Jezebel
crappy hour
Posts Tagged “
Feminists
”
crappy hour
Camille Paglia has put together a playlist for Paper Cuts, NY Times' book blog. (She's promoting her latest work, Break, Blow, Burn: Camille Paglia Reads 43 of the World’s Best Poems. She's mainly into rock from the '60s (Hendrix, Dylan, the Yardbirds), which isn't very surprising, since that's about the time she came of age. What was kinda fun to see listed on there, though, was Toni Braxton's "Unbreak My Heart." [Paper Cuts]
personal, political
My Sexual Assault Is Not Your Political Issue
A lot of electronic ink has been generated this week talking about the story that 3 Welsh Parliamentarians anonymously admitted that they had been sexually assaulted and hadn't reported it. A separate survey of students, also conducted by Amnesty International, showed that 34 percent of the 700 students surveyed believed that "a woman was totally or partially responsible for being raped or sexually assaulted if she was drunk or had been flirtatious." Under normal circumstances, I would use this sentence to summarize the shock evinced by people and the unsubtle implication that these (relatively powerful) women — without anyone knowing the circumstances or the timing of their sexual assaults — should have reported it, and then I would leave it be. But it made me recall the times in my life that people I cared for disrespected my decision not to report mine, so I figured it was about time to throw down the gauntlet. More »
riot grrrl 101
Unicorns, Easy-Bake Ovens, And Vibrators, Or: I Believe In The Radical Possibilities Of Pleasure
I've been mulling over a few things after a shit storm went down at my job last week. And when I say "my job," I mean this site, obvs. All of us on staff here work really fucking hard, and I take the stress and problems I encounter to bed with me every night—literally, because I fall asleep in front of my laptop and the first thing I do when I open my eyes the next morning is IM my coworkers and check my email before I brush my teeth or pee. So I was really grumpy last week when commenters were telling me that I was doing my job incorrectly. (And grumpy, too, when I was called names, and trash talked in public messages on commenter profiles. Yeah, I read them.) Anyway, I took a couple chill pills and got over my grumpiness to realize that for the things that suck about this job—lack of hygiene, lack of social life, lack of respect from total strangers—there are like a million more things that make what I do so much fun. I get paid to have sex, get stoned with my best friend, work with some of the coolest, smartest women I've ever met, and—come to think of it—earn the respect of total strangers. And it was this more optimistic perspective that made me remember the significance of my core beliefs as a feminist: Just because we have vaginas, doesn't mean we're all victims. Being a girl can actually be really fun. In the words of some wise women, "Just cuz my world sweet sister is so fucking goddamn full of rape, does that mean my body must always be a source of pain? No, no, NOOO!" (That's Bikini Kill, btw.) Being a girl, for me anyways, has actually kinda been a blast.
More »
girl crush
Lisa Simpson: Feminist Hero
I've always sort of thought of Lisa Simpson as a Jezebel-in-training, what with her activism, enthusiasm for hobbies and books, love of cartoons and animals, and regard for feelings and unicorns, but it recently dawned on me that Lisa might just be the most visible, mainstream feminist of our time. I never thought I could worship a fictional 8-year-old so much. So here's a compilation of the best of Lisa's most Jezebelian moments. Enjoy!
leftovers
Cliques Push Brand-Obsessed Teens • Queen Of Hip Hop Soul Starts Foundation For Girls
Tween Clique books link popularity/boys with brand name items. Prepare for disappointment, 7th graders of America! • Texas graverobbing teens and one adult make bong out of child's skull. • Professional British wedding planner doesn't believe in marriage. • People spend almost $2,000 a year on "pissed-off purchases," one women suggest couples kiss instead. Uh, okay. • Columnist Kathleen Parker says we should "save the males," oooh because they can lift heavy things? • Reporters without Borders asks Iran nicely to stop harassing "cyber-feminists." • Meanwhile in the Mid-East, Saudi women campaign against inconvenient late-night weddings. • Pro women's boxing comes to Japan. • An antidepressant may help teens with IBS. • Being breast-fed may lower a woman's breast cancer risk. • Penelope Cruz is set to become a stunning blonde. • Mary J. Blige starts foundation to help girls with careers and self-confidence.
bitter, not better
Did It Really Take "Iron My Shirt" To Teach Women That Severe Sexism Exists?
