Right now I am reading research on the female body as the site for cultural interpretation and renewal. The strength of the female body to be both a warrior on the battlefield and a spiritual warrior who derives her strength from self-knowledge.
I was the Brilliant Warrior Goddess long before I read this book. My friend Sarah sent it to me as a birthday present the same semester I had to read it for a class. Although my family roots in the United States of America go deep to the American Revolution, unlike Kingston who was the first generation of her family born here, I still feel some connections. Is it that my family is full of stories of the past as well? Stories of the Hessians and barn fires and a great-grandmother who threw a few plates in her day... Stories that my grandmother has told me my entire life. Has told me over and over and I still never tire of them. They are mine, they are part of my identity. Just as Fu Mu Lan and No Name Woman are part of Kingston's identity.
I get an entire week to immerse myself in the beauty of all of this. I am the luckiest girl in the world.
A parting quote for your enjoyment:::::
"Marriage and childbirth strengthen the swordswoman, who is not a maid like Joan of Arc. . . No husband of mine will say, 'I could have been a drummer but I had to think about the wife and kids. You know how it is.' Nobody supports me at the expense of his own adventure" (48).
Above artwork by Elena CV
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2 comments:
"The female body as a site for cultural interpretation"...taking me back to my BU days. Isn't it odd how women's bodies and the perception of women's bodies really is a mirror of the times and the social mores we experience. Men's bodies are not subjected to the same scrutiny or changing expectations.
and isn't it interesting the fresh air segment we were listening to yesterday on roe v. wade and how abortions are legal in some countries and no one blinks an eye over it but how here it is a huge controversy... cultural interpretation on the female body... amazing...
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