Happy Patriarchymas!

[thunderboltsandlightning]

I know, I know - but this is the feminist section and christmas is about celebrating the birth of the son of god, with women's spirituality and power completely written out of the story. It's the classic patriarchal mindfuck for women. Even Santa's a man, but who does most of the present-buying and wrapping?

Then there's the fact that christmas is all about women doing most of the work, with men enjoying the benefits.

Each year I find it a little more difficult to have to go through it all. Once you've seen what it's about, it gets harder to ignore the brainwashing.

Hope everybody has a happy peaceful time, whatever you are celebrating.

When you look further back than christianity you'll find a mid winter festival that celebrates the great Mother Goddess who births the sun god and brings forth the 'lost' light and warmth.
It is absolutely about the feminine principal.

As a pagan, Yule is one of my favourite festivals as it celebrates the life giving nature of women.

The romans moved yule to the 25th from 21st to coincide with an emperor's birthday (trying to deify him to the people)
When you read about the constellations mentioned in the bible that coincide with christ's birth you will see that the birth was in summer, late july.
The church moved it to counter the very strong pagan traditons within europe.
It's all about men wanting supremacy.
They only have it if we let them!

Yuletide felicitations to all.

I went to church last night as DP is a Christian of the left wing pro women pro gay variety. Mary was mentioned as being a Virgin three times, coz that what important eh...

Tim minchin sums up Christmas for me in his song 'white wine in the sun'

Not to mention rude SGM! Do feminists not count in your "let's not be cunts to each other" drive BluddyMoFo?

Go Chandon Go! Do it!!!!!

Xmas here is going well - DD1 is happily crafting a feminist fairy sticker jewellery box

DD2 is eating chocolate money and doing play-doh with some measuring spoons. Earlier she shat on the rug (nappy malfunction) so that was festive! Maybe it was a comment on the patriarchal nature of the day?

i am very very lucky that i grew up without any of the cultural baggage that most women seem to have (due yo a variety of fairly noninteresting circunstances)

such that whilst life involves the usual wifework bullhockey, it does not increase exponentially at xmas or at any other festival

having said that, i don't know how anyone doesn't see the massive pressure to have the perfect xmas, 'do it for the kids!', or know who is responsible for facilitating happy xmas memories

guff-ola, and the sooner we get rid of it the better

happy feministmas i am going to celebrate by downloading something tasty and feminist on to my new kindle (thx dh) -recommendations much appreciated

happy patriarchymas :)

am doing quite well on the book front so far - all women authors! germaine greer, dawn french, tina fey and jennifer crusie (i do like a laugh - am not sure greer's will be a laugh a minute though...).

Happy Patriarchymas!

One of the benefits of being a feminist atheist is that DH has done all the veg and gone to church, and I am on the sofa with a bag of chocolate coins and a sherry.

If you believe it or not does not change that for a great number of Christians Christmas is about the birth of Jesus by an incredibly inspiring woman. In my tradition Mother Mary is celebrated for being powerful in her vocation of mother of God. She was asked and she said yes. She is incredible in her strength despite all awful things the world was throwing at her in having to travel, the inn debacle...what ARE you on about?! She's refereed to as a virgin to confirm her as without a doubt expecting the son of God. Not any other reason...
Woman's strength and personal spirituality is celebrated very strongly in my experience.
In fact that has helped inspire me in my career and as a mother.

Happy Patriarchymas!

Happy patriarchymass! I went to my first nativity with a highly attuned sense of feminist awareness yesterday. Fuck me the misogyny was coming thick and fast.

A Yule reclamation sounds just the job

Have a good day one and all!

Ps I referred to a gender less penguin as a she earlier. My fil said 'oh is it a lady penguin'. 'well I can't tell it's gender' I replied

Merry Women's Greetings, one and all! (lurker here)

I listed to Carol's at Kings yesterday, and while the singing was lovely, the bible readings were a bit of a shocker - I didn't remember that it started with Adam and Eve.

"Then there's the fact that christmas is all about women doing most of the work, with men enjoying the benefits."

I don't know, men probably pay for most of it.

Happy, "lets whine and be a martyr and miserable bastard day".

This thread is utter bollocks in so many ways I can not care to mention.

Life is what you make it, as is what you choose to believe in and how you interprete it. Its 2011.

God forbid DH made christmas din dins after I prepared half of it. He wrapped his fair share. He even went to the in-laws without me cos I could face pregnantzilla and MIL.

As for spirituality, well... even the Church is moving on these days, even if slowly. You do have a choice in how much you choose to believe in. Organised religion isn't for everyone and there are all sorts of different Christian Churches with a different angle on the same thing. You are not obliged to stick with the one...

Threads like this are everything I hate about feminism.

Flame me back. I don't care. I can't bear this kind of shit. There is still stuff that feminism could help with. Christmas ain't one of them.

Bah-fucking-humbug to everyone who thinks differently.

I'm here to redress the balance. We've had a couple of anti-women posts and I'm very much pro-women.

I have pretty much either played with the dc or sat on a very comy chair with people handing me wine all day.

Luckily I was brought up in a family that likes and values women. I'm hoping that means my dd can avoid the type of people who take the time to criticise women on a feminism thread.

That should probably be 'type of person' (I blame the aforementioned wine).