Friday, March 16, 2012

"I want to say a few words about this matter. I am a woman's rights. I have as much muscle as any man, and can do as much work as any man. I have plowed and reaped and husked and chopped and mowed, and can any man do more than that? I have heard much about the sexes being equal. I can carry as much as any man, and can eat as much too, if I can get it. I am as strong as any man that is now. As for intellect, all I can say is, if a woman have a pint, and a man a quart – why can't she have her little pint full? "


I am going to follow Sojourner on her way, as I have in my simple, idiotic pursuit of the things which have made my life so good, the things leading me to adventure and a rich, complex and creative life, with all of the challenges and blessings thereof. 


My father didn't have any experience of girls, he didn't know what to do with them, but he doted on me, and took me everywhere, and when I proved not just willing but also strong, competent and able, he involuntarily rocked his own worldview.  He bought me Easter hats, and taught me to ride, shoot straight and tell the truth. The poor man raised me to be an antidote to his own world's view of women, and then ran straight into that wall again and again, as the Amazon he was raising, took to every skill he showed her..fishing, hunting, shooting, riding, cars and car repair, slashing bamboo, archery, and combat with him. 


That said, my brother and I are devoted to our Dad, we know he cared, and did everything he knew how, for us. 
My love for my father, and the way he showed his, through roughhousing and tossing me around in the swimming pool, probably led to my seeking of and enjoyment of martial arts. He made me fearless, by most common standards. 


So here I am, I am fearless, I am armed and dangerous. 
And, ain't I a woman?


What is it about femininity, which requires being fearful?
If I am dressed in white lace, I will still be fearless, armed and dangerous. 
If I am dressed in full bogu (Japanese platemail) I will still be fearless, armed and dangerous. 
You just don't expect it, if I wear the right outfit. 
Advantage, mine. 
Do me a favor, and don't tell on that one. 


The advantage is mine. 
Does it define a woman, to be at disadvantage?
NO. 
It is, if you choose to define it that way. 
And, ain't I a woman?


Women have, through our evolution as a species, found ways to control our destiny. 
One of the greatest, is through controlling our own bodily function of reproduction. 
This has not been so important to the male, as their involvement is not so great, nor their risk. 
We should never, ever let males forget, that they continue only on our indulgence, and only so far as we put up with them, and they make themselves useful. Everything else is some kind of accident, which females, who bear the brunt of it, should have the major choice in. 
And, ain't I a woman?



When men can, and will, have babies, they can make decisions about birth control. No sooner. 
I know men who would gladly have babies. I wonder if they would make the leap, and I have faith that if they did, they would do at least as well as their sisters.. 
And, ain't I a woman?



I also know that women have a beneficial effect on corporate structures. Fewer risks taken, and more ethical behavior. This results in more profitable companies. 
We couldn't do it, without birth control. In addition, our businesses need to support reproduction, for both men and women, because it results in better adjusted, higher educated offspring, to feed the next industrial cycle. 
Not that I'm in favor of this, just that I'm in favor of more advantages for all, and this is the biggest selling point. 
If I am trained in use of information, influence, fashion and culture, I can change your mind. 

And, ain't I a woman?



If I have three feet of steel in my hand, or four feet of oak, I can kill you. 
If I have been trained in the use of firearms, and their appropriate use, I can kill you, if you are so stupid as to try to cross my boundaries. 
Is this my fault? no, it is yours, for making me have to go there, learn that, and be ready for your stupidity. 
And, ain't I a woman?


Who is it, who has the power?
It is in our hands to decide. Write. Vote. Push. Convince. 
There are many applications of power and influence. 
We don't have to take it. 
My 68-year old mother is apoplectically furious. 
She, and her generation, have fought this battle before. 
They thought we wouldn't have to fight it again. 
We tried, and we thought we had won. 


Our victory was only temporary. 
We were asleep at the wheel, we thought our victories were airtight, we napped as the lunatics mounted their attacks. 


We must go back to war, we Valkyries, we mothers of daughters, we women wanting a free society. 


The words of Sojourner Truth ring in me, they will not leave me alone. 


"ain't I a woman?"





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