If you're like me, you've probably been watching the Olympics every night. What else is on TV besides re-runs, anyway?
Well, as much as I'm enjoying all this sport focus, I get really tired of how sexualized female athletes are. Don't believe me? Take a look at this uniform comparison. How can anyone justify this?
I love the P.S. at the bottom, about not calling women "girls."
You have to wonder if we'll ever get to the point that we celebrate female athletes purely for the fact that they can kick-ass, and not about if they're pretty or not. Will that day ever come? I don't know, but I sure hope so. And if that day doesn't come, I hope that at least that everyone -- men especically -- can recognize how hard it is to get respect as a female athlete.
I think snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler summed it up best when she told ESPN The Magazine, "It never felt right to take my clothes off. It never felt like me. It sucks. When you're a woman in sports, people want you to show some skin."
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
Top10 Fun and Feminist Things to Do When it’s 100 Degrees
10. Read anything by Jennifer Weiner. Fun summer books that address serious issues about body image, motherhood, etc. with lots of laugh out loud characters and dialogue. Informal poll of the staff recommends her first novel Good In Bed.
9. Write feminist personal ads for you and your friends (or revenge personals for your ex). Send them to us and we’ll post ‘em!
8. Take your clothes off. No bitching about your thighs, tummy, whatever.
7. Have an iced tea tasting. Restaurants always have tons of flavored tea and lemonade in the summer and it’s a great way to go out with the girls, get hydrated, and not spend a ton of money.
6. Hang out at your local bookstore. Chances are it’s air conditioned and you can pick up some beach books to make you feel like you’re at the beach.
5. Volunteer at the humane society to wash dogs. Then you can play with the hose and be making a difference. Plus there’s puppies!
4. Go see Melissa Etheridge in Eugene. It may not be 100◦, but I guarantee it will be hot. If you can’t go, blast music into your yard and play in a kiddie pool or sprinkler.
3. Get and eat the prepackaged raw cookie dough. Then eat microwave popcorn for dinner and watch one of our favorite movies. Who wants to cook anyway!
2. Introduce yourself to some feminist magazines—Bitch, Bust, and Lilith are some of our favorites. It’s to hot to read War and Peace, and admit it, you don’t even want to think about how nice and cool it is in Russia, so get some bite sized feminist fun. Plus magazines work great as fans.
1. Come to the OSU Women’s Center—IT’S AIR CONDITIONED!!
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
You Know What I Want...Do You?
elle
I want a deal where a presidential partner--whoever they are--can either have a job or get paid for the one that they do. It's time to change the role of the political wife, and it's usually the wife. Have we ever seen a male Supreme Court Justice step down to care for an ailing partner? Plus, candidate's (generally) wives and daughters are expected to work for the campaign for free--and the schedules they maintain deserve at least some "pin money".
Somehow I imagine we'll have to see a male first lady before we really see any change, because if Michelle Obama's recent makeover is any indication this country STILL has a hard time with a woman with a job, let alone a powerfull highly paid one!
Michelle Obama Quits to Campaign Full Time
I want a deal where a presidential partner--whoever they are--can either have a job or get paid for the one that they do. It's time to change the role of the political wife, and it's usually the wife. Have we ever seen a male Supreme Court Justice step down to care for an ailing partner? Plus, candidate's (generally) wives and daughters are expected to work for the campaign for free--and the schedules they maintain deserve at least some "pin money".
Somehow I imagine we'll have to see a male first lady before we really see any change, because if Michelle Obama's recent makeover is any indication this country STILL has a hard time with a woman with a job, let alone a powerfull highly paid one!
Michelle Obama Quits to Campaign Full Time
Monday, August 11, 2008
Take Back the News
elle
Headlines have been screaming that a “Motherload of Gorillas” has been found in the Republic of the Congo (not the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which isn’t so democratic, but that’s another post someday!). Usually I try to take a regular news story, like the situation between Russia and Georgia, and do a feminist reading of the situation or its implications, but this is good news! Hooray!! Don’t worry though, we can still do some feminism-ing…and then we’ll talk Olympic sex testing next week!
