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

Ana’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Nope, not much better, ha. We tend to be a bit more open-minded in general...but even this has to be taken with caution so as not to make blanket statements. I would say, also, that it's probably easier to find that the Westerners that go to Asian countries (and by going, I mean stays abroad, not just travelling although it may also remain valid) are more open-minded, because you often need to be in order to overcome the cultural shock, blahblah. But there's plenty of conservatism in the Western world as well. In my experience, I have found that in the Western world social changes may come faster, but it takes a long while for more than a few people to really assimilate them. I don't know if that makes sense? For example, feminism. You probably hear a lot more on feminism in Western countries (I'll be glad to have somebody prove me wrong!), but you know that lots of people still dismiss it with either an awkward, silly laugh or with disdainful words, 'Oh, right, because being equal is not enough', 'So you're a feminist, right? Oh, tee-hee. Yeah, BTW...[insert change of topic politely but firmly, because they're not interested and what's more, you have to understand it and not being rude by insisting]', 'I think you're reading too many of those stupid, extreme feminism theories. You're starting to see ghosts, you know?' I have heard the three of them...in my own country.
I think that one of the reasons things often seem rather different, at least the way I saw it in East Asia, is the fact that traditionally, in these countries (I'm talking China, Taiwan I'm guessing although I've never been there, Korea and Japan) there is an imposed view of the group, the community, rather than the individual like in many Western societies. People tend to avoid the -isms because...hmmmm, I'll tread with caution here, but because of a series of reasons, some common to the region, some specific to a country. I would think that in China, for example, people would not really want to stand for an -ism too loudly, because you would not probably want to mess with the main -ism there, if you know what I mean. Tradition too, of course. There is no big -ism in Japan, but maybe because of the proverbial Japanese discretion, and because they're ultimately equally focused on the group and not in the individual, it often feels awkward to openly stand out for a particular cause, even more if they're loaded with statements against tradition and the misuse of this word to justify discrimination. Tradition is huge in Japan.
Anyway. I'm no expert so I should probably shut up LOL. Just my two cents. You're more than welcome to start rejecting each and every point that I made, haha.
In the end, it's interesting to see how, even though they might stem from different sources, inequality and prejudices look suspiciously similar around the world. Many of the seemingly outdated chauvinist aspects I would sometimes find while I was in Asia, I actually recognised them from not-so-long-ago in my own country (I'm Spanish BTW), where they were largely dictated by a Judeo-Christian, patriarchal ethic. This probably speaks volumes as to how we obnoxious feminists might even be in fact right when we complain all day long, ha.

Morning, Laura and Angel! Stay tuned for info on Feb's book very soon. You don't have to do anything in particular, there will be an announcement and I am guessing it'll be pinned so that it's easy to see by everybody. :) All major announcements, and there will probably be a few of them, will be done in this fashion. :D

Dammit, how could I forget? Somebody please tell me you've read Terry Moore's 'Strangers in Paradise.' Katchoo and Francine are some serious badass. i luuuurve them.

Hmmmm! Ryan, seeing as there is apparently some confusion still going on, mind if I change this thread's name? Well, I did already LO, sorry. I can write the old one back if you all prefer so, but maybe this way we can just carry on with the convo. :)

I'll do my best to try and ride the debate back to feminism. The other day I was reading a report on Trump's weird universe in a Spanish magazine and there was a fact that I had not thought of - the majority of Trump's followers are men. It's quite unsettling (now guys please do not take me wrong, it's just that there are not nearly as many women who support him!)

I'm not, but because I do have a special tie with your country and culture, please excuse me for poking my nose into here and sharing this thread, where you can also find other members: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
:D Then maybe you can arrange meetings back in this thread. :D

Manhsin wrote: "I will join ! Thank you ❤️and try to read in English "

Please do! ❤️ This space would not be the same without its international atmosphere. Many of us, myself included, are not native English speakers, and we are not interested in any sort of grammar police here. Zero embarrassment! :D

Luckily for us all I think he cannot win, if there's still common sense in the US. But it's still scary and disturbing that he got to the place he is now. He is like a horrible, dark parody wherein all the worst stereotypes about the US meet at once.

Simon wrote: "Ana, I agree. Maybe Trump as a president will not affect my country so much but if he's really going to win and make his 'jokes' come true, America is going to be in some problems I think..."

Oh, it would indeed affect your country and mine - it would affect everyone's. Can you imagine the consequences deriving from Trump dealing with worldwide issues as the leader of the world's first power?

Eric wrote: "I don't understand it really, I mean if I would say now, after your question, "I voting for Angela Merkel", would you know who this person is? If you asked, "curious to know who people are voting f..."

I think you could understand this as a thread on politics worldwide and their relation, or lack thereof, with feminism and women-related issues. For those who are fine with sharing this personal question, they could elaborate on why their preferred candidates are the right choice with regard to these topics. Then, you could also just talk about the general situation in your country. :)

Simon wrote: "This seems like a rather personal question: I don't live in the USA so I can't really talk about my vote, but I'm curious who'll win the selections this year haha"

As long as the Trump joke does not turn into reality, it'll be fine. He's a disgraceful, sorry excuse of a candidate. And I'm using the word 'candidate' because I do not want to go all out here.

