Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman’s Guide to Why Feminism Matters byJessica Valenti.

Despite Jessica Valenti’s book being aimed at young American women, I – a fourteen year old Brit at the time- was inspired by it and, as corny as this may sound, it changed my life.

A fresh, blunt and fun style of writing is used by Valenti to help young women make the transition from a woman that doesn’t identify herself as a feminist but has feminist values, into a proud and informed feminist.

I found this particular to my experience as before picking up “Full Frontal Feminism” I had little to none ideas on what feminism was; if I was a feminist, and like any girls my age I questioned if feminism was important in 2011. Ask me now? I’d tell you it is tremendously important. Jessica Valenti taught me that there are still countless problems caused by sexism, that have yet to be overcome, but that we are progressing.

As I mentioned earlier, I am under the target audience age. Yet, I believe that any mature teenager can handle this book. The crude language used at some points may be off-putting for people to give to their teenage relative, or for some older readers it may seem too informal. But reading this myself, knowing zilch about feminism, it was like having a conversation with a cool older sister. Forget the extremely theoretical -and slightly biased- way feminism is taught in schools, Valenti makes feminism appealing to free-thinking independent young women, whilst using shocking anecdotes and informative statistics.

As much as I’d like to preach about “Full Frontal Feminism” this entire review, I cannot recommend it to those who have read a great amount of feminist literature as it is ultimately an introduction to feminism. A must read for all those who have found themselves using the phrase: “I’m not a feminist but…”

I was hooked on the first chapter, and ready to make a change in my lifestyle on the last. Jessica Valenti involves the reader successfully by using an exercise entitled “What’s the worst thing you can call a woman?” This activity doesn’t necessarily make you a feminist, but it helps the reader recognize the state of society and it’s still present sexism.

Throughout the book, I quoted Valenti’s words continuously, one that particularly annoyed my mum is: “We’re all brought up to feel like there’s something wrong with us. We’re too fat. We’re dumb. We’re too   smart. We’re not ladylike enough- stop cursing, chewing with your mouth open, speaking your mind (…) F*** that.” Following that paragraph is one that I wrote down repeatedly in my diary, it really motivated me and made me feel like I’m worth something, whatever society thinks: “You’re not too fat, you’re not too loud. You’re not too smart. You’re not unlady like. There’s nothing wrong with you.

 The book really helps encourage the reader take part in feminist action whether that’s in the community or nation-wide. “It doesn’t matter what you’re doing, so long as you’re doing something. Even if it’s as simple as speaking up when someone tells a nasty-ass sexist joke.”

The final chapter is entitled “Get To It.” It gives ten columns from Violence, through to Pop Culture, Work and Money, Reproductive Rights and even Spreading the Word, each with around five bullet points on exactly how to get to it.

“Full Frontal Feminism” is lively, consistent and accessible, which is why this book has inspired so many. I handed it to my best friend straight after reading; it is vital to all young, smart and modern women.

What?

In order to explore the question of how we have gone on, how we do go on now, and how we dream/ desire to go on in the future in response to a feminist heritage, this rich and expansive archive of texts, publications, audio/video, film-clips and images offers a range of starting points for feminist lines of flight in art and politics.

Where and when?

The Read Out! Read In! collection is accessible in tangible form at Glasgow Women’s Library and as an online resource here. This material provides departure points for a network of reading groups (advertised in the library and through the website), in Glasgow and beyond. Anyone can add details of their own feminist lines of flight or reading group to this site and we will endeavour to locate any new material and add it to the collection.

Browse the contributed Lines of Flight here.

Share your own Lines of Flight in the comments below.

How?

Read Out! Read In! Feminist Lines of Flight in Art and Politics was initiated by Faith Wilding, Kate Davis (see below for further information on both artists), the Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow and Glasgow Women’s Library. It was developed by Louise Shelley, Hannah Ellul and Alice Andrews in conjunction with Wilding and Davis’ two-woman discursive exhibition project, The Long Loch: How Do We Go On From Here?, which was held at the CCA as part of Glasgow International 2010. Wilding and Davis invited a wide range of international co-inspiritors to select up to three starting points for feminist lines of flight in art and politics for discussion and feasting on. Further information about, and images of, previous Read Out! Read In! reading groups and events can be found on the CCA Lines of Flight website.

Why?

‘Read Out! Read In! Feminist Lines of Flight in Art and Politics’ strives to connect many different points of departure for feminist thinking, discussion and making. By re-launching and establishing the collection at Glasgow Women’s Library we hope to enable this rich archive of freely available inspiration to remain active and continue to grow.

