rose: love in violent times - inga muscio

Can I just say, I love Inga Muscio? I think I can, because it's unquestionably true. I loved cunt so much I've already read it twice.

rose is a kind of sequel to cunt. cunt was specific (specifically about cunts), microfeminism. rose is macro, the philosophy of cunt splashed worldwide. Muscio talks about violence, not just the kicking and shooting people kind, but the passive violence that seeps into every aspect of our lives, from deforestation to racism to celebrity. We are a violent people.

I'm still processing the book, I tore through it in two sittings so I'm still marinating. The way Muscio can transform a mildly awkward interaction with a neighbor into it's violent core and then contexualize that in both the culture of modern America and our collective history of colonization and war is amazing. In her world, feeding the goats that live behind her house becomes a radical act of love.

Reading Muscio is so inspiring, it (again) makes me put my life and my interactions with my world under the microscope. I can quiet the violence around me. I can walk away from hate and I can unconditionally love the assholes of the world. And now I'm gushing. I have no shame.

Everyone should read Muscio. The End.

In other news - next I'm picking up The Sicilian by Mario Puzo. I've been a little intense lately with the nonfiction so I'm returning to the saga of the Godfather. Still picking up pages here an there in Acid Dreams, but it's a little dry. (Which seems impossible, right? How do you make a story about the CIA experimenting with LSD boring? Maybe by overuse of the word "ironic".)

I love you, internet. And Miranda.

cunt Revisited

Well, it has officially been (more than) a year since I started this all-female author experiment. The Lincoln book took so long to read it's been more like 13.5 months.

Anyway, I decided it might be fun to bookend the experience by rereading cunt. Plus I think the blog's rating was down to like PG. Not cool.

On second read, the book is still awesome. Not quite as awe-inspiring, but there was a ton of stuff I'd forgotten. So much I had resolved to do that is still un-done. New resolution is to reread cunt yearly. Also to put all the recommended reading from that book onto my to-read list.

Dear Inga, I still love you.

Here's my opinion about the experiment.

1) Great experience, I didn't feel like I was missing out at all. The only time I felt a pang was when my significant other left a pile of books at my place that he's already finished (and gushed about). But you know what? That pile is still there, with all of my unread books some of which are still by chicks. In fact, my Kindle is loaded up with Maya Angelou and the new Pamela Ribon is being sent to my as we speak. You can't exhaust the field, there is so much worth reading by female authors and we should all make the effort to ensure we don't miss out.

2) Great experience. My feminism feels strong and fit. My brain feels clever. I intentionally tried to read some classics, some youth lit, some science, some history, some fiction. It was glorious. In the last 13 months of my book-reading, nothing anti-woman has happened in my world. I have felt close to my books, they get me and they love me.

3) Great continuing experience. Reading books by women makes you want to read books by women. Every book I've read has made me want to read more by that author, more on that subject, more in that genre. I have a few books by men that I thought I'd be so psyched to read, like at the end of Lent and now I'm like, 'whatev, I'll get to them eventually.' More Girl! I also want to tweak my magazine reading to get more Girl and my movies to see more Girl producer and director and writer credits. I want to listen to music written, performed and produced by Girl. I want to fill my house with Girl art and consume more everything made by companies run by Girls. Tragically, without making a pointed effort the current mix is nowhere near even.

So!! I think I might give all my friends cunt for their birthdays and offer them access to my Girl! library, should they want to try this experiment. Cuz they should.

Cunt by Inga Muscio

cunt: a declaration of independence

Randa warned that our language rating would bump up to "R" if I wrote about this book. Bring it on.

So I found this little gem in the "Women's Studies" section of my local Barnes & Noble. I read it in less than 24 hrs (with an 8hr nap halfway through). I was hooked.

cunt is a sort of manifesto from Muscio on the meaning of being a woman and how to be a woman and a feminist and how those things depend on learning to love oneself--every little bit, even the ones with naughty sounding names. It's written in three sections, as follows.

The Word
A short prelude discussing the history of the word "cunt". It wasn't always one of the words you can't say on television. It used to be a positive word. It still ought. Its time to take it back. Own it.

The Anatomical Jewel
Everything you ever wanted to know about your anatomy. And some things you may not have wanted to know. And some things you didn't even know you could know. This section is the bulk of the book, it covers everything from the biology to the politics to spirituality, then moves on to the sociology of western men and women, the perception of sexually active women and the culture of rape in the US and the west. All quite smoothly and brilliantly.

Reconciliation
How to reclaim women's rightful place in the world. Not Hillary at the top of the food chain, not legislated equal rights, but truly equal representation, equal respect. Everywhere. Period. And ways to be a vigilante about it and against violence.

Throughout the book Muscio threads some of her own story, her experiences and her family's, as well as including a lot of work from other writers. The whole book is really inspiring, moving. At one point I actually burst into tears, I sobbed for probably 5 minutes. Just as the title says, it feels like independence, freedom. Now as the glow wears off, I'm not sure I'm ready to jump into all the suggestions headfirst, but I want to try a bit. One thing Muscio suggests is spending a year in woman-world, abstaining from all media, art and literature produced by men. This would essentially mean shutting off the tv, skipping the movies, reading the news exclusively on women-run websites and reading only books and magazines by female authors.

I'm not ready to go that far (lets face it, I'm already invested in Heroes) but I think I am going to dedicate myself to female literature for the rest of the year. I'm counting cunt as number one and I purchased Spin Sisters by Myrna Blyth. I'll have to shelf about 6 books I recently purchased by male authors, but they'll be just as readible in 2010.

I strongly recommend this book to all women and men as well. If only as an eye-opener its a compelling read and a book that makes you think. After blowing through this in less than a day, I'm already considering re-reading it because there was so much to take in that I don't want to lose.