Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

Bringing this back 12 years later

What does it mean when a blog has gone silent for 12 years and suddenly comes back to life? It probably means an academic is trying to work through some writing and projects. I'm trying my hardest to not hide the older posts - I just finished grad school for the first time and trying to use writing to parse through all of the new things I was learning about. 

I'm hoping to use this space for a few projects, the main one will most likely be cultural commentary - specifically through the lens of intersectional feminism with a strong anti-racist leaning. I'm all over the place with my interests currently. I'll probably cover topics like pop culture, politics, environmental racism and climate change, and maybe some reviews or reflections of books I'm currently reading. I don't know where this will go or if I'll be able to maintain it, but here we go!

Sunday, March 14, 2010

femivore?

do i have to add this to the ever growing list of made up phrases that are used to describe me?
according to this recently posted article on NYTimes: "Femivorism is grounded in the very principles of self-sufficiency, autonomy and personal fulfillment that drove women into the work force in the first place."
the article goes on to describe the way that i feel i have been trying to steer my life:
Given how conscious (not to say obsessive) everyone has become about the source of their food — who these days can’t wax poetic about compost? — it also confers instant legitimacy. Rather than embodying the limits of one movement, femivores expand those of another: feeding their families clean, flavorful food; reducing their carbon footprints; producing sustainably instead of consuming rampantly. What could be more vital, more gratifying, more morally defensible?

i hate that this article, and honestly, the whole idea of femivorism, is so tied up in the women's lib movement. first women were stuck at home, then we were allowed to go work (and most women strongly embraced working outside of the home), more recently feminists have argued over the decision to be a stay at home mom.
i have no desire to be a stay at home mom, but i would love to essentially run a small farm (when i say farm, i mean turn my regular sized back yard/front yard into all producing plants including fruit trees/bushes, and maybe chickens and/or goats) as well as continue to work outside the home. i realize i may be falling prey to that other feminist problem of "having it all," but most of that farming stuff is so far in the future, i am not even worried about it. since most of my femivore dreams can't come true yet, i just try to grow as much of my own food as i can from my community garden plot, get a larger portion of my food directly from farms, and supplement the rest of organic/locally produced items.
to many people, the ideas of independence and self-sufficiency seem like a step backwards in modernity. i don't agree with this, this new idea of modernity is made with a full understanding (and mostly appreciation) of technology and it's impact on the world. it is not a complete rejection of technology or civilization (these would be steps backwards), instead it is a broader viewing of the world, it's people, and how we effect nature.

Monday, August 3, 2009

first tomato




first tomato from my garden. yummmmm.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

when i'm rich someday

love this house.




someday:
i will have a house built for me. it will ecofriendly (read- self sustaining, reusing materials, and have low energy needs). it will be modern. it will have a lot of land, light, and perhaps it will not be huge (because that is unnecessary). my dream house *sigh*

Monday, July 13, 2009

video!

took this from my sister's blog. what a great little informative video!

Friday, June 26, 2009

good things going on

i am going to help build a community garden tomorrow. recently, with the cooperation of a few groups, namely the Rogers Park Garden Group paired with the remainder of the Saving Sophia Garden group and Chicago Park District, the neighborhood was granted space within one of the small area parks to convert it to a community garden. through an easy application process and lottery system, i was pleased to find out i was awarded a spot. i have been so obsessed lately with immersing my self in a local food culture, between my own gardening endeavors, joining a CSA, scoping out local fruit trees for urban scavenging, and considering getting back into canning/preserving. i am very excited that all of these things were fairly easily accessible, especially the community garden. i think that there is getting to be more of a cultural push to be self sufficient again, which is right up my alley.

so, if you are interested, here is some suggested reading!
Can it All
Urban Fruit Foraging
Urban Gardening
great resource for chicagoans! the local beet

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

gardening

i am proud to be a member of this community!