when she talks, I hear the revolution / in her hips, there's revolution

Birthday gift for Stina.

I like this quote 'cause I think it's important to remember that the revolutionary struggle isn't some macho war ideal, it's life. It's the everyday choices we make, the choice to fight back, stand up and take control in ways that can differ a lot from time to time, situation to situation and person to person.

And I don't mean that in some sort of neo-liberal "anything goes!" way, but more in a "don't put yourself down 'cause you're not doing enough, look at the things you do, the choices you make & feel proud of them" way.

Edit: Sorry for sounding like a stupid self help book. Will do better in the future.

being oppressed means the absence of choices

I'm re-reading bell hooks' Feminist theory: from Margin to Center right now, hence this small portrait of her. I'm thinking about removing it from the frame & making it into a patch to put on a t-shirt instead (just have to find a suitable tee).

For those of you that don't know, bell hooks (or Gloria Jean Watkins, which is her real name) is an american writer, feminist & scholar that deals with the relationship between sexism, racism & class. I like they way she challenges the contemporary idea of feminism as a movement & an expression that could mean just anything, depending on who defines it. According to hooks, feminism must be "the struggle to end sexist oppression" & that means that the dominant liberal feminism of today, that doesn't deal with class issues, can never be real feminism. She is relentless in her assault on white, middle class feminists (hey, that's me!) & the movements unwillingness to acknowledge & analyze it's own racism & class issues.

But at the same time as she advocates a raging criticism against how white feminists have excluded & marginalized black women or other ethnic groups & made their own strive for equality with privileged white men the goal, she's very clear on what has to be done: a turn towards companionship, solidarity & bonding between women (a bond that does not have it's roots in an imagined shared role as "victim" or "oppressed", but in shared strength & resources). She's even written a book that is all about love. I really recommend reading bell hooks to anyone who's interested in the ways that sexist, racist & class oppression works together & has to be challenged together.