[12 Apr 2008|04:25am] penguingod It seems to me that, within "activist circles," homosexuality / gender identity is considered genetic. Homophobes and transphobes seem to dig on the mental illness / trauma-induced socialized perspective. This may not be the case, but it has occurred to me as such. Do correct if I'm wrong. For the record, I'm purposely generalizing for simplicity. I could be totally off base here, but I would venture that we are born bisexual, without gender identities; that homosexuality and heterosexuality are equally unnatural socialized conditions. As such, gender identity confusion strikes me as "symptomatic" of the extreme socialization of gender roles starting before we even exit the womb. Confusion regarding gender identity, it seems to me, includes overcompensation in any direction, from the testosterone-addled over-compensator to the pre-op. I very well could be totally off base here, but this is the 101. I don't think this passes any judgment on individual people, but jives with a basic tenant of third wave (socialization is responsible for most aspects of who we are and what we do). So, yeah... waiting for the lambasting... 27 comments|post comment

Meaning [01 Apr 2008|04:33pm] kuroloki [ mood | confused ] I've been struggling with the meaning, or purpose, of feminism for years. Can you tell me what feminism means to you? This thought triggered by a post I stumbled on via LJ's front page: http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/22013931.html 6 comments|post comment

Ending Domestic Violence [30 Mar 2008|10:40pm] crafting_change [ mood | awake ] Does anyone else have any resources for Transformative Justice and how it could relate to domestic violence/intimate partner violence? I am doing my research paper on the wrongheaded (and band-aid approach) to domestic violence and am looking for established practices on battling the patriarchal mindset, and moving away from the criminal justice system. Anything about community outreach specifically on intervening in patriarchal culture. I've got the criminal justice side down, and initial statistics... it is just I can't be the only one who has thought that teaching abusers to not abuse is the key to solving the problem. 5 comments|post comment

Women in bodybuilding [26 Mar 2008|01:24am] repairsitself I just read this article by Lisa Bavington, a female bodybuilder, about the difficulties faced by women bodybuilders. I apologise if this has been brought up before, but I thought it was a great article and raised a lot of points that I'd never considered. http://www.outsports.com/columns/20040212bavington.htm ( full article text... ) My preliminary, probably naive (I'm a feminism newbie), impressions: 1. While many women who are athletes must face challenges because either athletics itself is perceived as unfeminine or because their physical appearances due to being athletes (eg. a muscular body) are perceived as unfeminine, it's particularly of issue in bodybuilding because bodybuilding is all about changing the way one's body looks. 1a. People have trouble separating sex appeal and physical appearance in general. To use myself as an example: I always found bodybuilders (of all genders) kind of unappealing because I don't find huge amounts of muscle attractive. Now that I think about it, I can appreciate their bodies as the result of training and dedication on their part, and find them beautiful through that lens, even though they're sexually a turn-off for me, so to speak. 2. Would it be better for being muscular to be ungendered, or for it to be an acceptable (in the eyes of societies) gender variance for women; that is, muscularity is inherently a masculine characteristic, but it's okay for women to be muscular and/or present other masculine characteristics? I personally believe in the second option, 'cause I think of gender as a spectrum where the feminine is passive, etc. and the masculine is active, etc., and most people have both masculine and feminine characteristics. Obviously, where I run into trouble is when people believe that peoples' genders must be rigidly defined by their sex and fit into one of two prescribed gender boxes. So being muscular, because it's a result and a sign of activity, is inherently masculine, but women can totally have that masculine characteristic without compromising feminine parts of their identity. I'm totally ready to be taken down on that, though, so... thoughts? 2 comments|post comment

Gender roles in differing cultures [17 Mar 2008|04:38pm] stephzilla [ mood | frustrated ] [ music | Stephen Malkmus ] Does anyone have any links to some texts or articles or something about notions of gender/gender roles in cultures other than the United States? I only need one or two examples for this paper I'm writing and am having a very hard time finding much of anything. Even just mentioning something you heard of would help at this point. Thanks. 3 comments|post comment

[16 Mar 2008|06:36pm] blackberet Really basic question here; sorry if this kind of thing has been posted to death... (if it has, links to a previous post or websites would be great too.) I'm a university student in the U.S., and my partner is a resident advisor (older student who helps out in a residence hall). They have to make bulletin boards for the halls, and my partner has decided to make one with a women's month theme, featuring important women in history (any time in the past --> now). So who are your favorite historical female role models, whether explicitly feminist or not? Right now his list includes people like Victoria Woodhull, Sojourner Truth and Laura Ingalls Wilder. I'd be really interested to hear everyone's take on women in history that college-aged men should know about, especially some women of color or non-Western women. Thanks so much for any suggestions you could provide! 2 comments|post comment

case studies... [10 Mar 2008|09:31pm] lick_your_heart A friend of mine has to do a presentation that philosophically discusses human rights in relation to a particular case study. the case study can be anything, as long as it's specific and related to human rights, does anyone have any suggestions for a feminist case study? thanks in advance... post comment

