Kickin It at the OSU Women's Center

Women's Center Internet Survey

2010-08-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

We hope everyone is having a great summer! We're working hard to help everyone have a great year back at school and we can use your help. The Women's Center Internet Survey will help us learn what can we do to improve our website, Facebook profile, Twitter presence, and email newsletters. It should only take 5-10 minutes of your time. Thank you and see you soon!

It's Official

2010-06-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

OK, it is totally offical. Girl Crush on Amy Klobuchar. She just SHUT DOWN Senator Coburn (R-OK) and his snotty remarks about personal freedom by pointing out that personal freedoms for women are totally different than his version. And then asked Solicitor General Kagan to talk about bringing women up in the legal professions. I am so proud to be married to a Minnesotan (Michelle Bachmann aside...)

CSPAN is NSFW

2010-06-30T12:29:00.000-07:00

elle

I still can't decide if it's a good thing that I can stream CSPAN's coverage of the Kagan confirmation hearings at my desk; I'm sure my co-workers are a bit concerned about the seemingly unprovoked bursts of invective coming from my little corner of the WC. Really, this ridiculous political posturing is not good for my blood pressure. Pretty much everyone has agreed that she will be confirmed, meaning that for the first time in history there will be 3 women concurrently serving on the court. Hurray! I am a bit afraid, however, that Justice Ginsburg will retire soon (I was terribly sorry to hear about the passing of her husband on Sunday) and will be replaced by a man to avoid the perception that it's a 'woman's seat'. I guess we will just have to see, but hopefully RBG won't retire any time soon, she is BY FAR my favorite justice. I sat 30 feet from her once and it was one of the greatest moments of my life.

Well, I haven't heard that a vote has been scheduled so until we can watch it at the WC--we had boos and cheers during the Sotomayor vote--there were a few highlights from today:

Diane Feinstein D-CA (girl crush!) closed her questioning with a wonderful wrap up on gender discrimination and Solicitor General Kagan's career of busting glass ceilings

Amy Klobuchar D-MN (potential girl crush) asking Solicitor General Kagan to weigh in on the essential question: Vampires or Warewolves. Priceless!

Check Us Out!

2010-06-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Video from the OSU Women's Center's triumphant dance debut! Thanks to Neha for her patience and clothes...

Who Said Feminism Was Dead?

2010-06-29T14:39:00.001-07:00

elle
A wake up call from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

And I have two things to add (big suprise)
1. Note that childcare responsibilities are not listed here. Add in "carpool", "Halloween costumes" and "baking brownies for your 7 year old's class" and the gap will widen even more.

2. Let's not forget that things like cooking and dishes, laundry, and picking up all the junk on the floor are pretty much constant jobs-done every day. Lawn care, once a week most likely.

Check it out!

2010-02-21T13:17:00.001-08:00

I don't usually do this, but another OSU Women's Studies student just posted this song:

Fat Grrrls

and it was so remarkably apropos I just had do share. Enjoy!!

A Fat Feminist Fashionista on a Rampage!

2010-02-16T13:28:00.001-08:00

elle

Fat is the news today

I've been wanting to write a bit of a "fat rant" (check out the excellent YouTube videos by that name here)for a while now--particularly since the State of the Union Address when Michelle Obama's campaign against childhood obesity was rolled out--because I am sick and tired of all the misconceptions running around about fat. Then, like a piece of cake on a platter (yes, that was deliberate imagery), today had 2 news stories about size and discrimination; one all bad, one so-so.

First to recap the news:

1. Kevin Smith, director of Clerks and other such defining films of my generation, was removed from a flight for being fat. There are lots of details to the story, and you can read them here, but I want to state here, this was not some 4 seater plane that you have to balance the weight on both sides so you can fly kinda plane, it was a regular ol' flight. A shout out to Mr. Smith for shouting rather than slinking away in humiliation.

2. Fashion week! I have also been wanting to write a fashion post for a while, 'cause some feminists love fashion despite its major issues. Anyway, NPR had a short blurb today on the growing number of 'plus size' models in the shows. It's an interesting read--people know that they should be saying the 'right' thing, but they manage to neatly pass off the responsibility each time. Editors say they would print pictures of larger women if the designers would make the sample sizes to fit them, etc. etc. Then comes the fall from grace--apparently showing women who are not a size 00 would be celebrating an unhealthy lifestyle--i.e. it would be making it OK to be larger. GASP! We certainly can't have that!! ACK!!!

There are so many things going on here that you will have to please pardon me if I miss a few. There was a nice response to the Kevin Smith article from a personal standpoint published today on Slate, but among all the buzz there has been little discussion of the social issues here. We'll get to those in a different post, right now I just want to say fa few things. In no particular order:

1. Fat does not necessarily equal unhealthy
2. Just because you're not saying fat-phobic things doesn't mean that you're a great person, it just means that you're not overt about it (this means you Ms. Givhan).
3. Fat does not necessarily equal unhealthy
4. Fat people are not fat because they're lazy, over-consuming, idiots who are oblivious to their situation. Believe me, they are more aware of it than you are.
5. Fat does not necessarily equal unhealthy
6. The fashion industry can kiss my bootay. According to Robin Givhan from the Washington Post, it's just as bad to glorify larger bodies in our obese nation. Guess what Ms. Givhan I wear those sizes and my BMI (which is a crap measurement we all know) puts me squarely in normal. That's right, not obese, not even overweight, but NORMAL. I say there is nothing wrong with glorifying everyone!

There's a part of her message that really bugs me (and that's not even counting the incredibly unnecessary horizontally hostile comment about Mariah Carey that does nothing to forward her point). It's when she says (in the NPR article): On one end, the fashion industry is showing us these very thin 14- and 15-year-old girls and portraying them as women...On the other hand, there's the unhealthy nature of obesity and the politically correct aspect of saying, "You should be happy with who you are," she said. Guess what, YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY WITH WHO YOU ARE!! For a variety of reasons, one of which is that if you are trying to loose unhealthy weight you will NEVER do it with self-loathing and a desire to look like a model.

So, listen up Ms. Givhan, Ms. Obama, and all the rest of you out there. If we don't work on making people happy with the bodies they have right now, they will never have healthy bodies, fat or thin. In a society rampant with eating disorders (and disordered eating), depression, and an understanding of how dangerous yo-yo dieting is perhaps we should be focusing on what's on the inside.

Stay tuned for a more academic discussion of obesity as a social justice issue--it is.

Rise Up Speak Out for CARDV

2010-02-16T10:36:00.000-08:00

Join us on February 18 at Cloud 9 for Rise Up Speak Out-- an open mic night celebrating the voice of resistance against sexual assault and domestic violence. The time has come, and we are standing up and using our creative expression to transform the culture of complacency around violence against women. Presented by the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance and ASOSU Women's Affairs Task Force. Two dollar cover charge goes directly to the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence. Bring your spirit. Raise your voice!

'Cause Not All Femininsts are Women

2010-01-28T11:37:00.001-08:00

elle

We here at the Women's Center recognize that not all good feminists are women (although we love the discussion) and as such we want to send a farewell tribute to the amazing activist and social justice powerhouse Howard Zinn who died yesterday at the age of 87.

