Aw, it’s Sunday! I <3 Sundays at Feministe. Just today, I wrote a linkspam for FWD/Forward, A few relevant posts on ‘Glee’, specifically by people with disabilities about the show’s presentation of disability. I also wrote Your Chilling Fact For The Day, which is a short piece on the high levels of abuse of women with disabilities, compared to how funding rarely allows women’s shelters to be accessible for people with disabilities. [Check the comments for more thoughts.] And Power & Responsibility, which is about caregiver roles relating to people with disabilities, and the expectations on who they should fall on, and why I find this problematic. But again, the comments are where it’s at – people leave really insightful, amazing comments that point out things I’m missing and ignorant of, and also delving deeper into some of the things I discussed. I love our comment section.
1. A Note On Male Privilege And “Passing”: The ways I experience some pseudo-privilege by virtue of being (and being read as) masculine. 2. Ideology Vs Identity: Judaism, British law, and the attempt to divorce religion from ethnicity. 3. Gender Conformity Test: Quick (and humorous) ways to tell if you are gender conforming.
Carrie Prejean is not bad, just misunderstood. She’s totally out of her depth, (which is ankle level), and running with a crowd that will turn on her for being what she is… Carrie Prejean–Courtesan http://kmareka.com/2009/11/15/carrie-prejean-courtesan/
My wife and I blog about fantasy, science fiction and horror literature at <a href="http://www.genreville.com/Genreville.com. Blog posts often include discussion of feminist issues, as well as class, sexuality and race.
Nature is dark, disorderly and fertile. It must be tamed, trimmed and paved over. And woman’s nature is not to be trusted. Call her ugly, make her believe it, and she’ll pay to go under the knife… Concrete and Vinyl Siding http://kmareka.com/2009/11/15/concrete-and-vinyl-siding/
A few posts about El Salvador this week: With the recent hurricane, hundreds are dead and thousands displaced, but discussion of the country’s vulnerabilities requires a gendered analysis too. Today is also the 20th anniversary of the murder of the Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter at the Universidad Centro America in San Salvador. I reflect on what their stories have meant to me in the last year. My Sunday is already ending over here in Cambodia, but happy Sunday to all of you who are enjoying the day right now!
The Cleveland Show: Why MacFarlane Needs To Stop Writing About Marginalized Bodies: Examining racism and fat phobia on the Cleveland show and why this cannot be considered comedy. Slut Shaming Comes To Twitter: #youknowurahoeif: Looking at how a twitter game quickly turned into a round of Slut shaming and why this form of misogyny is considered so acceptable. White People Are Uniquely Homophobic: Looking at why a failure to discuss race in the recent lose of gay marriage rights in Maine points to invisibleness of Whiteness in discussion regarding homophobia Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence Put On The Dress For Sheneneh: Looking at why Black male actors dressing up as women is decidedly sexist and misogynistic. Columbia Professor Punches Woman In The Face In Argument About Race: Looking at why even in conversation regarding violence we must look beyond simple gender binaries. Finally, Sunday Shame: Childhood Music: Drop by and own up to the ridiculous music that you used to listen to in childhood.
In case you aren’t completely tired of hearing about how horrible the Stupak amendment is, take a gander at why I think Someone Should Force Bart Stupak to Live With a Dead Fetus in His Body
Sexual violence and mental health provides a recap of a presentation given at the MN Sexual Violence Prevention Network meeting. rape kit backlog and systemic problems in rape investigations discusses the CBS investigation and the attitudes behind the number of unprocessed rape kits. Pro rape culture at University of Sydney and those who oppose it discusses behavior at private college’s (different def’n than US colleges) including the creation of an anti-consent Facebook group by students and alumni of St. Paul’s. Carnival against sexual violence 82
This week at Yes Means Yes Blog: I analyze two studies of “undetected rapists,” those who have not been caught, but will admit to conduct that is in substance rape or attempted rape. The headline is that a relatively small percentage of the men in both groups (college students and navy recruits, respectively) admit to more than one rape or attempted rape, and that those repeat offenders are responsible for the overwhelming preponderance of all rapes and attempted rapes — on the order of 95%. I discuss the implications. The post is titled Meet The Predators. This piece has drawn a lot of attention, including links from Shakesville and Jezebel. TMI about the self-censorship that prevents folks — and mostly women — from discussing sex and sexuality frankly, even when that’s the subject of the conversation. Lisa Miller Is A Dupe, about a Newswek column that I thought was a credulous apologetic for the purity movement’s college wing.
