2010 August Archive | Feministing

A Palin of our own or a charismatic H. Clinton?

Rebecca Traister and Anna Holmes want a progressive Sarah Palin to rise up from the Democratic doldrums and said as much in this Sunday’s New York Times, two years to the day since Palin first appeared on the political scene. This swoon-worthy duo of feminist thinkers is critical of the Democratic party, which they feel hasn’t cultivated enough female leaders in prominent positions and consistently asks women to hide their feminism under a bushel and compromise on feminist issues (ala healthcare reform and abortion). They write:

But as women of a different generation — of, gulp, Sarah Palin’s generation — we wonder if Democrats shouldn’t look to her for twisted inspiration, and recognize that the future of women in politics ...

By Ann • 13 years ago

Weekly Feminist Reader

The Crunk Feminist Collective considers Nicki Minaj.

Margaret Atwood on being a woman writer.

On the relationship between sex and housework.

Good riddance, Dr. Laura.

An awesome essay on women and rock music — and music journalism: “[S]ince there are women fucking DOING incredible things in the music scene these days, we deserve to see images of women DOING things, alongside men, and not just passively posing, semi-naked, for those men’s titillation. Got that? Okay!”

Rebecca Traister and Anna Holmes ask, where’s the liberal Sarah Palin? Hortense has more.

Sarah at Women’s Glib on women and masturbation.

You don’t have to be gay to do the right thing on gay rights.

“The Internet can be used ...

The Crunk Feminist Collective considers Nicki Minaj.

Margaret Atwood on being a woman writer.

On the relationship between sex and housework.

Good riddance, Dr. Laura.

An awesome essay on women and rock music — and music ...

By Chloe Angyal • 13 years ago

The Feministing Five: Nina Funnell

Nina Funnell is one of Australia’s leading young feminist writers. A lifelong feminist, she became a vocal advocate for women’s rights after surviving an abduction and sexual assault in her final year of college. She pressed charges and went public, and in the process, became an activist. She now travels the country speaking to high school students about sexual violence and how to prevent it, and she sits on the board of the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre. In 2010, she was recognized for her courage and her convictions when she was became a state finalist for the Young Australian of the Year award.

A regular columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and a Researcher at the ...

By Vanessa • 13 years ago

What We Missed

How ’bout that: The word “abortion” is googled the most in conservative areas and areas where abortion is restricted.

Pennsylvania has changed its policy so that trans folks can change their driver’s licenses to appropriately reflect their gender. Woot!

Charming: The Family Research Council has released a new ad attacking “Harry Reid and homosexual activists” on DADT.

Dr. Seymour L. Romney, the Founder and Chair of the first board of directors of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH), has passed away.

A new report has been released on the abuses and discrimination against women and girls with disabilities in Northern Uganda.

How ’bout that: The word “abortion” is googled the most in conservative areas and areas where abortion is restricted.

Pennsylvania has changed its policy so that trans folks can change their driver’s ...

By Ann • 13 years ago

Douche for success, ladies

I don’t know why everyone is so shocked by this ad! My vagina has a direct relationship to my workplace success. The last time I asked for a raise I just vajazzled “50k??” on my pubic bone and dropped trow in the boss’s office.

Make it (smell like) rain!

I don’t know why everyone is so shocked by this ad! My vagina has a direct relationship to my workplace success. The last time I asked for a raise I just vajazzled “50k??” ...

By Ann • 13 years ago

Women and masturbation: We’ve come a long way, maybe?

Happy Friday, y’all! Let’s talk about orgasms!

Last night I saw In The Next Room: The Vibrator Play, which was written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Sara Ruhl. Inspired by Rachel P. Maines’s book, The Technology of Orgasm, Ruhl wrote a play about the use of vibrators as a Victorian-era treatment for women’s “hysteria” — a broad diagnosis that could encompass anything from what we recognize today as depression to merely being a bit emotional. The theory went that “hysteric” women had too much pressure built up in their wombs, and inducing a “paroxysm” (aka orgasm) would provide relief. It marked perhaps the first glimpse of a new era in which women’s sexual pleasure would be valued — ...

Happy Friday, y’all! Let’s talk about orgasms!

Last night I saw In The Next Room: The Vibrator Play, which was written by Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Sara Ruhl. Inspired by Rachel P. Maines’s book, The ...

By Chloe Angyal • 13 years ago

Props to the Aussie government: The Line campaign

The Australian government recently launched a campaign called The Line, designed to educate young people about healthy romantic relationships and the role that technology can play in bullying and abuse.

The campaign makes it clear that though some things are illegal clearly “over the line,” like violence, rape and abuse, other lines are blurry and need to be defined by individuals:

So whilst everyone agrees that violence is crossing the line, sometimes the line can be blurry. With things like with bagging someone out to your mates, or texting someone 300 times a day. At the end of the day, where you draw the line is up to you.

The campaign is a series of print and radio ads that discuss ...

The campaign makes it clear that though some ...

By Jos Truitt • 13 years ago

Mad Men Midweek Friday Fix: The Chrysanthemum and the Sword

During the fourth season of Mad Men Feministing writers will offer some of our thoughts on feminist moments, scenes, and themes in the new episodes in order to start a discussion about these topics in our community. This year we’ll help you get through the middle (ok more like end this week) of the week wait for the next episode. *WARNING: Lots of spoilers follow.

“This Selma thing sure isn’t going away.”
It is really interesting to have them talking about the civil rights movement in this way. Since I have done nothing but read about civil rights history it is interesting to see how people were that weren’t effected by it. I think I had always assumed everyone was ...