Faith Wilding

Faith Wilding emigrated from Paraguay to the USA in 1961. She studied and worked with Judy Chicago and was part of the Feminist Art Program and Womanhouse in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. To this day, she refuses to limit herself to a single artistic medium, and she continues to expand and develop the formal structures of her art. Her works are textile sculptures, performance, new media and critical discourses that explore social problems and issues.

Faith Wilding is a Professor in the Performance Department of the School of the Art Institute in Chicago, as well as Graduate Faculty of the MFA in Visual Art Program at Vermont College of Fine Arts. Wilding has exhibited and performed widely around the world for the past 40 years, including at: CCA, Glasgow; Bronx Museum of Art, NY; MOCA in Los Angeles; The Whitney Museum of Art; the Armand Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; The Drawing Center, New York; Ars Electronica, Linz; Documenta X, Kassel; the Singapore Art Museum, and other venues.

Wilding co-founded and collaborates with subRosa, a reproducible cyberfeminist cell of cultural researchers using BioArt and tactical performance in the public sphere to explore and critique the intersections of information and biotechnologies in women’s bodies, lives, and work. subRosa produces artworks, performances, workshops, contestational campaigns, publications, media interventions, and public forums. Wilding/subRosa performances/exhibitions include: “Bodies Unlimited”, Bilbao, Spain; “The Interventionists”, MASSMoCA; “BioDifference” Biennial of Electronic Arts, Perth, Australia; Performance International, Mexico City, and Merida, Yucatan; “Cloning Cultures,” National University, Singapore; Welcome to the Revolution, Zurich; Art of Maintenance, Kunstakademie, Vienna.

Kate Davis

Kate Davis was born in New Zealand and now lives and works in Glasgow where she also teaches at Glasgow School of Art. Informed by successive waves of feminist art and theory Davis’ art practice centres on the fragile re-calibration of representation through twentieth century art and literature. Revisiting biographical as well as art historical moments, Davis has worked across a range of media (including installation, drawing, printmaking, bookworks, photography, sculpture, video and film) to question how she could ‘re-vision’ the fallibility of historical memory through her activities as a female artist today.

Referring to specific artworks and texts by a range of twentieth century artists, writers and performers (such as Kaethe Kollwitz, Carl Andre, Katherine Mansfield, Franz Gertsch, Joan Jonas, Willem De Kooning and Yvonne Rainer amongst others), she is attempting to both imagine a past that could have happened differently from the way it actually did, and delineate alternative ways to move forward. Davis has presented solo shows at Museo de la Ciudad and La Galeria de Comercio, Mexico; Kunsthalle, Basel; Galerie Kamm, Berlin and was selected for Art Now, Tate Britain, London in 2007. Recent group shows include: ‘Art Sheffield 10’ (collaborative commission with Jimmy Robert); ‘Better living with…’ (Museum Ludwig, Cologne); ‘Das Gespinst’ (Stadtisches Museum Abteiberg, Monchengladbach) and ‘The End of the Line’ (various UK venues and organised by Hayward Touring). Davis has been awarded residencies at Cove Park, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland; Banff Arts Center, Canada and Camden Arts Centre, London.

Further information on and images of all her work can be found here.

Tell us your own Lines of Flight

Inspired? Share your own Lines of Flight in the comments.

Artists Kate Davis and Faith Wilding developed a project, Feminist Lines of Flight in 2010 that involved a diverse group of people adding their feminist ‘must reads’ and ‘must sees’ to a list that inspired reading groups, discussion and could be experienced in their exhibition at the CCA and linked website.

The web resource, a list of favourite feminist texts from a growing list of contributors, is moving to the GWL website and will be re-launched on Saturday 11 June.

Saturday 11 June, 11am to 1pm

To mark this, the GWL Book Group is hosting a special session with one of the ‘Lines of Flight’ Marilyn French’s feminist classic The Women’s Room. All are welcome to come along and discuss this groundbreaking novel in a friendly and celebratory session. Come and find out more about the range of inspiring Lines of Flight (and add your own!), leaf through some of the amazing texts we have at GWL linked to the list and meet the artists who have created this resource.

For information on how to loan a copy of the Women’s Room from GWL please let us know. Booking is essential, please complete the quick booking form below, or if you are not a member of the library already you can join here

I choose the Glasgow Women’s Library as organization for my placement due to my research interest during my studies. My Bachelor-thesis engaged with the Women’s Movement in America during the 1960s. As it was mainly dominated by white middle- and upper class women, working class and especially black and other minority women were excluded. Furthermore they also faced difficulties in the male-dominated black-liberation movement and therefore carried – as Bell Hooks calls it – a double burden: being female and being black.

My Master thesis engaged with discrepancies in political participation of young men and women. Here I analyzed two different parties and concluded that instead of sexist stereotypes and ideological prejudices, structural difficulties based upon centuries upon centuries of patriarchal party politics are the main barrier for female participation.

