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The recent violence and the normalization of whiteness

The one thing that I do not see being discussed in the mainstream media, that says something about the normalization of whiteness, is how the shooters in Colorado and Wisconsin are being framed as mentally ill, rather than being racialized. The use of language in this way very clearly defines these barbaric incidents as NON-racial, so that people can still hold on to favorable ideals and beliefs about people who are white, while individualizing these incidents as an anomaly in order not hold all white people accountable. The fact of the matter is, however, if the shooters had been a person of color, much of their violent acts and hatred would have been attributed to their race.

This process seems so complete to me that even when the argument of nonracialization of the ethnically white is brought up there is a strong backlash against it. People often say that by making such statements it is giving the perpetrator too much attention. This never happens when people of color are politicized and or racialized. In those cases where criminals (whom are people of color) are racialized, that racialization is used as justifications to limit opportunities of people of color,  increase their regulation, and absolve any attempts at retaliatory “justice”.

New Research may cause backlash….Maybe

There is this article:

I haven’t been able to get my hands on the actual study, but just by this news article the research is flawed, or so small that general inferences cannot be made. If I am going to believe their conclusion (I hold healthy scientific skepticism) that men and women eat more when women are present and do so for different reasons ( the reasons given are heavily based in stereotypes). The overarching sound bite that I see coming out of this article is  “Women make you Fat!”.  I hope I am wrong but I can see this spiraling out of control. What do you think?

There is this article:

I haven’t been able to get my hands on the actual study, but just by this news article the research is flawed, or so small that general inferences cannot be made. If I ...

Reconciling Zen Buddhism and Feminism

I consider my self a supporter of Feminism and a self identified feminist. I also identify with the principles of Zen Buddhism (living in the moment, the practice of letting go, etc.) In doing research on the history of Buddhism I found that, like other major religions, Buddhism is patriarchal in structure.  What troubled me, and prompted this post, was that Buddhism has been called Misogynistic by such scholars as Rita Gross; but a more “flexible misogyny” whatever that means ( which I think is an oxymoron).  There is even this quote by the Dali Lama using Gender Binary stereotypes:

“Warfare has traditionally been carried out primarily by men, since they seem better physically equipped for aggressive behavior. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more caring and more ...

I consider my self a supporter of Feminism and a self identified feminist. I also identify with the principles of Zen Buddhism (living in the moment, the practice of letting go, etc.) In doing research on the history of Buddhism ...

Feministing Community Weigh-in: Pixar’s Brave Trailer

What do you think? There has been much buzz on the feminist blogosphere about the potiental this film has;  so I thought it was time the Feministing community sounded off.  What do you hope to see, what will make you walk out of the theater, and what will make you buy a ticket twice Can Pixar change its anti-feminist image with only one picture?

What do you think? There has been much buzz on the feminist blogosphere about the potiental this film has;  so I thought it was time the Feministing community sounded off.  What do you hope to see, ...

Baby gender neutrality and the reaffirmation of the patriarchal gender binary

In reading this article I am far more interested in people’s reaction to the parents decision, than the decision itself. A) The parents never said that they wouldn’t teach a distinction in terms of genitalia; they are just not placing any value on it as a basis for gender identity. B) There are other socializing factors that will attempt to force the child into the gendered binary structure ( friends, relatives, schools, and most certainly the media); the child is not living in a social vacuum.

I’ve read the comments that have been posted on many different sites, they are mostly negative, admonishing the parents for being selfish and self righteous and that they need to “think of their child.” I find this to be gender stigmatization veiled as compassion for ...

In reading this article I am far more interested in people’s reaction to the parents decision, than the decision itself. A) The parents never said that they wouldn’t teach a distinction in terms of genitalia; they are just ...

Some Feminist “Props” for Jessica from the ASA

This Article was recently published by the American Sociological Association (ASA). I listened to this discussion at the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) in 2009. Kudos to Jessica, they give her props right off the bat. I think they should go a step further and just say she is awesome

http://contexts.org/articles/summer-2010/is-hooking-up-bad-for-young-women/

This Article was recently published by the American Sociological Association (ASA). I listened to this discussion at the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) in 2009. Kudos to Jessica, they give her props right off the bat. I think ...

The “New Look ” of Wonder Woman

I think the costume is a step in the right direction but The image shows still a hypersexualization of female comicbook characters (especially by artist Jim Lee)It is not like the new image has her step out of the sexy warrior archetype that was made famous in the 90’s. Wonder Woman she is now comparable to witchblade or Black Canary in terms of look.

What upsets me more is that they changed her origin. At this point I am unsure how much. But now she did not grow up on Themyscara as a strong independant warrior. Instead she grew up…in an “urban setting” what does that mean? I think this is a big mistake. ...

I think the costume is a step in the right direction but The image shows still a hypersexualization of female comicbook characters (especially by artist Jim Lee)It is not like the new image has her step ...

La Film Fest: Dog Sweat

I went to the LA Film fest last night. My wife and I saw two great films Tiny Furniture (on the recommendation of editors here at Feministing from their review at SXSW). The other film we saw was the world premiere of Dog Sweat (literal translation is homemade liquor) dealing with the real lives of several Iranian individuals.
The film is an amazing, well crafted piece. It brings to light the down low culture in Iran, along with how female sexual identity is expressed in such a mysoginistic, oppressive society. The plot is not anything we haven’t seen before; but it is the setting and the subtle understanding of the current social, political, and religious climate in Iran ...

I went to the LA Film fest last night. My wife and I saw two great films Tiny Furniture (on the recommendation of editors here at Feministing from their review at SXSW). The other film ...

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