I am not a cat. When I have an argument or physical altercation with another woman, it is not a catfight. It is not sexy or funny any more than it would be if two men were fighting, or a man and a woman. If I say angry words to another woman, it is not an occasion to say “meow” or to hiss. Maureen Dowd, irksome though she may be, is not “much better at meowing at her own side”, nor does she have “cat-wit”. If a woman or girl of any age is being petty or mean-spirited, she is not being “catty”. If I get a new boyfriend or lover (or get him to make a commitment), I am not “sinking my claws into him”, nor am I entrapping him as one would do prey. (more…)
Obamadinistration, Day 3 January 23, 2009
Feministe has a good post up listing some of Obama’s executive orders since he’s started working. He clearly came out of the gate running; one of the most interesting is that he has frozen all pending policies and legislation passed by the Bush Administration, subject to review. Among the affected policies? Our old favorite, the HHS “conscience clause” rule! According to California NOW,
While the regulatory process had been completed and the final regulations reported in the Federal Registry, HHS had not yet developed guidelines for implementation. [A contact at HHS confirms] the Department believes the regs. fall under President Obama’s executive order “freezing all last minute Bush administration regulations for review prior to final implementation”.
Woohoo! In other reproductive health news, yesterday was the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. (more…)
Attention: Blogroll Updated January 7, 2009
I have just updated the blogroll at the ride sight side of the page – not only did I add lots of links to blogs that I’ve discovered since originally creating the list, but I reshuffled some of the preexisting links. Originally, one of the caategories was “Feminism” and another was “Miscellaneous Awesomeness”; thus, lots of blogs on other aspects of working for social equality/resisting discrimination for example, on LGBT rights or anti-racism) didn’t really fit in. I had just put them in “M.A.” but it seemed inappropriate and a tad disrespectful to put such illustrious and respected (with good reason) blogs such as Racialicious and Pam’s House Blend in the same category as, say, Cake Wrecks (which is equally wonderful, but in a different way). So now the former category is “Feminism/Social Justice”, which is more inclusive and more accurately reflects my personal reading habits, which focus on feminism but touch a lot on other aspects of anti-bigotry (if not intersecting with them directly). So…yay for linkage!
Money – it’s a gas. Don’t give me that do goody-good bullshit. January 7, 2009
Today’s post will be on (drumroll please)…the wage gap! Woohoo!
First, a couple of YouTube videos to get you in the mood. The first (via Feministe), by the Get Out of the Way of Fair Pay Campaign, featuring Batgirl along with her more famous counterparts, Batman and Robin.
The second is an ad (via Feministing) – subtitled in Dutch, so probably distributed in Belgium or the Netherlands. Original actors seem to be speaking with non-American accents, though, so I would imagine it’s from the UK.
The thing about the wage gap is that it persists, to this day, when feminism is supposedly no longer needed and men and women are completely equal and everybody farts rainbows. (more…)
Verdict IN: Campbell’s > Progresso December 31, 2008
I’ve never been much of a soup person; that is, of any soup other than chicken noodle without chicken chunks or anything besides broth and a shit-ton of noodles (I’m not proud of my pickiness). However, I may need to start buying more soup, at least if it’s from Campbell’s, as they have just taken a small but significant step towards equality.
Now, ostensibly, what they did isn’t that big of a deal. They simply took out a four-page ad in The Advocate, an LGBT magazine, advertising their products (here’s what they looked like). Three out of the four ads are lone men talking about the wonderfulness that is Campbell’s, but one features two women and a young boy. (more…)
Links Round-Up! October 23, 2008
I don’t feel like typing a lot today, as I have a midterm to study for and a mouse bite on my finger to nurse (yes, for serious. Yes, it hurt quite a bit. Yes, I’m milking it for all it’s worth). So, here’s some recommendations on some of the topics being bandied about the blogosphere today:
- The incomparable David Sedaris on the election:
To put [undecided voters] in perspective, I think of being on an airplane. The flight attendant comes down the aisle with her food cart and, eventually, parks it beside my seat. “Can I interest you in the chicken?” she asks. “Or would you prefer the platter of shit with bits of broken glass in it?”