Therefore the approach of the women’s library interested me: emancipation through education and creativity. Developing confidence in a safe environment but also making space for inspiration and self-defined research activities. The political significance of this form of encouragement and the resulting development of active citizenship should not be underestimated.

As outlined in former blogs on the GWL website, I worked on two main projects. One of them was to research and contact women’s libraries all over Europe to establish a partnership and enable us to exchange information etc. We have contacted them and received already some feedback, which I am finally going to file and I hope that somebody will be able to take over, deepen the contact and establish a sisterhood – partnership.

My second project was to prepare and establish a digital oral history resource. I managed to transcribe quite a lot of interviews that have been conducted. Eleftheria, one of our volunteers is now taking over and she is going to filter interesting parts of the interviews, process the extracts and prepare them for publication on our new upcoming website.

Apart from these two fields, I also worked at reception once a week, helped out on exhibition stands, went with Morag to a couple of events and visited groups that are working on their own women’s history projects.

Most importantly though was to experience the day-to-day activities of the women working and volunteering in the Glasgow Women’s Library. The influence of their feminist values underlies their work and social interactions. This has left a deep impact on me personally and I believe it will also have an impact on my future research.

It was interesting to engage with a more open – not overly structured group of colleagues. Which – to be honest – I found very challenging at the beginning. From my former work experience in Germany, I was used to a more defined and maybe also more narrowed, top-down structure. So I found it difficult to orientate myself at the beginning, but eventually found it very refreshing. I now feel enabled to see office structures from a different angle and hope that I can make use of this experience in future jobs. Furthermore I have developed more confidence in an English speaking work- environment and improved my language skills once again, thanks to “the word of the day” :-)

One of the things that struck me most (continuous astonishment!!) was the way women are treated here. The incredible positive approach towards women with very diverse backgrounds, the focus on creating a welcoming and safe atmosphere and the effect of highlighting the positive features of individual women was overwhelming and very inspiring.

Thanks a lot to all of you who are involved in the Glasgow Women’s Library, especially the staff but also the volunteers and numerous visitors.

It was really great meeting all of you and I hope we will keep in touch! xx

Cutting the 100th anniversary cake

As part of our activities around International Women’s Day, Nisha and I were invited to Dunoon to deliver the F Word workshop at an event for the Engender Women into Public Life project in Argyle and Bute.

Women into Public Life aims to support women in the Argyle and Bute area in having their voices heard and engaging in politics locally and nationally. An event was held where local people could come along, participate in workshops and find out more about the project and about Glasgow Women’s Library. There was also a delicious celebration cake to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

We asked people to describe what feminism meant to them and showed them the F Word DVD, where a group of young women explore feminism, it’s history and what it means for them today.

The F Word workshop

We had lots of interesting reactions and comments, including “Promote feminism awareness for men!” and praise for the F Word film, the event organisation and the food! Thanks to Lorna Alquist for inviting us out and thanks to all the participants who made their way through the spring blizzards to come along…

The Women’s Room, first published in 1977, has come to be one of the most important and influential works of fiction of the twentieth century.

The book follows the life of a young woman, Mira, from adolescence to middle age, and chronicles her experiences, and the experiences of her friends and piers. The book exposes the social and sexual dilemmas and pressures faced by young women, and delivers a potent critique of the forceful patriarchal culture dominant in 1970s America. It was for this reason primarily that the book was rounded upon by a male dominated media, who accused it of being, among other things, ‘banal’.

This however could not be further from the truth, and is revealing of the pettiness and meanness of patriarchy in documenting a woman’s artistic achievement.

The comments of the critics can be attributed the book’s tendency to reveal the reality of a woman’s everyday life. Indeed, in the heart of suburban white middle class America, ‘banal’ may be an adequate description for a woman’s everyday existence, yet French’s handling of this banality reveals the inherent loneliness and brutality which dominates a woman’s life in this context.

“Sometimes when she [Mira] was having her coffee and reading her paper, the sun would slant in through the big kitchen window and pour across the wooden table and her heart would walk slowly through the large house and feel its cleanliness and order and would thing that the comfort of order might after all be the best on could hope for, might even be enough…”

The image conjured by French of a woman, isolated and anonymous in her home is a powerful one, and it is a testament to French’s writing, that these passages describing mundane domesticity are not ‘banal’ but are intense, almost elegiac, pieces of writing which grip the reader, and deliver their message forcefully.

The novel also exposes the sexual and domestic violence encountered by women, and the injustice of a woman’s situation in this period. The inevitable ostracisation of a woman after her divorce, the frequency of incidents of domestic violence and the virtual impossibility for a woman to prosecute her rapist, are all issues tackled by French to good effect.

