THE DEATH MOTHER AND MY SELF IMAGE
There was a time when I believed I was so unattractive, that I avoided looking in a mirror and being photographed at all costs. The reminder of how I felt I looked was untouchably painful. This was my reality for all my adolescence and twenties. It had nothing to do with my waist size as I have always been slim, and I say this because while some may think that thin women have less to work through with their self image and self confidence, it was certainly not the case for me.
IT TOOK ME 40 YEARS TO BUY MY 1ST TUBE OF RED LIPSTICK
I am a Taiwanese Canadian woman. The colour Red in traditional Taiwanese culture symbolizes good luck, celebration, distinction, joy, and prosperity. It is the bridal, birthday, and new year's colour. When a womaan dresses in red, it is a sign of respect to her elders and spirits, her ties to honouring her ancestors and tradition, and a symbol that she embodies luck herself. Contrasting this, Red in the West is associated with sex, desire, seduction, menstrual blood, romance, courage, leadership, and danger (but mostly sex). The West deems sex as dirty, and thus, White is very much a preferred colour for a woman to wear, since it signifies purity and on a much more subtler level, obedience, though culture has disguised obedience as elegance. Think of those cotton white sundresses or the bridal dress of the West.
WHY WOMEN STRUGGLE MAKING DECISIONS AND WHY THEY SHOULDN'T CARE
What do these questions have in common?Do I study XXX or YYY?Do I relocate to LA / Tokyo / Shanghai / Paris / quiet place in the middle of nowhere?Do I have a baby? Or a subsequent one?Do I marry this person?Do I quit my office day job in a cubicle that pays fairly well and begin a new career in permaculture?
THE GODDESS WEARS MANY DIFFERENT FACES
The “Goddess look”, long, flowing hair, supple skin, round-breasted, full hips, ankle-length dress, gracious with flowers in hand, maybe a wild beast nearby, sunlight peaking through — You know the ‘look’...
HOW DO WE HEAL INTERNALIZED COLONIALISM?
Colonialism isn’t just about destroying and taking over an existing local culture, exploiting the land and people, and maintaining domination.
Colonialism is also about eradicating the people’s memories, exploiting and twisting those memories, and ensuring any effective connection to the past is severed so the conquered are left crippled and dependent on the dominating system. Let them forget who they were (past) so they do not know who they ever will be (present and future).This is most noticeable in the myth of the angry, jealous, and punishing, father god who cannot tolerate us having any form of connection to anything / anyone other than himself; he needed to invent an enemy - the devil - as a method to instill fear and preserve amnesia. What signifies the devil may differ, but common symbols are: