Monday, April 28, 2008

Blowing a load on the face of misogynists.



A friend sent this email to Sally S. today: Read Below:

I just heard this song again and it reminded me how important it is to do what you are passionate about and be surrounded by people who love and support you. My family and friends are my foundation and I am grateful everyday for them.

A big house and fancy cars mean nothing if you don't have people around you to share it with. Whether it is with your family, your friends or your significant other, make that your foundation and you will excel in everything you do.

Material things bring
temporary and short-term happiness...family and friends are priceless. That is the definition of success...not the passionless love for material things.

Be grateful everyday, have integrity, love and support those around you and it will all come back ten folds.

Measure Your Success:

* Rich in friends—A person who cultivates friendships and who is a joy to be around can have hundreds of good friends and can be rich beyond the wildest dreams of others.


* Rich in health—A person who spends time eating and drinking right, exercising and relaxing from stress can be extremely healthy, and this health can be far more valuable than any amount of money.


* Rich in strength—A person who works out with weights every day, runs, swims, etc. can be rich in strength and will have an attractive body.


* Rich in family—A person who devotes time to his or her spouse and children will have a strong and happy family that is rewarding throughout life.


* Rich in knowledge—A person who reads and studies will become rich in knowledge.


* Rich in skill—A person who practices anything daily (a skill, a sport, prayer, whatever) will become excellent in that skill area. Excellence has its own rewards.


* Rich in character— A person who works hard at being honest and truthful in all situations will become rich in character and will be trusted by everyone.


See my response below:

It is possible to do what you are passionate about AND have money- and lots of it, actually. I realize there is an obsession in our society with the material. Possessions are pursued at the expense of other important things- there is no balance, for some.

On the other hand, I vehemently disagree with an overly humble attitude toward money, possessions, and material success. Ambition, especially in women, is shunned.

Shouldn't we just be satisfied with good friends, a gym membership, and family?

Maybe. If it pleases you.

Yet, there are some of us, women included, who are tenaciously pursuing our material goals- because we want to make a difference in the world, professionally, and be able to support ourselves, AND make boat loads of money if our ambitious little hearts desire. We are not any less "evolved" or "spiritual" than one for who those values don't apply.

There is a rather sexist imprint in this philosophy. For example, I may feel, as a woman, the need to justify my ambition with statements like, "I just really want to help people, and that's why success is important to me." Very few men are called upon to justify their ambition in this manner.

It is considered poor form for a woman to be restlessly driven- just for ambition's sake. Even in today's society, it's relatively rare to hear a woman openly admit to being a capitalist of the highest order, that is, placing ambition/success (of which material items are a natural extension of success) at the top of their list.

Parting Observation:

Oddly, it was not a stay-at-home mom who posted the article above; in fact, it was a young female entrepreneur at the prime of her earning potential- (30-35 years old).

How intriguing.

~S.S.

Thursday, April 24, 2008

O' Cum All Ye' Faithful



Has your birth control method ever failed? Or, maybe you had unprotected sex with your lover. If so, what did you do to stop his seed from finding a permanent home in the soft lining of your uterus?

Did you fall to your knees and pray for a miracle? Please God, Please. No children. No baby. I'll be a good girl, I promise!

Or, what if, in a moment of proactive self-protection, you participated in the holiest of all sacraments, the Eucharist.

I traveled the winding road to Mecca (i.e. Planned Parenthood) on Monday to renew my faith. And, when I walked through those Golden Doors of Heaven I heard the angels singing God's praises. After I made my contribution to the offering plate ($44), I felt the Holy Spirit descend upon me. Before receiving Holy Communion, I passionately sermonized (sperminized):

"Take this, all of you, and eat it:
this is my body which will be given up for you.
When supper was ended, he took the cup.
Again he gave you thanks and praise,
gave the cup to his disciples, and said:
Take this, all of you, and drink from it:
this is the cup of my blood,
the blood of the new and everlasting covenant.
It will be shed for you and for all
so that sins may be forgiven.
Do this in memory of me."



Thank you Lord. You truly are a kind and benevolent God.

Peace be with you.

Amen.

Wednesday, April 02, 2008

In Between Mary's Legs

virgin mary

On my father’s headstone it reads, “Loving Father and Son of God.” Jokingly, then, my mother asked my sisters and I if she, by association, was Mary Magdalene. Everyone laughed while I continued to draw my own conclusions about her admission. Mary Magdalene was, lest we forget, according to Christian tradition, a whore. Yet, even though Mary was whore, Christ embraced her with open arms.

I should’ve known I was headed down The Path of Whore. As a young never-been kissed sixth grader, I dressed up as a prostitute for Halloween. Equipped with my skull n’ bones earrings, stocking, black boots, and mini, I was ready to hit the streets- in sub-zero temperatures. Determined, I walked through the neighborhood without a coat and my bag of tricks. When I finally returned, I ate every last piece of candy in a sugar-induced frenzy. Whore training was about to commence.

Over the next year, I got my period, brought on an orgasm with a shampoo bottle, and read through my mom’s entire copy of “Our Bodies, Ourselves” at least ten times. I started talking to my peers about sexuality. I found more books and kissed a boy. I pulled a Playboy magazine out of a pile of trash with my best friend, Stephen, and disappeared into the woods with him to look. I can still recall the woman’s face and how she sat with her legs spread. I thought she was beautiful and imagined myself touching her.

Fast forward a few years, and I’m pulling down my skirt at my Catholic high school. Strange men fuck me, and I revel in their sweet release. I declare war on religion and fuck myself into a rebellion. I write the words, “I am in touch with my Mary Magdalene energy” in red lipstick across the mirror and rub one off in the bathroom with a picture of Christ hanging above me on the wall.

Would Christ, if living today, hold contemporary whores in the same esteem as he did then? Would Mary sit at his right-side at the Last Supper as an equal? And, if she did, how would the Church react?

Sadly, modern day Christianity views Christ’s affection for her as a by- product of his compassionate nature while denying the possibility of any actual real attraction or mutual respect between the two. Now, this in and of itself, is not a fantastic revelation. Artists like Tori Amos, for example, have been exploring the Christ/Whore creative territory for quite some time. Through her music, she explicitly links sexuality, religion, and revolution in one breath.

Thank you Tori.



As any tried & true whore knows, religious rebellion is a natural extension of fucking. Religion has given humanity specific instructions about how we are to conduct ourselves sexually. Masturbation is a sin, procreation is the goal, within, of course, the bounds of a little sacrament we call marriage. Anything outside of that very limited scope is deviant behavior and is shunned menacingly. From Sunday School Day 1 to Church Sermon 5,061, our heads become the dumping ground for every last shame-fueled thought.

Children are indoctrinated into this faulty belief system. Then, they are expected to move out into the world, interact, and form relationships with others based on the poison they’ve swallowed.

Many people are satiated with knowledge they’ve inherited. They have no other model and no desire to discover. They accept their fate easily.

Are we even aware of the cycle we’re stuck in? How do we “undo” all of the damage we’ve sustained? And what about this new model?

I have often said how we approach our sexuality is a metaphor for how we view life. If the source of life (sex) is dirty, humanity, as a whole, is in trouble. We’ve dimmed the light of The Source (God/Sex) down to practically nothing. This is dark space, indeed.

Just gimme the light,

Love,

S.S.