bağyanfest - feministival

2011-04-28T06:50:00.000-07:00

Feminist Spelling

The main purpose of this workshop is to apply some feminist spelling in order to point the sexist, racist, militarist, homophobic, (etc…) expressions and expose them. Through this specific intervention, we will have a chance not only to raise awareness but also to create a converting effect.

The more poetry materials and the more intervention tools participants brig to the workshop, the more efficiency they would benefit. Simply, it would be perfect if participants bring one or two poems of a poet that they want to interfere with and some tools that they would use for this intervention (like scissors, glue, pens, safety pins and plenty of different stuff).

With enthusiasm and hope, the result works will be ended up in 'Cin Ayşe'

2011-04-28T05:43:00.000-07:00

Drag King

A Workshop on the Experience of Masculinity
An acting, sharing and movement workshop based on social gender roles.

As the awareness of the fact that we experience our everyday lives within the confines of a “state of womanhood” defined by society and our criticisms on these get enriched by the books that we read, the movies that we see; we start to think about these states of womanhood. We sometimes conform to the framework of femininity that our society and other societies create, sometimes rise against them.

Does a body which practically gets out of gender roles, out of self-inflicted norms -albeit just for a day- become free, does the soul become free?

Would you like to distort our gender constructed through the costume and body language in order to try the 'other' alternative, to make discoveries on the road and to share them?

Would you like to take part in a 5-hour workshop to discuss our gender-related experiences and to transgress the limits that we set in our gender roles with breast binding, men's clothes, facial hair, movement for theater and pass that day as 'men' emerging from ourselves?

2011-04-28T05:40:00.000-07:00

"Voicing/Noising"

the clan called ‘’anything makes sound’’

it was fine before

scribbling on papers, knocking the toys

screaming and clapping

it was fine cause we were bold enough

‘‘Knowledge is steady within our brains and learning is recalling’’

Simply; you’re bringing the things that make sound (pots, marble balls, spoon, flute, wallnuts, these kind of stuff...) and we’re making the sound, playing with the sounds. Then we’re writing the lyrics on it and recording. Finally singing our clannish song around the fire which is not visible.

It was fine before, it is fine although we’ve grown up anyway!

2011-04-28T05:38:00.000-07:00

“MOTION” WORKSHOP

In Motion Workshop activity, we are aiming to improve a new kind of awareness towards our own bodies, and by moving, we are also aiming to get rid of the bodily symptoms that we are accustomed to use in our daily lives. We would like to widen our discussion opportunities. To look for some other ways not only by talking but also moving, discussing, sharing and differentiating. It is all about not restricting our existence to the mind-centered system of thought, but to incorporate our body movement to our existence struggle.

In Motion Workshop activities, we mainly use “Movement Mode” method. This methods key is based upon the thought that every movement and every sound has a ‘mode’. In order to specify that mode, the common variables of the sound and movement are scaled. For example, while we are moving, we change the movement’s speed, fluidity and repeatability, and while we are singing a song all together, we try to sing it slower or faster, higher or lower. When we move with the “Movement Mode” method, we not only create a space to move in common, but it also creates diversity for everybody and their own individual movement courses. We hope to share this experience with you in Bagyanfest...

2011-04-28T05:36:00.000-07:00

HAND MADE SEX TOYS

up to : 20 people

place: ............anywhere :))

duration: 2-3 hours (leave it flexible)

Has touching a certain texture ever turned you on? Have you ever fantasized to touch/ to be touched with this texture? What about these great shapes of objects that are part of our daily life? Shapes that provoke desires, wonders about what would be the best way to use it in a sexual context? Engaging devices made with textures we flirt with and by shapes that we feel attracted to, taking advantage of the material that we deal with/see everyday. We will have a chance to create some toys according to our wishes and imaginations instead of buying ready-made products from the known markets.

