About allyship and the Black Lives Matter Movement; weeding our way to the path of solidarity.
I have been watching Angela Davis in The Black Power Mixtape 1967-75 documentary on repeat the past few days. Tears block my sight as I understand; I, too, am white like those who have been oppressing human beings for centuries.
I have been trying to decode the ‘white privilege’ meaning and actually see how I have benefited from it so far. According to Critical Race Theory - here you can find a wonderful intoduction on the field by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic - there have been social, economic and legal differences that white people create between ‘races’ to maintain elite white interests in labour markets and politics. Even small acts of racism, consciously or unconsciously performed, are rooted to assumptions about racial matters we have absorbed from cultural heritage we have been growing up in. These systemic beliefs have been informing both civic institutions and our personal lives. Do you recognize their results?
Of course you do. You have heard your uncle making racist declarations during the family gathering. You have watched this black girl at school being made fun of. You have been promoted at work much earlier than your black colleague, even though he has been working harder. You have heard these seemingly kind ladies at church discourage their grandson from playing with the black kid. You have seen poor black people selling staff on the streets hiding from police officers. You have come across black women prostituting at the historical centre of Athens, women victims of trafficking at most.
the pic is of @nikishariley while marching, wearing a shirt from @blackfemalefuture
Being a woman myself, I can’t even begin to imagine what it must feel to be a black woman. To have to deal with racial and gender oppression and still be able to evolve beyond such stereotyping. Black feminism’s approach has given me some awareness on theoritical level about understanding oppression as a whole, concerning class, race and gender as a whole. But still there is no lived experience on the matter. Of course my gender’s oppression can give me some analogy. Urging a white person to aknowledge her inherent racism is like urging a man acknowledge his maleness and the pain that is associated with the impact of it on women and non - gender people…
I am white. So I have been a racist I guess. Because I have watched all of the above happen and didn’t actually act against it. I have condemned it. In words. But words - even written ones - are not enough. For the first time ever we have no realistic vision of the future. All we have is a chance to make foundational changes. Educate ourselves, protest, defend our core beliefs, vote for the leaders who are empathic and work towards solidarity. What Barbara Ellen Smith has described as ‘a politics of solidarity which recognizes the multiplicity of oppressions and supports struggles not directly indicated by one’s own lived experience’ could enable allyship in true terms.
So what will it take for us ,white people, to become actual allies that perpetuate foundational change and escape the trap of slactivism? I realize the conversation I am about to begin is difficult and uncomfortable. George Floyd’s death has been the top of the iceberg. There are dozens of people across the planet who have and are and will be sufferring due to the colour of their skin. Yes. They WILL be suffering. So, how much are we - white people - determined to suffer WITH them? Because that’s what it will take…
There are plenty of lists around the web right now for those who wish to educate themselves, donate their money, protest or volunteer to the Black Lives Matter movement every way they can. I have gathered here a small bunch of those I have been trying to check out myself, in case you find it useful. By no means do I imply they are the only way to enlightment and action. It is the time for all of us to decide for ourselves how to act. And the time to actually listen. Listen to those who know better. Pay some respect and stop sharing our opinionated egos to gain some online recognition…So here at fasfem we decided to keep up the work in our community silently yet effectively and support black female voices even more through our content. Help us be the change we wish to happen….
Paraphernalia
Our home. Our possesions. Our self defining atmosphere. Houses have acquired a different meaning in our lives. We don’t just bathe and sleep in them. Due to the pandemic prohibitions we are forced to work, socialize, educate, be educated, actually live among our house’s walls.
Some of us are more comfotable with this condition than others. But we all have this in common; the tremendous need to make our space as much delectable as possible. Feeling supported and hugged and creative while social distanced is huge right now.
There this magical little place in the heart of Athens down town called Paraphernalia. Its role is to help feel our place owned and cherished. Furnishing of high quality and design, plants, books, apothecary items, tableware - everything you can imagine that can help you with the scenography of your envisioned every day life stage….
Care for a fasfem home scenery ?
Sunday morning coffee read for ideas - time to transform this little corner..
..and after that maybe bake those chocolate chip cookies for the week ahead..
… in the afternoon light up some colourful candles and take a long hot bath…
The shop is temporary closed of course but you can attend their online store and be amazed! You can also follow here for more inspiration and updates.
Fasfem listens : Robyn
Care for some serious dancing - on - the - kitchen - floor morning workouts? Robyn has your back on that …The girl who entered the music industry with a fresh feminist outlook back there in the beloved 90s knows how to uplift your mood in just a few moments.
“ Who’s that girl?”, a tough electro pop rebuke to the idea of the good girl, is a blast from the past! Human being though is our fasfem absolute favorite….
*Sanitized
I was trying on giving meditation a chance the other day. It seemed like a sane thing to do during this maddening period. So I joined a facebook group Marije - one of my favorite creatures of this world - has recently created. It was a live meditation session guided by her. When asked to journal about what would make us utterly satisfied, I found myself writting down with every tiny detail what would a day at a fasfem studio would be like. I saw the colours, I smelled the air, I felt at home. Marije was impressed by the vividness of this visualisation. I was impressed!
You see deep down there, at our core, our truths hide. Our truest truths. The ones that have nothing to do with others’ expectations of us. And now that we spend so much time with ourselves more than ever, those truths finally find the crack to emerge from.