Dr. Zinn, most famous for his A People's History of the United States (in which I thought the section on women was admittedly a bit weak), was a historian who questioned the established view of history, a radical leftist who spent his last day as a professor picketing in sympathy of a campus nurses' strike, and a teacher who was loved by students (including Alice Walker) but considered a troublemaker by University administrations (my kind a guy!).

Never one to sit back, he was writing and critiquing right up until the end, and his life is an admonition to us younger activists to keep the flame of dissent alive. May he rest in peace, Baruch dayan emet.

Natural Disasters and Women

2010-01-15T00:52:00.000-08:00

elle

In honor of Haiti and in reminder of all those who have died around the world (including the 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China that killed 70,000-90,000 people Cyclone Nigris in Myanmar, the South East Asian Tsunami, etc. ) I wanted to write about women and natural disasters. Sure, on the surface it seems like everyone is affected pretty much the same in a flood, earthquake, tsunami, etc., but after the initial mess it becomes obvious that women are more vulnerable in a variety of ways; if Hurricane Katrina showed us anything it was an up close and personal view of the dangers of mass evacuations--from death by dehydration to increased rape and murder rates. And while I am not in any way attempting to minimize the suffering of men in these areas, women and children, particularly those who have lost providers, have some specialized needs. Additionally, as women (and children) are more likely to be in poverty to begin with their problems in addressing the fallout from natural disasters are compounded by their lack of social power.

The immediate risks, as horrific as they are, also seem pretty short term when dealing with a disaster of this magnitude. We have a tendency to respond to the here and now, the 24 hour news cycle, and miss the long term effects. Yes, absolutely survivors need to have medical attention, water, food, and shelter now. However, we have to remember that they will also need all of these things next week/month/year. And this leads us to addressing the long term issues. Haiti will be rebuilding for years, and recovery will take decades. Over the long term women definitely have both different needs and concerns. As with war, natural disasters disrupt the social fabric of life as people are forced to rebuild with what they have. Women who have lost male providers (or simply men who earned more in the household) will be scrambling to support their families. Shattered families will be re-formed and care taking roles reassigned, and new marriages with new families will affect everyone. Women (and men) faced with daunting new tasks will need education, childcare support, and healthcare. For them to truly succeed rebuilding must include infrastructure that takes into account women and children's needs.

The upside, if we can even dare refer to one, is that a devastated society has the chance to rebuild. Perhaps the world can help Haiti put a clinic, a school, or a continuing education facility on every corner. Perhaps, as in Rwanda, women faced with new social roles will begin to demand new social equity. All I know is that this is not a short term operation and this global show of support for Haiti must be sustained.

article on gender risks in Haiti

Banning Burquas (veils) in the West

2009-11-19T23:26:00.000-08:00

-Amarah Niazi-

Growing up in the streets of Pakistan, most of us never questioned the wisdom behind women covering their heads, wearing a chadar, hijab or burqa. In fact I somewhat envied the invisibility it afforded women, and the spectacle of watching men actually making way for burqa clad women instead of ogling them into squirming uncomfortably was a source of endless fascination for me as we grew older. Little did we know that our customary chadars and hijabs would lead to pondering and deliberations at some of the highest echelons of power in the West. It appears imperative that Muslim women of substance join the debate and have their opinions weighed in before the fate of scores of hijab wearing Muslim minorities in the West is decided for them.

Much has been said over the years about the 'burqa' as a recognizable symbol of women's oppression in the Muslim world. The discussion hasn't reached a fever pitch in Washington yet, maybe because the US has enough on it's plate with eight years of alienating the Muslim world in general and the large Muslim minority in the US itself in particular. France it appears however, has been at the fore front of condemning any outward symbolism of religious belief and orientation and has a state-sponsored campaign underway for declaring the burqa or hijab unlawful in the public domain. The rippling effect of the discourse is attracting women's activists and human rights experts; not to mention everyday critics of the Islamic way of life across the North American continent, Europe and Australia. I was recently invited to a public forum hosted by the Australian National University (ANU) and the self explanatory title of the discussion 'Should we ban the burka?" has prompted me to put my thoughts on paper.

Before I comment on the necessity for state-level interference on the issue, let me share a disclaimer with the readers. I consider myself a very moderate Muslim woman with a very strong independent streak that has often come into conflict with my conservative upbringing; I do not wear the burqa, have strong opinions about how the burqa manifested itself into a class-segregation tool in the post-colonial South Asia- and yet, I object vehemently to any Western discourse that solicits state intervention for declaring the burqa unlawful or unnecessary.

My first objection to the ongoing colloquy is that it is patronizing, somewhat condescending and extremely unilateral in its approach. It fails to acknowledge women who have committed themselves to an understanding of their customs, religious doctrines and the art of intricate balancing of gender roles in a complex Islamic society and CHOSEN to wear the veil out of their own accord. Even the women who are forced into a voiceless existence behind the veil (and there is no denying there are plenty such women) this discussion doesn't represent their interests because most commentaries on the subject are steeped in Western ideals and do not reconcile with Muslim women's unique experiences. Secondly, I find this debate contradictory and paradoxical to the Western idea of freedom. As a woman of faith and color, I find the notion most disturbing that the state would dictate how anyone, let alone women who have been dictated to for centuries, must express themselves in public. Muslim women are a unique force unto themselves and while a large number of them are subjected to oppression and abuse, still a large cross-section of them across the Muslim world are very aware of their rights and still choose to cover themselves.

I wish someone would point out the commonly thrown-around argument in the West regarding 'Freedom of Speech and Expression'. The burqa is a manifestation of oppression only when forced upon a woman against her will. A lot of women cover themselves out of respect for their customs and to make a bold statement about their values; why should the state decide this matter for them? I do, however, think that the state can enforce laws that protect women from harm if they choose not to wear the burqa. The matter to me is simply that of defining freedom equally across the board for women of all religions. I will be a very interested participant if the debate ever arises over allowing women the right to wear revealing clothing in public, or even public nudity as that could be seen as an extreme form of expressing one freely. Objectifying women into sexual objects could be no better than dehumanizing them behind identical fabric walls.

This debate could be so much more than it is right now. Muslim women from different cadres of societies need to add their voice to a largely Western discourse and ensure our customs are not scrutinized with a negative lens without bringing unique socio-cultural perspectives to the table that define each one of us in a diverse way.

And the Editorializing Just Keeps on Getting Uglier

2009-11-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

OK. Well, the activism worked. The Lookers and Gawkers article has spawned some "discussion" if you want to call it that. There are some great supportive comments, but the ugly ones make for the most outrageous reading. I thought about posting one of the most vitriolic, but decided he didn't need any more self-aggrandizing press. Particularly since he's already posted it to his FB page in the true style of self promotion. BUT: Here's his e-mail (krichevb@onid.orst.edu) if you want to tell him what you think!

Love that OSU contact information is public!!

Latest at the Barometer

Local Activism

2009-11-04T11:16:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone! Check out some local activism by WS student Rachel Brinker. Then read the comments and get more fired up!

Concerning Lookers and Gawkers: Back of Fellas

Telling the story of Sex Trafficking through art

2009-10-31T11:28:00.000-07:00

You must all watch this video touring "The Journey" an installation art exhibit telling the story of sex trafficking. Coming to New York.

