Most days seem like the world is working itself into frantic hysteria. People on all sides are caving to mob mentality, hyper-sensitivity, extremism—if you believe everything on the internet. Yes, the conflict is real. And yes, there are places and communities where it's less prevalent; maybe there's lithium in the water there....
The downside to extremism is that it leaves little room for compassion or even conversation. Everyone yells so loudly that they only hear themselves. It's a narcissism that's typical today. Rather than shutting up and listening, really listening, we think we can sway someone from across the aisle if we just speak—or scream—loudly enough.
Actions speak louder than words. That's an odd phrase for a purveyor of words to use, but in essence what we do, how we behave, and our intentions carry far more weight than simply shouting ourselves into exhaustion.
Meanwhile, there's little doubt that things are shifting, and those who enjoy the servitude of women are trying to shakily regain control. And there's still an astonishing number of women who relinquish control of their lives to men all too easily. These are deeply engrained attitudes that you might not fully see or understand if you're under a certain age.
I know I've devoted too much time in my life to defending myself and propping myself up in the eyes of men around me—my friends and some of my family—so that I might be the "cool chick."
Now I simply don't give a fuck what any of them think; I'd rather lead by example. I'd rather dive into the world of women, and remember that being a human and treating others as human far outweighs anything I can say to point out how wrong everyone who doesn't agree with me is.
It's a powerful change in my life, one that sustains me daily. I'm tired of one-way conversations. I'm ready to be far more that just the cool chick who can hang with the "dudes."
Now more than ever we need to remember our humanity. Now more than ever we need to nourish the feminine; that's energy and sustenance for which the planet is starving. I think we've made great strides toward that with this issue.
I had multiple interviews with some incredible artists over the past few months:
April Hartford, photographer
Patti Littlefield, musician
Gigi Bella, slam poet
Also in this issue, Cuntism is proud to sponsor the return of the fabulous Lisa VanDyke Brown's Fabü column. Angela Lovell celebrates love, and the anonymous Sexy Slave has a few choice words for disrespectful bros.
xo,
Kristin Kurens
editor and publisher