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

MeerderWörter’s comments from the Our Shared Shelf group.

Emily wrote: "I'm with you. I understand this book is important to many people but I'm just not interested in being told that I have feminine intuition and menstruation is a mystical gift. I feel like the philos..."

Argh, the "menstruation issue" just racks my nerves. If we say only women who bleed once a month are women, we're missing out A LOT of women.

Argh, I better copy my response from that other topic here:

"Now, when Agnes asked me whether I wanted to participate in a birthday video for Emma, I immediately said yes. I didn't even know how we would do it, or who would participate. But I just knew that I needed to be in there.

Emma, you are my role model, you push for change towards gender equality, and I'll never forget : "We have to see gender as a spectrum instead of two opposing ideas." Back then, in the beginning of 2015, I could quote your whole speech pretty much, I have listened to it so often back then.
I have watched all your movies multiple times, and you were the first actor (in Noah) to ever make me cry in a movie. The scene where Naameh told Noah that Ila will never be able to conceive a child really hit me, and I really don't cry in movies, but just writing about it now makes my eyes fill with tears. I am so grateful that you have founded OurSharedShelf, because I have found people here that I started to care deeply about over the past few months in which we have sent each other snail mail or skyped.
I got to befriend with all my friends because of you, and I admire you in your courage and perseverance. You are so down-to-earth, a person who can definitely engage with kids, and you are also a great actor. I look up to you because you made the decision to stop acting for a year and read feminist literature. That's definitely a statement, and I also love how you are so much fun.
You taught me what feminism means, you lightened the feminist candle in me, and made me realize that I was a feminist even before your speech, I just didn't know I was.

You extended feminism not only to women and girls but to all genders, and I'm so grateful for that. I feel so welcome here!

You are a part of my life since I was ten, and now I'm twenty:)

The best of Happy Birthday tomorrow, and many more to come!
To use a quote from Gloria Steinem: One time, we will be the golden oldies!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!

Agnes wrote: "You give me to much credit. This is OUR work and OUR stories . I just put that together;) that's all. Thank you for a courage to share parts of yourself."

Hey, you came up with the idea and put everything together. It's hard enough for me to record a single sound track, let alone make a whole video that is perfect:)

It was so much fun to make that video, even tho I was reminded of all the b*s* in my life. I spared you most of it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!

Sydney wrote: "I'm not sure if she is really speaking to all women.
I feel like her book really only focuses on a single type of woman, and equates this type to a woman getting back to her wild roots.
For those ..."

I think so too. It's like this book wasn't written for me, it feels like she believes there is only one type of woman, and only that type, and not many, which is way more the case. It feels so exclusive
Now, my mum told me today that she has read it too, years ago, and didn't like all her blabbering about the analysis of the stories. I have to agree with my mum here, for me it feels like she's butchering all these stories.

In the last few months, I'm really having troubles reading anything that focuses too much on the myths of the archetype woman, so it's not easy for me to read this book. But I'll read it nonetheless.
I'm so cynical when it comes to books who exclude certain "types" of women, and while The Vagina Monologues was informative for me at least, this book is just hard to read because of the analysis. Maybe it's just not the right time yet.

Ross wrote: "we made video to show how Emma has helped people when they needed it most changing the world or just some people in she leads to way.

https://youtu.be/A2M3XlLFtn8p

have a look. Remember she was ..."

Now, when Agnes asked me whether I wanted to participate in a birthday video for Emma, I immediately said yes. I didn't even know how we would do it, or who would participate. But I just knew that I needed to be in there.

Emma, you are my role model, you push for change towards gender equality, and I'll never forget : "We have to see gender as a spectrum instead of two opposing ideas." Back then, in the beginning of 2015, I could quote your whole speech pretty much, I have listened to it so often back then.
I have watched all your movies multiple times, and you were the first actor (in Noah) to ever make me cry in a movie. The scene where Naameh told Noah that Ila will never be able to conceive a child really hit me, and I really don't cry in movies, but just writing about it now makes my eyes fill with tears. I am so grateful that you have founded OurSharedShelf, because I have found people here that I started to care deeply about over the past few months in which we have sent each other snail mail or skyped.
I got to befriend with all my friends because of you, and I admire you in your courage and perseverance. You are so down-to-earth, a person who can definitely engage with kids, and you are also a great actor. I look up to you because you made the decision to stop acting for a year and read feminist literature. That's definitely a statement, and I also love how you are so much fun.
You taught me what feminism means, you lightened the feminist candle in me, and made me realize that I was a feminist even before your speech, I just didn't know I was.

You extended feminism not only to women and girls but to all genders, and I'm so grateful for that. I feel so welcome here!

You are a part of my life since I was ten, and now I'm twenty:)

The best of Happy Birthday tomorrow, and many more to come!
To use a quote from Gloria Steinem: One time, we will be the golden oldies!

Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "For clarification: Harry Potter fails the Bechdel test, but I still think the movies are very empowering..."

This is an interesting notion..."

I have also always seen them more as a trio than as a two + one, or one + two.

Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "For clarification: Harry Potter fails the Bechdel test, but I still think the movies are very empowering..."

This is an interesting notion, because it can come down to one's ..."

I misunderstood the definition of the Bechdel test, my fault. I thought it is required to be a scene without boys/men in it.

I love your last sentence:
"As individuals they were formidable; as a trio they were unstoppable. "
Because that's so true.

Ross wrote: "I thought that Dep had denied the charges and made counterclaims. This is the problem with celebrity breakups never have the facts.

Not all famous and talented people can be Emma Watson or J K Ro..."

As far as I remember, she wasn't really involved in the casting, she wasn't that much in Potter either.
But it's a grain nonetheless.

With a new talk from the BBC ( I love them so much):
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04pr3cd
It's a talk with three different intersex activists, Kitty Anderson, Kimberley Zieselman and Holy Greenberry.

It starts about 37 minutes in, and well, I love that intersex people speak on the BBC:)

Emma wrote: "I love the Bechdel test!

I agree with MeerderWorter, "I think that a movie that does not pass the Bechdel test can still be empowering for women, and that with a movie that passes the Bechdel tes..."

I agree, but then, I'll push for our gender-non-conforming and trans* and genderqueer siblings too.

For clarification: Harry Potter fails the Bechdel test, but I still think the movies are very empowering for all genders, not just boys and men.

Ross wrote: "The essence of this debate is sex or specifically sexualization of female images. The level of sexual content being used as a barometer of acceptable behavior for women this was clearly art but but..."

What a great thought - the level of sexual content. And whether that is used for art or sexual stuff. So, there is way more allowed in art than it is in a sexual context. But still, Emma got critizised, which is, as stated before A LOT, not the right thing to do!

Very good input:)

Ana wrote: "I am using a few free minutes at work to type this comment so I can't extend myself much, but I would just like to say that, the older I get (which is luckily not much yet, haha, Peter Pan syndrome..."

Karl Mannheim actually developed a very good concept, that says that while there might be ONE truth, we can never see all of it, since we live in different places, times, and have different upbringings. Especially nowadays, where we live in a global village, we need to remember this more and more.

Tiara wrote: "I would totally recommend The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. I've read it before, but am wanting so badly to read it again. Some of you may have heard of her, but her cells are..."

Wow, a person definitely worth getting to know better!

Gerd wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Well, Die Wilden Hühner consists of girls, doesn't it? It was one of the things why I didn't like the movie series, ..."

Yes it does (all parts of it), love it."

I didn't like it because there were just girls in it, and I hated everything girly(uh, I was such a tomboy:) ) I still hate the colour pink, I was more of a Wilde Kerle fan.

Gerd wrote: "Adam wrote: "What movies (If any: Or if Hollywood is even capable of producing any) definitely; without any doubt, would pass the test?"

All of the Resident Evil movies?
Fried Green Tomatoes
Boys ..."

Well, Die Wilden Hühner consists of girls, doesn't it? It was one of the things why I didn't like the movie series, but I agree with all of you.
I think that a movie that does not pass the Bechdel test can still be empowering for women, and that with a movie that passes the Bechdel test it is not guaranteed that it empowers women.

Laure wrote: "Good point Ashwin. I think if we cite the name of the website, issue, journalist (as we do when we write articles ourselves), there should not be any legal issue? I would rather be concerned with t..."

I guess most articles are bigger in size than we have space here in one post.

MaryJane wrote: "Britt, I have been on the Goodreads site for several years. I just recently came across "Our Shared Shelf" I have already read the selection for March and April, 2017 but feel I would like the read..."

We read some great books, feel free to read them, I personally enjoyed My Life on the Road and Persepolis a lot.

Briana wrote: "Does Emma ever post her reviews / thoughts once we've all had a chance to have a dialogue?
I ended up enjoying reading this book despite my initial reservations, and have had some amazing chats and..."

She updates her "read"-shelf from time to time, but that's about it It would be really cool to read what she thinks about the books. A review would be very cool:) But she's a busy woman, our Boss Lady, that indeed!

Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "Keith wrote: "MeerderWörter wrote: "http://rare.us/rare-politics/what-emm...

Da-da-da-dam!

...We can't call this fe..."

Exactly, it takes time and energy away that we could use on promoting the good stuff:(

Beti wrote: "I haven't seen it yet. But Beauty and The Beast was one of my favorite childhood books/cartoon movies and I'm scared this movie will ruin it for me kinda like the junglebook lol"

I doubt it'll ruin it, it makes it only better.