Gl@dys Dit...

Alexia Perimony discusses I am an emotional creature by Eve Ensler

A few months ago, I've got a chance to meet with a strong, smart and beautiful woman. We've quickly realized that we shared a common passion: fighting to enable women and men to live their differences and benefit from equal rights. Alexia Perimony is a feminist and the Agent of a brillant play written by Author Eve Ensler, I am an emotional creature. As a feminist, she uses her talents to spread humanitarian messages written by thoughtful writers. Thanks to her, those messages can be heard by all.

Don't wait until it is too late! Turn your TV off and open your mind...

 

Once in a while, you get to open a book that will change the perception you have on almost anything. You discover that those lines have opened a closed door. Those words are changing the way you perceive your condition as a woman and as a human being. Then, you decide to ACT. You have no other choice.

 

Suddenly ACTING has a meaning. Activist Eve Ensler uses acting as a tool to empower women, girls but also men and boys (they are hitten by the rebound). Eve has this ability to share our stories and true feelings with so much grace. Indeed, each time you believe that the experience she is talking about may be yours or the one of someone you know... Each time you feel her words as if they were yours, you understand that you're not alone. It may sound like a little thing you've secretely tried to protect, hoping that no one will ever realize what you're going through. But remember, you're not alone. You're in good company now.

 

This week, in Paris, you have a few more days to discover the play I Am An Emotional Creature written by Eve Ensler author of the Vagina Monologues.

_

 

Josh Waitzkin "You don't need to be an expert in strategy to see that violence begets violence." (interview part 5/5)

 

From space, earth probably look like a chess board, humans fight over lands, natural resources,... Jimmy Hendrix once said that "when the power of love will overcome the love of power, then the world will know peace", what's your take, as an expert in strategy, on the state of the world today ? What do you read in the actions of the people in power ?


I think humanity is ripping itself and the world apart. We are destroying our environment, we are madly fixated on the short term accumulation of wealth, we are insanely short sighted in the use of violence, we vote morons into the presidency and then wonder why everything is going out of control. It breaks my heart. You don't need to be an expert in strategy to see that violence begets violence, that mad consumption leads to barrenness. I think what Jimmy said is beautiful and deeply true. But the problem doesn't begin at the top, the problem begins with the apathy of the people. Americans need to weep, really weep for those suffering in Africa. Every bomb dropped on an Afghani child should make mothers in Kansas shudder to the bone. Then we can start putting things back together with presence to our shared humanity.

If you want to know more about Josh's story, you can also read others related articles:
PART 1 - Josh Waitzkin "We have to embrace fatigue, pain, discomfort, tension, pressure as the richest soil for growth"

PART 2 - Josh Waitzkin "When you dig deep the walls fall down"

PART 3 -Josh Waitzkin: "I don't really know what boring means to be honest, other than being sick of yourself"

Josh Waitzkin, American chess player "I think that many young people are getting hooked on superficial goals." (interview part 4/5)

How were you first approached by the Hip-Hop Chess Federation ? What do you think about their project?

Adisa Banjoko emailed me on my website. When we spoke he seemed like a genuine spirit out to do good things in the world. And I loved the premise of the HHCF. Empowering kids by breaking down walls. Teaching learning through interconnectedness. Inspiring people to search out our thematic links instead of getting bogged down in superficial differences. Our world is tearing itself apart and this kind of loving dialogue is desperately needed. I'm proud to be a part of the HHCF.

What have you learned being in around the Hip-Hop community?

I am learning more and more about the core. These guys like RZA, Monk, Casual, they are intense, they care deeply, they put themselves on the line as a way of life, which I respect hugely. And, from what I see, they speak from the gut. It is always real. They are not bogged down in nonsense. RZA in particular is a very intense spiritual being. He operates on a plane of deep connectedness. Every word has meaning that springs from the center of his being.

I remember you saying at the HHCF event in May, after D'Lamont Robinson said that chess was teaching his student, that sometimes they have to do things that they may not want to do. And it is easily understandable that in life sometimes, we face situations that we can't control and we have to deal with it, even though we don't want to... That being said, you made the statement that one must learn how to want to do what one has to do. Can you elaborate on this ?

D'Lamont is a great teacher. He uses chess to teach life, and I have tremendous respect for the man. I think that many young people are getting hooked on superficial goals. They want cars, gold chains, fancy shoes, money, stuff. It is a race for the external, what Lao Tzu would call The Ten Thousand Things. But if the hunger is for something deeper—for internal growth, for inner peace, for a deeper sense of compassion, for continued learning, then the healthy decisions will not be so tortured—they will be natural.

If you want to know more about Josh's story, you can also read others related articles:
PART 1 - Josh Waitzkin "We have to embrace fatigue, pain, discomfort, tension, pressure as the richest soil for growth"

PART 2 - Josh Waitzkin "When you dig deep the walls fall down"

PART 3 - Josh Waitzkin "I don't really know what boring means to be honest, other than being sick of yourself"

Josh Waitzkin, American chess player: "I don't really know what boring means to be honest, other than being sick of yourself"

Third part of my interview with Josh Waitzkin, 8-time American Chess Champion and Two-time Tai Chi Chuan Push Hands World Champion. Learning is not a boring exercice but a way of life that anyone should practice.

