Shameless Self-Promotion Sunday March 29, 2009 Jill You know the drill. Link, description, specific. In the comments.
I wrote about Florida’s proposed tanning bed ban for minors and a (positive!) study about young women in the workplace
Monster’s Assault energy drink. A few more reasons why young women do, in fact, have “fire in the belly” for the reproductive justice movement.
First of all: After 6 years, the return of professional women’s soccer in America begins today with the inaugural match of WPS. 🙂 In Brazil, the abortion debate continues as more cases of young girls being raped come to light. And after reading about it on Feministing, I wrote about the judge who instructed the FDA to rethink its age restrictions for getting Plan B without a prescription.
Women Media Action & The Media All Women Matter?: Looking at how inclusive the WAM conference is as it relates to class lines. OOOH The Mehnz Are STOOPID: Examining the claim by the MRA’s that feminist should work to end misandry in the media. This is a cougar: Looking at how the term is both ageist and sexist. Womanism/feminism … Feminism/Womanism: looking at how the ordering of labels can sometimes leads to hierarchy in womens activism. ABC’s What Would You Do Homophobia In A Gay Bar: A look at how even when people speak up against homophobia they still display their heterosexist privilege.
Desiring Arabs: He argues that the consequence, if this Western “progressive” epistemology takes hold, will be the suppression of same-sex desire and practices as they have been and remain a part of Arab and Muslim culture. Things I’ve Been Silent About: The memoir is also weakened by Nafisi’s profuse obsession with proving her critics wrong—the same literary critics that found Reading Lolita in Tehran to be an orientalist work relying on Western stereotypes to portray Iran. She goes to great haste to strengthen her father’s political stances; she too often repeats his love of Iran, critique of the Shah’s regime, and desire for revolution. La Corona, which translates to “the crown,” is a short documentary centering around a beauty pageant which takes place every year in the largest female prison in Colombia. I Love You, Man / DuplicityI can’t remember the last time that I went to the theater and saw two movies in one day. For that matter, I can’t remember the last time that I was even able to afford that; I live in Manhattan, land of the thirteen dollar movie ticket. However, there were two recently released flicks that I was absolutely dying to see. I also have two dramatically different friends with dramatically different tastes who wanted me to accompany them to two dramatically different movies.
Saudi women’s campaign to boycott lingerie stores: As progressive as it sounds? http://damsel.typepad.com/damsel/2009/03/bra-shopping-with-the-boys.html
Controlling the Means of Reproduction: An Interview with Michelle Goldberg on RH Reality Check about how US reproductive rights policy affects women’s rights around the globe.
I dredged up a retelling of my brush with domestic violence: http://hardtobehuman.blogspot.com/2009/03/that-one-time.html
my reaction to the Screature commercial, where a little girls gets squirted in the face: http://filthygrandeur.blogspot.com/2009/03/its-never-too-early-to-be-sexist.html exposing my kitty to the internetz: http://filthygrandeur.blogspot.com/2009/03/pretty-kitty.html part one of my analysis of china mieville’s novel, Iron Council (gender and sexuality): http://filthygrandeur.blogspot.com/2009/03/gender-and-sexuality-identity-and.html
The controversy over Real Age and Big Pharma My first book review Everything Changes I’d appreciate any feed back on the review. And MUST SEE Self exams with the most unique tools ever And more, I didn’t realize how busy I’d been until now, Thanks!
I once again appeal to the very literate feministe readers for recommendations: where are all the funny short stories?
After the recent Atlantic article about the stigma of bottle feeding vs. breastfeeding, I finally threw my hat into the ring with “Myth of the Mommy Wars: Why a mom catfight is the worst thing we can do”: http://www.examiner.com/x-1146-Seattle-Eastside-Parenting-Examiners~y2009m3d24-Myth-of-the-Mommy-Wars–Why-a-mom-catfight-is-the-worst-thing-we-can-do
I’m musing on the fat politics in Desperate Housewives. They’ve done some awful, awful things, but a recent storyline shakes things up a little. Plus, cute baby otters in our Otterday! thread.
