Day 320. Wise Words

There’s been a fair bit of talk about feminism on WordPress blogs recently. The first one I read, “Is Quiet Feminism an Oxymoron”, can be found at The Green Study. It is an interesting essay. One in which Michelle, who authors the blog, examines her own ‘relationship’ with feminism; and whether or not she’s doing enough for the cause.

The problem I sometimes have with ’causes’ in general is, they seem to go hand in hand with anger. It’s not necessarily true, but it is how it often ‘feels’. The perception. The image I have in my mind, and often see on television, is of people screaming and shouting. Waving fists. Pointing fingers. Being aggressive. Argumentative. Red-faced. Hot under the collar. Throwing placards. Fighting. Scuffling with police.

This is not a criticism. It’s not that I’ve never reacted, or over-reacted. I most certainly have. It’s not that I’m

Day 233. Speaking Up

There’s been a major hullabaloo for months over Sheryl Sandberg. She’s the 44 year old Facebook COO (Chief Operating Officer), and their first female board member, who is championing the cause of women. Well, she’s championing and blaming. Sort of. But not really.

This week, her recently-published, first book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead” tops BOTH the New York Times and Amazon bestseller lists. It’s being referred to as a manifesto for women.

Her accomplishments are so many, if I tried to list them all here, this post would take you a half hour to read. To give you just an inkling of her popularity I just tried, for twenty minutes, to link to Sheryl Sandberg on

Day 88. Early Feminists

Whose name comes to mind when you think of feminists?  Without spending too much time thinking about it, a few come to my mind.  

Susan B. Anthony, who was an American suffragette.  Liz Carpenter, one of the founders of the National Women’s Political Caucus.  Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an American writer and journalist, who was one of the first girls to celebrate a bat mitzvah in Conservative Judaism.

Harriet Tubman, the African American slave who went on to become an abolitionist, humanitarian and Union spy.  And perhaps, one of the best known, at least in our time, Gloria Steinem, the American journalist, social and political activist.

What I didn’t know, is that there are some men who have made the list of feminists.  Here’s just a few:

Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, who was born way back in 1486.  He was a German magician, occult writer, theologian, astrologer and alchemist, who also happened to write the “Declaration on the Nobility and Preeminence of the Female Sex”.  Alan Alda, an American actor of some note, who campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970’s and early 1980’s.  John Lennon, who presumably needs no introduction, and Joss Whedon, the writer-director and creator