Perhaps as many as 125,000 Western Lowland Gorillas were found in a completely remote and totally swampy area of Northern Congo. Because of the inaccessibility of the area it has been largely ignored by poachers and developers. Unfortunately this is about to change. The government has recently been selling resource rights to several companies to harvest the area’s timber—which would of course necessitate draining the swamps to create access roads etc. It’s easy for us to sit here and say WOA! BAD IDEA, but before we do that there must be an understanding of the situation of a very poor country with few natural resources attempting to become a part of the world market. Additionally, we have to think about where that timber is going...
There is a western arrogance to the environmental movement, that we should always be able to have our plastic bottles, but we’ll recycle them, without an understanding of the social and economic disparities that developing nations struggle with every day. Organic produce even in the US is generally still picked by underpaid migrant farm laborers and shipped the average 1500 miles (lots of gas even in my VW) to our grocery stores, but the pro-active sounding “organic” label allows us “do the right thing” and to further remove ourselves from the social, environmental and economic problems. BUY SEASONAL and LOCAL!
OK, let me get down off my soapbox. There.
One of the hallmarks of ecofeminist theory is the understanding that the subjugation of women and the subjugation of “mother” earth are, in fact, the same thing. That the idea that nature must be conquered and subjugated or studied by the male dominated rationality drives both the social construction of women through their reproductive functions and the concept of trees, fossil fuels, etc. as resources for humans. Some ecofeminists advocate a return to nature, cyclical living, and vegetarian/vegan living, while others, including Vandana Shiva (queen bee of my environmental consciousness) argue that the current model, particularly of agriculture, further subjugates the world’s poor countries to the demands of the wealthy and that by doing so we are losing the invaluable knowledge of the women who maintain traditional subsistence farming methods.
All in all, hooray for the find. It’s incredibly exciting to hear that a population we thought we had practically destroyed is thriving well away from us—and there’s the catch. How do we both protect this amazing find and yet stay well enough away for them to continue to thrive; it’s only because they have been so inaccessible to people that they have done so well. I would totally advocate for roping that space off and forgetting about it, but we can’t do that. We also can’t avoid the economic and social issues in our rush to “do the right thing”. What has to be done is the best thing for everyone involved or the situation will escalate and the gorillas will be the losers. They always have been.
A Few More Things:
Royal Fun on YouTube
Invest in Women, Invest in Countries
You Don't Say--Violence and AIDS in Women are Linked
Take Back the Olympics
Refugees Suffer (still) as Russia and Georgia Stand Off (again)
Headlines have been screaming that a “Motherload of Gorillas” has been found in the Republic of the Congo (not the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which isn’t so democratic, but that’s another post someday!). Usually I try to take a regular news story, like the situation between Russia and Georgia, and do a feminist reading of the situation or its implications, but this is good news! Hooray!! Don’t worry though, we can still do some feminism-ing…and then we’ll talk Olympic sex testing next week!
Perhaps as many as 125,000 Western Lowland Gorillas were found in a completely remote and totally swampy area of Northern Congo. Because of the inaccessibility of the area it has been largely ignored by poachers and developers. Unfortunately this is about to change. The government has recently been selling resource rights to several companies to harvest the area’s timber—which would of course necessitate draining the swamps to create access roads etc. It’s easy for us to sit here and say WOA! BAD IDEA, but before we do that there must be an understanding of the situation of a very poor country with few natural resources attempting to become a part of the world market. Additionally, we have to think about where that timber is going...
There is a western arrogance to the environmental movement, that we should always be able to have our plastic bottles, but we’ll recycle them, without an understanding of the social and economic disparities that developing nations struggle with every day. Organic produce even in the US is generally still picked by underpaid migrant farm laborers and shipped the average 1500 miles (lots of gas even in my VW) to our grocery stores, but the pro-active sounding “organic” label allows us “do the right thing” and to further remove ourselves from the social, environmental and economic problems. BUY SEASONAL and LOCAL!
OK, let me get down off my soapbox. There.
