Monday, December 24, 2007

hollllaaaaaaa

Ok, I'm pretty sure that every woman reading this blog has been hollered at in the street... Especially those of us who have lived in metropolitan areas. So you all know that icky, awkward, degraded, pissed off, naked feeling you get when some sleazy, sketch-ball hollers a "hey baby!" or a "shake that ass, baby!" or even something that doesn't even really make sense, (like in the video below), but it's always something sexual. I remember when I was only 14, some guy I passed stopped and waved his arms near me and bent down and yelled, "THANK YOU BABY!" I basically just wondered, for what?!? While I'm sure it is different for every woman, I'm sure it pisses most of us off.

One of the things that inspired me to start this blog happened about 6 months ago. My boyfriend and I were leaving his house, and while he got in the car, I walked out to get the mail from his mailbox. Across the street, his neighbors had construction workers doing their roof, and they all started whistling at me, with my boyfriend right there in the car. I ignored it and tried to pretend I didn't see them all staring me down, and got into the car, visibly upset. My boyfriend hadn't heard them b/c his window was up, and when I told him, I said, "Just drive!!" But he actually got out of the car and started yelling at them.

Why should I have to be degraded like that in my fucking front yard? Or anywhere? Why do so many men, of all ages, think it's cool to treat women like that? Does it make them feel more powerful to see us affected by it? Does it make them feel like real men by putting us "in our place" as women? All that day, I thought about how pissed off I was, at them, yes, but more at myself because I hadn't stood up for myself or given them the finger or told them off or anything. I'm sure many of us can think of a time like this, where we thought of the perfect comeback an hour later.

Well this website is one of my favorites: http://www.hollabacknyc.com/ It's full of women sharing their stories like these, but most of them are soooooo much worse and more degrading and disgusting, like guys exposing themselves to women on the subway, or putting mirrors up their skirts, or actually touching them. But, most of these women do what the web site's title tells us, and holler back at them. Most women take pictures of the assholes and post them on the site. It's fantastic. Check it out, and next time some asshole hollers at you, take his picture and post it. It's not only for NYC, if you go to the site, there's a sidebar with all the sister sites in other cities in the country.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, enjoy the talented Liza Jesse Peterson.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

love it

I couldn't upload this, but go watch it:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Uk6t_tdOkwo

If I drove past these people, I would give them the finger. And then maybe ask if they need a ride to the abortion clinic, because that's where I'll say I'm headed.

Seriously though, I love this video. I love when the old lady says, "Just pray for them," and, "It's between her and her God..." That's correct... So why are you still standing there?

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

happy holiday fascism!

One thing I actually miss about the year I spent in New Hampshire is the bombardment of political ads. We don't see too many of these ads here in New York, and it's a shame, because some of them are straight up crazy.

Like one I came across on YouTube... Huckabee, that crazy man, has a "Merry Christmas" ad running in a few states, and Ron Paul was asked what he thought of the ads... He said they reminded him of fascism! How observant!

This is my biggest problem with politics in this country... People don't know how to leave religion the hell out of our political debates. The moment someone drops the G-word, I'm done listening to them. I'm not anti-religion... I'm anti-theology-based-legislation.

Ron Paul would never do that! Well... assuming you don't listen to anything he has to say about abortion or gay rights.

Enjoy the Christian Fundamentalism!

Monday, December 17, 2007

finally.... some good news

Well, here is some good news for your Monday. I hadn't mentioned this issue here yet, but for those of you who haven't been following the news, I'll give you a summary: a 19 year old woman in Saudi Arabia was recently sentenced to 90 lashes for being gang raped... while the court did dish out jail time for the rapists, she was considered basically to blame because she was in a car with a man who was not a relative, which, in Saudi Arabia, is a very big deal. So, the girl appealed, and because the media got involved, her sentence was actually increased, from 90 lashes to 200 lashes and 6 months of jail time. Fantastic, right?

So, anyway, after lots and lots of international pressure and even protests in Saudi Arabia, and lots of good old media coverage, the king of Saudi Arabia has finally pardoned the teenager for being... uhh, for being raped.

