SMS/SMU Deuteronomy 21: 10-14

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Deuteronomy 21: 10-14 When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,

 11 And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;

 12 Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;

 13 And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.

 14 And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her. x

The Ending Violence Association of Canada (EVA CAN) is a national non-profit organization whose main purpose is to educate and respond to gender based violence at the national level.

 

SMS / SMU Numbers 5:27

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Numbers 5: 27 And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.

Trump's Sexism Is Deeply Biblical- The objectification of women goes all the way back to Genesis. Phil Zuckerman Ph.D. The Secular Life

 

 

SMS/SMU 1 Corinthians 11: 3

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

1 Corinthians 11: 3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

“Patriarchy not only works to directly oppress women, but by reducing the woman to a vessel for reproduction, essential for the continuation of the family and the race, patriarchy became the starting point for the notion of superior ethnicities or white supremacy, and the justification for colonialism and the enslavement of so called “inferior races.” Therefore, patriarchy plays a fundamental role in racial capitalism and its imperialist forces worldwide.”

Jorge Diaz Ortiz, Patriarchy – Word of the Day

 

SMS/SMU Leviticus 15: 20-27

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Leviticus 15: 20-27 And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even. 

20 And every thing that she lieth upon in her separation shall be unclean: every thing also that she sitteth upon shall be unclean. 

21 And whosoever toucheth her bed shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.

22 And whosoever toucheth any thing that she sat upon shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 

23 And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.

24 And if any man lie with her at all, and her flowers be upon him, he shall be unclean seven days; and all the bed whereon he lieth shall be unclean. 

25 And if a woman have an issue of her blood many days out of the time of her separation, or if it run beyond the time of her separation; all the days of the issue of her uncleanness shall be as the days of her separation: she shall be unclean. 

26 Every bed whereon she lieth all the days of her issue shall be unto her as the bed of her separation: and whatsoever she sitteth upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanness of her separation. 

27 And whosoever toucheth those things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even. 

//

Maride Espada, Period Taboo Around the World in Teen Vogue, May 28, 2018.

 

SMS/SMU 1 Kings 21:23

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

1 Kings 21:23 And of Jezebel also spake the Lord, saying, The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel.

Canadian Domestic Homicide Prevention Initiative 

 

SMS/SMU Tobit 4 – 12

 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Tobit 4 – 12  Beware of all whoredom, my son, and chiefly take a wife of the seed of thy fathers, and take not a strange woman to wife, which is not of thy father's tribe (Apocrypha)

Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform

SMS/SMU 2 Kings 11: 16

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

2 Kings 11: 16 And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.

The history of the term ‘femicide’ from the Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability

 

 

SMS/SMU Job 2: 9-10

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Job 2: 9-10 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die.

10 But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

The Bad and Bitchy Podcast: The Power Gap with Robyn Doolittle

 

SMS/SMU Titus 2-3-5

 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Titus 2-3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; 

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Sandy and Nora - the Femicide Crisis

SMS/SMU Martin Luther

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

"If a woman grows weary and at last dies from childbearing, it matters not. Let her die from bearing, she is there to do it." Martin Luther

In her book Women and Power: A Manifesto (Liveright, 2017), Mary Beard traces the roots of misogyny from ancient Greek and Roman roots. 

 

SMS/SMU Tertullian

"Each of you women is an Eve . . . You are the gate of Hell, you are the temptress of the forbidden tree; you are the first deserter of the divine law."   Tertullian c. 155 – c. AD 220

I am going to extend my translations of misogynistic text from the Bible into related and adjacent texts. I will quote from religious writings as well as work from the literary canon. 

So Many Silenced So Many Unnamed

Matthew is coming!

 Kirby from Knife Fork Book was kind enough to take photos of the proofs complete with tulip. You can pre-order at Knife Fork Book

SMS/SMU Exodus 22: 18

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Exodus: 22: 18 "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Alli Kirkham , How Society Polices Women's Clothing, Everyday Feminism

 

Hope is the thing with feathers exhibited in Green Hope, an international exhibition of visual poetry curated by Angela Caporaso

Hope is the thing with feathers, after Emily Dickinson (right hand side)

Green Hope, an international exhibition of visual poetry curated by Angela Caporaso, Civico 23 No Profit Art Space, Salerno, Italy, May 8 to 22, 2021

thanks to Angela for including my visual poem.  

 

77 Canadian and Indigenous Women Making Visual Poetry published by No Press

Thanks to Derek Beaulieu for publishing this edited excerpt from Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry, with additional visual poems by Cindy Deachman, michèle provost
and Laura Ortiz.

thanks to the contributors and the women on the list. 

50 Copies, printed and sewn deep in a national park. contact derek@housepress.ca for copies.

SMS/SMU HARLOT

HARLOT

The word "harlot" is used 40 times in the Bible. 

The King James Bible Dictionary

 

SMS/SMU 1 Tim. 2:11-14

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

 1 Tim. 2:11-14 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.

The Canadian Women's Foundation is a public foundation for diverse women and girls and focuses on women and girls because they face distinct barriers that require distinct solutions and because gender equality improves economic and social conditions for everyone.

SMS/SMU Genesis 16-2

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Genesis 16-2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

"An Egyptian servant, Hagar once belonged to the Pharaoh who gifted her to Sarai, Abram’s wife. Abram and Sarai were past 80 and still had no children. Spending 10 years in Canaan, Sarai became impatient and offered Hagar, as a second wife, to her husband to impregnate, due to her barrenness. As Sarai’s slave, Hagar’s baby would belong to the couple. “Listen, now! Since Yahweh has kept me from having children, go to my slave-girl. Perhaps I shall get children through her” (Genesis 16:1-2)." Marilyn A. Batchelor, Hagar and Intersectionality in Feminism and Religion.

