative.org/motheroutlaws.html">Mother Outlaws Initiative.</a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNwXIyImbchPaF1QkycjP9cCXWphSEpGedTqOQWYOW8VlaKJIGWG0yFpdEEzJNz-1XsIOzhQLe4OeCDL_nEQDZC3oITvFwgRGhqsk0TfYcBvBcUMG5c7zBWuXyBa9pzJB5bCGK-s72if6/s1600/Linn+and+Palmer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHNwXIyImbchPaF1QkycjP9cCXWphSEpGedTqOQWYOW8VlaKJIGWG0yFpdEEzJNz-1XsIOzhQLe4OeCDL_nEQDZC3oITvFwgRGhqsk0TfYcBvBcUMG5c7zBWuXyBa9pzJB5bCGK-s72if6/s320/Linn+and+Palmer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am also the feminist mother of a 10 year old son.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JsYlTLo0rlbWqq9Z-KyB7GdEUr8nrPmCiNLgn3KuPkbQa4YnKjg6JRs2uZBDujx3d1Wx503HacJ6Emrw-zIyQabH9T0uW8vIHetf0_8hvendnsJiXRbAgoD2HCHfvA9GFhgscLASOq_N/s1600/mother+outlaw.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1JsYlTLo0rlbWqq9Z-KyB7GdEUr8nrPmCiNLgn3KuPkbQa4YnKjg6JRs2uZBDujx3d1Wx503HacJ6Emrw-zIyQabH9T0uW8vIHetf0_8hvendnsJiXRbAgoD2HCHfvA9GFhgscLASOq_N/s1600/mother+outlaw.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1977, Adrienne Rich announced in her classic text, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Born-Motherhood-Experience-Institution/dp/0393312844">Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Institution and Experience</a>, the following statement: "<em><strong>"We were conspirators, outlaws from the institution of motherhood; I
felt enormously in charge of my life"</strong></em></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I am a proud and defiant MOTHER OUTLAW…. this is my blog.....and I have a logo and T-shirts too! </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div align="left">
</div>mother outlawhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12618938082156258059noreply@blogger.com1