One of the hallmarks of ecofeminist theory is the understanding that the subjugation of women and the subjugation of “mother” earth are, in fact, the same thing. That the idea that nature must be conquered and subjugated or studied by the male dominated rationality drives both the social construction of women through their reproductive functions and the concept of trees, fossil fuels, etc. as resources for humans. Some ecofeminists advocate a return to nature, cyclical living, and vegetarian/vegan living, while others, including Vandana Shiva (queen bee of my environmental consciousness) argue that the current model, particularly of agriculture, further subjugates the world’s poor countries to the demands of the wealthy and that by doing so we are losing the invaluable knowledge of the women who maintain traditional subsistence farming methods.
All in all, hooray for the find. It’s incredibly exciting to hear that a population we thought we had practically destroyed is thriving well away from us—and there’s the catch. How do we both protect this amazing find and yet stay well enough away for them to continue to thrive; it’s only because they have been so inaccessible to people that they have done so well. I would totally advocate for roping that space off and forgetting about it, but we can’t do that. We also can’t avoid the economic and social issues in our rush to “do the right thing”. What has to be done is the best thing for everyone involved or the situation will escalate and the gorillas will be the losers. They always have been.
A Few More Things:
Royal Fun on YouTube
Invest in Women, Invest in Countries
You Don't Say--Violence and AIDS in Women are Linked
Take Back the Olympics
Refugees Suffer (still) as Russia and Georgia Stand Off (again)
Friday, August 8, 2008
Summer Fun!
elle
So, Dirty Dancing is HIGH on our list of movies about summer fun (and a fun movie to watch this summer), AND there's some political commentary, so we started looking around and found this retrospective of teen queens. Which one defines your generation? Let us know...
Elle: between "Adventures in Babysitting" and Clueless"
Alisha: between "Clueless" and "Save the Last Dance"
Lindsay: Somewhere around "Mean Girls" and "Bring it On"
So, Dirty Dancing is HIGH on our list of movies about summer fun (and a fun movie to watch this summer), AND there's some political commentary, so we started looking around and found this retrospective of teen queens. Which one defines your generation? Let us know...
Elle: between "Adventures in Babysitting" and Clueless"
Alisha: between "Clueless" and "Save the Last Dance"
Lindsay: Somewhere around "Mean Girls" and "Bring it On"
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Wierdly on the Fence
elle
Just a note, Salem and Portland have the delightful Bikini Coffee Company. Just so you didn't think we were all good and liberal and immune. Love in the article where the owner guy says "it gives people something new to look at. My eyes are generally bearly open when I'm waiting for coffee!
Ack--I hate it when my righteous indignation is crushed by people being stupid. So, there's been some controversy recently near Seattle about an "Espresso Gone Wild" stand. Yup, you got it, bikinis, lingerie, or a lot less with your morning fix. Blech, tacky, and just generally offensive.
OK, I was not on the fence about that at all. Every time I think that we've managed to denigrate women and use sex to sell just about everything I am rudely awakened by some other trashy scheme where the men who own the stand make money and the girls working there don't (young appears to be a prerequisite for working there, along with over-the-top and obvious). What bothered me is that in response to residents complaints the stand was ruled exotic entertainment and closed because of zoning regulations.
Good, such a place should absolutely cease to exist, but instead of talking about the serious issues at hand--exploitation, safety, (employees have had to call 911 because of harassment) hyper-sexualization, discriminatory hiring practices (doubt they'd actually hire me, whatever they say, or anyone over 30) etc.--we pull the uptight morality clause. The same one that means that Fred Meyer had an issue of Cosmo with a woman wearing a dress (not underwear or a bathing suit, I checked) covered up.
And there's another problem I have. Fred Meyer's "family friendly" aisle is stuffed full of candy, just no magazines. With all the fuss over childhood obesity isn't the candy more dangerous in the long run?
But I digress. Residents of Gorst (and I suppose the people in the "family friendly" aisle) were calling for blackout curtains, complaining that their children might see something, and thinking about property values. As well as the above mentioned serious conversations that need to be had maybe we should stop demonizing, sexualizing, and objectifying the female body. If people understood the function and beauty of all kinds of bodies perhaps we could get over our national prurience about the body and stop removing breast feeding mothers from airplanes, restaurants, etc. The exact same arguments used by the people of Gorst to shut down "Espresso Gone Wild" were used by the Taliban to force women under the Burqua and by European Christians to burn women at the stake--protect the morality of everyone else.
