Shameless Self-Promotion Sunday February 15, 2009 Jill Sorry this is going up so late. Self-promote away.
http://pushingrope.blogspot.com/2009/02/bloging-for-media-enter-at-your-own.html“>Blogging for the Media: Enter At Your Own Risk My experience dealing with a shall not be named media publication. The meetings I had with the editors were mind-bogglingly stupid. At one point, the deal was for the media company to host Pushing Rope. My goal was to recruit other progressive bloggers and make PR like AlterNet Peek. At a meeting, I mentioned Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos get ad revenue from political activist organizations. The web editor declared, “We aren’t interested in Daily or Talking Points Memo ad revenue!” A media company looking for more internet revenue told me they weren’t interested in the ad market of two of the most profitable blogs in America. It took all my willpower not to laugh.
http://kmareka.com/?p=2778 went to see Slumdog Millionaire. i can’t just laugh off the extreme violent child abuse just because the surviving stars are all singing and dancing at the end. minus the kids, who are still in Mumbai with the money spent and parents sick, there isn’t any heart in this movie.
This week we wrote about three things: -Bill O’Reilly is a douchebag –PETA is fucking nuts –Valentine’s day sucks. Pretty much business as usual.
I’ve been attacking men’s rights websites. It’s dirty work, going that deep into the putrid depths of the internet, but my contempt for these people drives me. http://alterdestiny.blogspot.com/2009/02/new-series-wednesday-crisis-of.html http://alterdestiny.blogspot.com/2009/02/crisis-of-masculinity-blogging-special.html http://alterdestiny.blogspot.com/2009/02/crisis-of-masculinity-blogging-special_14.html
I’ve got a giveaway going on on the front page, feel free to enter. I wrote about Pot. The reason people don’t trust science news And the words that came out of my 4 year olds mouth I don’t want to be cool, I want to be beautiful As always thanks for the space and I’ll take any advice you’ve got on the post about my kid.
A spam message got me a little confused in Mega Member! A thread on Amber Rhea’s gt me creating a vision of a (feminist, because I believe overthrowing capitalism and overthrowing Patriarchy are interlinked) communist utopia, with a “day in the life” story: Mark’s Day (Sandra’s Day is coming soon). The groundwork for the story is here. Finally, in a lighter, and happier, note, my sister is getting married – this came as a surprise because she fiercely denounced the institution of marriage for the majority of her life… I manage to make this post all about me…
My Chicago sex-positive film series showed an awesome film about Richard Berkowitz, an old-school gay rights activist / S&M hustler who helped invent the concept of safe sex. And Berkowitz himself commented on my followup post!
I ripped into the He’s Just Not That Into You concept (and how pop culture and media coverage of relationships are used to beat up insecurity in women just like the beauty industry) for The Age only to discover I didn’t hate the movie as much as I thought I would. Oops. Still found plenty of fodder for my upcoming women’s mag article tearing into the book and movie, though. I was also delighted to find an article on Manic Pixie Dream Girls a cliched indie film stock character I’d noted myself around the time of Garden State and Elizabethtown.
This week, I expressed my disgust with PETA, watched the premiere of Joss Whedon’s new series Dollhouse, and made an obligatory Valentine’s Day post. Also, Counterexample Poetics published three of my poems, including one that grew out my disgust with hearing advice not to “think like a victim”.
My thoughts on Elizabeth Mendez Berry’s response to the Rihanna/Chris Brown relationship. Post about Women on the Web, who post the abortion pill to women in countries where abortion is illegal.
I’ve got a post up about queer role models. Also, a shameless bleg for help with my presentation at Sex::Tech 2009.
Taking a cue from Carol Pateman’s feminist critique of social contract theory, I ask what kind of political “creation story” could do justice to the experiences of women. I also put together a Valentine’s Day playlist that is neither schmaltzy nor cynical, which I’m kind of proud of.
Happy Sunday! I posted about forced ultrasounds before abortions in a reply turned post. And, trigger warning, I posted about female genital mutilation and its relationship to male circumcision.
Over at Pink Scare… Arvilla takes on Suze Orman and points out that popular finance is just as bad as evolutionary biology. LN weighs in on the day-in-the-life-of-Courtney-Martin dust-up. You’re privileged; now what? T defends Chicago against Forbes Magazine’s recent accusation that it’s the third most miserable city in America. Also, just say no to public calorie counting!
Inspired by Racefail 2009 and by the premiere of Dollhouse (which I need to go watch momentarily), I bring up my concerns about venerating those who only throw crumbs, particularly in the case of Joss Whedon as feminist icon.