Manhsin wrote: "I can't find this book 「my life is on the road 」in Chinese ! Is anyone can help me? Want to read that sooooo much"

Manhsin 你好！
真不好意思，没有中文版。这本书是上个10月出版了，所以正在还没有翻译，只能看英文版。太可惜了，别的国家的人也有这个问题。:( 反正不要放弃呀！请来参加这个话题: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
这是个国际班，虽然很多人还不说一口流利的英文但是他们还积极参加，请不要害羞，越说越好。:) 欢迎来参加Our Shared Shelf! :D

Ryan wrote: "huh that never occurred to me lol I guess the title is kind of wishy washy.

sorry bout that!

also great response (="

Not at all! I actually enjoy this topic of conversation, ha.

Marcos wrote: "Yo soy de Toledo así que no creo que haya muchos más de aquí jaaja"

Está la cosa chunga xD. De todos modos, también quería aprovechar para preguntaros algo. ¿Creéis que debería haber una mayor presencia del español en el foro? Desde el equipo de moderación lo pensamos así y queremos actuar en consecuencia.

Eslem wrote: "Religions has never been an impediment to be a feminist.. me as a Muslim i believe in Human rights and i want to make this world equal. Being Muslim wasn't a big issue for me to anticipate and to p..."

Hi, Eslem! I'd love to get some recommendations of Muslim feminists' works. Perhaps you have some? :) Thanks a lot!

¡Hola a todos y todas! :)

Sé que otras compañeras tienen un hilo para Barcelona; sois bienvenidas aquí también, por descontado, y no creo que haya problema en dejar vuestro hilo ahí por ahora. Este lo he creado más bien para reunir un poco a la gente de España en general por aquí y ver cuántos somos. Y, por supuesto, animar a crear grupos de lectura y discusión en cada ciudad, aunque supongo que estamos muy diseminados.

¡Así que adelante! Comienzo yo. ¿Alguien en Granada? :)

Surprised no one has shared this useful chart yet! Please share it with your concerned relatives / friends / acquaintances:

http://i.huffpost.com/gen/1491849/thu...

:) You're welcome.

Also, a friend of mine's favourite colour is pink, and not all kinds of pink, excuse me. Hot pink. A friend threw him a birthday party with a hot pink theme and dude got so excited he cried.
However, a few months ago I jokingly tagged him in a picture of an all pink bedroom. He said, 'Ew, no', and I was surprised since he loves pink so much. Then he said in a very matter-of-fact way, 'Yeah, no, not baby pink. Hot pink.'
So much for that other stereotype of boys not being able to differentiate colours. My friend, who comes from a fairly conservative society BTW, should work for Pantone re: shades of pink, haha.

Ryan wrote: "A Woman apart of the UN. In a book club about feminism, I believe also the creator of the movement heforshe, on the folder misc, Where I'm under the impression its sort of a whatever you want to ta..."

I knooooow! ;)

Obviously, if this thread remains linked to feminism then there's no questioning whether it belongs here or not. To me, it was more because of the title. People vote with many more things in mind than the feminist agenda of their candidate (at least I do, although I obviously include this aspect!). Perhaps if it was named 'Politics & Feminism' Maya and me wouldn't have hesitated.

Anyway!!! It's obvious that it's not a concern.

I'd like to talk in a broader sense about this. :) As such, this Spaniard here is gonna say that the parties which put the focus on women issues the most during the last elections, which fate remains uncertain BTW, are United Left (IU) and PSOE (our Socialist Party). Particularly United Left, which still had a male candidate, but a very interesting one.
In fact, we did not have female candidates in Spain, which is a pity for the former party in the government. Had they chose their (female) vice-president as the presidential candidate, they would have probably gained a lot more support. Man, that woman is good. She's in the wrong place IMO, but she kicks ass.

Astrid wrote: "Someone else has made this point, but it bears repeating: We need to remember that in this group as in life, there's no such think as a 'real' or 'true' feminist.
If someone believes in gender equ..."

Nothing to add there, Astrid! You summed it up perfectly.

Ahhhh, not sure whether this is the right place to discuss such a personal question? Don't get me wrong, I think it's rather interesting to hear from other people's political views, but maybe not here if it is not directly related to feminism. Anyway, maybe the other mods do not agree at all! :D

Spanish mod to the rescue! :D

¡Hola, Anto! Es una pregunta bastante acertada sobre la que de hecho nos pillas buscando ya solución y rápido. Tenemos un pequeño hilo de discusión que se creó por aquellos que querían encontrar el libro de enero en español, pero no es suficiente y nos preocupa mantener una participación elevada de aquellos que prefieren utilizar el español aquí. Muy pronto incorporaremos diversos hilos en español como complemento a los debates más activos en inglés. Lo único, que queríamos también tener en cuenta a los hablantes de otros idiomas...y al mismo tiempo, no "aislar" comunidades de modo que al final no hablemos más que con los de nuestra lengua materna.
Como ya te digo, sigue pendiente de esto. Creo que te he agregado como amiga hace un momentito, podemos seguir en contacto por ahí para mantenerte avisada de todo. :D ¡Muchas gracias por tu mensaje! Gracias a él confirmamos la necesidad de dar respuesta a esto.