Bring yourself, together with some creativity, good humour and some object/ shape/ texture or what ever you want to share, the more we have, the better it can be… After an introductive talk about our curiosities, lets put it into practice and build up something to play with. (elastic-bands, synthetic grass, springs, electric tooth-brush, food, anything…)

2011-04-28T05:31:00.000-07:00

Guerilla Gardening & Moss Graffiti

This meeting is arranged in order to have fun while making greener marks in our surroundings.

It is a green peaceful guerrilla attack.

Moss grafitti

In this meeting, we would like to use moss graffiti, so-called eco-graffiti or green graffiti instead of spray paint, paint-markers or other such toxic chemicals and paints.

We can go around with our green elixir, a moss “paint” that can grow on its own, and a paintbrush to either write on walls or paint the cutouts we can make from simple images- like stencil.

It can also be

considered another form of guerrilla gardening.

RECIPE

Ingredients

*Several clumps of moss

*2 cups of natural yoghurt or buttermilk (experiment to see which works best)

*1/2 teaspoon of sugar

*blender

*Plastic pot (with a lid)

*Paint brush

*Spray-mister

note:

Some add beer or water. In order to achieve a thick mixture, like paint, the amount of their addition to the mixture should be little.

If growing your moss inside you will also need a seed tray containing compost.

Corn syrup could be added to thicken the mixture as well

Steps

• Gather up as much moss as you can find (moss can usually be found in moist, shady places)

• Wash the moss to get as much soil out of the roots as possible.

• Crumble them into a blender

• Add yogurt and sugar; if you want to give a bit of nourishment pour a dash of beer.

• Blend the mixture until completely smooth. You'll want it to have a paint-like texture. (If the mixture is at a consistency where you feel it will drip, add corn syrup until the consistency you desire is reached.)5 

• Find a suitable damp and shady wall on to which you can apply the design you wish to grow using a paintbrush (either free-hand or using a stencil).

• If possible, check back weekly to either spray the design with water (to encourage moss growth, especially if you live in a dry environment) or apply more moss-paint. Soon the bits of blended moss should begin to re-couperate into a whole rooted plant – maintaining your chosen design before eventually colonising the whole area.

The success of the recipe itself can be very hit and miss and is very much dependent upon choosing exactly the right location and weather conditions; moss thrives in the damp and can most often be found growing near to a leaky drainpipe or rain-soaked wall. If you have difficulty finding the right climate in which to grow your moss, grow it indoors (where it can be frequently spray-misted with water) and transplant it outdoors as soon as it has begun to grow.

Guerrilla Gardening

Guerrilla Gardening is political gardening, a type of nonviolent statement to bring about change in your community, primarily practiced by environmentalists.

Guerrilla gardening is a term used to describe the unauthorized cultivation of plants or crops on vacant public or private land.

For some practitioners, it is related to land rights, land reform, and permaculture. Activists take over ("squat") an abandoned piece of land, which they do not own to grow crops or plants. Guerrilla gardeners believe in re-considering land ownership in order to reclaim land from perceived neglect or misuse and assign a new purpose to it. For others, it is primarily an opportunity to beautify and improve neglected, barren or overgrown spaces.

Guerrilla gardening can be conducted either via secretive night missions or openly in an attempt to engage others in the idea of community improvement; regardless of which approach one takes, there are some basic steps that are important to successfully raise plants under the demanding conditions experienced by these gardens.

Almost every seedbomb recipe calls for powdered red clay which, unless you befriend a potter, is difficult and costly to get hold of. An alternative is using cat litter.

Ingredients

• Non-invasive seeds

• peat-free compost

• bentonite-based cat litter - this is important! Only bentonite-based litter can be used as a red clay substitute.

• Water

• Bowl

• cup/measure

• spoon/stirrer

• tray

optional:

gloves (bentonite is very drying on your hands)

old newspaper/sheeting

Here’s the recipe:

5 parts dry red clay (in this case cat litter) 

3 parts dry organic compost 

1 part seed (of your choice; wildflower seeds, native plant seeds, herb seeds etc.)

