Squarely in the category of “I don’t know what to think about this”. From Boing Boing:
The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association has called for the Australian edition of The Daring Book for Girls to be pulped because it teaches girls how to pay the didgeridoo. The organization says women who play the instrument will be cursed with infertility.
“The section on the didgeridoo was ‘part of a general ignorance that mainstream Australia has about Aboriginal culture,’ the association’s general manager Mark Rose told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
‘We know very clearly that there’s a range of consequences for a female touching a didgeridoo — infertility would be the start of it, ranging to other consequences,’ he said, adding: ‘I won’t even let my daughter touch one.’”
Full article at AFP.
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23 comments
I regret to say that I LOLed, both because of the general absurdity and phallic obsession there and because I have touched a didgeridoo a few times in the past. Yes, it would be great to have more awareness and learning about Aboriginal culture. No, you can't tell women what not to do based on sexist superstitions.
Posted by Thene
September 4, 2008, 2:35 PM
Just because one culture doesn't approve of something it doesn't mean everyone else must disapprove of it too.
I understand something being thrust upon you against your will being a curse, but I'm sure no one is "cursed" with fertility.
Posted by Jelly
September 4, 2008, 8:10 PM
Jelly: cursed with INfertility.
Posted by Cate
September 4, 2008, 9:31 PM
Cate--I know the example here is being cursed with INfertility, but what I meant is in superstition/religion/whatever in general, "fertility" isn't considered a curse. More often it's Oh no, you did x, and now you'll never give birth (infertility example) and rarely it's Oh no, you did x, now you'll be cursed with giving birth! (fertility example). Does that make sense? I guess I wasn't clear the first time.
Posted by Jelly
September 5, 2008, 11:08 PM
Oh, I see what you mean. Well, it sometimes is. Young women are often warned that if they go near boys they'll be cursed with pregnancy. And to hear people go on about Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter this week, you certainly get the idea that North America views teen pregnancy as this terrible misfortune - but as a misfortune they've brought upon themselves. So, kind of like a curse.
Posted by Cate
September 5, 2008, 11:45 PM
I'm going to look at this one from a cultural perspective, considering this is a sacred item belonging to the Indigenous peoples of Northern Australia, who have every right to have their concerns listened to and their voices heard.
First of all, I've had enough of cultural appropriation, I'll say that loud and clear. Since when did it become okay to look down on another culture's way of thinking and ignore the reverence that should be given to something that doesn't even belong to you?
The question I haven't seen asked here yet was did Harper Collins (publisher of this book) even have permission from any Indigenous nation or body to use the didgeridoo? Anybody outside of these Indigenous communities can think whatever they want about what the didgeridoo actually represents, and as colonization has clearly shown us, do whatever they want with Indigenous culture. That doesn't make it accurate or right, and just because that's what oppressive societies have been doing for centuries, certainly doesn't mean this kind of thing has to continue.
We should have learned by now that what doesn't belong to us we need to respect, and maybe we can even share, but if you haven't even asked the question to start the learning process and simply take, that's called stealing, and I don't think as Aboriginal peoples we need to put up with that any more.
Posted by Jessica Yee
September 7, 2008, 6:56 PM
Jessica -- how do you think situations should be handled when there is conflict between cultural belief and treating women equally?
Posted by Catherine
September 8, 2008, 12:16 PM
Jessica I think you did a really good job of breaking down why we shouldn't be dismissive of what the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association has to say.
While there is a time and place to examine a belief that restricts women from touching a certain instrument, this situation demands another question about rights from the opposite direction: why do non-Aborigines (men and women) feel like they have the right to use the didgeridoo for whatever purpose they like?
As little as I know about it, I can see that the didgeridoo has sacred significance to the people from whom it originates. To dismiss that (even when it is couched in terms that would otherwise rile feminists) is disrespectful.
Re: Catherine's question - I'm assuming that when you speak to treating women equally, you're referring to the fact that Australian Aboriginal women aren't supposed to use the didgeridoo?
I come from a Catholic family - in Catholic churches women can't become priests. If a band of non-Catholic feminists - under the guise of protesting the Catholic church's exclusion of women - used communion vessels to have a party, I would be feel hurt and angry, and I wouldn't feel like those feminists spoke for me. I would feel like their protest was superficial and ignorant. This is true even though I'm no longer a practicing Catholic, in part because the church's ideas about women didn't sit right with me. Now replace the Catholic church (and incredibly powerful institution) with an ethnic group who've had their land rights and culture trampled on for centuries.
