Alix Olson is an internationally touring folk poe… Read Full Bio ↴from alixolson.com
Alix Olson is an internationally touring folk poet and progressive queer artist-activist. One part peace vigil, one part protest rally, and one part joyful raucous concert, Alix ignites audiences everywhere she performs. Olson's innumerable stage, broadcast, radio and print appearances include, most recently, twice headlining HBO's "Def Poetry Jam" (Russell Simmons), and an inclusion in Utne Magazine's InRadio compilation. Utne's website calls Olson "...the spoken word diva everyone's talking about."
Alix has graced the cover of Ms. Magazine, who called Olson a "road-poet-on-a-mission," and her work has been featured in Girlfriends Magazine, The Advocate, OUT Magazine, Curve, Lesbian Review of Books, and on the covers of Lambda Book Report, Lavender Lens, and Velvet Park magazines. A recent interview with Olson for The Progressive calls her a "word warrior" and gives a comprehensive peek into just what makes her work so compelling. Alix has appeared on the nationally syndicated Air America's "Unfiltered" radio (co-hosts Rachel Maddow, Rachel Winstead, and Chuck D), as well as on Oxygen television, CNN, HBO, In the Life, and WXPN's World Cafe with David Dye, and local radio stations around the country.
Alix was voted "Best Activist", along with MoveOn, in Venus Magazine's Hott List 2004. Olson was voted 2004 OutMusician of the Year (OutMusic), and was a triple nominee for the 2002 OUTMusic Awards. In June 2003, Alix (along with Margaret Cho and Nobuko Oyabu) received the "Visionary Award" from the DC Rape Crisis Center for her "exceptional commitment to the promotion of social justice." Past honorees include Gloria Steinem, Tori Amos, Patricia Ireland and Sarah Jones. Olson has also received a New York Foundation for the Arts fellowship, and a Barbara Deming grant.
Howard Zinn (historian/activist) calls Alix "an ingenious poet, a brilliant performer, a funny person, a serious thinker. Quite simply, extraordinary."
Alix tours over two-hundred days a year, and has headlined national conferences for the National Organization for Women, GenderPac, and the Lesbian Summit. Most recently, Alix performed for one million people at the Washington, D.C. March for Women's Lives. She has headlined international poetry festivals in Portugal, the Netherlands, and England, and will be touring Australia in January.
Of her live performances, The Progressive Magazine calls Alix "an electrifying performer who seduces the audience with wit and energy, spinning tales of life on the road between her fiery poems. A sharpshooter with theatrical flair, Olson oozes both love and rage."
Above all, Alix Olson is undaunted by being labeled as "controversial." "I think any artist who confronts the status quo will be targeted as 'controversial'. We will also be called 'angry,' 'aggressive,' 'loud,' or at best, 'idealistic,' so that we are discounted, backed into a corner, and our power is deflated. But I have never been intimidated by words, because they've always been on my side."
Sticks
Alix Olson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
mama whispers to her newborn baby girl.
She admires the little toes, wriggling
like plump pink ballerinas,
caresses the round belly,
places her palm under the fat behind,
envelops the chunky thighs.
She strokes the tiny flat breasts.
and mama begins her stick world lesson,
hushed and intent:
“We stick baby boys' lips on our nipples-
to relieve them,
stick big boys inside our lips-
to relieve them,
suck until we swallow their stickiness.
We tell our sons ‘only sticks and stones
will break their bones,'
then call each other bitch, knowing it sticks
more than hurled knuckles ever could.
We are ignored when our butts stick out,
admired when our chests stick out.
We chant ‘stick together, stick together', until
size six bitch walks by-
‘sick', we whisper, menacingly, to each other,
‘Stick', we think, admiringly, to ourselves.
We smoke cancer sticks, chew on
spearmint sticks, chomp on
carrot sticks, celery sticks.
We crave stick-out collarbones, ribs-
When we cave in, stomachs sticking out,
we stick our fingers down our throats.
Fingernails caked underneath with years of
lipsticks, eyebrow sticks, sticks to cover up
red spots, white spots, black spots.
As we stick to the advice in magazines-
page one: waif, page two: ‘be you', they croon
page three: ‘I like a good listener',
writes Joe from Rochester.
So we smile and nod, sticky sweet.
And stick jewel after jewel in our ear, so we
swish and sway pleasantly when we turn our heads
to hear what they have to say.
We stick on eyelashes,
lower our eyes in their direction-
suggestive eyes, bedroom eyes, ‘she wanted it' eyes.
So they stick it in, stick it out-
When we protest,
we are stuck up, a stick in the mud.
We stick our fingers when we sew up
our children's ripped jeans,
our husbands' ripped egos.
We pat stick-it notes on the fridge,
reminding our sons of baseball practice,
reminding our daughters to
stick to their diets.
We ooo and aahh over Suzy's stick figure scene,
the last in a series of self-portraits.
And if we are the kind, honey,
who like to stick up into each other,
we stick out-- warped Eves.
