Advertisement
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream; a dream you dream together is reality.” — Yoko Ono
Apr
28
Feminist News and Links
Filed Under blogging, feminism, media, random | Posted by Cara |
I’ve been pretty busy, lately. Here’s some stuff I won’t get the time to blog about in depth:
With regards to the Seal Press boycott, many have asked “but what are feminist authors to do?” Prof Black Woman answers that question with a list of kick-ass feminist and multicultural printing presses.
Lauredhel goes after one of my biggest pet peeves: the media referring to rape, particularly child rape, as “sex”.
An Austrian man admittedly kept his daughter prisoner for 24 years — slightly more time than I’ve been alive — continually raped her and impregnated her (at least) seven times. Horrific.
I keep forgetting to mention this hilarity: many anti-abortion opponents do not support the latest bid to outlaw abortion in South Dakota. They feel that because of the unworkable “exceptions” for rape, incest and health, the bill doesn’t go far enough. Let’s hope the asshats manage to bring themselves down.
Maybe we should be more concerned about the fact that Vanity Fair has no problem with sexualizing 15-year-old girls in their magazine and what that says about adults, rather than whether or not it will cause teenage girls to run off and join some kind of crazy promiscuous porn circus? (And maybe wonder when the fuck Annie Leibovitz went from shooting the most iconic magazine cover of all time to just shooting racist and sexist smut?) Just a thought.
Don’t forget to Wear Red on Wednesday.
The U.S. marine accused of raping a 14-year-old Japanese girl is facing court martial.
Professional tool Marc Rudov calls himself a “feminist,” says that women say “‘I do’ at the alter and ‘I don’t’ in the bedroom”. I wonder why women hate him so much?
Racist attacks on Obama get even worse.
The Feminist Art Project is promoting feminist art/exhibitions throughout the country. In related news, there is A Day of Collaborative Performance in the Bronx next month, and participants are needed.
Tigtog gives an important warning to those who use wordpress.com to host their blogs. If that’s you, this is a must-read.Also, last chance to get your nominations into the Carnival Against Sexual Violence.
What have you been reading? Feel free to shamelessly self-promote.
Comments
20 Comments so far
Subscribe to The Curvature
“Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less.” — Susan B. Anthony
Wow, that’s a lot of links. :) Will take me a while to get through all that.
BTW, the ‘Vanity Fair has no problem with sexualizing 15-year-old girls on the cover of their magazine’ link, points to the wrong link. (Back to your site.)
Oops! Thanks for the head’s up . . . it’s fixed now.
Yeah, what IS up with Leibovitz?? So disappointing…
THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING.
I mean, her fame began with her work for Rolling Stone, and though they think they’re rather progressive over there, they really do have a sexism problem. So when your work gets progressively more sexist once you move on from Rolling Stone, something is seriously fucked up. Also, Leibovitz is just such an amazing photographer when she wants to be and is one of the most famous female photographers out there . . . it’s such a shame that she’s wasting it on being pointlessly offensive.
The Austrian man…24 years in a cellar…I have no words.
“Maybe we should be more concerned about the fact that Vanity Fair has no problem with sexualizing 15-year-old girls in their magazine”
Maybe is because we accept rape of a drunken 13 year old by a 24 y/o predator as liberating that we are loosing this battle? I prefer a zero tolerance policy on sexual abuse of minor. You people from the first world don’t know the damage this double rhetoric does.
sorry “minors and adults” a copy paste error
Um . . . what? I would also have a zero tolerance policy for a 24-year-old man raping a 13-year-old girl, drunk or not. So I’m confused.
Jesus – the Austrian story – you’re right, Daomadan, there are just simply no words….
It is a reference to the v-day original story. My group on the UCR (universida de Costa Rica) get a big bad day at a class due to this. You say it properly “24-year-old man raping a 13-year-old girl” the problem is that it was not a MAN. It was a womin and that change it all for some. Not for us (we identify with 3 wavers) but yes for the more important feminist group at the University.
Wait, you’re referring to the Vagina Monologues story about the teenage girl and adult woman?
