Return-Path: <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id NAA02666; Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:03:07 -0400 (EDT) Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:03:07 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <C01DFFE86D46D411A91400D0B78487793848B9@mail.doe.mass.edu> Errors-To: alcrsb@langate.gsu.edu Reply-To: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: "Monteiro, Marilyn" <MMonteiro@doe.mass.edu> To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-womenlit@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:795] Re: Re Feminism X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2650.21) Status: O Content-Length: 2528 Lines: 52 I agree--it is too bad that the media can/will only focus on Charlie's breast, but then again, they are "out there". Of course bra burning had greater meaning then the mere tossing away of one's undergarment as one of our members so pointed out in a previous message--that bra burning symbolized one form of resistance by activist women against their having been subject to multiple forms of constraint fostered by social mores, rules, laws and in many cases actual physical confinement against their will. You may recall that Gloria Steinheim, Joan Baez, Florence Kennedy, Eleanor Holms Norton, and thousands of other women joined the protest at that time. Of course today we are older and gravity has reared its ugly head, and so we had to put our bras back on, but the resistance to male domination when and where it occurs remains in our hearts, spirits and in our actions. Marilyn Monteiro, -----Original Message----- From: Sue Taylor [mailto:m0199400@cwcom.net] Sent: Monday, June 19, 2000 6:14 PM To: Multiple recipients of list Subject: [NIFL-WOMENLIT:778] Re: Re Feminism Every year I teach a group of 18 - 19 year old sociology students about feminism. Of course they were not even born when women began to burn their bras but they all know seem to know about the famous bra burning episodes nevertheless. In fact that is all they know about feminism, which is rather sad considering the effort some of us made in the 60s to publicize our cause. However, they clearly believe that any women who does not wear a bra wants to show off her breasts - to men! A case in point: Here in the UK we have a new gardening BBC-TV celeb. (Charlie Dimmick) who is famous, not for her abilities as a gardener, but because she has very obviously disposed of her bra and the media are having a field day talking about and photographing it. Unfortunately she has now become a bit of a joke, which is such a shame because she really seems to be an expert in her field. I have heard women say that she has put the cause of women back years. They say this, and I agree with them, because female gardeners on TV have had to fight to be taken seriously as equals to the men. Charlie somehow seems to have let the side down because her knowledge is apparently less important than her breast size. I am not sure why I have a problem with this but we would not talk about a male gardener in the same way as we talk about Charlie, who incidentally is probably growing exceptionally rich in the process. Best wishes, Sue
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Tue Jan 16 2001 - 14:46:39 EST