2009 October Archive | Feministing

A Barbie that really represents black women

Now here is a Barbie that you don’t see everyday. This one was done by Loanne Hizo Ostlie. She is a bad-ass artist who sells Barbies on ebay with the hair re-rooted in diverse styles that are more representative of Black women today.

I often have this image on my desktop because it’s the closest image of Barbie that resembles my look and we all need a little affirmation every now and then. It’s not to say that Barbie with locs is problem free. But this work is an important contribution and it should be acknowledged.

I don’t know if I am on a hair kick because I am still reeling from Chris Rock’s Good Hair shenanigans, but ...

Now here is a Barbie that you don’t see everyday. This one was done by Loanne Hizo Ostlie. She is a bad-ass artist who sells Barbies on ebay with the hair re-rooted in diverse styles ...

By Jos Truitt • 14 years ago

UN report recognizes transgender people, freaks out binary gender defenders

The UN recently released a report on “Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism” by Special Rapporteur Martin Scheinin that focuses on gender. The report (which can be accessed in pdf form here) is mostly about human rights abuses experienced by “women,” by which it seems the author means cis women. However, it takes a broad approach to gender, looking at intersections of race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity:

Gender is not synonymous with women but rather encompasses the social constructions that underlie how women’s and men’s roles, functions and responsibilities, including in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, are defined and understood. This report will therefore identify the gendered impact of counter-terrorism measures both ...

By Jessica • 14 years ago

Quick Hit: Oklahoma vs. Women

An editorial from The New York Times takes on the Oklahoma law requiring doctors to post the details of women’s abortions on a public website.

By Rose • 14 years ago

Reactions to Good Hair

I wear a few hats on campus. Along with being a graduate student and a Feministing contributor in constant search of my next post, I am also the President of the Campus Coalition for Sexual Literacy (CCSL). CCSL, an org that is an affiliate to the National Sexuality Resource Center, promotes sexual literacy through community forums and serving as a liaison between students and campus health providers. This past Wednesday, with the help of HBO, film distributor Roadside Attractions, University of Michigan academics and student organizations, we held a private screening of Chris Rock’s Good Hair 2 days before the film premiered in Michigan.
While the event, and the conversation that followed with the 300 audience members was ...

By Ann • 14 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader

Love her.
The Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill passed the Senate. (For a dissenting view on hate crimes laws, read Jos’s take.)
Are big movies with strong female leads damned if they do, damned if they don’t? More from Women & Hollywood.
How the Superfreakonomics writers get it wrong on sex work.
On Law & Order‘s anti-choice propaganda.
A Utah OB puts its anti-woman policies on a sign for all to see.
The gender gap in the results of a survey of DC teens about sex.
Challenging assumptions about working mothers.
The nation’s only African-American lacrosse team.
Ramapriya Gopalakrishnan on her life as a single, urban, ...

Love her.
The Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Bill passed the Senate. (For a dissenting view on hate crimes laws, read Jos’s take.)
Are big movies with strong female leads damned if ...

By Professor Foxy • 14 years ago

Ask Professor Foxy: How Do I Come Out? Am I Gay?

This weekly Saturday column “Ask Professor Foxy” will regularly contain sexually explicit material. This material is likely not safe for work viewing. The title of the column will include the major topic of the post, so please read the topic when deciding whether or not to read the entire column.
Dear Professor Foxy,
Well, for about two years (I’m 21) I’ve been thinking that I’m gay. And, after a recent, and first, sexual encounter with a woman I decided that, yes, this lesbian thing is for me. Since then I’ve slowly been coming out of the closet: I’ve told a friend here, a cousin there but I still have yet to tell my parents. While they are ...

By Chloe Angyal • 14 years ago

The Feministing Five: A. S. Byatt

A. S. Byatt, or Dame Byatt as she’s officially known, is a Booker Prize-nominated novelist who writes stories about intelligent, complex women – in other words, the kind of women we love here at Feministing. Byatt has written almost a dozen novels and numerous short stories, but her best-known work is Possession: a Love Story. Possession, which she wrote in 1990, is a fascinating story about the interaction of gender, history, literature and love. It was named one of Time‘s Best 100 Novels of All Time, and is required reading in colleges and high schools all over the world.
In a 1995 interview with Salon, Byatt offered an explanation for her tendency to create educated, willful female ...

By Courtney • 14 years ago

What We Missed

Queens University covers the launch of our tour! We’ll be at Boston College on Monday and Wheaton on Wednesday. Contact the amazing Martha (polk.marthaatgmaildotcom)if you’d like to book us for an upcoming stop.
Corruption compounds the discrimination women already experience.
Women’s eNews covers An $18 million “Start Strong” initiative to prevent teen dating
violence.
Jenni Prokopy founder and editor of ChronicBabe.com, an online resource for young women with chronic illness, writes about health care reform over at the Women’s Media Center.
“Sexual dysfunction affects more than half of menopausal Hispanic women over 40, an 11-nation study said Wednesday.”
Women in Somalia contend with all variety of threats to their lives while trying to ...