Rock n Roll Feminism

This should get the juices flowing.

I was energised by reading this interview with Caitlin Moran in the Guardian. She has written a book called How to be a Woman. Here is part of the interview.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2011/jun/19/caitlin-moran-feminism-interview

Do you think feminism was hijacked by intellectuals and became slightly po-faced?

Not hijacked – they just became the only ones who were interested in it. I don't come from an anti-intellectual viewpoint: people from Oxbridge turn me on. But I have none of those chops at all. I have no qualifications, I know none of those words, and I haven't read those books. I come from pop culture, and I wanted it to be like rock'n'roll. I wanted someone to shout "I'm a feminist! It's really fun! Let's all go and be feminists in the pub!"

Germaine Greer has read and reviewed the book. It must have been a bit of culture shock for her.

I was quite amused because she was horrified by the fact that I'd documented the first time that I'd had a wank. I have shocked Germaine Greer! No one's made nearly half enough fun of the ridiculousness of being a woman though, so the idea of having your first wank as a girl thinking about Chevy Chase in the Three Amigos or Fletch, I find really, really funny.

Rather humanely, you suggest that the patriarchy must be knackered by now, and we'd be doing it a favour to give it a rest. For you, humour seems to be the best way forward…

It's the most human way. But also if women just turned around and were honest and said I don't give a shit, I'm not playing – I don't care what Angelina Jolie was wearing this week, I haven't got time to pamper myself, I don't care if I've got blackheads, I don't care if my arse is a bit spongy, I have not got time for you, you ridiculous capitalist construct, then the whole game would be fucked overnight.

The Guardian also offer a panel review of the book. Sounds fun, and a refreshing approach to feminism.

Last week I saw a play written by a woman, Sara Ruhl, directed by a woman, Pamela Rabe, designed by a woman, and produced by a company with a female artistic director, Cate Blanchett (who was there when I saw it) about being a woman: The Next Room or The Vibrator Play. Here's the blurb from STC. Consider my faith in theatre restored.

For the wife of the eminent scientist and inventor Dr Givings, the vagaries of the medical field have never held much allure. Until now.

Now, as the age of electricity dawns, her husband’s profession has finally piqued her interest. But Dr Givings fails to understand his wife’s sudden fascination with his practice. The remedial treatment that he administers to females suffering from hysterical disorders is an important medical invention and nothing more. The Chattanooga Vibrator is absolutely nothing for his apparently healthy, happy wife to get her bloomers in a twist about!

Unable to breastfeed her baby and desperately lonely, Mrs Givings craves attention and affection. When she seeks companionship in two of the Doctor’s patients, this curious young woman begins to discover the truth of what goes on behind the closed door…

Nominated for both the Tony Awards and the Pulitzer Prize, In The Next Room, or the vibrator play was a resounding hit when it opened on Broadway in 2009 and consolidated playwright Sarah Ruhl’s reputation as one of America’s most exciting contemporary writers. A sensitive study of the relationship between physical connection – be it sexual, platonic or maternal – and emotional intimacy, In The Next Room, or the vibrator play is an utterly beguiling play about love, longing, science and invention.

And orgasms.

Clicking on a link from Blue Milk's blog, I found this.
http://wangclub.tumblr.com/post/5998773722
I wish I'd done that. In fact, I might just go around writing that on sexist advertisements.
WANG is Women Against non-Essential Grooming. The Beauty Myth for an online age.

And I can't say RnR feminism without mentioning Joy Rose, who started and runs Mamapalooza in New York. Mamapalooza Rocks! Let me count the ways. Joy Rose is in a band called Housewives on Prozac, who sing such songs as I Broke My Arm Christmas Shopping at the Mall, and Eat your Damn Spaghetti. Mamapalooza connects women, mothers, and families through music, art, activism and education for cultural, economic and social awareness.
http://mamapalooza.com/
They put out compilation cds of mother singer/songwriters, and have a dvd called Momz Hot Rocks, a documentary following six mum rock bands.

Go, Rock and Roll maternal feminism!