1 – 2 parts water

Steps

• Decide on the area(s) to be re-seeded

•  Gather and mix the dry ingredients in a large tub. There should be no lumps

• Add small amounts of water at a time to the dry mix and continue to mix well 

• Roll little marble sized balls (about one inch in diameter) with your hands; balls should be firm and not crumbly.  

• Dry seed balls in shady area for 24 hours before scattering them on top of the ground in chosen spot 

• Watch for the growth. If made correctly, the seedling will be visible within 2-3 weeks, or quicker in warmer conditions. The process doesn't really speed up germination time dramatically, but when the seedling starts growing it has ample nutrients directly at its roots so will grow quicker and more healthily.

Seed bombs need three elements to be successful: the seeds, compost (for fertilization), and red clay/cat litter (for protection of the seed bomb and for the minerals in the clay). Seed bombs can be tossed or thrown into areas that need seeding. They will remain there undisturbed until rain begins to break down the seed bomb and germinate the seeds inside. Approximately 3-5 inches of rain is needed to break down the seed bomb. If rains are lighter than that, it will simply take more rain events to break it down.

2011-04-28T05:27:00.000-07:00

FOUND FOOTAGE // EXPERIMENTAL CINEMA WORKSHOP -

Up to: 15 (can be more according to space and facilities we have)

Place: Somewhere we can have daylight or a couple of strong light sources, desks to work on.

Duration: 3 hours or more (can be two following sessions)

Props: Please bring magnifiers. Colorful permanent markers (the ones used to write on Cds are ok), indian ink, any transparent paints (like the ones used to dye glass) are also appreciated.

Ps. If you are highly allergic to chemicals like liquid bleachers, etc. this workshop may not be a good idea for you.

"Reality" [on the screen] comes from behind the spectator's head and if he looked at it directly he would see nothing except the moving beams from an already veiled light source.” Jean-Louis Baudry

Mainstream cinema has always focused on telling stories disregarding the fact that the material for the film is actually a combination of plastic and chemicals reflected from a projector. In this workshop, we will first talk about the representation of reality on the screen, and we speculate about how the mainstream cinema would be, if it had gone more towards to the field of plastic arts than literature. At the end of our discussions, we will be using super- 8mm film footage and deconstruct the image physically by simply scratching, coloring or erasing the image on the film. Later, we will project what we create and digitize it by our own means. We will have a “brand new” film.

2011-04-28T04:35:00.000-07:00

Feminist Humor

There's a widely-accepted misconception that women just do not possess the quality of being funny. Especially feminists get constant criticism for supposedly "taking the fun out of everything", for "not being able to get the joke", for "not grasping the irony here" and last, but not the least, feminists are accused of "taking everything way too seriously". When we say "That's nothing to be laughed at," do we limit the possibilities of humor, or do we bore people because we're aware that the laugh in question will hurt someone? Does laughter have a gender? What things does feminism 'keep' us from laughing at, how can our discontent with the humor at hand help us expand it? In this talk, we're going to talk of all the funny ladies in our lives and the potential empowerment through humor. We're going to discuss what other qualities automatically come with 'being funny' when it's a woman who's being funny, we're also going to talk about what you possibly cannot be when you're a funny woman. We're going to talk about women actors, writers, columnists and cartoonists, and their many different experiences of womanhood. We're also going to try to discuss the humor we use of in daily lives, we're going to discuss how we make each other laugh. Basically, we're going to try to find ways of being able to laugh without betraying one's own kind. We'll watch some videos and laugh. We'll probably make fun of ourselves in the meantime, too.

2011-04-28T04:33:00.001-07:00

AUTOBOIGRAPHICAL WRITING WORKSHOP “JUST SAY WHATEVER YOU WANT TO!”

This is a workshop about how to turn the autobiographical issues and everyday troubles into a writing’s subject. Just think that you have written, but can it be read by the others? Who is our reader, who should be? The basic thing we want to do to the reader is to make her/him “Say Whatever You Want to Say!”

