Fantasies for "Bistanders"

alisha



Here at the Women’s Center we thrive on making marginalized populations feel at home and comfortable within the space and then we do some kick-ass activism to create resources to serve their needs.

It’s a cool job, yet it seems our work is never done. Recently it has been brought to our attention (thanks to diligently reading “The Advocate,” from cover to cover) that a population within a marginalized population is being marginalized. I know, it’s complicated but try your best to follow along:

Those who identify as the “B” in LGBTQQIA communities are often left out of conversations and mainstream sexual identity. Their needs aren’t being met and rarely does the LGBTQQIA community showcase and praise the celebs and gay-friendly icons who enjoy the company of all. Well ladies and gentlemen who swing more than one way, during our down time while snacking on cupcakes, we searched high and low on the big World Wide Web to find you some of the hottest Bi’s from current pop culture A-listers to those sexy swingers from the days of yore.

Angelina Jolie
Laurel Holloman
Marlon Brando
Dave Navarro
Janis Joplin
Margaret Cho
Herman Melville
Jenny McCarthy
Kurt Cobain
Marlene Dietrich
Roy Simmons
William Shakespear
Pink
Natalie Portman
Michael Huffington
David Bowie
Julius Cesar
Cynthia Nixon
Susan B. Anthony (whatever, she's hot, don't deny)
Billie Joe Armstrong
Drew Barrymore
James Dean
Little Richard (he may appeal to some)
Dr. Kinsey (homeboy was obsessed with sex and we think that's sexy)
Kristy McNichol

Take Back the News

elle

We think his hair is also a crime against humanity...

I appologize for the delay, I was out of town Friday. Don't wait for your news, but hey read mine!

On Monday this week one of the world’s “most wanted”, former Bosnia Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, was arrested by Serbian security forces on war crimes charges. After questioning in Belgrade he will be sent to The Hague to stand trial. Karadzic has been accused of genocide by the UN, charges that include the massacre of 7,500 Bosnian Muslim men in Srebrenica in July 1995.

While the conflict in the former Yugoslavia brought the use of mass rape as a tool of genocide to international attention—the racist implications of which are astounding, this had to happen in Europe before anyone started paying attention—there are several issues of international humanitarian law that bear greater feminist scrutiny; particularly this focus in the west on sexual violence against women rather than seeing all of conflict as inherently gendered—and women as a part of the entirety of conflict. This is in no way is intended to imply that sexual violence is not a horrific part of the gendered nature of war, but that it is a part of a large whole.

War, conflict, and violence exist within gendered societies, so it would be impossible for them to exist outside these systems. This does not mean that conflict is gender neutral—on the contrary, the gendered nature of conflict means that its effects are felt differently by men and women and children. For many scholars in the west it has become easier to focus on gender based violence because most people recognize violence against women as having something to do with gender. It is more difficult to explain how legal and educational systems (for example) are gendered. Violent conflict generally exacerbates gender inequity, and so we must address all the ways in which power and social normative are a part of conflict.

OK, mini-lecture over. What this means is that when we look at conflict areas we need to look at why Karadzic ordered the massacre of Bosnian men (many such massacres took place with their families watching) to send a message to those communities, and why violence against women is such an effective tool of war. Also we need to look at the ways in which women rebuild—the need for legal help for women who are unable to own land and who have no male family members left, the ways in which girl children loose advances they had gained in education and healthcare after conflict, and how women can be a part of institutional rebuilding. I don’t claim to have the answers, just more questions.

International law is supposed to provide protections both for those participating and those in the path of conflict, most visibly with the Geneva Convention. Interestingly, international human rights law remains one of the most gendered institutions of the bunch. Of the 42 specific protections for women in the Geneva Conventions, almost half deal not with women, but with the social roles they play. In other words the law is not addressing women as individuals, but as mothers and wives. While this may seem a semantic argument because so many women are mothers and wives, it speaks to the worldview of women not as individuals, but as archetypes.

So, in this year of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights we need to look at how we can make women’s rights human rights, and how we can make these concepts not simply the dream of idealists, but truly universal.

A Few More Things:

A Lay Midwife Gains Unexpectedly Vocal Allies

More Trouble for the One Million Signatures Campaign

Only Woman on the Afghan Olympic Team Flees

Turns out, the WNBA isn't a bunch of sissies

lindsay

I know a lot of men who say they don't like professional women's sports because the women aren't "tough enough." Last night, Candace Parker -- the new golden girl of the WNBA -- and her teammates showed that isn't necessarily the case.

Parker & Co. engaged in a brawl last night in the LA/Detroit game. Take a look see.

Whaddayathink?

Tuesday Night Movie Night

elle and alisha

Well, it's summer around here; quiet evenings, less homework (for us anyway!) so we thought we's share a few of our favorite movies. Full disclosure-these are not necessarily feminist movies, but we love them anyway!

