Posts Tagged Personal Is Political

By Courtney • 13 years ago

Personal is Political: cleaning house


Him: Do you own a broom?
Me: I think so. (pause) Um, I used to.
Him: This is right up there with your microwave.
Okay, so maybe I’m not the most fastidious cleaner in the world. I was raised by one of those moms who believed a little dirt doesn’t hurt. I adopted this worldview, avoiding hand-santizer (I think it just makes our immune systems less robust) and strictly adhering to the five second rule when it comes to any dropped piece of chocolate. I’m fairly orderly, but clean? Well, I just feel that most of the time I have way better things to do. Sometimes, if I’m really pissed off or anxious, cleaning feels great. But otherwise, it’s ...


Him: Do you own a broom?
Me: I think so. (pause) Um, I used to.
Him: This is right up there with your microwave.
Okay, so maybe I’m not the most fastidious cleaner in the world. ...
By Lori Adelman • 13 years ago

In [Partial] Defense of the Hipster Generation

All this talk about youth in the pro-choice movement and the legacy of baby boomer activists, including civil rights leaders, has got me thinking about what my own generation’s legacy will be. And, surprisingly, scarily, tellingly, I’ve come up with this one word, a word that inspires fear, disgust, and admiration simultaneously; a ubiquitous word, an over-used and under-examined word, a foul word, depending on what circles you run in: HIPSTER.

Ah, yes, the “hipster generation.” How I both love and despise thee. No other movement can do what you do- you make me laugh, you make me cringe, and then you make me laugh again. You entertain me and shame me. You occupy my weekends, ...

All this talk about youth in the pro-choice movement and the legacy of baby boomer activists, including civil rights leaders, has got me thinking about what my own generation’s legacy will be. ...
By Lori Adelman • 14 years ago

Disclosure & Choice: When Do We Deserve to Know Someone’s Sexuality? (Handy Flowchart Included)

Last week, Ricky Martin came out and the blogosphere emitted a collective “duh”.
Newsweek issued a slideshow titled “We Already Knew, Ricky” and Gawker gleefully compiled an entire slideshow of people who “need to finally come out of the closet”.
Even relatively mainstream media sources like ABC News and Rollingstone.com were sure to mention the “years of scrutiny about his sexuality” and “speculation” that preceded his announcement.
The jokes, puns, and in some cases, ridicule, did not stop there. Headlines like “Ricky Martin decided against a “DUH!!! I Love Dick!” People magazine cover” (DListed) and innumerable “livin la vida blank” puns filled my reader.
After these knee-jerk reactions came the just-plain-jerk analyses. Why did Martin wait so ...

Last week, Ricky Martin came out and the blogosphere emitted a collective “duh”.
Newsweek issued a slideshow titled “We Already Knew, Ricky” and Gawker gleefully compiled an entire slideshow of people who “need to ...
By Lori Adelman • 14 years ago

In Today’s Alternative Advice Column, What Lies Behind “Slut”

A while back, Chloe wrote a terrific piece about the gap between increased awareness about unhealthy beauty standards in the media, and the unhealthy messages they’re actually internalizing. I think a similar gap exists regarding sexuality; many of us are able to articulate pride in our sexuality or pontificate about sex positivity, but we’re still internalizing harmful messages about sexuality and what these messages says about us and our value. We still buy into the Madonna/whore complex. We still believe purity and goodness reside with virginity, and dirtiness and badness reside with sex. We still feel shame about our desires, and feel less and less proud of ourselves as our “number” climbs higher and higher (and I’m not talking ...

A while back, Chloe wrote a terrific piece about the gap between increased awareness about unhealthy beauty standards in the media, and the unhealthy messages they’re actually internalizing. I think a similar gap exists regarding sexuality; ...
By Chloe Angyal • 14 years ago

Fucking – er, dating – while feminist

Last week, The Sexist posted an interview with the Jaclyn Friedman, who’s a writer, Executive Director of WAM!: Women, Action and the Media and all-around smart person. The post, called “Fucking While Feminist,” was about the challenges of finding feminist or feminist-ish cisgender men to date, and about how she makes relationships work with the ones she does find. Reading Friedman’s reflections on trying to have a love life and a sex life while making feminism your full-time gig made me think about the way that feminism has influenced my own romantic relationships (though because both my parents and grandmother are reading this, it’s probably wise for me to refer to those relationships as “dating while feminist,” so ...

Last week, The Sexist posted an interview with the Jaclyn Friedman, who’s a writer, Executive Director of WAM!: Women, Action and the Media and all-around smart person. The post, called “Fucking While Feminist,” was about ...
By Courtney • 14 years ago

The Personal is Political: Our Mothers’ Unrealized Dreams

I was talking to an insightful friend the other day about my work, and how much of it revolves around actualizing the ideas of older feminists (or certainly has, historically), and he said, “It’s amazing how much of life is lived in pursuit of reparations.” It took my breath away.
I’ve frequently thought about the unfinished business of my mother and grandmothers, and the ways in which my life is so influenced by what they weren’t able to do in theirs. My paternal grandmother (pictured) was an aspiring writer who never published a word, though she did work at a publishing company for a short time. Her struggle with bipolar disorder and a mental health system that didn’t understand it, ...

I was talking to an insightful friend the other day about my work, and how much of it revolves around actualizing the ideas of older feminists (or certainly has, historically), and he said, “It’s amazing how much ...
By Miriam • 14 years ago

Guest post: On how I became an American

This is a guest post from someone who preferred to remain anonymous.
After fifteen years of living in the United States, I’ve embarked on the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. It’s important to me to write about this in this forum because immigration clearly is a feminist issue – one that has to do with everything from reproductive justice to political oppression to global capitalism to education justice. This is my immigration story, and how it has connected with these issues.
The first few months I was here are difficult to remember in anything other than broad strokes – I was lonely, culture-shocked, going through puberty, and angry at my parents for moving us from Venezuela to ...

This is a guest post from someone who preferred to remain anonymous.
After fifteen years of living in the United States, I’ve embarked on the process of becoming a U.S. citizen. It’s important to me to ...
By Chloe Angyal • 14 years ago

Maybe she’s born with it… Maybe it’s make believe

My boyfriend and I are getting ready to go out to dinner. Let me re-phrase that: I’m at the bathroom sink getting ready, and he’s leaning against the bathtub watching me put on my makeup. We’re talking and laughing, when I realize that I’ve been gesticulating with my concealer, rather than putting it on my face, for several minutes now. I go to put it on, and then pause, glancing at his reflection in the mirror. I’m hesitating. For no good reason, I know I won’t feel comfortable putting on my concealer while he’s in the room. He’s not meant to see this. “Are you sure you want to see how the magic happens?” I joke. “Wouldn’t you rather just ...

My boyfriend and I are getting ready to go out to dinner. Let me re-phrase that: I’m at the bathroom sink getting ready, and he’s leaning against the bathtub watching me put on my makeup. We’re talking ...

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