Strong Women: Feminist Poems of the Week

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I rise.
(Maya Angelou)

I'm constantly looking and searching for feminist poets, feminist poems, or poems written by females that portray women in a strong, positive way. Here are some of my favorite poems written by women about women:

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou: You can never keep a strong woman down. This poem reminds me of my post that I wrote yesterday. They can try to hold us down, try to make us feel bad, try to silence our strong voices--and yet we will still keep moving forward.

Siren Song by Margaret Atwood: A poem of the mythical siren's song who seduces men into sinking their ships.

Please Fire Me by Deborah Garrison: A poem about those damn alpha males in the workplace. I bet this is exactly what some of those women on "Mad Men" think every day that they are at the office.

You can also find other poems in my previous post here.

What are some of your favorite poems about women?

The Twin Foes of Strong, Confident Women

There is an aspect of human social behavior that every strong and ambitious woman knows like the back of her hand. In fact, bad-ass strong women become so accustomed to this certain aspect of human social interaction that they can spot it in a person immediately. What might it be, you ask? Well, jealousy and envy, of course.

When I was about eight years old, my grandmother called me into her bedroom and told me, "Your enemies are going to be celos and envidia because you are going to be somebody, mi'ja". Jealousy and envy. I didn't quite understand what she was telling me at the time, but I've since had plenty of years to get to know my two mortal enemies well.

There has never been a time when I can't recall being subjected to jealousy and envy. Grown ups and loved ones have always explained away people's incomprehensible and asshole behavior as being caused by jealousy and envy. It's always perplexed me as to why people would be jealous or envious of another person, because I could really give a rat's behind about anything that other people are doing.

Jealousy and envy towards a woman in power causes people to do such crazy things. It's the reason why less competent co-workers talk down to us and speak to us in a tone that suggests that we are idiots. It's the motive behind the times that people leave strong women out of the loop, give them the wrong information, or withhold important information from them in a workplace setting. It's the fuel that starts the incessant rumors about women in power-how they got promoted, what kind of personal relationships they have, what their appearance looks like, and other petty bullshit.

And yet we keep rising. We're immune to all the hell and fury caused at the hand of jealousy and envy because we believe in ourselves. When people spread lies and rumors, try to block us and hold us back, and try to put us down it does not deter us from our path because we are strong, confident women who are unstoppable in our goals and ambitions. We've learned over the years the fine art of letting the things they do and say to try to hurt us slip right off of our thick-skinned backs.

They can never hold us down, no matter how hard they try.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween!

I figured that I would post one of my favorite paintings by the biggest baddest Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo. In this painting you can see Frida sleeping on her bed with a skeleton hovering over her. She was always obsessed with images of death, perhaps because of all the tragedies that she had in her life. She was a product of the Mexican revolution, she beat polio at a young age, survived a horrendous trolley accident when a pole went through her pelvis and vagina area and broke her pelvis and back, and many other devastating health issues throughout her life.

Here's the painting:



You can read more about Frida Kahlo in my beginning series about Frida Kahlo:
An Unconventional Woman of Her Time-Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo-Woman of Myth, Contradiction and Resilience

One of these days I'll get back to finishing my series. Happy Halloween!

What Would You Like in Your Coffee??

OMG this is too funny! polkadotjunkie put the link in my post that I wrote the other day about my boyfriend's mother telling me that I should serve him a plate of food:

Feminist Fairy Tales: These Magic Boots

This is how I plan on indoctrinating my kids if I ever decide to have children. Yes, I said indoctrinate:

Mi Pobre Hijo, My Ass

Tonight I heard something come out of my boyfriend's mother's mouth and I wanted to ring her neck. It's not as if I haven't heard what she said come out of her mouth before, but tonight I was feeling in one of those moods where it was impossible to tolerate stupid behavior from a fellow woman.

My boyfriend, his mother and I were sitting at the kitchen table chatting about his brother having just placed a bid on a foreclosed house. His mother gave me an apple to eat and I stood up to wash it off at the kitchen sink. As I was standing there, she said, "Mi'jo [my son] wants a plate of food".

I turned around to look at him because we had just eaten prior to going to her house. He stared at me with a smirk on his face, because I'm sure that he was well aware that shit was going to soon hit the fan and sparks were going to start flying.

I said, "We just ate. He doesn't want anything".

She said, "Oh, yes he does. I know he does. Please serve him a plate of food."

Are you antagonizing me, bitch?

I said, "If he's hungry he can make a plate for himself".

She said, "Oh, mi pobre hijo!!! (my poor son). He has a woman who doesn't even care if he starves to death."

I flipped around and told her, "If your pobre hijo wants something to eat, then he can make his own damn plate. And he can serve me a nice plate too, while he's at it".

Then she said, "Oh, I wish he would have married a nice girl like Marielena. She would have given him a plate".

Who, the Marielena on the corner with four kids and a cheating husband? Marielena the doormat? I don't think so.

I sat there for another twenty minutes and listened to her whine about whether or not I would ever marry her son, how we should live together, when will we ever have children, why will I not baptize my children if we ever decide to have children, blablabla. I wanted to slap the hell out of her, but honestly she is very, very ill and I just didn't have it in me to beat the shit out of a sick, old lady. So I just let her go on and on.

This is the thing about so many Latina mothers that makes me want to vomit. This kind of mentality has been shoved down my throat since I was a wee little girl. I'm so sick of watching Latina women baby and coddle their pobre little hijos. It happened to me as a child with my brother, it happens in my family, and I've even seen some of my former friends do it when they have little boys. Enough already, please. I would like to hope that my generation is not pulling this same crap, but deep in my heart I know that many of them are.

It's little things like these, that even happen in our very own families, that the unconventional women of the world have to deal with on an everyday basis.

Down With Judgmental Feminists

Something happened online today that has irked me. I will not call out a certain person, because I don't really want to publicly flog another woman. (Well, unless she's a right-wing neocon or something).

Nonetheless, I am pissed at a certain online feminist who has been continuously making negative statements about certain women. I'm tired of her snide remarks about prostitutes and women who she considers to be whores.

I suppose that I am in that whore camp, say it loud and say it proud bitches. I've have my fun in the past with no-strings attached affairs, I've dabbled in online affiliate porn marketing, and I know a ton of people who work in the sex industry.

It's really funny. At one point, this feminist threw a passion party and discussed that she really loved it. Ohhhh rreeeeaallllyyy? I'd pretty much classify the lady who is selling the sex toys at that passion party to be a big ole legal sex worker. As.far.as.I'm.concerned. So, this judgmental bitch employs a sex worker and then turns around and slams women who are in the sex industry? Ridiculous.

I've had my share of this type of judgmental feminist in real life and online, thank you very much. It's always hilariously entertaining to me when they blog or talk about certain women in the past, read the books or poetry of certain women, obsess over women artists, and then turn around and criticize openly sexual women. I practically roll around on the ground laughing my ass off because most of the famous women who they are talking about were scandalous and indulgent whores. Hehe.

There's no fun in being a jealous little prude!