Perri Birney's Blog
August 12, 2014
TRISTA HENDREN: The Power of the Divine Feminine
Woman is the radiance of God, she is not your beloved. She is the Creator—you could say that she is not created. — Rumi Let’s talk spiritual activism with a feminist twist. That’s where Trista Hendren steps in — an author with an extraordinary message. Her spiritual journey has inspired her writing, activism and […]
October 13, 2013
MILLION WOMEN DRUMMERS — A Global Gathering
The only way to have a sustainable future is to create it . . . Imagine. Women around the world gathering together for a global celebration. Teacher and performer, Ubaka Hill, Founder of the Million Women Drummers Gathering, did just that. At the drumming event held on Oct. 13, 2013 in New Paltz, NY, Ubaka […]
April 10, 2013
The Cyrus Cylinder, Eleanor Roosevelt & The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
IN THE SIXTH CENTURY BC, CYRUS THE GREAT OF PERSIA conquered the Middle East and a large part of Asia. Upon his entry into Babylon, he freed the many captive peoples found there. His magnanimous gesture liberated the Jewish nation and entitled her people to return to Jerusalem with their Temple treasures and begin rebuilding [...]
February 3, 2013
ONE BILLION RISING: Dancing Up a Storm
ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME – onebillionrising.org On February 14, 2013, V-Day celebrates its 15th Anniversary. Valentine’s day and V-Day — it makes sense. What better day for hearts to rise in unison as one global voice, refusing to accept violence against women and [...]
ONE BILION RISING: Dancing Up a Storm
ONE IN THREE WOMEN ON THE PLANET WILL BE RAPED OR BEATEN IN HER LIFETIME – onebillionrising.org On February 14, 2013, V-Day celebrates its 15th Anniversary. Valentine’s day and V-Day — it makes sense. What better day for hearts to rise in unison as one global voice, refusing to accept violence against women and [...]
February 2, 2013
Lisbeth Salander Reigns
A bisexual, tazer-toting, female hacker who zaps her foes, goes toe-to-toe with hardened criminals and grapples with murderers. Move over Lara Croft. A powerful female icon is stimulating our desire for justice in more fanciful ways than we could have imagined.
Lisbeth Salander, the modern-day heroine, has stirred the hearts of readers and viewers alike. Women respond to the the small-boned, anorexically thin character as if she were the new Joan of Arc. Why is that? For one, Salander packs a lot of punch. In a world of computer geeks, she’s a superb hacker who uses her skills on the side of justice, actually eradicating the bank accounts of a high-powered, shady billionaire who had formerly been able to commit his crimes undetected. The fact that she does so without getting caught — no matter how believable or unbelievable that may seem — doesn’t thwart the feeling she arouses in us. I have to admit, reading the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson and watching the Swedish film versions of the novel have me ready to take on adversaries with a new gusto.
Do we normally like to watch female characters who enact revenge? Our sensibilities say, Oh no, but our feelings say, Go get ‘em girl. We support Salander because the issues underscoring her motivations — rape, physical violence, societal neglect, child abuse, government fraud — are so vile that we are aware her only recourse for survival has been to attain justice through her own means. It’s a road we wouldn’t normally want to travel. But when push comes to shove, who’s to say what anyone would do, especially in life-threatening situations.
I venture to say that none of us likes having the deck stacked against us. Salander’s obective is to even the score. Although her father was despicable, beating and violating Salander’s mother whenever he wished, he was protected by government agencies who viewed him as an asset. A fictional scenario that easily relates to real-life events.
Empowering women through the creation of strong female characters is an art in itself. Larsson did a superb job with Salander. He was able to create a sympathetic character — vulnerable yet fearless, violated yet undefeatable, a survivor of injustice but never a victim. Friends of the late author relate that an incident from Larsson’s teenage years — when several friends gang-raped a girl and he stood by and did nothing to help her — inspired his creation of Salander’s character.
