Ana’s Comments (group member since Jan 08, 2016)

Ana’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

No mental disorder, no parallel universe. :) It's just that, as Anja so eloquently stated before, this argument is one of the biggest issues that the Western feminist movement has with regard to their Muslim counterparts. There is certainly a lot of oppression in the Muslim world, but that does not make your statement valid. I have met Muslim girls who were observant of their religion, yet reigned over their own lives (I actually met them abroad, living on their own.) Yesterday I read about Ruqia Hussan, a most brave Syrian activist that was recently kidnapped and murdered by Daesh. I really don't want to help derail this conversation, but I find unfair to say that the majority of Muslim women are slaves. You know, many choose to wear the hijab. Many choose to become SAHM. Then again some others don't and that's terrible and I really hope it will change over time, but many of them do get a say within the culture they grew up in and in which they want to stay. We all have roots - or at least we all should have them. Of course they condition us in one way or another. That's fine, as long as it doesn't make you unhappy or troubled. You without your roots...well, that wouldn't be you and let me tell you, if it's not in one place, it will be in another, but you'll always have your own origins to help determine what you do - and what you don't do, too, in your life.

If we were absolutely tolerant, which should not be misunderstood as giving everybody a free pass to do whatever nonsense crosses their minds, we would probably be a lot happier in life.

95% of Muslim women are slaves. Wow, good to know.

¡Buena pregunta! Muchos de vosotros quizá sepáis que el apartado 'Photos', en la esquina superior derecha de la pantalla una vez estáis en OSS, contiene montones de propuestas para el logo y banner de este grupo como respuesta al llamamiento de la propia Emma. Lo cierto es que desde el equipo de moderación no sabemos cuándo se elegirá una, y es algo que afectaría de manera bastante directa a lo que has preguntado. Puedo preguntar y ver qué me responden. :)

Elena wrote: "Sure. And if Muslim women are ok with being slaves, great. Because we individuals decide by ourselves and aren't coerced by what society tells us, right? We're all born free!

So if we see somethin..."

Not all Muslim women are slaves, though! (In fact, this argument is pretty prone to end up in a most heated debate...) I said myself that I think it's really unfortunate that we keep up with these sorts of babe parade culture. Not even slightly interested in taking part in such a thing, if I were ever asked to! However, I cannot ban other people from doing whatever they want, as long as they're not harming others. Were those women forced to strip off and go to the football event? Then that is outrageous. Are they OK with showing their bodies...perhaps even proud? Ah, well. Not my choice in life, but I'm not them. To each their own. I might feel prompted to write about my disappointment in a feminist bookclub. I might think by myself and reconsider my stance on body standards, social pressure, sexuality and its public expressions. I might choose to teach my future daughters that it is best to focus on the inside. So, hey, I'm doing my fair share already.

Takashi wrote: "One of the reasons kind of tremendous fall of book sales in Japan during the past 20 yrs might be related to Japanese writing book customs, which is my own personal view.
Japanese rarely used type..."

Oh, that's pretty interesting! I know zero about the publishing world in Japan, haha. Given the fact that you have this reputation of a highly advanced society technology-wise, us Westerners tend to take for granted that you are automatically adapted to each and every new gadget!

When ebooks came to my own country (I am Spanish) they also took their time to become popular because many of us were pretty reluctant to the idea of no longer enjoying paper. There was also a fear that ebooks would sign the death of traditional book formats. However, I now believe such prospect to be highly unlikely. I think ebooks and traditional books will continue to coexist together, both with advantages and disadvantages. At least for now, haha.

You know, Takashi, as far as I know you are the only Japanese member in this forum, which is a real bummer. Therefore, your views on women's issues in your country would be highly appreciated in these boards! I really hope you will join us at other threads. :)

¡Hola a todos! Es posible que muchos de vosotros conozcáis ya esta entrada en su versión inglesa o por la alusión que hice a la misma en uno de los hilos hispanohablantes, pero pensé que no estaba de más crear una versión en español. :)

Pues bien, la idea es simple. Muchos/muchas probablemente no os sentís llamados a convertiros en activistas a tiempo completo de la causa feminista (entre los cuales me incluyo yo misma, por una serie de motivos). Sin embargo, como con tantos otros temas, es probable que sí que os interese contribuir con pequeñas acciones que supongan una diferencia a nivel de vuestras comunidades y grupos, que son los que en última instancia más nos importan.

