Feministing

Have a great weekend!

2008-07-04T20:12:04Z

We're taking the rest of the day off to venture off to roof parties and such; everyone have a fantastic weekend! Anyone doing anything special for the long weekend?

Friday Feminist Fuck You: Rush Limbaugh

2008-07-04T17:56:22Z

Inspired by a ten page article about Rush in NYTimes Magazine, I figured this was FU worthy. Rush has been spewing crap since I was a wee one and his frequently unfounded and baseless arguments are clearly constructed to be controversial, but actually affects public opinion. This is scary.

(I know I need to get a real camera.)

Thanks to George for the link.

Stay classy, Fox News

2008-07-04T17:29:49Z

Thanks to reader Monica who alerted us to this liberal comedian (I can't catch his name, anyone know who he is?) who goes off on Fox News during an interview, it's pretty awesome - but what really got me is what comes immediately after it.

Amazing.

Quick Hit: Breaking glass ceilings and stereotypes

2008-07-04T15:35:15Z

Yet another reason I'm proud to be a New Yorker.

Of the top five women executives in New York State, their businesses consist not of fashion or a perfume line, but of cars, computers, electronics, construction and envelopes.

Hotness.

h/t to MAC.

Wal-Mart prohibits HIV prevention event

2008-07-04T13:54:31Z

Are we really surprised?

Planned Parenthood of Central Washington was scheduled to hold an event at a local Wal-Mart on National HIV Testing Day where their Teen Council were simply going to stand outside of the store and hand out information about HIV prevention and testing. But the American Life League got a tip on the event, and urged their supporters to call and complain to the store, after which Wal-Mart succumbed and canceled the event.

You know, because handing out preventative information that saves people's lives is just so not okay. American Life League's statement is horrific, and conveniently makes no mention of what the event was actually for:

Planned Parenthood is now in such desperate need of customers its willing to do anything even stand outside shopping centers to lure young people into its clinics, said Marie Hahnenberg, a researcher for American Life League.
"Theyre pushing pornography and contraception onto young children beginning in kindergarten. Now parents arent even safe to go shopping without worrying Planned Parenthood will pressure their kids into promiscuous lifestyles that will increase their bloated birth control and abortion profits, Hahnenberg said.

I just love it when they equate pro-choicers with pushers and pimps. (And on 5 year olds, no less. They're big money, I tell ya!) This is the kind of shit that reminds me just how fucking insane these people are. Their supporters who called Walmart - and Walmart itself - should be ashamed that they believed these horrid lies and, in Planned Parenthood's words, "put the wishes of extremists ahead of crucial community health information that empowers people to make responsible choices."

Call Walmart at 509-628-8420 and let them know just how wrong they were.

ABC News is Weird

2008-07-04T12:53:55Z

For the low, low price of one dollar, you too can have a glowing free-floating fetus!

ABC News reported on a study in Minnesota showing that many women who had an abortion last year said they did because of the worsening economy. And this was the image to go along with it. Is it just me or is this the craziest weird-ass illustration ever?

PMS: For ladies with opinions

2008-07-03T19:46:46Z

I wanted to write a post about how annoyed I am about Midol's "Reverse the Curse" commercials. (Seriously, the curse?) But I couldn't turn up any videos on the damn internets. What I did find however, was this commercial from about 10 years ago that is a damn lot more progressive than the commercials the product has now.

It also fit very nicely into one of the double standards I talk about in my book (shameless plug alert!): "He's Angry, She's PMSing." Indeed.

So, dear readers, where are the cool progressive ads about women's health? Why are we stuck with curses and fish references? Please, if you find any cool, funny ads - send them my way!

Victim blaming at its worst

2008-07-03T18:08:34Z

Here's a charming one. Via Jezebel, we find out that the attorney for 26 year-old Kelsey Peterson - a 6th grade math teacher who plead guilty to raping her 12-year-old student - is blaming the victim by using racist stereotypes:

"I resent the term 'child.' You're baby-fying this kid. This kid is a Latino machismo teenager."

You know, so he was asking for it. Just disgusting.

Thank You Thursdays: I HEART America

2008-07-03T17:38:32Z

So yeah, theres sure a lot of work to do in this damn country if we really want to eradicate institutional sexism, racism, classism etc. Yeah, weve got major media bias and a real problem with corporate conglomerates owning everything and people being consumer-obsessed. Were still involved in a deadly, unjust war and have a big daddy for a president.

BUT, I want to take this opportunitythe day before hot dogs and fireworksto acknowledge that we also live in a country where a lot of shit is done really right, a country where there is a democratic process (though it doesnt always run smoothly) where people can change laws, get help, fight injustice. A country this is constantly striving to be better, that is made up of incredible immigrant stories, that has been transformed by feminist movements in innuberable ways. Here are five things I thank America for. Please feel free to add your own:

1. Title IX
2. Eleanor Roosevelt
3. The freedom of the press
4. Roe vs. Wade
5. Hot apple pie with cold vanilla ice cream on top

Quick Hit: Why Can't Women Sleep?

