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"In my heart, I think a woman has two choices: either she's a feminist or a masochist." --Gloria Steinem
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May
12
Need a laugh?
Filed Under feminism, fun, marketing, media, pop culture, products, random, sexism, stereotypes, videos | 5 Comments
Writing this blog everyday, I sure as hell do! And this cracked me up.
If like me, you’re fed up with stupid sexist commercials, check out a few getting some feminist skewering:
I want to see more of Sarah Haskins. And I also might have to start watching InfoMania. It kind of looks like VH1’s Best Week Ever . . . but with jokes that are funny.
Popularity: 2% [?]
May
1
Rape Jokes Taken To Whole New Level
Filed Under Europe, International, assholes, misogyny, patriarchy, pop culture, rape and sexual assault, sexual exploitation and harassment, violence against women and girls | 62 Comments
UPDATE: The Guardian has removed O’Hara’s blog post about the Johnny Vegas incident and Vegas has filed a complaint. This does not surprise me, actually, as Britain has very strong libel laws and the post called the actions “sexual assault” in the title even though he was not charged or convicted of anything. Personally, I don’t think that this means the incident did not happen. The facts are supposed to be in dispute, but this will be the case with any crime. Again, I’ve seen no one dispute the sexual assault — I have seen disputes over whether or not penetrative rape took place. I also haven’t found a statement from Vegas about the incident, a statement from the woman who was allegedly assaulted, or a statement from O’Hara in defense or retraction of her article.
Of course, I feel that I made it clear in the blog post that he has been neither charged nor convicted of any crime. And I stand by everything I said, in the context of an opinion about what the nature of these actions would be if they occurred, and so long as its recognized that the opinion on this specific instance was based off of an eye-witness account that was corroborated and printed in a major international newspaper. I am reopening comments, but will absolutely close them again if things get out of hand like they did last time.
Warning: I personally found this to be very upsetting and triggering.
Popularity: 41% [?]
Apr
27
Oh No They Didn’t
Filed Under education and schools, fun, media, pop culture, random, religious fanaticism | 8 Comments
You know that stupid Ben Stein movie Expelled, that argues in favor of “intelligent design” and chastises the sane for not allowing religious bullshit to be taught in science classes? Apparently, they used the John Lennon song Imagine in the film . . . without permission.
Yoko Ono, one of my all-time favorite feminists, isn’t having any of that shit. The issue came to her attention when bloggers started accusing her of selling out. And so she slapped the filmmakers with a lawsuit.
Popularity: 20% [?]
Apr
18
I Think I Like John Edwards Again
Filed Under 2008 election, Democrats, fun, media, politics, pop culture, videos | 7 Comments
Alright, alright. So I went from loving John Edwards to really hating on him. And I stand by everything I said.
But . . . dude’s starting to win me over.
I mean, he makes some excellent points; who doesn’t want to be a jet ski-riding spy? I know that I do.
Also, happy anniversary to me.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Apr
1
Neil Aspinall Died
Filed Under media, pop culture, random | Leave a Comment
Now interrupting your regularly scheduled feminism . . .
I don’t know how I missed it, but I did. It seemingly didn’t get a lot of press in the U.S. I just came across an obituary today, a week later. Neil Aspinall died of lung cancer. And it makes me very sad.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Mar
1
Sydney Gay Pride Parade Celebrates a Landmark
Filed Under Australia, International, LGBTQ issues, pop culture | Leave a Comment
Sydney Australia celebrated its 30th Gay Mardi Gras last night! The Mardi Gras Parade is quite the huge event, and draws up to half a million people, both residents and tourists, each year. It is, without a doubt, one of the largest LGBT pride events in the world. The original 1978 march took place when homosexuality was illegal and resulted in police violence. Now, it’s one of the city’s biggest tourism draws.