A victory, but a bittersweet one.

read more, via AFP: http//afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hpc0CnoWmS1zeb14pFcDYD1xEYAQ

Friday, December 14, 2007

not only women

I realize that in my previous post I sort of left out the fact that men are just as negatively affected, if not worse, than women. Men, and especially young boys, seeing beauty ads are getting the message that that's what "real women" look like. It breeds a generation of men who search for these unrealistic, or rather, non-existent women. What a terrible cycle, where women must constantly try to live up to the male standards all around them.

Here's one of my favorite anti-beauty-industry-male-feminists, Rafael Casal. Check out his other stuff, it's all really honest and awesome.

something to think about

I don't know how many of you have already seen this, because it is a few months old, but I can't help but love Dove's new ad campaign. Every time I see it, I get more and more upset about the beauty industry's power over the youth of this country. Has anyone seen what 11 year olds look like nowadays? Not like they looked when I was 11. Honestly, it's one of the things in this country that scares me more than anything... The reason my 12 year old cousin cares more about how she looks and how popular she is than how sounds or how intelligent she is. I feel like the beauty industry wants us to believe that they want women to be more confident, but in reality, if we were more confident, they'd be out of a job.



My only real problem with these ads is that they're made by Dove... a beauty company. It's a start, and I'm happy that at least it's coming from someone, but I do think if it came from an anti-cosmetics organization or, hell, even the government, it would be a much better message. Dove is, ultimately, still just trying to sell us more beauty products.

douche of the day

Seriously, dude? People look up to you, and this is what you say?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12102007/news/nationalnews/off_color__joke_is_a__hot_potato_51816.htm

Nice "clowning," sir, but black women seem to be the only butt of your little "joke."

I love that no politicians even want to comment on this!

And P.S. -- Why, oh why, is Bill Clinton even a topic of discussion in this election?

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

he's not all bad

UFOs aside, Kucinich is a funny guy, he's got some balls, and he's the closest thing to a socialist that we've got.

He's the only candidate on either side who backs a universal health care plan in this country. Despite his crazies, I can't help but like him a little tiny bit. Watch this ballsy clip that had even the most tight-assed of candidates laughing.

nice false information

I guess this happened just yesterday, but it could have been Monday, I'm not totally sure.

Republican presidential hopeful, Mr. Ron "anti-choice" Paul, sat down on The View and talked abortion with the women.

My favorite part was where he basically said that Roe allows women to go and get abortions all the way up to ....well, basically birth. Isn't this guy a gyno? Shouldn't he probably know the facts?

For those of you out there who don't know much about the case, Roe legalized abortion 100% during the first trimester of pregnancy, but said that after that, the state can regulate/ban abortion as much as they like, as long as they allow emergency abortions for the health and life of the woman. And he's totally dead-ass wrong when he says that Roe dictates to a doctor exactly what they can do in each trimester.... the case that came after Roe, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided that the trimester framework was way too rigid, and changed the law to say that yes, Roe was right, but women can have abortions with no government interference all the way up to viability, which happens around 20 weeks. So, Roe is not the "law of the land," as he calls it. Go read a textbook, Paul.

Soooo...... what state is he talking about that lets someone get an abortion at 8 months? Surely if that has happened, it's because the woman's life is at serious risk.





I love how Paul tries to twist it around and make Joy Behar believe that she's actually anti-choice.

Paul: "So you don't want me to do an abortion on somebody that has an eight pound normal baby.
Joy: "No, of course not, but..."
Paul: "So... you're not for abortion, really."

Really, Mr. Paul? Really?

Oh, and watch Whoopi's face through that whole part, classic. I do love the part where Joy basically says, in response to Paul saying that it should be up to the states, what the hell is the difference who is enforcing it if you're completely against it?

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

just. fucked. up.

A Tee from www.spencersonline.com:



Is there even anything to say?

here we go

I just read in amNewYork yesterday that my favorite crazy person, who somehow has supporters, is teaming up again with my favorite misogynistic racist radio host!

That's right.... Mike Huckabee was slotted to give a phone interview for Don Imus' new radio program. Huckabee says he believes Imus is "sorry."

He's sorry? Well, now I feel better.

