Women and Physical Power
The following is taken from talks given by Teresa Enrico and Sparky Griego at an RC Women and Physical Power Webinar in January 2022.
Hello, dear women. Welcome to our women’s liberation event.
Welcome—powerful, strong, intelligent, beautiful, female humans. Welcome to you and your body. There are so many good things about you and that body you are in.
A very special welcome to our sisters from around the world. It is exciting to have you all here. There are two of these webinars, for which more than five hundred women from many countries have registered.
Whatever kind of female you are, we are glad you are here. Welcome, whether you are younger or older. With whatever physical abilities. No matter what your class background, race, or ethnicity is. Welcome, our beloved large women. Every woman, every girl, we want you here. You have a place with us on this female team we are building.
You get to think about yourself today. Please take care of your body and your mind. We’ll do twenty-minute language liberation and care-for-our-body breaks. Any time you need to turn away from the screen, get food or drink, or go to the bathroom, please do.
Women and physical power work is part of our larger women’s liberation program to end the sexism and male domination that have targeted us as females from conception on. Sexism is an ancient and vicious oppression in which our biology is used as the excuse to hurt and exploit us. And many of the hurts are directed at our bodies.
We are forced into second place. Putting ourselves first is a big contradiction to that and a slap in the face of sexism. Congratulations on getting here today. This is a space in which you can be connected to each other, work on your female body, and discharge on where sexism has hit you.
We are not trying to replicate in-person women and physical power workshops. But one way they are the same is that you brought your bodies with you today. I am glad you have that body. You get to use your body as you want. You can reclaim the joy in, the power of, and the connection to your body. You can celebrate all that your body has done and can do. You also get to heal from what you have survived.
Doing this will allow us to reclaim our minds while being completely in our bodies.
SEXISM AND MALE DOMINATION
Humanity depends on the existence of females. Every human started out inside of a female body. For all of us it was our original environment.
We were physically and intimately connected to our mothers through the placenta. Our two systems were operating as one. Any time you want to remember that physical connection, you can touch your belly button. Go ahead everybody—touch your belly button right now. You were that connected to someone, to another female human.
We were born into a world drenched in sexism and male domination. All of us who were born with a uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries were impacted. We were set up by society to be caretakers and reproduce the next generation. We were set up to reassure everyone. This has meant being available to men for sex. It has meant being available to society for being exploited, at home and in the labor market.
Caring, kindness, and thinking about other people (young, old, anyone) are very human. But our society exploits them in females. Patterns of caretaking, “niceness,” accommodation, and looking good are forced on us.
We also experience additional oppressions that multiply the impact of sexism. These include genocide, racism, enslavement, colonization, classism, and poverty. All oppression harms us not only emotionally but also physically. Our health is compromised. Our bodies are affected in big ways.
Sexism and male domination have never been about us as individual females or about any other female. There has never been anything wrong with us.
WINNING TOGETHER
We are part of a team. I’d like you to take away two words: me and we. I am me. And it’s great that I am me and also part of a we. You are who you are, and you are also part of all of us.
From the top to the bottom, from the inside out, from the beginning to the end of your life—you and everything about you are just right: your color, your looks, your size; everything is just right.
And we need each other. We have each gotten ourselves as far as we could on our own [by ourselves]. We each get to take on [undertake] the fight for ourselves, the fight for our bodies, and we get to join with other females to end sexism.
This is about everyone winning, together. It’s not about finding the right exercise or diet program. It’s about our connection to each other and fighting together for our health and well-being.
USING OUR BODIES
We are going to do one minute of movement together. Do what you want to do, and can do, and notice your body. This is for everyone on this call. Think about your body and what you can do.
There are two parts to this: (1) notice your body, and (2) notice that we’re a team and doing this together. We’ve taken these female bodies as far as we could all by ourselves. It’s going to be useful to do this together. We’re trying to create a team, many teams, in which to think about our bodies together.
If you want to and can, see if you can get your heart rate up. If you want to stretch, stretch. If what you can do is move one finger, then put your mind fully behind that one finger. If you can, stand up. Everyone, please make sure that we can see you on screen. You can run in place. You can do a push-up. You can do a jumping jack. Ready? Start!
(Movement, laughter, grunting, yelling)
Together we are building connections, we are interrupting the isolation. We are building a safe place in which we can be honest about how we have gotten hurt.
Isn’t it amazing that you have been in this body of yours for your whole life? It has gone everywhere with you. It has done so much for and with you. Everything you’ve ever experienced, you have experienced while being in this body.
In the next mini-session, tell your life story from the perspective of your body. You could start with the phrase, “I was born a girl with this body,” and see what comes up. Tell the story of your body. What was your body like and how did you move when you were six months, two years, ten years old? What comments did other people make about you and your body? Talk about anything that comes to mind. You might appreciate some part of your body that you like or can notice.
(Mini session)
Now we’re going to have another activity. As little girls, many of us were told that we needed to be quiet, contained, and in the background. Others of us got to be loud and bigger. Maybe we played sports, and that brought another kind of attention—people may have insinuated that we were not the right kind of girl. It is useful to discharge on all of this.
Even though we are showing on a two-dimensional screen, we are not two-dimensional; we are three-dimensional and alive. The other humans on the screen are also three-dimensional and alive. Our minds can still connect in a live way. As both client and counselor, we can use our three-dimensional body as part of our sessions.
I’m going to ask you to step out of your comfort zone and make a sound and movement with your body that are not quiet or contained. This is to remind you that you have a body and that you are in charge of it. Doing this with another woman, or a group of women, can be a huge contradiction [to distress].
TALKING ABOUT OUR BODIES AND HEALTH
We can talk with each other about anything concerning our body and our health. Here are a few ideas:
- What is good about and going well with your body?
- Have you sacrificed yourself or your body for something or someone?
- What is hard for you about your health and well-being?
* Are you having physical struggles? Have you had a health crisis?
* When was the last time you saw a doctor?
* Do you have a hard time moving your body regularly? Do you exercise too much? Is your main exercise goal to be thin?
* Do you have struggles with eating or sleeping?
* Have you had struggles with cancer, osteoporosis, diabetes, heart disease, or COVID?
- Do you use birth control? Do you have unprotected sex? Have you had an abortion or a miscarriage or been pregnant?
- What are your relationships like? Some of us have been in unhealthy relationships that may have included being physically harmed.
- Do you have unhealed injuries?
- Have you experienced sexual exploitation or harassment that you’ve never told anyone about?
- You might consider telling someone that thing you particularly don’t want to tell anyone about.
I want you to have at least one person you can talk to about everything related to your body and your health. Build relationships with the women around you. Do three-way sessions, get health buddies. If you are part of a women’s support group, great. Get to any women’s workshops you can.
Together—we can do it!
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
(Present Time 207, April 2022)