Some of the women who were harassed by Harvey Weinstein mentioned a kind of code: whispered information passed between women about who to avoid, who was a creep. This code was even the source of a joke in an SNL skit from last Saturday; “the code was ‘he raped me.’ That way, if any menContinue reading “The power of gossip”
Category Archives: Culture
For the not-all-men
My little brother once carried an unconscious woman to her friend’s house so that the man who had roofied her, whoever he was and nobody seemed to know, would be far away; so she would wake up in a familiar and comfortable place. This is for all the men who have chosen to use theirContinue reading “For the not-all-men”
Ode to Jael
He thinks that you, a woman will give him all that he desires: warm welcome, the work of your body, a pillow to repose upon and sleep. So when he speaks, he uses his own language; the glint of his armor and the dried blood on his sword will do the translating for him. HeContinue reading “Ode to Jael”
Erasing history
A couple of days ago, my boyfriend brought in a flier he’d found on the ground in the neighborhood. One of our friends who lives a few blocks away — a warm woman who teaches children for a living — had gotten one tossed into her yard, so he was on the lookout. The flierContinue reading “Erasing history”
On tribes
I recently visited a woman in an assisted living home in Texas, near Fort Worth. I remembered how, as a child, I visited my great-grandmother and her twin sister at their shared home in Fort Worth, how I tentatively touched the folded skin of her ancient hands and throat and how small, even then, theirContinue reading “On tribes”
Do what feels good
“If it feels good, do it” ranked among the top most blasphemous phrases of my homeschooled youth. You were not supposed to do what felt good. Because obviously, what felt good was probably a sin. Like drugs. Or fornication. Or maybe just smiling to yourself about how you were really, really excellent at math. “IfContinue reading “Do what feels good”
How To Not Get Shot
In light of the internet flurries intent on telling women how they should best go about not getting raped, I figured we need to start informing people how to avoid getting shot, in this country of so many mass shootings, accidental shootings, etc etc. Tips to prevent yourself from getting shot Don’t go into neighborhoodsContinue reading “How To Not Get Shot”
Things homeschooled girls did in the 90s
1. Journaled and discoursed in the style of Anne of Green Gables. Held the opinion that Gilbert Blythe from the movie version had an annoying way of saying “Anne, I’m sorrrrry.” But he was still kind of cute. RIP, Jonathan Crombie. 2. Had a crush on Christian Bale thanks to his minor but tragic role inContinue reading “Things homeschooled girls did in the 90s”
Alone Yet Not Alone in a sea of dominionism
Apparently, I am one of the few people in America who had heard of Alone Yet Not Alone before today, when the internet exploded with a collective “WTF?” over the movie’s Oscar nomination. I’d heard of it because I am loosely connected to the independent Christian movie scene, or more specifically, the quiverfull, dominion-mandate ChristianContinue reading “Alone Yet Not Alone in a sea of dominionism”
An expat in any country
One reason I love other cultures is the possibility that they will be more familiar than the one I’m currently living in. I grew up in a microculture, one with its own way of dressing and thinking, its own news services, textbooks, cultural heroes, way of speaking English. Since the moment I set foot inContinue reading “An expat in any country”
Botkin Creative 