So I have not seen the new Jodi Foster movie yet and likely won't until it comes out on video, simply because I don't always have the money to do that kind of thing. But, even if the revenge genre is getting a little predictable, the Brave One, a story about a woman taking revenge on her (and her partner, who was killed) attackers, could be interesting (and hopefully empowering) sort of film,

Brian Hughes from the independent University of Georgia publication, RedBlack.com, doesn't think so. In his opinion, it is a "steaming pile of feminist justice".

First off, the phrase "steaming pile" is usually following by the term "shit" and Hughes is likely referencing feminism as such. Furthermore, the film aside, what the hell is the problematic about feminist justice? In my head, the term could refer to the following:

1.) Prosecuting rapists and making them stay in jail for a long time
2.) Helping women get safe and affordable access to abortion
3.) Fighting back when attacked
4.) Getting George Bush out of office.

Ok, the last one was a little bit silly (although, in my opinion completely true) but the point is that these were the first thoughts that the term "feminist justice" raised in my mind and I cannot imagine any of them to be lumped into the category of this supposed "steaming pile".

Anyway, sorry this post isn't too organized but I am very angry right now.

I don't care one way or another about the film, honestly, but the comment was completely offensive and honestly, disgusting.

To be fair, Hughes has a point when he writes

"What does it say about our culture that we've had two films in less than a month claiming the only route to revenge is through the barrel of a gun?"

Ok, I tried, but one redeeming line in a sexist article does not make it ok.

Fuck you, Hughes.

Bikini Kill Awesomeness

This is a pretty cool video of various Bikini Kill interviews and footage. Just watch and listen.

Some of My Favorites

Just a short (and incomplete) list of some of my favorite people (that I don't know personally).

Kathleen Hanna: Front woman of riot grrrl band Bikini Kill and member of Le Tigre, another awesome feminist band.

"I don't need to convince men that feminism is important, that just isn't a goal of mine. I can't even have that conversation, of whether or not it's important, because if someone asks me that they're my mortal enemy and I don't want to have a conversation with them until they grow up."

Margaret Atwood: Brilliant writer of works such as The Edible Woman, Oryx and Crake and The Blind Assassin. Also one of the first authors my mum and I could agree on

"We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly."

Patti Smith: Basically just about the the most awesome singer/songwriter/badass ever. Even if she doesn't usually call herself a feminist, she has certainly help others identify as such.

"Let's just say that I think any person who aspires, presumes, or feels the calling to be an artist has a built-in sense of duty."

Dorothy Parker: Despite all Mrs. Parker's (and I say Mrs. because that was how she liked it) faults, she wore her sexuality on her sleeve, talked shit to those who disrespected her and somehow managed to outlive ( and out-talk) almost all the members of the Vicious Circle.

"Men don't like nobility in woman. Not any men. I suppose it is because the men like to have the copyrights on nobility -- if there is going to be anything like that in a relationship."

There are so many more. Maybe this will be a weekly column.

Are We Ready?!

Ok, so, just in case anyone hasn't noticed, there is a woman running for president.
Just kidding! how could anyone NOT notice considering all the flack that, not only Hilary, but all women are getting as a blacklash from the candidacy.
I actually cannot vote, as I am not an American citizen (American resident, Canadian citizen) so it is not likely I really get to choose a candidate and I personally thinking that either Clinton or Obama would be fine. But the angry words thrown at towards not only Hilary, but the very idea of a woman president are out of control.
This Daily Show segment sums it up pretty well, in an ironically sex in the city type of way.

I have many friend who will not vote for Hilary (I just love how all the men running are referred to by their last names while, even for me, Hilary Clinton is just "Hilary". Like she is a friendly, nonthreatening neighbor or something) because they think she will be a bad president. I disagree with these people but that is besides the point. Whether Clinton is a good or not so good choice for the democratic party should have nothing to do with whether she is a woman.

Reclaim the Day

Well, here's a name I haven't heard in a while. Since graduating from my feminist studies department where we discussed the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas case at some point in most courses, Hill hasn't really crossed my mind.
Today I came across a commentary Professor Hill wrote for the Women's Media Center. Recalling being called "nutty" and "slutty" by author David Brock, Hill writes about the constant debasement of women for monetary gain. After selling millions of dollars worth of books, Brock apologized to Hill, explaining that he has been blinded by financial ambition.
For Hill, apologizing for blatant sexism is not enough.

