AGA Roll Call: Who Are the Sisters In (and Out of) Your Neighborhood?

I just got back from the coffeeshop here, and got a chance to talk to Jayne. Jayne's a workingclass, 60something, matriarchal, peacenik feminist who does a lot of work w/the local homeless population. Last year Jayne came to the annual Women Studies party, and tonight she and I reminisced about how wonderful it was that she boldly expressed her opinions to academic, upper-middle class feminists, really exposing them to some of their unexamined class prejudice that, even as feminists, they didn't want to discuss. Jayne is a revelation and a national treasure.

And I was thinking how great it would be for all of you bloggers to take a minute and try to find a woman whose life you feel is totally different than your own, and write about how this is so. Now, it may be hard to do this in real life, so think about women and girls in the movies, tv shows, or in books that you're familiar with. Maybe she's from another country, or another class, or another agegroup- but somehow you feel that she's 180-degrees different from yourself.

Once you've chosen your character, try to find out some actual facts about her circumstances (even if she's a fictional character). Look online for information about where she's from (country or region), her religion, her social class, the era in which she lived, anything, and consider how her difference from you is a result of her situation. How realistic does the character's portrayal appear to be, after you've done your research?

As you write:
- try to think about every aspect of this character- class, race, ethnicity, age, education, region, sexuality, everything
- which of these differences seem to you most significant when comparing her to yourself?
- are these differences fundamental (ie, 'she grew up in Iran and I didn't') or temporary (age?)
- if you research demonstrates that the film or book (or tv show) left out elements of the character's culture, can you think of a reason why the writers or directors may have done so?

Tag your post with "AGA Roll Call: Who Are the Sisters In (and Out) Of Your Neighborhood," or, if you're a reader here, leave a letter at the All Girl Army forums, or a link to your letter at your own blog or journal in the comments here.

Click here to read all entries for this Roll Call. here to read all entries for this Roll Call.