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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% [?]
Apr
28
Feminist News and Links
Filed Under blogging, feminism, media, random | 20 Comments
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.
Popularity: 18% [?]
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
21
Parental Advisory: Explicit Content
Filed Under blogging, fun, random | 13 Comments
This just made my day:
The Blog-O-Cuss Meter - Do you cuss a lot in your blog or website?
Created by OnePlusYou
HAHAHAHA.
Stolen from Ren, who has a paltry 34.5% of her pages containing curse words. Better pick up the pace, Ren!
By the way, the average is 9%. And my rate of swearing is apparently 988% more than other websites that took the test. I’m not sure whether to count this as a big win or an ultimate fail.
Honestly, I didn’t think that I swore quite that much — more like a 75%. Then again, it must automatically read comments as well. In any case, I feel like I should throw in a few expletives here just to live up to my apparent reputation. So . . . fuck. And ass.
Popularity: 14% [?]
Apr
9
Quick Survey
Filed Under misogyny, patriarchy, products, random, rape and sexual assault, violence against women and girls | 38 Comments
If you saw someone wearing any of these disgusting shirts, would you:
- Hit him where it hurts (your choice of body part)
- Go into an uncontrollable screaming rage
- Run in the other direction
- Burst into tears in mourning for your very last ounce of hope in humanity
For me, it depends. I would always be tempted by #1, but refrain (violence is wrong, I’m a wimp, and the last guy I want to initiate violence with is the one wearing a rape shirt). I would probably do #2 if around enough people I know, and could therefore feel relatively safe yelling at someone who is a rapist or rapist-in-training. Otherwise, I’d have to go with #3, followed very quickly by #4. Actually, #4 could probably be guaranteed.
Leave your answers in the comments.
UPDATE: Numerous people in the comments have left remarks questioning whether or not Cafe Press should sell such material and whether or not people are allowed to sell such material on Cafe Press. I looked into it, and as it turns out . . . I’m pretty sure that they can’t.
General Guidelines for Prohibited Content
- Content that may infringe on the rights of a third a party.
- Items that make inappropriate use of Nazi symbols and glamorize the actions of Hitler.
- Use of marks that signify hate towards another group of people.
- Hate and/or racist terms.
- Inappropriate content or nudity that is not artistic in nature.
- Content that exploits images or the likeness of minors.
- Obscene and vulgar comments and offensive remarks that harass, threaten, defame or abuse others such as F*** (Ethnic Group).
- Content that depicts violence, is obscene, abusive, fraudulent or threatening such as an image of a murder victim, morgue shots, promotion of suicide, etc.
- Content that glamorizes the use of “hard core” illegal substance and drugs such as a person injecting a vial of a substance in their body.
- Material that is generally offensive or in bad taste, as determined by CafePress.com.
The list outlined above should NOT be construed as an exhaustive list of offensive material but rather as a general guideline for you to follow.
I think that these shirts pretty much have to fall under at least one of these guidelines. Cafe Press says that if something breaks the usage policy to email them at cup@cafepress.com. So, below the jump, I’ve compiled a bunch of links for the shirts I found, roughly though hardly scientifically in order of most to least offensive. I suggest sending off an email with these URLs and an explanation as to why they violate the content policy. Trigger warning: all of these shirts are very disturbing and offensive.
Popularity: 20% [?]
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
29
Updates and Things
Filed Under 2008 election, Republicans, assholes, blogging, media, objectification, politics, race and racism, random, rape and sexual assault, sex work, sexual exploitation and harassment, violence against women and girls | 5 Comments
A few stories I’ve recently blogged about have some updates:
Yesterday, I wrote about a woman who was forced to undergo a painful process of removing her nipple piercings before she could board a plan, apparently for the amusement of the male security officers. The TSA has responded to the situation:
The TSA said Friday in a statement on its Web site that the officers properly followed procedures, but that the procedures must change. In the future passengers can either allow a visual inspection of their piercings, or remove them, the agency said.
The statement stopped short of apologizing to Hamlin.
”TSA acknowledges that our procedures caused difficulty for the passenger involved and regrets the situation in which she found herself,” the agency said in a statement. ”We appreciate her raising awareness on this issue and we are changing the procedures to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Hamlin’s attorney said she accepted the TSA statement as an apology, and commended the agency for taking quick action. The policy change is ”an achievement for the protection of passengers’ civil rights while meeting the security goals of the TSA,” Gloria Allred said.
Uh huh. Well call me difficult to please (you wouldn’t be the first), but I do find it a little odd how the TSA website already said prior to this statement that “If you are selected for additional screening, you may ask to remove your body piercing in private as an alternative to a pat-down search.” A pat-down search was never offered to Hamlin, and was in fact refused to her when she made the offer herself to show her nipple piercings to the female guard in private — the same guard who had to look at her piercings anyway as Hamlin went through the excruciating process of removing them. So I think that TSA will have to try again. Changing a policy is totally different from beginning to enforce one that is already in place. It was previously indicated that Hamlin was considering suing if she did not receive an apology. I think that it will be a shame if a lawsuit doesn’t go through, and after all of the trouble, TSA gets off the hook with a slight wag of the finger.