We have got 4 days to write, read and play...

2010-04-15T05:50:00.000-07:00

Pictures 2010

Returning from street occupation

2010-04-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Poster Designs!

2010-04-01T17:51:00.000-07:00

by Melis

by Rüzgar and Isabel

by Monja

by Nurgül

by Isabel and Rüzgar

by Melis

by Steph

by Milen and Rüzgar

by Melis

by Rüzgar and Isabel

by Nurgül

by Neda

by Milen, Monja and Rüzgar

Call for Program

2010-03-29T00:23:00.000-07:00

For detailed program click here.

PLEASE SIGN UP FOR THE WORKSHOPS by writing an email to bagyanfest@gmail.com, saying which workshops you would like to participate in and if you need translation for these.

During the Lunch breaks there is going to be a lunch prepared by the "feminist men" in LambdaIstanbul. There is no charge for the food but there will be a box for donations.

Workshops and activities:

Creative Resistance:

Clown Army, Intervention Performances, Street Occupation, Stencil, Feminist Swearwords

Technology:

Blogging, Photoshop, dubbing Films, Photo

Eco:

Recycled Meals, exchanging/recycling clothes, crochet toys, knitting, ecological living in cities/d.i.y. dish washing detergent, cloth menstrual pad

Body Awareness:

Yoga, Dance, Performance Preparations

Workshop Descriptions:

Clothes Exchange and Modifying

organized by Isabel

Goal:

Got a sweatshirt as a present from your aunt? One piece of clothing that you would never imagine to dress in your life might become another person’s favorite one! You are really bored by your old shirts? It’s time to get creative! Everybody is invited to bring her/his old/unloved clothes to exchange them with someone else’s. Or make simple but effective changes to them. In a group we can help each other by sharing ideas, knowledge of techniques etc.

Requirements:

We need a big table on which every participant has her/his own working space. The idea is that not everybody should be working on the same thing at the same time so we won’t have a problem with the sewing machine. We need at least one more sewing machine, two would be even better, so if anybody knows anyone with a sewing machine that we could borrow for a day, please let me know. It would be nice to not only collect old clothes but also any other sort of material that you have at home (bows, buttons, wool, any sort of decoration material) and you don’t need anymore.

Time:

In case that we decide to use the clothes for any specific purpose (e.g. dressing up for the party, using them as costumes for the street activities) the workshop should be, of course, before that event. Maybe Saturday afternoon/evening? It could be a nice social activity for relaxing as well. But it does not really matter for me. The workshop will take about 3 hours.

Intervention Performances

The more the number of participants, the better.

There will be definitely a preparation time for the performances but never too long. Logically, the space, used for preparation, limit the number of people who wants to attend, but whoever is able to come, will pass the word to another who wants to join so a chain of info will build up, i believe.

Briefly, we will talk more and thoroughly soon, we will do performances in public space. These will be more like interventions. Performances can be:

1) re-claiming the areas of under male domination as women,

2) further developed into putting on the 'male' behaviour and talk to mirror them and moreover to express the performative gender. And depending on mirroring them,

3) moreover, we can even dress up as men, with our moustache and beard on that very spot.

We had other thoughts as well, but we ought to be realistic in realisation of them in 3 days. Soon, we'll be talking about the details..

Feminist Slang/Swearword Workshop

Organized by Aslı

Goal
There is no need to say that almost all women feel social pressure once they swear or use slang. As cursing women, we are always stigmatized by being immodest, wicked or male_like. Yet the pressure does not only come out of using swearwords and slang. It also exists in the slang and swearwords themselves that are strongly shaped by a sexualized and male dominant language and gaze, which constantly target our bodies. Hence, this workshop aims at discussing the relationship between body/gender/language, as well as contemplating the possibilities of producing feminist slang and swearwords as a collaborative activity. As against accepting the roles that we are ascribed like speaking like a lady or keeping in silence when getting angry, let's get together to think and produce our own slang and swearwords, as well as remember the old ones which do not circulate in our current vocabulary anymore. For getting the maximum out of this workshop, that would be great if you could email me the slang/swearwords that you consider as feminist or gender neutral. My email :a.zengin@gmail.com. In case you have something to suggest or ask, please feel free to drop an email into my inbox.

