Nancy VanArsdall shares thoughts and reflections on feminism, activism, and spirituality in her online journal, Musings of a Feminist Writer.
I never thought I’d have a blog…until I discovered Robin Morgan’s. How could I not follow hers? She’s one of my sheroes. Not that I can even channel Ms. Morgan, but I can certainly be inspired by her to write my own.
Why? Why not! I am a writer—a published author—and certainly I am a feminist and have been for more than four decades. Throughout those years, our voices—our feminist voices—have waxed and waned. At this time, however—through these dark times—our voices, our very beings as women, are systematically being silenced…and erased.
Yes…there are more women in Congress than ever before. And I am grateful…and hopeful. More women are governors! I celebrate that! And, at the same time, Planned Parenthood is being eviscerated while state [gerrymandered] legislatures are chipping away at woman’s right to make choices about her own body.
Some of us believe we are in the Age of Aquarius, that patriarchy is, in fact, on a path to its own demise. I hope that is true, that the pendulum is swinging back to sanity.
In the meantime, simply stated, I want my voice to be one that will not be silenced, that is added to the chorus of those who will be heard, who will persevere, who is willing to say Look! Don’t you see what is happening? The emperor has no clothes!
I want to be one who calls out the ideology that is doing all it can to make us women powerless and invisible….erasing our history; there are women who don’t know what a suffragist is; don’t know who invented mathematics, don’t know that the Great Mother was ALL: not god, but Goddess.
So, this feminist writer insists on justice for all and speaks truth and reminds us not only of our history, but honors a covenant that respects women and is actively fighting against patriarchy…in language, in action, and spirit.
— Nancy VanArsdall, January 2019
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Nancy VanArsdall’s Online Journal Archives
Roe v. Wade Reversal: Dismantling Fifty Years of Feminist Work
However, one thing has become clear: the struggle, the work we feminists have pursued for fifty years, the work we have done to create a place at the table, is being dismissed and dismantled.
It Can’t Happen Here — Part Two
Some will channel their despair into rage, their grief into helplessness. Others will fight through their hopelessness; and some will become victim to their fury. Many will not recover...
It’s Not My Business
I write to stir the energy of peace and good will. I write to send hope and kindness and light into the darkness. I write to re/member those on whose shoulders I stand…
It Can’t Happen Here — Part One
I try to convince myself that this threat to our democracy is the unraveling of patriarchy. Surely the pendulum is steadily moving...
Repeating History? — Just Behind the Pretty Little Town
Very pretty, indeed…if we ignored the indisputable fact that the pretty town was adjacent to a concentration camp. Dachau Concentration Camp...
Persevering Through Hard Times
How do we remain vigilant when there is much to fear. Is it possible to be mindful and to remember how much there is to appreciate?