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

Tag: Feminism

Final Call for Carnival of the Feminists 7

I’ve received a slew of links already, but this is your final call!

Nominate yourself or someone else for CF7 by sending an email with links to web[at]feministe[dot]us with the subject line “Carnival of the Feminists.”

Submissions must be in by 7am EST Monday morning for the round-up on January 18th. Posts must have been written in the time since the last carnival.

The suggested topic for this carnival is feminism and pop culture.

As I mentioned before, several people have emailed asking me to clarify this theme and my answer has been the same: gimme what you got. Give me an essay on feminist representations in pop culture or feminist critiques of pop culture, about comic books, music, pop art, television, movies, anything. This theme is vague on purpose.

This one will be good, folks. I can’t wait.

Carnival of the Feminists 7

Submissions are rolling in!

Nominate yourself or someone else for CF7 by sending an email with links to web[at]feministe[dot]us with the subject line “Carnival of the Feminists.” Submissions must be in by January 15th for the round-up on January 18th. Posts must have been written in the time since the last carnival.

The suggested topic for this carnival is feminism and pop culture. Several people have emailed asking me to clarify this theme and my answer has been the same: gimme what you got. Give me an essay on feminist represeantations in pop culture or feminist critiques of pop culture, about comic books, music, pop art, television, movies, anything. This theme is vague on purpose.

I’m looking forward to see the next batch of submissions. The first batch has been excellent.

While you’re at it, Jenn has opened submissions for the first Radical Women of Color Carnival.

Carnival of the Feminists 7

Carnival of the Feminists 7 will be hosted here at Feministe on January 18th.

The general theme for this installment is feminism and pop culture. All thoughts are welcome, all posts submitted by feminist writers will be included.

Submit your posts to web[at]feministe[dot]us with the subject title “Carnival of the Feminists” by midnight on January 15th.

UPDATE: I would prefer that submissions were made in the period since the last carnival, i.e. in the two weeks preceeding the 18th.

Before I Go

Someone wants to know:

Do we need feminism in America any more? At all?

Because I’m going to bed, my quick answer:

Yes.

Not only are there gender disparities in the United States that still need to be addressed, but as members of one of the most, if not the most, influential countries in the world our resources and power are needed to help existing movements close gaps in gender disparities in other global communities as well. Even presupposing that feminism no longer has work to do in the United States (and I would argue the opposite) it is clear that people around the world need our help and are asking for our help. Further, due to the lack of education in the U.S. about dire global issues, feminists and other activist social groups have much to do to raise the knowledge bar for other Americans in order to raise the necessary funds and hands to do this work around the world.

More detailed answers are appreciated in the comments below. Let’s educate.

Sunday Reads

Absurd Noise: Gaze
A map of the Katrina Diaspora (via Black Feminism)
Blogger on the Cast-Iron Balcony: No Choice
The Language Guy: Language and the Abortion Controversy and On Some Replies to the Abortion Blog
Tennessee Guerilla Women: If Roe Goes, There Are Alternatives to Coathangers
Malkin Watch: Professor Glen Stassen Interview
Burningbird: It Starts With One
Dictionopolis in Digitopolis: Those darn gals are just so stupid
Republic of T: On Bill Bennett’s Bigoted Blathering
Majikthise: If You Sterilized All Republicans
Pinko Feminist Hellcat: Class is no coincidence

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Today is so piratey that all the children in Ethan’s school were asked to dress like pirates. I put him in a bandana and a second-hand pirate hat. He was thrilled.

“Mama, how’s my hat?”
“You mean, ‘How’s me hat?'”
“Mom. Stop it.”

Maybe it’s just me.

I hope someone finds this as amusing as I do: a brief explanation of feminism — by a pirate.

“Feminist” can simply mean that ye be an advocate for equal starboards for women Someone sayin’ “I advocate equal starboards for women” or the related thought that “I would like t’ be judged based on me merit, not me gender” does not necessarily lead t’ the conclusion that they will make ye spell “women” funny, be workin’ toward the destruction o’ the nuclear family, or feel that women be better than men. AAARRGGHHH!

See also: the Corsair Ergonomic Keyboard for piratical bloggers.

Funny/TMI Story

This has nothing to do with politics, feminism, or anything important. But it made me laugh. Stop reading now if you don’t like gross-out humor.

Last night, my friend Sean from Seattle called, very upset. He just moved into a new apartment, and when he had packed up his old place he ran out of bubble wrap and was using toilet paper to wrap up things like wine glasses and other smallish, breakable items. His mom had come over to help him back, and had placed a few things — lotion, Windex, etc — into his empty bathroom trash can so that he could move them easier. So Sean’s in his new kitchen, unpacking the trash can, and he comes across a small item wrapped up in toilet paper — “like a present,” he said. So he unwraps it, and the tension builds as he peels back the layers of paper, wondering what in the world this thing is — a little surprise his mom left for him, maybe?

Nope. It’s a used tampon applicator. My used tampon applicator, to be precise. From exactly one month ago, when I was in Seattle.

So I received a very distraught message from him, incredibly upset that I would wrap the applicator up in toilet paper — “Why did you have to make it look like a present?!” In my defense, I was being polite. I know some boys are weirded out by stuff like that, and I wouldn’t have wanted him to walk into his bathroom and see the applicator itself just sitting atop his trash. And besides, it was only an applicator. It’s not like it was an actual tampon (although he, being somewhat unfamiliar with such things, didn’t know this and was under the impression that it was an actual tampon; we got that cleared up, and I think it made him feel a little better about the whole situation). I have no idea how it didn’t get tossed out with the rest of the trash. But I had a good laugh, and he was actually a good sport about it after getting over his initial trauma, so I thought I’d share. And hey, it could have been a lot worse — an old room mate of mine used to leave her actual used tampons in the trash can instead of flushing them. That wouldn’t have been pretty.

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“Feminism Didn’t Suit You”

While blogging to some background music I caught this lyric in a song by Jens Lekman, one of my new favorite artists:

oh her highness, I heard you say in some interview
that feminism was something that didn’t suit you
a lack of interest perhaps
or maybe you’re just stupid and inbred

but I still remember when I saw you as a goddess

Something about this seems pro-feminist, and something seems condescending. I’m too lazy to figure it out for myself. Interpretations? Download “Silvia” here.

For more of the pleasantly ironic Jens Lekman, see his Department of Forgotten Songs at Secretly Canadian.