Adrienne Rich

Matthew Rothschild interviews Adrienne Rich in the January 1994 issue of The Progressive magazine.

Here is the quote from Adrienne Rich in her book, On Lies, Secrets and Silence "Responsibility to yourself means that you don't fall for shallow and easy solutions- predigested books and ideas, weekend encounters guaranteed to change your life, taking 'gut' courses instead of ones you know will challenge you, bluffing at school and life instead of doing solid work, marrying early as an escape from real decisions, getting pregnant as an evasion of already existing problems. It means that you refuse to sell your talents and aspirations short, simply to avoid conflict and confrontation. And this, in turn, means resisting forces in society which say that women should be nice, play safe, have low professional expectations, drown in love and forget about work, live through others, and stay in the places assigned to us."

trying not to be political

my step mother was trying very hard not to be political yesterday! she is a "successful" women from texas. i must define sucessful...she has money from the husbands she has now or has had. sh has made investments with that money and is now a millionaire. she is successful, but she is not political. what is it about certain women who try their hardest not to be political? she wanted to make a point that she fell asleep or was in another room during the debate. she made her point so we stopped talking to her and just talked amongst ourselves. but this is part of the problem with women that has been perpetuated by our schooling, our parents, and our ignorance. ignorance is bliss, i have heard some say. Why can't it be blissful for women to be political? in tyack and hansot's learning together they talk about the "militant feminists". Why can't there be a better name for it? a name that doesn't scare women into being smart about politics. they don't want to be seen as a "nazi" feminist who can't be controlled. i don't either. but i am on my political path...a spiritual path that has become increasingly political in nature. i want to be closer to this earth and be peaceful in my skin as well as feel comfortable in knowing my political stance. maybe tonight we will go to the debate party at pete's candy store in NY and we will share a moment. who knows?

Important Women Through History

Why have I not heard about the many women who have made brilliant contributions to this world? I have heard about mis-education of African Americans, but I am wondering if I haven't also been a victim. Oh, I hate using that word. A\Aren't we all victims? This is really blowing my mind. As I go through my brain and recall the pictures of important people that I have learned about, it is not a mix of genders at all! I see men's faces; all the men who have signed the constitution, the men who helped free the slaves, but there is Harriet Tubman who I see. I recall the men who served during the wars, and I see all the male presidents. This is a bit infuriating that I cannot see certain female faces as clearly as I see these male faces. I never thought of myself as a feminist, and I don't really remember anyone in my family being one. Of course , I was from Texas, so that is a good reason. My grandmother may be the closest to a feminist that I know. About ten years ago she started signing her name with only her maiden name. She continues to send me things and signs her name Wilmuth Mavanee Box Johnson. She used to tell me great stories about her mom taking care of the family during the depression without a husband around. I don't recall why the husband wasn't around, I just remember that my great-grandmother had to do a lot of tending to things on her own while she was very ill. I wish I could remember more about what my grandmother taught me. She has been through so much herself. I haven't lived at all when I think about all the contributions that other women have made in their lives. Someone told me recently, "You have to do something different, and something nobody else has done." The conversation came out of me saying I don't hear much about people studying much about kids with disabilities and learning math. (This is not true as there are many people who have covered this topic thoroughly.) The point is this: I must do something different to be recognized like these women who had to do something totally extraordinary to become a special "female" member of recognized people. And the sad part is this: I don't recognize half of this list of people. What does this say about my education? What does this say about what people in America are teaching their kids about women and their contributions? It makes me really sad. Maybe this is why I have been so depressed lately. I have missed some things life because I was worried about my social life, or whatever I was concerned about back then. I wanted to reflect...

In Their Footsteps

In Their Footsteps

National Women's History Museum offers a recommended itenerary for a tour around the DC area.