Ganas de dar un pequeño paso adelante + pasión por la lectura = ¡¡Llevad Our Shared Shelf a las bibliotecas!!

¿Qué bibliotecas? Pues, vuestras favoritas. :) La biblioteca de la uni, la del barrio, la única de vuestra pequeña ciudad o pueblo, la que os pilla siempre de camino a casa. La biblioteca de una asociación afín a las cuestiones que tratamos aquí. No hacen falta informes académicos, contactos ni grandes gestos (¡aunque tanto mejor, si sabéis a qué puerta llamar y tenéis formación en el tema!) Únicamente necesitáis compartir con vuestros bibliotecarios qué es lo que os entusiasma de este grupo de lectura y por qué creéis que sería ventajoso contar con actividades al hilo de estos foros en la biblioteca. Es muy posible que haya más gente en vuestra ciudad que estaría interesada en unirse, solo que da la casualidad de que no han oído hablar de OSS o acaso necesitan ese pequeño empujoncito para sumarse a una comunidad en la que debatir, leer y aprender.

Yo soy de Granada (España) y estoy buscando un momento libre para tratar de hacer algo en este sentido. El éxito que tenga, no lo sé...ni lo sabré mientras no lo intente. :) ¿Y vosotros?

En general, os animamos también a que sencillamente habléis de OSS a amigos, familiares, compañeros de trabajo, conocidos...cuando todo esto comenzó hace apenas un mes, lo cierto es que el idioma podía suponer una barrera para muchos. Ahora, sin embargo, contamos ya con unos cuantos hilos en español recopilados en este índice...más los que puedan surgir en un futuro próximo. Es difícil de gestionar a veces ya que deseamos que la intensidad del debate y la interacción en este foro se mantengan y desgraciadamente el inglés es la "lingua franca" en estos casos, pero para nosotros era y es muy importante que el idioma no se convierta en una discriminación involuntaria.

Eso es todo por ahora. ¡Mantened informados al resto de vuestras iniciativas y...hacednos promoción ahí afuera! :D

Ahhhhh. Well, if the women are OK with it, and I am assuming they are, because they're probably trying to have a modelling career...well, consent is the key word and to each their own.

Not that I don't think it's rather sad that we change children mascots for good ole bombshells! Boobs! Hot babesss! for the manly men out there.

¡Ni se te ocurra disculparte por tus contribuciones a esto! Solo quiero poder yo sentarme con calma para sumarme a vosotras... <3

Takashi, would you please write all your drafts and suggestions in a single post instead of posting multiple comments? That way, you can wait for others to read your ideas and maybe offer you some feedback, if they have any. By posting so many messages in such a short time in the same thread, there is the possibility that others feel that there is no space for their own thoughts.
Moreover, I would encourage you to post on other threads as well. You seem to be interested in gender equality and it was actually really interesting to read your data on the book market in Japan, since many of us do not have extensive knowledge on the country. This is only a suggestion, but maybe you could also join people over at different threads, share your opinions, discover others' insights and get a lot more of the forum! Just my two cents.

Myrthe, I've completed your survey as well! Ik wens je veel succes met je scriptie! :)

Don't worry, Ryan! Plenty of voices here, so I don't think you're alone in that department. :)

Thanks for sharing Anne Moody's biography - I personally did not know about her and it was interesting to read. However, you'll have to admit that with so many books out there, it'd be difficult to choose one that lives up to everyone's expectations. You're mentioning Anne Moody; someone else could very well come up with yet another equally deserving woman of colour.

While Alice Walker was born indeed in the 1940s, if you read her biography, it's not like she was not aware of the struggles of her people. In fact, she witnessed quite a few of them. She has also had a long, committed career as an activist, also met MLK, went to the Gaza Strip and so on. I highly doubt that the book was chosen because there's a Spielberg film with Whoopi Goldberg as the main character. :)

Also, I personally believe that maybe the format of this book was an important factor as well. We started in January with a most fascinating yet sort of difficult reading - I enjoyed Gloria Steinem's book just as much as many others here, but I do not think I am the only one who had to take her time to finish the book and fully grasp it. With February's pick, we were looking for a book that was easier to find in other languages, more affordable than the previous one too, and I think that the idea was to keep bringing in powerful contents and thought-provoking issues while having a somewhat easier format - an epistolary novel. Just my two cents! :)