I went one year while living in Australia — 2003, I believe. It is quite the blast. The floats in the parade mock everything imaginable, particularly those who would like to see them go away, like the Australian government and Catholic Church. They also promote social justice. This year, they focused largely on same-sex marriage rights and the environmental crisis. Oh, and they also had Rupert Everett lead the parade and a float with 250 men dressed up as Aussie pop star and gay icon Kylie Minogue. And I can only assume that the shirtless Dykes on Bikes made their usual appearance.
Of course, the Christian groups like to whine every year about the existence of the parade, and handful turn out to hand out pamphlets. But they don’t get a lot of airtime. The religious fundies have a lot less political power in Australia than in the U.S. I remember being awed and thrilled every year by the open promotion and acceptance of the event by the mainstream media and the dismissive (or outright lack of) attention given to those who want the event stopped.
Is this partially motivated by the huge amount of money that the event brings in for the city? Of course. Does it mean that Australia is some kind of hugely-accepting gay haven? Absolutely not — I ran into a lot of homophobia myself, particularly regarding one professor at uni who was openly gay, proud and, as he liked to say, camp (he was also brilliant, the best teacher I’ve ever had in my life, and a big reason why I’m a feminist). But the fact remains that we’re many years away from this kind of general public acceptance of sexual pride and flamboyance in the U.S.
So happy 30th, Mardi Gras! Did anyone reading this attend? If so, let us know about it in the comments!
(Thanks to Patrick for the head’s up.)
Popularity: 16% [?]
Jan
21
Remembering Dr. King
Filed Under WOC issues, activism, class and economics, human rights, media, paternalism, politics, pop culture, race and racism, reproductive justice, videos | 3 Comments
We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. — Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As I’m sure you know, today is Martin Luther King Day. I have no illusions that I have anything original to say about the great man, his legacy, civil rights, non-violence or social justice, and I’m not going to pretend that I do.
I’ve recently had brought to my attention that Dr. King was one of the very first recipient of the Margaret Sanger award. The following is from the speech he wrote for the occasion (but due to situations beyond his control, was never able to personally deliver). It’s very interesting, in that it expresses an earlier notion of what we know today as reproductive justice:
Popularity: 15% [?]
Jan
9
Cars, Beer, Sexual Harassment
Filed Under Australia, International, assholes, misogyny, patriarchy, pop culture, rape and sexual assault, sexism, sexual exploitation and harassment, violence against women and girls | 11 Comments
All in Good Fun: a man chases a woman, demanding that she expose her breasts
Lest we think that Jets fans are the only ones who form drunken mobs for the purpose of sexually harassing and assaulting women, a new story shows that Australian car enthusiasts partake in the activity as well. Click over to see footage of the mob and a slew of frightening pictures, but be warned that some contain nudity.
The Summernats car festival takes place in Canberra every year, and lovers of souped-up cars gather to watch legal “burnouts” — the practice of spinning car wheels to create a huge cloud of smoke, for the apparent pleasure of destroying one’s tires. As most car cultures are, this one is extremely stereotypically macho. And what does “macho” mean? Well, apparently it means getting really drunk, forming a mob of a couple hundred, give or take, and marching through the streets demanding that women display their breasts.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Jan
4
In the words of a man who cries himself to sleep every night over his very tiny penis
Filed Under assholes, blogging, misogyny, pop culture | 9 Comments
Believe it or not, the semi-literate male faction of gamers is still really upset about the fact that I dared to voice an opinion about Guitar Hero over two months ago. From this morning’s mailbag:
People like you annoy me. Really, really annoy me. You complain about “Judy Nails” dress code, but you wouldn’t dare complain that Johnny Napalm has his shirt off, would you? No. So fuck off.
Stop writing your stupid fucking letters to companies like Axe that aren’t actually hateful to women, you extreme feminist douchebags just make them hateful towards women.
Not only that, have you ever even stood back, and taken a look at the Rock star life style? (No you haven’t, because you’re one of those fucking nerdy douchebags that play guitar hero and believe you know everyone about rock.)
DRUGS, SEX, GROUPIES, WHORES, ROCK N ROLL
Did you ever step back at look at any of the female rock stars, and what they wore?