[08 Mar 2008|12:45am] stephzilla Does anyone have any information about Tamar (in the Bible; Gensis 38) as it relates to feminism? Or any perspective; this is the text. Google and Wikipedia are massively failing me right now. 3 comments|post comment

tell me if I'm over reacting... [05 Mar 2008|12:20am] assemble ... but I stumbled across this article just now, and I'm a little offended. Article (with emphasis added) under the cut. ( 4 Things a Woman Needs From You ) 7 comments|post comment

Women do science [03 Mar 2008|01:50pm] i_muse This essay by Patti Digh is shared with permission. I'm afraid we always used to adopt--let's say, a patronizing attitude towards her. - Francis Crick A man who would later become a friend wrote a book in the early 1980s called Women in the Workplace: A Man's Perspective, in which he posited the idea that men and women are different. “THEY ARE NOT!” I yelled in protest, too young to understand that noticing difference need not imply making a judgment. We were aboard a ship where we were attending a conference in the middle of the ocean, on deck, arguing, my 25-year-old self to his 50-year-old self. Lloyd smiled knowingly from his vantage point of years (which, of course, irritated me even more). “I want you to notice what happens in a boardroom or meeting when a new project is announced,” he said quietly. “When the boss asks, ‘who can do this?’ all the men’s arms will shoot up immediately, and many of the women—who are likely far more capable—will sit and think to themselves, ‘well, I think I could do it, if I just studied some more or learned some more or had a chance to think through it more.’” I’ve watched what he predicted play out in every organization I’ve worked in or with in the two decades since that day he and I first met. In part, that’s the story of Rosalind Franklin. ( Read more... ) Here’s to Rosalind. Here’s to us. Let’s raise our arms. We’re capable. We’re smart. We’re important and skilled and just as ready as we need to be. post comment

New Website for Women, By Women [26 Feb 2008|06:20pm] lendingwings Hey everyone, (I hope this is okay to post here!) Power for Women is a new non-profit website and community aimed at bringing information on domestic violence, sexual assault, and mental and physical health to all women. Additionally, we go over dating tips and relationship advice, or how to survive as a single woman in this world. PLEASE go visit and register at http://www.powerforwomen.net/forums/index.php  in order to meet people with the same goal as you: to help others. There are discussion boards of all types currently open. The forums contain discussions on family and parenting, sexual health and discussion, advice, a bitchfest, and other types of forums. It is an open community with the single goal of connecting women worldwide as the Power for Women website grows more and more. I really appreciate it! Any and all help is welcome. I hope to see you over there :) X-posted for more involvement. 2 comments|post comment

"When I put that shirt on, I don't see a gender. I'm an official" [18 Feb 2008|10:06am] i_muse Referee Michelle Campbell says when she puts on the shirt, she doesn't see gender. Just minutes before she was scheduled to referee a boy's varsity basketball game at St. Mary's Academy, Michelle Campbell was told she would not be allowed to work the game because she is a woman. ( Read more... ) post comment

This struck an odd note with me... [24 Feb 2008|08:49pm] jocelynxheart While internet browsing today, I came across this: http://www.cafepress.com/notafeminist Does anyone else find it a bit... I don't know... insulting?  Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't choice to do what you enjoy regardless of your gender part of feminism?  As in, if you enjoy cooking you should be able to cook, if you enjoy computer science you should be able to go to school and study it (and not receive different treatement in the classroom / less pay or respect in the workforce) just because you don't have a penis.  Isn't it?  Maybe I'm making too big of a deal out of this... but sometimes I get frustrated by exactly this sort of mentality (that to enjoy cooking to to be other than feminist by definition) and spawns comments like "I would never be a feminist, I like it when boys hold open doors for me".  The line "For those women who enjoy the perks of being female, cooking, baking, tending to husbands, and being good wives and moms" is so loaded.  Not only does it point blank call cooking and taking care of husbands the "perks of being female" (which is decidedly limiting), but (and this is the part that gets me) it suggests that feminists just don't make good wives and mothers.   Anyways, what do the rest of you think?  11 comments|post comment

