Six conservative female bloggers on dating. A few observations: Conservative female bloggers dislike arrogance and over-confidence. They do like chivalry, which liberalism and feminism has apparently been trying to kill (weirdly, I still get the door held for me on occasion). They dislike “wimpy” guys (which is apparently defined as “not having a gun”). But the answers are interesting, and certainly differ from woman to woman — something that in itself flies in the face of a lot of conservative talking points about “what women want” and how all chicks dig “real men.” My favorite responses are from Karol, who I met about a year ago and who is really smart and bad-ass (but then, I tend to like uppity broads, even the right-wing ones), and Dawn, who I think is totally wrong, but who has clearly thought out these issues and come up with a cohesive and intelligent view.
Speaking of dudes and dating, CNN has an article on Japanese “geisha guys,” who hang out with Japanese businesswomen and serve as pretty accessories. There is no mention of sex, which is weird — if the article were about female geishas, I’d imagine sex would come in. That said, I’m pretty sure the whole thing is just one more of those “Japan is so weird!!!” articles, which is why it’s light on actual reporting. Thanks to Fauzia for the link.
Can porn and feminism coexist? A very interesting article that doesn’t re-hash the same tired arguments.
From a Saudi website — Want to keep your maid? Pamper her. And by “pamper” the author actually just means “don’t abuse.” Nice.
Jeff Jacoby is a moron. His article is about sex-selective abortion, and the conclusion is “it’s bad.” Someone give this man a Nobel prize. He further argues that parents in backwards oriental lands (like China or India) “may have rational reasons for preferring a son,” but parents in the USA would never have any reason for sex-selective abortion. Because apparently girls and boys are totally equally valued in this country. He doesn’t seem to offer any solution, and he refuses to recognize that there may be reasons (albeit offensive ones) for sex-selective abortions in the United States. As a conservative, he’d rather just put his head in the sand and rail against feminists and brown people (who are the only ones who have sex-selective abortions, of course) instead of strategizing solutions beyond “make abortion illegal.” Although he does want to know “what kind of feminist would it be who could contemplate the use of abortion to eliminate ever-greater numbers of girls, and not cry out in horror?” Apparently “crying out in horror” is the ideal solution, as opposed to agitating for gender equality — you know, what feminists actually do.
Chris Matthews is a ridiculous asshole. Thanks to Kyle for the link.
The Kenyan rape crisis is re-opening the debate on abortion. From the same publication: Kenyan men are deciding that Kenyan women are too uppity, and so they’re pursuing Ugandan women instead. Sound familiar? Apparently MRAs have gone international.
Top Bush advisers approved “enhanced interrogation” techniques. In other words, it was the guys at the top who sanctioned torture. Disgusting.
Everyone is freaking out about pregnant men. I get why it’s a story — it’s the man-bites-dog phenomenon. What I fail to understand is why people are so upset and offended. Women get pregnant and have babies all the time; why does it offend our sensibilities so deeply when a man does it? And why do so many commenters at AlterNet feel the incredibly strong urge to point out that Thomas Beatie isn’t really a man? My personal favorite is the Trans Police: “Only genuine transsexual people undertake the painful one way street that takes us as far along the journey from one physical sex to the other as is scientifically possible . People like Thomas Beatty who chose not to take that journey define themselves by that choice as NOT transsexual. In short genuine transsexual people MUST if at all possible change our bodies to match our brains.” Well, I’m glad someone is doing the hard work of drawing lines around who is a “genuine” transsexual and who’s not. Best to keep the not-“genuine” trans folks on the margins of every group, no? My other favorite argument is that the Beattie child is going to suffer — and so apparently the solution is to spread more ignorance and hatred and simply tell ‘different’ people not to reproduce. Genius. But I think the most frustrating thing about the situation is that this family’s reality is being held up for argument, as if they were political issues or theories instead of real people with real experiences.
Something fun: A “Road” Scholar copy edits America. Love it.
Twisty reviews Amanda’s book. And the book is indeed awesome. I’ll hopefully be writing a review soon, and my Q&A with Amanda will be going up on AlterNet next week. In the meantime, buy her book.
Gender and U.S. Bases in Asia-Pacific. I’ll just copy their description:
The power dynamics of militarism in the Asia-Pacific region rely on dominance and subordination. These hierarchical relationships, shaped by gender, can be seen in U.S. military exploitation of host communities, its abuse and contamination of land and water, and the exploitation of women and children through the sex industry, sexual violence, and rape. Women’s bodies, the land, and indigenous communities are all feminized, treated as dispensable and temporary. What is constructed as “civilized, white, male, western, and rational” is held superior to what is defined as “primitive, non-white, female, non-western, and irrational.” Nations and U.S. territories within the Asia-Pacific region are treated as inferiors with limited sovereignty or agency in relation to U.S. foreign policy interests that go hand-in-hand with this racist/sexist ideology.
A really fascinating article. Thanks to Josh for the link.
Virgin clubs are full of judgmental prigs? Who knew!
Another KBR employee is raped by American contractors. And another. They have no legal recourse.
Crisis pregnancy centers lie and manipulate women. One woman tells the story of her visit to a CPC.
The shortage of abortion providers is a crucial issue. Luckily, RH Reality Check is covering it.
Veronica has great coverage of Dr. Susan Wicklund, the author of a recent book about reproductive choice. Check out the videos.
Girls, leadership, and the new face of the Girl Scouts. I’d be curious to hear all of your thoughts on this one. My parents wouldn’t let me join the Girl Scouts as a kid because (1) the Boy Scouts ban on gay troop leaders, and (2) my parents were under the impression that the Girl Scouts just made brownies and sewed things all day. As I understand it, though, the Girl Scouts are separate from the Boy Scouts rules, and lots of now-feminist women had very affirming and progressive experiences as Scouts.
The recent raid on a polygamous compound in Texas has everyone talking about polygamy and religious extremism. (Thanks to Jan for the link). “Everyone,” that is, except right-wing nuts who aren’t willing to admit that religious fundamentalism is an issue everywhere. Because whaddaya know — polygamy is all wrapped up in “traditional marriage.” And it was those crazy liberals who re-defined marriage to give women greater leverage and more rights.
Slut-shaming in two parts. First: Letting girls go to college — and not sequestering them away — is ruining society. Second: Single mothers are destroying society, at the encouragement of feminism. The take-away: Society would be way less destroyed if it weren’t for women fucking everything up. Thanks to Ms. C for the links.