This week I looked at TV body shaming under the guise of body acceptance; Institutionalized sexism in the Metropolitan Police force that freed rapists to terrorize more women; and Britain’s new enforcement of old colonialism in the Caribbean
I’m a little loopy cause I just got back from WAM! (planning several posts on my weekend there), but I have a post up on the YALSA blog about my experience at Sex::Tech last weekend, with full-text from my presentation also available at Sagittarian Librarian. (I was presenting on how libraries support teen sexual health.)
So, I just started a new blog. I thought I would do lots of post-colonial and gender stuff. So, I’ve opened up with one of a series of posts I hope to be doing on Orientalism in media: http://fuzzytheory.blogspot.com/2009/03/east-in-advertising-part-1.html I hope it is enjoyed.
I love blogging on local elections. Especially when one of the candidate’s supporters obsess themselves with what I dream about (getting searched and seized by police) and how I get my orgasms. And two months still to go…
I wrote about being asked “are you a boy or a girl?” Some people left great ideas for answering that in the comments; I almost hope someone asks me soon, just so I can try some of their responses =)
For readers in the UK who’ve been following the coverage of (or participating in) the demos against the G20 world-*spit*-leaders, I discuss violence on demonstrations. As the great Canadian cub-club begins, I consider some of the gripes that people express when animal rights supporters point out that it’s not nice to crush skulls. Two examples of how the responsibility of the privileged simply disappears: economics and gender.
I have some little puff pieces up about my Spring Break adventures in LA: One, two, three. And a small post about cookie medals. It was Spring Break this week, so I didn’t write anything too serious, I’m afraid.
http://feministchristian.blogspot.com/2009/03/yet-another-reason-im-glad-i-left.html My infuriated take on the Calgary Teachers’ Association shutting down their fundraiser for the Stephen Lewis Foundation because a bishop had problems with it. http://feministchristian.blogspot.com/2009/03/not-funny.html Not funny. Rape “jokes”, etc.
Oh, I haven’t had time to shamelessly self promote lately, but I will throw some links up on here: I have two new replies – turned – posts: one on maternal request for cesarean when they are tired of pushing and a spin off of that on elective interventions and provider opinion of risks vs. patient autonomy. Hmm, other than that, I wrote about being prostelytized at while passing out information about teen pregnancy and birth control at a health fair, my friend was in labor (and since has had a beautiful baby girl), and some more good news on reproductive health out of the Obama administration.
I wrote about religious (vs cultural) appropriation. Also: Candle-lighting (photos) for Year Six of the Iraq War
I wrote about white privilege and Jewish identity: http://bellareve.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/white-privilege-jewish-identity/ (I just started this blog, it also discusses sex work & mental health)
I visited my grandmother’s grave with my daughter recently and was dismayed at the brevity and inaccuracy of her tombstone. I shared with my daughter, her great-grandmother’s life as I know it, in “Wife” -gadfly
I interviewed Richard Berkowitz, the star of the documentary “Sex Positive” and an amazing safer sex advocate who’s got lots of experience with gay history and S&M history. http://clarissethorn.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/interview-with-richard-berkowitz-star-of-sex-positive-and-icon-of-safer-sex-activism/ I also gave advice to a young feminist woman who’s new to BDSM, who is having trouble figuring out both what collars mean in that world, and what they mean to her. http://clarissethorn.wordpress.com/2009/03/25/storytime-with-clarisse-slash-clarisses-advice-column-on-collars/
Anti-Jewish Sentiment? Pastor Would Rather Go to Jail Then Stop Harassing Women Going To Oakland Clinic There is no such thing as a White Anti-Racist Does Yelp Manipulate Business Pages for Advertisers? Dr. Horrible, The Guild Clean Up At Streamys and I share A Spell for Earth Day.
Post about more police misconduct http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/at-least-no-one-got-shot/ Post about rape trees http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/03/26/rape-trees-and-immigrant-women-the-silent-victims/ post about recent dollhouse episode http://mzbitca.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/dollhousehas-the-tide-turned/
I also just put this up in response to a piece I read about hotness and body image. The thesis is basically that I am all for striving to be hot, but that the conventional magazine-cover woman is not the only way to be hot.
