Kickstart This!

I love this Shay & Ivy: More Than Just a Princess project by Sheena McFeely.

The first book is about Shay & Ivy and their friends, at an imaginary ball in their bedroom, dreaming of being princesses. They all dreamt of riding horses, owning closets full of gowns, and dancing in royal castles. All girls, but Shay felt out of place. How was she to royally fit in if she did not want to be a princess anymore?

Determined as ever, Shay was going to find the answer. Shay & Ivy soon find out that their dreams go beyond a kingdom. The sisters began to visualize themselves as fearless pilots riding planes, scientists owning labs to perform experiments, and astronauts dancing among the stars.

I mean... come on! You have to know that we here at the Self-Rescuing Princess Society, of all places, know that there are so many ways to be a princess, and most don't involve "riding horses, owning closets full of gowns, and dancing in royal castles." Or, at least, not in quite the way these little girls might be imagining it. Although horses do come in quite handy at times, and as I mentioned earlier, that is one of the three Girl Scout badges I earned.

No, Shay and Ivy have discovered that the princess culture might seem glamorous at first, but usually tends to become a bit uncomfortable when it won't let you do science experiments or travel into space.

So, I'm late to the celebration of this excellent project, but wanted to bring it to your attention anyway. You've only got until Sunday to back this and get your own copy of the book. I certainly hope you do.

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Newsletters are cool again!

Yeah, I know. I think it's kinda weird too. What's old really is new again!

After years of assiduously avoiding giving out my email address to people pushing newsletters, I've found myself actually signing up for a couple here and there. And, more astounding, actually reading them! Surprising myself the most, I find they're perfect for keeping up with what's going on with my favorite bloggers, and not nearly as stressful as having to wade through my RSS feed every day! (Seriously, that thing's way out of hand!)



I've given it some thought and have decided to start a semi-weekly newsletter for folks who enjoy what I post here as well as what I share on my various social media platforms. It'll be a way to highlight news posts as well as the super awesome stuff I find elsewhere on the web and want to share with you all.

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Self-Rescuing Princess Music Break - Adele

I missed the Grammy's last night, unfortunately, because of a class project I couldn't put off. I heard Adele won a Grammy for "Set Fire to the Rain." All I could think was, "Duh."

I love love love this version of the song she won for.

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Self-Rescuing Princess Music Break - Robyn

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Self-Rescuing Princess Music Break - Aretha Franklin

Preach, Aretha!

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Self-Rescuing Princess Music Break - Nina Simone

Sing it, Nina!

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Blossom

I know this pain far too well. There have been times in my life where I stayed in a safe place too long. I stayed in bad jobs, in a terrible relationship, and generally stayed closed to the wonderful possibilities life was desperately trying to offer me.

Mainly, I stayed out of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of being wrong. Fear of making a mistake. But letting fear make the decision for me was worse than any of those things ever could have been.

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In case you need a reminder... you are amazing!

I just love this poem. I revisit it whenever I'm feeling a down or frustrated or a little powerless.

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Happy Birthday Anjelica Huston

Anjelica Huston is one of my all-time favorite actors. Such class, such presence, such beauty!

I think the first movie I saw her in was The Grifters, although imdb tells me she'd been in films and TV shows since the late-60s. She even appeared on Lavern and Shirley twice!

She's currently playing a kick-ass Broadway producer in the show Smash.

I love how in the show, she's clearly an older woman, but still strong, beautiful and happily, healthily sexual. She's what I hope being 61 is really like!

Keep kicking ass, Anjelica!

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SRPS Shout-Out - Sandra Day O'Connor

On July 7, 1981, President Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to replace Potter Stewart.

I'm old enough to remember this piece of important history-in-the-making. It was a Big Deal™ at our house. The first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court!

She received unanimous approval by the U.S. Senate (99-0), and was sworn in on September 25, 1981.

Sandra Day O'Connor Being Sworn in a Supreme Court Justice by Chief Justice Warren Burger

"My hope is that 10 years from now, after I've been across the street at work for a while, they'll all be glad they gave me that wonderful vote."

The four women who have served on the Supreme Court of the United States. From left to right: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor (Ret.), Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Justice Elena Kagan in the Justices' Conference Room, prior to Justice Kagan's Investiture Ceremony on October 1, 2010.