No, so fuck off and die. I don’t care if my approach is either up front or insulting.
Here’s some insight.
debbie harry of blondie. you should know all about them.
http://photos13.flickr.com/15407057_3ee2e11e2d.jpg
[URL removed for formatting reasons]
terri
http://nivasgigs.net/newimages/texasterri/teri07.jpg
So. I feel that characters in a video game are sexist. Ergo, I have revoked my privileges to life. Clearly, I am the irrational one. After all, Zack — this dude who calls women whores — has totally disproved my points about sexism by showing me three images of female musicians who have dressed in revealing clothing at some point in their lives.
It’s such a relief to see that I just made up all of that stuff about misogyny. What a post-sexist world we live in.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Dec
22
What the Treatment of Jamie Lynn Spears Says About Us
Filed Under media, misogyny, patriarchy, pop culture, pregnancy, reproductive justice, sex and sexuality, slut-shaming, social conservatives, women’s health | 15 Comments
So, here’s what I don’t want to be writing about: Jamie Lynn Spears. I wanted to avoid this whole mess all together. Jamie Lynn Spears is someone, until a few days ago, whose existence I was only vaguely aware of, and whose existence I didn’t really care about. Her pregnancy was and is of absolutely no interest to me. And even more importantly than that, her pregnancy is none of my business.
But sadly, I seem to be one of the few sane people left who realizes that a 16-year-old girl’s pregnancy is none of our business, regardless of how famous she or her sister is. I waited several days to even make mention of it, because I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to. And yet, I probably always knew that the reaction was going to eventually require a response.
Yesterday, there was an article in the NY Times about parent and teen reactions to the “news.” And though the rampant, casual slut-shaming comes as absolutely no surprise, it’s still incredibly disheartening.
High school girls here wondered aloud on Thursday why no one was talking about contraception. Parents across the country, on the other hand, commiserated over the Internet about how, thanks to Ms. Spears, they were facing a conversation with their 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds about sex.
“Nowadays, nothing’s safe, not even cartoons,” Diana Madruga, who has an 11-year-old daughter, said as she wrapped up her shift as the manager of a Dunkin’ Donuts here in the Boston suburbs.
Shopping at American Girl Place, the doll store, in Manhattan, Sharon Carruthers said she had used the news as an opportunity to talk about the dangers of teenage pregnancy with her 10-year-old daughter, Yasmine. “I want my daughter’s mind in the real world,” said Ms. Carruthers, who is from Deptford, N.J. “But this is not what my daughter is going to do in her life. She knows better. She knows right and wrong.”
Yasmine shook her head. “I never expected her, of all people, to do this,” she said, referring to the girl who in her mind is both Zoey and Jamie, the actress who plays her. “She’s supposed to be the good one in the family.”
High school girls who had already had their hearts broken by the all-too-public life of Ms. Spears’s older sister, Britney, known as a hard-partying mother of two, worried that their younger sisters would be devastated by the news — or, worse, that their sisters might think it was “cool” to be 16 and pregnant.
“She’s the idealistic little girl,” Alicia Akusis, 17, said of the television character Zoey between classes at Concord-Carlisle High School here. “She does perfect in school. Boys like her because she’s pretty, but she doesn’t deal with boys. She’s really smart, she’s really cool, she’s an empowering girl character.”
Ms. Akusis said she hoped that her younger sister and stepsister, who are both 11 and love the show, would not find out about Ms. Spears. “I don’t even want to bring it up with them,” she said. “I don’t want them to be disappointed.” It would be like their discovering that Santa Claus was not real, she said.
Ms. Akusis’s friend Mikala Viscariello, 16, was less concerned with shielding the young than with facing the realities of modern life. “There is no excuse for not using contraception,” Ms. Viscariello said.
