2009 November Archive

What We Missed.

Advocacy Group Decries PETA’s Inhumane Treatment Of Women I love the Onion. That is all.
Some stats on domestic violence at RollingOut.com giving light to the impact of Rihanna and Chris Brown.
Please read Chally at Feministe on the chilling Maguindanao Massacre.
Disgusting statistics about food and starvation in the United States.
A must-read at the Nation about how to save journalism.

By Samhita • 14 years ago

Read Courtney on the Wapo Next Pundit Competition

As usual she brings it with personal experience and feminist authority in her measured, thoughtful and generous way.

Being a part of the WaPo’s contest didn’t change how I feel about the value of training women to enter public debate in greater numbers. It did, however, remind me of just how deeply the gender imbalance on op-ed pages is rooted. It’s not all about submission rates or saying yes when producers call; it’s also about old, tired, and stubbornly persistent perceptions of gender and authority.
Reading the comments that amassed following my writing throughout the three-week experience and, especially, after my video appearance, was a sobering reality check about how far we still have to go in changing cultural mores on ...

As usual she brings it with personal experience and feminist authority in her measured, thoughtful and generous way.

Being a part of the WaPo’s contest didn’t change how I feel about the value of training women to enter ...

By Jos Truitt • 14 years ago

ABC OK with a man who beat a woman, not OK with a man who kissed a man

Last week ABC canceled Adam Lambert’s scheduled appearance on Good Morning America after he *shock* *gasp* kissed another man during his 11pm performance at the American Music Awards. But the network is going ahead with an interview with Chris Brown, who beat his then-girlfriend Rihanna (the link is to a New York Post story – the publication has a terrible track record on a lot of issues, and even they seem bothered by this move).
Does ABC understand the statement this choice makes? Their actions say that a man who is known to have abused a woman deserves a chance to tell his story, but a man who who has kissed another man ...

By Jos Truitt • 14 years ago

The Advocate ENDA poll FAIL

Just in time for Thanksgiving, The Advocate gave transgender and gender non-conforming folks a reminder of how we’ve been screwed over by the mainstream gay community. No, I’m not grateful.
The Advocate posted a poll on their website asking, “Would you support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act if gender identity protections were again taken out of the bill?” Here’s what the results of this (I’m assuming very unscientific) poll look like as of this morning:

I suppose it’s nice to see the overwhelming answer of “No.” But the big problem here is that the question was asked at all. It’s my understanding that supporting a version of the Employement Non-Discrimination Act that excludes protections for trans folks is not even ...

By Samhita • 14 years ago

Glenn Beck on Sarah Palin, “Get back in the Kitchen.”

Glenn Beck is an asshole. And I am not Sarah Palin fan, but seriously…sexism is sexism and telling someone to get back in the kitchen because they are a woman is sexism, regardless of their politics.
via RawStory

Beck apparently likes the idea of a Beck-Palin ticket, but a Palin-Beck ticket? Not so much.
“I was just thinking, what, I’m going to take a back seat to a chick?” Beck quipped, to laughter from the studio. “Go shoot a bear, make some stew, I’m hungry in here.”
In an interview with Newsmax last week, Palin “wouldn’t rule out” running with the controversial talk show host in 2012.
“So while she’s considering it … I just want her to know, I’m ...

By Samhita • 14 years ago

On Racism and the First Lady.

The FLOTUS is a visual reminder of what it means to be American. A first lady is symbolic of family, motherhood, togetherness and beauty. Feminists are interested in what this heteronormative position means for creating a nation of people that are complacent with the ideals of family, economy and the rightful place of women. The first lady is a contested idea for feminists. Even though it would be nice if the FLOTUS wasn’t forced to reify standards of femininity and motherhood, I think there is something to be said about having a first lady that defies standard ideas of beauty and motherhood.
Media depictions of black women are not kind. Miriam posted a piece last week by Melissa ...

By Samhita • 14 years ago

Racism, Xenophobia and Misogyny Intersect: Giving birth while in shackles.

This is what an asshole looks like.
In Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s world, this is acceptable behavior.

The most recent atrocity committed by the self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” involves a woman who was detained while 9-months pregnant. Alma Minerva Chacon’s case has been receiving media attention due to the brutality with which she was treated. The very same night of her arrest, Chacon went into labor and found herself afraid and alone, being rushed to a local hospital with her hands and legs chained in shackles.
Once she reached the hospital, nurses repeatedly begged the Sheriff’s staff to allow them to unchain the mother, but they refused and Chacon was forced to give birth while still shackled to ...

This is what an asshole looks like.
In Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s world, this is acceptable behavior.

The most recent atrocity committed by the self-proclaimed “America’s Toughest Sheriff” involves a woman who was detained while ...

By Miriam • 14 years ago

What We Missed: Holiday Weekend Edition

Feministing will be on a hiatus for the holiday weekend and we’ll be back to our regularly scheduled posting on Monday. Enjoy the long weekend folks!
Want some interesting reading about reproductive justice for your travels this weekend? Download the Fight For Reproductive Freedom newsletter from the Civil Liberties and Public Policy Program of Hampshire College.
The Progress Report has 27 (tongue and cheek) reasons to give thanks this holiday season.
New guidelines from the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology say that women under 30 should start getting pap smears three years after sexual activity, or at age 21 and only every other year. Women over thirty should get them every three years.
Some more ...