I'M YOUR HELLCAT DREAMGIRL

[Marley Magaziner]

This issue of the Humpus is going to be about gender and feminism and being a woman and a sometimes-unfulfilled artist and being in a happy relationship. Or most of those things.

 

It's the happy relationship part that' the most amazing to me.  Someone to whom I can easily, fearlessly, send this article: Dating While Feminist and get a heart ("<3") back.  I'm so lucky.  Unless that was supposed to be a penis... but I'm pretty sure it was a heart. ...I just told him I liked the heart he sent back and he said, "I love my feminist girlfriend." That should be made into a button, tee shirt, hoodie, and website. Get on it like Twitter, someone!

I basically agree with the premise of the piece: a good man who is aware of gender in society and is down with discussing it along with feminism and who believes that men and women while different are equal and should be treated equally is hard to find.  (And finding one of them you want to fuck? Nigh impossible.) And I'm digging on the comments... nothing like some good in-fighting among people who basically agree (*cough* smith college) and girls hating on boys who are brave enough to call themselves feminists.  And people talking aboutf the use of the word dude...?  I'm just glad I didn't have to put up with that shit in college--not going to school with men meant you didn't have have that conversation, at least not with bio-male classmates.  I'm so over the battle of the sexes.  I'm too tired to take it seriously...I'll cook if you do the dishes?  You pay for drinks I'll get the cab home? Rad.  Problem. Solved.
 

 Anyway. On Friday I saw The Soup Show, a full-length show by the NY Neo-Futurists, the folks that bring you 30 plays in 60 minutes--and twitterplay tuesdays.  At its core, it's about what it means to be a woman now.  March is women's history month and has been for the past 30 years. That means, since 1980.  That's not exactly a long time.  Anyway.  This shit is not the Vagina Monologues.  These women aren't showing off how self actualized they are; they're trying to communicate how flawed and hypocritical and beautiful we are as humans and shit this shit is fucking complicated.  Also women used to douche with Lysol so you can put pretty much what the fuck ever up there <--very close to an actual quote from the play.

Also the 3 performers are nude most of the time and going in and out of a hot tub on stage.  And it works.  Bodies are relevant and it's kind of amazing to go from "omg they're naked and I'm staring" to "huh bodies are interesting" to "what these women are saying is interesting"   I could go on... ok 1 more thing, from Theatre Is Easy : "The Soup Show is not so much about angry, downtrodden vaginas as it is about happy, confident, celebratory ones." Which is probably why I dug it.  These women (like me) didn't know they were supposed to feel bad about their vaginas until Eve Ensler told them they should feel good about them and to quote A Different World: You dont say black is beautiful unless you thought black was ugly in the first place.  Know what I'm sayin? Good.

 
um... I had other stuff but I think I'll just leave you with stuff on the internet and go to bed. The aforementioned boyfriend is already in bed reading a young adult novel that I've been secretly reading while he's asleep...what, he falls asleep before me and it's right there!

 

STUFF ON THE INTERNET
Unfulfilled artist me is thinking about taking this http://www.nyneofuturists.org/site/index.php?/site/workshops/ its $250...but what would you pay for an artistic kick in the ass?  (That's what the Soup Show did for me. I'm clearing off the kitchen table of my mind and trying to make )

the review of The Soup Show that convinced me to see it at the last minute on Friday:

http://www.nytheatre.com/nytheatre/showpage.php?t=soup9790  It's closed now but it'll be remounted I'm pretty damn sure.  I have mixed feelings on people at the talkback saying that other people need to see it as if they know what's good for them.. I think people need to see it because it's an accomplishment and art and you honor someone's story by listening to it.  It's for the art, not the... aw what do I know, someone just throw some money at that show ok?

also, funny and true http://bust.com/blog/2010/03/20/its-spring-break-dont-get-yourself-raped.html

This is so disturbing (ANTM vampire photoshoot): http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/45422430.html  maybe it's cuz I'm squemish but like... so much blood. so much. ew ew ew.

me and the feminist boyfriend: http://ow.ly/i/TZy

ALSO! PEOPLE. Email gdoe...@gmail.com RIGHT NOW and get on my friend Geraldine's poetry list for April, National Poetry Month. You will be emailed one poem every day in April. At the end of April you will have 30 poems.  This poetry list is THE JAM. And Geraldine was the one who led me to the hellcat dream girl article so she wins an extra special humpus shout out.

yawning in the valley,
Marley