March 2008 – Page 2

What does a feminist blogger do…

When she gets a comment like this:

I was in Caracas at a party–a loud mouth usa feminist was stating she was a “strong usa woman hwo could handle any man”. Many women there were looking at her very strangely–& the men were at first laughing –then they started to make remarks about “colonialism from the usa” After about 30 minutes of hearing her insolence–I approached her & ask her to please be quiet–she looked at me & said “I am a feminist–no man tells me what to do or say” this was too much for me to take—I spun her around & smacked her ass with all my strength–very hard–to show I was not joking–she then stopped talking–tears started in her eyes–& she ran off–in shame & hid in a bathroom

The point?? USA feminists shut up fast outside the usa–where they have no usa police to back up their rude mouths–wnat to see how usa feminists are regarded in Latin America>>>?? check out info on a usa feminist named Lori Berenson–she is similar to the usa feminist at this party–Berenson went to Peru to spread usa feminist colonialist propaganda—now she properly resides in prison in Peru—-cooking for her macho guards

I strongly suggest usa feminists remain in the usa–& stay out of Latin America–we don’t desire your colonialist propaganda–in Latin America–we have had enough of usa colonialism

That’s in our moderation queue right now.

I usually delete crappy, sexist comments like that, but my trigger finger is itching to publish this asshole’s email and IP address. That isn’t something I’ve ever done, because I don’t believe in putting peoples’ personal information out on the internet just because I disagree with them, no matter how vile their views.

But this isn’t simple disagreement. This is a guy physically assaulting a woman because he doesn’t like her feminist views — and by the way, some random American woman talking about women’s rights at a party is not usually what anti-colonialists are talking about when they discuss “colonialist feminism,” so if you’re going to throw that kind of terminology around, at least know what the fuck you’re saying. Anyway, the point isn’t the poster’s ignorance of terminology; it’s his admission that he physically harmed a woman because she expressed feminist thought. It’s the choice to come to a feminist blog, and to tell our readers that he (and other men like him) will do physical harm to us for standing up for ourselves. It’s his emphasis on the fact that he did harm to her in public, in the presence of other men, with their tacit consent. Its his attempt to intimidate and threaten us in a space that should be safe for women.

I cannot bring myself to just delete his comment. I’m too angry and I’m too upset, and while I don’t want to be that person who publishes personal info, this crosses a huge fucking line for me. I am not comfortable reading an admission of violence and then simply deleting it and moving on.

So what do we do? Turn the other cheek, or publicly shame him just as he did to her? The better part of me is saying that I should just walk away, but I can’t do that just yet.

No, you’re the racist one! I myself am colorblind.

This post has a comment section that’s making me want to tear my hair out. So not everyone sees the Vogue cover as racist. That’s fine, and there are certainly a handful of decent arguments in that thread as to why the cover isn’t what I’m seeing.

But if I have to read “The fact that you see racism means that you’re the racist!” or “We should all be colorblind like me” or “Gisele isn’t white, she’s Brazilian!” or “Why do you have to make everything about race?” one more time, I am going to throw something. I know it’s not regular Feministe readers who are bringing this kind of stupid, but it’s still kind of incredible.

Whether or not you think there are racist undertones (or overtones) to the cover, it’s worth checking out this comparison:

Hollaback goes global

Lauredhel from Hoyden About Town informs us that she and sajbrfem have just launched Hollaback Australia!

Now you antipodeans have another tool for fighting back against harassment.

Also be sure to check out sajbrfem’s Watching Women art project, related to the Hollaback idea.

Why calling out misogyny matters

I’ve gotten a lot of criticism lately whenever I do a post about the primary, and, specifically, about misogynistic language or sexist framing used to tear down Hillary Clinton. Invariably, someone accuses (and it’s always an accusation) me of being a Clinton shill, or grills me about why I don’t write a whole bunch of balancing posts about racist language and framing being used against Obama, or tries to dismiss what I have to say because Clinton did X, Y or Z that the commenter found offensive.

I’m focusing on the misogynistic stuff thrown at Clinton because this, as you may recall, is a feminist blog. And while there are hundreds if not thousands of other blogs as well as entire networks and mainstream media outlets rushing to the defense of Obama (thus rendering anything I have to say pretty well redundant), there are few outlets calling out misogynistic attacks on Clinton and/or on her supporters. And it matters that somebody’s calling it out. It’s got nothing to do with who’s the better candidate, who should win, the “delegate math,” or what have you. Vote for whomever you feel like voting for; I’ve been on record from the beginning of the primary that feminists don’t have to vote for Clinton to be feminists, since feminists get to make up their minds the same as anyone else does. Of course, I’m also on record for letting the process play out, which seems to equate in some people’s minds to being pro-Clinton.

However, I have also been on record, for a very long time now, that using misogynistic language and framing to dismiss and diminish a woman you disagree with on the issues is damaging to all women. And I’ve been on record (as have my cobloggers) for a very long time that using such language and framing (and any other identity-based language and framing, such as homophobic, transphobic or fatphobic) is unacceptable even if the person you’re attacking is a really, really awful person who holds really, really awful ideas. Yes, it’s wrong even if the person uses sexist, racist or similar attacks against other people. As I said on one such occasion in November 2006:

We’ve been down this road before, kids. With Ann Coulter. With Michelle Malkin. With “pussy.” For that matter, with fat jokes. [And, as Lauren reminds me, with blackface.] And those arguments are no more valid now than they were then.

