Nothing that feminist/political this week, but I did talk about the latest episode of Lost and a super bizarro episode of Pokemon (don’t judge me!) through a feminist/antiracist lens.
CNN Polls Readers on Whether Gays Should Be Given Hospital Visitation Rights http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2010/04/cnn-polls-readers-on-whether-gays.html ‘Strange Kinda Love’ by SoulStice (affirming rap video) http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2010/04/strange-kinda-love-by-soulstice.html Tell Congress that Nixing DOMA is about Cutting Taxes! http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2010/04/tell-congress-that-nixing-doma-is-about.html Anti-gay Language on Puerto Rican Super Xclusivo Gossip Show http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2010/04/anti-gay-language-on-puerto-rican-super.html JLo Inspired by Drag Queens and Fine if her Kids are Gay http://queersunited.blogspot.com/2010/04/jlo-inspired-by-drag-queens-and-fine-if.html
Words, Images, Communication, And Truth: more on label-hating. I’d also like to point folks to a friend’s new blog: Booked All Week.
Angry Feminist Doc is expanding! So far, we’ve added two new members. If you know of any feminist medical students who might be interested in blogging with us, please let us know. I also wrote on Abbie Cohen Dorn, a woman seriously injured in childbirth who is now being denied visitation rights by her children’s father, and reflected briefly on my first experiences in the Mothers and Maternity Support program.
This week at Yes Means Yes Blog: Bullying and the Wall of Silence. The wall of institutional silence that exists at colleges around rape does not start there. I’ve had to intervene with elementary school administrators to stop bullying, and I’ve found the same wall of silence around bullying, so I wasn’t surprised by the events at South Hadley. Fear of the Geeky Teen, a bit of snark in the continuing series about Professor Donna M. Hughes and Margaret Brooks’s misinformation campaign against maymay and the KinkForAll conference, but also a serious discussion of what does on at the conferences. What kind of policy allows teens better access to porn than to theory? Against Nature, which has been in two Feministing link farms and has gotten a great deal of traffic. This is a long essay attacking the argument that what is “natural” – even when correctly described – is necessarily good or right. The naturalistic fallacy is common to many social conservative arguments about reproductive choice, sexual orientation and sex education. But our relationship with biology is not so straightforward: in almost every are of human society, using our technology to overcome our bodies’ frailties is considered progress; we only back away from that commitment when it is politically convenient to invoke “nature” is service of oppression.
No linkie, but I saw a great shirt yesterday. “I’m a Bitch, Just not Yours.” Anyone know where I can get it?
I was a teenage Christian who was deemed to be demon-possessed and in need of exorcism. Now I read that Republican politicians are sharing a stage with an ‘evangelist’ who casts out ‘gay demons’. Take it from someone who’s been there, the religious right is using the power of the non-rational very effectively. Heads up, reality-based voters– know what you are up against. The Exorcist Attention rebellious Catholic girls! Nuns are cool. The Bishop has banned them from recruiting for the nun lifestyle in his parish, because they did not submit to his lobby against health care reform. His spiteful and impotent action could backfire when girls see women speak truth to power. Bishop’s Revenge on Nuns
More TED love– this one is on why science denial is dangerous. http://ethecofem.com/2010/04/16/more-ted-love-why-science-denial-is-dangerous/ What is your experience dating while you, or your partner is a feminist? http://ethecofem.com/2010/04/12/dating-while-shes-feminist/
This week, we applauded TV shows taking risks, such as the older woman romance on The Good Wife, Mongoose6 gave us a springtime update on the science of love, and we got a lesson in parallel parking from Pearls N the Hood. I also waded into the feminism/race discussion by recapping the instances of white feminist privilege on the internet in light of Megan Carpentier’s highly questionable attack on Renee Martin. More than my post, though, I hope you’ll read the incredibly thoughtful and interesting comments from people who are grappling to understand how non-whiteness fits into the feminist paradigm, and how women of color can best respond to careless actions like Carpentier’s. And, as usual, we read the internet to save you the trouble. Evolving lab rats, pretty feminists, and sex offenders on the loose are the news of the week.
