2011 July Archive | Feministing

Some thoughts on the “Beats, Rhymes & Life” documentary

I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest,” a documentary directed by Michael Rapaport. A Tribe Called Quest is no doubt one of the most influential and groundbreaking hip hop groups to ever live. So of course I was curious. But there’s been so much drama surrounding the thing! Quibbles and quarrels around content, production, and credit made me skeptical from the jump. Perpetual critic Armond White panned it to Jay Smooth’s unsurprise, but many have praised it for elevating hip hop to new heights and doing justice to a somewhat complicated story about culture, genre, and stardom in just ...

I didn’t know what to expect when I went to see “Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest,” a documentary directed by Michael Rapaport. A Tribe Called Quest is no ...

By Jos Truitt • 12 years ago

PETA’s latest fail: animal cruelty is just like slavery

Image via BET.

I am getting pretty tired of calling PETA out for their offensive ad campaigns. The latest, which premiered on the National Mall last week, is called Glass Walls and features the prominent endorsement of Paul McCartney. Nifty. Less nifty, however, is that it equates animal cruelty with slavery, among other systems of oppression. The display features graphic images of animal cruelty next to graphic images of human cruelty, including images of slavery from the nearby Natural History Museum. From NBC Washington:

“Child labor, human slavery, and the oppression of women all came to be opposed by our society, thanks to the passion and ...

Image via BET.

I am getting pretty tired of calling PETA out for their offensive ad campaigns. The latest, which premiered on the ...

By Lori Adelman • 12 years ago

The Wednesday Weigh-In: Coping with grief and trauma

A woman mourns after a deadly terrorist attack in Norway.

This week’s Wednesday weigh-in deals with grief, trauma, and how to cope.

76 are dead and dozens more injured after a devastating terrorist massacre took place in Norway on Friday. These numbers are hard for me to comprehend. The loss of life, the violence, the ensuing shock and fear, can feel pretty unbearable, especially when details have emerged demonstrating that the Norway killer hated women.

For this reason and more, this episode has struck a raw nerve with many feminists. As Jill pointed out on Feministe, he uses a lot of the same tropes as Men’s Rights Activists. Nona Willis Aronowitz has written a great piece for ...

A woman mourns after a deadly terrorist attack in Norway.

This week’s Wednesday weigh-in deals with grief, trauma, and how to cope.

76 are dead and dozens more injured after a devastating terrorist massacre took place in ...

By Jos Truitt • 12 years ago

Bachmann Sexism Watch: Hair and Makeup Edition

Pic via

Remember Palin Sexism Watch and Hillary Sexism Watch during the last presidential election? I guess it’s time for the Bachmann version.

Mother Jones of all places wrote yesterday about Michele Bachmann’s hair and makeup bill:

According to Bachmann’s latest campaign finance filings, her campaign spent nearly $4,700 on hair and makeup in the weeks after she entered the presidential race on June 13. Records show her campaign made three payments of $1,715, $250, and $2,704 to a Maryland-based stylist named Tamara Robertson. Robertson’s LinkedIn profile says she works as a makeup artist at Fox News in the DC area. She’s also listed in the “Make-up” section of the credits for the Citizens ...

Pic via

Remember Palin Sexism Watch and Hillary Sexism Watch during the last presidential election? I guess it’s time for the Bachmann version.

Mother Jones of all places wrote yesterday about Michele Bachmann’s ...

By Jos Truitt • 12 years ago

What the hell is “non-consensual sex?”

In the media coverage of Congressman David Wu’s resignation some disturbing language jumped out at me, from the biggest, most mainstream papers to smaller and even feminist online publications. The phrase “aggressive, unwanted sexual encounter” or just “sexual encounter” seems to have originated with The Oregonian and spread freaking everywhere (with some minor and even more disturbing alterations). Then there were spins on the wording like “unwanted sexual activity.” Oh, and of course there was “sex scandal.” Then there’s the version that for some reason has disturbed me the most, “non-consensual sex,” which even appeared on RH Reality Check.

Seriously, what the fuck is “non-consensual ...

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

What We Missed

In case it was not already wildly obvious, I am a Harry Potter nerd. I am also a fan of the It Gets Better project. Which is why I love this video.

Australian painter Margaret Olley, one of the world’s foremost woman artists, has died.

Rep. David Wu, the Democratic congressman from Oregon who was accused last week of raping the daughter of a longtime friend and campaign contributor, resigned today.

Raped, framed by her rapist, and wrongly incarcerated. There is literally nothing that isn’t appalling about this story.

Two days after New York State granted its first marriage licenses to same sex couples, anti-SSM groups have filed a suit to have the law overturned.

At Feministe, a reminder ...

In case it was not already wildly obvious, I am a Harry Potter nerd. I am also a fan of the It Gets Better project. Which is why I love this video.

Australian painter Margaret Olley, one ...

By Chloe Angyal • 12 years ago

“This ad really spoke to me, in that it featured a talking vagina”

Last night, Stephen Colbert took on the racist and douchey (literally!) Summer’s Eve commercials that we wrote about last week. It is, predictably, five minutes and forty-six seconds of pure gold.

To quote Colbert, what you are about to see, you cannot un-see. And you will probably want to re-see it multiple times, because it is that good.

By zerlina • 12 years ago

Rape victims and anonymity

This week Nafissatou Diallo, the accuser in the Dominique Strauss-Kahn rape case, broke her silence in a print interview with Newsweek and a televison interview with ABC News An alleged rape victim coming forward in such a public way is unprecedented. Rape shield laws have historically protected victims of sexual assault. Because rape is considered especially harmful compared to other crimes, extra measures are taken to ensure victims recover and heal without public criticism.

Even with rape shield laws, though, victims in high profile cases are routinely smeared and accused of lying. Their identities are frequently leaked to the media and the public is then able to pry into their private lives and sexual histories, ...