i'm thankful for this guy ( @nhavey), who posted this piece on HuffPo regarding the recent Sacred Heart University lacrosse team rape case (yep, another one), and i'm thankful for the way he clearly and articulately outlines the rape myths being flung about. i'm so tired of hearing people say 'boys will be boys' and 'she should have known better'.
also, if this article about the power of investing in women farmers in the developing world doesn't make you want to revolt (love that call to action, btw), we need to talk. (follow the author @dansilverstein)
now, on to what i'm NOT thankful for. some of this isn't really NEWs any more...but i've been kind of distracted lately, and haven't had time to post.
1. brazilian woman expelled from university for wearing a mini-skirt. (this in the country for whom the brazilian bikini wax is named???)
2. australian students create pro-rape facebook group. (because that's not inciting violence at all.)
3. the World Economic Forum says the U.S. is 31st in the world in terms of women's equality in matters of politics, education, health and economic opportunity. we rank LOWER than yemen, cambodia, the phillipines, mexico and venezuela in women's health and survival.
4. british police are treating rape victims skeptically if they have been drinking, were in the wrong part of town or have reported a previous rape. (translation: she asked for it.)
i'd really like to experience a thanksgiving, in my lifetime, when i can say i'm thankful for women's emancipation from rape, freedom from discrimination, and equality in every nation.
11.25.2009
11.02.2009
responsibility: men, what's your policy?
i found this article ("Is Feminism Men's Work Too?") to be a well-reasoned and effective call to action for male feminists.
i especially appreciate this quotation from Khary Lazarre-White, founder of Brotherhood/Sister Sol in NYC, and the overt connection he makes between feminism and morality.
“It is personally important for me to do this work because I try to live my life by a moral and ethical compass, and I know that fighting sexism is a daily lived responsibility—from structural organizational work decisions, to personal relationships, to how one lives one’s life.”
in other words, it is ethical to join the feminist movement; the unequal treatment of women is immoral.
i especially appreciate this quotation from Khary Lazarre-White, founder of Brotherhood/Sister Sol in NYC, and the overt connection he makes between feminism and morality.
“It is personally important for me to do this work because I try to live my life by a moral and ethical compass, and I know that fighting sexism is a daily lived responsibility—from structural organizational work decisions, to personal relationships, to how one lives one’s life.”
in other words, it is ethical to join the feminist movement; the unequal treatment of women is immoral.
Women Unbound!
well this is cool!
Women Unbound reading challenge, recommended to me by my sister, (who, by the way, blogs at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves. Check her out!)
hmm...i've never posted any book reviews, but this feminist reading challenge is perfect for me, because i can join the challenge at a lower level of commitment ("Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.") to just dip my toes in. :)
so i suppose i should pick a couple of books...i might have to cheat and choose from my sister's list (she is, after all, my personal librarian- i don't even bother picking books on my own any more!) ok, the two books i will ready by November 30, 2010 are:
Fiction: The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood
(yay! my sister had this on her list, which reminded me that i actually already have this book!)
Non-Fiction: ???
i confess, i don't read as much non-fiction as i'd like. (well, i don't read as much as i'd like PERIOD, but particularly not non-fiction.) but i think i've got something at home i can commit to reading...just need to choose. my non-fiction choice is TBA.
Women Unbound reading challenge, recommended to me by my sister, (who, by the way, blogs at As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves. Check her out!)
hmm...i've never posted any book reviews, but this feminist reading challenge is perfect for me, because i can join the challenge at a lower level of commitment ("Philogynist: read at least two books, including at least one nonfiction one.") to just dip my toes in. :)
so i suppose i should pick a couple of books...i might have to cheat and choose from my sister's list (she is, after all, my personal librarian- i don't even bother picking books on my own any more!) ok, the two books i will ready by November 30, 2010 are:
Fiction: The Robber Bride, Margaret Atwood
(yay! my sister had this on her list, which reminded me that i actually already have this book!)
Non-Fiction: ???
i confess, i don't read as much non-fiction as i'd like. (well, i don't read as much as i'd like PERIOD, but particularly not non-fiction.) but i think i've got something at home i can commit to reading...just need to choose. my non-fiction choice is TBA.
ETA: I'm going to choose from these three, apparently thematic, non-fiction choices:
Out of the Garden: Women Writers on the Bible, ed. Christina Buchmann & Celina Spiegel
also, here's the Women Unbound meme to get us started:
1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?
feminism, to me, is best summed up by the deceptively simple quotation "...feminism is the radical notion that women are people"
although i would probably add one clarification: feminism is the radical notion that women are people who are of equal value, worth and deserving of rights as male people.
doesn't that sound logical? reasonable? and yet it is still undeniably revolutionary.
this applies in every sphere, because in every sphere, women are treated unequally.
2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
yes, yes, a thousand times YES.
3. What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it basically remain the same?
i personally believe violence against women is (should be) the most pressing issue for feminists. the gendercide (literally) of women across the globe is a direct result of the worldwide and historic de-valuing of women as people. when women are not considered to be equal in worth to men, they are abused. they are by default considered to be automatic prey, and unworthy of equal protections, rights and/or dignities. this doesn't happen just to poor women, or uneducated women, or bad women, or good women, or white women or black women or asian women, or straight women, or women who 'should know better' or women who 'asked for it' or to victims. it happens to every woman.
our very culture de-values women on a daily basis, as do cultures around the world.
male = normal and female = not (less than) male.
the more women and men who
1. live by example and treat women with equal respect and dignity every day, and who
2. speak out and stand up against violence against women in every form (verbal, physical, sexual, psychological, overt, covert, institutionalized, racial, religious, educational, professional, personal), and who
3. teach children that women do have equal worth, and sexism, violence against women and inequality are unnaccepatable...
the more quickly change will come.
thanks Eli!!!
also, here's the Women Unbound meme to get us started:
1. What does feminism mean to you? Does it have to do with the work sphere? The social sphere? How you dress? How you act?
feminism, to me, is best summed up by the deceptively simple quotation "...feminism is the radical notion that women are people"
although i would probably add one clarification: feminism is the radical notion that women are people who are of equal value, worth and deserving of rights as male people.
doesn't that sound logical? reasonable? and yet it is still undeniably revolutionary.
this applies in every sphere, because in every sphere, women are treated unequally.
2. Do you consider yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
yes, yes, a thousand times YES.
3. What do you consider the biggest obstacle women face in the world today? Has that obstacle changed over time, or does it basically remain the same?
i personally believe violence against women is (should be) the most pressing issue for feminists. the gendercide (literally) of women across the globe is a direct result of the worldwide and historic de-valuing of women as people. when women are not considered to be equal in worth to men, they are abused. they are by default considered to be automatic prey, and unworthy of equal protections, rights and/or dignities. this doesn't happen just to poor women, or uneducated women, or bad women, or good women, or white women or black women or asian women, or straight women, or women who 'should know better' or women who 'asked for it' or to victims. it happens to every woman.
our very culture de-values women on a daily basis, as do cultures around the world.
male = normal and female = not (less than) male.
the more women and men who
1. live by example and treat women with equal respect and dignity every day, and who
2. speak out and stand up against violence against women in every form (verbal, physical, sexual, psychological, overt, covert, institutionalized, racial, religious, educational, professional, personal), and who
3. teach children that women do have equal worth, and sexism, violence against women and inequality are unnaccepatable...
the more quickly change will come.
thanks Eli!!!
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