Also, here's the NPR story and interview from this morning

I LOVE Maureen Dowd

2009-10-30T15:15:00.000-07:00

elle
LOVE LOVE LOVE!! Two columns in a row on women's issues. You must, must, MUST read.

Women invading the "Oval Man Cave"
More Nuns!

(OK, I admit to a bit of a thrill that I beat her on the nun thing...)

To wear or not to wear?

2009-10-13T17:42:00.000-07:00

elle

Well, so here we are in a bit of a conundrum. If you're here at OSU you've probably heard about the undie run that's been all the buzz via Facebook, etc. If you're like me your first reaction was probably 'brrr! It's October and raining out there!'. However, we know that it will probably be quite the event (barring an unseasonable snowstorm or something), and so we're debating how we feminists feel about this.

On one hand nobody wants to be a stick in the mud or live up to the stereotype that feminists are a bunch of complainers that are just out to stop everyone else from having some good clean fun. We don't. My idea of fun runs much more to the lounging by a pool with a good book, but hey, whatever floats your boat.

On the other, there are a few things we are worried about. We want things to be good clean fun, which means nobody getting hurt. A few concerns might be:

1. staying safe--this includes not falling and skinning your knees (or whatever else isn't protected when you're dashing about in your knickers), but it's also about the realities of sexual assault. In our society a woman wearing just her underwear in public is still thought to be 'asking for it' (she's not) or deserving of whatever abuse--physical or verbal--is hurled her way (again, she's not!). I hate to sound like your mother, but...behave yourselves and be safe, don't drink to much, stay in a group. It sucks and we're trying really hard to change it, but for the moment...

2. The objectification--if you've attended or seen other such events it becomes obvious that there are a lot of men standing around watching the women run. Not quite the good clean fun we all want. Sure, we all like attention, but hey if he's not going to give you attention with your clothes on do you really want that attention anyway? Also, if you're going to take your clothes off, do it for you, not for the jeers and cheers from the peanut gallery.

3. Body image issues--we all do it. You walk into the party and scan it to see who looks good and who probably shouldn't have worn that top. Imagine the possibilities when they aren't wearing that top. Again, if you want to glory in your body I am all for it, but if you're there to make yourself feel better by making other people feel less about themselves leave that crap in Jr. High.

Anyway, if you don't want to run--or if you want to and then want to and then need somewhere to warm up--the Women's Center will be open Saturday night for our jammie party--hot chocolate, popcorn, surprises, come on by!!

Jumping on the Bandwagon

2009-09-09T11:07:00.000-07:00

elle

OK, so everyone is all a fuss over today's Presidential address to Congress on health care. Well, I would like to jump on the bandwagon, and since the internet is the place for this to happen, add my (wage gap) 76 cents. Prepare yourselves for a rant, because I am SO OVER the politicking. This is peoples lives people.

We activist types all know that it's women and children, particularly poor women, women of color, and immigrant women, in this country who don't have health care, who have lower health outcomes, and who don't have access to preventative care or healthy options--particularly when it comes to mental health services. So, why aren't we really talking about this. And why aren't our congressional leaders reaching out to those people to push this forward. Sure, you might have to knock on a few doors because the truly poor, be they in Detroit or Appalachia, can't get to your town hall meetings. And you may have to actually REALLY understand the options because they might not understand your deliberately ambiguous soundbites. Basically, I'm calling your bluff Obama administration, Congress, and the medical establishment--what are you going to do for the people who really need you but who you aren't talking to.

OK, got that off my chest. Now for some thoughts.

In the US, our health care system is based on a heternormative family model. You don't believe me, think about how you got health care (if you had it, see above) as a child. Chances are, you were covered under a parent's employment based health care. Generally we allow individuals to pay extra to cover family members on their employee health care, but...And this is a big BUT. Employers can make certain decisions about who can be covered and for what cost. For many non-married couples it costs more to cover a partner than if you were married. So if you are a couple that is not legally allowed to be married in your state you're paying more. Add children into the mix and it gets even more complicated. Most states only allow one parent in a same-sex family to be the custodial parent, so it's quite possible you wouldn't even be allowed to cover your own children on your work health care. And don't even get me started on taxes, etc.

My point here is that health care should be an individual right. I should be guaranteed health care whether I'm married, single, parenting, child-free, or whatever. Whether or not I can have health insurance shouldn't have to figure into a decision to get married (if you're even allowed to make that decision). This does not even qualify as the tip of the proverbial iceberg, but I want people to think about the long term consequences of a sexist, racist, heterosexist, classist system.

Meanwhile, a nod to the Corvallis members of Mad as Hell Doctors, who started their tour yesterday!! Check out the webpage and join their care-a-van!

Rocking the Nunnery

2009-08-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

elle
OK, full disclosure. I am pro nun. I didn't go to catholic school. There are nuns in my family. My mother protested for civil rights with nuns leading the charge. Quite honestly, the nuns I know are some of the most socially minded, powerful women I know. So perhaps that's why my ears perked up at this story about the Vatican investigating American women's orders. Apparently there have been some serious questions being asked about the work and faith of many nuns in this country. And you can be sure that they're not focusing on the conservative groups who stay home and mind their Ps & Qs, they're worried about the ones that are out there loudly advocating for the poor, immigrants, the LGBTIQ community, and so forth.

This may be an effect of an aging nun population--many of the leaders of communities were adults (and nuns) during the 60s when the Vatican II reforms coincided with the social movements of the US. Perhaps many younger women entering convents are much like post-feminists; feeling that that battle has been won so we don't need to be pounding the pavement anymore. It's hard to say, but what we do know is that these are serious inquiries. Really serious, and yet, acording to the report this level of investigation was never held for men's groups during the sex abuse scandal. Now I know that when you become a nun you embrace obedience, but that doesn't mean you can't push back against a blatently sexist structure. Or even, completely within your vows, work to end the suffering of others. Even if the pope doesn't like them.

And if you want a little heretical nun action check out the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of drag nuns and activists in San Francisco (their vows state that they will dedicate themselves to public service, social activism, and spiritual enlightenment). Apparently Pope John Paul II excommunicated them on his visit to the area in 1987. When asked to comment the response was 'well duh!' They're pretty out there, but they're queens--what do you expect.

World Humanitarian Day

2009-08-19T11:16:00.000-07:00

elle
Thanks to Nicholas Kristof for putting together this special on women's equality as the social justice and moral crisis of the 21st century. While we always appreciate good work and good press on the issues, it burns me that what women have been saying, shouting, dying for, and demanding for years (decades, centuries) only becomes news when it has beautiful pictures and people have realized that it's strategically useful--see the discussion of how everyone has finally realized that working with women is the best way to fight global poverty, extremism, etc. Yup, we've been saying that for years (decades, centuries) as well. I've been saying it, I have a degree in it, and I still can't find a job!!

So here's the real deal. When we invest in women, they invest in others. It's really can be that simple. One study found that women reinvest in their community at 2-3 times the rate of men (as soon as I find that article among the hundreds on my computer I will link to it). A simple example is that if you give a woman money to buy a cow (or chickens, or a cell phone, or whatever) as she begins to make a profit from the milk she is more likely to put her children in school, to repair the water spigot in her village, to organize a collective to bring a nurse to her village, etc. These things benefit everyone and have a lasting effect; possibly through generations.

