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

Month: September 2013

Unplug.

In the Guardian this week, I’m writing about I Am Here days, excursions conceived of by my friends Priya and Anand. You get a small group together, pick a neighborhood, and spend 12 full hours exploring — without checking email, texting, tweeting or looking at your phone. The story:

How Intactivists Are Ruining the Debate on Circumcision

Every time female genital cutting is mentioned on Feministe — every time — someone from the “intactivist” community shows up to derail the conversation and make it all about the alleged horrors of male circumcision. Intactivists, for the unfamiliar, are men (and a few women) who oppose male circumcision. They claim it’s a violation of human rights, that’s it a physical mutilation, that it’s medically unnecessary and that it reduces sexual pleasure. They’re incredibly active online, and I was interested to see that they aren’t just trolling feminist blogs — they’re showing up in the comments of every article written on circumcision.

A Maternal Health Revolution in Republic of Congo

A truly remarkable piece of reporting (including actual good news on maternal health) by Jina Moore in Al Jazeera America:

BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo – At first glance, Central University Hospital in Brazzaville looks like so many other hospitals in so many other African capitals – home to dimly lit waiting rooms and dirty floors. But inside the freshly painted mint-green walls of the hospital’s maternity ward, a revolution is happening.

Selfless Signal-Boosting Wednesday

This thread is for links to pieces on other people’s blogs that you have found delightful/memorable/provoking recently (they can be older posts, just something you’ve found recently relevant). Please save the self-promotion links for a Shameless Self-Promotion Sunday thread – use this thread to let Feministe readers know about the other blogs you love to read, especially those on the margins of the mainstream social justice communities, who tend to not get as much exposure as they should.