real women have....

Yes, I know. The expected subsequent word is "curves," and I was going to post about having an appointment tomorrow morning to sign up at "Curves for Women" so that I can get myself on an exercise program.

But that was before I checked over at a blog from Saudi Arabia written by an American woman who lives there. If you haven't found Sand Gets In My Eyes yet, you're missing out not only on some excellent writing, but even more important, on a perspective on that country that is both honest and personal.

Her post Is Phyllis Chesler Right? is infuriating because it's so honest, so correct (although not politically), and links over to an even more infuriating article in the Times Online by Chesler entitled How My Eyes Were Opened to the Barbarity of Islam.

Now, I have been a fan of Chesler since I read Women and Madness at a time in my life when I was both mad/angry and wondering if I were going mad/crazy. That book helped to launch me into the heart of feminism.

Just as I can't understand how savvy, smart women can tolerate the demeaning attitude toward them from the Catholic and other "Christian" churces, I have never been able to understand how anyone with an ounce of humanity in them keep finding excuses for the way women are treated in so many of the Islam-based cultures. I find it infuriating.

And so do Lori of Sand in My Eyes and Chesler of the long list of
publications challenging women to stand up and men to wake up.

I'm not going to quote from either of them here because both of their pieces (see third paragraph above for links) should be read whole.

I continue not to understand why the most "religious" people totally ignore the Golden Rule.

[cross-posted at Kalilily Time]

Melbourne's One Day Mini Conference is a week away

We are in the final stages of putting together the biggest mini conference in Brevard County - Five dynamic speakers will give presentations and let you into their worlds. These people are scribblers,biographers, novelists, essayists, bards, poets, columnists, journalists, writers, authors, editors, and publishers - some are a little bit of each, while others specialize in one or two areas - but they are all writers. And each one is preparing to share with you, his or her unique knowledge of the writing industry, and how it can impact your life in a personal way.

Our team of volunteers have been working diligently to provide a fantastic experience for you, on the beach! We'll have a delicious lunch, snacks, and some tremendous goodie bags as well as door prizes and some amazing and amusing surprises.

This is a one day conference, you won't want to miss. If you haven't yet registered, you'll want to print out the form below and mail it in quickly.

If you have any questions, please email writermary@gmail.com

Carnival Linkage

There are more carnivals than you can shake a stick at around the blogosphere, but I think the following will be worth the reading time of this blog's visitors. Scientiae Carnival #1 is over at Rants of a Feminist Engineer. It's a compilation of some thought-provoking posts on women in science and engineering.