So, in honor of World Humanitarian Day PAY ATTENTION!! Then, do some small good in your own way. And don't forget to 'remember the ladies'...

Some other awesome things:

A good primer
Global Fund for Women
Guaranteeing enough to live on works wonders in Namibian village
A fantastic animation that shows what I just talked about
A list of orgs working on women's issues in the 2/3 world

Joining the 21st Century

2009-08-17T11:53:00.000-07:00

Well, it's official. We are finally 'twitter-ing' (not sure any of us can really say tweeting and respect ourselves in the morning!). Check us out for bite-size feminism; sorry no cupcakes downloadable...

Tweet, tweet, tweetitly, tweet!

Thanks!!

2009-08-17T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow, so I finally started digging around in our web statistics, and it seems we have more readers than we thought (which was 2, thanks family!!). So, thanks to all of you who read us! To show our gratitude, we're going to up this on our priorities and get some more feminist posting out there. Yea us for figuring out that we can use 'the internets'...

Haven't We Had Enough?

2009-08-14T15:55:00.000-07:00

elle
So, that Afghan law legalizing marital rape for Shia men has re-reared its ugly head in new legislation allowing these same men to deny their wives food if they feel they say no. President Karzai, please for the sake of all that is human, stop this. Denying food is internationally recognized as torture, SO WHAT DOES THAT MAKE THESE WOMEN!?!

Traveling Pants Indeed!

2009-08-04T09:51:00.000-07:00

elle
An inspiring and yet scary "you go girl" moment as former UN press officer Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein challenges Sudan's indecent dress law in court. Arrested with 12 other women for the indecent act of wearing pants, she and 2 others chose to go to trial rather than accept the plea 'bargin' of 10 lashes. The defendents hope to have Article 152 removed from the Sudanese code of law, and al-Hussein has stated her intention to take her case to the land's highest court if necessary. Off with her pants!

The NYT coverage--it has a bit more information

A little summer inspiration

2009-07-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

Amazing things can happen when a woman believes in her infinite power and own potential. We as women face innumerable obstacles to self-empowerment and self confidence; barriers are iron bars, the world laughing in our faces. And it is so reviving and inspiring when a women ignores the world and all those who list the reasons she can't do something. Instead she adorns herself in her glory and blasts through and past every excuse and embarrassment, like an apparition to the exalted state of success.

I was inspired today by just such a woman—a contestant on Britain's Got Talent, nonetheless—who faced ridicule and looksist discriminators, took that stage by the ovaries and astounded a global audience. Not once did she exhibit the slightest inhibition or self-doubt, totally protected by her knowledge of her WomanPower (which is, of course, one of the greatest forces known in the universe...limitation due only to an utter lack of sufficient deep-space exploration), but it was evident that she owed nothing to anyone, and was freely giving the gracious gift of her presence. She was so independent in her performance that she almost left the stage without any comment from the judges. She didn't need their, or anyone's, approval to know that she was magnificent. I loved that.

Hats, belts, bloomers and garters off to you, Ms. Susan Boyle. Your performance was a gift to us all. Hopefully we get to see the other sides of you as well; I'm sure they are just as fabulous!

See more of Susan or send us the name of your favorite woman champion!

2009-07-09T15:09:00.000-07:00

This is another great contribution from our dear Lindsay. That girl must have all her fingers in the pool of great media (and I can thank her for restoring my hope in good journalism). This particular interview with Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the prospective future role of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor also discusses the interplay of women personalities in the court—past, present and future—and brings to discussion some very interesting cases based in sex discriminiation and reproductive rights in the past.

Thanks a mil, Linds! It was a great find.

(This was also my VERY FIRST blog post. Ever. Woohoo!)

-Alia B.

2009-06-25T15:11:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Lindsay, who may have graduated and moved on but is still sending me things to post, for this excellent editorial that reminds us all of the privilege we have as feminists in the US. Amidst our daily work and struggles, as well as continued and pervasive sex, race, ... inequality, it can be far to easy to forget the powerful freedom of being able to actually think, focus, and act on them. We would all do well to remember that calling ourselves feminist is a privilege.

It's Hard to Debate Feminism When You're Dodging Bullets

Farewell

2009-06-24T12:26:00.000-07:00

elle

I don't know if any of you are old enough to remember this the way I do, but when Dr. Jerri Nielsen FitzGerald made headlines for treating her own breast cancer while over-wintering at the South Pole (there, summer here) it was one of those ultimate girl power moments for the impressionable me. Not only was performing a biopsy and chemotherapy on yourself pretty bad ass, she was over-wintering at the South Pole! How cool is that (about 75 below on a good day...)! Her death yesterday, from a return of the cancer, has taken an wife, mother, activist, and crazy role model. Our best to her family and all those who knew her.

World Refugee Day

2009-06-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

June 20th is World Refugee Day, so take some time to reflect back on the gendered nature of violence, the gendered nature of peace, and the ways in which community upheaval (be it violent, natural, or otherwise) affects the ways in which that community rebuilds.

Here We Go Again...

2009-06-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

elle

Didn't I already tell people this!! Reports have come out indicating that the number of the world's hungry has topped 1 billion people--up 11% from last year (which comes out to 100 million people, FYI). However, what this article fails to mention is that the majority of the hungry in the world are women and girls, and that the World Food Programme specifically calls gender inequality a 'major cause and effect of hunger'. There are a lot of issues at hand when discussing hunger and food insecurity, but articles like this that make no mention of the reality that women around the world eat less and eat last--which has a major impact on everything from health to education--aren't helping us face up to that reality.

Time for face up to it. Denying women and girls education, personal and economic autonomy, and legal rights affects EVERYTHING, including how many of them go to bed hungry every night.

In Memoriam

2009-06-01T16:35:00.001-07:00

elle

No matter where you stand on reproductive rights, I hope that we can all acknowledge the tragedy of the murder of Dr. George Tiller in the vestibule of his church in Wichita Kansas yesterday. Dr. Tiller, targeted for decades because of his work providing abortions in Kansas, is survived by his widow Jeanne, 4 children, and 10 grandchildren; our hearts go out to them all.

Here We Go Again

2009-05-21T10:04:00.000-07:00

No surprises here, but Burmese pro-democracy activist (and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate) Aung San Suu Kyi was under trial again this week. Her sentence to house arrest was due to expire May 27th, so the government needed a new reason to keep her under their control. The darling of the west, Suu Kyi has been under house arrest in her native Myanmar for 13 of the past 19 years. While her profile has remained fairly high, some scholars have begun to question whether her power was waning. Well, well done ruling military junta, you have once again handed her an international spotlight. Shows the power of fear and a brutal military regime that their PR can be that bad and they are still in power.

The Lesser of Two Evils

2009-05-11T15:12:00.001-07:00

elle
I'm sure you've all heard about the Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi detained, convicted and sentenced in Iran for "spying", and her release on appeal today! Hooray, although I would like to point out that her sentance was changed today, not her conviction, and her 'trial' was an absolute farce. Ms. Sarberi's release may do much for continued talk between Iran and the US, but her career has been irrevocably damaged by the conviction, and she will most likely be leaving Iran (where she has lived the last 6 years) and returning to the US.