Requirements
Considering the maximum number of attendees as 30, a meeting hall/room which suitable for this number would be enough. That would be great if we have the luxury of having everyone seated.

Time schedule
Depending on the number of participants, a length of 1 or 1,5 hours would be enough

Photography workshop

Organized by Özge

For those who are interested in photography, we're going to reply some questions like "where to start", "what type of camera should I use", "how I can improve my technical skills" accompanying with amateur and professional photographers in two hours.

You can bring your prints or digital photos and we can talk about them.

If you have something specific to talk/get information, email to workshop host Özge ogozke@gmail.com or comment to blog. So we can draw the lines of workshop. For example, we can talk about taking good portraits, studio photography, finding and telling stories,documentary photography, where photographers can work...

WOMEN PHOTOGRAPHERS

In the second hour, following by 30 min. presentation about women photographers' work, as using feminist approach we're going to discuss if women photographers have their own style, what are the working conditions, visibility of their work.

Crochet Toys

http://oyuncakperisi.blogspot.com/

Knitting

organized by Nihal

First of all, i will start with showing basic knitting techniques like cast on, cast off, knit and purl stitches. Then I would like to show how to do a mini vulva object. This is based on a free design I found online. The object is small and i believe it is easy to do within the workshop hour and then they can show it off as a key chain. I will provide the yarn and the clit beads but I don't know about the needles, maybe we can make an arrangement and borrow some from somewhere?..

Clown Army

organized by Begüm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOOLLk9xlkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h1CH0Vchv8

Cloth Menstrual Pad

organized by Nihal

I don’t wanna bore anyone with historical, useless information. However, I am sure we all remember that at the beginning of 80’ies, it was a technique of women to fold fabric pieces and ‘put’ it inside their underwear in their periods. Then orkid was put on the market and everything changed. Visibility of the menstruation fact through the advertisements was an advantageous side maybe but the way in which media reflects the situation was a step back. Because, in those advertisements menstrual blood was being introduced as something dirty and bleeding as something disgusting. When I think deeply on it, I realize that those advertisements tells you to get rid of that shit as soon as possible actually. During that time course, we totally got alienated from our natural cycle.

Fabric pads are on the agenda of people for some time now again. Especially in foreign countries (mainly among women who choose not to have a career but stay at home) it is being perceived as a profession, they even have famous brands of fabric pads. Of course, they are not like the folded fabric ones that we used to build in 80’ies, but absorbing, aromatic smelling ones. They are made out of various different fabrics, produced like commercial disposable ones (typical pads that we know) but washable this time.

‘Fabric pad’ topic -either buying, building, or using- gives lots of messages. First one, needless to say, waste issue which industry does not care. Washable fabric pad gives an important ecological message by being a solution to waste problem. Second one is the gender issue. It is not only ‘hygienic’ pads what companies produce. They also produce stereotypical images of women by giving a stiff description of what is being a woman and dictating us how we must feel in our menstruation periods. In this context, we will get the control of our body and personal environment back by building and using our own hand-made pads.

Within the workshop, I am thinking of showing 2 different techniques in pad building. Besides, if we find a photocopier I could give a template and an information handout on how to build a fabric pad. I do not have a sewing machine, so I usually do these kinds of works by hand. But it would be great if there were a sewing machine, so that someone could also show us how to sew the fabric. I will bring some already made examples anyways; in this way, we will have a chance to see the alternatives.

This is just a framework as I said before. I am open to all kind of suggestions; please feel free to mention every detail that might be important for you.