But I'm a Cheerleader
Totally worth it for RuPaul's legs (not in a dress).
Isn't She Great
With the gay dream team--Bette Midler, Nathan Lane, David Hyde Pierce, and Stockard Channing
The Contender
You'll be so ANGRY, and it's all worth it for the final full disclosure.
Vera Drake
Where you learn that a cuppa tea will solve any problem, from unwanted pregnancy to incarceration.
Steel Magnolias
Sally Field flips out...again.
Mrs. Henderson Presents
Well, it's about a nude review, but in a retro Brittish way. I LOVE Judi Densch.
The Queen
Your life would suck too if your children were such drips.
Fried Green Tomatoes
They kill off the cute guy in the first 10 minutes, but otherwise it's great.
Thelma and Louise
That car! Those Abs!!
Mona Lisa Smile
I'm NOT a "Wellesley Girl," are you?! But I totally would be for the shoes, and every girl needs a party dress!
10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain
A nod to the late and great.
Kinky Boots
The name says it all--or does it...
Mean Girls
Lindsey Lohan before rehab, this time.

Take Back the News

elle

Women aren't in the news enough. Wait, let's re-phrase that: women aren't in the news enough, unless it's to talk about how some new celebrity princess has had a nervous breakdown. The media seldom gives credit to women making a difference, and definitely doesn't cover some of the important issues affecting women today. So, we're here to help.

We bring you Elle, one of our grad students passionate about this issue. She plans to Take Back the News. This is her first segment.

Today Al Jazeera’s English language home page led with a call from the World Food Programme to recognize the increasing threat of widespread famine on the Horn of Africa, particularly in Somalia. None of the U.S. news sites I read even mentioned that the WFP has had to request naval escorts to PROTECT FOOD SUPPLIES getting into the area (although the Christian Science Monitor headlines were different and excellent as usual covering a standoff between Thai and Cambodian soldiers at Preah Vihear, an ancient temple claimed by both countries, and a new irrigation project that is a cooperation between the Israeli government and various NGOs in Senegal). In the coming months more than 14 million people in the Horn of Africa will require urgent food aid just to survive, as well as 6.5 million in Afghanistan and an untold number throughout the world facing food insecurity.

OK, OK, sad, shocking, etc., but how is it a feminist issue?

Food is ALWAYS a feminist issue because in cultures around the world the labor of women feeds and sustains us, because women and children around the world produce the majority of the subsistence food crops in the world, and because women and children eat last, have poorer nutrition, and are often denied opportunities for education and autonomy because of their agricultural necessity. In areas that have been mined girls are often sent to clear a field before the family’s livestock can be turned loose, and the “women’s work” of weeding and gleaning fields can make them more vulnerable to violence. Natural disasters have also had a devastating impact this year on women’s food production, particularly in Myanmar, where the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis left families starting from scratch. Additionally, because women start with greater food insecurity and nutritional deficiencies, food shortages and famine impact them faster and with longer-lasting effects.

As we look at rising food prices and the shifts in use of the world’s agricultural lands the effect on women has been profound. As more land is put under cultivation by men for cash crops — particularly corn for ethanol and corn based biodegradable plastics — the women who are providing food for their families are finding it harder to grow enough for themselves, let alone a small surplus to sell at markets to finance household improvements. Women and children make up the vast majority of the world’s poor, meaning that even in areas where food is available they are often unable to get it. Additionally, when families are forced to sell belongings for food, girl children are particularly at risk for trafficking into factories or sex work.

We must look at food within the broader context of the global economy, as part of the feminization of conflict, poverty, and labor as well as the role of the west in global food production.

More on Food:
The Original Article from Al Jazeera

World Food Programme

CARE


A few other world news links:
Here are a few things I found interesting. This is by no means an exhaustive list, please send us your tidbits!

Child Bride Gets Divorce After Rape, Beatings

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Women

Iraqi Woman Protests Security X-Rays

Native Women Lead

Do you like the F-word?

lindsay

We at the Oregon State Women's Center Center like the F-word. In fact, we loooove it. We use the F-word whenever we can. We espeically like to use it around people who have never heard of it -- there's nothing like a good teaching moment. In the words of one of our workers, "we throw the F-word around like candy."

We're talking about Feminism, don't ya know.

We work at the Oregon State Women's Center (also know as the little blue house that resides next to the library in lovely Corvallis, Ore.) and we'd like to welcome you to our blog. We're new to this, so please be nice.

It's the summer, so things are a little slow at the WC right now. So this is a perfect time to spend countless hours on the internet attempting to figure out how the hell this is all going to work. We have ideas -- we have a camera and a videocamera and cool, fun people. We'll see how that all translates to the online community.

Send us questions, comments, concerns and (APPROPRIATE) jokes. We also enjoy news updates and fun pictures. And of course, if you have a story to share about women, feminism or anything else, we want to hear it. You can reach us at womenscenter@oregonstate.edu. Don't be shy; we love pen pals.

We'll be back later with more. We'll tell you about our center, about the people that work here and about how we're going to change the world. Stay tuned.