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Bits and Pieces

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“It needs to said, and it needs to be repeated–the first president to be murdered in this country’s history was murdered by a white supremacist. We have to say this. It’s not enough to think about what white racism costs black people, we have to think about what white racism costs white people.”

Copy-editing Tea Party protest signs.

Over at Feministing, a community member takes Mother Jones to task for blaming pollution and food and water insecurity on “the teeming Third World masses,” and says that we should promote education, female empowerment and health care for their own sake, not because they counter the “population bomb.” It’s a good read. I would just avoid the comments, which are an exercise in Not Getting It.

Mexican authorities block abortion for a ten-year-old girl who was raped by her stepfather. Again, the big take-away is that “pro-lifers” seem to care a lot more about fetal life than about the lives of actual born children.

Happy 50th, Pill. The Women’s Media Center points out that even after 50 years of FDA approval — which is what we’re celebrating, not the 50th anniversary of the Pill being invented — there are still serious access issues when it comes to contraception.

Apparently there’s some sort of debate as to who is The Most Important Journalist in Washington. Guess what all the nominees have in common?

There are a lot of things to dislike about this article, but Timothy Egan has a point: Why is Nike still sponsoring Ben Roethlisberger?

If you based your understanding of American fashion on What Not To Wear slideshows, it would appear that, for example, 80% of pants are worn by women. I am sure this has nothing at all to do with the greater cultural comfort in policing women’s bodies and fashion choices. I am also sure that leaving off bedazzled Ed Hardy men’s jeans was just some sort of oversight. Oh also I like a well-fitting romper and ill-fitting cut-off denim shorts, so there.

So I’m not a huge South Park fan (it’s funny sometimes, but I don’t really watch it), but Comedy Central really handled this latest controversy poorly. Air the damn show, investigate any threats, move on. Censoring it has only made it a bigger deal than it needs to be, and has led to the predictable “Muslims are threatening free speech” nonsense, when what we’re really talking about it one fringe group.

Dudes in rock music, and how privilege works.

A mother who lost her daughter to bulimia is making a documentary on the disease, and her daughter’s life.

Times Square offers the worst food in New York City; the Village Voice rounds up the worst of the worst.

The Question: Which of 2010’s Identical-Seeming Mercenary Movies Is Right for You?

An interesting-sounding event in Brooklyn on Sunday:

Black Lesbian Herstory in the 70s -An At Home and Tour
Date:
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Time:
3:00pm – 6:00pm
Location:
LHA -484 14th Street, Brooklyn, NY

FREE!!! and Open to the public!

A Tour and Guide to the Black Lesbian Herstory of Our Collections, focusing on the 1970s. Moderated by Shawnta Smith, Lesbian Librarian & Archivette of the Lesbian Herstory Archives.

We will dig into select Black Lesbian artifacts from the Archives’ collections, specific to the lives of Black Lesbians in the 1970s including a black-lesbian-specific reading of unpublished papers, a slide show of images and short excerpts of documentary film. A guided tour specific to the black-lesbian-herstorical aspects of our collections will also allow time for discussion. Black Lesbians present in the 70s are encouraged to attend and bring items to donate to the Archives’ collections.

Includes our Players:
Arianne Benford, Poet and Producer of Rivers of Honey
Olive Demetrius, Director and Producer
Tanika Harbor, Part Actress/Part Goddess/Healer/Poet/Activist
and
KAZ, Comedian/Dancer and Community Activist

Curated by Shawn(ta) Smith, Your Lesbian Librarian; Hosted by the Lesbian Herstory Archives
Part of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies (CLAGS) Series, In Amerika they Call us DYKES: Lesbians Lives in the 70s


9 thoughts on Bits and Pieces

  1. Apparently there’s some sort of debate as to who is The Most Important Journalist in Washington. Guess what all the nominees have in common?

    Without clicking the link, they’re all dudes? Probably white, possibly old, possibly rich?

    1. Apparently there’s some sort of debate as to who is The Most Important Journalist in Washington. Guess what all the nominees have in common?

      Without clicking the link, they’re all dudes? Probably white, possibly old, possibly rich?

      Bingo!

  2. Go go go to the Archives!! I was an intern there and it’s an amazing organization- Shawn is wonderful and I’m sure it’s going to be great!

  3. Censoring it has only made it a bigger deal than it needs to be, and has led to the predictable “Muslims are threatening free speech” nonsense, when what we’re really talking about it one fringe group.

    It would be nice if it was only 1 fringe group. As Theo van Gogh, or Taslima Nasreen, or Salman Rushdie, or Kierkegaard, or many others will testify, free speech isn’t a strong suit in Islamic society. The Organization of Islamic Countries is repeatedly trying to get ‘defamation of religion’ codified in international law which, if it succeeds, would mean things like this South Park episode could become illegal.

  4. Lincoln might have been shot by a white supremacist, but he himself held many views that differed little from southern race supremacists. Lincoln’s surviving written works echo it on many occasions. Racial equality was not part of his thinking.

  5. Holy! is correct. There’s also some historical evidence suggesting that he wanted to send freedmen (willingly or not) back to Africa.

  6. April, your friend completely ignores that this has nothing to do with offending a people so much as offending terrorists who have threatened to kill people at Comedy Central. I rather wish zie had addressed that.

  7. Really, NY Times? A piece on a mother grieving her daughter’s loss to bulimia is in the “Style and Fashion” section? Either your editors need to rethink where they put “women’s interest” stories, or your sections need re-thinking. Even “Arts and Entertainment” would have been better since said mother is producing a film for possible film festival entry.

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