Hiya! This week: A tribute to Sojourner Truth A little about Yes Means Yes! Why comments about Chris Brown and Rihanna make me hate the world A word about Black History Month as lip service Applauding Glamour magazine for writing openly about abortion And of course, a rant and call to action about our state-sponsored rape-training (i.e. Abstinence only education)
Oh, and we talk about Valentines Day from a personal and feminist perspective And we discussed Coraline the movie
A sampling of this week’s feminist reviews are… Taken Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics, and the War on Terror He’s Just Not That Into You Revolutionary Road and Resilience: Queer Professors from the Working Class Tomorrow we’ll have a review of Yes Means Yes as a part of our dual review series by feminist bloggers, so keep an eye out for that one.
Post on rape culture http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/ahhh-rape-culture/ Post on being an ally (partially influenced by posts by both Lauren and Courtney http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/02/13/being-an-ally/ Post about 3 boys that sexually assaulted girls on their school bus for months http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/02/14/girls-sexually-assaulted-on-school-bus/
I went back to my roots as a historian of gender and sexuality and explored where Ted Haggard fits in the history of “sodomy.”
This week, I hosted a guest post by a friend of mine who lives on women-only land, responding to my thoughts about the NYT article on lesbian communities. Inspired by the Feminist Review’s v-day photo contest, I blogged on my five favorite feminist books. And I’ve just posted a review (soon to be cross-posted on feministing community) of Patricia Brigg’s new fantasy novel, Bone Crossed, which is mostly a meditation on the dearth of female friendships in some genre fiction. Thoughts on why this might be? Come share in the comments!
My book is coming out next week-already has anti-poly people mad, and anti-feminists sick: http://www.rebeccawalker.com/work/one-big-happy-family Kirkus loved it, though: “The essays she assembles smash class, race and gender stereotypes to collectively demonstrate the fluidity of the contemporary family unit. Resisting the traditional boundaries of coupledom, Jenny Block, on the one hand, celebrates the openness of what she calls a “polyamorous marriage” with her husband and her girlfriend. On the other hand, Judith Levine and her boyfriend, together for 17 years, never married for a number of practical and philosophic reasons. Writes Levine: “A marriage may or may not be a union of love. It is always a union of property…I’d like the state to get out of the sexual-licensing business altogether, actually, for couples gay, straight, bi, or none of the above.” “Eye-opening and sometimes shocking, as it brilliantly explodes traditional notions about the nuclear family.”
I wrote about my queer identity and how I shifted from being a lesbian to being a transfag. I also question the idea that “female-to-male” means going from one rigid gender box to another. And I gushed about Athens Boys Choir, a spoken word/hip-hop artist who sings about being a gay, Jewish transman.
I think I did some good writing this week, up first: Listen Up White Women! On Racism and Feminism, and secondly, I went head to head with the ideology of some radical feminists in: Gametes and RadFems, the fruit of much labor in conversation at Womanist Musings this week. Also; NEW GREEN DAY ALBUM release date. 😀
I just finished reading a free Harlequin and needed to scream about it a little because of how it describes coercing a woman into not having an abortion.
in my blog, I wrote more about slut-shaming. why do some people rationalize doing it to “dirty mistresses?”
I’ve got a post up about my current mixed feelings about using the label “feminist.” I also went back and forth with eloriane over at Gender Goggles about Across the Universe and the character of Prudence.
Welcome and registration posts for our conference March 27-28th at Yale Law School in New Haven, CT re: the myth of women opting out of the legal profession, and a post about the need for institutional change within the legal profession. Look around, comment, and register!
I mused on the responsibilities, difficulties and implications of living in a democracy in a On the edge of my seat: a note on democracy and The importance of independent thought: a further note on democracy. I wrote about the recent (and ongoing) explosion in fantasty and science fiction fandom over race (known as Racefail/The Great Cultural Appropriation Debate ’09). I had a look at the new exhibit at the International Museum of Women, Women, Power and Politics. I also wrote a post on the first anniversary of the apology to Aboriginal Australians taken away from their families as per overnment policy up until about thirty years ago. Finally, and sadly, I wrote a post called ‘Women the new pimps in human trafficking trade’. And two posts on Valentine’s Day. I wrote more, but I think that’s enough to link (:P). Hope everyone has a good week!
I mused on the responsibilities, difficulties and implications of living in a democracy in a On the edge of my seat: a note on democracy and The importance of independent thought: a further note on democracy. I wrote about the recent (and ongoing) explosion in fantasty and science fiction fandom over race (known as Racefail/The Great Cultural Appropriation Debate ’09). I had a look at the new exhibit at the International Museum of Women, Women, Power and Politics. I also wrote a post on the first anniversary of the apology to Aboriginal Australians taken away from their families as per overnment policy up until about thirty years ago. Finally, and sadly, I wrote a post called ‘Women the new pimps in human trafficking trade’. And two posts on Valentine’s Day. I wrote more, but I think that’s enough to link :P. I hope everyone has a good week.