"Iron my shirt"; Citizens United Not Timid; steel-thighed nutcrackers... according to two feature articles this week, all that misogyny may be creating a new "wave" of the women's movement. Not only does Salon's Rebecca Traister suggest that the current election cycle may very well "give birth to a new generation of young feminists", across town, NY Magazine's Amanda Fortini is outright declaring that the political climate "leaves behind a legacy of reawakened feminism—the fourth wave, if you will." What both writers point to, of course, is the female population's disgust and surprise at the often sexist treatment of Hillary Clinton by their peer groups, the media, and political establishment. Here's my "two cent" takeaway: It's embarrassing that, in the year 2008, there are apparently so many educated young women who are either blind to sexism, claim to have never experienced it, or are shocked at its pervasiveness. More »
Do women have a sense of humor? Don't ask Christopher Hitchens or, perhaps, singer/songwriter Nellie McKay. McKay (left) was a guest on Saturday night's edition of the radio program "A Prairie Home Companion", where, among other songs, she performed "Mother Of Pearl", a ditty about feminists. Some choice lyrics: "Feminists don't have a sense of humor (poor Hillary)"; "Can't these chicks do anything but whine?" "That's why these feminists just need to find a man." And although this feminist thought the song was pretty funny, many of the show's listeners took it seriously, as the comments left on this page attest. [A Prairie Home Companion]
face the music
'70s Feminist Rock Band Makes Abortion "Fun"
The Chicago Women's Liberation Rock Band, and its sister act, the New Haven Women's Liberation Rock Band, were a group of second wavers who came together in the early 1970s to sing feminist rock songs in a pre-Roe v. Wade environment. (They all sort of used the term "rock" very loosely.) Together from 1970-1973, and considered a musical disaster, they managed to record enough songs for a vinyl release in 1972, which was remastered and released on CD — with remixes by Le Tigre — in 2005. With songs like "Ain't Gonna Marry," "Dear Government," and "Sister Witch," they were fairly radical, and looking back on their work, you can sorta see how people came to think of feminists as angry, humorless bitches. But you can also see how far we've come as women, not only because abortion is now safe and legal, but also because we've managed to temper whatever radical political views we might have with a sense of humor. I mean, how can you not find "The Abortion Song" hilarious? More »
"Good" feminists are all up in arms over this ad for Target, which shows a model splayed out over the company's bullseye logo. Specifically, they are offended that "the model's vag was in the center of the target." Oh, c'mon people. Maybe we're bad feminists, but it's Target. The model doesn't look she is about to be assaulted and we seriously doubt that Target is trying to sell more Gladware containers and Erin Fetherston frocks by degrading women. (Click tag for full-size image of ad.) [Feministing]
What do the Philippines Bureau of Customs and American feminists have in common? PETA rage. The animal-rights organization is getting flak for its use of sex dolls to protest Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants in the Philippines' red light districts. The dolls, which were accompanied with a PETA-provided "KFC Blows" banner, have been confiscated by the Bureau. [Feministing]
see's candies
WaPo Book Reviewer Criticizes Bella Abzug For Her "Terrible Lippy Mouth"
I was all set to write a post about feminist icon and former congresswoman Bella Abzug because a new biography of her just hit stores, but then I read Carolyn See's infuriating and weirdly name-droppy review of the book and realized I had to write about what a jerk See is instead. The first few paragraphs of See's critical essay start out innocently enough, summarizing Bella's early life. Then See makes an irrelevant comment about Abzug's weight ("she was chunky, and put on more weight as she got older") moving onto negative commentary about the feminist movement and abortion (including an assertion that she is "against abortion on principle" and really, who the fuck cares what you think about abortion right now? You're reviewing a fucking biography!). But it's after that paragraph that Carolyn See really takes a hairpin turn into crazytown. More »