YOGA

organized by Sena

First, we could start by introducing ourselves one by one. Then I would talk about how I met with yoga and give general information on it. In the first 5 minutes of one and half an hour class, we do a short meditation and then continue with vinyasa flow (Chandra namaskar).Followingly, work on standing poses, balance a bit, and shift to the floor for on the ground poses. Lastly, we do the final 10 minutes relaxing session (şavasana) and finish the class. There is no need for previous experience. Both the ones who has never tried before and the ones doing it regularly can join at the same time.

It will be easy, flowing, and enjoyable workshop most probably.

Blogging

organized by Rüzgar

its been a long while since communication and broadcasting have been saved from the hands of corporate enterprises and reclaimed by the people for the people!!! with the benefits of holly internet now its super easy to have your own webpage, your own blog and broadcast your own agenda to the world. blogging is the hippest new thing online which enables you to create content, write your own stories and news, share pics and videos, connect with friends, and an endless pool of virtual procrastination you can wish for! and its not more complicated then checking your emails if you are using a corporate company like blogger! god save google!
in this workshop we will learn basic blogging; what is a blog - creating a blog - templates - posting - rss feeds - adding pics and videos etc. We would focus on blogger and bagyanfest blog, so the participants through out the festival can use it as a platform to write their own news and comments, share their experience and perception of the different workshops, add their own pics and videos, be the media them selves.

Stencil

organized by Rüzgar

who owns the streets? of course us! why not decorate it in the way we want? street art have evolved with the most basic need of communication and as a reaction to brain washing commercials and corporate shops in form of vandalism.
in this workshop we would learn how to prepare a basic stencil by photoshoping, working on different layers, cutting and of course spraying!

Everyone can DANCE!!!

organized by Diane

dance is the movement of a body in space and time. everyone can do it. and do it well. dance is our unique way of moving our own body to express what words cannot. everyone can do it. and do it well. media teaches us that dance looks a certain way--the pirouette of a ballet dancer; the flutter of a ballroom dancer, but dance is so much more than that. dance is your hand reaching out in yearning. dance is your strut across a floor when you're feeling good.
we all have a body. it moves. and it can move in countless ways, expressing countless moods, feelings, desires and concepts.
this workshop will help you get more in touch with your own body and the ways in which it is a tool for self-expression and a means of connecting to others.
In this workshop we will connect to one another and our own bodies by exploring the vast possibilities of movement that exisits for our arms, hands, knees, elbows, shoulders, legs, hips feet and head. we will play with different rhythms and how our body wants to respond to them. we will move in flowing styles and stacatto styles; we will explore moving at low levels and high, fast paced and slow. We will contract and open, jump, hobble, and soar.
You have a body. Let it sing!

Fotoshop

Organized by Zeyno

Purpose
The workshop will include basic but essential Photoshop applications on making little changes on images like cutting, changing size, color, light, contrast level, rotating, distorting, disrupting, merging one image with another, playing with transparency, writing on image etc. Because of time limitation, it is not possible to explain all applications and features of the program. But I hope, getting into the basic, most useful tools, the participants will have enough knowledge to be able to play with the images, create posters, stickers and prepare visual materials for the blog afterwards.

PS: In case someone has a specific interest on a certain application, here is my e-mail:
zeynopekunlu@gmail.com. If you write beforehand, I can organize the workshop according to your demands.

Needs: A room with tables and electricity connection would be suitable. A beamer would make the explanation part easier. And as I said before, if participants bring their computers with them, they could repeat every action simultaneously, which is a better learning way. If they do not, then they could take notes and try later at home.
For the ones who do not have the program on their computer, we could provide a program cd before the workshop.

Eco living in the city

Organized by Nazife and Ismet

Produce little, konsume little.

Seperate waste, make compost.

Home made natural detergant.

Collect waste oil.

Using paper and fabric bags.

Go shopping in bio shops.

Film Screening:

Digital Stories From Amargi : There are neither long nor short stories!

Note: The screening will be in Turkish, no subtitles unfortunately!

