#FeministWriter

[poniadeaur]

When I say feminism, the response I get is if I hate my father or my brother or just men in general? As if only men are the patriarchs, no they are most definitely the most famous ones, women who suffer patriarchy, become patriarchs too...and I can't hate them either. I hate no one, but the society as a collective (me included)

[abwwia]

Arundhati Roy: I knew that if I didn’t say something, it would be assumed that I agreed with all of this.

I understood then that keeping quiet was as political as speaking out.

I understood that speaking out would be the end of my career as the fairy-princess of the literary world.

More than that, I understood that if I didn’t write what I believed regardless of the consequences, I would become my own worst enemy and would possibly never write again.

So, I wrote, to save my writing self. My first essay, The End of Imagination, was published simultaneously in two major mass-circulation magazines, Outlook and Frontline. I was immediately labeled a traitor and anti-national. I received those insults as laurels, no less prestigious than the Booker Prize. It set me off on a long writing journey, about dams, rivers, displacement, caste, mining, civil war – a journey that deepened my understanding and entwined my fiction and nonfiction in ways that they can no longer be separated. Source: scroll.in/article/1055943/arundhati-roy-the-dismantling-of-democracy-in-india-will-affect-the-whole-world

www.scroll.in/article/1055943/arundhati-roy-the-dismantling-of-democracy-in-india-will-affect-the-whole-world

Arundhati Roy: The dismantling of democracy in India will affect the whole world

The text of the writer’s speech as she received the 45th European Essay Prize on Sep 12, 2023 | Must watch :

Arundhati Roy talks about her life and views on the world

Suzanna Arundhati Roy (#bornonthisday 24 Nov 1961, India) is an author. She is also a political activist involved in human rights & environmental causes. via Wikipedia

Art by Women - Women in Arts

Read : theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/20/arundhati-roy-india-author-freedom-of-speech Opinion

Arundhati Roy is being hounded by the Indian state. This is a test case for its democracy by Meena Kandasamy (Oct, 2023)

That the author could be prosecuted for comments made 13 years ago is absurd – but also a deadly threat to freedom of speech

Photo: Chiara Goia (2014) @chiaragoia

www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2023/9/8/arundhati-roy-biden-macron-know-whats-going-on-in-india-but-wont-talk

#ArundhatiRoy #palianshow #womensart #artbywomen #artherstory #herstory #indianwomen #WomenInLiterature #contemporaryindia #feministwriter

[beverlywrites]

Look man, today I just want to dismantle the patriarchy, kiss a beautiful girl, and bake some sourdough.

[thisliterarylife]

meal plan. from my debut poetry collection, secrets of the high priestess, available now. link in bio. ✨ #poetsofinstagram #poetrycommunity #poetsofig #poetryofinstagram #ecofriendly #ecofeminism #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #poems #poetsociety #metoo #feminism #feministwriter #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #suicideprevention #suicidepreventionmonth https://www.instagram.com/p/CE9WJ0MBYVX/?igshid=lwgppg1shz1n

[lilacblossomsx]

Bell Hooks

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love.

[thefeministgaze]

To the Ingenious Artist's Innocent Muse

There's a young girl somewhere—everywhere—aching for love. And there's an old, ingenious artist ready to accept it.

Muse, he calls her. Their love will be echoed for centuries in art and literature. The law may be against this old man pursuing this sweet, innocent child, but age holds no significance in the face of love—unless the love is between an older woman and a handsome, little boy. It feels too perverse to even think of such love. But an old man's love for a little girl seems so pure, it is almost forgivable.

This love extends his arm to paint her virgin self stripped to its bare, beautiful skin. This love makes him settle down for a marriage with her, not without little affairs now and then, of course. But nothing comes close to his love for his darling Muse—the one that's perfect for him in his own sadistic way, the one that either moulds to his version of a perfect woman or challenges it just enough to make his love life enticing.

Insanity and death are close encounters of the Muse in this kind of love. The closer she gets to them, the purer their bond.

The ingenious artist, rock star, film god—a few months of affection from this man is worth getting into trouble for. His love is too rare—his lust he gives in abundance, but his love—too rare to be ignored.