In honor of Dr. Shirin Ebadi's talk here at OSU 2 weeks ago, I wanted to highlight the case and the work of Dr. Ebadi for human rights around the world--her organization was involved in Ms.Saberi's appeal. Dr. Ebadi's talk, while definately prepared for her middle and high school aged audience at PeaceJam rather than those of us who do this for a living, both addressed the realities of gender oppression around the world and the absolute necessity of democratic governance to address gender inequity. It can be hard, as someone who spends a lot of time thinking about the problems of our democratic government to remember how essential it is to human rights. But from there we have to remember that if 50.1% of the people vote for a bigot it's still a democratic election, even if we don't like it. So, democracy is not enough. We have to educate ourselves and each other, demand excellence and transparency from our candidates, and hold ourselves to a higher standard. At Archbishop Desmond Tutu's speech in Portland last week he admonished the audience by saying that Americans are so warm, open, and generous--why can't we export that instead of guns.

A Rave

2009-05-07T11:32:00.000-07:00

elle and Lindsay

Ah, the abstinence only/Palin crowd is back. I will give Bristol props for publicly stating that being a young single mother is hard work (although she has family, money, and access so not as bad as it could be...), but seriously.

We both enjoyed Gail Collins' NYT Editorial about Bristol's elevation to spokesperson for the Candie's Foundation which was established to address teen pregnancy, but for different reasons. Lindsay particularly likes the comment about Gloria Steinem's shoes and Elle laughed inappropriately loud and long at the part about how terrifying it is when Levi Johnston has the most coherant analysis of a social justice issue. Truly...

Enjoy!

A Rant

2009-05-07T09:33:00.000-07:00

elle

OK, I promise to be short, but I just got in a snit over this, and I have to take it out somewhere. And really, that's the great reason to have a blog, you can rant and people will read it.

NPR posted an essay with a list of the top 100 novels of the 20th century and in my quick glance through it I counted 6, 6! women. There were more books about women by men than female authors on there!! ACK!!! OK, the author does state that this is his personal list, but really I don't care, I'm mad.

So, there it is once again. This is not blatant sexism on Dick Meyer's part, nor do I assume he is an unenlightened boar. This is an example of how we aren't exposed to the art of women. I'm not sure I could come up with 100 20th century books by women of the caliber to go on a "best" list. We don't read these books in school, they aren't on the must read lists, and people shy from highlighting the work of women in fear of being called discriminatory.

So, congratulations to Toni Morrison (whose oeuvre could fill our list alone), Willa Cather, Harper Lee, Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, and Alice McDermott. However, to this esteemed company I not-so-humbly add off the top of my head:

The House of Mirth--Edith Wharton
The Red Tent--Anita Diamant
The Joy Luck Club--Amy Tan
Their Eyes Were Watching God--Zora Neal Hurston
White Oleander--Janet Finch
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings--Maya Angelou
Bastard Out of Carolina--Dorothy Allison
Cane River--Lalita Tademy
The Color Purple--Alice Walker

Hmmm, a pile of books about women of color, lesbians, etc. Wonder why they didn't make the list...

Send us your suggestions, we're going to make the OSU top 100 books by women in the 20th century! Woo Hoo!!

'HAPPY' EQUAL PAY DAY or 'I Want my Million Dollars'

2009-04-28T11:17:00.000-07:00

elle

Today, Tuesday April 28, 2009 is Equal Pay Day, a day designed to raise awareness to pay inequity in the United States. Always held on a Tuesday because Tuesday is the day on which women's wages from the week before catch up to men's--basically women have to work Monday through Friday PLUS Monday and part of Tuesday to make the same amount that men make Monday through Friday. A brand new report issued by the AAUW found that women's average salaries are just shy of $10,000 a year less than men's--a gap that can mean $500,000 to 1 million dollars lost in the average woman's working life (women in highly paid professional positions stand to lose much more!).

Of course when you average anything you lose the details, and as we all know, the devil is in the details. African-American women earn 67 cents on the white male dollar, Hispanic women 58 cents. And while the study didn't specifically address women with children, mothers earn less than non-mothers accross demographics. Men get promotions, women get demoted, fired, or lose pay when they have children.

Know the numbers, and at least today don't let me hear you saying feminism is dead...

To read an article about the report: HERE
To read AAUWs info on Pay Equity: HERE

Keeping with the Theater Theme

2009-04-28T10:31:00.000-07:00

elle
Maybe it's just me, but I am stupidly excited by the new Broadway version of the classic fairy tale of 3 downtrodden office employees taking a stand against sexual harassment: 9 to 5. While we're not advocating kidnapping, violence, or the like, this show promises to be a riot! Plus we here at the WC love Allison Janney for a variety of reasons--many surrounding one liners from The West Wing. So, if you're in NY for any reason, check it out!!

Here's the National Association of Working Women (9 to 5)

2009-04-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Lynn Nottage for her Pulitzer for "Ruined"!

Ruined

2009-04-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

elle

My previous post aside, I don't want anyone to think that I don't totally recognize the atrocities going on in the Democratic Republic of Congo or anywhere else in the world. In fact, when I was in New York last month I saw Lynn Nottage's new play Ruined which was powerful, remarkable, and superbly presented. So, shameless pulg--if you're in NY while the show is running, or it turns up in your home town, see it.

Sometimes You Just Need a Reminder

2009-04-07T23:54:00.000-07:00

elle

Amazing! I was just snarking the other day about how cause celeb our world is, (a year ago everyone was hot on Darfur, and now, not so much) but tonight I was just checking in on a few friends' blog lives when I saw this: Unprecedented Opening for Darfur Action Exists

Cool, eh. Just when I'm feeling discouraged that everyone has moved on to the next conflict du jour, and Naama reminds us all that now is the best time to dig in. Thanks!

No Woman Left Behind

2009-04-06T21:31:00.000-07:00

Clearly Elle is kicking my ass at this whole "keeping up with the blog" thing. I have no excuses, but will say Elle is pretty much considered a goddess at the WC, and her ability to do five million things at once is one of the reasons why.

However, do not fret, gentle reader, for I, Lindsay (the tall, loud one) have returned. And just in time to promote this HUGE event we've been working on since July. It's called No Woman Left Behind and you can read all about it right here. Also, make sure you clear your calendars for next Monday, April 13 so you can all join us for the lovely event at 8 pm in the MU Ballroom. I know you'll be there. If not, I'll come find you and make you come. Don't think I won't ...

FYI--On the Global Front

2009-04-06T10:46:00.000-07:00

elle
Well, big suprise. Just as amazing Afghan women leaders were re-finding their voice on the global political scene, backlash. It's important to remember that this law is only designed to affect the Afghan Shiite community (about 20% of the population), but the precedent is there. Check it out...

Afghan Law Legalizes Marital Rape

FYI--Economics and Violence

2009-03-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

A study released today in Florida found a 40% increase in demand for domestic violence shelters and services as a result of recent economic woes in the state. Similar increses have been reported in Texas. Just when support organizations are slashing their budgets they are the most needed.

