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Alison Piepmeier

My life is all about bringing down the patriarchy. I write books and articles about feminism, and I also teach and direct the Women's and Gender Studies Program at the College of Charleston....

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Thoughts on December

Alison Piepmeier

This is my last post as Skirt!’s December Muse of the Month.  Blogging every day has been an interesting exercise, particularly during the holiday break.  One thing I’ve learned is that when I’m on break, my brain goes on partial hiatus--there’s less stimulation coming in, and therefore I have fewer “aha” moments to share.  Being Muse of the Month has meant that I’ve had to keep my mind in gear, noticing things that are going on and thinking beyond my normal holiday pop psychology analysis of my family.

It’s been interesting, as well, blogging for a broader audience than normally reads my personal blog, Baxter Sez.  I’ve tried to balance the quirky personal stories that characterize my at-home blog with some of the academic feminist thoughts that make up my professional life.

Things that I didn’t get to blog about that I’d intended to:

• My review of I Am Legend.  Here’s the capsule review:  it’s hard to know if this movie is sadder or scarier.  Will Smith was outstanding, and perfectly cast--all of America knows and loves him, which is partly why the movie works.  Gear yourself up for some very unpleasant things to happen.  This is not the feel-good movie of the holiday break.  We might go see it again.
• Selfishness.  Comments on my “Choosing Us” story on the Skirt! website and on other websites have emphasized how selfish I am--and folks have used the term “selfish” as thought its pejorative qualities are assumed.  We’re all supposed to understand that there’s little worse than being selfish.  I don’t agree with this premise--I’m perfectly happy to say that our choice was selfish, and that was a good thing.  I will have more thoughts on this to share at some point--perhaps here, perhaps in the pages of Skirt! (Oh, and just because I want to point out that not all the reactions have been negative, have a look at this interesting discussion of abortion stories on Viva La Feminista.)
• Octavia Butler.  After months of encouragement from two friends who are Butler fanatics, I finally have read Parable of the Sower.  This is an outstanding book and one that I must keep my husband from reading.  He is always a half step away from wanting to move us to the woods so that we can become survivalist Luddites, and this book would push him that half step.  He’d start packing our backpacks.  If you’re interested in knowing what the end of our culture’s current environmentally and socially irresponsible trajectory might look like, read it.