And even with our combat boots we crumble like pick-up
sticks sometimes, away from each other, and crooked.â€
Mama wipes her eyes, mascara marring
her Oil of Olay face.
She lifts her daughter's mouth to her nipple,
rubs the padded back,
peers into the clear eyes-
so satisfied, belly full.
“‘I don't want you sticking flowers
on my grave, baby girl,'â€
mama says,
‘with the weight of the world
on your stick shoulders.
Crying,
and not ever knowing why.'â€
The lyrics of Alix Olson's song "Sticks" explore the theme of the pervasive nature of "sticks" in the lives of women. The definition of "sticks" changes throughout the song - from literal sticks like cigarettes and carrots, to metaphorical sticks like social norms and expectations, to sexual references for male genitalia. The mother's lesson to her newborn girl frames the song, as she explains the various definitions of "sticks" that women encounter throughout their lives. She introduces the girl to the stickiness of male desire and the expectation for women to fulfill that desire. The song then expands to other aspects of women's lives: the stick-like rigidity of social norms, body standards and the negative effects they have on women's mental and physical health, the ways women compete with and put down other women, the pressure to be a "good listener" to men, and the pressures women face to fit into narrow definitions of beauty and femininity. The lyrics are a powerful commentary on the experiences of women in a patriarchal society that places unrealistic expectations on them and often sees them as objects to be used for male pleasure.
Line by Line Meaning
Welcome to the stick world,
Mother welcomes her baby girl into a world where sticks, both physical and metaphorical, dominate women's lives.
We stick baby boys' lips on our nipples-
to relieve them,
Mothers use their breasts as a source of comfort for their male children as a way of relieving stress and anxiety.
stick big boys inside our lips-
to relieve them,
Women use oral sex or fellatio to provide pleasure for men, arguably as a form of subservience or fulfillment of male desire.
suck until we swallow their stickiness.
Women are expected to please men sexually and must accept their ejaculate; also reflects a sense of powerlessness or subjugation to male sexual desires.
We tell our sons 'only sticks and stones
will break their bones,'
Women are taught to be subservient to men and are forbidden from physically harming them, while men's violence against women is treated less seriously and normalized.
then call each other bitch, knowing it sticks
more than hurled knuckles ever could.
Insulting each other verbally, particularly using derogatory language towards women, is more hurtful than physical violence and is an accepted reality among women.
We smoke cancer sticks, chew on
spearmint sticks, chomp on
carrot sticks, celery sticks.
Women use unhealthy habits such as smoking and dieting to try and fit into society's standards of beauty and acceptability.
We crave stick-out collarbones, ribs-
When we cave in, stomachs sticking out,
Women are expected to have an unnaturally thin appearance, to the point of being unhealthy, and are judged harshly when they fail to meet those standards.
we stick our fingers down our throats.
Women resort to dangerous behaviors like bingeing and purging in order to maintain an unrealistic beauty standard.
As we stick to the advice in magazines-
page one: waif, page two: 'be you', they croon
page three: 'I like a good listener',
writes Joe from Rochester.
Women are expected to mold themselves into an idealized, passive version of themselves, based on advice from magazines catering to male desires/perspective, with no regard for individuality or autonomy.
So we smile and nod, sticky sweet.
And stick jewel after jewel in our ear, so we
swish and sway pleasantly when we turn our heads
to hear what they have to say.
Women are socialized to be submissive and polite, regardless of their true feelings or opinions; they adorn themselves to please men and make themselves more attractive to male gaze.
suggestive eyes, bedroom eyes, 'she wanted it' eyes.
Women are judged for their appearances and men often believe that certain behavior or clothing items means consent is implied, regardless of what the woman actually wants.
So they stick it in, stick it out-
When we protest,
we are stuck up, a stick in the mud.
Men are entitled to women's bodies, and protesting sexual activity means women are seen as prudish or abnormal for not conforming to male expectations.
We pat stick-it notes on the fridge,
reminding our sons of baseball practice,
reminding our daughters to
stick to their diets.
Women are expected to maintain the physical and emotional management of the household, ensuring that their children are healthy/active while maintaining their own appearance to meet societal standards.
And if we are the kind, honey,
who like to stick up into each other,
we stick out-- warped Eves.
Women are often pitted against each other and can become envious of the success of other women, leading to unrealistic beauty standards and creating a cycle of comparison and dissatisfaction.
And even with our combat boots we crumble like pick-up
sticks sometimes, away from each other, and crooked.'
Despite efforts to resist societal standards and norms, women are still subject to the overwhelming expectations placed upon them and their own internalization of those standards.
'I don't want you sticking flowers
on my grave, baby girl,'
mama says,
'with the weight of the world
on your stick shoulders.
Crying,
and not ever knowing why.'
Mother recognizes that societal expectations are taxing and ultimately unfulfilling, and doesn't want her daughter to suffer the same fate, feeling trapped and disconnected from her own desires and self-expression.
Contributed by Tyler K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.