What I'm trying to say is that if we are going to advocate for women of different cultures in a way that involves critising those cultures, we need to recognise that we can't advocate for them without a great deal of respect for what is sacred in their cultures. We also need to think about our relationships with their cultures, and include the historical context of that relationship in our analysis.
Posted by Thea
September 8, 2008, 4:55 PM
Can we get back to the book pulping for a second? I feel like this is a clearly a censorship issue, as book pulping is hardly any different from book burning in my mind - it seeks to limit access to certain publications. A group of people are calling to have a book destroyed. Doesn't that set off alarm bells for anyone?
Regardless of whether or not we conclude that the book is insensitive and disrespectful (which it likely is) the solution is not to destroy and limit access to it. I believe that the discussion around if and why the use of the didgeridoo in the book is offensive is a completely valid one, but the destruction of the book is clearly not a solution. I realize that The Daring Book for Girls is not The Jewel of Medina or The Satanic Verses, but we can't decide what literature should be censored and what shouldn't.
And the question of whether or not Harper Collins had permission to use a reference to the didgeridoo is also a strange one in my mind - if every publisher and every writer had to seek permission to write about revered objects no books would ever be written, let alone published.
Posted by Stacey May
September 8, 2008, 5:27 PM
Thea -- I intended my question generally, because I think it's an issue that connects to this story.
I am resistant to cultural beliefs being treated as a priori truths, with the power to shut down discussion and dissension. So I'm interested in hearing people's perspectives on this. I was not commenting on whether Australian Aboriginal women should or shouldn't play the didgeridoo.
To your point about feminists staging a protest using communion vessels, that doesn't seem to be a fair parallel. "The Daring Book for Girls" did not include the didgeridoo as a form of protest or intentional transgression, but, at worst, an uninformed attempt to be inclusive of the cultures of Australia. One which they have since apologized for and attempted to address (through removal of the didgeridoo section when the book is reprinted).
Posted by Catherine
September 8, 2008, 6:25 PM
Well, why is a "group" calling for a book to be pulled?
In the larger scheme of things, Indigenous people all over the world have been royally screwed by the fact that books have been written inaccurately about us for centuries and that doesn't seem to be stopping any time soon.
And when I mean royally screwed, I mean little boys and girls growing up with falsified information about "savages" which they then take with them to their respective positions of power and privilege they will get that further oppress the people in my community.
It's a vicious cycle, and I can completely understand why it's getting to the point where a "group" is asking for a book to be pulled.
How much more are we supposed to take?
I'll say it again.
How much more are we supposed to take?
Maybe that's a signal for all the stakeholders in the literary world to say "Whoa, hey, yeah, I guess we shouldn't just take! What can we do better?"
I guess we have to keep on being the educators after the fact. It might be nice to be progressing as societies all over the world where we learn from our mistakes and our inhumanity.
And I'd also like to think that every single book written about sacred items in Indigenous cultures would be in partnership, solidarity, respect, and accuracy of the real deal; our people. I don't think that's an unrealistic request, and we've already paid a heavy price for the fact that the people still colonizing us don't.
Posted by Jessica Yee
September 8, 2008, 7:46 PM
re: cultural belief and "treating women equally"
I have to echo Thea's response and say that I'm somewhat confused by the question. White, colonial, Western notions of "treating women equally" greatly differ from other cultures and nations, and certainly don't make the White one right, so I'm rather hesitant to say that this is the question that needs to be answered in this case.
I think we need to work towards "How do we understand gender equity in diverse societies?" and furthermore "What can we do to ensure we aren't being oppressive ourselves in this new working world of gender equity?"
Mainstream feminism has long been rejected by many communities of colour, and it's no wonder when it doesn't fairly include us or our realities.
I'm hopeful for the day when we can all work as partners and allies for true, all-encompassing gender equality; which isn't only about your sex and absolutely includes your culture.
Posted by Jessica Yee
September 8, 2008, 7:57 PM
To be clear, they are asking for the book to be "pulped" not "pulled," which may seem like an insignificant difference but to me is huge. The destruction of a book, however much I am offended by its contents, is never okay.
Jessica, to be clear, I absolutely agree with you on all points, but having said that I am always wary of censorship and the inability for people to write with full freedom. My feeling is always that if we choose to silence and destroy other people's beliefs and opinions, however offensive and wrong they appear to be or are, that will give someone the option down the line to silence and destroy our own.
While we should always have the option to disagree and dismiss, we should never have the ability to destroy.
