I was having a conversation with a lady the other day, describing a quite complex thought. She suddenly said she though that my parents probably found me difficult. I was a little blindsided by this comment, considering she has never met my parents, so where do I go with this comment. I had to look at myself to see if there's any truth to this or whether its her projection. I realized that this was a lot larger of an issue than us two female human beings.
Women are subtly and not so subtly told their whole lives, don't be a bother, not much of a leg up from the "children should be seen ,but not heard" from the Victorian era. You can see how quiet women can be ,particularly in mixed company , we often let men dominate the conversation. This has developed into a silencing of the female voice. Of course when we do speak up, we are given so many labels "shrill", "bitch", "nag" and "feminist" to name just a very few.
I am proud to be a feminist (one who advocates or supports the rights and equality of women) As Jimmy Carter famously said "Violence against women is the most pervasive human rights violation in the world" .How you may be thinking, did I get here ,from name calling to violence. Well that's exactly how it works, labeling is the first step in dehumanizing, then violence follows.
Having complicated thoughts about large issues I will freely own up to. I will bear this as a badge of honor, being difficult however is just not me. I will continue to voice my complicated opinions, in fact I will shout them from the rooftops. I will not be silenced, as I see so many women being silenced throughout the world, recently women have been told not to laugh in Turkey. I will sing and laugh and talk for all those women whose bodies are covered up to hide who they are. I will not submit to the kind of living death, silence brings many women around the world. So laugh and talk with me, and lets change the world.
I think I may have finally finished the 4th chakra drawing from this elusive series, this is the third attempt. The colour in this image is not true, the reds are washed out a little.
