Actress and singer, Jill Scott, wrote in Essence Magazine about black men marrying white women. It was a brave and honest essay, an opening for dialogue, I thought– and then I read the comments. A shocking flood of hatred and spite. Truly race is the third rail– touch it and you die. Jill Scott Touches the Third Rail From a hand on the thigh, to attempted rape, to institutional cover-up– predators get away with it. But one immigrant hotel maid fought back… Where Did She Find the Courage? Harold Camping’s disciples missed the Rapture and will have to face their Mondays of quiet desperation. Maybe they’re not so crazy. Starhawk, a witch and activist, predicts an apocalypse of climate change and social disruption– made much worse if we don’t change the path we’re on. Two Visions of the Apocalypse
Following a series of unfortunate events, Edinburgh Zoo had an Emergency General Meeting on Thursday 14th May, and I guest-blogged about what transpired at the Guardian’s Edinburgh page.
Why Trump couldn’t have hacked running for prez anyways: http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/trumps-out-of-running-good-news-or-bad.html Two posts on climate change–one, the fact that most of them are in bed with big oil: http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/ninety-percent-of-climate-denying.html, and the second one a climate change rap: http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/raunchy-climate-change-video.html Love for all (video by Bjorn Borg): http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/love-for-all.html The most critical coupling compatibility factor, according to a new study: http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/whats-most-critical-coupling.html For those food-sensitive types: gluten-free pesto (and vegetarian) pizza I made: http://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2011/05/whats-for-dinner-gluten-free-pesto.html And over in books, I finished a great book this week, The Wilder Life, about a woman who follows the path of Laura Ingalls Wilder: http://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2011/05/wilder-life-delving-into-life-of-laura.html
Harassing Women to Promote Birth Rates: http://clarissasblog.com/2011/05/20/something-wrong-give-birth/ Inappropriate Comments in Academia: More on Dr. Calvo’s Suicide: http://clarissasblog.com/2011/05/19/inappropriate-comments-in-academia-more-on-dr-calvo/ The Demise of the Soap Opera and Women’s Lib http://clarissasblog.com/2011/05/17/the-demise-of-the-soap-opera/
In which I rant against Ricky Gervais and coin a very clumsy term that I will probably never use again: Half-Man-Half-Biscuitism: Why I Can’t Stand Ricky Gervais Some rambling thoughts on Geek Identity At the pub, I try to explain third-wave feminism to a friend: Intersectionality, As Explained By A Tipsy Person And, in honor of the world still existing, Apocalypse Threatdown!
First 3 days of Zine Week at Kloncke: 1. brownfemipower on movement, race, gender, colonialism, fat, and labor — plus my own connections to the current indigenous struggle to protect a sacred burial ground in Vallejo, CA 2. Advance the Struggle on the twin pitfalls of nonprofitism and rioting / insurrection in the Justice for Oscar Grant movement, and what a third way might look like 3. Philly Stands Up on how to start a transformative justice collective to confront sexual violence in our own communities Happy Sunday!
A fond look back at my childhood hero Trixie Belden and why she is good for girls (and generally awesome).
A few thoughts on Sara Quin’s (of Tegan and Sara fame) criticisms of Tyler, the Creator’s problematic “art”
A tornado just devastated one of the poorest areas of Minneapolis. We’re looking for guest bloggers. How did YOU spend the rapture? Even though it appears no one floated off to Heaven, the Twin Cities has an Armageddon-like number of tornadoes lately. Geez. I wrote a story about my experience as a kid, being terrified of the so-called end of the world for many years. What are your thoughts on Taylor Swift’s Mean? Bema wonders if he’s a troll. On DSK.
A busy week at Man Boobz, the misogyny-mocking blog. (Trigger warnings for misogynist language and ideas, discussions of sexual violence, rape apology.) Arnold’s Adultery: Blame the women Using the myth of the “Pussy Pass” to justify rape and murder Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s arrest: A Rorschach test for misogynists Satoshi Kanazawa’s vanishing post on allegedly ugly black women MRAs respond, predictably awfully, to Strauss-Kahn arrest On The Spearhead, it’s always women’s fault
A post about the misconception within hunter-gather societies that men hunted why while women gathered. I explore cultures where women also took part in hunting and men who’s primary role is to take care of the children. Women who hunt: An Examination of gender roles
This week I posted the release of my review of feminist lesbian poet Jen Currin’s book of poetry call ‘This Inquisition Yours’, nominated for a Lambda Award- Jen Currin’s ‘This Inquisition Yours’ Review I also posted an essay about Louise Erdrich’s short story “American Horse” that situates the work within a socio-cultural, economic and feminist framework.
