Diary for Wed Nov 22 – Developing a feminist awareness & November 25

Today it was a very special lesson (indeed, like the British say!). Although I spoke too much, we talked about the need to develop a feminist intelligence in a centuries-old patriarchal culture, the obstacles, our stengths to do that, contradictions… I would like to thank you for being interested and for you active listening (apart from the fact that you do take part speaking, too), which is why I managed to be articulate on the subject, I think (we’re very vulnerable: when the audience is hostile or does not trust the speaker – and this is something feminist analysis gets in return of its precious contribution – it’s much harder to word messages that can show in some way the value of the work and the good feminist analysis and attitudes bring about. ❤ ❤ ❤

Well, I also gave out the Cuestionario Coeducación, and I have copies for people who missed today’s lesson. People plan to do it at home so they can also use it as an excuse to mull over some of the questions, and hand it in next week, or whenever they’re ready. Antonio gave me a precious idea for future questionnaires, too!

I also mentioned how important it is for people to use the materials we produce for learning to deconstruct ideas that come from a culture of complex and complicated violences. So if you all subscribe to the posts we share on Desarrollando inteligencia feminista, and spread the word, for other parents, teachers, people to check out, that’d be great!

I know I spoke a bit about the origins of patriarchal societies, mostly through ideas, not information on events, I mean, I’m still reading Lerner’s book (pops this idea is kind of bad, but it just popped into my mind!: you might want to buy this book together for our Feminist Library and have everybody sign it as a dedication! Well, after you get your certificate, I mean! 😀 It’s an extraordinary book in various ways, and you are an extraordinary group!). And I mentioned cave painting and prehistoric art as examples of what androcentrism does to our minds – something which is far from “natural” or “logical”. You might want to check this out, though it’s in Spanish: Mujer Palabra – Creadoras – Artistas prehistóricas.

If any of you wants to join the Grupo de Trabajo DIF or send us comments or questions or contributions to help us explain things or spread the word on whatever, whenever, I mean, whenever, wherever, hahahah, you’ll always be welcome. We’re also asking students to borrow our books and videorecord the reading out of a fav quote in it for our amazing Library-YouTube Channel! (remember to look at our screens at school because there’s a beautiful orange announcement!).

Oh, we also mentioned the importance of Sexual Education (resources in Spanish, but we need to update this). We’re planning to create a working group on this in the DIF WG, too. And I illustrated sharing my experience deconstructing my culturally-built sexuality and trying to construct my own.

Rape was another big topic we courageously mentioned, and here are two of the posts related to things I said: Mi primer acoso (oh, but this is not the post I meant. It’s this other one: Autodefensa y solidaridad), Qué podemos hacer contra la violencia (pensar! como en Autodefensa… y de más formas!)

And of course, we talked about love (and here’s the story you can listen to and read and pops we can comment some day! Carson McCullers‘s “A Tree, a Rock, a Cloud” – I’m sorry I read it so slowly, but I was trying to help students who needed to improve their pronunciation of the -ed ending), and how much more positive is to make efforts not to hurt the ones we love and learn to stop, or say sorry and thank you. About positive approaches to mistakes. And we talked about empathy and Cirenia told us it was not innate, which is an amazingly important idea/fact, and Asun and Cristina told us about an experiment with that (a 3-min video they might want to post here), and Rubén pointed at a flaw he identifies.

And I mentioned how language is a revolutionary tool, about how we contribute to the building of violent process also through silence and not caring, out of guilt (I’ve thought lots about the role of guilt, a horrifying distorter of empathy) and fear mostly.

And what a metaphor it was that today leisure meeting points are malls / shopping centres – which connected to Story of Stuff (SoS).

Am I forgetting about things? OH! The Vagina Mons! yes! Cristina asked about this (btw, how come? Where did you hear?) This talk is well worth the 20 minutes it lasts: Happiness in Body and Soul ❤ Practice retelling!

Don’t read it, please, just listen and we can read it in class one day!

I’ll bring the books so you can borrow them!

Veron, get well soon. We’re sending you our love!