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

Bits and Pieces

Jill

Photo of Madonna standing in an oversized coat on a street in New York.
I just like this photo.

Why a Big Mac costs less than a salad.

Wait people still make the “short skirts will get you raped” argument? For real?

Let’s hope Rush Limbaugh is a man of his word! Especially awesome is that when he threatens to leave the U.S. if health care reform passes, his destination of choice is a country with a pretty great universal health care system. Applause all around.

Some thoughts on pornography, men and misogyny. A topic I will hopefully write about later!

13 thoughts on Bits and Pieces

  3. Rush Limbaugh will leave the country if the health of every American man, woman and child is insured. How patriotic.

    This is the best reason yet I’ve heard for passing serious health care reform. I have the perfect place for el Rushbo to relocate to: Somalia! The place would be perfect for him – no government, lots and lots of guns, no taxes – an NO health care!

    An America without Rush Limbaugh….Adios, Rush! It’s been real – Sort of.

    http://www.tomdegan.blogspot.com

    Tom Degan
    Goshen NY

  4. I admit openly that I view pornography, but be it known that I have never been satisfied with the stereotypical air-brushed, big-breasted, blonde archetype. I avoid that altogether and tend to focus on amateur postings by people who look like the regular Joe and Jane because, um, they are. Nothing’s sexier to me than that.

    To me, there’s something about sexual attraction that is tied closely to attainability. A size 0 model? No. The girl next door? Yes. To be honest, the amateur stuff I view has not limited my conception of what constitutes feminine beauty, rather it has enhanced it. I would never want anyone to view me, clothed or unclothed, on the basis of a very narrow set of desired attributes, so why would I expect it in that which I use as a sexual release?

  5. I’m very seriously considering taking up donations for Rush’s ticket outta here!

    Don’t let the door hit ya where the Good Lord split ya!

  6. I love that photo too. The book that it comes from is really great, especially as a record of downtown Manhattan during that time period.

  7. The “Why a Big Mac costs less than a salad” article makes no sense. The price of pre-prepared salad gets jacked up because rich people will pay for them to be “healthy”. Big Macs are cheap because they are skeezy about where they get their ingredients, as in, the conditions for farm workers, and they don’t pay their own employees that well either (but they at least get minimum wage). Its labor and kicking costs downstream. Fruits and vegetables cost less than meat usually (retail, of course macdonald’s gets stuff wholesale, but prolly true wholesale too). I thought the reason was because farm workers are exempt from minimum wage, overtime, other labor laws…and because the meat industry has (maybe?) more costs to start with (?) and workers are not exempt from labor laws (but there are still issues)…not because of what the US government does or does not subsidize.

    1. At least where I live, RD, it is cheaper to buy a pack of ground beef and some buns to feed a family than it is to buy the ingredients for enough salad to feed a family. So no, it’s not just because the price of pre-prepared salads are jacked up because rich people will pay for them to be healthy.

  8. Well lettuce is expensive and not very available but it doesn’t have to be that. You know we live in the same city. Fruits and veggies are cheaper than meat generally, including ground beef, by the pound.

    A salad for a family is not a very good meal.

    1. I actually didn’t know we lived in the same city, but ok.

      My point is that this isn’t just about McDonalds or whatever restaurant jacking up the price of “healthy” options (although I’m sure they do that too). It’s also about how the federal government subsidizes certain industries with strong lobbies — and the heavily-subsidized industries are often not the ones that are producing healthy food. There are a lot of things at play that make it difficult to access healthy, affordable food in the United States. Agricultural subsidies are one of those things.

  9. A big reason food is as healthy and affordable as it is, is the exemptions from labor laws for farm workers.

  10. re: lettuce…per pound I was thinking, but its not really that expensive per serving actually. And I thought my bodega didn’t have it but my partner says they do. Oops. Anyway that just helps bolster my point.

  11. Jill, I look forward to your posts on porn, men and misogyny 🙂

    I recently went to a seminar held by my women studies department on misogyny porn industry. It was definitely an eye opener for me. I have to admit that I was unaware of some of the types of porn that exist. The chairwoman of the department also spoke after the documentary about the distinction many feminists make between porn vs erotica, which I was unaware of.

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