First, love Renee’s post on twitter above. Wow. Just…wow. I had a prolific week, mostly because there were a ton of people pissing me off. I still don’t know how to use the HTML tags, but Friday, I wrote on types of women who should not get pregnant, according to people in my medical school class: http://angryfeministdoc.blogspot.com/2009/11/you-should-not-get-pregnant-if.html And, much like everyone else, I wrote on Stupak and why this ‘health care reform’ we’ve got going on doesn’t fly with me: http://angryfeministdoc.blogspot.com/2009/11/having-cooled-down-just-little.html Now that exams are over, I expect to be blogging a lot more for awhile. w00t!
Doctor Who?: I recently started watching the British tv series Doctor Who. Here is my reaction when I was halfway through the series. More to come now that I’ve finished what has been aired. You Get Fat In a Relationship: this week’s episode of How I Met Your Mother was so fatphobic that I had to write about it. My weekly reviews of Glee and Bones. T. Swift Can Obviously Entertain Us: Taylor Swift dominated at the CMAs, but apparently some people think she’s too young to be winning these awards.
A new blog dealing with women and the law in Canada. This week our contributor discusses sexist jokes in law school. http://canadianwomenandthelaw.blogspot.com/2009/11/when-i-started-out-at-law-school-about.html
Hey all! Here’s what’s been going on at Gender Across Borders: Lesbian Bishop Ordained in Sweden Rihanna, “Russian Roulette,” and distortion of dating violence Racism and Sexism in Standardized Testing Namibian Women Empowering Themselves Through Art Finally, GAB is having a series on Women, Art, and War and we’re calling for writers–find out how you can contribute!
My comment doesn’t seem to have gone through. Maybe it’s just waiting to be moderated, but it’s not visible on my screen because of the site’s new format? I’ll try again, apologies if this is a repeat: A post about my mom I do not like Glee
Tired of reading all about how *men* feel about the health care bill and Stupak-Pitts, I rounded up as many links as I could to blogs and articles written by women. Look at what women are saying about the issue, and please leave links to any articles I missed. Also, did anyone notice that the single Republican Rep to vote for the health care bill, Anh Cao said he did it because “my constituents are poor”? I think this is an important moment… for a politician to publicly state he took a controversial stand because big business wasn’t addressing the needs of regular people… why, it’s like a direct challenge to capitalism coming from a Republican!
I wrote about the myth that women’s bodies are more desireable than men’s and how that myth is used to justify the imbalance of sexualised images in society. Warning – the post contains some NSFW images.
A post on language: “Penetrate” v. “Engulf”, and the Multiple Meanings of the F-Word: a Note on Feminist Language.
The frustration of never measuring up to a critical relative’s expectations of effortless perfection, and the even more difficult realization that success is used against you: http://onefemalegaze.wordpress.com/2009/11/15/mathochism-reporting-versus-bragging/
My mom gave me her Pumpkin Black Bean Soup recipe and I must say, it’s pretty delicious: http://cookandhook.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/pumpkin-black-bean-soup/ Also check out my recipe for easy, delicious, use-what-you-have Thai Red Curry: http://cookandhook.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/thai-red-curry/
I posted the text of the Stupack amendment and analyzed it in order to avoid the “he said she said” messy requoting and hearsay. I also started a new series, “Movies To Throw Up To” and kicked it off with a scathing review of Paranormal Activity.
My take on Carolyn Levy’s coffee-pouring script was pretty popular last week: …And Then He Charged Her For a Large: Scripting Consent vs. Respect for the Decision Maker. It’s about the difference between formal respect for the notion of “consent” vs. actual respect for the person who made the decision to do so. Also I finally answered the question that first got me interested in blogging about the politics of sex and sexuality: Ever Wonder How Contraception Became Such a Toxic Issue in Congress In the First Place? figleaf
A Purdue Professor claims gays are the cause of our economic woes because they make us waste money on AIDS research…and I reply to his ignorance. While I was one of the first people to cover this (as a Purdue student), it’s now reaching the national news. A friend of mine is compiling links to all of the news sources at his blog. Bishop says gays aren’t welcome at Vatican. DC Catholic Church: You pass anti-discrimination laws for gays, we stop social services for the poor and homeless.
