Welcome back to Magical Girl Power, everybody! I have to apologize once again for the unannounced hiatus. Everything has just been really crazy since the holidays. A lot of the time, I just do not have the energy to log in and post something well-thought-out. Hell, sometimes, I can't even muster up the spoons just to sputter in outrage. Gods only know there's enough out there to be outraged about... But that's not what we're here about today.
This time last year, I posted a tribute to some seriously awesome ladies in my life. Well, a year later, they're still awesome! I'm really not sure what I could say to one-up any of what I said last year... However, I've got a couple of new inspirational ladies to add to the list!!
Raven - last year, when I got really, really sick, I had to miss the opening weekend of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. A year later, I could not be gladder of that fact. Raven is a terrific personification of ladies building each other up!! I am so proud to know her! She can do practically anything crafty under the sun, and she is an extremely calming influence around loads of people. Also, we encourage each other's less-than-socially-acceptable habits and we have a truly rockin' time with it! I cannot thank her enough for remaining in my life, particularly through the last year with all its completely shitty moments. From what she's said, I bring her up as well and I can only hope that I continue to do just as well and better! (She's also a serious stitch-witch and takes commissions, for all my cosplaying readers!)
Ashley - we met years ago, but we really didn't start getting close until rather recently. Sweet, seriously sexy, and super-nerdy!! Again, I need way more lady-friends like Raven and Ashley in my life. All of us have witnessed entirely too much internalized misogyny for a lot of lady-friends to have been much of a possibility in the past. Ashley is awesomely creative - we've got some pretty freaking great plans for DragonCon of this year! She's got an intense work ethic and she goes for what she wants, and screw anybody who might try and stop her! On a more personal note, she totally understands what it's like for those of us out there living with digestive funk.
I'd also like to mention my mom again on International Women's Day. As y'all may or may not know, it's just the two of us now. A lot of days, it's been really hard. Neither of us gets out terribly often. Mom would rather not, but I'm more... just out of something to do. We're up under each other's noses all the time if we're not at school/work and it does drive us crazy. She has been doing so much to help me achieve autonomy, even when most days it seems everything is working against me. I love you, Mom... I know it hasn't been easy, but I thank you for every single thing you do.
Like I said in the first paragraph, there's a lot out there to just be outraged about. It seems like no matter how we try to claw our way uphill, we just slide back. Particularly here in the United States, reproductive health rights are under significant fire. Health care in general is pretty fucked here, all because the Powers That Be would rather stamp their little feet than do anything for the "other guy." Women are still being punished on levels up to and including violence just for being women. We're still squabbling with each other over intersectionality and inclusivity within feminism. Internalized misogyny, transphobia, erasure of WOC from feminist discourse... It really does look impossible to come out on top a lot of the time.
But please... Even if, like me, you need to just sit down and take a break, get up and start fighting again. I'm trying. I feel like a hypocrite for encouraging y'all to do when all I am capable of is trying, but I ask you from the bottom of my heart... Try with me? If I had more spoons and more time before I go into work, I'm sure I'd say more, but at this point in the day, I don't. Thank you for bearing with me during spotty update and personal bad spots.
Marigold, leaving you all with a little more love than you came in with, over and out...
This time last year, I posted a tribute to some seriously awesome ladies in my life. Well, a year later, they're still awesome! I'm really not sure what I could say to one-up any of what I said last year... However, I've got a couple of new inspirational ladies to add to the list!!
Raven - last year, when I got really, really sick, I had to miss the opening weekend of the Georgia Renaissance Festival. A year later, I could not be gladder of that fact. Raven is a terrific personification of ladies building each other up!! I am so proud to know her! She can do practically anything crafty under the sun, and she is an extremely calming influence around loads of people. Also, we encourage each other's less-than-socially-acceptable habits and we have a truly rockin' time with it! I cannot thank her enough for remaining in my life, particularly through the last year with all its completely shitty moments. From what she's said, I bring her up as well and I can only hope that I continue to do just as well and better! (She's also a serious stitch-witch and takes commissions, for all my cosplaying readers!)
Ashley - we met years ago, but we really didn't start getting close until rather recently. Sweet, seriously sexy, and super-nerdy!! Again, I need way more lady-friends like Raven and Ashley in my life. All of us have witnessed entirely too much internalized misogyny for a lot of lady-friends to have been much of a possibility in the past. Ashley is awesomely creative - we've got some pretty freaking great plans for DragonCon of this year! She's got an intense work ethic and she goes for what she wants, and screw anybody who might try and stop her! On a more personal note, she totally understands what it's like for those of us out there living with digestive funk.
I'd also like to mention my mom again on International Women's Day. As y'all may or may not know, it's just the two of us now. A lot of days, it's been really hard. Neither of us gets out terribly often. Mom would rather not, but I'm more... just out of something to do. We're up under each other's noses all the time if we're not at school/work and it does drive us crazy. She has been doing so much to help me achieve autonomy, even when most days it seems everything is working against me. I love you, Mom... I know it hasn't been easy, but I thank you for every single thing you do.
Like I said in the first paragraph, there's a lot out there to just be outraged about. It seems like no matter how we try to claw our way uphill, we just slide back. Particularly here in the United States, reproductive health rights are under significant fire. Health care in general is pretty fucked here, all because the Powers That Be would rather stamp their little feet than do anything for the "other guy." Women are still being punished on levels up to and including violence just for being women. We're still squabbling with each other over intersectionality and inclusivity within feminism. Internalized misogyny, transphobia, erasure of WOC from feminist discourse... It really does look impossible to come out on top a lot of the time.
But please... Even if, like me, you need to just sit down and take a break, get up and start fighting again. I'm trying. I feel like a hypocrite for encouraging y'all to do when all I am capable of is trying, but I ask you from the bottom of my heart... Try with me? If I had more spoons and more time before I go into work, I'm sure I'd say more, but at this point in the day, I don't. Thank you for bearing with me during spotty update and personal bad spots.
Marigold, leaving you all with a little more love than you came in with, over and out...
