Fragments of Flick

Choosing Our Words Carefully

I choose to write about feminism, not for the sake of feminism, for I am more of a womanist: that being in that I am more of a 3rd waver. I see language as a very androcentric estblishment, it places women in the margins of society. I am not attacking men here, for the men that I choose to keep company with are for the most part pro-feminist, not to mention kindred spirits. I am not trying to bring about change in everyday discourse because there are so many discourses, that I cannot possibly belong to them all, in which case I am not trying to please everybody: I am only one person. I had chosen to write about the word cunt because I personally believe that language is the most powerful weapon in existence whether it is used to empower or disempower. Language which refers to women by and large is disempowering. To me the word lady is not a becoming one, it connotes weakness, and frivolity, frigidity or helplessness. I would prefer to be called a bitch than a lady. Why? Well, it is simple, ladies are the proper, well behaved kind of people that keep there opinions to themselves as not to rock the boat. If people like Gloria Steinem or Ani DiFranco were ladies, we may not have made the leaps and bounds that we have. They were bitches and I mean that in the most flattering way! Bitch, like cunt is still very offensive to many... and whenever any attempt to reclaim such words is undertaked by a minority group, they are often confronted by a backlash in order to destroy and progress that is being made by their efforts. Women are often referred to as bitches when they are in control of their lives, any time they get ahead they are called bitches... well what is so bad about being called a bitch then?

posted by Flick 4:30 AM

Demystifying the "bad" words...After recieving some negative feedback from a friend who saw my one of earlier posts, I felt it necessary to clarify why I chose to use certain words. Some people may criticize me when they do not understand stance of the issue of words... words that have been turned up-side-down, or have lost their original meaning, a lot of the shift in context taking place around the burning times, at least I would surmise that to be a fact. It (the word, and yes the place) has been embedded within our psyches as a bad thing, but maybe it is a larger collective conscious that has been tainted by the kind of misogyny that transforms the word (cunt) into taboo in the first placeThere have been many abstracts and books written on the subject. One such book I recieved for my birthday last year from a former girlfriend, that book is simply called: "cunt" by Inga Muscio. Along with the loss of many wisewoman, midwives, healers and pagans, we lost a lot more, and so much good was demonized, including a large part of our language. "Cunt" is an exploration of the word that makes many woman cringe... ' "Cunt" is arguably the most powerful negative word in the American English language. “Cunt” is the ultimate one-syllable covert verbal weapon any streetwise six-year-old or passing motorist can use against the woman. “Cunt” refers almost exclusively to women, and expresses the utmost rancor . . . I looked up “cunt” in Barbara G. Walker’s twenty-five year research opus, The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, and found it was indeed a title, back in the day. “Cunt” is related to words from India, China, Ireland, Rome, and Egypt. Such words were either titles of respect for women, priestesses and witches, or derivatives of the names of various goddesses: In ancient writings, the word for “cunt” was synonymous with “woman,” though not in the insulting modern sense . . . I posit that we’re free to seize a word that was kidnapped and co-opted in a pain-filled, distant past, with a ransom that cost our grandmothers’ freedom, children, traditions, pride and land. I figure we’ve paid the ransom, but now, everybody long done forgot “cunt” was ours in the first place”. All I can say is, Inga. you inspire me!


WHEN FEMININE HYGIENE IS PROBLEMATIC: ALTERNATIVES FOR A HEALTHIER CUNT

Part I: What is Problem with Feminine Hygiene?
I have often wondered where the term “feminine protection” originated. Who came up with that term and what was intended by it, what exactly do women need to be protected from? Perhaps they were implying that women are dirty, that our blood is dirty, that our cunts are dirty, (yes I used the word “cunt”, some people think of this word in negative terms, but I hope to reclaim the word to empower myself and help other women do the same).

The feminine protection industry, whether many choose to believe or not, is a huge driving force that would like to influence the major majority that menstruation is dirty. This message is sent to women anytime they turn on the television or open a magazine and the only option that is given to women for dealing with their monthly inconvenience are super-chlorinated pads or tampons to protect their panties from being stained. One of the major disadvantages with the feminine hygiene products that are widely available are the many problems that accompany using them, they are more often consequences of using such products that often get overlooked as just another feminine problem.