So mould, Muse. Bend. Please him in his ways. Struggle in sex if it arouses him, sacrifice a little if it keeps him loyal. You may not get his attention for too long, but those few precious moments when he is faithful and kind—it's worth losing your life for.

So mould, Muse. Bend. Break if you must from the burden of his mighty love. One day, it'll take life in your memoir, long after his death and marriage with his new Muse, younger than you. But that permanence, that immortality of your love in art—it's worth your aches. It's worth your youth. It's worth your pride. It's worth your freedom. Give them all to him and see him make a beautiful sculpture of you, untouched by time, untouched by law, untouched by morals.

And then, see this sculpture worshiped by your daughter and her daughter who will pray to find love just like yours with a man just like their estranged father—a love so mighty that it doesn't kneel to ask for your hand. A love so mighty, it'll consume you whole. A love so mighty, it distances itself when it feels humbled by you. A love so mighty, that your name isn’t worthy to refer to you, and you will be forever known as His Muse.

•••

The world of art—whatever form it takes—glorifies the tales of love and abuse between the old, ingenious artist and his young, innocent muse: Picasso and Gilot. Elvis and Priscilla. Tarantino and Thurman. Kubrick and Duvall.

An ingenious mind incapable of human decency holds no ingenuity. A great artist incapable of humane love could never really attain greatness.

Art can never justify abuse. Genius could never excuse immorality.

Dear Muse, bearing his love does not make you special. Bearing his abuse does not make you strong. Your silence doesn’t indicate your classiness. Your acceptance doesn’t show your forwardness.

Muse, without you, the artist is nothing. But without him, you are everything you would’ve lost—your youth, your dignity, your dreams, your sanity. Without the artist, dear Muse, you are you. Without the artist, dear Muse, you are free.

You can read more posts and subscribe for free:

[thetwistedtale]

"Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."

- Virginia Woolf

[write-ugly]

#originalpoetry #poetry #poems #poet #poetrycorner #poetryofig #poetrycommunity #writingcommunity #writersofinstagram #spilledink #writeugly #feminism #feminist #feministwriter #humanist #feministman #feministasfuck #feministart #feministpoetry

[dark-dank-letters]

"Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind."

-Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

[rebeccariveraa]

“He laid the demons in me to rest. Only because they slept so well with his. And I think that’s what I loved most about him - the fact that he saw me for everything that terrified me, because it terrified him, too. And in that fear we birthed an intoxicating understanding of each other. The only kind satisfying enough to believe in. The only kind satisfying enough to live for. And so we did - we lived. We lived the rawest, freest way possible and we loved just the same; recklessly, selfishly, abundantly. And I still love him. I’ll always love him.” (3/3)

Ride - Rebecca Rivera 

Photo Cred: Jade Biggavel (@Jadebiggavel on IG)  

[magnoliaindie]

A little #mondaymotivation from our Vice President elect. Be bold, writers. Make your voice heard. Keep speaking. Keep writing. ✨ #kamalaharris #election2020 #nanowrimo #nanowrimo2020 #writersofinstagram #writingcommunity #poetrycommunity #poetsofinstagram #poetrylovers #bookstagram #bookcommunity #bookclub #writersofig #writerslife #inspirationalquotes #femalewriters #feministwriters https://www.instagram.com/p/CHXr23vgEAj/?igshid=ic5eh13noq75

[thisliterarylife]

tectonic shift. from my debut poetry collection, secrets of the high priestess, available now. link in bio or http://www.magnolia.press/our-books✨ #poetsofinstagram #poetrycommunity #poetsofig #poetryofinstagram #ecofriendly #ecofeminism #writerscommunity #writersofinstagram #poems #poetsociety #metoo #feminism #feministwriter #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #suicideprevention #suicidepreventionmonth #eatingdisorderrecovery #edrecovery #edwarrior https://www.instagram.com/p/CHLUy7uHSy3/?igshid=1hrbml1xt2oj6