I wrote about a really good billboard that I saw while driving that attempts to address systemic issues leading to violence against women, asking each of us to question our role in perpetuating violence and inequality. I also found a cute chart on constructive criticism that depicts why I feel so emotionally and mentally exhausted after reading constructive criticism of my work in a somewhat amusing way.
This week I have been writing about weight: http://clarissasbox.blogspot.com/2010/04/weight.html http://clarissasbox.blogspot.com/2010/04/exercise-and-boyfriends.html
Review: Humpday – A movie about two straight men planning to make a gay porn. Better than I expected, but not as good as I hoped. Beauty tips from Jezebel – A followup on It’s a ‘woman’ thing, not a ‘trans’ thing. Apologizing to Myself – Working through issues around transitioning
I asked, Is Sex Fungible? That is, can it be easily exchanged for other pleasures? Can we rank it as more or less important than them? I say no, but I’m curious what others think.
Book Review – First Time – This is a book review of an erotic graphic novel. Because of the subject matter, the post may be NSFW, but, my review is so dry that it’s probably no more NSFW than the rest of my posts anyway. There’s also the Weekly Blog Link Roundup.
I’m a new reader, not sure if this is the type of shameless promotion expected but here goes: I’m currently a finalist in a contest to win a summer job as a travel blogger. A guy won it last year, but there are currently 3 women in the top four. I’d really like to see a woman win–we need more female voices in all type of media, even if it’s not specifically feminism related. Please check out my video and rate it or leave a comment. Unfortunately, you do need to register your email to vote, but it’s pretty painless. Host Our Coast
¿De quién vale, su vida?, or, whose life really matters?: Looking at reproductive rights in South America. The N Word and Children: What happens when a child is called a racial slur. Liberal Spaces and Christianity: Looking at the treatment of liberal Christians in liberal spaces. Body Shaming is now “Entertainment” on CNN: Apparently deciding whether or not a woman’s body looks nice nude is not entertainment. The Men of True Blood?: Can we really call it the Men of True Blood without Lafayette? Finally pop by for this weeks Sunday Shame: Procrastination Edition, you know there is something that you are putting off
This week, a guest post at Womanist Musings on abortion in Latin America, and a piece on the problem with incentive-based health care in Bolivia.
This week on Gender Across Borders: We just ran a great series on New Media, the Arts, and Social Change. Some of the topics included Virtual Death as Protest (Eryhah Badu’s ‘Window Seat’), Lady Gaga’s Telephone Video, Pushing Boundaries with Youtube, and much more! We also asked the question of the impact Twitter has on feminism and examined the past and present of sexism in Newsweek. Happy Sunday!
I wrote about Little Shop of Horrors and classism: http://thessamercury.wordpress.com/2010/04/15/downtown-where-your-lifes-a-joke/
Typos in my first attempt to post this comment: Feminist Fatale looked at the great underarm campaign http://bit.ly/cIqfWq and the case of the missing armpit http://bit.ly/bBRO20, advertisements (old and new): http://bit.ly/asrr7r http://bit.ly/d833Yv http://bit.ly/bshFS7 http://bit.ly/a3VHX2 and body image issues: http://bit.ly/b6kYRi http://bit.ly/cW9m5f http://bit.ly/aBzPEB Ellen Page http://bit.ly/b06e0Z and Lady Gaga http://bit.ly/aTU84D as feminists, What Betty taught us: http://bit.ly/cMsLZo, Social Media & Feminism (Social Media as praxis): http://bit.ly/cUsouz Pornography http://bit.ly/cvfLho and sexualizing kids: http://bit.ly/905Jao
This week at Happy Bodies: A Tale of Two Throwdowns: Breaking down a couple recent controversies in the feminist blogosphere and acknowledging that people are experts on their own lives. Portraying MS: How Multiple Sclerosis is often depicted and why we need to stop acting like disability is the WORSTTHINGTHATCOULDEVERHAPPENTOYOU. LGBTQ Day of Silence: One queer student’s story of why the day is so important to her.