Use of titles [17 Feb 2008|08:17am] sunspeck In recent political news, I heard an interview with a voter that was perturbed by the use of the media sometimes referring to Hillary Clinton as "Mrs. Clinton" as opposed to "Senator Clinton", and the voter being interviewed referred to this as "sexist". I've thought about this quite a bit. I can understand that it may be improper to refer Senator Clinton as "Mrs. Clinton", because she is a sitting senator, but is there a ranking to honorifics? And is the use of one over the other "sexist"? I think about this in contrast to the media treatment of Ron Paul, who is a doctor, and is rarely referred to as "Doctor", "Representative", or even "Mr.," and I wonder about the difference between the two scenarios. I doubt that anyone would refer to the treatment of Dr. Paul as sexist. If someone could help me to understand this issue, I would be most appreciative. 9 comments|post comment

[05 Feb 2008|01:51pm] cocacola_sorrow What texts would you recommend as sort of "Feminism for Dummies"? I'm really unclear about the different waves of feminisms, certain politics and readings. Much obliged -Kittie- cross-posted to thequestionclub 4 comments|post comment

[03 Feb 2008|01:22am] theetoanunnery I'm taking Introduction to Moral Philosophy this semester and our first "Moral Problem" focus is abortion. The lecturer is great and seems so far to be open-minded and unbiased - our set texts (Judith Jarvis Thomson 'A Defense of Abortion'; RM Hare 'Abortion and the Golden Rule'; Michael Tooley 'Abortion and infanticide') seem to span the debate well... to an extent. I recently read a snippet of argument on another lj community about the morality of abortion in terms of the (quite common) stance "I'm pro-choice but don't believe abortion should be used effectively as birth control or that a woman should (be allowed to) have repeated abortions" with regards to how it might be argued this is hypocritical and a difficult idea to defend. Now, I'm well aware that this isn't exactly a new concept in the feminist world but the above was definitely the party line for my friends and I as teenagers at school and as such was something I've continued to believe in and tell myself, would even say to others when the topic arose, without really challenging it. I've been thinking a lot about it since and I think my stance has definitely shifted, and it's something I'd like to raise for discussion and give some air time to in my seminars, but of course I don't know nearly enough about it and can't quite articulate my thoughts on the matter, SO. Does anyone know of any good, strong articles focussed on the idea that if we say abortion is morally permissible there should be no disclaimers with regard to "abuse" of the procedure? (Preferably something online, I can access jstor.org if this helps.) Obviously, from this garbled post, I have very little idea where to even begin with this! I'm not so much looking to start a debate here as looking to be redirected, but I'm all ears if anyone is open to discussion - any help at all would be much appreciated. 2 comments|post comment

Statistics Question [26 Jan 2008|03:38pm] spikeface I was wondering if anyone could explain the "one in four women is raped" statistic. I see it bandied about a lot, and I was hoping someone could find a source that backs that up. I hope this doesn't come across as incredulity on my part. I'm not trying to pick a fight or disprove the statistic. But I know that if I use it somewhere, some jerk will probably blow up in my face and demand sources etc., and I'd like to be ready. I hope this is the right forum for my request. RAINN lists the statistic as "1 in 6 American women is sexually assaulted." That's not a 1 in 4 figure, and deals with all sexual assault, not specifically rape (not that that makes it better). They also said that about 60% of sexual assaults go unreported. If the 1 in 6 number doesn't take that into account (which I was sort of unclear about), you'd get numbers greater than 1 in 3. I know statistics vary according to the year and study, and that rape statistics are very hard to calculate. But I see the 1 in 4 a lot and was just wondering about its origin. 4 comments|post comment

Question about Feminist authors. [07 Jan 2008|10:53pm] mintogrubb My mother once gave me a copy of 'The War Against Women ' by Marilynne French, also 'The Female Eunuch' by you-know-who. she also got a copy of the Motherpeace Tarot during her trip into New Age philosophy. Ok, all this was a while back. I am just wondering if there are any books written by women who have had positive relationships with men? Have any Feminist writers ever come out with any statements affirming their fathers/sons/brothers or any other man they knew as being a good person? If so, what books or papers were these in, please? 39 comments|post comment