To be undecided in this election is to pause for a moment and then ask how the chicken is cooked.
It’s Flowchart-Tastic! October 18, 2008
Just had to share this awesome flowchart from 236. It describes the thought process of those few Americans who are still “undecided” (seriously – how can anyone be undecided at this point? Haven’t we got the lay of the land by now?) (more…)
Debate Post-Mortem/Quick Hits October 17, 2008
Well, now that the dust has settled from the bloodbath that was Wednesday night’s debate (does that count as mixing metaphors?), some quasi-objective analysis may be attempted (if you haven’t yet, be sure to read the liveblog here).
- First, the man I know you’ve all been wondering about: Joe the plumber. In deciding to make him the lynchpin of McCain’s debate talking points, the campaign demonstrated the same thorough vetting capabilities as they did when selecting Sarah Palin as the vice-presidential nominee. Namely, Joe has a different first AND last name than McCain said he did, is not a registered plumber, owes more than $1000 on back taxes, and with his current income, would receive tax cuts under Obama’s plan. In addition, even if he were to buy a small business and end up making so much profit that his income was >$250,000, he would almost undoubtedly be better off under Obama’s plan, because there are only a couple percentage points between the two plans in that bracket and Obama’s comes with added breaks for small businesses. So….way to go, GOP! (It is mildly encouraging, though – they’re such awful liars, the quest for transparency in government would be that much easier to achieve). (more…)
Just so you know… October 14, 2008
Disclaimer: not voting for Barack Obama is not, in and of itself, racist. Certainly, there are racist reasons not to vote for him, but there are racially-neutral reasons to do as well (coming from both liberal and conservative viewpoints). I personally am not ecstatic with his stances on several issues, particularly on LGBT rights and women’s rights. He is not my ideal candidate, though in all respects he is much more in accord with my views than McCain. So, I am sympathetic to the notion that somebody might not buy into the messianic Obamania that has permeated the left in the past year, and not want to have to answer to cries of “racism!”.
Nonetheless, this much is true: a vote for McCain is a vote for racism. It is a vote for many other things; it’s a vote for misogyny, for idiocy, for fiscal irresponsibility, for homophobia, for ineptitude, and lots more fun stuff. But racism is what we will focus on today.
The Republican party, of course, has a long and storied tradition of racism (even more so than America in general has said history). Alternet has an excellent post on how if McCain were really more concerned with issues than party lines or ideology, he would have broken with the Republican tradition of bigotry and hatred.
What a sick joke: if McCain had been the maverick he thinks he is and expects to be taken for, if he had continued to tell George W. Bush to stuff it and conducted an honorable campaign, he might have single-handedly redeemed his own party, the party whose rank and file voters and most powerful member famously regarded him as some kind of traitor. But by trying to fit in and play by the established rules, he’s treated fence-sitters and swing voters to a sight designed to convince them that to support McCain/Palin is to sign on to march off a cliff with the rest of the caveman army.
As it stands now, however, even bigwig conservatives are distancing themselves from and condemning McCain’s tactics.
Post And A Half October 11, 2008
What’s new, cyber-denizens? I have about eleventy-50 articles and posts bookmarked for suitable blog posts, as I haven’t written anything substantive in days. However, I have several days of Fall Break ahead of me, with nothing to do but luxuriate in the awesomeness of home-cooked food and fuzzy puppies, so I expect to make up for lost time.
So, let’s see – the debate. A lot of people I’ve talked to agree that it was ridiculously boring, but lots of people also feel that McCain made a complete fool of himself, what with wandering around during Obama’s speeches, making faces, being overly condescending to the audience members, and the infamous “That one”. Most polls agree that Obama won, which is good – not that most debates have an objective winner, but if people think a certain candidate won, it’s because they like that one better, so that’s good. Alternet has, as with the first presidential debate, short essays by six different people on who won the debate and why.
It really is breathtaking to take in the magnitude of McCain’s lies – both in the debate and in other venues, like ads and rallies. (more…)
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