Original Article: http://dartreview.com/archives/2004/04/26/what_would_your_ovaries_wear.php
Monday, April 26, 2004
According to feminist Rivka Solomon, "There is something about knowing a girl has eighty years of serious ass-kicking ahead of her that sends chills up the spine." Unfortunately, due to Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome, Miss Solomon is unable to participate in literal "serious ass-kicking." Nevertheless, she has pooled whatever dwindling energy she has into, according to her, writing and rabble-rousing on the East Coast. Who would expect anything less—after all, she has been a feminist activist "since damn near babyhood."
As those who do not frequent feminist circles are, most likely, not aware, Solomon has been kicking our asses for a number of years in respected periodicals like Bitch, Bust, and Lilith Magazine. She has, however, gone more mainstream and published That Takes Ovaries! Bold Females and Their Brazen Acts, a collection of narratives chronicling divers sheroic acts. The women whose brazen acts are described in the book are a perfect representation of 21st century diversity—we have tales from blacks, whites, Asians, Hispanics, lesbians, mommies, grrlz, the abled and disabled, and the young and old. The result, however, neither 'kicks ass' nor chills the spine.
Apparently, Solomon had thrown around the title phrase for some time before she developed the idea for this book. It was only a matter of time:
I had a party one night. The guests were more acquaintances than good friends. During the evening a man told a story about a woman who had done a totally brazen thing (though now I can't remember what). When finished, I casually remarked, "Well, that took ovaries." The roomful of people fell silent, and then they burst out laughing, exclaiming "Great phrase!"
It was this demonstration of collective enthusiasm that compelled Solomon to write this book. She knew that her bon mot would provide a kick-ass title—she determined this while flossing. And, as she got into bed, she had developed the content: "a collection of ovarian acts where women and girls take charge, and maybe even have fun."
The common conception that women are weak is not as strong as it once was. After all, women now have their own professional basketball league—some can even dunk!—and amateur video has captured teenage girls hazing and violently beating their younger classmates. However, the stereotype still exists, says Solomon, and that's why this book is so important. Perhaps, some time in the future, a young girl will be browsing her local independent bookstore and will pick up this title. She'll struggle through the lengthy introduction and finally discover the empowering narratives within.
Attorney Kathleen Tarr knew that if she did not act, she would become another victim, another statistic. When she discovered that a man had broken into and entered her apartment, she acted, though in a creative manner. Physically, she was no match for this intruder—if she tried to fight, he had the ability and strength to turn her every way but loose. Therefore, she appealed to his black pride, with the assistance of a Martin Luther King, Jr. poster she had on her wall. She pointed to the poster and asked, "'You would look Martin Luther King in the eye and continue to rob this house?'" Later, she added, "'You would ask my Black self for money, knowing Dr. King was watching?'" Then she began a "diatribe on Steven Biko." The intruder began to weep; he apologized and left the premises.
Tess DeHoog of Vancouver is "a sexy, fat girl." Because she is overweight, DeHoog has always felt the need to 'cover-up,' to hide herself with loose-fitting clothes. However, on one sultry day, she committed a particularly brazen act and purchased a tank top. The decision to purchase the tank top was deliberate and difficult. Only after a clerk prodded her—"'Why cover what you can't hide?'"—did DeHoog take the shirt home. However, for many weeks, she was unable to summon the nerve to wear the garment in public, but "Finally, the day arrived. I wore my tank top outside." That was the beginning of a great relationship between woman and shirt, for "I love what my tank top has done for me and what I have done for my tank top."
California performance artist Kym Trippsmith describes herself as "the Amazon Queen." For ten years she lived on a boat anchored off of Sausalito, California, trying perhaps to live out some Lonesome Traveler-type fantasy. Living on a boat is not all fun and games, and it can be hazardous, particularly when a storm blows in. One night during a storm during which "the wind howled like Madonna on drugs", Trippsmith discovered that her vessel was in danger of being destroyed by another boat. She did not panic, and she jumped into her skiff and braved the troubled waters to seek the help of "a 280-pound pirate" named Big Bill. Big Bill managed to save her boat in a harrowing sea maneuver that involved a near-death experience. When the ordeal ended, Trippsmith shouted, "I am the Amazon Queen and I can do anything."
More powerful than mundane activism is "estrogen-powered activism," as evidenced by the brazen act of Jessica Brown, a member of the Lesbian Avengers, "a nonviolent, direct-action group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women organizing for dyke survival and visibility." As part of the Lesbian Avengers's dedication to survival, the group often has to take action against socially-conservative think tanks. As D.C. residents, Brown and her fellow Beltway Avengers once had to act against the Family Research Council.
On Friday, February 12, a small group of Avengers walked into the FRC's main lobby. About half of us were dressed like cupids. We were wearing pink gauze wings, little white tutus, and combat boots. We were, for the most part, bare breasted.
The staffers in the building were horrified, a normal human response to such a brazen act. Horror soon turned to outrage and the Avengers were forced to leave, but only after the Avengers staged "a quick kiss-in in the lobby." The 'kiss-in' continued on the sidewalk outside the building.
To be fair, the Lesbian Avengers commit the most extreme act found in any of the tales that populate the pages of That Takes Ovaries! Many of the stories involve some milder form of challenging the status quo: refusing to shave one's legs (and then shaving, but in stripes) or disregarding a school dress code and wearing pants instead of the required dresses or skirts. Ovarian activism runs the gamut—from civil disobedience to passionate riot grrl fanaticism—but that's what having ovaries is all about, apart from the biological function. As Solomon writes, "[Having ovaries] includes smart, brave, altruistic acts and silly, shocking, impulsive ones." It's a "catchall phrase."
Sadly, due to cultural stigma and probably other things, not all women may realize that they have ovaries. This is not a permanent condition because "all of a sudden you'll do something or say something and Yowza, it hits you: I'm one strong mutha! It's an awakening." Other women, unaware of their own ovaries, have, at some point, "admired those of others." All these women need to do is "tap into it." The rest should take care of itself.
The acts described in That Takes Ovaries! are hardly unique. Recently, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that a 41-year-old woman, armed with a Louisville Slugger bat, killed a naked and PCP-addled intruder who was attacking her sister. If future editions of That Takes Ovaries! are in the works, there won't be a problem with content. The capacity to commit a brazen act is always there, and, when that act occurs, it, like a Lesbian Avenger kiss-in, is empowering.