 

By reading your book, I realized that we can apply the principles you exposed in our everyday lives. Learning, the way you do, seems to be a way of living more than a boring exercise. Am I right? And Why?
Absolutely. My vision of the learning process is to connect all moments, to enjoy the hidden subtleties of the "mundane" by plunging deeply into everything I do. I learn the macro through the micro. Waiting around for life's climactic moments is letting life pass you by. Learning to me is the furthest thing from boring. It is what lights me up. I don't really know what boring means to be honest, other than being sick of yourself. People who are bored should read Jack Kerouac. It is a beautiful thing how he draws such wisdom, such meaning and insight, from the smallest moments.


You went from being a Chess Champion to a Tai Chi Chuan Champion, what's the next thing you want to be a champion of ?
After winning the 2004 Push Hands Worlds, I needed to be a beginner again, and since then I've been training exclusively in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I'm in the middle of my 3rd mountain right now, and am aiming for the 2010 and 2011 Mundials.


Did you feel the same before entering a chess game tournament, as you feel before a martial arts fight? Is your mental preparation the same ?
It is similar, although I got better at it in the martial arts. I learned how to deal with chaos more effectively (for example dirty players, bad conditions, etc), and I learned how to condense my routines down into a trigger. But the lessons learned in chess have been the foundation for my growth.

 

If you want to know more about Josh's story, you can also read others related articles:
PART 1 - Josh Waitzkin "We have to embrace fatigue, pain, discomfort, tension, pressure as the richest soil for growth"

PART 2 - Josh Waitzkin "When you dig deep the walls fall down"

 

Josh Waitzkin, American chess player "When you dig deep the walls fall down." (interview part 2/5)

    Josh went on to draw this game in a simul with World Champ Garry Kasparov. (Source: Joshua Waitzkin's website)

Second part of my interview with Josh Waitzkin, American chess player. (You can find the first part, entitled Josh Waitzkin "We have to embrace fatigue, pain, discomfort, tension, pressure as the richest soil for growth" here.)

You met different worlds when studying, playing chess or martial art. Did you have the feeling that you kept crossing social barriers? Did these worlds and their values help you grow?
Of course. I think people get caught up in false constructs. They act as though the different components of their lives have no connection. To most, chess and the martial arts seem completely different—one physical, one mental. But to me they are essentially the same. Once you get past the physical conditioning, the technical outer layers, you have the same flow, the same principles, the same experience of human beings pushed to their outer limits and overcoming. These arts have helped me cross social barriers, intellectual barriers, artistic barriers. Some of my most interesting dialogues have come with musicians, psychologists, golfers, football players, architects, investors, people who have reached a high level of Quality in their fields and are able to speak a language that transcends their art. This is how RZA and I connect. He is a deep man. A true searcher. We have lived very different lives but we speak the same essential language. To be honest, I connect with his mind much more easily and deeply than I connect to 99% of all the chess players or martial artists that I have known. When you dig deep the walls fall down.


You had to face other people's pressure (because of the Movie, Searching for Bobby Fischer, your dad and coaches' expectations). All of us can experience different kinds of pressure (social, family or even ourselves' pressure). How can we deal with it? Do you think that without the celebrity pressure, you would have kept playing chess?
Maybe I would have. I certainly would have played for longer than I did. When I hit my crisis towards the end of my chess career there were two major components. On one side I was playing to live up to other people's expectations instead of playing for my love of the game. And the other factor was that I was being pushed by a coach into playing chess in the opposite style from my nature. I wrote about this very deeply in my book. I became disconnected from my natural voice, and this loss of an inner compass made it even more difficult for me to navigate the external pressures. I think dealing with pressure, we must be true to ourselves. We need to listen to our intuition, trust our gut, so we stay in touch with out inner compass. And we need to stay present to the richness of the little moments of the process, so that we don't get fixated on results.

 

Related ressources:

• The Art of Learning: A Journey in the Pursuit of Excellence by Josh Waitzkin (2007)
• Searching for Bobby Fischer, Directed by Steven Zaillian (1993)

Gl@dys dit... Etre femme au XXème siècle*

 A l’occasion de la sortie de Le Conflit : la femme et la mère (février 2010), Pote à Pote  a souhaité mieux comprendre ce qui pousse Elisabeth Badinter à tirer la sonnette d’alarme. Dans son ouvrage, l’auteur souligne les pressions dont sont victimes les femmes. Condamnées à la perfection, elles devraient exceller en tant que femmes, épouses et mères.

