Category: feminism

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Which Wave Are You?

This essay by Caillie Millner expresses a lot of Third Wave thinking and has a lot of valid points — especially that doing stuff rates a lot higher than talking. But as a tweener, an essay like this strikes me in two ways: (1) that these women couldn’t be doing things if it hadn’t been for the 2nd wave, because sometimes it’s hard to be aware of history. A woman, after all, wasn’t legally allowed to have a credit card in her own name 40 years ago, and (2) Geraldine Ferraro is an ass & always has been.

It’s like the 2nd wavers got used to having to shout & shout & shout just to get stuff changed so that women could just get things done, & forgot to stop shouting, & now the 3rd wavers don’t seem to be aware that the shouting had to happen in order to “just do it.”

I’m on the old side for the Third Wave, and way too young to be a proper Second Waver. I feel like I bridge the waves – applauding the Third Wave for lots of cool stuff (multiculturalism, empowerment, financial acumen) and the Second (for having passed so many of the laws that make Third Wavers’ lives possible as they are). But I think they both have their downsides, too – the Third Wave gets a little too “everything a woman does empowers women” about stuff, and the Second Wave is just a little too white, & a little too privileged, especially lately.

So feh. Forget the waves & just call yourself a feminist.

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Gendered Lessons

Humorless Feminist checking in again – but have you seen the recent Dairy Queen commercial for the Brownie Wafflebowl Sundae? A little girl goes into the DQ with her mom. Sees little boy already seated at table. Waves cutely, smiled, bats eyelashes. Tells mom she doesn’t want a sundae after all. Once mom & daughter are seated at table, mom says how surprised she is that she didn’t want a sundae. Simultaneously, waiter brings sundae to table, says, “compliments of the young man in the monkey shirt.” Same boy as before waves, smiles.

How fucked up is that? That’s right, let’s teach the girls to flirt to get what they want before they’re even 10. Feh.

Imagine it the other way around – a little boy either acting coy & cute so a girl would buy him a sundae, or if the boy acted all touch & strong in order for her to buy him one.

Degrading much?

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29 of 53

Those poor young women of that Eldorado sect – more than half of them are pregnant or are mothers.

This case made me think of two things – the argument than trans women are the same as women raised female – which is obviously not true. That doesn’t mean that a gender variant kid wouldn’t have been treated worse by this sect – but a young MTF couldn’t have been used as a breeder, either. That doesn’t mean trans women are “less than.” Just that all kinds of women – trans & otherwise – face oppressions and discrimination specific to the type of women they are. Blurring difference doesn’t help us address these kinds of problems, imho.

The second thing it made me think of is an ongoing argument about Danica Patrick that’s been happening on the MHB Boards. The debate is about whether or not it’s messed up that a winning racecar driver – the 1st to win a significant race, from what I understand – isn’t somehow degrading herself by also posing suggestively on car hoods. (I think it is.) These young women of Eldorado remind me of that argument because it’s been thousands of years where women’s bodies have been used – to bear children, to bring pleasure (both physical & visual), to men with power. So the assertion that Danica Patrick is somehow blazing some new trail of “feminine empowerment” by taking her clothes off is like – um. yeah. no. Women have always done that to curry favor with the kind of assholes like the guys down in Eldorado, kings, senators, and drug lords, boyfriend and bubbas. And I just don’t see a woman doing that today as any different than it ever was.

(But I’m sure someone can jump up & tell me those women in Eldorado are somehow empowered by getting pregnant with the children of those fucknuts, too.)

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Quote of the Day

“I get worried for young girls sometimes; I want them to feel that they can be sassy and full and weird and geeky and smart and independent, and not so withered and shriveled.” – Amy Poehler

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Fuck Seal Press?

I came back from visiting Betty upstate to find out that there is a huge mess involving Seal Press (my publishers) which came right on the heels of BFP’s departure last week.

So without pointing out every phrase and person involved, I’ll just say a few things as a white feminist who really only consciously became a feminist after reading Michele Wallace, and who, for nearly 10 years, worked for author Walter Mosley, who has written and talked about the absence of POC in the publishing industry, specifically.

The under representation of WOC in publishing has been a problem for a long time. The under representation of POC has been as well, in general. It’s not just chronic; it’s really fucking awful. Continue reading “Fuck Seal Press?”