Wednesday, February 3, 2010

The Life and Writings of Mary Daly, by Holly Jennings

I never knew the late Mary Daly personally. I didn't even know her name until I attended a memorial service in her honor Jan. the 14th. I felt so many things there, shock, love and, in a strange way, fear. Fear that it might be too late to stand up to the masculine rule. Shock that she would turn her back on Catholicism, as well as turning her back on men. And love, that she would be so brave as to do so.

She wrote her own dictionary called the Wickedary, refusing to speak a language made totally by men. Even our name, the word woman, wo-MAN, has the word man in it. I realized that ladies (for lack of a better word) in this world are speaking a man's language.

The people who came to the memorial that night included bell hooks, Shauna Shames, Stephanie Browner, Tambone Clemons, Timi Reedy, Kathleen Connors, and, of course, my parents. They spoke of her with love and friendship.

To some people, Mary Daly was horrible, but to others, she was a hero. I choose hero. You might choose demon, but I choose hero. I choose hero because she stood up to the dominant male and said no. I choose hero because she chose a life for herself.



Holly Jennings was born in Lafayette Georgia, and moved to Kentucky when she was seven. Her father, a writer, has home schooled her throughout her life. Not surprisingly, Holly writes as well. She begs forgiveness for the short biography: she's only ten.

3 comments:

  1. Way to go, Holly,
    from Grammaw Jennings

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Grandma!

    Holly Jennings

    ReplyDelete
  3. we're proud of you, holly.

    love, katie g

    ReplyDelete