Question #3: Valentine’s Day: The Height of Romance or Commercially-Driven Disappointment?
Ayo: To me, Valentine’s Day is neither. I never celebrated the holiday, so I certainly don’t relate to it as the height of romance. And besides, wouldn’t the fact that romance is expected on Valentine’s Day make it a bit less exciting and authentic? So, it’s not a big holiday for me. But I’ve always been pretty cheery and optimistic, so I’m not going to rain on anyone else’s parade. For those V-Day lovers out there, enjoy, feel the love and try to savor those twenty four hours by remembering to be present!
Tamar: Commercially-Driven Disappointment, for sure. It seems like mostly a way to make single people feel bad about themselves, which is horrifying.
Larisa: Commercially-driven disappointment! I’m a foreigner and when I came here I realized just how greedy and profit driven the Hallmark industry was. February didn’t have a gift giving holiday so they created one. Same goes for Mother’s day and Father’s day. I never understood why anyone would think it’s okay to celebrate love, mother or father on only one day a year. Shouldn’t significant others be honored every day? Shouldn’t true love mean sweet surprises just because? Our culture lost it’s creativity. And Hallmark was there to write a guidebook to stomp out any thoughtful ideas. Valentine’s Day = dislike.
Limor: Definitely commercial-driven. Romance should always be a relationship’s coup de fesse.
Leora: Valentine’s Day is the height of Commercially-Driven Disappointment. I read that the week before VDay has become International Dump Week, filled with people who would rather get rid of their SO (significant other) than deal with buying a meaningless present. Any holiday that has women sending themselves flowers at their offices to avoid shame is fundamentally fucked-up. I find that the challenge becomes to take the red-and-pink-tinged fakeness and turn it into a sweet, memorable day for you and your loved one.
Karalyn: I think that for some people it has a lot of meaning. Perhaps it’s the only time all year that their partner stops to make an effort to let their love know how they feel. I think it is what you make of it. If you’re the type of person who shows the one you’re with how much you love them all year, all the time, then it’s not really so important. If it’s the one time a year that you actually make an effort, then you’d better make it count.
David: You shouldn’t need a special holiday to remind you to do something that you should be doing anyway. Successful relationships are hard to maintain and you need to be thoughtful and caring and romantic as much as possible. The fact that “industry” has artificially sanctified one day out of the year as dedicated to lavish gift giving and romance makes it that much less romantic. And what the fuck! I’m Jewish! I don’t celebrate anything that is dedicated to or named after a Christian Saint. But then try telling that to your girlfriend. Sigh.
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Celebrating 10 Years & Marking the End of An Amazing Project
Jewrotica is awesome. It expands the mind and for people who were raised with narrow views on sexuality. Whether you are Jewish or not, or in different sects of Judaism like Orthodox, Conservative or Reform, no matter what your background or where you’re from, Jewrotica gets you to see Judaism and how it relates to sexuality in new ways. I really appreciate Ayo being here and helping us learn different ways to connect with our sexuality.
My opinion on Jewrotica is: It’s sexy. It’s awesome. It’s Judaism to the next level. It’s what we should all be getting into!
Bedside Reading with Jewrotica was funny, sexy, and hot all at once. The readings were honest about all kinds of sexuality, but the highlight of the evening was definitely the confessions, written by audience participants. Nobody knew who wrote them, and most were tell-alls that would make your bubbe blush. Unless your bubbe was very, very cool. Then maybe she’d make YOU blush!
Jewrotica was everything I had dreamed of and more: sexy attendees, tantalizing confessions, and well-written literature to boot! More importantly, it empowers us Jews to reach inside and own our sexy selves and heritage!
I stepped out of my comfort zone to be a part of this. I was glad to open up the topic of sexuality in my community. We are trying to build a safe space to talk about sex. The result I am most happy about coming from this event is that hopefully now my friends know they can come and talk to me, that I can be their ‘safe space’.
Such an amazing experience! The Sarah Lawrence Jewrotica workshop was more than I could have ever expected – a comfortable, safe, sultry environment where participants clearly felt good about sharing or listening to each other’s intimate experiences and relating them to sexy stories from the Torah. From the moment the workshop began, Ayo had a sweet presence that was kinetic and spread around the room; her storytelling abilities had everyone enraptured and made the conversation topics relata… Read more
Jewrotica is a great way to ask interesting questions about the interplay between sensuality and Jewish wisdom. Check it out.
I’m into Jewrotica. I went in for my second circumcision.
Jewrotica rocks. It’s funny, it’s informative, it’s sexy, it’s interesting. Check it out!
I had a great time deejaying at the Jewrotica event at Columbia University. The live readings were hilarious, informative, and in some cases, deeply moving. I know that I, along with many of my AEPi fraternity brothers, loved being able to connect our Judaism and our sexuality in a way that made all of us feel comfortable and welcome. I look forward to being a part of this again in the future!
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