Anyway, couldn't they really just get them on a health code violation or something?
Just a note, Salem and Portland have the delightful Bikini Coffee Company. Just so you didn't think we were all good and liberal and immune. Love in the article where the owner guy says "it gives people something new to look at. My eyes are generally bearly open when I'm waiting for coffee!
Ack--I hate it when my righteous indignation is crushed by people being stupid. So, there's been some controversy recently near Seattle about an "Espresso Gone Wild" stand. Yup, you got it, bikinis, lingerie, or a lot less with your morning fix. Blech, tacky, and just generally offensive.
OK, I was not on the fence about that at all. Every time I think that we've managed to denigrate women and use sex to sell just about everything I am rudely awakened by some other trashy scheme where the men who own the stand make money and the girls working there don't (young appears to be a prerequisite for working there, along with over-the-top and obvious). What bothered me is that in response to residents complaints the stand was ruled exotic entertainment and closed because of zoning regulations.
Good, such a place should absolutely cease to exist, but instead of talking about the serious issues at hand--exploitation, safety, (employees have had to call 911 because of harassment) hyper-sexualization, discriminatory hiring practices (doubt they'd actually hire me, whatever they say, or anyone over 30) etc.--we pull the uptight morality clause. The same one that means that Fred Meyer had an issue of Cosmo with a woman wearing a dress (not underwear or a bathing suit, I checked) covered up.
And there's another problem I have. Fred Meyer's "family friendly" aisle is stuffed full of candy, just no magazines. With all the fuss over childhood obesity isn't the candy more dangerous in the long run?
But I digress. Residents of Gorst (and I suppose the people in the "family friendly" aisle) were calling for blackout curtains, complaining that their children might see something, and thinking about property values. As well as the above mentioned serious conversations that need to be had maybe we should stop demonizing, sexualizing, and objectifying the female body. If people understood the function and beauty of all kinds of bodies perhaps we could get over our national prurience about the body and stop removing breast feeding mothers from airplanes, restaurants, etc. The exact same arguments used by the people of Gorst to shut down "Espresso Gone Wild" were used by the Taliban to force women under the Burqua and by European Christians to burn women at the stake--protect the morality of everyone else.
Anyway, couldn't they really just get them on a health code violation or something?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Do They Mean Parents, or Is It Mom's Responsibility?
elle
Interesting article--it's funny how hyper-sexuality of kids has become the media cause de jour, I mean it's been going on for years. New books everywhere!! The Lolita Effect, and now So Sexy So Soon co-authored by Jean Kilbourne of "Killing Us Softly" fame. OK, so we're talking about it, now what? As I read this article I noticed that all the adults (except the one dad who spoke up in the workshop) appeared to be women. This is a cultural as well as a parental issue, and we must get men, particularly dads, involved in addressing what children are seeing. This is not just about booty, it's teen pregnancy and the ways in which we hold girls responsible for their sexuality but not boys, it's violence against women, it's media access, and it's that blurring line of responsibility between parents and schools. Thank goodness the only thing my 5 year old nephew has picked up at school is a fondness for Transformers!
Interesting article--it's funny how hyper-sexuality of kids has become the media cause de jour, I mean it's been going on for years. New books everywhere!! The Lolita Effect, and now So Sexy So Soon co-authored by Jean Kilbourne of "Killing Us Softly" fame. OK, so we're talking about it, now what? As I read this article I noticed that all the adults (except the one dad who spoke up in the workshop) appeared to be women. This is a cultural as well as a parental issue, and we must get men, particularly dads, involved in addressing what children are seeing. This is not just about booty, it's teen pregnancy and the ways in which we hold girls responsible for their sexuality but not boys, it's violence against women, it's media access, and it's that blurring line of responsibility between parents and schools. Thank goodness the only thing my 5 year old nephew has picked up at school is a fondness for Transformers!