According to Hill:

Because the debasement of women continues to sell and derogatory terms for women have become part of popular discourse, I’m convinced that we need more than Brock recanting or Imus being fired. We need a movement to counter the verbal assaults on women that flow freely in modern media outlets and that have now crept into our workplaces and are increasing in our schools. In addition to our efforts to “Take Back the Night,” we need to “Reclaim the Day!”

I’m not talking about censoring artists or comics. What I want is positive entertainment and educational programming that replaces or, at the very least, balances the negative.

I like Hill's idea and think that she is going at it from a good angle. She also wants your feedback on organizing this event/day.

Cute Little Singing Girl

So, I saw this on Feministing a while ago but it is so cute, I just had to post it (besides writing angry rants, I also like to look at cute videos of babies online)

Skills Every Man Should Know

According to Popular Mechanics Magazine, men are losing their skills. Every man, according to this articles, should know how to do the following tasks:

1. Patch a radiator hose
2. Protect your computer
3. Rescue a boater who as capsized
4. Frame a wall
5. Retouch digital photos
6. Back up a trailer
7. Build a campfire
8. Fix a dead outlet
9. Navigate with a map and compass
10. Use a torque wrench
11. Sharpen a knife
12. Perform CPR
13. Fillet a fish
14. Maneuver a car out of a skid

15. Get a car unstuck16. Back up data

17. Paint a room
18. Mix concrete
19. Clean a bolt-action rifle
20. Change oil andfilter
21. Hook up an HDTV
22. Bleed brakes
23. Paddle a canoe
24. Fix a bike flat
25. Extend your wireless network

OK, so fair enough, people do seem to be losing their drive to learn how to cope with day to day situations. Many of my friends, for instance, have no idea how to change a tire (I learned after running over a brick the first day I got my license).

But 25 skills every MAN should know?

I just don't know where to begin!

First off, woman are just as capable to learn such the above mention skills as men and some perform many of these tasks on a daily basis. The article is sexist and outdated. Duh.

But then there is the assumption that the ability to complete these tasks is essential to one's masculinity. Is a guy who lacks these skills not a man? While some of the listed items are definitely important, they do not apply to everyone (not everyone, for example can afford a high definition television or wants to use a gun, for instance).

Furthermore, what does the list leave out? Once the man fillets a fish, how does he cook it? Does his wife cook it? What if he is gay? OK, I know that is going a little of topic, but seriously, there are very few mentions of anything involving basic needs in the article- necessities that mens' female (heteronomativity anyone?) significant others should supposedly provide.

I am not saying that many of these skills are not important. I would like to know how to fix a dead outlet, for example. And (hopefully) this article was supposed to be a little tongue in cheek.

But come on. Necessary DIY skills extend far beyond rifle maintenance.

The Most Fucking Fucked Up Thing I Have Heard in a While

This shouldn't be anything too new since I have heard about it in newscasts and blogs all over the place, but still, this is truly awful.

A young, black woman was found beaten, raped and horribly tortured by six white people in West Virginia. Reported by the Associated Press, they

choked her with a cable cord and stabbed her in the leg while calling her a racial slur, poured hot water over her, made her drink from a toilet and made her eat dog feces and rat droppings. She was also beaten and sexually assaulted during a span of about a week, according to the complaints.

At one point, an assailant cut the woman's ankle with a knife and used the N-word in telling her she was victimized because she is black, according to the criminal complaints.

She survived, amazingly enough.
What the hell do people have going on in their minds?

Remedios Varo

Though I had seen her work before, I didn't know her by name until I saw Remedios Varo's paintings at the Modern Art Museum in Chapultepec Park, Mexico City a couple of summers ago. Though the Kahlo's were exciting to see in person, I stared at Varo's for the longest. Afterward, I forgot her name and have been disparately trying to remember it ever since. I just did.

About Varo

Mamarama!

Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids and Rock 'n' Roll is a must-read for, well, I think everyone. I originally started reading the book after my boyfriend bought it for me at the bookshop where he works (Dog Eared Books in San Francisco) because he noticed the author had an affinity for Rent, my current obsession.

Author Evelyn McDonnell, co-editor of the books Rock She Wrote: Women Write About Rock, Pop and Rap and Stars Don’t Stand Still in the Sky: Music and Myth and author of Army of She: Icelandic, Iconoclastic, Irrepressible Bjork and Rent by Jonathan Larson, writes about her life in relation to the cultural and feminist (or not so feminist) scenes of her high school years in the mid-west, a struggling writer in Bohemian New York, the riot grrrl explosion of the early nineties, her experiences in two marriages, as a stepmother, a hip hop critic and a mother.

The current pop culture writer of the Miami Herald, McDonnell describes her struggle to add motherhood to her constantly growing list of identities without compromising her career, her beliefs, or herself.
She writes:

“I have moments, even days, of pure despondency when I’m not sure I’m cut out for this parenting stuff. … I worry I’m becoming everything I didn’t want to be: a frumpy, grumpy housewife who, two weeks after it came out, still hasn’t heard the new Strokes CD.

“Then I remember: I don’t like the Strokes.”

Besides being an excellent feminist and cultural memoir and a totally fun read, Mamarama struck a strong chord with me (and I am sure many others) personally. Currently occupying the space between a degree in feminist studies, and some combination of career, marriage and motherhood in the next five or so years, I often wonder (and worry, and obsess!) over whether I will continue to uphold and enact the values I feel to be so important now once I am overrun with motherly responsibilities.

Mamarama made me realize the answer is yes.

Link

Britney Rant

While somewhat sad, I acquire a great deal for my news from the yahoo web page, namely my celebrity news (to which I have a slight addiction). Yesterday the main topic of interest, as with many websites, was Britney Spear's performance at the VMAs.
But really, mostly about her supposed "paunch".
Spear's performance was not particularly good-- it was actually fairly bad-- and she obviously knew it. She seemed nervous, frustrated with the way her act was going and, generally, out of it.
I am not a huge Spear's fan (although i have often been caught crooning her tunes at Karaoke and, at one time, even had a slight crush on the lady) and there was no doubt her act was one of the worst of hers that I have seen.
But the media focused far less on her out of step dance moves than they did her dreaded belly.
First off, besides the fact Spear's mid-section is actually quite close to the ideal to which so many women strive, the attention to her abs just points once again to the infuriating (and honestly tired) issue that much of society continues to view (and critique, judge and belittle) women as ornaments rather than instruments or actors.

Today, Yahoo News posted a second, follow- up piece asking whether too much attention was paid to Spear's tummy or if "she asking for it by choosing that unforgiving black-sequined bikini".
many just thought she should have avoided exposing the "bulging" spectacle of her body by wearing her outfit- a black, sequined bikini. According to Janice Min, editor of US Weekly:

"In that ensemble, you just can't have an ounce of anything extra.
Many women wouldn't eat for days if they were wearing that... "Did she look better than 99 percent of women? Yes. But compared to her earlier form, she probably didn't look as good."

I am just so sick of this. Goddamn this body image bullshit.

Link

First Post

I think I may have been the last person I know to know what a blog actually was. It was only after months of reading about debates regarding the legitimacy and worthiness of the tings that I finally asks someone what the word actually meant.
And now I am addicted.
Unless I am traveling or in the middle of a desert (i.e Burning Man), I read Feministing everyday. Sometimes, during a slow day at work i will cruise Metafilter or Boing Boing every hour, looking for some tidbit of information to make the day less painfully dull. Then I started linking to other pages and other pages and the web grew and grew.
And finally, I started a blog because I thought it would be un-feminist (not that people sans blogs are by any means, un-feminist, it was just a personal judgment) with all my resources and time, not to.
There are few outlets that allow people (at least those with the luxuries of computers and time) to comment publicly on sexist, racist or homophobic nonsense so often bypassed or ignored my mainstream or even "alternative" mediums.
So, for me, blogging can be a feminist practice and I intend to use it as such.