I’m sharing a reflection on gender roles and androgyny, inspired by learning about the Bem Sex Role Inventory test this week for the first time. After reading it a few more times, I’m wondering if I explained my stance clearly enough, but I guess that’s for you to decide. My name links directly to the post. Thanks!
Femface: women as a minstrel show explores the parallel between blackface and portrayals of women in culture through the perpetuation of stereotypes
A post about favorite female chacters I have a few other posts in a similar vein but they’re all from last year.
I forgot to post this one last week: She was supposed to live forever, an excerpt from an interview with my grandmother, in which she talks about how her parents made her drop out of school after third grade. Trans Woman Inclusivity Project at Smith College America Ferrera to produce “Pedro & Maria” Sulfuric acid thrown in Alamo teacher’s face
I wrote about Jamie Oliver’s Circus Show I also wrote a post looking toward May as Mental Health Month called Living Life Well And a link to a Nice Tax Day Reflection, looking at metaphorical taxes that we pay for living in an oppressive society.
I saw that thing on Jezebel about the psychologist who thought I should move my ass to a small town to find a mate. Except I live in a tiny town, did the math a year ago, and have found the theory to be false. (Not that I am looking for Mr. Right, but I’m wasting away in the exurbs and that last thing I need is some guy telling me HOW GREAT IT IS.) Ahem. Anyway! Tuesday was the victorious return of Copy Edit Craisglist Tuesday. I taught my mom how to log in to Blogger and how to delete a MySpace account.
More analyzing tween/teen programming on Nickelodeon: Victorious tries to play sexual assault and harassment for laughs; and beyond that (if you can get beyond that), is just a bad show all around.
It was an exciting week on my blog! First, I called Doctor Who podcasters out for participating in the objectification of Amy Pond, the Doctor’s new companion. Then I was invited onto DWO Whocast to discuss it! Then a douchey commenter inspired a new moderation policy, in which I felt required to defend the entire concept of moderating a feminist blog in the first place.
I have a recent post up about the light-skin preference in South Asia. I’ve gone into a bit of the historical precedents that impact the particular way this light-skin preference plays out in South Asia. http://fuzzytheory.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/a-history-of-fair-skin-preference-in-south-asia/ I also have a bit of a post on some of the problems with “multiculturalism” as a concept and guiding ideology. While it plays out more in Canada, I think it relevant internationally. http://fuzzytheory.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/the-problems-with-multi-culturalism/
This week in Evil Slutopia: ~What’s the point of Disney XD, really? (Apparently that boys need their own channel.) ~Yes, it’s true. Mike Huckabee is that bad. ~According to Sigourney Weaver, James Cameron was robbed because Kathryn Bigelow is the ‘Breast Director’. ~In a new interview, Jennifer Lopez talks about how she would react if one of her kids was gay: Well Played, Jennifer Lopez ~Is telling your son that pink flavored milk will turn him into a “girly boy” really the best way to teach healthy eating habits?
This week I wrote about… Consciousness-raising and other people: in which I ponder CR and statements like “it’s not my job to educate you — do your own homework”. And Eyesight to the blind: my response to someone telling me to “pray for healing”. –IP
This week at re:Cycling, we’ve got a response to the recent article in ObGyn News about whether cosmetic procedures on women’s genitalia is exploitive or not; cough syrup as a fertility aid; a review of performance by the Adventures in Menstruating team at NYC’s Bluestockings bookstore; the Kardashian sisters shilling for Kotex; an odd label for those institutional disposal bags for menstrual products; Saturday links; and a brief critique of the latest ad for Always Infinity. (It’s not that we pick on them, it’s that they’re such easy targets.)
What’s new on Women’s Glib… On feminism and breastfeeding. Watch this video made by my classmate, which explores how much high school students know about sex and sexual health. I heart feminist men (also see accompanying hate comments). Are there any feminist-friendly kids’ movies?
My current celebrity crush covered “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and I was reminded just how much I hated it, so I dissected it and how it plays into rape culture.
This just in: Ke$ha performed black-light black-face on SNL last night. This is completely outrageous, and I can’t believe no one has called her on it yet (and that SNL’s producers allowed it!)