I have often wondered why it is necessary for pads and tampons to be so white, or how the manufactures of these products get them so snowy white. The only logical comparison I can think of is my laundry, yeah my laundry, the whites to be exact. I usually use bleach to get my whites their whitest and brightest. I’ll let you in on a little secret: all of the major brands of feminine hygiene products use a chlorine bleaching process to get their whites their brightest too. Yes grrls, that means Tampax, Playtex, O.B and Always!

What does this mean exactly? Basically the bleach used
in your tampons and pads is still there after it has been packaged and stocked on the store shelves where the consumer buys it. To be more specific, the bleaching process leaves traces of dioxin, this is the where the problem lies (this substance goes right up there with DDT which has been banned yet years later still persists in the environment, both of these substances proven to be carcinogenic). Dioxin is defined in the Encarta World English Dictionary as: “any derivative of dibenzo-p-dioxin, produced as a toxic byproduct of combustion processes, the manufacture of some herbicides and bactericides, and in chlorine bleaching of paper. The best-known dioxin is the extremely carcinogenic and mutagenic 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD)”. The manufacturers have been known to deny, and have media giants such as CNN to back them up, but you cannot always believe what you hear on the news, propaganda is everywhere!

In Karen Houppert’s book, The Curse: Confronting the last Unmentionable Taboo there is much talk about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in connection to testing the dioxin levels in tampons. The FDA had allegedly analyzed the dioxin levels in tampons and reported that the levels were so minute that they posed no risk; however, the chief of health sciences division at the FDA, Melvin Stratmeyer has openly stated that the FDA was not responsible for the test results. All of the available figures regarding the levels of dioxins were directly supplied by the tampon industry!
The actual reported level of dioxin: 0.1 to 1 parts per trillion.
That may not sound like much, but the amount of dioxin is cumulative, it stores in your body’s fat cells over a period of time. If Dr. Kilbourne were to make a follow up documentary to Killing us Softly and Still Killing us Softly perhaps the second sequel in her documentaries could aptly be titled: The Feminine Hygiene Industry; Killing us Softly.

Regardless of that tampon scandal, there is a direct risk to your health - in the short and long term – from using the widely available brands of sanitary products. Some of the short-term consequences of using these are:
1) Vaginal dryness due to the high absorbency of the rayon which is commonly used in tampons, rayon is so absorbent that it absorbs much more than just your blood.
2) Tampons put you at greater risk of yeast infections – gross!
3) Fibers can actually stay in your vagina after you remove the tampon, this can contribute to toxic shock syndrome. So even if you are changing your plug often, it can still have deadly results – this is a rare occurrence, but who wants to take the chance?
More serious are the long term consequences of using tampons and pads (the silent killers) are:
1) Endometriosis is directly linked with the dioxin content in tampons, the dioxin can actually mutate your cells and effect your body’s hormones. Endometriosis it also linked to your body’s hormones too, causing the tissue inside your uterus to grow into other areas and bleed excessively.
2) Ovarian and cervical cancer. Once again, dioxin in a cancer causing agent (carcinogenic) and there is a link to ovarian and cervical cancer, this has not been disproven – dioxin is not acceptable no matter how miniscule the traces may be, and has been shown in testing on rats to cause cancer!
3) Infertility. As endometriosis is linked with the dioxin found in feminine hygiene products, it is also linked to infertility: endometriosis is one of the leading causes of infertility. Dioxin has also been linked with lower sperm counts in men.
These are very scary facts, but there are ways for women to counter the risks by finding safer alternative, it may take a little more effort but the choices are out there.