"The power I exert on the court depends on the power of my arguments, not on my gender."

Whether you agree with her rulings or not, the door she opened has helped women continue to move forward.

If you like the work I do here at Self-Rescuing Princess Society,
please check out my Patreon.

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SRPS Shout-Out - Samantha Smith, Cold War Princess

In 1982, the US and USSR were still quite deep in the cold war. It may be hard to remember now, but we were worried about nuclear attacks. Not in the naive way the folks in the 50s and 60s were ducking under desks or building bunkers. By the late-70s and early-80s, we were pretty much aware that any nuclear attack would be the end of civilization as we know it, and survival was unlikely. Or, more likely, not advisable.

I was 12, and while I was still more interested in listening to music -- there was a great new band out called Duran Duran -- and watching TV and doing normal pre-teen things, the threat of nuclear war was a constant thing in the back of my mind.

It didn't help that it seemed like the leaders of the USSR kept getting "colds" and then dying. Leonid Brezhnev was replaced by Yuri Andropov in November 1982, and most people in the US were very worried about his connection with the KGB. This was the time when President Reagan was talking about a program to launch missiles from space, dubbed Star Wars. The Soviets were fighting in Afghanistan, and tensions were high. Andropov was a new worry, and kept showing up on the news and in magazines.

Ten year old Samantha Smith asked her mother, "If people are so afraid of him, why doesn't someone write a letter asking whether he wants to have a war or not?" Her mother replied, "Why don't you?" So she did.

Dear Mr. Andropov,

My name is Samantha Smith. I am ten years old. Congratulations on your new job. I have been worrying about Russia and the United States getting into a nuclear war. Are you going to vote to have a war or not? If you aren't please tell me how you are going to help to not have a war. This question you do not have to answer, but I would like to know why you want to conquer the world or at least our country. God made the world for us to live together in peace and not to fight.

Sincerely,
Samantha Smith

And she received a reply!

Dear Samantha,

I received your letter, which is like many others that have reached me recently from your country and from other countries around the world.

It seems to me – I can tell by your letter – that you are a courageous and honest girl, resembling Becky, the friend of Tom Sawyer in the famous book of your compatriot Mark Twain. This book is well known and loved in our country by all boys and girls.

You write that you are anxious about whether there will be a nuclear war between our two countries. And you ask are we doing anything so that war will not break out.

Your question is the most important of those that every thinking man can pose. I will reply to you seriously and honestly.

Yes, Samantha, we in the Soviet Union are trying to do everything so that there will not be war on Earth. This is what every Soviet man wants. This is what the great founder of our state, Vladimir Lenin, taught us.

Soviet people well know what a terrible thing war is. Forty-two years ago, Nazi Germany, which strove for supremacy over the whole world, attacked our country, burned and destroyed many thousands of our towns and villages, killed millions of Soviet men, women and children.

In that war, which ended with our victory, we were in alliance with the United States: together we fought for the liberation of many people from the Nazi invaders. I hope that you know about this from your history lessons in school. And today we want very much to live in peace, to trade and cooperate with all our neighbors on this earth—with those far away and those near by. And certainly with such a great country as the United States of America.

In America and in our country there are nuclear weapons—terrible weapons that can kill millions of people in an instant. But we do not want them to be ever used. That's precisely why the Soviet Union solemnly declared throughout the entire world that never—never—will it use nuclear weapons first against any country. In general we propose to discontinue further production of them and to proceed to the abolition of all the stockpiles on Earth.

It seems to me that this is a sufficient answer to your second question: 'Why do you want to wage war against the whole world or at least the United States?' We want nothing of the kind. No one in our country– neither workers, peasants, writers nor doctors, neither grown-ups nor children, nor members of the government–want either a big or 'little' war.

We want peace—there is something that we are occupied with: growing wheat, building and inventing, writing books and flying into space. We want peace for ourselves and for all peoples of the planet. For our children and for you, Samantha.

I invite you, if your parents will let you, to come to our country, the best time being this summer. You will find out about our country, meet with your contemporaries, visit an international children's camp – Artek – on the sea. And see for yourself: in the Soviet Union, everyone is for peace and friendship among peoples.

