In defense of the sanctimonious women's studies set || First feminist blog on the internet

Month: April 2009

Happy Recession, Reality TV Style

In case you needed more proof that FOX is a den of evil:

Fox has ordered a “one-hour unscripted series that turns real-life company layoffs into a reality contest.” The show — titled “Someone’s Gotta Go” — will give company staffers access to internal information (budgets, HR files, and salaries) and the power to determine which of the company’s staffers is fired. The Hollywood Reporter notes, “It’s the anti-‘Apprentice’: Instead of contestants vying for a dream job, they’re fighting to keep the lousy one they already have.”

Oh, I don’t see any problem with that, no. No problem with releasing private HR files for mass public consumption, no problem with giving corporations an excuse to lay off people from real jobs by enacting a “life boat” scenario, no problem there.

Nope. Nothing wrong here. Pass the popcorn.

(h/t)

Columbia/Barnard Take Back the Night March

On the night of Thursday April 16th, there will be a Take Back the Night March held in New York City.  One of the event’s coordinators, Robin, said in her email to me that the march is “an empowering event for both men and women, survivors, co-survivors and allies,” and it looks like efforts have been made to make the event as accessible as possible.

Information below:

COLUMBIA/BARNARD TAKE BACK THE NIGHT

April 16th, 2009
March starts at 9pm, Barnard Gates (117th & Broadway, NYC)
Speakout starts at 11pm, LeFrak Gym, Barnard College

“Tonight is a night of survival, in the most active sense of the word”

The mission of Take Back the Night March and Speakout is to break the silence about sexual violence by inviting the Morningside Heights community to gather together, as survivors, allies, family, friends, neighbors and strangers, to support each other and protest the violence that affects all of us. The march is an opportunity to re-claim the streets of New York City, the neighborhood of Morningside Heights, and the Columbia campus as safe spaces. After the march, we host a Speakout, during which community members speak anonymously about their experiences. The march is wheelchair accessible. Free childcare will be provided. ASL signer will be present during pre-march rally.

For more information contact TBTN.at.Columbia@gmail.com

If you’re able to make it out, please do!

President of Liberia Speaks Out Against Violence Against Women

Yesterday, the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, appeared on the Tavis Smiley Show.  President Johnson-Sirleaf is the first woman to ever be elected as a head of state to an African nation. She is also a survivor of domestic violence, and in her new autobiography, This Child Will Be Great, she chose to write about that violence.

In the video below, she explains that decision:

A partial transcript, provided by PBS:

“We must do more to stop domestic violence—violence against women—which is something that pertains to many African societies and, I think, world societies today…Hopefully this brings about some consciousness, even on the part of men, to know that there is a different way that one can raise children, that one can grow up, that a wife is not a subject, a wife is not an object of abuse….Things are changing, I hope this book this book will contribute to the consolidation of that change that brings gender equality, in families, in homes, and in nations.”

I think that any woman who speaks out about intimate partner violence, in a world where such violence is still so heavily stigmatized and regularly blamed on women, is immensely brave. I think this is especially the case when the woman in question is a powerful head of state — and not even past, but present — and likely to be even more heavily criticized as a result.

Her story does, as she argues, show what those of us here already knew: if it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. I can only hope that her choice to tell her story will help to erase some of the stigma, encourage more women to seek help and speak out, and promote policies which make such violence a far less common occurrence in the first place.

Feminist at Passover

FeministGal has a great post up about feminist passover traditions, and specifically feminist Seder alternatives. Check it out. She writes:

Susannah Heschel, a leading feminist scholar, is the woman responsible for popularizing the custom of an orange on the Seder plate. The story goes that during one of Susannah Heschel’s lectures at a synagogue in Miami, an elderly rabbi stood up and said, “A woman belongs on the bimah like an orange belongs on the Seder plate.” “To show support for the changing role of women in American Jewish society, the tradition of placing an orange on the Seder plate began, and Heschel became a household name at many Passover celebrations around the globe.”But don’t be fooled… this isn’t the actual story of the orange. In the early 80’s a feminist Haggadah instructed that Jews place a crust of bread on the Seder plate to represent marginalized Jews, particularly Jewish lesbians and gay men, in the Jewish community. Although Heschel liked the notion of reintroducing oppressed groups into Passover, she did not agree that the symbol should be bread. Heschel felt that by putting bread on the Seder plate we would be indicating that gay men and women are violating Judaism like leavened foods (the bread) violate Passover. Heschel instead chose an orange to symbolize the inclusion of gays and lesbians (as well as others who are marginalized and oppressed within Jewish law and tradition). Heschel chose an orange for two reasons: 1. to symbolize the “fruitfulness of all Jews” (aka it’s better when EVERYONE gets a chance to participate, and everyone benefits when all are included) and 2. the seeds, as they are spit out, act as a symbol of the homophobia and discrimination we are protesting.

Additionally, Heschel was more than a bit (rightfully) peeved when the story about the elderly male rabbi began to circulate because (she writes) “somehow the typical patriarchal maneuver occurred: My idea of an orange and my intention of affirming lesbians and gay men were transformed. Now the story circulates that a man said to me that a woman belongs on the bimah as an orange on the seder plate. A woman’s words are attributed to a man, and the affirmation of lesbians and gay men is erased. Isn’t that precisely what’s happened over the centuries to women’s ideas?”