I’ve also recently blogged about how Al Sharpton and the NAACP are supporting leniency for the Dunbar Village rapists. Now, Sharpton’s organization (NAN) and the NAACP are furiously denying, changing their stories and pointing fingers at each other. Sharpton has tried to rewrite history and is blaming the “misinformation” on the women of color bloggers who have raised awareness and interest about this issue, without noting that the information came from numerous objective and mainstream news sources. In other words, he’s not only ignoring the fact that women of color deserve rights equal to those of men of color, but is now also blaming his own disgusting mess on women of color rather than taking responsibility for his actions. Nice. Also, while reviewing the denials and backpedaling, check out this flier. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence of who produced it, but according the the Dunbar Village blog, it was passed around at the NAN and NAACP join press conference on March 11. And even if they didn’t produce the fliers themselves, the fact remains that putting together an event with this type of bullshit propaganda being openly distributed isn’t exactly the best way to prove that you’re not supporting the rapists (and neither is standing on a stage with the rapists’ families).
Keep those letters coming, folks.
Popularity: 15% [?]
Feb
5
Very Deep Thoughts on a Very Important Primary
Filed Under 2008 election, politics, random | 11 Comments
So, I’m tired, too lazy to write a real post — especially since I haven’t even read the friggen news today — and yet still have too many thoughts floating around in my head. Therefore, I am going to share those scattered and probably pointless thoughts on the primary. Lucky you.
In no hugely particular order:
Voting is anti-climactic. This may be because I don’t have anyone to vote with. The only person I know in my district who I would be happy to vote with is my husband. Unfortunately, he doesn’t love America enough to be able to vote (eh, some citizenship thing) and is reduced to saying to me as I walk out the door “if you don’t vote for Obama, I’ll kick your ass,” while I tell him that I’ll vote for Mike Gravel just to spite him. (um, no, I didn’t)
The bastards didn’t even give me a sticker. I didn’t get one in 2006, either. Where is my fucking sticker? How can I feel righteous and superior to everyone else if I don’t have an ugly cheap sticky thing hanging off of my lapel?
I witnessed no vote stealing or disenfranchisement. In fact, things were pretty dead. The worst I came across was as I entered, an obviously Democratic voter was talking to a Republican volunteer and said “I feel like the odd one out,” and the volunteer joked “maybe its time to switch parties.” Which I thought was inappropriate. But it’s also a very small town, and I’m about 80% sure that the two knew each other. Which still makes it inappropriate but hardly something to call a voting hotline about.
But here is something that did bother me. When you went in, the voting booths were not split up between Republican and Democrat (if they were, the Dem side would probably get a dull pencil and a scrap of paper), nor were the check-in tables. In the very small room in the very small town, they asked you which party you were with and you had to give your answer out loud. This didn’t bother me because I couldn’t care less if someone knows which party I’m registered with. I don’t actually consider myself a Democrat (if that ever happens, the Dems have either become a different party or someone needs to shoot me). But I also sure as hell don’t want anyone thinking that I’m a Republican. I didn’t mind being the odd one out, and in fact felt quite proud and relieved that I have a brain in my head. But I still had to wonder about a person who did mind. Could that keep someone from voting? The thing is, everyone has the right to a secret ballot and accepts that what you do in the voting booth is their own business. In an actual election. Yeah, asking what party you’re with doesn’t say who you’re voting for, but it could serve as a kind of outing. Again, especially in a small town. What do you think? And how does your district do it? Are there better ways? Do you think that this is a legitimate concern?
A silly musing: how is the order of the candidates on the ballot decided? Because In NY, Clinton’s name is right at the top, and with the lever voting machines, pretty much at eye level. Obama’s name was down at my rib cage crowded by all of the other candidates who are no longer in the race but still on the ballot. It actually took me a good 10 to 15 seconds to find his name. That’s not long, but here’s the thing: do you think that gives Clinton an advantage? You know, like how they put Coke at eye level in the store so that you’re more likely to buy it; that works. Just saying.
A largely pointless quandary: my dad didn’t vote. I expected him to, and asked if he did, and he shook his head and said “is there supposed to be a candidate that I like?” Now, first thoughts label this good. I think I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion that I do not agree on . . . anything . . . with my dad when it comes to politics, and that he is a lifelong Republican. In 2004, he actually considered not voting for the first time. In the end, he apparently became frightened by Kerry’s East Coat Liberal ways (*scoffs*), but he was so unhappy with Bush that he considered sitting it out. Again, this says that progress is being made. Though I still disagree with him on everything, it seems that even he is starting to realize what a sad, pathetic, incompetent bunch the Republicans have become. And yet, I’m still left with the question: should I be happy that my dad no longer feels strongly Republican enough to vote in the primaries, or sad that the one and only other voter in my family is giving up on the political process? My mom isn’t coming around, and you couldn’t get my 20-year-old brother to act like he cares if you threatened to set his hair on fire. My dad and I may have been at each other’s throats over everything (we don’t talk politics anymore), but voting was the one thing that we both believed in.
