New Title

I received a gift, a new name plate for my office. I love it. I hope you live up to it too! What would your title be if you choose it?

Representation

I found this to be a very useful picture explaining the proposed changes to voting politics.

Cookie Collection on blogs

This notice appears on my blog - which means I think when you look at this blog it collects data about your looking. I am so un-tech-savy I thought I should just share this information like this. I personally do not collect any data or use any cookies from this blog. 

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Vote to create change

Vancouver is having an election. This is one opportunity to create change. I know that ballet is long and there are a lot of names and similar priorities to choose from. Besides choosing politics that align with your values you need to seek out and vote for folks who are people of colour,  transgender folks and LGBTQ2+ identified folks. We have a responsibility to seek out representatives who will bring social change.  Morgane Oger is on that list.

The Story of the Pink Coat

The Story of the Pink Coat 

Every girl is given a pink coat a birth (boys get a blue one). It is a tightly woven garment made of meekness, passivity, self-self-abnegation and maternal instinct. The child grows up wearing this coat, which magically adjusts to fit her. If she wants to take if off, those around her advise against it: she could catch a cold and, in any case, she will be punished if she ignores their advance. She is also so pretty and feminine in her coat. 

Some women become so used to the coat that [they] no longer know whether it’s the coat of their skin thats pink. And their skin and the coat in fact become one and the same thing. In the end, they believe they are meek by nature and are only fulfilled when those around them are happy. These feminine characteristics become their personality and not merely a social standard set for all women.

Women have to fight to make alterations to the pink coat. Those who try are judged severely (rejected by those around them, become lonely, etc.)

It is important to realize that society requires all women to wear pink coats. Women first learn what the coat is made of. Then they decide whether they will wear it all of the time, sometimes or not at all. But the important thing for them is to choose what they really want, not what society expects of them. They must feel free to keep the coat or throw it away. The purpose of feminist action is to enable women to become aware of their “pink coat” heritage. 

This analysis was shared with me in one of my early women’s class. I unfortunately do not have the source. If you know who the author is, please let me know so I can give credit. 

Who holds the door open

My Ambivalence

He supports Women's Lib.
He's quick to point out they are underpaid.
It's not who holds the door open;
The real issue, he says,
Is money and power.
I agree: form doesn't matter.
Sure, it's money and power.

When we leave he insists
     On getting my coat from the hat check,
     On his taking my stub to the parking attendant,
     On my waiting in the warm lobby.
I wait and gnaw on my ambivalence:
     He's polite, why should that bother me?
     Why doesn't this feel right?
     I struggle to know.

When we play out our accustomed roles,
We can't see how the parts make up the whole,
How being put in the warm lobby also
Puts "No Admittance" on the boardroom door.

First I feel, then, slowly, I know:
What really matters
Is Money and Power and Who holds the door open.


Estelle Padawer
At Our Core: Women writing about power - Sandra Haldman Martz