Part II: Alternatives for a Healthier Cunt!
There is good news! There are some wonderful and environmentally sound alternatives that are widely available if you know where to look. There are sea sponges, which work much like a tampon would, and you can get them almost anywhere. The benefits of using sea sponges is that they are very inexpensive, and you can reuse them for about six months, then it is time to replace them. When you consider that if you used tampons all the time, then you are contributing about 450 of them a year to your local landfill, then replacing the old sponges periodically is not too bad. When you need to change is you simple rinse it out and it can be easily reused, by if you are on the go, it is a good idea to keep an extra one in a plastic baggy. You can use regular sea sponges and cut them to size, or you may feel more comfortable buying ones that are
pre-made for menstrual purposes, in that case you can order them from a company called Jade and Pearl at http://www.jadeandpearl.com/how.html. Then there are reusable cotton pads, which you can buy or make yourself! You don’t even have to have white cotton if you prefer a little colour in your life, you can even use funky animal prints, go wild! If you soak them in water after you use them that shouldn’t stain. Don’t flush the water - you can pour the water into the earth, it is believed in some circles such as the pagans, that menstrual blood is a powerful substance full of healing properties that give back to the earth. There are many places you can go to find reusable pads, most health food or co-op stores carry alternative menstrual products or you can find them online in which case you can also find a soaking pot for your rags. The last alternative I am going to discuss is by far the most liberating and long lasting. The Keeper is made of 100 percent gum-rubber, and it looks a little like a goblet. Though it is more costly than the other alternatives, you only need one and it will last for an average span of ten years! You wear it internally, the big difference between tampons and the keeper (aside from the carcinogens that slowly poison you) is that is collects the blood rather than absorbing it. When you first start using a keeper it takes a getting used to, I recommend emptying it as often as you would change a tampon until you get used to the flow of things: usually it can be worn for twelve hours.
When you do change it, you simply empty it out and rinse it, if it is not immediately convenient to rinse then just wipe it out and re-insert it. The best part is that it is great for the outdoorsy type who goes camping frequently, because you can’t discreetly dispose of a tampon or pad out in the wilderness, and all keepers come in a handy little cloth bag for storage when you are not using it.
I use the keeper myself and I love it!
Many women will continue using the old standby even after hearing about the risks associated with the tampons and pads: I know, I have gotten some pretty strange looks for suggesting anything else. Well it does take an open mind to accept the alternatives available, in my own experience though, I can testify that they are truly liberating.

posted by Flick 4:29 AM

The Vagina Monologues
by Eve EnslerVillard Books, 2001
Eve Ensler is a revolutionary for female sexuality! She poignantly liberates the vagina from “down there” and gives it a place to shine. The vagina is on display for all to see. “If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear? A beret . . . a pink boa . . . a tutu or a tattoo?” This book empowers women, inspires them to love their bodies, their vaginas. In the spirit of 3rd wave/global feminism, The Vagina Monologues sheds a light on the violence that is faced by women in North America and abroad, bringing out of subversion, the crisis faced by women in rape camps, female genital mutilation, child abuse and incest. Still, it is refreshing to see a book with a conscience. Reaching into the far reaches of collective consciousness, the issues here are very real for so many women, yet so rarely talked about: it puts us in touch with some of our own issues. I had to break down and cry after reading the monologue “The Little Coochi Snorcher that Could” that explored the experience of a southern black woman’s issue of her own sexuality, she could be any one of us.
“Memory: Thirteen Years Old
My coochie snorcher is a very bad place, a place of pain, of nastiness, punching, invasion, and blood. It’s a site for mishaps. It’s a bad-luck zone. I imagine a freeway between my legs and, girl, I am travelling, going far away from here.”
This book touches on some very serious issues, Ms. Ensler takes her readers into the darkest abyss of human existence but can rescues them with the power of laughter, a key component to healing the sexual psyche. I laughed ‘til I cried, then laughed again, in a word this book could be summed up as powerful!

posted by Flick 4:28 AM

Genius?
I took an IQ test for curiosity sake (uh just trying to reassure myself that I am not wasting my time by getting a University education?) This is what they sent to my e-mail when they processed the results: Thank you for recently taking the Self Discovery Workshop's IQ Test. Because of the Internet's ability to mishandle transmissions, we are reconfirming via email that your IQ Test score was: 147..... Our test usually gets within 5 points of the professional tests--a remarkable feat for a 13 minute test. I just find it interesting, though I am not sure how valid the test is. Here is the link for all of you aspiring mensans: IQ test
In case you are interested, here is the scoring chart:
Average: 85 - 115
Above average: 116 - 125
Gifted Borderline Genius: 126 - 135
Highly gifted and appearing to be a Genius to most others: 136 - 145
Genius: 146 - 165
High Genius: 166 - 180
Highest Genius: 181 - 200
Beyond being measurable Genius: Over 200

posted by Flick 4:26 AM

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