conspiracy theories
British Novelist Says Spice Girls Made Generation Y Drunk, Slutty
As we've mentioned before, the Daily Mail's Femail section is always good for some shits n' giggles: British women hate sex, love shopping! they also have enormous tits! But today the British tabloid has got a real gem: Novelist Fay Weldon goes absolutely apeshit about the tyranny of the Spice Girls, whom Weldon holds responsible for "a generation of our young womanhood [taking] to binge drinking, Saturday night sluttishness and 'happy-slappings'." First of all, happy slapping is officially our new favorite term (Not that we condone it! Violence is bad!) Related: WHAT THE FUCK. More »
we are all bad feminists
I admit it: I have a filthy mouth. I drop F-bombs like they're nothing, and I make use of the word "cunt" pretty often, on a daily basis even. I think because I live in a fishbowl surrounded by other cussers, I sometimes forget that my foul language might actually, you know, offend people. This is particularly true with regards to the word "cunt." Some people think it's one of the dirtiest words in the English language—unspeakable, even. Maybe I'm a little looser with it because I lived in London for a bit, and over there, "cunt" is on the same level of offense ("offence"?) as, say, "asshole." Or maybe not even that extreme. More »
Why Is The Word "Cunt" Still Such A Big Deal?
I admit it: I have a filthy mouth. I drop F-bombs like they're nothing, and I make use of the word "cunt" pretty often, on a daily basis even. I think because I live in a fishbowl surrounded by other cussers, I sometimes forget that my foul language might actually, you know, offend people. This is particularly true with regards to the word "cunt." Some people think it's one of the dirtiest words in the English language—unspeakable, even. Maybe I'm a little looser with it because I lived in London for a bit, and over there, "cunt" is on the same level of offense ("offence"?) as, say, "asshole." Or maybe not even that extreme. More »
bad feminists
Karrine "Superhead" Steffans Is A Total Blowhard
We really wanted to like Karrine Steffans back when her first book Confessions of a Video Vixen first came out. We're keen on the idea of women who love 'em and leave 'em with impunity and then tell us all about it. We didn't care that the book was poorly written (even with the help of ghost writer to the B-list stars, Karen Hunter). But we did mind that we were forced to believe that Karrine's was a cautionary tale from which other girls could learn a valuable lesson. Reading about how she was "reformed" now, despite the fact that she made a buck selling her stories about all those famous blow-jobs, left us with a bad taste in our mouths. Don't get us wrong: We don't hate Karrine for sucking all that dick; we just resent her for pretending to feel bad about it in the name of empowering women. More »
We just took a stupid quiz about feminism and apparently, we're better feminists that we thought! The results: Anna: 91% feminist (she's not sure there's no such thing as a 'man's job'). Dodai: 90% feminist (she agrees with Anna, adding: "I wanted to write 'a man's job is to make me happy'"). Moe: 94% feminist ("I think dudes should pay more than 50% of the time. There are so many hidden costs in being a woman. Tampons, eyeliner, etc."). Slut Machine: 91% feminist (she feels women can rely on men financially if they want). Jennifer: 96% feminist ("I 'strongly agreed' with everything except just 'agreed' regarding equal role in dating and body image.") [BlogThings]
bad feminists
I Wish 'The Girls' Lived Next Door To Me
The headline sang its way straight to my heart: "Why Women Love 'Girls Next Door'." Frankly, every woman I know (except for my fellow Jezebels) loves the highly addictive E! reality show The Girls Next Door, all about the life of Hugh Hefner and his three live-in girlfriends. I have had hours and hours worth of discussions, with friends and strangers alike, all female, on whether Holly will ever marry Hef, what age Bridget really is and what's up with all her masters degrees, and the enigma that is the sexuality of Kendra. In fact, 70% of the show's viewers are women: Says an E! talking head, who happens to be female:They are normal girls living this fantasy lifestyle. They're good friends dating the same guy, and maybe the viewers are thinking, 'That won't ever be me,' but they like to look into it as if it was them as sort of an ultimate fantasy.More »
