Trying to adjust body clock by staying awake and blogging whilst drunk

Ok, I think I've just added "From Anger to Activism" (Nectarine's blog) to my blogroll, but can't be sure. Anyway, she did a National Drogging while Blunk Day on the 29th Dec, and I'm hijacking the title for now. Whatever day this is.

So. On Christmas day I am at my parents' house and it is custom in the morning to go to the church I grew up in. It's a good church; the people are lovely and mostly women are treated as equals (but differents, natch). The service on Christmas morning is very informal and children are invited up to show what presents they received in their stockings.

I liked a few of them: a cool pink guitar which I tried to tune before she went "on stage" was my favourite. But then there was the inevitable plastic sword for a five/six year-old boy, followed by some make-up for a girl of the same age. Planted fury in my brain cells I tell you.

I threw a right wobbly that evening about swords/make-up etc and my poor dad bore the brunt of it. The next morning he said he could see where I was coming from but my delivery could have been better. Thing is, this particular church is going in the right direction in so many ways but is blind to the damage of gender roles. It wants to end conflict in the world, but doesn't see that the biggest influence could be how we condition our children.

The night before (yes, I went to church twice over the christmas period), a speaker said a prayer for the murdered women in Ipswich. It was a heartfelt prayer, but I couldn't help but feel that he would not have said, "let us remember that they were women first and foremost", if the women had not been prostituted. It seemed to draw attention to their "bad choices" whilst the speaker was seen as compassionate and non-judgemental. Pissed me off.

Morning after Boxing day, I wake up in a rage about a carol. The line, "Lo, He abhors not the virgin's womb", from O Come All Ye Faithful.

So "He" abhors all other wombs?