Saturday, March 21, 2009

Celebrating Women's History Month

Time for a little shameless self-promotion here at TheFU.

Have you gotten a chance to check out the Legendary Latinas series over on Jump off the Bridge? In it, I've been highlighting the lives and work of Latinas who have been an inspiration to me in celebration of Women's History Month. Here's a peak at the profiles:

Frida Kahlo
What I really want to do is show why it was so easy for me to love a woman who lived with such pain (physically and emotionally), but who was still able to produce work that spoke truth to that pain and to live her life without apologies.

Dolores Huerta
Her very essence screams to me "I will not be shut down, I will be heard! If you can't speak, I'll be your voice!" I spent a lot of time in my life keeping quiet for the sake of pleasing others, so I have the utmost respect for a woman so fearless.

Rita Moreno
When I was growing up and had dreams of being a world-famous entertainer, I wanted to be Rita Moreno. No, not be like her, I wanted to BE HER... Yep, I'm obsessed. But really, you should be too!

Gloria Anzaldúa
You do not need to be Chicana or even Latina to appreciate her work. It's like she could see what was in our souls. She pulled it out, examined it, played with it, and blew it back in, writing its truth in a way so very real to me.

So that's what I've been working on to celebrate Women's History Month. What have all of you been doing? Blog posts, women's issues, activism, non-profit initiatives?? Leave your links in the comments so we can check it out and celebrate our great work!

1 comment:

Radical Reminders said...

I'm a bit late to this post but i'll just tell you my quick story. I was born and raised in Russia where Women's Day originated. It is SO much more of a holiday there than it is in the States. Every year my dad would come home with roses for my mother and a toy for me - the whole city would celebrate women. Not just women in relationships like Valentine's Day celebrates, but ALL women. It was wonderful :)