Friday, July 22, 2011

If You're Not Angry

Ani DiFranco sang, "If you're not angry, then you're just stupid or you don't care." Almost twenty years ago, as a freshly minted college sex-positive feminist, I was angry. I wanted to change things. Then somehow, that anger faded. I'm not sure if it was the tempering effect of age, the anti-depressants, or the fact that I had other things to worry about, like keeping a roof over my head, taking care of my partner, and figuring out what I wanted to do with my life now that I was a fully formed college graduate.

Likewise, I'm not sure what has happened lately (midlife crisis?) but that feeling is coming back. The feeling that I have to do something about at least one of the many things that are fucked up about the world. Maybe it comes from finally being in a place of comfort and stability. Home life, work life, and social life are all more or less humming along. Now what? I climb the corporate ladder? Yawn. Have kids? Eh. Remember what I was so passionate about back in the day, and try to do something about it now that I'm not freaking out about everything else? Maybe!

A big part of what I am so passionate about, it turns out, is sexuality and sexual empowerment. I used to want to be a sex educator, but I suck at public speaking and I blush when I talk about sex. I'm sure there are other ways I can contribute to creating a more sexually enlightened world, especially in this age of Internets. Maybe I need to join the Toastmasters or something, but I'm just imagining giving impromptu speeches about fisting or whatever in front of a bunch of vanilla folks. Then again, I did write a paper on lesbian porn for my Feminism and Biology independent study, so I guess it's not out of the question.

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