by Dr. Michelle LaFrance
In the re-telling of three feminist folk tales (or kitchen table myths) that foreground the problem-solving abilities of intrepid female protagonists, LaFrance highlights how 1) a Druidic reverence for the natural world echoes the lessons of consent-culture, 2) Druidic work models an ethics of care central to recognizing the fluidity, flexibility, and complexity of human bodies and their relations, and 3) how the community-building/deep listening at the center of today’s Druidry offers crucial models of leadership and organization in a time where many traditional models for governance have come under pressure. LaFrance ends her essay by calling for new stories and storytelling practices that more intentionally and visibly embrace these values. These stories, she argues, will open the way for yet more proactive responses to the problems we collectively face in the 21st century.
Dr. Michelle LaFrance, Associate Professor, English, George Mason University (US) is a feminist scholar who studies and teaches cultural materialist methods, anti-oppressive pedagogy, and community writing.