After work today I went to the library. The book I had on hold wasn’t there, and I realized it is waiting for me at Fort York library where I used to live. I have a week to pick it up before I get fined for it, although now that they don’t have late fees I’m not sure how that works! It was for the best, because I perused the shelves and discovered a few gems. It was almost eerie quiet in that little library, and I found that I was unaccustomed to that level of quiet in the company of others. There was a faint noise of a video playing on someone’s phone (there is always that one person that breaks the rules of social etiquette). But even that didn’t bother me today.
I read about the fiery feminist Nawal El Saadawi, who was an Egyptian doctor and writer, and passed away a few years ago at age 89. When she was a young girl, her mother told her that a boy is worth at least 15 girls, and that girls were a curse. She didn’t believe this and spent her life fighting against this belief and its expression in societies around the world. Nawal wrote furiously on behalf of the rights of women and girls, and was even imprisoned for it – but that didn’t stop her; she continued to write in prison on toilet roll with an eyebrow pencil that had been smuggled to her. Her opponents said to her, “You are a savage and dangerous woman” to which she replied “I am speaking the truth. And the truth is savage and dangerous.”
I came across the ‘man vs. bear’ viral video that sparked so much online debate – it’s a funny video but it’s also true that women choose ‘bear’ because we are instinctively scared of men we don’t know (in the setting of a remote forest, or other remote location). It’s just a result of the times we live in, and unfortunately women have to carry that fear with them throughout their lives. I would probably pick bear too – more likely to get lucky with a bear at this point!
Some pics from the Indigenous Arts Festival last weekend:
And a few pics from Women of Comedy last weekend! Isabel introduced me as “the sweetest peach in all the land”. I’ve never been called a peach before!
I think I get my sense of humour from my grandfather – he was definitely the funniest in our family! Even the way he used to call me Might-A would make me laugh! My grandmother turned 90 a week ago. She is definitely still sharp as a wit (and has more energy than me).
I’m off on a road trip to Ottawa this weekend! Will be nice to be home!
She's Come Undone 