A little summer inspiration

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!

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.

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

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

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...

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

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.