Don’t forget to bring an orange to your first seder tonight. And definitely pass along the story of why it’s there.

There’s much more to the post, including an updated haggadah. Go check it out.

What other feminist spins do you put on religious or secular celebrations and traditions?

Yeehaw, DC!

You aren’t quite Vermont, but you still warm my heart.

The D.C. Council voted today to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states, on the same day that Vermont became the fourth state to legalize same-sex unions.

Domestic partnerships are already legal in the nation’s capital. But today’s vote, billed as an important milestone in gay rights, explicitly recognizes relocated gay married couples as married.

The initial vote was 12-0. The unanimous vote sets the stage for future debate on legalizing same-sex marriage in the District and a clash with Congress, which approves the city’s laws under Home Rule. The council is expected to take a final vote on the legislation next month.

Today is a good one, huh?

Birth Control in Schools: As Dangerous as Handguns?

A guest-post by Kate

Like many young girls, I spent a long-time convincing my mother to allow me to go on birth control, which largely involved lying to her about how I needed it for all the great things it does besides contraception (“But Sarah said it makes her periods lighter, mom! And it’s supposed to be great for my skin, and make my boobs b. . . uh. . . I mean, and it’s great for my skin!”).

So imagine how happy I was when a friend emailed me the text of a recent Washington Post article, that started like this:

When a Fairfax County mother got an urgent call from school last month reporting that her teenage daughter was caught popping a pill at lunchtime, she did not panic. “It was probably her birth-control pill,” she thought. She was right.

What a progressive, sex positive mom, right? Maybe this is going to be a happy feminist article! Think again:

Her heart dropped that afternoon in the assistant principal’s office at Oakton High School when she and her daughter heard the mandatory punishment: A two-week suspension and recommendation for expulsion.

According to the article, the punishment is part of a zero-tolerance drug policy in the school district, one that extends to over-the-counter medications like Tylenol or cough medicine. The girl’s punishment is comparable to what it would be if she had carried a hand gun into the school.

While this whole thing seems ludicrous, the thing that bothers me most about this situation is that this girl wasn’t busted taking Sudafed or ibuprofen, (though that would be overzealous, too, I won’t take on the stupidity of this whole policy for the moment) but taking a preventative medicine. As a health advocate in the piece points out, this comes dangerously close to “[stigmatizing] responsible behavior.”

Last June, people around the country were panicked, baffled and desperate over what to do about the supposed Gloucester pregnancy pact. Less than a year later, a teenage girl makes a responsible decision about her reproduction, but at the wrong time of day, and is forced out of school for two weeks with the possibility of expulsion.

And we wonder where we went wrong.

___________________________________
Kate is a political blogger and reporter who works and lives in Brooklyn. She has written for Talking Points Memo, The Washington Independent, Columbia Journalism Review and The Guardian, among other outlets. Follow her @itscompliKATEd on Twitter.

Hell Yeah, Vermont

Vermont becomes the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through the legislature. And they did it big:

The Legislature voted Tuesday to override Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill allowing gays and lesbians to marry. The vote was 23-5 to override in the state Senate and 100-49 to override in the House. Under Vermont law, two-thirds of each chamber had to vote for override.

That’s a serious vote. And the fact that same-sex marriage is now legal in Vermont because of overwhelming support from the legislature is a major milestone, and will certainly shift the terms of the debate.

It’s a good day.

Let’s Talk About Pornography: An Interview with Shine Louise Houston

A guest-post by Umayyah Cable


It’s Pride season again, and in addition to the usual queer brouhaha, there are some truly substantial things to be proud of this year. California’s legalization of gay marriage (and subsequent illegalization) aside, let’s talk about pornography. For the past three years, San Francisco has been home to the Crash Pad Series, a queer, woman-run, internet-based porn program that has been steadily building up steam in the alt-porn arena. Look out, homos, she’s gonna blow! Literally. After the Crash Pad’s cult-film debut in 2005 and three grueling years in the erotic interweb trenches, Pink and White Inc., your locally owned and operated porn company responsible for producing the Crash Pad Series, is finally starting to get the publicity it deserves. With major funding from Blowfish Inc to produce a feature film this summer, and national press coverage from the likes of Tristain Taormino and Perez Hilton, PW Inc is poised to blow its celebratory wad in the name of alternative queer porn, which is good news for queers, feminists, and basically anyone who’s got a boner for homo sexcapades.

But on a more serious note, supporting PW Inc is not just about satisfying your specialty needs. It’s also about supporting your local community and it’s economy. For the most part Crash Padder’s, and all those who work behind the scenes for PW Inc., are Bay Area residents. Some work in the industry full time, some just in passing, but the majority people involved with PW Inc are local sex worker heroes. What’s more is that in an industry dominated by degradation and objectification, PW Inc is actively working to reclaim real eroticism in a healthy and sex positive way. Allowing the models to essentially script their own scenes, PW Inc’s model-empowerment strategy is revolutionary in its approach to porn. And revolution is damn sexy. For all intents and purposes, PW Inc has all its PC bases covered: local, sex positive and queer friendly. What more could you ask for in your quest to fulfill your porntastic desires?

I recently met up with the brains behind PW Inc, Shine Louise Houston. Here’s what she had to say about her work.

Read More…Read More…