Hey, Ashwin! Yours is indeed a legitimate concern. I wouldn't see any problem in doing this with the official reading list! The Bookshelf, though, is a bit difficult to manage in that sense, as there are books by the hundreds! We do have a general disclaimer advising that forum members participate at their own discretion regarding these issues, which I hope will be useful. I'll bring the topic up with the rest of the admin team, though! :)

I know right? (view spoiler)[The way Celie is described by her own father floored me. Nothing but a beast for him, a second-class asset to offer to others. (hide spoiler)]

Elena wrote: "Yeah... I wasn't trying to debate but ok haha"

Indeed you were not. In any case, I must insist that politeness still applies. A social form of hypocrisy if you will, but it's there for a reason.

Elena wrote: "Politeness is boring :)"

I beg to differ. There is such a thing as expressing one's criticism while still being polite, and such a quality is not subject to fun or boredom, but rather a prerrequisite for debate. :)

On a different note, I feel like this thread is starting to derail quite a bit. The idea is clear - there's potential to the idea of Emma eventually writing a book and many of us would be interested in reading such book, which is sure cool. Latest comments, as enthusiastic as they are, hardly contribute anything to the forum. While I understand that this topic is of the utmost interest for some people, I honestly see no point in writing a full draft for a book that shall ultimately be written by a different person altogether.

¡Hola, Maca! Bienvenida a Our Shared Shelf, yo soy española y por ahora todos los de habla hispana estamos un poco desperdigados, pero con cada nuevo miembro ganamos presencia. ¡Espero que pronto aparezca mucha más gente en este hilo! :) Mientras tanto, quizá te resulte interesante consultar este índice de temas en español. Por supuesto, te animo a participar en los hilos disponibles en inglés o en cualquier otro idioma que hables. ¡Nos vemos por aquí! :)

¡Sed todos bienvenidos a Our Shared Shelf, el grupo de lecturas feministas fundado por la Embajadora de Buena Voluntad de ONU Mujeres Emma Watson! A continuación puedes encontrar un índice de los temas actualmente disponibles para la conversación en lengua española. Asimismo, te animamos a participar en los hilos en inglés y otros idiomas si así lo deseas.

En este grupo favorecemos y promovemos el debate animado y constante, la curiosidad intelectual y las interacciones respetuosas entre la totalidad de nuestros miembros. Por ello, están prohibidos los mensajes que inciten al odio, falten al respeto gratuitamente a otros usuarios o rompan el espíritu de convivencia del foro y/o contengan promoción propia o spam. El equipo de moderación de Our Shared Shelf se reserva el derecho a retirar comentarios que violen dichas normas y, en caso de ser necesario, a la expulsión de miembros que incumplan repetidamente estas reglas.
Si bien todos son bienvenidos a Our Shared Shelf. algunos de los libros y temas a discutir en el foro pueden considerarse no aptos para menores o jóvenes. Queda, por tanto, a la discreción de cada miembro decidir su grado de participación.

índice de hilos actualmente abiertos:

Introducciones
[ES] Introducciones

Lecturas oficiales del foro
[ES] (enero) "My Life on the Road", de Gloria Steinem
[ES] (febrero) "El color púrpura", de Alice Walker

Feminismo (conceptos y debates)
[ES] ¿Qué es el feminismo?

Feminismo en el mundo (análisis centrados en países o regiones)
[ES] Feminismo en Argentina

Actualidad
[ES] [España] #MachismoMata

Encuentros y reuniones
[ES]Encuentros en España
[ES] Encuentros en Chile

Iniciativas vinculadas a OSS
[ES] ¡Lleva OSS a tu biblioteca! / Difusión de OSS en el mundo hispanohablante

Hmmm. :( Yeah, I did buy this month's book, but I totally get you on the money being tight department. There's a budget and that's it. As I said, I hope you can join us later!

Aw, crap, Kikki. :( Hey, I know you mentioned money being a problem, but what about second-hand bookstores online? Maybe not for the US, but I saw copies in the UK for about one pound. Maybe if you find one in the US, with free shipping costs? Otherwise, I'm sure people will keep discussing the book later as well. :)

Uhhhh, Elena, would you please try and turn the judgemental dial down a bit? You are entitled to your own opinions and criticism is welcome, including that of Emma's actions, but you could surely do without such a wording.