fatphobia [18 Dec 2007|08:34pm] lick_your_heart So, I was going to post this on feminist (the community) but I'm worried that some of it will come off as fatphobic, and I also think that some of the questions are really basic, so this is sort of a test-run for the edited and more informed version I'd like to post later, with your help.  ...So.... I have been thinking about fatphobia quite a bit recently and have a long list of questions for the community: 1. what are acceptable ways to say "fat" ? I mean, Fat is a derrogatory term, and people who are trying to embrace their bodies certainly shouldn't be critiscised for disliking it, yes? I'm making an assumption here that "fat" is not an acceptable way to refer a person's size. Am i right/wrong? "Overweight" and "heavy" seem stupid to me, because they imply that weight and size are the same thing, and sort of reinforce the anglo centric view of things that if you have naturally large hips, or big breasts, a different shaped stomach, etc, you weight too much. If one is trying to embrace everyone's size as what makes each individual unique, how should one refer to "bigger" people? Is there a term that big women prefer? If I'm saying anything amazingly stupid and offensive here, can someone let me know so I can change this post? 2. I come from a family of five, where my youngest brother and I are the only 2 people who don't have what our society likes to call "weight problems." My Mum gets a little bit worked up about this, believing that we're all going to have heart attacks at 25, and die. so, there have been a lot of comments on feminist recently about how "fat" isn't necessarily unhealthy, could I have some more information? as I've always been told the contrary it's a really promising sentiment, but it's also difficult to wrap my head around. 3. I've been thinking about whether or not I'm fatphobic. I know I don't judge people by their size, because of my family it's not something I really see. I also understand that people have a lot of reasons to be overweight, given that we eat very healthy food, and excercise but still can't become "skinny", so I have no problem with size. However, after reading a lot of recent posts I noticed something about myself; despite the fact that I like to think I am not vain, I am largely disinterested in fashion, don't wear heels, pluck eyebrows, shave etc.. (not necessarily as a statement, more because I don't want to and don't see the need.) However, I am terrified of putting on weight. Is this a type of Fat phobia? me saying "I love big people, I just don't want to be one", or is it just me recognising that my weight gives me privelige that makes my life easier than the lives of others? 4. what do people think of songs like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89GB7z_Ogt0 ? ("big girl you are beautiful"- Mika) This one in particular, but also other similar songs, such as "i like big butts" ? I personally loved this song initially, I thought lines like " a whole lot of woman needs a whole lot more" didn't seem sarcastic, but empowering. however, I noticed that none of his other video clips (that I have seen) contain women of size, so is it just a publicity stunt? Do items of popular culture like this, that challenge the stereotypes actually help, or do they just make us all feel like we're over our prejudices, so we don't have to confront them? (did that make sense?) thanks very much. 18 comments|post comment

[16 Dec 2007|05:51am] kschap This is something I've been thinking about for a couple weeks or so now. I'm kind of scared to bring it up at all at the risk of sounding ignorant or transphobic or something like that. I do not believe I'm anything of the sort, and I really just want others' opinions on this so that I can think about it from different perspectives and come to some kind of conclusion, or something. Keep in mind I'm not entirely sure how to word what I'm getting at, so I'm hoping the comments will clarify some of my thoughts as well. If it's not an appropriate thing to post here, please, let me know. :) I watched some sort of documentary show recently on the Discovery Health Channel about male-to-female transsexuals, and I noticed that the two or three who were interviewed for the show seemed to fulfill the "beauty stereotype": they had long hair, and they wore makeup, skirts, high-heels, typical "women's clothing". I remember also being struck by one of them getting coaching from a woman on "feminine behavior": how to cross your legs "like a woman," how to walk "like a woman," different mannerisms that women have, etc. Now, I'm a cisgendered female. I don't think I'm a "typical" female, whatever that means, because I don't do a lot of things that our culture (I'm in the US) seems to think women "should" do; but I feel that I am a woman and feel no desire to identify as anything else. And I don't think that I do the above things. Or maybe it's just that they're so ingrained in me that I don't notice them, I'm not sure. But I was a bit... bothered that these trans people were going to such lengths to more fully become female. I don't think women need to wear dresses or otherwise dress provocatively to be female. (If they want to, that's fine.) I don't think women should have to wear makeup and shave every square inch of their bodies to be female. (If they want to, that's fine.) I think it's just a bunch of BS that society imposes on us, and I'm offended by that, and I'm offended on the behalf of these transwomen who think they have to do these things every day to be considered a woman. It should be what's in your heart that's important. But I'm sure, being biologically female, that there are things I'm not taking into consideration here. Do they just go through these things in order to become more feminine, because they are THAT used to their male identities? Are they "overcompensating" for a lifetime of not having been physically what they felt they were supposed to be? Do they just feel they need every ounce of help they can get, in order to pass? Ultimately, do they think that all of these things are what make a woman? Maybe they just like dresses and makeup, and that's totally fine with me. I just don't think these are things that necessarily have to be part of a woman's world... nor do I think they are JUST for women. You know? *sigh* Hopefully that made sense to you all and didn't come off as totally boorish. Input is very much appreciated, and and links/books/other resources would be awesome, too. :) 8 comments|post comment

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