Thank you for your letter. I wish you all the best in your young life.

Y. Andropov

He invited this brave little girl to visit the USSR. And she went! Twenty-nine years ago today, July 7, 1983, she and parents flew to Moscow to spend two weeks as Andropov's guest, visiting Moscow and Leningrad and spending time in Artek, the Soviet pioneer camp.

In her book, she explains how she and her parents were amazed by the friendliness of the people and by the presents they received. At a press conference in Moscow, she said the Russians were "just like us." While visiting the pioneer camp Artek, she insisted on staying with the Soviet children instead of the privileged accommodation the government offered her. She shared a dormitory with nine other girls, all of whom were fluent in English, which helped with communication. She spent her days swimming, talking and learning Russian songs and dances.  

"Olga and the girls in my room dressed me in an Artek uniform and tied my hair up with the white chiffon bows that the Soviet girls like to wear.  I wore the blue-and-white visitor's scarf because the red one is only for regular members."

Soviet media followed her everywhere, and photographs and articles about her were published by the main newspapers and magazines throughout her trip and after it. Many Soviet citizens were quite fond of her.

Upon her return to the United States, she was celebrated as "America's Youngest Ambassador" by many, and was invited to visit Japan to meet with the Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, and to give a speech at the Children's International Symposium in Kobe. As part of her speech, she suggested that the Soviet and American leaders exchange their granddaughters for two weeks every year, with the idea that neither president would "want to send a bomb to a country his granddaughter would be visiting".

Sadly, Samantha and her father were returning home in August 1985, when their plane crashed, and they both perished. Americans and Soviets alike mourned for her. Vladimir Kulagin, who worked in the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C., who read a message of condolence written by Mikhail Gobrachev.

Everyone in the Soviet Union who has known Samantha Smith will forever remember the image of the American girl who, like millions of Soviet young men and women, dreamt about peace, and about friendship between the peoples of the United States and the Soviet Union.

And President Reagan sent condolences to Smith's mother. 

Perhaps you can take some measure of comfort in the knowledge that millions of Americans, indeed millions of people, share the burdens of your grief. They also will cherish and remember Samantha, her smile, her idealism and unaffected sweetness of spirit.

Samantha Smith meeting cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova

Yes, Samantha, we still cherish your idealism and sweetness of spirit. And your bravery!

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SRPS Shout-Out - Althea Gibson

On July 6, 1957, Althea Gibson became the first black tennis player to win at Wimbledon.

"Shaking hands with the Queen of England was a long way from being forced to sit in the colored section of the bus going into downtown Wilmington, North Carolina."

"I hope that I have accomplished just one thing: that I have been a credit to tennis and my country."

"I want the public to remember me as they knew me: athletic, smart, and healthy.... Remember me strong and tough and quick, fleet of foot and tenacious."

"I knew that I was an unusual, talented girl through the grace of God. I didn't need to prove that to myself. I only wanted to prove it to my opponents."

If you appreciate the work I do here on SRPS, please support me!

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Happy Birthday Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo fascinates me. Her work is so emotional. Her biography is filled with anguish and grief, but also strength and beauty.

What little I know about Frida is what I learned watching the biographical film starring Salma Hayek.

And from reading short biographical bits about her that I come across every so often.

But the most interesting things I've learned about her come from reading about the lives of other people. I read a book about Leon Trotsky in college, and was intrigued by the time he spent in Mexico with Diego and Frida.

This relationship was further explored in Barbara Kingsolver's work, The Lacuna.

While she may not have received much attention during her life, her work lives on as a testament to her resilience in the face of great pain and unhappiness. When I'm faced with health issues or conflict, I draw inspiration from her life story and her drive to express herself through her art. Although I'm sure she would take issue with being called a princess, she was certainly a woman who rescued herself.

Happy Birthday Frida!

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Happy Birthday Della Reese!

When I saw that today is Della Reese's birthday, I thought I'd post a quick clip of her in one of the many TV shows she's appeared in over the years, or maybe a song. But reading her biography, I was surprised to learn how truly amazing this woman is!