Times are unprecedently hard. Beyond every wild science fiction scenario. Because the scenario has a writer who knows how to end it. COVIT-19 pandemic story has no such thing as a creator - even though conspiracy theories keep trying to convince us otherwise - to reveal the end. All we have are the facts.
People getting infected rapidly is a fact. Number of deaths augmenting day by day is a fact. The tremendous need for social distancing is a fact. The extreme danger the elderly, the sickened and the poor of this world are facing is an absolute fact. Domestic violence increasing numbers another fact.
But a fact also is that scientists all over the world work non stop to find ways to deal with this. A fact is that clothing brands - from collosus to small businesses - create and donate tons of face masks. A fact is that our neighbours started checking up on us. We started checking up on them as well. Nature started to breathe, to be heard of even in big cities, to get clean. I mean squeky clean. Like our hands are suppose to be every time we wash them.
To be sanitized.
As if I was trying to exorcise the conspiracy theories, I came up with my own theory. Maybe this is the time to clarify. To clean up the mess. Don’t get me wrong. I am not about to overwhelm you with productivity and self - optimization tips. During such times all of these feel superficial. And futile. What I mean is that it might be the time for humanity to gain its…humanity back. We have lost so much of it along the way. We worship emptyness and vain in some people. We marginalize other people. We stick to patriarchy and all it’s abnormities. We overconsume and exploit surroundings in unsustainable ways. We keep inventing wars. Our system is rotten and feeds off its own rotten flesh. It has to change.
To be sanitized.
As ourself needs to. You can’t clean the outside when the inside of you is still infected. So give yourself the time to think. To slow down and evaluate the situation. What weighs more in the scale of your soul? How does it make you feel? What has your current way of living offered or deprived you from? It is right there inside of you. The people you adore, the one’s who uplift you, the places you wish to live, your values, your emotions, your ethics, the things you wish to create, to offer. The life you deserve to live. Pouring out of you. So pure. All you have to do is to let it rise. To get rid of the unnecessary.
To be sanitized.
Kardamili
What’s the sound of travelling? It seems easier somehow to think about smells, tastes, colours when recalling summer holidays…but what about the sounds?
Let me describe you the music that Kardamili brings back to my ears…A synthesis made of my daughter’s laughter while fastening her at the car seat to start the drive to Messinian Mani once again. Of lots of cicadas’ voices when arriving at our home away from home, Melitsina. And then warm welcomings and sounds of careful stepping into the stone path that leads to our room.
The first splash when diving at Ritsa beach crystal waters; the undrewater peace afterwards. The clinking of cutlery while eating at Elies restaurant delicious, homemade, perfect food. The sound of waves when walking by the shore to enjoy the sunset and of playground chains as I swing my Nike back and forth. The air breeze as wandering inside the Leigh Fermor house. Those walls create their own music full of stories and bird songs to eavesdrop.
And then there is the night sound. Soft jazz while enjoying a glass of excellent wine at Plastiras with chuckles and giggles on the background. Barking from dogs while strolling around Ag. Nikolaos fishermans’ village. My daughter’s laughter again when chasing them! The stillness after she is put to sleep and we get to enjoy another glass of wine on our porch listening to night birds and falling stars…yes they do make a magical sound, I swear they do!
Kardamili was my first vacation with my baby girl, our first trip as a family, a summerwater love song.
Have a wonderful and rejuvenating August!
Fasfem listens : La poudre
Do you enjoy listening to podcasts? I for sure love them. I find them somehow fascinating and informative at the same time. There are so many options from which one can choose. And just like that boring tasks or commuting become time well spent.
La poudre is a fasfem favorite. Lauren Bastide has created such a strong opinioned female gathering that worths every bit of your time. Creative women of our times share the interesting routes of their lives, their accomplishments, their failures, their views and - what a novelty! - their relationship with their uterus.
Do begin with beloved Sophie Fontanel’s interview which is doubled in English as well…
Seven free
I don’t like getting manicures. There I said it out loud…! I hate waiting at the salon, all those smells and unavoidable smalltalk. And don’t even get me started on the gel manicure procedure and all the toxicity that comes with it…
But I do appreciate the way my hands look after it. Since I am an avid cuticle destroyer, my nails look really transformed when pampered and painted. So what do I do? I try my manicures at home, by myself and with carefully chosen products.
Like this perfect sade of brown by J. Hannah. I came across it during my visit at Nanushka flagship store when in Budapest. Loved the intense coloured liquid as mush as the rectangular shaped bottle. And all this came with a seven free formula…which means without the following, known for their harmful effects :
Dibutyl phthalate (DBP)
Formaldehyde
Toluene
Formaldehyde resin
Camphor
Xylene
Parabens
I was sold. And the bottle was sold to me as well! As I knew nothing about the brand, I sat down at the store café to google it while enjoying an espresso. I was surprised to see that J. Hannah is actually a jewelery brand and a very popular one in LA. They have created a small yet delicious collection of nail polishes with colours inspired by art and nature. One of their collaborations was with the artist Alyson Fox who dived her brushes into the nail polishes to create works of art - such an inspiring approach to communicate the launch of a new nail polish colour, don’t you agree?
While taking my last sip of coffee I browsed this at the brand’s site…it was like a puzzle game completed. I smiled and took off to enjoy the city.
Fasfem watches : Feminists
A new column about all things feminism and fashion in film…hope you enjoy it!
It’s national women’s day today and I beleive it would be on point to watch this documentary, full of personal experiences from women who actually stood up and made a difference…