Amazing!
I won a book at GROUP tonight! I never win anything! And it's a book I was actually going to spend 15.00 on and buy after GROUP. It's signed by the author and everything!The woman who introduced Lilian Calles Barger, the speaker and author of the book, asked for the first person who could tell her what state Barger was from. I shouted out "Texas!" and won. It was great. Of course I had a slight advantage over everyone else, as Barger spoke in my women's studies class this afternoon and told us she's from Dallas. Minor detail. :) Her book is called Eve's Revenge: Women and a Spirituality of the Body. It looks absolutely amazing, and if it's along the lines of what she spoke about today in class and this evening at GROUP, then I know that it is going to be powerful. Chapter titles include: "A Blank Canvas?: Why Our Bodies Get in the Way of Our "True"Self", "The Body is My Altar: How Women are trained to Serve the False Idols of Beauty," "Es Una Nena!: How the Current Spirituality Capitalizes on Our Sense of Powerlessness," "Daughters of Eve: Our Creation and the Origins of Our Shame," and "The Not-Always-Virgin-Mary: Our Bodies as Places of Redemption." Those are just some of the chapter titles, and they make me really excited to delve into her work. I gotta get to bed for now, though. Lots of homework and more "Respect Your Body Week" stuff going on on campus tomorrow. Barger is speaking at a forum tomorrow morning entitled "Tied Down - The Body and Spirituality." I'm excited to go!

Feminism
A good and the most accurate definition that I've heard yet, compliments of Rev. Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison:

Feminism is the perspective that views gender as one of the most important bases of the structure and organization of the social world. Feminists argue that in most known societies this structure has granted women lower status and value than men, more limited access to valuable resources, and less autonomy and opportunity to make choices about their lives. Feminists further believe that although this gender-based world may be organized around certain biological facts, such as the exclusive capacity of men to create sperm and the exclusive capacity of women to bear children, gender inequality is rooted in the social construction of human experience, which means that it should be possible to eradicate it. Finally, feminists believe that these inequities should be eliminated and that to do this, feminists cannot simply try to do better as individuals in the social world as it exists but must work together to change the structure of the social world. Any other action means making the best of an unjust situation.

AMEN!

Feeling Alone

Jean Kilbourne, a recognized speaker and researcher on the affects of advertising, spoke on campus tonight. Upper Gwinn was packed with people (mostly women). She had a slide presentation that was 45 min of ads that are in popular magazines that target many different ages. They were shocking and many of them caused me to turn my head and not want to look at them. I was floored and stunned speechless. Nudity in Calvin Klein and Abercrombie ads when they're advertising clothing (supposedly), a close up of a woman in a bra with one of the straps broken and being tied together with fishing line (saying that there's no stronger fishing line), ads that objectify women by portraying them as beer bottles, ads that tell young girls that their breasts will never be good enough. What shocked me the most, though, were the ads that actually promoted violence against women. I couldn't believe my eyes. Pictures of women with blood on them from being battered (Christian Dior ad) and an ad for perfume that said "Put it on your neck so he can kiss you while you shake your head and tell him 'no.'" Ads that tell us that women saying "no" really means "yes" and that violence against her is her fault. Ads that silence the voices of women. Ads that objectify and dehumanize. These are what our culture sees, these are what are setting the standards and morals of youth in our nation. And I guess I really want to know where everyone else is. Sara and I were talking afterwards about how we feel terribly alone on this campus when it comes to women's issues. Outside of my women's studies classes and many of our faculty, I feel alone. Our campus is 75% women, yet the majority of our population is contributing and putting up with the oppression and silencing of women at SPU. And the thing with advertising is that it isn't soley a feminist issue, but rather a human right's issue. So where is everyone?