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, and felt like Della Reese was just one of those actors you see everywhere, but don't really know very much about. She was on game shows, and had guest appearances on shows like Welcome Back Kotter and Chico and the Man. She was someone my parents grew up with, and who was using her celebrity to continue working.

Reading her biography, I was impressed to learn that she had been a gospel singer in Detroit, and had been discovered by Mahalia Jackson! I can't say that I've ever listened to her songs before today. I'm sure I heard them, but it didn't really register. But, wow! What a voice!

Seriously! What a great performer!

Happy 80th Birthday, Della Reese!

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SRPS - Blog Around

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." Nora Ephram

I just love that quote. And I love this essay Tom Hanks wrote for Time magazine.

Women 2.0 has a great list of female founders they saw at the Google I/O developers conference that wrapped up last week.

I love this RedBubble t-shirt design!

The Gameologicial Society has a fantastic interview with game writer Rhianna Pratchett.

There isn’t a great deal of understanding about what writers actually do, how they do it, and why. At the moment, we don’t have enough experienced storytellers calling the shots in the industry. Consequently, our narrative literacy is still low. Writers are treated as typists of other people’s ideas, rather than professionals with a specific set of skills, gained over many years of living and breathing stories. In fairness, this is a two-way street, and writers themselves need to be more proactive about the best way to utilize their skills and experience. They need to be prepared to fight for the space and agency they need to do their job.

I think the Emily Windsnap series, written by Liz Kessler and beautifully illustrated by Sarah Gibb, will be my next ink on paper book purchase. It comes highly recommended by a children's librarian friend, so it has to be good!

Marie Brennan has an interesting post up on the SFnovelists.com Science Fiction and Fantasy Novelists blog about how just because history may not remember all the exceptional women doesn't mean they didn't exist.

When we talk about people like this — the exceptions to the rule — we aren’t scrounging through the dust-bin, trying desperately to find tokens we can hold up as a sop for women and minorities. We’re taking off the filters that make us dismiss those people as tokens.

I could not help but laugh very much out loud while reading Amanda LaPergola's review of Prometheus and Snow White and the Huntsman. I saw them both on the same night as well, and while I thought about blogging my review, I decided I really didn't want to. Her review pretty much sums up my thoughts on both movies.

While I know I still owe you all a more comprehensive review of Brave, please accept this post about the interactive comic instead.

Speaking of Brave, Ms. Magazine says, "If you like Brave, you'll love Korra." OK, then. I'll have to check it out.

The Frisky quotes Geena Davis on how we're not done creating gender equality:

If we’re not showing boys and girls that they share the sandbox equally when they are young, that girls have the same value as boys, then it’s never going to change.

BetaBeat has super slideshow on the tales of eight young women who learned computer science in high school.

OMG OMG OMG! Her Universe is adding lots and lots of new shirts (Star Trek, Dr. Who, and so much more! to their line up! Including this Uhura tee:

I've been reading a lot of posts over on Women Talk Sports, what with the Olympics coming up and all. This one about Emily Geraghty, an Irish Karate champion, was quite inspirational.

Conversely, this article on BuzzFeed about how Sarah Robles, the likely gold-medal champion and strongest women in America, lives in poverty because she isn't getting the same level of endorsements other more conventionally attractive female athletes receive.

I have been watching lots of TV over the last month or so. And while I may not be writing about it all, I'm certainly doing a lot of critiquing in my head. Which is why this Racialicious post about how criticizing a women-centric show's lack of diversity isn't the same thing as women-hate. Hear hear!


What are you reading/blogging/posting these days?

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SRPS Movie Night - Brave (no spoilers)

I really wanted to see this on opening day, but we had a party on Saturday and needed to spend Friday night cleaning up. So, we saw it on Sunday. And immediately after the closing credits, I was already making plans to see it again.

Before seeing it, I heard from lots of people, It's not what you think it's going to be. I think what they meant was it's not your typical princess movie. Which is interesting to me. Who was going into this thinking it was a Disney Princess Movie™?

I mean, isn't the poster a dead giveaway? She's holding a bow and is getting ready to shoot an arrow. Plus, if you've seen any of the previews, it's pretty clear this is an adventure for Merida. What kind of adventure may not have been obvious, but it's certainly NOT about finding her prince.