Water is the New Oil

2009-03-30T10:34:00.000-07:00

elle

It can be really hard for us here in the Northwest (where we are so ready for spring!) to think about an absence of water. But water really is the 21st century resource strain, and access to water can lead to conflict and violence. As decades of industrial scale farming has shifted water patterns, lowered water tables, and turned parts of the world into dust access to clean water is paramount. Particularly for women and girls, access issues affect their entire lives. Girls who must spend entire days walking to water sources and back aren't in school. Also, these same girls are carrying gallons upon gallons of water (at 8.1 pounds per gallon! For the girls above that's about 40 pounds on their heads...) and the weight can stunt their growth. Combined with a lack of nutrition, these girls stay smaller, which can lead to a host of problems later in life. Of particular concern are obstetric complications that result from being to small and underdeveloped (and young) to bear children.

Some interesting articles about water:

Is Access to Clean Water a Basic Human Right
from the Christian Science Monitor

A Walk to Beautiful
a film about obstetric fistula

Water Wars
by Vandana Shiva (you know I love her!)

And now--after an extended hiatus--Take Back the News Returns!

2009-03-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

elle

I really enjoyed writing this column, but it is really amazing what slips away when there are angry graduation deadlines looming. So, I'm going to give this another shot!

The recent rash of gang and drug violence in Mexico has caught the attention of the US enough for a visit from Secretary of State Clinton as it both spreads over the border and as thousands of spring breakers head south for sun and (most likely) inappropriate behavior. We are hearing a lot about escalating violence, drug kingpins, and recruitment of young men, particularly in Ciudad Juarez, and today of the body of an executed US Marshal found there. However, what is the role of women in the “War on Drugs”?

To begin with, the kidnapping, torture, and murder of women in Ciudad Juarez is nothing new. Violence against women activists have been yelling for years about the ongoing disappearance, sexual abuse, and murder of young women working in the maquiladoras—factories owned by US companies that operate in Juarez (which is directly across the border from El Paso Texas) to avoid US labor laws. There has never been a concerted effort to address the brutal, gruesome, and organized murders of 400-500 women in the last decade. Ten years may sound like a lot of time, but that equates to about one a week. The increase in violence, however, is becoming internationally visible as men become the targets. Once again, when women are in the crossfire it is a local problem…

Here in the US, the “War on Drugs”—and don’t even get me started on how this country is willing to declare a war on everything: obesity, poverty, terror, as if MORE violence were the answer, but I digress…Anyway, the “War on Drugs” in the US has had a particular impact on women, particularly women of color. Just as crackdowns, federally mandated sentencing, and racial targeting have decimated poor and minority men, particularly African-American men, the “war” has hit home for women as well. The population of women in prison has soared since the beginning of the “war”, which has lead to a variety of issues, only some of which we can touch on here.

The US Criminal Justice System (CJS) is perhaps the most androcentric of all US institutions. It is a system designed by, run by, and housing a vast majority of male inmates. While the increase in female prisoners is worth noticing, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, women still make up only about 4% of the total 2.3 million prisoners in the US at the end of 2007. So basically we are shoving women into a broken system designed for men. This means that the special needs of women prisoners are ignored or belittled, including:
A lack of recognition that almost all women in state or federal custody are survivors of physical, sexual, and emotional violence.
Women in prison need the authorities to address the realities of violence in their lives. Even the way wardens are taught to restrain prisoners (pinning their arms from behind, etc.) is likely to trigger a visceral response in someone who has experienced ongoing violence, causing her to panic and lash out more rather than submit. Additionally, counseling to address the after effects of violence in essential.
The specific dietary, medical, and personal needs of women are generally ignored or mishandled.
Women entering the CJS are unlikely to have had access to healthcare in their lives, and enter prisons with a host of health issues that must be addressed. STI screenings for incoming prisoners is essential, as is pre-natal and post-partum care (many women also enter prison pregnant), access to foods high in calcium, and a variety of other gender sensitive programs are necessary. Women in prison are also more likely to suffer from mental illness of some kind, so pharmaceutical and counseling therapy are essential.
Women entering the CJS are generally not accused of violent crimes.
Because of the nature of women’s crimes, usually drug and property crimes, alternative programming—including residential treatment, group housing, work release, and monitoring—makes sense for women. Particularly if you provide a safe space to start from, women are less likely to abuse the system.
Women need different education, job, and skill training than men.
This includes computer and literacy training, classes on navigating the social services bureaucracies, and parenting classes. There have been some highly successful programs using female inmates to train service dogs, provide care for other animals, and so forth. These programs both provide a service and give the inmates a sense of worth and accomplishment.
Women in prison are FAR more likely to have been the primary custodial parent for minor children before incarceration.
Yes, men in prison have children, but those children are generally cared for by their mothers. Around 80% of women in prison are mothers--and most were the primary or custodial parent before incarceration. So, when the mother goes to prison, the fate of her children becomes paramount. There are two big issues that enter into this. First, once you lose custody of your children a variety of laws and other factors makes it difficult to get them back. Many women feel they will get clean for their children, so this is important. Additionally, because of the low number of women in prison, female inmates are often housed thousands of miles away from their families, which affects not only them, but their children.

There are tons of other ways in which we must address the prison industrial complex in this country, but these are some of the most pressing issues for women. Investing in women prisoners makes sense—they are raising the next generation, we should ensure that they are able to do so.

If you want to get involved:

Girl Scouts USA runs programs for girls whose mothers are in prison and for girls who are themselves in juvenile detention. Voluteer!

The Medea Project: Theater for Incarcerated Women helps women in prison tell their stories.

Critical Resistance has TONS of information on the prison industrial complex in the US.

The Women's Prison Association is committed to helping women with CJ histories build a brighter future.

Day 1--NGO Forum

2009-03-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

Wow! A day of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations). In advance of tomorrow's 53rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) today was an advance meeting of NGOs who have delegates here. Over 2000 affiliated women arrive here to lobby member states of the UN, attend formal sessions at the UN, and attend the hundreds of concurrent events sponsored by the organizations.

The point of the CSW is to publish recommendations regarding the theme: The Equal Sharing of Responsibilities Between Women and Men, Including Caregiving in the Context of HIV/AIDS. As such, the NGO delegates today discussed the resolution and issues surrounding it, including the gendered nature of care work, consequences of women's unpaid labor on economic functions, concerns over girls leaving school to care for family members, the role of men in changing social attitudes, and the role of education.

More tomorrow when the session officially opens, and I get my official tour. See you at the Chagall windows!

I Cannot Go On Vacation!

2008-12-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

elle

OK, no more vacations for me, because then I miss stuff like this! Whatever your politics, the role of government should never be to allow the refusal of information. This parting shot from the Bush administration, which has shown time and time again that they prefer an uninformed citizenry, is really a reminder to us that we cannot take a vacation on the coat tails of the Obama victory; that there is always work to be done. See you in the new era!

Sarah Palin. Sigh.

2008-09-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, you're mad. You're mad that we start this amazing blog and then we don't update it for a few weeks. It's my own fault! (This is Lindsay, by the way.) I was the one that started this thing, wrote a few posts, and then Elle and Alisha saved me by putting up amazing, funny and too true posts. They're both gone now, and the guilt is starting to set in for not blogging for awhile. I PROMISE things will be different during the school year. I think.

So, let's just jump right in. Since we last posted Mr. John McCain has added a VP running mate and it is none other than that govenor of Alaska none of us know well enough, Sarah Palin.