Posted by Stacey May
September 8, 2008, 8:24 PM
re: jessica on gender equity in diverse societies
With all due respect, why do we have to treat a culture's beliefs with reverence when they shelve women's rights? That's not being "culturally sensitive", it's perpetuating a crap cultural stereotype. If we "respected" my personal culture's stereotypes from the past, for one, I wouldn't be allowed to vote, eat shrimp, or have hair (I would have to shave my head after marriage). A culture's right to project its beliefs, in my books, stops at a woman's right to live as a person first, and a woman second.
Posted by Cathy
September 9, 2008, 11:33 AM
comment deleted
Posted by Web Editor
September 9, 2008, 4:56 PM
Chris -- please read the Shameless blog comment policy. By being both inflammatory and broadly derogatory towards white people, other commenters, and the Shameless blog itself, your current comment is in violation of most of what we moderate for.
If you would like to rephrase your comment in a more constructive way, I'm sure any number of the people commenting on this thread would be happy to discuss your concerns with you.
Posted by Catherine
September 9, 2008, 5:22 PM
I'm not sure how you would go about getting permission to use the didgeridoo in a book. Who gets to speak for all the indigenous communities in Australia and give that permission? What if it proves impossible? Does that mean we can't include any kind of Native iconography in educational books? The first step in ensuring future generations are respectful of other cultures is education.
I'm not saying this book in particular is useful to that end, but it does raise a practical concern.
It also seems that the issue the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association had was not with the instrument's use in the book, but with its use in a book that was written for girls.
And my feeling is that if you put aside (just for a moment; I'm not suggesting we ignore them, or that they aren't also significant here) issues of cultural appropriation or how to go about educating young people about other cultures, what we have is a man perpetuating what is at best a misconception, and at worse a blatant untruth about women's bodies, and using it to justify book burning.
You're right Jessica, we can't look at these issues in isolation. We can't look at this from a women's rights perspective and ignore a long history of disrespecting and quashing Native culture. But we also can't look at this from the perspective of an oppressed indigenous community and ignore a long history of quashing women's freedom to make choices about their own bodies.
Sometimes when these issues collide, the answer is not as simple as claiming one side or other is in the right, because there is more than one system of oppression at work and everybody shares some portion of the responsibility.
Posted by Cate
September 9, 2008, 6:28 PM
Newsflash: they're about to do a feature on this on CBC radio's As It Happens, sometime between 7 and 8. Might be a good opportunity to hear what the people involved on both sides have to say for themselves.
Posted by Anna
September 9, 2008, 7:06 PM
Oh geez I missed it. Can anyone do a recap?
Posted by Thea
September 9, 2008, 10:18 PM
"I think we need to work towards "How do we understand gender equity in diverse societies?" and furthermore "What can we do to ensure we aren't being oppressive ourselves in this new working world of gender equity?""
That really resonates with me, Jessica. Funny, it's such a simple question, but one that, I think, might not be asked enough, and I'm sure I'm not alone in believing that. I never once stopped to think what gender equity would look like in a non-Western society. Rather, I assumed it would look the same everywhere, and that's a big mistake on my part.
Anyway, thanks for bringing up these important questions. I expect I'll be thinking about them for weeks, if not months, now.
Posted by Derek
September 9, 2008, 10:30 PM
I strongly think that all of you are missing te point. It is in Indigeenous Culture that women are not allowed to touch/make/or play ythe DIdgeridoo. Just accept that!! You know they Indigenous Culture has had to accept Anglo-Saxon colonisation, has had to accept the "White Man's" way of living - why can't we show a bit of respect towards them by accepting some of their cultural beliefs huh?? Seriously this has nothing to do with sexism of gender equality. I think you all need to read into it beffore you criticise!!!
Posted by John
October 23, 2008, 7:26 PM
And Besides it is in-keeping with the book - "DARINGBOOK FOR GIRLS" it is a parody/ a sinister knockout of how to be a daring girl and that is one way of doing it -clearly, by playing the Didgeridoo.
Posted by John
October 23, 2008, 7:30 PM
John - your two post appear to be quite contradictory, so I don't really know what you are trying to say.
Your first post says that people shouldn't criticize The Victorian Aboriginal Education Association for wanting to pulp "The Daring Book for Girls" with a cultural relativism argument. However, your second post seems to be supporting the book? Or, I don't know what you mean by your second post at all.
Clarity please?
Posted by Jenna
October 23, 2008, 10:34 PM
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