Women’s History: Dorothy Day http://suchcoolstuff.blogspot.com/2009/03/womens-history-dorothy-day.html Roundabout Dancewear designs pure silk, hand-dyed, hand-sewn dance skirts and pants lovingly made by long-time circle dancers, heather and David in their country home. http://suchcoolstuff.blogspot.com/2009/03/roundabout-dancewear.html Have you seen Chinese artist and designer zeng? http://suchcoolstuff.blogspot.com/2009/03/zeng.html
I excerpted Sungold of Kittywampus’s awesome smackdown of anti-feminist folk-history of feminism and the sexual revolution, and then added some thoughts about the location of power in the traditional, gendered response-to-outside-initiative word “consent” vs. the seriously more general-purpose, non-dependent, non-reaction-mode word “decide.” I’m not exactly shameless about this just yet because I’m not sure I can articulate it coherently. But I want to promote it anyway because I think it’ll be useful getting the point across in conversations with anti-feminists and men. Here’s Sungold’s original post: Feminism, Sexual Revolution, and “Getting the Milk for Free”. My post: Revolution vs. “Revolution,” Feminist vs. “Sexual” I’ve been struggling with a consent/decision distinction for a couple of weeks now and Sungold’s post really helps, as have a couple of Bridget Crawford posts and papers about 3rd-wave feminism. Oh, and final note (uh oh, this is getting long) the legal principle of consent is *really, really* necessary so I’m not saying it’s bogus in terms of the law. I’m just saying outside of court, at least, it’s not sufficient. figleaf
Students at an Indian university marched on campus to protest a department chair’s sexual harassment and other misconduct. Their action led the university to suspend the prof. Students at an Indiana Christian college marched to (and into) a bar to protest their campus’s no-alcohol policy. And an eighth grader in Connecticut attended classes wrapped in duct tape to protest his school’s ban on physical contact between students.
I got a little confused when Australia’s most widely-read dating columnist challenged her readers to go a month without casual sex. Uh, isn’t that what most people do most of the time? There’s also the whole idea that “making men wait” makes them like/respect you more, but I didn’t have space to dissect that one in this post (that, and I and many others have dissected it many times before). I also fondly remembered David Brooks’ 2002 article on hook-up culture, which rather than making me roll my eyes, had me thrilled at how “So True” it all was. On the pop-cultural front, I revisted my love of Courtney Love and wondered if Gossip Girl is going down the tubes.
The Vital Ingredient: why we need to PLAY. http://somaquest.blogspot.com/2009/03/vital-ingredient.html
And another one, in response to an article in the Sunday papers: The New Domestic Goddess: is happiness found in a rolling pin?
In Vegans Against PETA, I write about the fact that Germany has (belatedly) banned the vile Holocaust on Your Plate campaign, and even though PETA once apologized for it they are apparently no longer sorry.
I wrote a post about the linguistic validity of Ebonics, and how feelings about ‘talking white’ are much more nuanced than the common claptrap about verbal laziness regarding ‘proper speech.’ http://postbourgie.com/2009/03/26/you-dont-speak-the-dunn-language-properly/
I wrote about Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s breast cancer and advocacy. I also wished Gloria Steinem a happy 75th birthday.
I reviewed the latest two episodes of Dollhouse: Man on the Street and Echoes. I also replied to Ann Bauer’s Salon article about her autistic son’s violence. Finally, my poem Others Dream of Dawn won a contest on Feminist Review.
As an atheist, I was asked to be a part of a panel on religious oppression for a class at my university. However, it seems like I was duped, with it turning into a debate about beliefs…and I was the only person who didn’t know about this. http://blaghag.blogspot.com/2009/03/duped-and-annoyed.html
Over at Yes Means Yes Blog, I put up a piece on the trend of charging teens with crimes for “sexting,” and especially charging young women with child porn offenses for distributing their own image, titled It Became Necessary To Destroy The Town To Save It. I crossposted it to Feministing Community, where in a discussion I threw out an exemption to the federal child porn statute that would prevent young women from being, in effect, charged with exploiting themselves, which Harper Tobin of Polymorphous Perversity liked and posted, so I put in up at Yes Means Yes here.
I wrote some stuff: “You’ve got a gift, my friend. Don’t hide that in a bushel basket.” featuring videos of Wanda Sykes and Jim Gaffigan. Hot Pockets! I absolutely love Murder, She Wrote. I really do. Apparently The Boston Globe has never heard of HBCUs., about black people and educational expectations. Enjoy!