I’m not entirely sure what that has to do with anything here, seeing as how I’ve never referenced that story or said that I support it. But I do think it’s worth noting that the girl in the story was 16, not 13 (I just got out the book to triple-check), and I’m tired of people lying about it. Whether or not a 16-year-old can consent to sex with an adult is still up for debate and laws vary greatly, but there is a huge difference between 13 and 16. I personally do think that it’s possible for a 16-year-old to consent to sex with an adult, depending on the circumstances — the age difference, the power dynamics of the relationship, maturity level of the teenager and the usual standards of whether or not there is enthusiastic consent. The girl in the story is not drunk — she is handed one drink and it’s never indicated that she even drinks it — and expresses great happiness to be there and describes the encounter herself as entirely consensual. Whether or not the enthusiastic consent that she displays is meaningful is up for debate in ways that it is absolutely not for a 13-year-old, and for the record I have always been somewhat uncomfortable with that story. But I think that the fetishization of teenage girls for mass public consumption is an entirely different matter than the private sexual acts of a teenage girl and doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with anything here. Nor does the suggestion that The Vagina Monologues is some kind of feminist bible.
I don’t see a need to insult people, even more when when you appear to not know the _original story_ I am not a liar. You can read it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vagina_Monologues . And yes, maybe I am a little sensitive since I just coming for a very nasty situation. We all get dump on the same train. I know that happen to black people to. I also know that’s not your responsibility but a natural outcome of “woman as the other” in other worlds it is a patriarchal construct. A very effective one you know. Still place yourself on our shoes: we are fitting an uphill battle here, just like you, but even harder due to the poverty.. We don’t have the means to create the material we need. I love the way, also resource limited, feminist from the so called first work send help. But even with your help it is not easy. And please don’t get mad at me. I didn’t mean to offend you. I have other reference form the initial setup of the monologues. It is nice, and is a discussion by feminist professors, so no hate involved. I am searching for it because I have it at home. I big hug.
Avida, I’ve never seen that before and there isn’t a citation in the Wiki article. If it is true, then yes, I absolutely oppose that telling of the story. I think that there are numerous problems with the Vagina Monologues, actually. I apologize if I was overly-hostile. Usually the only people who bring up that monologue are anti-feminists who actually couldn’t give a shit less about rape, and are the same ones who will show up on a thread and call rape victims liars. But I absolutely agree that a 24-year-old woman cannot “have sex” with a 13-year-old girl, and that it would be rape. I also find the notion of “a good rape” to be offensive to my very core.
And I apologize for venting on your blog. We don’t have a good start but I know we will have a very good end. I specked to learn a lot from your site. Is time to go to my home. See you then.
Re: the Marine
The US judicial and political system is incapable of seriously punishing American military or political criminals – just look at William Calley and also the way the real powers behind Abu Ghraib got off scot-free
I have to admit. I’m a little perplexed by the anguish over the Cyrus photo. To me, and of course my view isn’t universal, it is reminiscent of the old masters. Particularly Velazquez’s Rokeby Venus although that painting is more graphic. I just don’t see the sexuality in it. I see the beauty of the human form and the fragility of it and the conflicting posture and expression indicating a conflict between girlhood and womanhood. Sexism or sexualization I really don’t see.
For me, Kristen, it’s that she looks like she’s in rumpled up bedsheets. You don’t see a bed, so it’s not definitive, but it’s what I see and I’m relatively sure that this is the suggestion they’re going for . . . if I’m right, I think it’s pretty clear how that would be considered sexual.
Eh? Cloth doesn’t mean sex to me. I sleep in rumpled up bedsheets. I photograph my dog in rumpled up bedsheets. I had un-sexual rumpled up bedsheets for most of my life (thank god I can still say that for a least a few more years…). So here’s a question….if this were a renaissance oil by Velazquez with an unnamed model, aged 15, would there be similar outrage?
Did you see this at the end of the Miley Cyrus article?!
“Last week, Gary Marsh, the president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, was quoted in Portfolio magazine saying, “For Miley Cyrus to be a ‘good girl’ is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her a godliness. If she violates that trust, she won’t get it back.””
They literally lay the blame of sexulisation at the feet of a 15 year old girl!
This whole Miley Cyrus thing has me confused as I keep going back and forth…I also don’t see it as sexual and actually think the photograph is quite beautiful. I think the thing that bothers me the most is the fact that Disney went back and made her apoligize for the photos, having her say that she was “embarrassed” – I am fairly sure that she and her team would have had some editorial review/say before the photos were published and probably saw them as artistic and not sexual, but then when Disney got a hold of them….then she had to be “embarrassed”.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think young women and girls are sexualized WAY to early in the media as well as in regular civilian life, but I am not so sure that this is an example of that.