Ani Di Franco

i am not a pretty girl
that is not what i do
i ain't no damsel in distress
and i don't need to be rescued
so put me down punk
wouldn't you prefer a maiden fair
isn't there a kitten
stuck up a tree somewhere

i am not an angry girl
but it seems like
i've got everyone fooled
every time I say something
they find hard to hear
they chalk it up to my anger
and never to their own fear
imagine you're a girl
just trying to finally come clean
knowing full well they'd prefer
you were dirty
and smiling
and i'm sorry
but I am not a maiden fair
and I am not a kitten
stuck up in a tree somewhere
generally my generation
wouldn't be caught dead
working for the man
and generally I agree with them
trouble is you got to have yourself
an alternate plan
i have earned my disillusionment
i have been working all of my life
i am a patriot
i have been fighting the good fight
and what if there are
no damsels in distress
what if i knew that
and I called your bluff
don't you think every kitten
figures out how to get down
whether or not you ever show up

i am not a pretty girl
i don't really want to be a pretty girl
i want to be more than a pretty girl

*****************
We listened to "not a pretty girl" by Ani Di Franco in women's studies this week. I could easily make it my theme song for awhile. So much of it fits with what I believe and how, honestly, I wouldn't be caught dead referred to as a "pretty girl." I am not on this earth to be the prize of some man, to be rescued and carried away into the sunset by the handsome prince. That is not who I am and what I was created for. I'm not an object to be given away (by my father or anyone else, for that matter) and to be sought after and "won." I could go on and on about books - many of them by Christian authors - that say that the two dreams of a woman are to be referred to as a "beauty" and the be swept away by a man into some adventure (not to make obvious which book I am referring to or anything). In other words, I am not all about living a fairy tale life.

I'm done venting now.

The End of the Week Already

It's Thursday! Yay! I love Thursday. One evening class, so I can work on getting stuff done throughout the day. Today is Sara's (my roomie from last year and one of my roomies for next year) birthday. We're going out to Coldstone tonight after we're all back from classes, then we're having our usual CSI night. Although, I may have to skip TV tonight and finish reading Antigone. Bah.

This weekend is the Nickel Creek concert in Portland...yippeee!! I can't wait to go see more of the west coast and to hear some incredible music while I'm at it!

The bachelorette party for my best friend, Kim, is all in order now. It's Thurs the 29th at Paint-A-Pot in Holland. It's a good, central meeting place for all of us. She and will have been running errands all day in GR and will be ready for a break and some light hearted fun with a bunch of our Ranch friends. We can't wait! I haven't told Kim about what we're doing yet. She's just going to find out once we get there. The girls and I are really excited. Everything that we paint will turn into a gift for Kim and Troy, so they'll have all kinds of personal dishes and things to use and remember us and the party by. I know, it's a GREAT idea. Thank you, thank you :) After painting pottery we're going to go out for drinks and dessert. Kim's sis, Robin, is also flying in from the West Coast (San Diego) and will be staying at Kim's with me until the wedding, so we're going to have a small slumber party Thurs or Friday night with movies, popcorn, talking, etc. It'll be a good time. I love that everything is coming together so well!

It's the end of the third week and I'm feeling the fast pace I need to keep this quarter. I need to stay on top of everything, if not ahead of everything! I'll have major work to do this weekend and next week in order to be ready to leave for a week for the wedding. I'm taking two of my three mid-terms early, so they will be out of the way and I won't have to worry about them at all while I'm in MI, so there's a relief.

I've been invited to apply for a spiritual pilgrimmage to Iona, Scotland at the end of this summer. The office of Campus Ministries are the ones putting it on. I have the time, the great desire to go (the trip sounds like it was written for me and where I am in my walk with Christ), but I do not know yet if I have the funds. Hmmm...I'm thinking of applying and seeing if I get in first, and then maybe by then I'll know whether or not I can afford it. Pray for me...

Off to Child Language Development and the Reading Process...woo hoo!

Peace

He Is Risen Indeed!

I had a good Easter. Church was really really good this morning. The sermon was awesome. Pastor Dan was really great. He preached on the Resurrection, obviously, and was saying how the women were so faithful and how they were the first ones to really believe in Christ's resurrection. He went on to talk about how the debate of the ordination of women has continued over the past century and that really the whole thing should be reversed to the women debating whether or not men should be ordained since the women were the first to believe while the men doubted. Yes!

