Today has been a day of distractions. Between reading e-mail, paying bills, interruptions in my Starbucks routine and my crack-like addiction to Twitter, I am not having a very productive writer or teacher day. Throw in a bizarre opera soundtrack playing loudly (that I am attempting to drown out with some old school U2) and some so-gorgeous-it-should-be-Friday weather, and I predict I will be making up for today’s lack of productivity tomorrow (and Saturday, most likely). Ah, well.
I did finish my sex and religion story last night and sent that off (a day late-- oops). I like it, hope the editor and publisher do, too. I have several more stories to work on this week and next-- planes, trains, automobiles and corporal punishment. Woooo! I love my job. Some other projects are in the works for May…
Before I can delve into all the sexy goodness, I must first finish my Mythology lecture for tomorrow. It’s the last class before finals-- how did that happen? I’m a little disappointed I won’t be teaching it again in the fall, but I now have a wealth of material should I teach it again down the road. At the moment, I’m only slated to teach one class in the fall-- English Comp-- but I hope to add at least one more fun (to me) class to that.
Okay. Time to focus. Seriously.
My friend Susan sent this to me. Too funny, though he needs to walk-- not run-- on that slippery patio! I wouldn’t mind a dip in that pool today, though.
Sorry for the lull in posting. I have been frantically trying to finish the first draft of my screenplay For Ever, which I can now happily report is finished. Of course, it’s only a first draft, but I have met the requirements for my screenwriting class and I’m happy, happy, happy to be finished! My screenplay is now in my professor’s e-mail, awaiting printing and feedback (and a grade). Then I will have a few weeks to cut and add, add and cut, revise, proofread and polish for the Virginia Screenwriting Competition. It’s a long shot that I’ll even make the finals, but 1) I have a script, so I might as well enter; 2) It’s free to enter, so I might as well enter and 3) I have a screenwriting professor giving me feedback, so I might as well enter. So, yeah, I’ll be entering the contest. I’ll keep you all posted.
Working on the screenplay has pretty much consumed me this last week or so. It’s a relief to be finished (for now), but I have a few other deadlines looming… soon… including anthology deadlines and, of course, the end of the semester for the classes I’m teaching. So, the next couple of weeks will find me mostly at Starbucks, writing about sex, grading English essays and coming up with a diabolical Mythology final exam (mostly kidding about that one). But, can I just say, the biggest weight is off my shoulders and I feel like I can accomplish the rest with ease. I hope.
Next!
Exciting! My interview for the Dirty Girls anthology is now up on the Dirty Girls website!
Here is an excerpt:
What do you see as the connection (if any) between feminism and erotica? Are there feminist elements in your work?
Erotica, like feminism, is about empowerment. Erotica anthologies such as Dirty Girls are not only entertaining and arousing, they let women explore their fantasies and reassure them that it’s all right to enjoy sex on their own terms. When I write a story like “Beautiful Creature” and a woman identifies with the emotions and desires of the female character, hopefully she feels validated. And aroused, of course. Likewise, I think it’s important to stop excluding men from the feminist discussion. Dirty Girls is sure to have many male readers and, hopefully, they will come away from the collection understanding that female sexuality is a powerful force of nature — certainly as strong and meaningful as male sexuality — and something they should respect and cherish.
You can read the rest of my thoughts on erotica, feminism and where I get my writing inspiration here: Dirty Girls contributor interview with Kristina Wright.
(And thanks to Rachel Kramer Bussel for the fabulous interview questions!)
A few years ago, I wrote a post called Life Lessons Learned the Hard Way. In it, I tried to describe that moment of awareness for a young girl who is suddenly realizing-- in a very frightening way-- that rape can happen at the hands of the cute, popular boy. It’s a subject that I come back to time and again-- this idea that girls (and women) endure things because we’ve been taught we’re supposed to endure them. Even now, even in 2008.
Heather Corinna has been going through a bit of a firestorm recently over a T-shirt for the I Was Raped project. Not that she can’t handle it-- she’s been through the fire before because she deals with sexuality in a straightforward, down-to-earth, honest way. She runs the popular-- and much needed-- Scarleteen. She has also written a terrific teen sexuality guide called S.E.X.: The All-You-Need-To-Know Progressive Sexuality Guide to Get You Through High School and College, which even most adults could learn a thing or two from. Still, this latest controversy leaves a bad taste in my mouth because I can’t imagine doing what Heather does, day in and day out, and then being taken to task by using my own experiences against me.
Something Heather wrote today made me want to share it with everyone who reads my blog-- especially parents of daughters. This part, in particular, struck a nerve with me:
However, even for plenty of people who know something about sex, who are smart and relatively informed, figuring out what sex is and what rape is aren’t so easy, particularly when you’re raised female. Even if we look at classical literature - much of Greek mythology, all sorts of folktales, Tess of the D’Urbervilles, the Bronte Sisters, you name it, and this was the kind of reading I did as a kid — it doesn’t take a genius to notice that usually, when rape happens, it’s often presented as sex or, at best, “sex by force.” It’s rarely, if ever, called rape. In that literature, in religion, in common parlance, in romance novels, in films, in family gossip young women have for eons been taught, more than not, that we are passive sexually, that sex for us is something a person “takes” or we “give” (rather than as something shared), and that often enough our sexual awakening is supposed to be about men deciding to indoctrinate us.
(Please read the rest of Heather’s post here.)
I have been keeping up with Heather for at least ten years and I admire the hell out of her. She puts herself out there, sharing her life and the trauma she has endured, all in the name of fighting for what’s right, giving a voice to the silenced and providing answers when others shrug in apathy. It is a thankless job, as far as I can tell.
Now that tax time is behind us and as you’re contemplating charitable contributions for 2008, consider kicking some money Heather’s way. There are a number of ways you can help her keep fighting the good fight:
--Donate directly to Scarleteen.
--If you are a survivor of sexual assault, buy an I Was Raped T-shirt.
--Buy Heather’s book, S.E.X., for the teenagers in your life-- or your local public library.
--If you enjoy fine art photography, particularly that which explores gender and body imagery or simply makes you look at life a little differently, purchase a Femmerotic membership, Heather’s personal website.
Also, check out Heather’s All Girl Army and share it with the young women in your life.
Thanks, Heather, for all that you do. I know I’ve said it before, but you rock.
Life. Love. Writing. Friendship.
Sex. Books. Movies. Travel. Politics. Feminism. Academia. Insomnia. Rants. Raves. Chocolate. Lots of chocolate. Some names have been changed, some stories have been embellished. Thanks for stopping by and beware of the dog. Read more...
