Feminist Forum March 26th 11-1 PST on Zoom
Go to our YouTube channel in order to watch the video.
Role of Patriarchal Religion in the Global Oppression of Women Resource List
Have you ever wondered why women have become so devalued and debased that we are degraded routinely as pornographic images, driven into prostitution, sold as property, coerced into child marriages, our bodies violated and mutilated, our right to bodily sovereignty and self-determination threatened or non-existent? Has it always been this way? Is prostitution “the oldest profession”? Have we always been told we must be pure and virginal while men are allowed sexual license and even excused for rape? Or have we been systematically groomed to be subservient and obedient, taught that our only choice is between Madonna or whore, that we are to blame for the “fall from grace”, intimidated and silenced by belief systems that teach us we are inferior, and punished severely when we defy these messages?
Most people believe that there has always been patriarchy, that women have always been treated like sex objects and chattel, blamed for men’s violent behavior, disrespected, dispossessed, disregarded, and treated like lesser humans unworthy of equality since the dawn of time. This is not the case. Once there was a Goddess, and things were different.
Join us for an examination of the role patriarchal religion has played, and continues to play, in the subjugation and oppression of the female sex. As the U.S. veers toward becoming more and more a patriarchal theocracy, it is time that we gather our courage and finally look this beast in the eye. And it is high time for women to reclaim our birthright: the Mother Goddess.
Featured speakers:
Max Dashu: 
Max Dashu founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in 1970 to research women’s heritages in the global cultural record and make them visible. She uses images to teach about matricultures, ceremony, medicine women, witches, female rebels and untamable women, as well as patriarchy, conquest, and systems of domination. She is the author of Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion, a forthcoming book on women in Hellenic mythography and patriarchy, and two videos: Women’s Power in Global Perspective, and Woman Shaman: the Ancients. Her current course is Matricultural Eyes via Teachable. See more at Suppressed Histories Photo Essays
Ava Park: 
Ava cares about only one thing: nourishing the primal power of Woman to guide the world to goodness. Ava is the founder of The Museum of Woman, revealing the hidden history of Woman from the Paleolithic to the present through the stories and statues of Goddesses, Queens and Wisewomen; the founder of The Goddess Temple of Orange County, the women’s spiritual circle of The Museum of Woman; and the author of The Queen Teachings for Women with Ava, © helping women access their Four Powers of Woman, © Maiden, Mother, Queen and Wisewoman, with emphasis on the Powers of the Queen Archetype, the most denied, dismissed and demonized of the female archetypes. When the Queen shows up in Woman, patriarchy melts. Enjoy her inspiring YouTube videos on her channels: Museum of Woman, Goddess Temple of Orange County and Queen Coach.
Nina Paley: 
Nina Paley is the creator of the award-winning animated musical feature films Sita Sings the Blues and Seder-Masochism. Seder-Masochism is a film loosely following a traditional Passover Seder and events from the Book of Exodus, retold by Moses, Aharon, the Angel of Death, Jesus, and the director’s own father. But there’s another side to this story: that of the Goddess, humankind’s original deity. Seder-Masochism resurrects the Great Mother in a tragic struggle against the forces of Patriarchy. She also has written a book, The Seder Masochism: A Haggadah and Anti-Haggadah. Her newest project is Apocalypse Animated, illustrating the Book of Revelation.
Ms. Paley has been deplatformed, banned, and blacklisted for saying penises are male.
Carol A. Bouldin, LMFT
Carol has worked in the mental health field with individuals, groups, and families in a variety of settings including inpatient, outpatient, corrections, substance abuse, and private practice, specializing in women abused as children. She is a longtime feminist and utilizes a feminist therapy approach in her work with women, and she has authored the Declaration of, by, and for Women. Carol has done research on Christian orthodoxy, attitudes towards women, shame, and rightwing authoritarianism, and is interested in the psychological impact of patriarchal religion on women and girls.
Role of Patriarchal Religion in the Global Oppression of Women Resource List