I don't even know where to start about how frustrating a selection this is, though I can tell you we've had many a discussion about what a backwards step her selection is for women. (Joe Biden can thank us for that soundbite.) I have a guy friend who told me the other day that he thinks the selection of Palin will energize the Republican party, because all of Hillary's former supporters will hop on the GOP bandwagon, throwing aside their beliefs and ideas to vote for someone who has two X chromosomes.

To him I say: watch this.

To everyone else I say: Voting is one of the most important things you can do, and can we please put someone in the White House who won't take back everything we and our feminist sisters who came before us have worked so hard to get?

Want attention? Get naked.

2008-08-20T16:26:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, you've probably been watching the Olympics every night. What else is on TV besides re-runs, anyway?

Well, as much as I'm enjoying all this sport focus, I get really tired of how sexualized female athletes are. Don't believe me? Take a look at this uniform comparison. How can anyone justify this?

I love the P.S. at the bottom, about not calling women "girls."

You have to wonder if we'll ever get to the point that we celebrate female athletes purely for the fact that they can kick-ass, and not about if they're pretty or not. Will that day ever come? I don't know, but I sure hope so. And if that day doesn't come, I hope that at least that everyone -- men especically -- can recognize how hard it is to get respect as a female athlete.

I think snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler summed it up best when she told ESPN The Magazine, "It never felt right to take my clothes off. It never felt like me. It sucks. When you're a woman in sports, people want you to show some skin."

Top10 Fun and Feminist Things to Do When it’s 100 Degrees

2008-08-15T14:19:00.000-07:00

10. Read anything by Jennifer Weiner. Fun summer books that address serious issues about body image, motherhood, etc. with lots of laugh out loud characters and dialogue. Informal poll of the staff recommends her first novel Good In Bed.

9. Write feminist personal ads for you and your friends (or revenge personals for your ex). Send them to us and we’ll post ‘em!

8. Take your clothes off. No bitching about your thighs, tummy, whatever.

7. Have an iced tea tasting. Restaurants always have tons of flavored tea and lemonade in the summer and it’s a great way to go out with the girls, get hydrated, and not spend a ton of money.

6. Hang out at your local bookstore. Chances are it’s air conditioned and you can pick up some beach books to make you feel like you’re at the beach.

5. Volunteer at the humane society to wash dogs. Then you can play with the hose and be making a difference. Plus there’s puppies!

4. Go see Melissa Etheridge in Eugene. It may not be 100◦, but I guarantee it will be hot. If you can’t go, blast music into your yard and play in a kiddie pool or sprinkler.

3. Get and eat the prepackaged raw cookie dough. Then eat microwave popcorn for dinner and watch one of our favorite movies. Who wants to cook anyway!

2. Introduce yourself to some feminist magazines—Bitch, Bust, and Lilith are some of our favorites. It’s to hot to read War and Peace, and admit it, you don’t even want to think about how nice and cool it is in Russia, so get some bite sized feminist fun. Plus magazines work great as fans.

1. Come to the OSU Women’s Center—IT’S AIR CONDITIONED!!

You Know What I Want...Do You?

2008-08-12T15:10:00.000-07:00

elle

I want a deal where a presidential partner--whoever they are--can either have a job or get paid for the one that they do. It's time to change the role of the political wife, and it's usually the wife. Have we ever seen a male Supreme Court Justice step down to care for an ailing partner? Plus, candidate's (generally) wives and daughters are expected to work for the campaign for free--and the schedules they maintain deserve at least some "pin money".

Somehow I imagine we'll have to see a male first lady before we really see any change, because if Michelle Obama's recent makeover is any indication this country STILL has a hard time with a woman with a job, let alone a powerfull highly paid one!

Michelle Obama Quits to Campaign Full Time

Take Back the News

2008-08-11T10:32:00.000-07:00

elle

Headlines have been screaming that a “Motherload of Gorillas” has been found in the Republic of the Congo (not the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which isn’t so democratic, but that’s another post someday!). Usually I try to take a regular news story, like the situation between Russia and Georgia, and do a feminist reading of the situation or its implications, but this is good news! Hooray!! Don’t worry though, we can still do some feminism-ing…and then we’ll talk Olympic sex testing next week!

Perhaps as many as 125,000 Western Lowland Gorillas were found in a completely remote and totally swampy area of Northern Congo. Because of the inaccessibility of the area it has been largely ignored by poachers and developers. Unfortunately this is about to change. The government has recently been selling resource rights to several companies to harvest the area’s timber—which would of course necessitate draining the swamps to create access roads etc. It’s easy for us to sit here and say WOA! BAD IDEA, but before we do that there must be an understanding of the situation of a very poor country with few natural resources attempting to become a part of the world market. Additionally, we have to think about where that timber is going...

There is a western arrogance to the environmental movement, that we should always be able to have our plastic bottles, but we’ll recycle them, without an understanding of the social and economic disparities that developing nations struggle with every day. Organic produce even in the US is generally still picked by underpaid migrant farm laborers and shipped the average 1500 miles (lots of gas even in my VW) to our grocery stores, but the pro-active sounding “organic” label allows us “do the right thing” and to further remove ourselves from the social, environmental and economic problems. BUY SEASONAL and LOCAL!

OK, let me get down off my soapbox. There.

One of the hallmarks of ecofeminist theory is the understanding that the subjugation of women and the subjugation of “mother” earth are, in fact, the same thing. That the idea that nature must be conquered and subjugated or studied by the male dominated rationality drives both the social construction of women through their reproductive functions and the concept of trees, fossil fuels, etc. as resources for humans. Some ecofeminists advocate a return to nature, cyclical living, and vegetarian/vegan living, while others, including Vandana Shiva (queen bee of my environmental consciousness) argue that the current model, particularly of agriculture, further subjugates the world’s poor countries to the demands of the wealthy and that by doing so we are losing the invaluable knowledge of the women who maintain traditional subsistence farming methods.

All in all, hooray for the find. It’s incredibly exciting to hear that a population we thought we had practically destroyed is thriving well away from us—and there’s the catch. How do we both protect this amazing find and yet stay well enough away for them to continue to thrive; it’s only because they have been so inaccessible to people that they have done so well. I would totally advocate for roping that space off and forgetting about it, but we can’t do that. We also can’t avoid the economic and social issues in our rush to “do the right thing”. What has to be done is the best thing for everyone involved or the situation will escalate and the gorillas will be the losers. They always have been.

A Few More Things:

Royal Fun on YouTube

Invest in Women, Invest in Countries

You Don't Say--Violence and AIDS in Women are Linked

Take Back the Olympics

Refugees Suffer (still) as Russia and Georgia Stand Off (again)

Summer Fun!

2008-08-08T14:07:00.000-07:00

elle

So, Dirty Dancing is HIGH on our list of movies about summer fun (and a fun movie to watch this summer), AND there's some political commentary, so we started looking around and found this retrospective of teen queens. Which one defines your generation? Let us know...

Elle: between "Adventures in Babysitting" and Clueless"
Alisha: between "Clueless" and "Save the Last Dance"
Lindsay: Somewhere around "Mean Girls" and "Bring it On"

Wierdly on the Fence

2008-08-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

elle

Just a note, Salem and Portland have the delightful Bikini Coffee Company. Just so you didn't think we were all good and liberal and immune. Love in the article where the owner guy says "it gives people something new to look at. My eyes are generally bearly open when I'm waiting for coffee!

