More Emo Creature

4. Look up some of the women or groups mentioned in Section 3 and explore the context a bit more. How does that enrich your understanding of the text itself?

Peshmerga (those who face death) women are an all female Kurdish army faction looking to oust Saddam Hussein.

Pink Sari gang protect Indian womens’ interests by violent attacks

Liberian women mass action for peace

Nigerian Chevron women took oil terminal demanding fairer share of oil revenue

Cindy Sheehan lost son in Iraqi war and protested at Bush ranch

Malalai Joya unleased three-minute hard-hitting speech accused alleged warlords of crimes and corruption

Aung San Suu Kyi house arrest 15 of 21 years, refused to leave country

Neda Soltani killed voicing opposition to Ahmadinejad

“Refuser” is the first piece of work in Section 3. It is the perfect title for its style. In many ways it’s like a rallying cry for women to stand up for themselves. It also gives tribute to certain real-life women who have made their own ‘statements’ and stood up for their cause in honorable ways. These modern day women have stirred things up and broken the norm in unprecedented ways. They no longer need men; they can stick up for themselves as stated in “Now we are the ones who walk our girlfriends home from school.”

Toward the end, the monologue goes on to mention some of the most influential women ever. Ironically enough, they had also been labeled in a way that seriously downplays their accomplishments. Joplin, regarded as one of the greatest female musicians ever, was also known for her sub-par looks. Joan of Arc, national heroine of France and Catholic saint, if often discredited as being hysterical and having hallucinations. Butterfly Hill can contribute her fame to the ‘tree sit.’ Instead of a staunch environmentalist she was an extremist freak.

The women of these latest generations seem to carry a new voice. They are leaping all the old boundaries and roadblocks of the past. Perhaps this passage tells of their plight:  “We know if you plan too long nothing happens and things get worse and that most everything is found in the action and instinctively we get that the scariest thing isn’t dying, but not trying at all.” No longer do women stand idly by on the sidelines, they are amongst the action; in the thick of things.