Messages from Musicians and the like

I've been thinking a lot about a line from Ani Difranco's new cd:

"Feminism ain't about equality; it's about reprieve."

Obviously, since she named her cd Reprieve, she thought a lot about it too. I've been throwing all sorts of things in the pot with that thought, and I think it's a strange soup that I'm brewing.

Sometimes I think the break will never come. And if it does come, as I think it started to from 1992-2000, how long before the break is over and the punishment starts again? The 1920s and the 1960s saw advancements for women, but those periods were followed by periods of backlash. It seems like we are in another backlash period now.

Because I am a "difference"feminist, I have a certain amount of discomfort with the idea of "equality" as a goal anyway. Sure, I want to be paid well, but I'm not all that interested in pretending that my body is the same as a man's body. I have different capabilities, and I don't think we should pretend that that difference doesn't exist. However, I don't want my rights as a citizen to be based on my biological capabilities, and I don't think that a person must have a penis to be president.

What Ani seems to be saying, and I agree with her, is that women have been systematically held back, put down, and abused for a very long time. Feminism is about finding a break -- finding some relief -- from that history and systemic sexism. In another song on the album she says, "Dear friends, especially the women, are you up to the task of turning the wheel of human history at long last?"

Here is what I've been thinking about: Am I ready to do something?

Action is a whole different story.

I need, we need, a break. That means I have to put my shoulder to the grindstone.