Ack--I hate it when my righteous indignation is crushed by people being stupid. So, there's been some controversy recently near Seattle about an "Espresso Gone Wild" stand. Yup, you got it, bikinis, lingerie, or a lot less with your morning fix. Blech, tacky, and just generally offensive.

OK, I was not on the fence about that at all. Every time I think that we've managed to denigrate women and use sex to sell just about everything I am rudely awakened by some other trashy scheme where the men who own the stand make money and the girls working there don't (young appears to be a prerequisite for working there, along with over-the-top and obvious). What bothered me is that in response to residents complaints the stand was ruled exotic entertainment and closed because of zoning regulations.

Good, such a place should absolutely cease to exist, but instead of talking about the serious issues at hand--exploitation, safety, (employees have had to call 911 because of harassment) hyper-sexualization, discriminatory hiring practices (doubt they'd actually hire me, whatever they say, or anyone over 30) etc.--we pull the uptight morality clause. The same one that means that Fred Meyer had an issue of Cosmo with a woman wearing a dress (not underwear or a bathing suit, I checked) covered up.

And there's another problem I have. Fred Meyer's "family friendly" aisle is stuffed full of candy, just no magazines. With all the fuss over childhood obesity isn't the candy more dangerous in the long run?

But I digress. Residents of Gorst (and I suppose the people in the "family friendly" aisle) were calling for blackout curtains, complaining that their children might see something, and thinking about property values. As well as the above mentioned serious conversations that need to be had maybe we should stop demonizing, sexualizing, and objectifying the female body. If people understood the function and beauty of all kinds of bodies perhaps we could get over our national prurience about the body and stop removing breast feeding mothers from airplanes, restaurants, etc. The exact same arguments used by the people of Gorst to shut down "Espresso Gone Wild" were used by the Taliban to force women under the Burqua and by European Christians to burn women at the stake--protect the morality of everyone else.

Anyway, couldn't they really just get them on a health code violation or something?

Own IT!!

2008-08-06T15:45:00.001-07:00

alisha

Do They Mean Parents, or Is It Mom's Responsibility?

2008-08-06T14:40:00.001-07:00

elle
Interesting article--it's funny how hyper-sexuality of kids has become the media cause de jour, I mean it's been going on for years. New books everywhere!! The Lolita Effect, and now So Sexy So Soon co-authored by Jean Kilbourne of "Killing Us Softly" fame. OK, so we're talking about it, now what? As I read this article I noticed that all the adults (except the one dad who spoke up in the workshop) appeared to be women. This is a cultural as well as a parental issue, and we must get men, particularly dads, involved in addressing what children are seeing. This is not just about booty, it's teen pregnancy and the ways in which we hold girls responsible for their sexuality but not boys, it's violence against women, it's media access, and it's that blurring line of responsibility between parents and schools. Thank goodness the only thing my 5 year old nephew has picked up at school is a fondness for Transformers!

I Found A Rave!!

2008-08-06T14:21:00.001-07:00

elle
Check this out (click the picture, I'm getting all tech-y on you!). I am really excited about the opportunity not to be a voyeur into the refugee experience, but to see the innovative ways in which communities are addressing the needs of immigrant and refugee populations. I can't wait to hear more about how the school is structured and the experience of the native born Americans attending it.

A Rant and A Rave

2008-08-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

elle

OK, so I know it’s been going on for a while now, but when did babies become accessories? More importantly, with all the media on celebrity moms (and the occasional dad, but only if the mom’s not famous enough) and not their nannies, how is it that we haven’t managed to have a real talk about motherhood in this country? Grrr. Suddenly we’ve gone from June Cleaver—who admittedly vacuumed in high heels—or Murphy Brown—bad shoulder pads, but took on single motherhood and the establishment—to sultry sex kitten 3 weeks after giving birth. I want a real discussion as to the message we’re sending women who can’t afford full time nannies, huge houses, personal trainers, and chefs about their ability to be a good mother. And anyway, who decides what a good mother is!?!

On that note, what the hell happened to Michelle Obama!?! A year and change ago when asked on 60 minutes about fears of assassination she pointed out that as a black man, Barack could be shot going to the gas station and now we have the cover of US Weekly (I think) with the pull quote from Barack “Nothing is More Important to Michelle than Being a Good Mother”. Double Grrr. If only I didn’t have to vote for him…Anyway, I agree with Feministing, Michelle Obama for President!! (includes the 60 minutes clip)

Wish I could find a Rave for you, but it’s Monday. Maybe later!

Take Back the News

2008-08-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

elle

Amid allegations of corruption (and possible indictment), Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has announced that he will step down after the September elections in that country—for those of you like me who vaguely understand parliamentary governments, but are fuzzy on the details, here’s the Wikipedia article about Parliamentary Systems. Amidst cautious attempts at peace talks between Israel and Palestine this disruption is potentially unwelcome, and concerns have been raised about how a new PM will affect the process.

After last week’s discussion of women and violence, it is also important to recognize the gendered system of peace. When asked to define peace, most people will say something about the absence of violence, but such a definition makes no place for the lives of women in “peaceful” societies that are battered, mutilated, raped, tortured, and killed by both intimates and strangers. Peace as it is currently defined on the international scene generally means the "dead white guys" who haven't had much interest in women's lives before, sitting at a table trying to lose as little as possible for themselves. Peace activists and theorists define peace as not the absence of violence, but the presence of social justice—an unfortunately nebulous term, but one with a call to action.

For women, this call to action often takes a very different perspective than that of men. In no way am I advocating an essentialist notion that women are better suited for peace and reconciliation than men, but simply that women’s experience with violence is different, often dismissed or trivialized, and that socially construction notions of women, women’s roles, and women’s work must be taken into account as leaders such as Olmert and Mahmud Abbas attempt to hammer out an agreement. South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is rightfully touted as a triumph of the peace process over retributive violence, but it is rarely discussed that of requests filed for amnesty, rape was almost never considered a crime for which amnesty would be required. Of the 823 pages of the TRC’s final report, the word rape appears 6 times (I love the find button!). Accepting, and I do, that violence is gendered, peace must be as well.

There are some fantastic examples of women throughout the world demanding and working to create a peace that includes them In Somalia a group of women came to the peace negotiations as the 6th Clan (negotiations were being held between the major clans and a coalition of smaller clans in the area) and demanded a place at the table, Women in Black has combined peace activism and performance art sometimes in the face of considerable threat, and multiple organizations of Israeli and Palestinian women have come together to discuss the ways their lives converge. I’m not the type to get all starry eyed and idealistic here, but we do share space in this world, and it needs to be safe space for everyone.

A Few More Things:

Soldier's Death and Mutilated Body Officially Deemed Suicide
I couldn’t find any regular news sources still covering this, and the military ruling appears to be recent. ACK!
Women Giving to Women
The Lost Women of Vancouver BC
When People Stop Paying Attention, the Media Will
IPV in the Military, Why Aren't We Paying More Attention?
Now Really, Was That So Hard?
I'm not really sure that the bathroom issue is what really distracts them from studying!!

Fantasies for "Bistanders"

2008-07-30T15:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-22T14:26:00.001-07:00

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

2008-07-18T16:32:00.000-07:00

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?

2008-07-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

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.