 

SMS/SMU: Asherah

 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

"Asherah, along with Astarte and Anath, was one of the three great goddesses of the Canaanite pantheon. In Canaanite religion her primary role was that of mother goddess." Susan Ackerman, Jewish Women's Bible.

"Then some of the learned folks in the city decided she was made up, that she wasn't real. 'Yahweh is the only God,' they said, and the good kings tore down her high places and the sacred poles and tress dedicated to her. They had nothing good to say about her followers in Deuteronomy, Judges, Kings and Chronicles. Not a single good word. Gideon destroyed her high places at night under a cloak of darkness. King Josiah, that righteous man, didn't just cut down the poles, he burned them. He didn't just destroy the altars, he crushed them into dust. And he dug up the graves of the people there on the high places and set their bones on the dust of her altar and burned them too. Strong actions against someone who didn't exist." Alice Connor, Fierce: Women of the Bible and Their Stories of Violence, Mercy, Bravery, Wisdom, Sex and Starvation, Fortress Press, 2017.

Connor goes on to mention women who have been forgotten

"By prioritizing male accomplishments, female accomplishments become collateral damage. This approach to recording history must end. Denying acknowledgment of female achievements leads to cultural and individual identity loss. By diminishing their legacies, society reduces women to mere “ghosts.” In general, inadequate female representation in history derives from a patriarchal social construction that accredits the primary powers in our system to men, be it economic power, moral jurisdiction, political guidance, or social privilege." Melanie Michel, Cultural Erasure of Women: How Women Are Remembered in History."

SMS/SMU 2 Samuel 14-15

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

2 Samuel 14-15 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

UN Women's Global Initiative: Creating safe and empowering public spaces with women and girls

Sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence in public spaces, both in urban and rural settings, are an everyday occurrence for women and girls in every country around the world.

Women and girls experience and fear different forms of sexual violence in public spaces, from unwelcome sexual remarks and gestures, to rape and femicide. It happens on streets, in and around public transportation, schools, workplaces, public toilets, water and food distribution sites, and parks.

This reality reduces women’s and girls’ freedom of movement. It reduces their ability to participate in school, work, and public life. It limits their access to essential services and their enjoyment of cultural and recreational activities, and negatively impacts their health and well-being.

Although domestic and workplace violence is now widely recognized as a human rights violation, sexual harassment and other forms of violence against women and girls in public spaces are often neglected, with few laws or policies in place to prevent and address it.

 

SMS/SMU John 8 4-5

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

John 8 4-5 this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned.

Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women (OCTEVAW) unites organizations and individuals in the Ottawa region who are working to end gender-based violence.
"In Canada, women are 20% more likely to be subjected to violence, and Indigenous women are three times as likely to be subjected to violence than non-Indigenous women. In Canada’s territories, there is a lack of resources and support for women experiencing gender-based violence, and women living in the territories are violently victimized at eight times the rate of women in Canada’s provinces. Senior women and women with disabilities also disproportionately experience gender-based violence.

SMS/SMU Genesis 19-8

 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

FemTechNet's Centre for Solutions to Online Violence

Genesis 19-8 Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes

SMS/SMU GENESIS 38-24

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

Genesis 38_24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

“A total of 87,000 women were intentionally killed in 2017. More than half of them (58 per cent) ̶ 50,000 ̶ were killed by intimate partners or family members, meaning that 137 women across the world are killed by a member of their own family every day.”

Global Study on Homicide, Gender‐related killing of women and girls, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, November  2018

https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/GSH2018/GSH18_Gender-related_killing_of_women_and_girls.pdf

May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG).
“Each year on May 5, we mark the annual Red Dress Day and the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls by wearing red and honouring the lives of the lost women and girls across Canada,” said Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald. “Today, I am encouraging all to participate and stand with us in honouring the lives lost while forging a path toward a gender-balanced, safe space for all Indigenous women and girls, where they will be treated with dignity and respect always.”Ontario Regional Chief RoseAnne Archibald, Chiefs of Ontario. 

SMS/SMU Matthew 5-28

 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

   Matthew 5-28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed

 Numbers 31 – 17-18 “Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.”

So Many Silenced, So Many Unnamed will respond to ongoing patriarchy and the oppression of women through visual poems which take passages from the Bible as found text. The Bible continues to be used to justify violence and hatred against women and other marginalized groups. The work will honour and celebrate women who are silenced, unnamed and erased.

The poems will take the shape of the female body using various clothing items from Biblical garments to mini-skirts and lingerie, iconic images and the naked body as represented in art and popular culture. The work is a celebration of women and a response to violence and abuse toward women, the male gaze, objectification, and exploitation, fatphobia, issues of beauty and acceptance and the poor treatment of women in the fashion and garment industries, extrapolating to the labour of women in general.

 

Evangelical and ultra-Conservative readers of The Bible have exploited its poetic language to use as justification for hatred and violence. Visual poetry is a way to subvert this literalism.

I will be working on this project for the next two months, and will post visual poems here. I will include research sources and also share information and resources related to ongoing misogyny and gender-based violence. 

thanks to the Ontario Arts Council which funded this project through two Recommender Grants for Writers, and thanks to Invisible Publishing and the New Quarterly for recommending the project.