If you can’t attack the positions of a rabid antifeminist commentator or a deep-in-the-pockets-of-Big-Pharma politician without resorting to insults designed to highlight not just their gender, but their relative worth as fucktoys, then you have no business writing what passes for commentary.

It’s easy to reach first for the gender-based insult. And it’s wrong.

And, seriously, how can you sit there and be shocked, shocked, that people you don’t agree with are attacking Nancy Pelosi for her femaleness and not realize that you’re contributing to the problem by portraying a United States Congresswoman as a cumguzzling two-dollar whore? By whining that women are too sensitive because they complain when you call a media figure a cunt?…

These insults aren’t meant just for the recipients. They’re meant for everyone else in that group, too. So detailed descriptions of your fantasy that “corporate whore” really means real whore doesn’t just hurt Tauscher, the intended target. It hurts Pelosi, too. And it’s meant to — that’s what insults based on a group characteristic or stereotype are for. They’re meant to convey the message to any member of a non-dominant group that they might be accepted for now, but we all know that they’re really just a cunt and a whore, like those women we don’t like.

Shameless self-promotion Sunday

Let’s have it.

“My brother is dead, and I helped kill him”

A heart-wrenching, must-read piece.

Our media covers the deaths of American soldiers fairly regularly — but we don’t often hear about the tens of thousands of Iraqis who we’ve murdered. Nine-year-old Ali was only one of them. And because we’re tired of hearing about Iraq — I’m tired of hearing about Iraq — I can’t help but feel a little bit complicit in this.

Stop Creating More.

Ezra says it perfectly, so I’m just going to quote him in full:

This really seems to be the difference between liberals and neoconservatives on foreign policy, doesn’t it? Neocons envision a near-static population of terrorists, and prescribe an aggressive policy of killing them in order to rid the world of terrorism. Liberals see a dynamic population of terrorists and prescribe broad policies meant to blunt their popular appeal and deprive them of public support. Neocons looks at the liberal prescription and say, essentially, “you’re not killing enough of them.” And liberals look at the Neocons and, aghast, say, “stop making so many more.”

Feministe Feeback: Discussing Choice with a Young Woman

My question for “feministe feedback” (thanks for adding this feature, by the way – I wouldn’t know where to ask this question, otherwise) has to do with some of the apparently false scare tactics certain factions of the anti-choice movement employ. My 14-year-old neighbor told me the yesterday, upon noticing my pro-choice bumper sticker, that she thought abortion was a big “no-no” because of a documentary she’d seen. Apparently, it included an actual ultrasound of an abortion taking place (?!). She went on to tell me that, while she’d previously thought a fetus was “just made up of a bunch of cells and stuff” she now realized it was “ALIVE” because the footage she saw showed, and I quote, “a week old fetus that was moving around furiously just to avoid the forceps there to take him away. Its heart beat was also measured and it sped up, like a normal human being in fear.” Of course, I was pretty taken aback by all of this (which gross inaccuracy to address first?), but even after a few probing questions – taking into account errors in memory/retelling – it strikes me that this girl was fed, at the very least, a lot of seriously misleading information. (And I’d really like to get my hands on this so-called “documentary.”) Unfortunately, our conversation was cut short before I could really get anywhere.

I’ve heard about lies and misinformation various groups of anti-choicers use in their campaigns, but up to this point, I’ve spent more time acquainting myself with the legal side of abortion to pay much attention. (I do know that when I was in high school – and that wasn’t even five years ago – I was never shown any suspect “documentaries” on the subject.) So, what’s going on? Where can I learn more about these so-called “facts” anti-choicers are spreading around? What are the most common ones? Are there any good resources detailing said lies – and the actual truth? (And, for the hell of it, has anybody heard of the aforementioned documentary?) Most importantly, though, what’s the best way to keep an open – and truthful – dialogue going with my young neighbor on the subject? I thought it was okay to talk to her about it because she brought it up first, but now I don’t know whether to wait for her to bring it up again, or not. I can’t stand the idea that she’s walking around with false information when, if she at least had the facts, she could make an informed decision. But, I don’t want to overstep my bounds, either.

I suspect that the documentary in question is The Silent Scream (and that link is a great resource for refuting the claims made in the film).

Beyond that, any suggestions form the peanut gallery on how to deal with this situation? How do you talk with young women about choice?

Friday Random Ten

1. A.C. Newman – On the Table
2. Interpol – C’mere
3. Silver Jews – Time Will Break the World
4. Darren Hanlon – Ends of the City
5. The Shins – Gone for Good
6. Minmae – Cold Steel Minders
7. Death Cab for Cutie – Someday You Will Be Loved
8. Mellowmen – Sunshine Shell
9. Andrew Bird – Fiery Crash
10. A-Sides – Through the Ocean

Only one video this week since I’m running out the door to Boston, but it was filmed in Seattle and I like that:

See some of you at WAM!

WAM!

The WAM conference kicks off tomorrow evening, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m currently praising Past Jill for not proposing a workshop or speaking on a panel; there are so many fantastic women to meet and learn from that I’m looking forward to shutting up for a weekend and just taking it all in. I mean, just look at these sessions — how will Future Jill even decide what to go to? And while the panels sound phenomenal, I’m most excited to meet all the fantastic bloggers, journalists and other media mavens who are showing up.

Any of you gonna be there?