In collaboration with Hacettepe University Faculty of Communication, we ran two workshops of Digital Storytelling in Amargi in December 2009 and February 2010.

Fifteen women from Amargi told 15 digital stories out of their lives. Digital storytelling is a short and amateur form of three minute storytelling in which everbody tells a story out of her life with her own voice by adding the images she wants and helping one another in a collective workshop atmosphere.

The first original digital storytelling workshop in Turkey was organized in Amargi Women's Cooperative with the coordination of a group from Hacettepe University Faculty of Communication. We are aiming at utilizing digital storytelling as an alternative medium for giving a variety of women a voice, making their stories more visible, as well as organizing them. The team who received training for coordinating digital storytelling workshops in Hacettepe University Faculty of Communication will broaden as the women, who took part in Amargi workshops, voluntarily participate in future workshops, and gain experience. In Amargi Women's Cooperative and in collaboration with different women's organizations, we are aiming at making more digital women stories and rendering them more visible through more workshops at different places and in various themes.

For detailed information: Burcu Şimşek, MA in Hacettepe University Faculty of Communication, Coordinator of Digital Storytelling Facilitator Team

Soli Party on Friday March 26

2010-03-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Come to enjoy yourself and support the Bagyan Feministival! The warm up party will take place in Lambdaistanbul on March 26. There will be a film screening at 7.30 p.m. and DJ Süreyya Hardcore playing at 9 p.m.. According to our recycling theme, everyone is invited to bring a small object that will be exchanged with others on the basis of donations.

This event will be open to people of all gender. Bring all your friends!!!
(There are rumors that Rüzgar is going to do a striptease which is not to miss...)

Women and Trans Photographers wanted!

2010-03-10T08:22:00.001-08:00

For the photo workshop we are looking for experienced women and trans photographers. Please contact: bagyanfest@gmail.com.

Sleeping Places

2010-03-07T09:19:00.001-08:00

During the time of april 9-10-11 we would like to find sleeping places for festival participants from outside of Istanbul. If you have a free bed, couch, or mattress and would like to host somebody please send an email to: bagyanfest@gmail.com

"Feminist" men wanted!

2010-03-03T13:35:00.000-08:00

We are looking for "feminist" men who can help us on April 9-10-11 2010 looking after the children, preparing food for the festival participants, and keeping the locations clean so that the women can have a relaxed festival!

On “feminist men”...

2010-03-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

On “feminist men”

After we made a call to feminist men for works like cleaning, childcare and cooking which needs to be done during the festival, there arose a subject that we as the organization group had never discussed, Could men ever become feminist?

By believing that there is no generally accepted truth about this subject, we share a comment that is send to our e-mail group and invite everybody to discussion:

I havent read the book, “ Feminism is for Everbody” but I take the content of this expression in that way : Feminism has a word for everbody. Everbody could find a word, a form of expression about himself / herself in feminism. In this context, I can respond to the question, “Can there be feminist man?”with another one “ Why not?” Because feminism has also a word for men in my opinion. However, with a final analysis, feminism is a struggle that is based on women’s liberation and, defends organization of women with women or with a broader expression, of the ones who go through womanhood experience with each other , for me.

Owing to the researches of manhood for which feminism paved the way, today we know that men are oppressed as well in different ways under the gender roles that society imposes on them. Objection to this is of course very important. As women’s questioning their “womanhood”s, men’s questioning their “menhood”s by men’s organization only with men will open the way for men’s liberation.

At exactly this point, the question I wonder about is why men want to be feminist. In my opinion, feminism forms the most significant ideological line of the struggle with patriarchial system ; however, the only and unique way of struggle with patriarchial system is not feminism.

If men rebel against the roles which patriarchial system imposes on them – I think they should-, why don’t they define a struggle line for themselves? If they form such a struggle line, I believe, as feminists, our solidarity with the ones who struggle in this area and creating common works in intersecting agendas will enrich the liberation struggle of all of us. (Senem Donatan)