What's In A Name?

Names are so important, they help us forge our identities. Our parents hold absolute power by choosing our names when we are born. We as writers labor over what to name our characters. So what's in a name? Absolutely everything.

On Saturday, 285 girls in the Satara district of Maharashtra state in central India took part in a renaming ceremony for themselves. You see every single one of them had been given names that meant "unwanted." Can you imagine? Your whole identity beginning with the title of unwanted. I was astounded.

Government officials were prompted to hold such a ceremony because the latest census results show that ratio of girls to boys has dropped sharply. There are now 914 girls for every 1000 boys under the age of six. In Maharashtra that ratio is even lower with only 883 girls for every 1000 boys under the age of six and in Satara district, the ratio drops even further. Many believe this is due to the extreme gender bias that exists.

In India, girl fetuses are often aborted once the sex of the child is learned. Hospitals are forbidden to reveal the gender of an unborn babe as a preventative measure, but the truth gets out anyway. Girl children in many cases are neglected so they die young.

The name often given to girls is Nakusa or Nakusi which means "unwanted." Dr. Bhagwan Pawar, who came up with the idea for the renaming ceremony, says in a quote to AP "Nakusa is a very negative name as far as female discrimination is concerned." On Saturday these beautiful, extraordinary young women came forward and took their power back. They shed their horrible birth names and renamed themselves. They chose to be called "Aishwarya" after the gorgeous Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai. They chose "Savitri" after the goddess and "Vaishali" which means "prosperous, beautiful and good." One girl chose "Ashmita" meaning "very tough" or "rock hard."

The article, by Chaya Babu from the Associated Press, is here. The article is enlightening and shocking. I always understood that a name is powerful, but I guess I never really thought about it outside of my own stories. I am so happy that these girls were given the opportunity to rename themselves. They have forged a new path on life. I am in awe of the courage it took for them to make such a decision and go to this ceremony. Just look in those gorgeous eyes and see the hope and strength. Those girls, like the Nobel winners I posted, are what true Girl Power is all about.

To those girls and my fellow females everywhere, here's Pink with "Fuckin' Perfect" cuz we are ALL fuckin' perfect.



** The image above is from the Associated Press.

Potpourri of Cool

Well I hope everyone has had a great start to their week. I spent a very lazy day yesterday and helped a friend with a rather interesting problem. I was also at Jeffrey Beesler's World of the Scribe and poked fun at my writing. You can check out the whole thing here since I didn't post it up like I should have. Bad Melissa! Thank you so much Jeffrey, for having me. I loved it and you rock for always showing the love for your fellow writers.

I saw Kung Fu Panda 2, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but did not laugh out loud as much as I did at the first one. I think my mood was soured by the fact that someone threw their baby's shitty diaper out the car window and nearly hit me. What a disgusting splat right by my new shoes. It was still an awesome flick with excellent animation f/x and a great story chock full of humor.

I also got a chance to see one of my most romantic and favorite movies ever, Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison with Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr. I love it when I get a quiet moment to watch a favorite movie that is near and dear to me. It's like wrapping myself in my softest comforter and watching it snow outside, knowing I have absolutely nowhere to be. This is one of the very few movies I tear up at and I feel like big loser for admitting that because I HATE to cry. It exposes my soft, gooey center. I'm a tough chick from Chicago's South Side... No cryers, fools!:P

I should own this film, but I don't. It tops my ever expanding list of must buys. If you ever get a chance to see this gem do so. The chemistry between Mitchum and Kerr is incredible, the dialogue is sharp and highly entertaining. There are also some really tense, scary situations and I get caught up every single time I watch this. Besides, Robert Mitchum is hot as hell with that teddy bear scruff.