But hey, maybe the anticipation weariness is making me stupidly nostalgic.
I stand by my previous assertion that I cannot wait until I never have to see or hear Ron Paul’s racist, misogynist, xenophobic, delusional name ever again. No more signs along the highway, or banners hanging from the overpass? No more angry letters to magazines or comments on blogs because someone dared to point out that the guy is severely fucked in the head? Ah. That will be the day. But I don’t really expect him to concede until the very last delegate is counted.
I can’t promise that this will be the last useless Super Tuesday post for the evening, nor can I promise that any others will be written 100% sober. Though I do promise that if I can no longer type coherently, I’ll spare you. Because that’s just the kind of thoughtful person I am.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Feb
5
Why Don’t More People Vote?
Filed Under 2008 election, politics, random | 14 Comments
Yeah, obviously I know that it’s more complicated than this, but do you think that it might have anything to do with the fact that you’re likely to head down to the polling station on your way to work at 9:30 in the morning and find out that they’re not open until noon? Maybe? Not having polling stations open when they’re going to be most convenient for some people, and then having them only open for 9 hours so that if you work in the evening and don’t live close to your district location, you’re fucked?
So, now I get to go back on my way home from work. I wasn’t the only one there and pissed off, and there were more cars pulling in as I left. I live in a very conservative district, so no this isn’t a Repubs screwing the Dems issue, but it’s still bullshit. In fact, I just found out that it’s the same for the whole area, so I can only assume that it’s a NY State thing. Seriously, noon? On a Tuesday? The dentist’s office isn’t that damn inflexible. I guess that’s what I get for not watching the local news.
We live in a country where less than half the population votes regularly and where only a tiny fraction of people bother to vote in the primaries. You’d think that politicians might have an interest in fixing that, but I guess it’s much easier to pander to the same old voters than to try to get new ones.
Firstly, voting days need to be public holidays. The end, non-negotiable. Secondly, the polls should be open for at least 12 hours, probably from 8a.m. to 8/9p.m., so that people still have a chance to vote even if they work early or late because their job is too shitty to give them public holidays off. Thirdly, I get the whole efficiency and nonexistant voter-fraud issue, but I feel like there really has to be a better way of doing things than assigning each person to one polling location and one location only, because people don’t always work where they live. And god knows that you have to fight tooth and nail to obtain your damn right to a provisional ballot. Really, I’m sure that we could work this out if we wanted to.
And there you go, my morning rant. How is your day so far?
Popularity: 17% [?]
Feb
1
A Historic Race
Filed Under fun, random | 6 Comments
After reading this post and nearly bursting into tears, then leaving a comment here that is the length of a blog post (only less grammatically correct), and that probably won’t do any good, anyway . . . I need a laugh. I’ve had a bad week. Being stuck on the thruway in the middle of a whiteout/blizzard/wind storm, having an upset stomach, being behind on everything and low on money . . . hell, the season premiere of Lost wasn’t even that thrilling (I mean, it was a good episode, but season premiere worthy?).
Luckily, I made the choice to pay Tracey a visit right after reading that horrid article, and it helped a little bit. Why? Because she’s got some kick ass feminist news, that’s why. It turns out that a female is likely to soon hold the most prestigious position in all of Massachusetts. Not only that, it’s a position that no female in the U.S. has ever held before. She does have to make it through the 2008 elections, though, so I can only imagine that Chris Matthews is going to get on her case any minute now.
Who am I talking about?
Ms. G, the contender for first official groundhog of MA.
And though the media usually tries to downplay issues regarding gender equality, The Boston Globe clearly recognizes the significance of the nomination:
Ms. G (that’s short for Groundhog), a 4-year-old woodchuck from the Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Drumlin Farm, has been nominated to be the state’s first official groundhog. If approved by the Legislature this year, she would be the first female groundhog in the country to hold such a title.
“What does Punxsutawney Phil know about Massachusetts?” Christy Foote-Smith, sanctuary director at Drumlin Farm, said of the Pennsylvania rodent. “We need our own groundhog.”
While some say the political climate seems right for a female woodchuck, there is a natural reason that the shadow-seeing had traditionally been left up to the males. Male woodchucks are the early risers of winter, driven out of hibernation by their desire to mate. Females, on the other hand, hang around their dens and wait for gentlemen callers.
But times may have changed.
“Don’t you think the nation is ready for an official female groundhog?” said Jan Kruse, an Audubon spokeswoman.
She’s experienced and qualified. I imagine that she will both bring about change and be ready to serve her constituents from day one. And though these things shouldn’t matter in elections, she is pretty damn cute. Clearly, she deserves the position. If you’d like to help Ms. G get elected, sign the petition in her favor.
Oh, and if you’re going to read that other utterly depressing article, please do make sure to read the comments as well. I know, it’s a strange request — usually the comments are the worst part. But here (rejoice!), feminists seem to have taken over and are schooling the rape apologists faster than they can say “she was asking for it.”
Popularity: 14% [?]
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"No woman can call herself free who does not own and control her own body." --Margaret Sanger
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"Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less." -- Susan B. Anthony