 

Etre une bonne mère « indigne ». Pour Elisabeth Badinter l’idéologie naturaliste gagne du terrain. Dans la ligne de mire : la chimie, qui se matérialise sous de multiples formes : pilule, couches jetables, petits pots ou encore lait en poudre. Pour les féminismes naturalistes, l’allaitement est au cœur de la relation mère-enfant. « Allaiter, aide à être une bonne mère » indique Claude Didierjean, ex présidente de la Leche League (LLL), association pour le soutien à l'allaitement maternel. Selon la militante pro allaitement, la tété, surtout pratiquée au sein des catégories socioprofessionnelles supérieures, permettrait de répondre aux besoins fondamentaux de l’enfant. Pourtant cet acte serait de plus en plus souvent imposé. « Quand tu ne souhaites pas allaiter, on te culpabilise, même au sein des maternités» explique Flora Labourier, militante féministe. Pourtant Flora tout juste mère a choisi d’allaiter, mais un mois seulement. « Je veux pouvoir boire un verre de rosé si j’en ai envie » explique t-elle. Son objectif « être mère et femme à la fois » comme les nombreuses mamans qui s’autoproclament « indignes,» car la pression sociale pèse sur leurs épaules dès qu’elles choisissent de ne délaisser aucun aspect de leur vie. Cette pression pose la question du choix d’enfanter.

 

Etre ou ne pas être parents. Selon une étude TNS Sofres réalisée en mars 2009 pour Philosophie Magazine, à la question « Pourquoi fait-on des enfants ? », 60% des sondés répondent « un enfant rend la vie de tous les jours plus belle.» 47 % considèrent qu’il permet «de faire perdurer sa famille», 33 % qu'«un enfant donne de l'amour et permet d'être moins seul quand on vieillit». Elisabeth Badinter écrit « la plupart des parents ne savent pas pourquoi ils font des enfants. » Paradoxalement, les 9% de sondés qui ne souhaitent pas devenir parents doivent sans cesse se justifier. Dans une société où l’enfant est roi, la décision de ne pas enfanter n’est pas aisée à faire accepter.

 

Le plus grand pouvoir de l’être humain consiste à choisir sa destinée. En pensant la question du féminisme naturaliste, Elisabeth Badinter ouvre des pistes de réflexion. Pour autant, la question de la maternité se pose-t-elle de la même manière selon le niveau social ?

 

GD

*J'ai écrit ce texte pour le dernier Pote à Pote, publié en juin

 

 

 

Gl@dys Dit... Après Les Monologues du Vagin, la nouvelle oeuvre d'Eve Ensler

 

On reproche aux filles d’être trop émotives. On leur apprend à camoufler leurs sentiments derrière d’épaisses couches de vernis ou à déprécier leurs corps, alors qu’elles sont en pleine croissance.

14 ans après avoir écrit Les Monologues du Vagin, la militante féministe américaine, Eve Ensler, revient avec une œuvre destinée aux Hommes (avec un grand « H ») en général et aux adolescentes en particulier. I Am an Emotional Creature promet d’être le nouveau phénomène littéraire à mettre entre toutes les mains.

 

 I am an Emotional Creature, sorti le 9 février dernier aux Etats-Unis, est une série de monologues sur la période charnière qu’est l’adolescence pour les jeunes femmes. Basé sur ses observations, la dramaturge reprend la plume pour offrir une voix à ces filles rencontrées à travers le monde et dont le silence est (étrangement) le point commun. Eve Ensler a choisi de donner la parole aux filles qui seront les femmes de demain et qui vivent déjà les violences (physiques, sociales ou morales) au quotidien.

 

 

 

Quelques chiffres :

 

 

• En Inde, la naissance d’une fille est considérée comme une malédiction. Selon le recensement effectué en 2001, il manquait 36 millions de femmes tuées à la naissance ou ayant été laissé pour mortes en bas âge). 

• ·      L’OMS affirme qu’entre 100 et 140 millions de filles et de femmes vivent avec les séquelles de mutilations sexuelles dans le mode. L’organisme estime qu’en Afrique, « 92 millions de femmes et de jeunes filles ont subi, parfois dès l’âge de 10 ans, des mutilations sexuelles. »
• ·      En 2009 en RDC, 8000 cas de viols rapportés

 

 

En 1996, Eve Ensler lançait à la face du monde une œuvre qui allait devenir un plaidoyer pour le droit de la femme : Les Monologues du Vagin. Le vagin devenait alors le prétexte pour décortiquer notre intimité au plus juste, en évitant toutes formes de voyeurisme. Les thèmes de la sexualité, du viol, des menstruations, le rapport des femmes à leurs corps révélaient à la fois la douceur et la violence dont nous pouvons être les victimes. Objectif majeur : stopper les violences perpétrées envers les femmes, ou en tout cas en faire prendre conscience. Dans ce contexte, difficile de ne pas être touché et surtout concerné en lisant la pièce ou en y assistant (j’ai eu l’honneur de faire les deux). La pièce a été jouée dans plus de 130 pays et a permis de rapporter plus de 70 millions de dollars aux programmes antiviolence de son organisme V-Day, à travers le monde.

En France, le 25 novembre 2009, grâce au travail des associations, le Premier Ministre François Fillon annonçait officiellement la lutte contre les violences faites aux femmes grande cause nationale 2010. Selon les chiffres officiels, "en 2008, 156 femmes sont mortes sous les coups de leur conjoint. Au total, 675.000 femmes ont été victimes de violences lors des deux dernières années, soit de leur compagnon, soit d'un autre membre de la famille."

 

 

G.D.