I Found A Rave!!
elle
Check this out (click the picture, I'm getting all tech-y on you!). I am really excited about the opportunity not to be a voyeur into the refugee experience, but to see the innovative ways in which communities are addressing the needs of immigrant and refugee populations. I can't wait to hear more about how the school is structured and the experience of the native born Americans attending it.
Check this out (click the picture, I'm getting all tech-y on you!). I am really excited about the opportunity not to be a voyeur into the refugee experience, but to see the innovative ways in which communities are addressing the needs of immigrant and refugee populations. I can't wait to hear more about how the school is structured and the experience of the native born Americans attending it. Monday, August 4, 2008
A Rant and A Rave
elle
OK, so I know it’s been going on for a while now, but when did babies become accessories? More importantly, with all the media on celebrity moms (and the occasional dad, but only if the mom’s not famous enough) and not their nannies, how is it that we haven’t managed to have a real talk about motherhood in this country? Grrr. Suddenly we’ve gone from June Cleaver—who admittedly vacuumed in high heels—or Murphy Brown—bad shoulder pads, but took on single motherhood and the establishment—to sultry sex kitten 3 weeks after giving birth. I want a real discussion as to the message we’re sending women who can’t afford full time nannies, huge houses, personal trainers, and chefs about their ability to be a good mother. And anyway, who decides what a good mother is!?!
On that note, what the hell happened to Michelle Obama!?! A year and change ago when asked on 60 minutes about fears of assassination she pointed out that as a black man, Barack could be shot going to the gas station and now we have the cover of US Weekly (I think) with the pull quote from Barack “Nothing is More Important to Michelle than Being a Good Mother”. Double Grrr. If only I didn’t have to vote for him…Anyway, I agree with Feministing, Michelle Obama for President!! (includes the 60 minutes clip)
Wish I could find a Rave for you, but it’s Monday. Maybe later!
OK, so I know it’s been going on for a while now, but when did babies become accessories? More importantly, with all the media on celebrity moms (and the occasional dad, but only if the mom’s not famous enough) and not their nannies, how is it that we haven’t managed to have a real talk about motherhood in this country? Grrr. Suddenly we’ve gone from June Cleaver—who admittedly vacuumed in high heels—or Murphy Brown—bad shoulder pads, but took on single motherhood and the establishment—to sultry sex kitten 3 weeks after giving birth. I want a real discussion as to the message we’re sending women who can’t afford full time nannies, huge houses, personal trainers, and chefs about their ability to be a good mother. And anyway, who decides what a good mother is!?!
On that note, what the hell happened to Michelle Obama!?! A year and change ago when asked on 60 minutes about fears of assassination she pointed out that as a black man, Barack could be shot going to the gas station and now we have the cover of US Weekly (I think) with the pull quote from Barack “Nothing is More Important to Michelle than Being a Good Mother”. Double Grrr. If only I didn’t have to vote for him…Anyway, I agree with Feministing, Michelle Obama for President!! (includes the 60 minutes clip)
Wish I could find a Rave for you, but it’s Monday. Maybe later!
Take Back the News
elle
Amid allegations of corruption (and possible indictment), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that he will step down after the September elections in that country—for those of you like me who vaguely understand parliamentary governments, but are fuzzy on the details, here’s the Wikipedia article about Parliamentary Systems. Amidst cautious attempts at peace talks between Israel and Palestine this disruption is potentially unwelcome, and concerns have been raised about how a new PM will affect the process.
After last week’s discussion of women and violence, it is also important to recognize the gendered system of peace. When asked to define peace, most people will say something about the absence of violence, but such a definition makes no place for the lives of women in “peaceful” societies that are battered, mutilated, raped, tortured, and killed by both intimates and strangers. Peace as it is currently defined on the international scene generally means the "dead white guys" who haven't had much interest in women's lives before, sitting at a table trying to lose as little as possible for themselves. Peace activists and theorists define peace as not the absence of violence, but the presence of social justice—an unfortunately nebulous term, but one with a call to action.