The weather was clear, sunny and.....82 DEGREES! Woo hoo! Yee haw!

After church Emily and I went to the nursing home/assisted living place we visit every now and then. Two of our friends, Georgia and Lorraine, had passed away since we'd last been there. That was really sad. Many other people were really glad to see us, though. This one little old lady, Alicia, is my most favorite. I don't know what she has, but she can't remember things that well. She may have alzheimers. She's always so chipper, though, and gives tons of hugs. She saw Emily and I today and came right up to us with a huge hug and then started talking a mile a minute: "It's so good to see you girls! Did you know that I can't remember diddly?! Did I tell you about the time I ran away?! I ran away again, and now they don't let me near the front door!!" She said all of this with the greatest attitude and was so pleased about all of it. We were talking to her daughter and then Alicia started walking towards me and I could tell she was on a mission. "I gotta tell you something. Did you know that you have the most beautiful eyes? Them are some good lookin' peepers!!" Hahaha!! I told her that she had just made my day.

After visiting our friends we went to Emi's aunt and uncle's house. We got there early so we were banished to the backyard to tan and finish our homework. Darn, huh? Yep, I got a tan today while reading my women's studies homework! We had dinner around 3 then did an Easter basket hunt. I didn't realize that the hunt would consist of multiple baskets for each person. Yep, I came away with three baskets' worth of candy. Aye! I'm gonna share with lots of people, that's for sure. Emily's aunt gave us some fun socks and shower gel and body butter, though. I was needing some of that stuff, so perfect timing. We took a walk with the dogs after the Easter basket hunt and watched the sunset behind the mountains. Then we came home and I put in four loads of laundry. I need to finish some homework and get to bed. All the fresh air and sunshine has made me really sleepy.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!
He is risen! He is risen indeed!
He is risen! Alleluia, He is risen!

Sunshine!!

This weekend has been wonderful so far. It was 74 and SUNNY all day today. Emi, Laley, and I studied in the Starbuck's in Magnolia for four hours. I got almost everything done, with the exception of my women's studies homework because I forgot to bring my book. Afterwards we drove to one of the lookout points on the bluff. Mt Rainier was out today and the Sound was all shimmery. We noticed this staircase that went down to what we were hoping was the beach. So we went down it. It was really steep and we could tell that parts of it had settled and eroded over the years. It was also very very long, therefore we were dreading climbing back up it to get to the car. We couldn't get to the beach. Rather, we ended up on a private drive where four multi-million dollar houses stood. (You know it's all because of the view, even though they were stunning three-story houses.) So we enjoyed the view and hiked back up the 106 steep steps back to the car. Yeah, we probably won't be doing that again anytime soon. How do we always get ourselves into these situations?

We came back to our apt afterwards and played games while watching movies. It was nice and relaxing. I worked on weaving in the loose ends of yarn on the afghan-turned-bedspread I finished over spring break. The thing is huge and I am wondering how the heck I am going to get it to Michigan. I guess I'll be packing light.

Going to the 9 o'clock service tomorrow morning. I had briefly considered going to the 7am, but then forgot about it. Afterwards, Emi is picking me up and we are going to go visit our friends at the assisted living/nursing home in West Seatte. We haven't been since January. Where has the time gone!? I really miss Lorraine. She's so cute and cracks me up whenever I walk through the door. We're going to pick up some flowers from the market to take with us. After that we're heading to her aunt and uncle's house for Easter dinner. Apparently there's also a large Easter basket hunt for everyone, so I guess I'll be hunting for an Easter basket as well!

Sondra, Kim, Lauren, and Amy are having a fondue party tomorrow night at their place. I'm excited. Next Sat we're piling into Enoch's car and heading down to Portland to hear Nickel Creek...I can't wait!! I've been dying to hear them since Kim introduced them to me last year. Yay!!

Time for bed.
Happy Easter!