Here are some of the articles I wrote at feministsforchoice this week. Redefining Masculinity: Are Feminist Men Getting the Job Done? http://feministsforchoice.com/redefining-masculinity-are-feminist-men-getting-the-job-done.htm Health Care Bill Sidelines Women’s Reproductive Rights http://feministsforchoice.com/health-care-bill-sidelines-womens-reproductive-rights.htm
I wrote an angry letter to the Archdiocese of Washington about its decision to use social services as a bargaining chip in its quest to discriminate against LGTB people. http://jennyknopinski.wordpress.com/2009/11/14/angry-letter-to-the-archdiocese-of-washington/ I wondered what constitutes a radical act these days. http://jennyknopinski.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/a-new-radical/ I pondered whether or not I should see Fantastic Mr. Fox. http://jennyknopinski.wordpress.com/2009/10/27/an-angry-feminist-film-goer-dilemma/
This week in Evil Slutopia: ~We acknowledged National Young Readers Week by making a list of some of our favorite children’s books. ~We did a Veterans Day link roundup. ~We celebrated Evil Slutopia’s third birthday! ~Etiquette tip for Republicans: keep your condoms off my lawn, please. ~We addressed Carrie Prejean’s claim that she’s being “Palin-ized” because she’s a conservative woman.
This is What a Feminist Family Looks Like: What was going to be a post about “shock art” perpetuating rape culture, turned into a love letter about my feminist family, which is better since I didn’t really want to give the creator the attention they were seeking anyway. MY Friday Awesome: My weekly series “Your Friday Awesome” may have just been special for me, since I got scooped by Sarah Haskins (!), which I think means we should be besties.
This week I wrote about the heartbreaking report on the health of women, that stated thatHIV/AIDS is the number one cause of death for women of reproductive age. It includes some thoughts on problems with health care in the global south and the U.S.’s role.
I have been combining Photography and Storytelling in my recent posts. I stopped writing critique. After you push their buttons people stop listening. Some of the sex-positive stories are NSW Please take a look at a couple of recent SpokenImage shows: Gender & Strapon Sex Female masculinity is performed when a somatically female body straps on and uses a dildo. This is the complementary desire to my wish to be ‘well-fucked’ in spite of my somatically-male body. Taking these practices outside of the queer ghetto is inherently transgressive.
Fat Positive Photography and Storytelling Here is a Photoset from the sex-positive, fat-positive women of San Francisco Beautiful, Sexy & Fat [photo story] Being Fetishized Fat Girls are beautiful. Why should they feel shame? Yet I was raised to feel shame for desiring them
1. Voldemort! (Don’t say that name!) – Is my old, male name really something which cannot be said? 2. “Transgenders” versus “Transgender people” – Is it better to use the noun or adjective form of an identity? Why? 3. Chicago as Butch – There’s no denying it: Chicago is butch.
Been working on a new blog, and here are my favorite posts of mine from it so far… http://hystericalbroads.blogspot.com/2009/11/dragon-age-warhammer-and-happy-ending.html – Dragon Age, Warhammer and the Happy Ending. A look at how our perception of how a game ends affects the way we play through it. http://hystericalbroads.blogspot.com/2009/11/evil.html – The types of evil acts you can commit in a game. http://hystericalbroads.blogspot.com/2009/10/romantic-and-rousing-relations.html – Sex in games, and how Alpha Protocol bungles it terribly.
My blog is one part political outrage to two parts whimsy. Anyway, the inevitable Stupak post, mainly as a reaction to Kevin Drum’s claiming that subsidies matter more than reproductive health care. And then there is some whimsy. And also some nerdery, in which i complain about the false milestones of a base 10 system, and wish we had extra fingers.
Thoughts on Structural Libertarianism, a little hyperbole, and I came across an appearance by Andrea Dworkin on BookTV from 2002 and I transcribed it, and I’m wondering about the Sgt. Todd – Sgt. Munley questions, and wondering why her heroism is being minimized, even thought she was shot in the line of duty.
I wrote about a local article that blamed everything possible for the Northern California gang rape, except misogyny. “http://johnnykaje.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/it-starts-with-an-“m”-and-rhymes-with-“isogyny” Also, expose your child to a naked person today! http://johnnykaje.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/expose-your-child-to-a-naked-person-today/
I have been reading Simone de Beauvoir’s “Ethics and Ambiguity” as well as L. Susan Brown’s “The Politics of Individualism:Liberalism, Liberal Feminism and Anarchism” I’ve come to look upon identity politics as a dead end when compared to issues based politics. Indeed I have come to care less about what people claim as an identity and far more about what they actually do or have done. http://womenborntranssexual.com/2009/11/10/we-are-what-we-have-done/
Some selections from this ain’t livin’ this week: “Nobody Noticed A Ton of Missing Women?” Nuance and Reproductive Rights Inappropriate Word Use: Don’t Do It At FWD/Forward: More Tales From the Good Doctor Files
I wrote a post about the discrimination faced by women from Northern Ireland, the only part of the UK where abortion is still illegal, when they travel to mainland UK to get a legal abortion there. (There’s also a petition, if you’re a UK citizen.)