[helencpugh]

iants among women during the Inca Empire. To find out more about these inspriational people, check out 'Intrepid Dudettes of the Inca Empire' https://author.to/hpugh #historicalwomen #historywelove #incagarcilaso #guamanpoma #atahualpa #incahistory #incagold #feminism #feministwriter #feministwriting #incaempire #inca #SouthAmerica #incacivilization #sacredvalley #Incatrail #machupicchu #Ecuador #Peru #Chile #womeninleadership #womeninhistoryshouldntbeamystery #womenofhistory #womenarenotobjects https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ-7MXjgBOc/?igshid=1uzm6148v3doc

[dauntlesshonestkind]

What can we all do to combat bias? The first step is to be aware of it. #womens #womensvoices #listentowomen #believewomen #writersofinstagram #writer #feminism #feministwriters #bias #genderbias https://www.instagram.com/p/B-U4eGQDoM_/?igshid=1vglryyuu2ztt

[thefeministgaze]

When My Little Brother Wanted To Be Wonder Woman

It was the early quarantine days. The kids from the apartment block moved from one house to the other, gathering up toys, pretending to be secret agents and space invaders.

When the boys gathered at our house, the topic shifted to superheroes. Each fought to be a character, and some took more than one. "I'm Captain America and Iron Man," said a fella. My brother told him it wasn't fair. But the boy insisted he took them first and that it was fair. So my brother told him in the most proudest and boastful way one could say, "Fine then. I'm Wonder Woman!"

It is usually at this moment that someone says, "Oh. So you're a girl,” and laughs hysterically. But to the surprise of my misogyny-accustomed brain, another boy immediately followed up with, "Then I'm Captain Marvel!" And another boy said, "I'm Black Window then." And another boy fought to be Captain Marvel claiming she was the most powerful of them all.

In 2020, while these 12-year-old boys were fighting to be female superheroes, I was recollecting what it was to be their age. I’d talk to my friends about how cool Spider-Man was and we once had a discussion on The New Yorker article published in Chennai Times that called female superheroes “porn stars”.

Given my experience, my brain couldn't comprehend this situation my brother was in for a second. Once it did, I felt this overwhelming joy, looking at the amount of change that has happened over the years through movements and struggles and cries and criticisms by feminists—this change reflected in this two-minute conversation between five young boys who did not just see female superheroes as potential girlfriends, but as actual heroes with powers they could choose to be. Their little conversation gave me hope.

I remember the outrage and disgust of adult men and college boys when Wonder Woman was announced. They hated the movie before it even came out.

I remember how those very men hated Captain Marvel too for taking the bike of a guy who cat-called her. "Stealing is wrong," they said — these boys who watch dick-flicks where jacked men hijack military planes to fight.

I remember how Black Widow was seen as nothing more than a big-breasted redhead who got the criminals between her legs. Was she wearing underwear? was the biggest question running through the minds of male audience and interviewers who posed the question to Scarlett Johansson on several occasions.

But these little boys are growing up in a society which has become a little better since then. A society that is just a little bit kinder towards women, and a little sensitized in the way it treats them. A society where female superheroes are normal and powerful and not sexual.

When my brother wanted to be Wonder Woman, it showed me that the struggle of feminist writers and critics against the male gaze has not gone in vain. Change is happening—slowly, but it's happening. And I hope I could be a part of this change through this newsletter. I hope I could make the world see through The Feminist Gaze.

Subscribe to The Feminist Gaze for free to read more posts like this:

Bonus: Boys dressed as Wonder Woman:

[mel-ash-books-blog]

Our book launch for The Bum Drum Conundrum (a picture book about consent) is tomorrow (July 14th)! Join us at L’Euguélionne in Montreal at 1pm! Come meet us and other awesome feminist people including our illustrator! :D . . . #booklaunch #picturebook #kidlit #kidsbooks #childrensbooks #consent #education #montreal #montrealevents #montrealwriter #quebecwriter #canadianwriters #authorsofinstagram #bookstagram #books #montrealbookstore #feminism #feministevent #feministauthors #feministwriters #bookboost #FeministFunkPodcast #bookevent https://www.instagram.com/p/Bz240blH2Un/?igshid=1xguh54kfk5k0