For women, this call to action often takes a very different perspective than that of men. In no way am I advocating an essentialist notion that women are better suited for peace and reconciliation than men, but simply that women’s experience with violence is different, often dismissed or trivialized, and that socially construction notions of women, women’s roles, and women’s work must be taken into account as leaders such as Olmert and Mahmud Abbas attempt to hammer out an agreement. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is rightfully touted as a triumph of the peace process over retributive violence, but it is rarely discussed that of requests filed for amnesty, rape was almost never considered a crime for which amnesty would be required. Of the 823 pages of the TRC’s final report, the word rape appears 6 times (I love the find button!). Accepting, and I do, that violence is gendered, peace must be as well.
There are some fantastic examples of women throughout the world demanding and working to create a peace that includes them In Somalia a group of women came to the peace negotiations as the 6th Clan (negotiations were being held between the major clans and a coalition of smaller clans in the area) and demanded a place at the table, Women in Black has combined peace activism and performance art sometimes in the face of considerable threat, and multiple organizations of Israeli and Palestinian women have come together to discuss the ways their lives converge. I’m not the type to get all starry eyed and idealistic here, but we do share space in this world, and it needs to be safe space for everyone.
A Few More Things:
Soldier's Death and Mutilated Body Officially Deemed Suicide
I couldn’t find any regular news sources still covering this, and the military ruling appears to be recent. ACK!
Women Giving to Women
The Lost Women of Vancouver BC
When People Stop Paying Attention, the Media Will
IPV in the Military, Why Aren't We Paying More Attention?
Now Really, Was That So Hard?
I'm not really sure that the bathroom issue is what really distracts them from studying!!
Amid allegations of corruption (and possible indictment), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that he will step down after the September elections in that country—for those of you like me who vaguely understand parliamentary governments, but are fuzzy on the details, here’s the Wikipedia article about Parliamentary Systems. Amidst cautious attempts at peace talks between Israel and Palestine this disruption is potentially unwelcome, and concerns have been raised about how a new PM will affect the process.
After last week’s discussion of women and violence, it is also important to recognize the gendered system of peace. When asked to define peace, most people will say something about the absence of violence, but such a definition makes no place for the lives of women in “peaceful” societies that are battered, mutilated, raped, tortured, and killed by both intimates and strangers. Peace as it is currently defined on the international scene generally means the "dead white guys" who haven't had much interest in women's lives before, sitting at a table trying to lose as little as possible for themselves. Peace activists and theorists define peace as not the absence of violence, but the presence of social justice—an unfortunately nebulous term, but one with a call to action.
For women, this call to action often takes a very different perspective than that of men. In no way am I advocating an essentialist notion that women are better suited for peace and reconciliation than men, but simply that women’s experience with violence is different, often dismissed or trivialized, and that socially construction notions of women, women’s roles, and women’s work must be taken into account as leaders such as Olmert and Mahmud Abbas attempt to hammer out an agreement. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is rightfully touted as a triumph of the peace process over retributive violence, but it is rarely discussed that of requests filed for amnesty, rape was almost never considered a crime for which amnesty would be required. Of the 823 pages of the TRC’s final report, the word rape appears 6 times (I love the find button!). Accepting, and I do, that violence is gendered, peace must be as well.
There are some fantastic examples of women throughout the world demanding and working to create a peace that includes them In Somalia a group of women came to the peace negotiations as the 6th Clan (negotiations were being held between the major clans and a coalition of smaller clans in the area) and demanded a place at the table, Women in Black has combined peace activism and performance art sometimes in the face of considerable threat, and multiple organizations of Israeli and Palestinian women have come together to discuss the ways their lives converge. I’m not the type to get all starry eyed and idealistic here, but we do share space in this world, and it needs to be safe space for everyone.
A Few More Things:
Soldier's Death and Mutilated Body Officially Deemed Suicide
I couldn’t find any regular news sources still covering this, and the military ruling appears to be recent. ACK!
Women Giving to Women
The Lost Women of Vancouver BC
When People Stop Paying Attention, the Media Will
IPV in the Military, Why Aren't We Paying More Attention?
Now Really, Was That So Hard?
I'm not really sure that the bathroom issue is what really distracts them from studying!!
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