the institution of marriage & the fight for equality...

marriage is a hot topic at the moment… marriage equality has been long sought after by many gay & lesbian people, and now perhaps their battle may soon be over, well, at least one more hurdle may be surmounted… “the ALP’s left faction is claiming the numbers to remove from the party’s policy platform a reference to the Marriage Act which defines the union as that between a man and a woman” ... read more from "left believes it has numbers to change policy on same-sex marriage" - this issue will be debated at the alp national conference this week so there’s definitely an interesting time ahead…

now i actually don’t believe in the institution itself - it has its roots firmly planted in patriarchal, judeo-christian history and has been a major ‘tool’ in the subjugation of womyn…

consequently i can’t get excited over an institution i find oppressive – obviously with that goes a lack of enthusiasm for the trappings of a wedding ceremony... oh, i declined my last wedding invitation for those reasons and my friends totally understood where i was 'coming from'...  

there are a number of weddings being planned at work at the moment so i try my hardest to avoid the discussions, especially the ones about 'the gown' - 'fashion' in general is of no interest to me - but after an 'interaction' i was involuntarily drawn into and which i really didn't want to be part of today, i so needed to talk to a friend this evening - he has similar views to me so his empathy and understanding of the situation and how i was feeling was invaluable - and his comments were far more full-on 'ra-ra-ra' political than my pathetic 'i'm not into that crap' response, rather than getting into a 'heavy' conversation when i felt 'backed into a corner' after already declining to participate in 'the gown' conversation - the choice is yours to marry, but equally the choice is mine not to be involved... i guess the assumption that because you're female you must be into all the - as my nan would have called it - 'frippery' - is a tad irksome too...  

back to the point here... while the institution of marriage exists, equality is a fundamental right and same sex partners should be accorded the same entitlements and choices as heterosexual partners… i'll stand up for marriage equality, but i'll maintain my view on the oppressive nature of the institution...

i read an interesting article by nori j. rost, minister of all souls unitarian universalist church in colorado springs, “a lesbian pastor with a predominantly gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered congregation in the center of Conservative Christianity”, entitled ‘marriage and patriarchy’ –  “In this paper I will address the Judeo-Christian historical contours of marriage and how those foundational patriarchal beliefs about marriage still shape public and social policy regarding marriage entitlements, explore the unconscious reasons that conservative politicians and religious leaders oppose same sex marriage, and finally, seek to answer the unasked question with a different ethic that, in the words of Dr. Mary Hunt, respected Catholic lesbian, feminist theologian spoken to a summer school class in July, 2004, seeks relational equality for all rather than legal privilege for a few.”...  it’s quite thought-provoking…

a christian corruption of a Celtic belief?

Halloween was a topic for conversation at work today... not something we really celebrate here in Australia... with good reason!!!!

"Samhain became the Halloween we are familiar with when Christian missionaries attempted to change the religious practices of the Celtic people. In the early centuries of the first millennium A.D., before missionaries such as St. Patrick and St. Columcille converted them to Christianity, the Celts practiced an elaborate religion through their priestly caste, the Druids, who were priests, poets, scientists and scholars all at once. As religious leaders, ritual specialists, and bearers of learning, the Druids were not unlike the very missionaries and monks who were to Christianize their people and brand them evil devil worshippers.

As a result of their efforts to wipe out "pagan" holidays, such as Samhain, the Christians succeeded in effecting major transformations in it. In 601 A.D. Pope Gregory the First issued a now famous edict to his missionaries concerning the native beliefs and customs of the peoples he hoped to convert. Rather than try to obliterate native peoples' customs and beliefs, the pope instructed his missionaries to use them: if a group of people worshipped a tree, rather than cut it down, he advised them to consecrate it to Christ and allow its continued worship.

In terms of spreading Christianity, this was a brilliant concept and it became a basic approach used in Catholic missionary work. Church holy days were purposely set to coincide with native holy days. Christmas, for instance, was assigned the arbitrary date of December 25th because it corresponded with the mid-winter celebration of many peoples. Likewise, St. John's Day was set on the summer solstice..." read the article here

and not only is it a christian corruption, it's an american commercialization of a christian corruption!!!!

"The imagery surrounding Halloween is largely an amalgamation of the Halloween season itself, nearly a century of work from American filmmakers and graphic artists, and a rather commercialized take on the dark and mysterious. Halloween imagery tends to involve death, magic, or mythical monsters. Traditional characters include... witches, owls, crows, vultures, pumpkin-men, black cats, spiders...

Particularly in America, symbolism is inspired by classic horror films, which contain fictional figures like Frankenstein's monster and The Mummy. Elements of the autumn season, such as pumpkins and scarecrows, are also prevalent. Homes are often decorated with these types of symbols around Halloween..." Wikipedia

I hate this graphic depiction of wise women (aka witches)...

the old decrepit hag,

or the mysterious woman

(I have to put this in here - from an earlier post - THE WITCH / WISE WOMAN

“Women have always been healers. They were the unlicensed doctors and anatomists of western history. They were abortionists, nurses and counselors. They were pharmacists, cultivating healing herbs and exchanging the secrets of their uses. They were mid-wives, traveling from home to home and village to village. For centuries women were doctors without degrees, barred from books and lectures, learning from each other, and passing on experience from neighbour to neighbour and mother to daughter. They were called “wise women” by the people, witches or charlatans but the authorities.” .. Witches, midwives & nurses: a history of women healers

they were ALL of these - healers, midwives - oooooh, dare I say doctors - AND sensual beings, sexual beings - they were WOMEN / WOMYN / WOMIN!!!!!

Unfortunately this was the reality of the 'witch-hunts' - women slaughtered!!!!

This is Bridget Bishop's hanging - check out some shit about her... she was a strong woman, and oooooh, apparently sensual and sexual - a no-no in a patriarchal misogynistic world!!!!!

today she'd be called slut, whore, (another older post - the politics of language).....




or read about Eunice "Goody" Cole - the "Witch Of Hampton" ....
.... i'm a tad bewildered by the acceptance of this crap and the depiction and acceptance of women as ugly, evil - those fucking frightening creatures - witches, (midwives and nurses) -- the slaughter of our sisters - and sympathetic brothers... guess I'm sick of patriarchal shit, american garbage... if you 'play' along with it, you never change it, you just accept it!!!!




.... I'm pretty sure I'll be coming back to this post soon....