http://animeg.blogspot.com/2011/05/huge-problem-with-being-sexyfun-as-this.html a riff on the sexyfun
33 anti-abortion laws were passed in 9 states in the month of April. My thoughts on this in “April Showers Bring Anti-Abortion Laws!” http://tinfoilhatman45.wordpress.com/2011/05/12/april-showers-bring-anti-abortion-laws/
Gratuitous Uterus is a symbol of people with uteri from all walks of life. This week, it has been a Muslim woman, proud to wear hijab. It as also been a non-Muslim person, exercising freedom of expression by drawing Muhammad. We have also discussed the film Silent Choices, Trannymal, and taken a picture with our new puppy!
Parsing the “40% of Pregnancies in the U.S. Are Unplanned!” sensationalism for something a little more realistic: http://blisstree.com/live/why-4-in-10-women-arent-expecting-to-find-themselves-expecting/
Third time’s a charm? Graduation Gifts — What I’m actually giving one student, and what I’d like to be giving her. This is not how I wanted to start my day. — (TW for discussion of gendered perceptions of aggression and violence.) — My admittedly knee-jerk reaction to an assy line in a NYT article this morning. And in asana fun, one spinal stretch, including how to tell when I’m actually relaxed, and one spine strengthening pose of many expressions and many names.
Are you as surprised as we were by the swift arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn? Share any thoughts in the comments. You can also read about feminism lost in translation, international LGBT rights laws, and the complications of gender in children’s books, all at GAB this week.
An interview with feminist activist, writer, and guitarist Amy Klein http://guitareste.com/2011/05/05/interview-amy-klein/
The “Breakdown of Tradition” is Responsible for the Pedophile Priest Scandals, but Not the Way the Church Wants to Spin It. Riffing off the inconvenient facts about economists in the face of… spirited defenses of Dominique Strauss-Kahn by conservatives I did a little further digging and came up with… Hey Ben Stein, How Many Major Air Force Base Commanders Have Committed Violent Sex Crimes? and And Hey Ben Stein – Paul Bernardo Was Released the First Time Because How Many Amway/Accountants Commit Violent Sex Crimes? Quick question: just how committed to rape denying and false-rape-charging do conservatives have to be that they’re falling all over themselves to defend the leader of their hated IMF and heretofore presumed Socialist party successor to the presidency of… France!?!?! Shows what’s really most important to them. Sigh: Wingnuts: Once We Get Rid of Planned Parenthood We’re Going to Take Out the Girl Scouts It happens to be about a case of a woman grooming a minor boy for sex but age-difference principles still stand: “Wait Till They’re 18 or Older” Is Perfectly Sound Advice For Adults Who Are Tempted to Offer Teens “Hands-On” Sex-Ed Help. And while we’re on the topic of patriarchal disregard for men and boys there’s Blood Donor Questionaires Indicate Level of Neglect of Prisoner’s Health and Safety. Since I know a lot of licensed massage therapists and practitioners this one resonated for me: Amanda Brooks’s Sister and the Spill-Over Effect on Non-Prostitutes of Keeping Prostitution Illegal And finally, It Would Be a Bad Idea But What If We Held Early MRAs to the Same Standards MRAs Use Against Early Feminists? Sauce for the goose being sauce for the gander and all. figleaf
So you can be topless, but I can’t? – My (cis, straight, male) says he can be topless in the apartment, but I (trans, lesbian, woman) can’t. This post generated lots of interesting discussion! Survey on trans terminology – Take this survey to help academics better refer to trans folks. Reading versus e-reading – Which is more pleasant?
Over on my academic-blather tumblr, I reviewed Toni Morrison’s wonderful A Mercy and ranted briefly about the political consequences of grammar policing. And since all feminists are, naturally, obsessed with our cats, I had to brag that my kitty made it onto Get Out of There Cat with his Professor MacGonagall impersonation.
This week, I wrote about the use of rape as a metaphor, using gender-inclusive language, and the relationship between American foreign policy, gender, and race.
This week, Figleaf asked people to “show your work” in calculating who has a higher libido. This grew into myself and another commenter laying out some initial concepts in the multivariate libido function satisfaction branch of mathematical analysis, that I collated into my own blog post. I also finally got around to carrying out one of my New Year’s Resolutions, by joining my local cricket club. I discuss how catching a hard leather ball is (in my mind) kinky.
On my adventures in Israel/Palestine activism on campus: http://jewishcurrents.org/shocked-i-tell-you-5493
The Media’s False Equivalence between Schwarzenegger’s Affair and Sexual Violence http://antoinettesfunfeministworld.blogspot.com/2011/05/medias-false-equivalence-between.html
The Dangerous Political Targeting of Abortion Providers http://prochoicewashington.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/the-dangerous-political-targeting-of-abortion-providers/
On “Fuck Yeah, Trans* Femmes,” I addressed the underrepresentation of POC, fat people, and assigned-male-at-birth people in trans* spaces, and talked about how our blog is planning to counteract this trend.
It wasn’t the world’s best week for me, but I did get one post up: Satoshi Kanazawa’s Racist Sexism (or would that be Sexist Racism?)– My take on (and breakdown of) the much covered article by Evo-Psychology’s leading BS’er. Also, for anyone following the blog, look forward to a post on the Matriarchy Tropes found in Sci-Fi/Fantasy and gamings, as well as the start to a series of posts on Gendered Armor in MMOs (especially Rift) in the next week or so.
At Confessions of an Ist, I wrote about asexuality, not being sexualized, and why I kept Wendy Shalit’s books, and about what asexuality is not.
After not posting for a while, I’ve posted on some eco-related topics: The Guilty Environmentalist Diary. Minimalist Adventure: Giving Away Your Expensive Shit. Great Environmental Speeches.
In an attempt to get myself writing again, I started a tumblr. Then I got my rant pants on about SlutWalk, Meghan Murphy and reclamation debates.
Little things mean a lot: finding small opportunities to do good: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/little-things-mean-lot-finding-small.html Why we need humane education: the business of brainwashing students: http://humaneconnectionblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-we-need-humane-education-business.html
I wrote about the androgynous model Andrej Pejic’s Dossier cover, which had been discussed in Sociological images: http://disciplineandanarchy.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/troubled-genders-and-double-standards-what-makes-a-body-obscene/ Why was it censored?
Our illustrious Tory-led government has had a stunning week, with Nadine Dorries blaming children for being sexually abused and Ken Clarke opining that some rapes aren’t really that bad. I also wrote about some of the reactions to the Feministe guest post y’all were kind enough to publish.
I have only started blogging 3 days ago (because facebook rants jsut weren’t enough anymore ;)) and am a little nervous about this, but I have written a post called “Honeytrapping Hurts My Teeth” trying to examine [trigger warning] rape culture and the rhetoric of victim blaming around Polanski, Assange and Strauss-Kahn
A blog post with a link to my first attempt at a video. It’s a simple clip that describes what boys are learning from pop culture: boys work & girls stay home; boys are more important than girls; boys must be strong. http://www.achilleseffect.com/2011/05/boys-pop-culture-gender-the-first-video-from-achilles-effect/
After some increasing coverage of allegations of Viagra and condom use in the Libyan conflict, I wrote a sceptical post. ‘Like A Machete’: Is Viagra a Weapon of War Rape in Libya? Then, a British Labour MP attacked the feminist political theorist Anne Phillips for a question she put on a reading list, and I suggested several ways in which he had lost the plot. The Poisonous Drivel of Dr Denis MacShane MP
I have a piece up at Global Comment about Obama’s Middle East speech and Netanyahu’s histrionic reaction.
Huh, html code did not work there. So, here’s the piece about Obama and Netanyahu: http://globalcomment.com/2011/obama-vs-netanyahu-what-does-it-mean/
Exhausting methods and the ineffability of areas: http://onefemalegaze.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/mathochism-methods-of-exhaustion/ Shouldn’t math be tidy? http://onefemalegaze.wordpress.com/2011/05/19/mathochism-inconvenient-numbers/
To Reclaim Slut or Not To Reclaim Slut: Is that the Question? http://msmagazine.com/blog/blog/2011/05/20/to-reclaim-slut-or-not-to-reclaim-slut-is-that-the-question/
Complete shameless self promotion, here’s the link to my poster entry for the DIY Chicago Slutwalk poster competition. Mine’s the one with women holding signs spelling out Slutwalk. Fair warning, many of them completely miss the point of Slutwalk and are pretty offensive. This is mine, I’d love it if you’d vote!: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=211162945581948&set=a.211162902248619.58367.202086123156297&type=1&theater
Forgot about this when Sunday rolled around (was busy with the eldest’s birthday celebrations) Botox mom and impending doom – With Respect to the Vandals, “We’ll have a drink and throw a parade, and greet the rapture screaming ‘hooray!'”