You know, it's so nice to see someone who could potentially be our future president finally stand behind people like Imus, who just make little "mistakes." And by mistakes, I mean mistakenly letting the public finally see them for the misogynist-racist-douche-bags they really are.

Yeah, oops.

Via The Trail. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2007/12/02/huckabee_and_imus_together_aga.html?hpid=topnews

Sunday, December 2, 2007

making myself angry

I've just finished reading the full-text of Gonzales v. Carhart, aka, the partial-birth abortion ban case, for a law class. I knew a lot about the whole case from what they tell you in the news, but reading the actual rhetoric that went into the Supreme Court decision is magnificently depressing. It's amazing to see how so much of the bullshit sexist protectionist legislation that restricted women's rights in the past is still truck-truck-trucking along through the legal system today. One of my favorites, (and this is seriously from the opinion of the court, handed down with the decision, no joke...our government wrote this... seriously) :

"Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child. The Act recognizes this reality as well. Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful moral decision... While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice..." (my italics)

Yes, I'm sure some women do. But does that mean the government should protect us from our own choices? And who are these men (and yes, I can say men, because this opinion was penned entirely by men) to tell us that the most ultimate bond of love is the one between a mother and a child? Soo..... women who don't have children.... no ultimate bond of love for them?

I love this part too:

"It is self-evident," (self-evident.... really?) "that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know: that she allowed a doctor to pierce the skull and vacuum the fast-developing brain of her unborn child, a child assuming the human form." (my italics)

Sooooo..... wait, wait, wait.... An aborted fetus looks like a human?! OMG! Why doesn't anyone tell these women this?? Oh, and bonus points on the gross-out factor guys. Do they really think women aren't smart enough to A) Know what procedure they're getting, and B) understand that the fetus looks like a human?

Really, Supreme Court? Really?

Ugh.

If you want to make yourself angry, you can search it on http://www.findlaw.com/, or just watch this somewhat unrelated video and get nice and angry about our shitty dwindling repro-rights along with the lovely Sonya "The Drama" Boom Renee. Love her. Can't watch this video without getting heated.





Much much more on abortion to come. How could there not be?

hill-arious

I am a catalogue junkie. I get tons of catalogues in the mail, especially now that the holiday shopping rush has arrived. I suppose I must be on a bunch of mailing lists, because sometimes I receive random catalogues that I’ve never even heard of, like this new one, http://www.whatonearthcatalog.com/, which is full of lots of funny "joke" gifts.

Gracing both the cover and the very last page was this gem:

What on earth, indeed? Hillary the Nutcracker? When I first looked, I guess I looked a little too fast, because I didn't even realize what it was at first... I just thought it was some sort of doll. But then I read the disturbing description:
"The best part: Through the whole nutcracking process, her smile doesn't change a bit...Hillary the Thighmistress has rock-solid stainless steel thighs for getting the job done..."

Wtf? "getting the job done," Eww. Are you kidding me? Who is this product even supposed to be marketed to? Just the existence of this "nut-cracker" or "ball-buster" says millions about sexism in our society. How hilarious to think of a woman busting balls! It's just so typical that so many men feeling threatened by a strong woman must point at her strengths and file them right into the hard-ass-bitch stereotype. She can't just be strong and co-exist alongside men, she must have to bring them down to her sub-man level of woman-ness first! Senator Clinton seems to just scream castration to so many men these days.
.
What would a male candidate's counterpart to this product even be? I'm not even going to get into the suggestiveness of a spread-eagled woman and the whole putting-nuts-between-her-thighs thing. What are you guys doing? Trying to make her more like the kind of woman you prefer? And the part about her expression never changing?
Gross. This just makes me sad.

Friday, November 30, 2007

Welcome!!

I have been trying for months to start a blog but could never bring myself to begin.

So this is the beginning.

I will be writing about social and political news, pop culture, media, and my thoughts, observations, and hopes for the future of this crazy, crazy world.
I am a feminist, a nerd, basically a socialist, a woman, a procrastinator, a reader, a pro-choice-er, a volunteer, a student, and a supporter of human rights. I am hoping too see positive change in our world in THIS lifetime.

Welcome to my blog. Read some stuff. Put up your feet. Stay a while.