LJ Idol Week 19 "Hear Me Roar"
Mar. 18th, 2008 10:13 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
puppetmakerTo save my friends list I'm putting this under a cut.
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the phrase "hear me roar" are the lyrics to I am Woman by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton which I heard on the radio a lot in the early 70s. It became almost an anthem for women's rights in its time. And it is still used to express a sentiment within certain groups. There is even a web ring entitled "Here Me Roar" that states its purpose as This webring is meant to empower women by linking their own creative and outstanding pages together, and hatred will not be tolerated. A noble concept, but hard to keep.
I think one thing that bothers me about the whole "hear me roar" idea, as it has translated through time, is that women need "safe" places to express themselves without criticism or negative comment (that would be hating). And I see this sort of stereotype perpetuated all the time especially among women and the groups that they form.
I have always had a problem with the concept that women are delicate flowers who must be protected from the horrors of the world. We live through childbirth for Pete sake. We deal with blood and other bodily functions very well. Women are very strong people. We have to be considering what society expects from us. I feel no need to be "empowered" because I am a woman more than I need to be "empowered" because I am dyslexic or that I have blue eyes or half a dozen other things that compose me. All I want is a fair shake.
I was in the middle of the ERA and the push for women's rights. I marched and I signed petitions and brought petitions around to be signed. I belonged to a woman's group in college that worked very hard to point out problems within the university system not just for women but also for minorities. We even took on a case where it was a bunch of white guys who were not getting an even chance. In some cases we won and in others we lost or the change was delayed until after I graduated.
I think one of the reasons I felt so comfortable in theater was that you were judged for your abilities not for your birth. I tended to gravitate to places where ability is more important than gender or skin color or religion or fill in the blank. Book editing was the first time I really ran into that glass ceiling and the old boys club mentality but I dealt with it because I know it is out there and it is only going to change in time. I still do what I can to pick at these sorts of things hoping that maybe I can cause the change that makes the glass break.
I also feel comfortable in fandom because there again the acceptance of people is a given to the group. My biggest problem with fandom, which showed up again this past weekend, is this us vs. them mentality that some fans have about "mundanes" and how they have been picked on and discriminated by the mundanes. Frankly these people could care less about fandom and the people in it. Sure they gave you a wedgie when you were in school or laughed at your hobbies but do you really need to carry this around for 30 years of hating? And teaching your children to hate/distrust mundanes and giving them the feeling that they are superior to most of the human race because they are fen isn't doing them any favors.
Now I am going to reveal something that only people who have known me for a long time know. I growl. I have a back of the throat low growl that I have always been able to do. It freaks out my cats and my husband who is of the opinion that humans shouldn't be able to make that sort of sound. I can roar too. I use to do that for a puppet show but it is very hard in the throat. So if you are standing next to me and hear me growl it means that something has upset me greatly and I might not know that I am doing it. And if you ask nicely and my throat is not sore, I'll let you hear me roar.
Grrrrrr
The first thing that comes to mind when I hear the phrase "hear me roar" are the lyrics to I am Woman by Helen Reddy and Ray Burton which I heard on the radio a lot in the early 70s. It became almost an anthem for women's rights in its time. And it is still used to express a sentiment within certain groups. There is even a web ring entitled "Here Me Roar" that states its purpose as This webring is meant to empower women by linking their own creative and outstanding pages together, and hatred will not be tolerated. A noble concept, but hard to keep.
I think one thing that bothers me about the whole "hear me roar" idea, as it has translated through time, is that women need "safe" places to express themselves without criticism or negative comment (that would be hating). And I see this sort of stereotype perpetuated all the time especially among women and the groups that they form.
I have always had a problem with the concept that women are delicate flowers who must be protected from the horrors of the world. We live through childbirth for Pete sake. We deal with blood and other bodily functions very well. Women are very strong people. We have to be considering what society expects from us. I feel no need to be "empowered" because I am a woman more than I need to be "empowered" because I am dyslexic or that I have blue eyes or half a dozen other things that compose me. All I want is a fair shake.
I was in the middle of the ERA and the push for women's rights. I marched and I signed petitions and brought petitions around to be signed. I belonged to a woman's group in college that worked very hard to point out problems within the university system not just for women but also for minorities. We even took on a case where it was a bunch of white guys who were not getting an even chance. In some cases we won and in others we lost or the change was delayed until after I graduated.
I think one of the reasons I felt so comfortable in theater was that you were judged for your abilities not for your birth. I tended to gravitate to places where ability is more important than gender or skin color or religion or fill in the blank. Book editing was the first time I really ran into that glass ceiling and the old boys club mentality but I dealt with it because I know it is out there and it is only going to change in time. I still do what I can to pick at these sorts of things hoping that maybe I can cause the change that makes the glass break.
I also feel comfortable in fandom because there again the acceptance of people is a given to the group. My biggest problem with fandom, which showed up again this past weekend, is this us vs. them mentality that some fans have about "mundanes" and how they have been picked on and discriminated by the mundanes. Frankly these people could care less about fandom and the people in it. Sure they gave you a wedgie when you were in school or laughed at your hobbies but do you really need to carry this around for 30 years of hating? And teaching your children to hate/distrust mundanes and giving them the feeling that they are superior to most of the human race because they are fen isn't doing them any favors.
Now I am going to reveal something that only people who have known me for a long time know. I growl. I have a back of the throat low growl that I have always been able to do. It freaks out my cats and my husband who is of the opinion that humans shouldn't be able to make that sort of sound. I can roar too. I use to do that for a puppet show but it is very hard in the throat. So if you are standing next to me and hear me growl it means that something has upset me greatly and I might not know that I am doing it. And if you ask nicely and my throat is not sore, I'll let you hear me roar.
Grrrrrr
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Date: 2008-03-18 02:41 pm (UTC)I like!
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Date: 2008-03-18 02:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 02:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-18 02:49 pm (UTC)