Not overtly feminist either, but funky, fun, collaborative art potentially helpful to us feminist bloggers: promoting healthier Internet practices by turning traffic graphs into Stat Dragons: 1 and 2. Hope everyone’s having a wonderful day! It’s gorgeous here in Oakland.
This week @ Tattoed + Pierced: It turned out to be a review week for us. We looked at: Susan Douglas’ book Enlightened Sexism, The film The Runaways, and the film Kick Ass. Also, some rambly thoughts on Riot Grrrls and Women in Rock
This week at Radical Bookworm: The Male as Male in All His Masculine Male Complexity of Manliness – in which I compare my experiences studying masculinity (awesome!) with the bizarre new “male studies” phenomenon (not awesome!) Inappropriate Conversation Topics: A Cautionary Tale – in which I sometimes have trouble deciding whether to be offended or amused.
The featured post this week is about the 2009 Tea Party and how they are drastically different from what I call the 1773 Tea Party that formed in Boston during the 2006 midterm campaigns. VERY FEW similarities exist between the 2009 Tea Party and the 1773 Tea Party The only other post of note this week is about sexual assault in the military. A Spartanburg County, S.C. native was among 3 Navy SEALs arrested for raping a 12-year-old girl. I also have a new FB fan page that reflects on the 3d anniversary of what I call the Death of America, thanks to five anti-choice male judges who will never get pregnant. http://www.facebook.com/pages/April-18-2007-was-the-day-that-America-ACTUALLY-DIED/119819484698099
When I read Leading the Way: Young Women’s Activism for Social Change, I felt the same way I did the first time I read Grassroots: A Field Guide for Feminist Activism by Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards or Listen Up: Voices from the Next Feminist Generation by Barbara Findlen. I felt inspired, challenged, and optimistic about the future of feminism. I felt I had a roadmap of feminist ideas I could apply to my own life, and I knew I had incredible, real-life examples of women creating social change in their lives. Sick is a compilation zine on physical illness that offers up the experiences and perspectives of individuals living with illness. Whether dealing with incurable polycystic kidney disease, coping with cancer, or struggling with an unnamed medical condition, each piece, no matter how distinct, explores common themes of support, communication, and community. In her new book, entitled Visibly Muslim: Fashion, Politics, Faith, Emma Tarlo captures the diversity in the way that Islam is practiced against the backdrop of multicultural Britain. Refreshingly, the book did not aim to answer whether or not covering was a part of Islam, and neither did it represent the views of Muslim women as a monolithic body.
I wrote a post honoring the trolls who infest my blog on a daily basis. This should set them straight.
I want to let you know that Basket of Kisses is BACK! Mad Men fans know us as the place to go for Mad Men trivia & essays. We’re a feminist and progressive space and don’t suffer fools well. The story of our tragic site outage is here.
pete peterson, the deficit hawk billionaire who wants us to balance the federal budget by cutting medicare, medicaid, social security is holding a deficit hysteria conference soon. as a response, several of us lefty/liberal bloggers are setting up a counter-conference on april 28th in washington dc to educate people [and some members of the press too, we hope] on why worrying about ‘the deficit’ and ‘balancing the budget’ is the wrong approach to fixing the economy. more on modern monetary theory here.
This week at the Ladysquad: Two articles on rape jokes and how to confront them. Also, a post for explaining oppression to the privilege-blind, including a poem about heterosexual privilege.
Posted to my sex blog, http://lovesickrobot.com , about a cool talk I saw on the future of sexual technology.
For some reasons I got a lot of links to Goodness, I Hope This Freely-Distributable “Trigger Warning” Badge Doesn’t Offend Susannah Breslin’s Soulless Eyes this week. I also brought up the deep insecurity and self-loathing at the heart of anti-feminist privilege and entitlement in Amanda Hess On the Dour Expectations of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists vs. Genuine Male Utility. figleaf
This week on Love Letters in Hell, I wrote about and the shock of making financial decisions as a couple, instead of on my own.
I wrote a post about the new field of “Male Studies” that was partly a response to some of the comments on a post from this website. I was trying to answer the question about why male studies positions itself in opposition to women’s studies drawing on some theories about category construction.