In his Millennium trilogy — The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson gives us a sensitive male perspective of the female plight, a dilemma which is global in scope. He covers the issues of sex trafficking, physical abuse, violence, and subjugation in the political and professional world. In a discussion series I developed, Women’s Empowerment in Fiction: The Millennium Trilogy Explored, we reviewed Larsson’s themes and their effects on the women in the group. It’s amazing that no matter how unsavory Salander’s methods were, most women felt empowered and inspired by her character. And why wouldn’t they be? Salander willingly enters dangerous lairs like an avenging lioness in order to exact justice. She’s courageous, brilliant, unstoppable, outrageous, and ballsy. Without question, Larsson created a fiction showstopper, one that slam-dunks female typecasting in novels in one fell swoop. Disturbed or enthralled by her, the character of Lisbeth Salander is one for the books.
Lisbeth Salander, the modern-day heroine, has stirred the hearts of readers and viewers alike. Women respond to the the small-boned, anorexically thin character as if she were the new Joan of Arc. Why is that? For one, Salander packs a lot of punch. In a world of computer geeks, she’s a superb hacker who uses her skills on the side of justice, actually eradicating the bank accounts of a high-powered, shady billionaire who had formerly been able to commit his crimes undetected. The fact that she does so without getting caught — no matter how believable or unbelievable that may seem — doesn’t thwart the feeling she arouses in us. I have to admit, reading the Millennium Series by Stieg Larsson and watching the Swedish film versions of the novel have me ready to take on adversaries with a new gusto.
Do we normally like to watch female characters who enact revenge? Our sensibilities say, Oh no, but our feelings say, Go get ‘em girl. We support Salander because the issues underscoring her motivations — rape, physical violence, societal neglect, child abuse, government fraud — are so vile that we are aware her only recourse for survival has been to attain justice through her own means. It’s a road we wouldn’t normally want to travel. But when push comes to shove, who’s to say what anyone would do, especially in life-threatening situations.
I venture to say that none of us likes having the deck stacked against us. Salander’s obective is to even the score. Although her father was despicable, beating and violating Salander’s mother whenever he wished, he was protected by government agencies who viewed him as an asset. A fictional scenario that easily relates to real-life events.
Empowering women through the creation of strong female characters is an art in itself. Larsson did a superb job with Salander. He was able to create a sympathetic character — vulnerable yet fearless, violated yet undefeatable, a survivor of injustice but never a victim. Friends of the late author relate that an incident from Larsson’s teenage years — when several friends gang-raped a girl and he stood by and did nothing to help her — inspired his creation of Salander’s character.
In his Millennium trilogy — The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest – Stieg Larsson gives us a sensitive male perspective of the female plight, a dilemma which is global in scope. He covers the issues of sex trafficking, physical abuse, violence, and subjugation in the political and professional world. In a discussion series I developed, Women’s Empowerment in Fiction: The Millennium Trilogy Explored, we reviewed Larsson’s themes and their effects on the women in the group. It’s amazing that no matter how unsavory Salander’s methods were, most women felt empowered and inspired by her character. And why wouldn’t they be? Salander willingly enters dangerous lairs like an avenging lioness in order to exact justice. She’s courageous, brilliant, unstoppable, outrageous, and ballsy. Without question, Larsson created a fiction showstopper, one that slam-dunks female typecasting in novels in one fell swoop. Disturbed or enthralled by her, the character of Lisbeth Salander is one for the books.
June 26, 2012
Originally posted on Pure Vision: Any woman who ch...
Originally posted on Pure Vision:
Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood. — Gloria Steinem Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK A radical,…
Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood. — Gloria Steinem Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK A radical,…
Originally posted on Pure Vision: Any woman who cho...
Originally posted on Pure Vision:
Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood. — Gloria Steinem Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK A radical,…
Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood. — Gloria Steinem Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK A radical,…
Waging Peace: MEDEA BENJAMIN of CODEPINK
Reblogged from Pure Vision: Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That’s their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood. — Gloria Steinem Medea Benjamin of CODEPINK A radical, a [...]
June 14, 2012
Originally posted on Girls' Globe: Author of this post is...
Originally posted on Girls' Globe:
Author of this post is Elisabeth Jessop, the U.S: Delegate at the G(irks) 20 Summit. I’m number 4,541. What’s your number? There are 3.5 billion women and girls in the world…and therefore, 3.5 billion ways to change the world. And I will be the change. I will be an advocate and an…
Author of this post is Elisabeth Jessop, the U.S: Delegate at the G(irks) 20 Summit. I’m number 4,541. What’s your number? There are 3.5 billion women and girls in the world…and therefore, 3.5 billion ways to change the world. And I will be the change. I will be an advocate and an…
