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By Tracey E. Vitchers • 13 years ago

An Accidental “Experiment” with “Boycott American Women”

A few days ago I came across a lovely website called “Boycott American Women.” I really can’t remember how I found it, but after perusing through the blog posts from American men who have posted to the site I felt pretty disgusted about the attitudes many of the men had not only towards American women, but more importantly, towards foreign women.

Some examples include:

““Many say that white American women’s physical attractiveness declines much sooner and quicker than certain other races. Most won’t leave the house until they gob on a ton of much-needed cosmetics just to look presentable. Many foreign women have much nicer body shapes, more feminine traits and a lot still have nice long hair, opposed to the boyish low-maintenance short cuts that most American women get by their mid to late teens and never grow back.”

“I say don’t get married period. But if you must be a hardhead, I believe outsourcing is the best idea. Foreign women are comfortable in their femininity. As a male I am attracted to this. I believe that American women have priced themselves out of the marketplace. Too needy, too many headgames, too easy to divorce. Not many foreign men want American wives either. Plus nowadays you hear American women using terms like “starter husbands”. Don’t do it guys. What a crude women American girls are. American men are considered the best husbands in the world. They sure put up with more than most men ...
By Tracey E. Vitchers • 13 years ago

O’Donnell, Elitism and the Midterm Elections

Another one of Christine O’Donnell’s campaign advertisements based on her “I’m You” strategy has hit the internet and televisions everywhere:

Yes, the advertisement is problematic because of O’Donnell’s re-use of the “I’m You” rhetorical strategy, but it is also a very important advertisement because of the new way O’Donnell is using the “I’m you” strategy to gain votes. Rather than use the 30 available seconds to dispel myths about her past actions and statements, this time around O’Donnell focuses on the ways she is more like “you” than Chris Coons is because of his supposedly out of touch Ivy League education and upper class economic status. Her advertisement, although unoriginal in its execution, is highly representative of the way America is ...

Another one of Christine O’Donnell’s campaign advertisements based on her “I’m You” strategy has hit the internet and televisions everywhere:

Yes, the advertisement is problematic because of O’Donnell’s re-use of the “I’m You” rhetorical strategy, but it is ...
By Tracey E. Vitchers • 13 years ago

Holding Conservative “Feminists” Accountable

I recently came across  the following quote from Uma Narayan in her essay, Contesting Cultures: “Westernization,” Respect for Cultures, and Third-World Feminists,”

I have been struck by the fact that it is not only religious fundamentalists who believe they are continuing ‘ancient traditions’ while ignoring the changes they have collaborated in and participated in within their life-times, but women like my mother. My mother’s vision manages to ignore the huge differences between her marriage at twenty-one and her mother’s marriage at thirteen, and sees both her life and mother mother’s as ‘upholding Indian traditions,’ while my life-choices are perceived to constitute a break with and rejection of tradition.

Although Narayan’s words were written in reference to her Indian mother’s resistance to her ...

I recently came across  the following quote from Uma Narayan in her essay, Contesting Cultures: “Westernization,” Respect for Cultures, and Third-World Feminists,”

I have been struck by the fact that it is not only religious fundamentalists who believe ...
By Tracey E. Vitchers • 13 years ago

An Open Letter to Christine O’Donnell

Dear Ms. O’Donnell,

I apologize in advance for the curt demeanor of this letter, but it is imperative that you understand the following: You are not me. First, I think it is a bit presumptuous for you to say or think that you are anyone other than yourself. Second, if you went to Washington, you would not do what I’d do. Why are you not me? And, what would I do if I went to Washington? Let me explain.

You are anti-choice. I am pro-choice.

You are in favor of abstinence-only sex education. I am pro-comprehensive sex education.

You are anti-gay marriage. I am pro-gay marriage.

You believed that China is plotting to take over America. I do not believe China is plotting to take ...

Dear Ms. O’Donnell,

I apologize in advance for the curt demeanor of this letter, but it is imperative that you understand the following: You are not me. First, I think it is a bit presumptuous for you to ...
By Tracey E. Vitchers • 13 years ago

“But, I Thought They’d Be More Attractive”: Demystifying Sex Work and Sex Work Research

Studying Comparative Women’s Studies and conducting research on sex work at Utrecht University has its benefits: amazing faculty, international recognition, classes with titles like “Technobodies,” direct access to major feminist non-profit organizations in Europe, and the beautiful landscape of the Netherlands. However, living in a country with legalized sex work and in close proximity to the Red Light District of Amsterdam has it’s downsides: jokes made about how I am going to school to learn how to become a “hooker,” repeated trips to the Red Light District at the request of friends who come to visit me, and the unsettling feeling I get as I try to explain how prostitution works in the Netherlands to my visitors.

I’ve come to expect ...

Studying Comparative Women’s Studies and conducting research on sex work at Utrecht University has its benefits: amazing faculty, international recognition, classes with titles like “Technobodies,” direct access to major feminist non-profit organizations in Europe, and the beautiful ...