2008-07-03T16:29:43Z

Alternet has a piece up on insomnia in women (originally printed at Ms. magazine) that I found pretty interesting. I've actually suffered from horrible insomnia since I was a kid, and it was only recently (though the miracle of Melatonin) that I started sleeping through the night. I never knew how much getting a real night's sleep could change your life.

Any one with sleep problems want to weigh in?

Get well soon, Brian!

2008-07-03T16:00:02Z

Feministing friend and liberal blogger Brian Beutler was shot and seriously injured late Tuesday night in an attempted mugging. Despite being shot three times and losing a spleen, Brian is doing well and cracking jokes already. Which doesn't shock us at all.

Our thoughts are with him, and his badass sense of humor, as he recovers.

Everyday Sexism: Locksmith Edition

2008-07-03T15:29:59Z

A couple of weeks ago, my apartment lock fell out in my hand. A little disconcerting, yes. Unsolvable, no. I looked up some local locksmiths online and gave a couple a call to compare prices. One guy, a bit gruff on the phone, promised me a low price and immediate help, so I invited him to send someone over.

The guy who came was nice, but what happened when he was done was not. First of all, he charged me three times the promised price (because they hadnt understood the extent of the problem blah blah blah) and, whats worse, said that his boss required me to pay in cash in full. Since I stopped dealing drugs a few years ago, I didnt have $300 cash lying around, and ATMs give $200 total, so I asked if I could write some on a personal check. He said I should get in his car with him (PT Cruisher, sketchy friend in the passenger seat bumping bad music) and they would drive me to a bank. Um, yeah. Im going to get in a car with two strangers and go wherever with my ATM card and absolutely no scruples.

When I refused he made me talk to his boss, who yelled at me on the phone:

Me: Is this your business practiceto make customers get in cars with strangers?

Him: Look bitch, were not making you do anything! You just have to pay in cash!

Mmm.finally I convinced them to let me pay part in cash, part with personal check. When they left, I have to admit that I closed my door, turned the lock, and cried a little. Not because they got me. I was proud I stood up for myself. But because I was so pissed that if my boyfriend had been home, the whole experience would have been different.

I hate that little things, like needing a new lock, turns into a shitty experience drenched in sexism. Dudes, I just wanted a lock and to be safe. Why does that make me a bitch? It is moments like these when my feminism is reconfirmed. If I didnt have a switch in my head that turned on in moments like those, I think I would take it personally, feel stupid, maybe even let assholes abuse me. But because of feminism, I get mad, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, write a bad review online on SuperPages, and tell people about it.

Not Oprahs Book Club: The Oxytocin Factor

2008-07-03T15:12:27Z

No doubt youve heard more than you ever wanted to hear about how stress is bad for your health. Cortisol floods your system and breaks down your capacity to heal, be happy etc. Many call it the fight or flight systemthat physiological reaction to our psychological scares.

But not enough of us are aware that there is also a calm and connection system, as Dr. Kerstin Uvnas Moberg, puts it. Reporters rarely tell us that, yes, stress is bad for you, but joy, pleasure, and passion are actually good for your healthboth short and long term. She explains:

This calm and connection system is associated with trust and curiosity instead of fear, and with friendliness instead of anger. The heart and circulatory system slow down as the digestion fires up. When peace and calm prevail, we let our defenses down and instead become sensitive, open, and interested in others around us.

This system is jump started with oxytocinan amazingly complex hormone that for years was thought to only be associated with childbirth and breastfeeding. In fact, it is released at all kinds of interesting moments, most associated with a sensual experience of pleasure. I like that.

So get out there, get calm and connect. In the long run, your immune system will be boosted, your capacity for memory and learning will be enhanced, and your risk of heart diseasethe number one killer of womenwill be reduced.

Here we are again

2008-07-03T15:07:28Z

So, as you can see, we've temporarily brought the old site back. Here's the full story: We got recommended a host for the new site who is absolute shit. Even after we bought a very expensive dedicated server, they couldn't handle our traffic load. In addition, their support people are total jerks who actually suggested we Google instructions on how to make the server work. So, yeah, we're in the process of switching back to our old host and rebooting the new site this weekend. (Note to people looking for hosts: Don't go to HostGator. Ever.)

I brought the old site back in the meantime so we could get back to blogging as usual. Apologies a million times over for the craziness that was this week at Feministing. I promise we're doing everything we can to make sure when the new site comes back up, it will be kick ass.

Thanks to everyone for your support - I'm ready to cry in frustration over this nonsense, but the nice emails we've gotten have made it a lot better. So thanks...

While you're waiting...

2008-06-30T19:57:38Z

While we're working furiously to get the site back up, please enjoy one of my fave YouTube finds - Jem as Le Tigre. Right now, it's the only thing that's cheering me up in the midst of our tech catastrophe.