I don't want to spoiler this movie for anyone. I do plan to write another review in a week or so, once I've had a chance to see it again at least once. There's a lot for me to process in this film. The story is great. It's exciting. It never felt manipulative or predictable. It might be a bit scary for younger children. And there's a couple of problematic things that I'm ruminating on. But, on the whole, this is an excellent film.

And one well worth seeing at the theater. The scenery alone is worth the trip. It's beautifully rendered. Amazingly framed. We saw it in 3D, which isn't my favorite. I want to see it again in regular old 2D. 3D was a bit dark, and a bit blurry for my weak eyes.

And the best part? Seeing SO MANY girls in the theater, excited to see the film. We sat next to two girls about 6 years old, both there with their dads. It was super sweet. It made me think of myself as a 6 year old, looking to see myself in the movies I watched. I'm so happy these girls got a chance to see a brave young princess being her true self, fighting for control over her own destiny.

Please go see it. Please please please vote with your time and your dollars for more movies like this. Please.

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SRPS - Blog Around

King Golden Hair by Barbara Stefan

In my most favorite class this semester, we spent a lot of time discussing stories communities tell about themselves and how that can be directly tied to their beliefs. We read several texts, and we were asked each time to not only talk about the story itself, but the reason the author chose that particular story, how it reflects his/her own purposes, and what was left out, and how that also reveals his/her purposes.

I was reminded of this lesson in media literacy when I saw this blog post by Maria Tatar in The New Yorker, about other articles celebrating newly discovered, unpublished folk stories curated by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth, and seemingly left out of the infamous Grimm Fairytale collection. As it turns out, these stories have been recorded, and exist in libraries today. But I'm curious to know why these stories were not included the Brothers Grimm collection, and why they fell out of common usage? And what does that say about them and their beliefs?

Even more importantly, the Brothers Grimm, who were responsible for establishing the folklore canon we have today in Anglo-American cultures, may have been wary of telling stories of persecuted boys, having suffered much in their own early lives. It is no accident that we refer these days to Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm almost as if they were a couple. The brothers lost their father at a young age and worked hard to educate themselves and to keep their fragile family intact. They studied law together and worked side by side for decades, taking notes, copying manuscripts, editing texts, and famously creating index card entries for their monumental dictionary of the German language. Is it any surprise that they might have found tales about quarreling brothers or male-sibling rivals less than congenial?

While they may not be ancient folktales passed down over generations, these drawings by koralie have a magical fairytale aspect

I am terribly sorry that I neglected to blog about Wollstonecraft, the fantastic kickstarter project for a series of pro-girl, pro-math, pro-science, pro-awesomeness novels for young women. But, it looks like enough of you saw it anyway, since they more than met their goal!

For Women's History Month, I wrote a three part series about Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to earn a medical degree in the United States. Recently, the Georgian Gentleman wrote about Dr. James Barry, who rose to the rank of Inspector General of Hospitals in Great Britain, after serving in the British Army medical corps. Only he was a she. And her secret went with her to her grave.

Dr Barry was a fiery and bombastic red-head who had a reputation for being prickly: frequently taunted for being effeminate and for having a high pitched voice Barry responded with angry outbursts. She compensated for her lack of stature (she was five foot tall in her stocking-ed feet) by wearing three inch risers in her shoes, and wore over-sized clothing. Anyone getting too personal in their remarks was likely to be challenged to a duel – reportedly she fought on several occasions and is believed to have been injured in one and reportedly shot an opponent in another. Unbelievably, the dashing young doctor even nurtured a reputation as a ladies’ man – perhaps to deflect attention.

It's a couple of years old, but this clip of Snow White offering advice to young girls tickled my humor bone after my recent review of Mirror Mirror.

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SRPS Movie Night - Mirror Mirror

I saw Mirror Mirror this weekend. Here's where I admit that I didn't do my usual research before agreeing to see it. Sadly, because I haven't really been paying much attention to new movies coming out, I think I mixed this up with Snow White and the Huntsman. (Why is it that there are so often two very similar movies out at the same time?) Of course, within 30 seconds, upon the first few notes of this movie, I was aware of the mistake. My expectations dropped precipitously with the opening credits, but decided to stay and see it through. And, frankly, the idea of seeing Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen (does she even have a real name in the story?) was intriguing.

