I've grown up with a lot of women who had very powerful attitudes, Jojo. Every one of them seemed to have a problem (not with themselves) but the fact that social circles don't always know where to pidgeon hole them. If you rely too much on the opinions of others, you can feel alienated for the very traits which make you strong. You are a strong woman who is straight and embraces both femininity and masculinity in her work. I'm a sensitive man who is straight and embraces both masculinity and femininity in my work. These abilities make us more of a human being, not less.
I've admired the strength of all the strong women in my life, (even when they've knocked me around a bit) and never considered their strength to detract from their femininity, but rather it enhanced it. It stands to reason that I would marry a strong woman and she has taken very good care of me. Even before I was sick, she watched out for me in spite of myself. Strong women aren't always comfortable to be around, but they are the best ally one can find.
Don't be distressed RJJ. There are those who understand your power, even if the masses don't.
I...I've gotta be honest: I have no idea what people actually mean when they say "strong woman". The phrase gets used so often that's it's kinda cliche, and I really don't know what it's supposed to entail. :B
I'm afraid I expressed myself badly in this blog. My crisis of conscience refers to whether I inadvertently promote a worldview that lessens women to being only passive roles in an androcentric world.
My (perhaps unnecessary) worry is that I've somehow been promoting a morally incorrect view in my art, specifically. I don't have any such hangups as to my own personal conduct, which is a gender-neutrality that I'm perfectly comfortable with. I only mentioned myself in the context of trying to figure out whether I'm committing wrongdoing in my art, since my own (not particularly girly) self must obviously have a major role in informing my (perhaps though not necessarily questionable) art and writing.
I apologize. I know that there are many kinds of strengths and did not mean it in the cliche. Let me use the strongest woman in my life as an example. That would be my Granny Sparks on the Native American side of my family. She was like Granny of the "Beverly Hillbillies" on steroids. She was blunt, determined, and impossible to dominate. As if it wasn't enough for her to grow up crippled from polio, she grew up in violence. Our state is in the top ten for domestic violence and seeing what my family had been through two generations back, I can see why. She survived (not by submission) but by scrapping back. When my Grandfather tried to do the same to her and her children, she physically threw him out. And let me tell you, he went dinged up too. When I speak of her strength, I don't just refer to her physical strength, (and she was as physically strong as any man I've known) but also the determined spirit within the woman. No man would ever be able to dominate her. She did the dominating. When a woman gets a toothache, doesn't have money for a dentist, and then goes into the bathroom with a pair of pliers, and pulls her tooth out of her own head (root and all), I'm awed at the mental fortitude. And yet, her heart was solid gold. She had a tenderness to her children and grandchildren which is the blueprint my mother and I have used for our children. Not everybody can be as strong as Granny Sparks, (I know I'm not) but if we can have just a fraction of that courage, we'll be doing well.
Hoping I expressed myself okay about the strength in women I've witnessed, perhaps I could suggest a few questions which might be helpful. Do you really feel you are doing a disservice to women by emphasizing what our culture considers to be 'feminine'? Do you feel that what you really consider to be feminine in women to be demeaning? And I think the most important question is "Is it your intention to be demeaning to women? I think the very fact that you are concerned about this is a good sign.
Personal opinions and observation: As I look at your work, I can see how someone who was looking for a problem could find a reason to be offended, but I suspect they would find those reasons in anyone's work they examined (simply because they were looking for it). On the other hand, if we rip all reference to gender out of our culture, how could we ever celebrate femininity. I don't see your work as being demeaning to women or men. I see it as a celebration of the things that the Jojo observes in the human creatures around her. You have an equal fascination for the tomboy, girly girl, dinged up rogue, and posh gentleman. I'm a great fan of yours, oh Radical One. You must do what you feel is right, but please don't squelch your creativity, because of someone else's opinion.
I've admired the strength of all the strong women in my life, (even when they've knocked me around a bit) and never considered their strength to detract from their femininity, but rather it enhanced it. It stands to reason that I would marry a strong woman and she has taken very good care of me. Even before I was sick, she watched out for me in spite of myself. Strong women aren't always comfortable to be around, but they are the best ally one can find.
Don't be distressed RJJ. There are those who understand your power, even if the masses don't.
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I'm afraid I expressed myself badly in this blog. My crisis of conscience refers to whether I inadvertently promote a worldview that lessens women to being only passive roles in an androcentric world.
My (perhaps unnecessary) worry is that I've somehow been promoting a morally incorrect view in my art, specifically. I don't have any such hangups as to my own personal conduct, which is a gender-neutrality that I'm perfectly comfortable with. I only mentioned myself in the context of trying to figure out whether I'm committing wrongdoing in my art, since my own (not particularly girly) self must obviously have a major role in informing my (perhaps though not necessarily questionable) art and writing.
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Hoping I expressed myself okay about the strength in women I've witnessed, perhaps I could suggest a few questions which might be helpful. Do you really feel you are doing a disservice to women by emphasizing what our culture considers to be 'feminine'? Do you feel that what you really consider to be feminine in women to be demeaning? And I think the most important question is "Is it your intention to be demeaning to women? I think the very fact that you are concerned about this is a good sign.
Personal opinions and observation: As I look at your work, I can see how someone who was looking for a problem could find a reason to be offended, but I suspect they would find those reasons in anyone's work they examined (simply because they were looking for it). On the other hand, if we rip all reference to gender out of our culture, how could we ever celebrate femininity. I don't see your work as being demeaning to women or men. I see it as a celebration of the things that the Jojo observes in the human creatures around her. You have an equal fascination for the tomboy, girly girl, dinged up rogue, and posh gentleman. I'm a great fan of yours, oh Radical One. You must do what you feel is right, but please don't squelch your creativity, because of someone else's opinion.
Just my humble 2 cents...
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