Okay Americans it’s On: George Bush ‘s first official speech since leaving office is in Alberta. We Canadians consider this a declaration of war. Baby wipes Terrence Howard thinks that Chris Brown Is A Good Guy: Looking at the domestic violence apologism in the Chris and Rhianna incident. Behold the God Of Rock: Virgin of Sexism: Looking at a sexist advertising campaign in Ottawa. Prince Harry knows what a real black sounds like: Looking at the racist commentary by Prince Harry
If you’re in the SF Bay Area (well, even if you’re anywhere) you can now buy tickets to the March performance of First Sundays. It’s an improvisational performance series I’m producing, benefiting good non-profits, and this one will raise money for the Berkeley Free Clinic.You can also see a video of Cera Byer, who does the most awesome belly dance fusion, and who will be performing in the March 1st show.
Picking up the never-ending “Asian Fetish Myth debate with a post for Hyphen called “Asian Girls and the Guys Who Fetishize them”>:
V-Day was Self-Love Day, so I loved my stomach and gave you reasons why you should, too. Post complete with gratuitous beautiful baby picture.
I wrote about Valentine’s day, both pre and post. Not specifically feminist, just a string of ill thought out rambling mostly.
I’ve started a new community over at LJ called “Natural Beauty”. I’m encouraging women to share photos of themselves and own their make-up less selves.
My take on coverage of the Rihanna/Chris Brown incident. My take on that rape game. And a short bit about my ecofeminist Valentine’s Day. Maybe one day I will write about original subjects. Today is not that day.
I talked about my issues with the word ‘kyriarchy’. I argued that saying animal experiments are necessary to find more drugs is beside the point. I discussed the power of stereotypes and what they mean for politics. I took on the recent BDSM-related blog war, focusing on the issue of a desire for dominance.
The Dreaded R Word: Thoughts on “rationing” health care in the US. Vaccines, Politics, and the Collective Good: Thoughts on the fallout from the decisions rejecting claims that vaccines cause autism and the allegation that Andrew Wakefield manipulated data.
Sorry for the cross-listing. Here’s a little something from Professor What If’s blog:What if the feminist blogosphere is a form of digital colonialism?
One of the most notable posts in Race Fail 09 was David D. Levine‘s essay on how if people of color were going to be rude about his writing, he’d just write only about white people. I responded with “Why I Won’t Be Trying For a Bechdel” (supposing that there were such a thing as a Bechdel Award for SF/F in which two women talked to each other about something other than a man). The comments-thread includes the gem: “And great-grandmother was a woman, which makes me one-eighth female!”
@ The Czech: More woman hating in Kansas, my home state. A$$hole vigilante brown-people-hating Sheriff Joe Arpaio may be stepping into some pretty hot water. A kitty photographer has a gallery show in Seattle.
I posted a quick one about the Oz Bushfire Appeal http://suchcoolstuff.blogspot.com/2009/02/ozbushfireappeal.html
I posted about a public demand for an end to anonymity on the Internet: Stupid Things People Say On The Internet 4960. Continuing my series of wholesome fast food, I wrote about my dad’s recipe for Cheese and Potato Pie. And when the Prime Minister and the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition got into a barney about how old Titian was when he died, I noted that you should never, ever, try to win an argument by editing a Wikipedia page.
The gender issues in Coraline, partially in reply to posts made on O Filthy Grandeur and Women on Film: http://themidhavens.net/heretic_loremaster/2009/02/the-coraline-grab-bag/
I wrote a few things this week: The best part of The L Word, about my favorite kid currently on the TV. Somebody was in Emergency, Somebody just got out of Jail, about the unfortunate latest celebrity scandal permeating the current news cycle. For you fans of A Different World, there is a clip embedded in the post. Musings from a black woman: Oh, really? about the alleged “end of white America”. As if. and Girls on Film lamenting the lack of coming-of-age movies for girls and women. Fun times!
Reading Theriomorph’s descriptions of her history with anorexia and following links to the Fatosphere prompts much thinking about body image and a sudden unexpected surge of bravery, leading to me actually writing about body image issues for the first time. I’m just getting started, there’ll be a lot more of this. http://cassandrasays.blogspot.com/2009/02/body-image-stuff-its-taken-while-for-me.html I really wish we talked more openly about this stuff in the feminist community, because my recent revelation was that pretty much EVERY woman has body image issues of some kind.