What is FemUnity?
FemUnity is women's community. FemUnity is Sisterhood--you know, the hood where sisters hang out. Where is that hood? Well, it has been oppressed, depressed, suppressed, repressed, compressed and just generally pressed down into the smallest corners of our souls--but it is there! Most of us have no idea how "pressed" we are, and hard-pressed at that! Sisters are resilient. We are like that tender green shoot that finds its way up through concretized patriarchy--we are an unstoppable force because we are the very embodiment of the cosmos HerSelf. We are that. We hear spiritual teachings say "you are that". Yep, we are, only their "that" is usually male-defined, and male definitions do not fit Sisters in any way, shape, or form. That is why we are being called to create our FemUnities, like the village in Northern Kenya, called Umoja, meaning "unity" in Swhahili (see Where Women Rule-Kenya YouTube.com). These courageous women, recently under attack by local jealous and very scared men, have created a thriving FemUnity for over ten years, helping each other and saving young girls from sexual slavery called "marriage". These women are peaceful, creative, and self-sustaining. Why are these men compelled to inflict violence on them while the local authorities turn a blind eye? This kind of violence is perpetuated worldwide by men, and it continues. Why? Because it can. The stronger women become, creating our own space, the stronger communities will become. This does not mean that women must live apart from their male partners if they choose. What it does mean is that we do what the late, great, genius, biophilic feminist philosopher and theologian, Mary Daly, said--to separate from the separation created by patriarchy.
Many of us are confused about separation. People call women "separatists" if they don't want to live in a male-defined world. So, ok. What's wrong with that? What Mary said is that being a separatist is really about reclaiming what is real and authentic, refusing to collude in the separation and dualism upon which patriarchy is founded. In other words, it’s about choosing an authentic, cosmically connected, female-centered, originally aboriginal life over domination, separation, and necrophilia.
Food for thought!
