Herstory

“I crossed all the lines and I broke all the rules

But baby I broke them all for you,”

    “The Story,” Brandi Carlile

Herstory was a word coined in the 1960s to refer to narratives about the past written from a woman’s perspective, as opposed to the conventional, male-dominated His-Story).  Robin Morgan used the term in “Sisterhood Is Powerful” (1970), but it had fallen somewhat out of style among Gender Studies academicians as being too ideological charged.  Folk rock singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” recorded in 2007, contains the line, “All of my friends who think I’m blessed, they don’t know my head is a mess.”  Last year Brandi came out and married Catherine Shepherd.  She told a reporter, “I don’t have to have a lot of formality around it, there were people before me who paved the way.”  When Anne Balay first told me she liked Brandi’s music, I thought she was referring to Belinda Carlisle, former Go-Gos singer.

Jerry Davich, calling Chuck Gallmeier his favorite sociologist, had him on his radio show and quoted him in an article about a type of conduct in public places such as grocery lines or elevators called civil inattention (the unobtrusive scanning of others through brief eye contact to acknowledge their presence but discourage further personal contact).  Said Gallmeier: “Civil inattention is a fascinating phenomenon and, when I discuss this in my class, students just love it.  We all practice it, especially in public bathrooms.”  I emailed Chuck: “I suspect in women's bathrooms, things are more social since there is more privacy as opposed to standing next to somebody at a urinal.  In fact, my guess is that women in general are more social in elevators, food store lines, etc.  Age may also be a factor.  Now that I am in my seventies people seem more friendly, perhaps because I'm less threatening, maybe because I've changed. IUN elevators generally are friendly places, especially in situations where there are people of different races or Muslims - where to ignore them could be interpreted as an act of hostility.  Part of the reaction to Davich may come from his being a celebrity, with some people half-recognizing him without knowing exactly from what.  When I see checkout ladies at Town and Country shopping, for example, my first reaction often is, ‘I know her’ but ‘from where?’  Cheers from (I hope) Davich's favorite historian.”

Terry Hunt, wearing one of his trademark marine t-shirts (he also has a variety of NY Yankee garb) sent along a family photo of “The Hunt Club” entitled “4 on the 4^th Happie Independence Day.”  Referring to the pairs of fingers behind Terry and Kim, I replied: “I see you guys have raised a couple of wise asses.  Good for you.”  We spent the Fourth at Angie and Dave’s for Becca’s birthday (number 11).  Food was plentiful, including ribs, hot dogs, burgers, chicken, and steak tacos.  After Dave won two coquet games (I salvaged the other), he orchestrated a two-hour fireworks display.  Sky lanterns were the new rage, but with open flames they looked dangerous and, in fact, have been banned in some localities.

Hollis Donald from Physical Plant gave me a copy of a poetic piece he wrote entitled, “A Vacation Worth Having.”  He praised Garrett Cope for having devoted his life to helping others get educated and Chancellor Lowe for helping out a janitorial worker who was in danger.  Arriving early to work one morning, a custodian encountered a man in the vending machine area who was naked and demanding sex; she screamed, and the Chancellor, who had arrived at work earlier than usual, came out, held the man at bay, and called the campus police.  Hollis urged readers to put their troubles behind them and strive for a carefree life, which truly would be “a vacation worth having!”

 Jacks McNamara

Anne Baley’s Gender Studies readings included Peggy McIntosh’s 1988 essay “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack” and poems by Jacks McNamara from “Inbetweenland,” published by Deviant Type Press.  Defining herself as a queer writer, artist, designer, educator, and mental health activist,” McNamara wrote: “We need to stop saying, ‘You are crazy, stop being crazy.’”  In one poem she wishes she were Brandi Carlile and references Harry Potter, who tellingly escaped from a broom closet.  In “Diaspora” she writes that her family kicked her out for being queer and crazy (“I never could tell which or the difference”) and adds: “I wish I could go home.”  Don’t we all have a nostalgic streak?  “So Many Ways to be Beautiful” is about learning to be comfortable fixing brakes, driving a stick shift, wearing a cock, and using “the heel of your boots to bring her home.”  “Mornings After” describes someone wearing a red dress and glitter, “36 going on 13.”  It reminded me both of 12 year old trying to grow up too fast and 36 year-olds who had an awakening about their sexuality 13 years before.  I’m not entirely clear about transgendered people, but Jacks seems to have been born female, attracted to females, but felt trapped in a woman’s body.   In “Lung Seed” she described how she changed her name to Jacks:

“It referenced flapjacks

Famous hitchhikers

Wikipedia’s take on third gender

And a dog named Jack

From young adult science fiction

Who is immune to psychotic outbreak syndrome

As I one day hope to be.”

In class Anne asked students to identify ways people are categorized; the list included, among others, age, sex, race, class, religion, and mobility.  While discussing ways these limited people, Riva Lehrer mentioned that people in wheelchairs must constantly face obstacles most people needn’t think about, from boarding public transportation to being unable to reach things in grocery stores.  Doctor’s offices often have no provisions for the handicapped, and the death rates for those caught in floods, power failures, and other disasters are without fail higher.

above, Riva; below, Megan (l) and Shannon

At a family picnic with Nancy’s relatives Ron Cohen ran into IUN gallery director Ann Fritz and my favorite student of all time, Shannon Pontney.  Ann’s daughter and Shannon’s sister are both going with nephews of Nancy.  Ron reports that his “Pete Seeger Reader” will be out before the end of the year.