In a message dated 1/9/02 9:36:31 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > To me...feminism is about empowering ourselves to see and hear what >is often unseen and unheard...and to use the slivers of light and >whispers of dust to help us be unafraid.
That's a beautiful quote. And thanks to everyone for their suggestions. I have not read most of the books mentioned, except for The Mists of Avalon, which I read (and loved) years ago. I recently bought a nice hardcover copy to replace my old paperback, in which the pages had yellowed. A great book. One thing I don't understand is why there is so little writing on violence against women and children from the feminist movement. For example, rape is not given much attention (there are few books about it) and neither is child abuse. I don't get it. There are a lot of books on these subjects, but they seem to be personal memoirs, rather than feminist analyses, with a very few exceptions, such as Judith Lewis Herman's Trauma and Recovery and Christine C ourtois's books on recovery from incest. And they are both therapists. It's as though we've decided that family violence is each person's private problem to deal with. There was some attention given to the issue back in the 70's/80's by the feminist movement, but it faded for some reason. Don't know why. That's probably the key reason why I'm not much involved in the feminist movement as a whole. James Chu has done more for me with his book Rebuilding Shattered Lives than any feminist book I've read. I mean that very seriously. That's part of why it's hard to take some of the academic books to heart, especially when they are written about well off women who complain about things like cosmetic companies (as in parts of The Beauty Myth). Feminists should be taking on child sexual abuse, especially of children with disabilities, who are disproporationately abused, and also the compelling needs of poor women and children. Plus the needs of the mentally ill and the mentally handicapped, who are neglected. Plus, what about women with schizophrenia, who are in danger of being repeatedly raped if they are delusional and on the street? The feminist movement doesn't really seem to be helping the most powerless populations. Unless I'm missing something. Mary K PS - does Joni consider herself a feminist? I know she didn't when she was younger, but I was wondering if she'd changed her mind. People hurry by so quickly Don't they hear the melodies In the chiming and the clicking And the laughing harmonies - Joni Mitchell