While I can't honestly say I like the movie, there are entertaining scenes, and the re-telling is interesting. The cute jokes here and there, and the stunningly beautiful costumes, go a fair way to making the film watchable. And, as expected, Julia Roberts is great. I can tell she really relished her role as the evil step-mother. And she plays it perfectly.

Nathan Lane is the consummate sycophant. He's charming and obsequious, and yet a little devious. I'm sad that they couldn't find more opportunities for him to adlib and show off his awesomeness. He gets some funny lines, and has plenty of screen time. But it also feels like they have a leash on him.

Lily Collins is adorable as Snow White. And Armie Hammer (Is that a real name? Really?) is super cute as Prince What's-his-name. Honestly, I didn't have a problem with any of the actors. They were all well-cast and did their best considering what they were given to work with.

I didn't have terribly high hopes for the story. I knew the caliber of this movie in the first few minutes, or at least what it as aiming for, and I revised my expectations accordingly. The art style of the introduction was interesting. It certainly set the artistic tone for the movie, which I kinda enjoyed. Very colorful and stylized, with puppets (or, more accurately, marionettes) telling the story leading up to where we enter. A nice touch, and appropriate since similar puppets make an appearance later in the story.

I was instantly enthralled by the mirror imagery -- how she is not just looking into the mirror, but transported to the place where her magic resides. Brilliant! What is this place? Is it her subconscious? The place where her true power lies? Or some other being to whom she is somehow connected?

But they left the parts of the story I truly dislike -- the worst parts of the story in the first place, in my opinion. Why is the Evil Queen so intent on remaining in power? Why is it important for her to remain the "fairest of them all?"Why go through all the trouble of creating a new telling and not modernizing the motives? How is this any different from Tangled? Or pretty much any other fairy tale, for that matter? Why can't we move past this trope of the evil witch/woman/queen who feeds on youth and beauty? Are we still so hung up on being beautiful as our only source of female power? What a terrible missed opportunity for bringing new life to an old tale.

I mean, the dwarfs (dwarves?) get a total and complete make-over. No longer are they Happy-go-Lucky (see what I did there?) miners who sing on their way to work. No, now they're rough and tough bandits, with new names. And a back story that explains how they came to be who they are, doing what they do. Why couldn't they come up with a decent back story for the queen? Or is she just evil? Is it all about beauty vs. ugly? The dwarfs' backstory indicated that they were ostracized because they were "uglies."

Plus, there were a whole litany of highly problematic jokes in the script, so many I can't even remember them all. The jokes that stand out in my memory include a rape joke by Nathan Lane's character, who had been turned into a cockroach and then "taken advantage of" by a grasshopper. Yuck. It wasn't even a funny joke. Just a one-liner stuck in to illustrate his further humiliation after having been turned into a roach as a form of punishment. And a dwarf crawling under a lady's skirts and snickering at her butt. Sigh.

While I have to admit I appreciate the self-rescuing princess line in the film, and the scenes of the princess training to join the dwarfs as a bandit, by that point it wasn't enough to redeem the film in my mind. While she's fighting with the prince, he spanks her with his sword. Several times. That just doesn't even... I don't... what? Is that supposed to be cute? It feels creepy.

It feels like they tried to take the original Snow White tale and turn it into a story about a princess who finds her own power, which would have been grat. But they never sold me on the fact that she actually found it. Sure, she fights some, and stages a rescue of the prince. And even rescues her father and beats the queen. But it never really feels like she is truly powerful. She's just no longer the caged up weakling she was before.

And, of course, in the end she marries the prince and they live happily ever after. Which, I guess, is what she wanted all along -- to be married to the prince. And to have her father back. I'm not saying it's a terrible movie, just that it left me feeling more disappointed than entertained. If they were trying for a movie about a princess who escapes the clutches of the evil witch and helps the prince to save the kingdom, they should have done that, although I think Tangled did it better. If they wanted a movie that showed the evil witch in all her glory... well, I suspect that might be what we see a bit more of later this summer.

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