This, ladies and gents, is what we’re teaching teenage girls. In 2007, we’re still instilling them with ideas about “good girls” and “bad girls.” We’re still telling them that consensual sex is somehow about “right and wrong.” We’re teaching them judgment of other people’s choices and mistakes and an utter lack of compassion. This isn’t a “teenage girls are snarky” problem. Half of these quotes are from parents.
Popularity: 19% [?]
Dec
11
Prude or Slut? We’re asking the wrong question.
Filed Under assholes, books, feminism, marketing, media, misogyny, objectification, patriarchy, pop culture, sex and sexuality, slut-shaming, social conservatives, women’s health | 3 Comments
A few weeks ago, Jessica introduced us (or at least me) to the latest nut of the “pro-modesty” crowd: Carol Platt Liebau (watch out for the scary eyes!). She has recently published this new book, just like all of the other pro-modesty books, called Prude: How the Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls (and America Too!). The title made me giggle out loud, but Liebau isn’t joking. Today, the Telegraph, a British online news source, gives her some press time.
Teenage girls would rather be sexy than clever, according to a female academic.
In a society that celebrates people such as Paris Hilton, girls are being brainwashed into believing that promiscuity is synonymous with success, says Carol Platt Liebau.
In Prude: How The Sex-Obsessed Culture Damages Girls, Liebau claims there is “scant recognition or respect” for a woman’s achievement that is not associated with sex appeal.
Liebau says the sexy images of performers such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera catapulted them to fame.
She claims that teenage girls are growing up in a culture in which being called “a slut” is preferable to being labelled “a prude”.
“The overwhelming lessons teenagers are now learning from the world around them is that being sexy is the ultimate accolade, trumping intelligence, character and all other accomplishments at every stage of a woman’s life,” says the author, managing editor of Harvard Law Review.
advertisement“The new female imperative is that it is only through promiscuity and sexual aggression that girls can achieve admiration and recognition,” she says.
The biggest problem here is how the Telegraph takes her seriously. Of course, I know that it’s the Telegraph, and we can’t expect much better. But we should be able to, because people do actually read the thing and they actually do believe what’s in it.
Let’s run through the problems.
Popularity: 32% [?]
Dec
8
Like the Moon, and the Stars, and the Sun
Filed Under feminism, pop culture | 10 Comments
27 years ago today, John Lennon was murdered. He was only 40 years old.
I am, in fact, a huge fan of John’s. We never existed on this earth together — I was born 4 years too late, and some asshole took him out several decades too soon — but he has influenced my life in a multitude of ways. I consider him to be inspiring, even in his wrongness and naivety, brilliant on every level and most likely the greatest songwriter to ever live.
I’ve chosen a photograph with Yoko Ono because I think that’s what he would have wanted. The treatment and public understanding of Yoko and why it’s a feminist issue is a whole other post. I would have used a photograph with Sean as well, if I had found an equally good one, because that’s what John felt his life was: Yoko, Sean and music. I think that Yoko also serves as an important reminder that John was many things. When he was young, two of those things were a misogynist and an asshole. In his later years, one of them was a feminist. Lennon has always been to me a form of proof that people can change for the better. In particular, it’s not impossible for sexist men to become some of our best allies.
To both fellow-fans and those who know little but want to learn more, I could not more highly recommend the final major interview with John and Yoko: All We Are Saying. If you haven’t read it, you should. It’s one of my favorite books.
To other Lennon fans out there, two topics for discussion, both of which John probably wouldn’t have approved, but hey, he was a crank about this sort of thing:
1. Favorite John songs. Mine include Revolution, Day in the Life, Happiness is a Warm Gun, I Want You (She’s So Heavy), Instant Karma, Imagine (duh), and his version of Stand By Me, which knocks the wind out of me and brings a tear to my eye.
2. Tell any of your Lennon experiences. How he or his music influenced you, cool Lennon-related things that you’ve seen/done, etc. And maybe I’ll share some of my own in the comments.
And to make John (and Yoko) happy, here’s an exercise of which they would approve, to be done either in the comments or just in private on your own time: think about the change you want to see in the world and how we can get there.
Popularity: 11% [?]