One criticism of the novel for today’s reader might be that it has somehow become dated, and that it describes a bygone age. Certainly the place of a divorced women in society has improved, and there can be no doubt that incidents of domestic violence and rape are dealt with much more sensitively today than in comparison 1977. However these incidents still occur all to regularly and sexual and domestic violence is still a reality for too many women. Prosecutions for these crimes are still difficult to achieve, and many incidents still go unreported. In today’s context therefore, ‘The Women’s Room’ still retains a scary relevance which should not be underestimated.

This book is important for so many reasons. It breaks with all literary conventions about writing about women’s lives. There is no great romance, no wonderful future for its heroine, and certainly there are no wonderful hero’s. It is also important however for the manner in which it describes women’s relationships with other women. ‘Sisterhood’ is an incredibly powerful force in this novel, and the sense that women can come together to support each other and change their situation steadily becomes a hopeful reality.

This novel is essential reading for any woman, or man, with an interest in ridding the world of patriarchy. It is brilliantly written, incredibly powerful and often unnerving.

On the topic of Storytelling, I was recently sent some information about an event at the start of November in the Ramshorn Theatre that reinterprets some classic tales with a feminist twist.

Louna Productions in collaboration with STG
Wednesday 3 to Saturday 6 November at 7.30pm
GRIM(M) TALES/ BLUEBEARD

Think you know your fairy tales? Think again…drawing on their Fringe sell-out success, ‘Grim(m) Tales/Bluebeard’ is Louna’s second production, this time in collaboration with Bruce Downie and Strathclyde Theatre Group at the Ramshorn Theatre in Glasgow.

Merging the lesser known, darkest tales by the Brothers Grimm and the tale of the devilish bridegroom, this brand new production is a double bill of European folklore with a twist. Using elements of physical theatre and traditional storytelling, making use of only minimal staging and props, ‘Grim(m) Tales/Bluebeard’ relies on the power of words to enthral its audience in a nightmarish take on fairy tales.(Please note that this show is not suitable for anyone under the age of 14).

‘Grim(m) Tales/Bluebeard’ takes place from Wednesday 3rd November – Saturday 6th November, 19:30 pm at The Ramshorn Theatre, 98 Ingram Street, Glasgow G1 EX.

Tickets are £9(£6 concession).

Louna Productions is a new Scottish-German company founded by Anna Lehr and Louisa Thornton. The two actresses met in early 2010 and founded their own theatre company to specialise in storytelling with a twist for an adult audience. Their current production is being performed as part of the IETM (Informal European Theatre Meeting).

For more information visit The Ramshorn Theatre Events Page

Glasgow Women’s Library will have an information stall and there will be a showing of The F Word. This lively, provocative video was developed by Pilton video and the F Word girl’s group in partnership with Glasgow Women’s Library and it charts the journeys of a group of culturally diverse young women who explore the history of feminism and what it means to them and others in their communities.

There will be a wide range of organisations there to inform and inspire you so if you live in the Argyle area, come along and find out more.

For more information contact Lorna Ahlquist on 01369 830 877 or take a look at the Engender newsletter (.pdf).

Suffragettes and First Wave Feminism

The brave women who fought for women’s right to vote
Wednesday 24 February, 1pm to 2.30pm
at St Andrews in the Square with Anne Williams

The Temperance Movement

The bold women who tackled the curse of the bottle
Wednesday 3 March, 1pm to 2.30pm
at St Mungo’s Museum with Kirsty Hood

Second Wave Feminism & Peace

The strident women who strove for peace and women’s liberation
Wednesday 10 March, 1pm to 2.30pm
at Glasgow Women’s Library with Adrienne Hannah

Women and the Abolition Movement

The revolutionary women who fought against slavery
Wednesday 17 March, 1pm to 2.30pm
at Glasgow Gallery of Modern Art with Anita Shelton

Chartists

The ‘Brazen Faced Jades’ who formed the backbone of Britain’s first mass working class movement
Wednesday 24 March, 1pm to 2.30pm
at The People’s Palace with Sue John

The Rent Strikes

The militant women who took on the slum land lords
Tuesday 30 March, 12pm to 1.30pm
at St Mungo’s Museum with Anne Williams
Please note this final session is part of the WEA lunchtime forum series and they ask for a small donation of £1 from those who can afford it.

These sessions are open to both men and women. For more information or to book your place click here to send us an email or you can call us on 0141 552 8345
Or you book through the WEA on 0141 221 0003 or email glasgow@weascotland.org.uk

Download the PDF Firebrand Women Flyer

The WEA have been awarded a grant through Awards for All from the National Lottery to to provide these sessions.