This week, I continued my theme of reading through the Letters section of the New Testament, with 1 & 2 Thessalonians. I was reminded by a post at Fetch Me My Axe of a favourite piece of writing concerning large meals. And I wrote about loving Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda and nearly burning down my flat
Compelled by Faith: When Prayer is Not Good For You How does an eleven-year-old girl cope with the trauma of losing both her favorite aunt and her beloved father in the span of one calendar year? She may pray to God daily to ask Him to protect her loved ones. But what happens when prayer becomes more than just a comfort? What happens when it becomes a compulsion? This question is at the heart of Abby Sher’s memoir Amen, Amen, Amen: Memoir of a Girl Who Couldn’t Stop Praying (Among Other Things).
Feminist Road Trippin’, Best friends Nona Willis Aronowitz and Emma Bee Bernstein decided to take a road trip and talk to a cross section of young women about the F-word. This is an interview with Nona. Don’t Want to Put on My Booty Shoes, is your goal in life to make men stare at you body and gain the resentment of other women in the process? Good, Reebok has a shoe for you. The Transcontinental Disability Choir: Glee-ful Appropriation, The much anticipated Very Special Disability Episode of Glee, “Wheels” aired last night. And already the rave reviews are flooding in. Did everyone else watch the same episode I watched? All Hail the Ice Queen, One of eight women from eight countries picked to participate in the Kaspersky Lab Commonwealth Antarctic Expedition, Era (aka Polar Girl) and her cohorts underwent an intensive training in order to complete a 40-day, 900km ski through blizzards and subzero temperatures (up to -40 degrees) with the goal of arriving at the South Pole on January 1, 2010.
A smattering of feminist reviews: Coco Before Chanel introduces us to the woman Chanel was before revolutionizing women’s fashion and becoming a fashion icon to the rich, famous and not so famous. This beautifully shot film humanizes Chanel and brings her to life by showing that she had insecurities, complexity, and visionary genius as a designer. Poto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars of the Global Economy: Marie-Jeanne, one of the women interviewed in the film, explains that while sexism is a factor for some people, her decision to keep her child out of school is purely financial. On a salary of $1.75 a day, she says that she cannot afford the $15 monthly school enrollment fee. The decision is obvious: When the choice is between food and education, the latter loses. Not That Kind of Girl is a revelatory and provocative work, a personal story that goes far beyond the boundaries of autobiography. Witty and deeply introspective,it shines a personal light on evangelism that proves 1960s feminists correct: The personal really is political.
I wrote about the unfortunate tendency of cis* Hollywood actors to be cast as trans characters. It’s not acting skill, it’s bigotry.
I wrote about the late writer and actress Cookie Mueller, Feminist Movies, the sad decline in gallery and museum shows for female artists, zines, the new york elections, That’s Gay, and some music videos of gals who rock inspired by the new Runaways movie. http://unconscious-and-irrational.blogspot.com/ Unconscious-and-Irrationalt
Christian Right head case Terry Kemple is claiming a Tampa ordinance providing protection for transgender people denies his religious right not to allow transgender people housing and jobs. Kemple sent out a mass email making this dubious claim. I’m asking reader to contact Kemple on Facebook and voice their disapproval.
Not promoting myself just an interesting article I found. “Lesbian couples make better parents than het couples” says UK government parenting head honcho: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/family/6574238/Lesbians-make-better-parents-says-senior-parenting-official.html
I review another Bloody Mary, and Danny wonders if one can be “straight-curious” (similar to “bi-curious”).
I wrote about sexist writing styles in general and also mentioned the heated debate I had had with the gatekeepers of the Afrikaans language. I’m no longer a centrist; I’m becoming much more liberal. I know this because I did a politial spectrum test in the beginning of this year, and then I did another one a week ago.
Day late, more than a few dollars short. Watch this great video about gender that I happened upon. I think it’s good stuff. Also, I was supposed to be finishing up a lecture on Anatomy and Physiology of the Female Reproductive Cycle, and I had to post about some “huh?” issues I had to deal with during the preparation. I was very pleased to find one of my embarrassed-to-love-him favorite artists, Normal Rockwell, was actually pretty damn awesome. That’s enough for now, but I had more posts last week if you have extra surfing time. So, feel free to poke around after those.
I think my first one disappeared, trying again! (sorry if duplicate) Review of Terry Wolverton’s feminist novel THE LABRYS REUNION Fed judge rules against Christian license plates for South Carolina
So there’s the WNBA, the WPS, the AVP, and…the Lingerie Football League? This week the Guy’s Guide is beginning a discussion about women’s sports, beginning by asking what the successes and failures of women’s professional sports can tell us about the root nature of women’s sports in general: “What’s the Gameplan for Women’s Sports”. We’d love to hear people’s thoughts on this one!