Post Debate and Feelin' Great

At risk of skirting the issue or twisting your words, I think Obama and Clinton both did incredibly well tonight (well, of course I think Clinton did just a tad better, but that's my bias.).

Your thoughts?

Race and Gender are the New Hanging Chads

Now that John Edwards has officially dropped out of the presidential race, white males with a yearning to vote blue will face a terrible dilemma: vote for their race, or their gender

Sound silly? That's because it is. Yet CNN still thought it was incredibly ingenious to publish a story about the "dilemma" black women face in the voting booth, since, obviously neither blacks nor women ever consider the issues when at the presidential polls.

Angry responses ensued, including one (re: amazing) woman named Tiffany, who sarcastically writes the following in response:
"Duh, I'm a black woman and here I am at the voting booth. Duh, since I'm illiterate I'll pull down the lever for someone. Hm... Well, he black so I may vote for him... oh wait she a woman I may vote for her... What Ise gon' do? Oh lordy!"

CNN has yet to publish a similar story featuring the new white man's dilemma.

Why I am Pro-Choice

(This post is in conjunction with "Blog For Choice", which commemorates the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade.)

Why am I pro-choice?

• When an inalienable matter of bodily integrity is called into question, I can't be passive.
  
• When the opposition dismisses me simply because I am a "heathen murderer", without listening to my opinions, I can't be passive.
  
• When sexism is rampant and manifested in the law, I can't be passive.
  
• When the rights of women are being limited, and we are sent to the streets to die, I can't be passive.

And I suppose what it really comes down to is: Why am I not pro-choice?

As a young woman with many more years to live, my opportunities are spread out before me, free for me to choose. Why can't my rights be the same way?

Clinton Powers, Activate!

The Congressional Black Caucus Institute Democratic debate was last night, so it is time for a feminist-slanted commentary! Hooray!

As always, Clinton and Obama were neck and neck throughout, but Clinton deftly managed to pursue the issues that mattered and was able to deflect the more ridiculous ones. She persistently kept coming back to her views on the key issues, her goals, her plans on how to reach her goals, and why her fellow canidates' and Republican oppentents' plans weren't good enough.

This skill of hers is something that her fellow canidates cannot match. Obama tries his best, but he is still wrestling with his past voting actions and how to turn those into positive things. And Edwards is just trying to keep his head above water, the poor guy. Clinton gives the people what they want to hear, she tells them that she will bring change, but she tells you how she will do it in the same breath.

Even in relatability, Clinton showed the American people that she cares. On racism and sexism , she says, "We feel so passionately about this because we not only are running for office, but we each, in our own way, have lived it. We have seen it. We have understood the pain and the injustice that has come because of race, because of gender. And it's imperative that, as we move forward with our campaign, we make it very clear that each of us will address these issues."

Clinton will hopefully continue to deliver consistantly throughout the caucuses, and if those of you who can vote give her your support, maybe this brilliant woman will be in the White House with Obama as her second-in-command.

Modest and Misogynist

In her serialized advice column, "Miss Manners" peddles her antiquated advice on matters of money, marriage, and restaurant etiquette. In today's set, a letter-writer wondered whether she was "too conservative in [her] fashion tastes when [she saw] women [her] own age dressed in the revealing styles that younger women have adopted." She explains that the particular fashion that bothers her is the lack of bras "hindering many women."

Miss Manners, who speaks in the third person as a part of her Victorian shtick, writes back: "[s]he assures you that the bad taste you observe has nothing whatsoever to do with claiming an equal right to run around with no underwear."

First off, honey, bra-burning feminists are a myth that exists only in your bonnet-clad head. That being said, feminism and bra-wearing are mutually-exclusive. There are just as many bra-clad, angsty, shaved-head radicals as there are turtle-necked, bra-less God-fearing women. Women's liberation is as "fully dressed" as it is naked. And, unlike some, it has enough confidence in it's appearance and attire to speak in the first person.

"Mights" and "Coulds" Fill a New Indiana Bill

Indiana lawmakers are proposing a bill that require doctors to tell women considering abortions that "Life begins at conception, and a fetus could feel pain during an abortion."

"This decision is a life decision, and many people who have abortions never forget they had an abortion...So I think we ought to help them as much as we can before as opposed to afterward."

"Help" them? Help them do what? Convert to your patriarchal, religious views? While I support giving any patient an exhaustive amount of information about any medical procedure, I prefer my pamphlets to have a little less propaganda.

Victory in New Hampshire, or Loss of Another Kind?

Despite a sorry 3rd place loss in Iowa, Clinton managed to win over New Hampshire in their caucus election today. After being critisized for being too "cold," "unfriendly," or "bitchy" as some will say for years, Clinton seems to have listened. In an interview after the Iowa nightmare, Clinton gave an emotional speech, pleading for the people of America to vote for her. Was it the emotional outburst and well placed voice crack that won over the hearts of the anti-Clintonites?

As the NYT article that Marissa posted earlier, women in politics always seem to be portrayed the same way; unfriendly and impersonable, too commanding and too power-hungry. It's an unfair stereotype, to be sure, but America loves her norms more than it loves war. Clinton said after her victory in New Hampshire, "Over the last week, I listened to you, and in the process I found my own voice." Is she trying to break the bitch stereotype by being another one altogether? She may have turned over the leaf of being a brutal politician for now, but it seems that the next page reveals the kindly mother figure.

Clinton's 49% win must be taken with a grain of salt. We feminists must ask ourselves, is this really a victory for women? or is it a loss? I open the discussion to you.

News Flash: 14% of Female Facebook Voters Buy into Patriarchal Myths, 34% of Men Help Propagate Them

The Question (from Facebook "Debate Groups", where users can vote in polls about the presidential nominees and the election:

Can a woman president be as effective as a man?

The Answer:

...to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world or to make it the caste.

Gloria Steinem rocks the opinion page of the New York Times with her snappy editorial about the "sexual caste system" in American politics and how it relates to both Hillary and Barack. (re: Please excuse the bad JFK pun.)

Bill O'Reilly Saves the Drama for Obama

Conservative pundit personality and foe of feminists Bill O'Reilly stormed a recent Obama rally, harassing the senator and socking it to a Secret Service agent. And although O'Reilly claims there was no Secret Service involvement or physical violence, you can see for yourself that he did indeed get physical.



Even if Obama can't save America from foreign threats and a falling economy (I have faith in the him, though!), he can absolutely protect us from Bill O'Reilly, which is arguably much cooler.

Movie Review: Should we say "ciao" to Bella?

Before Christian groups were out on the sidewalk protesting The Golden Compass, they were inside the theatres watching Bella.

Meet Nina. After being late to work multiple times, she's been fired from her job bussing tables a Mexican restaurant. As she walks away from the establishment, looking incredibly upset, head chef Jose follows her to the subway (at the expense of his job) in an attempt to console her. And guess what? Nina's been late because she's pregnant, and she's on her way to get an abortion. Nina and Jose share stories of their troubled pasts, the audience meets Jose's crazy but close family, and several days later, Nina chooses to carry her pregnancy to term with a somewhat surprising ending.

Bella is not a pro-choice movie in which the protagonist "chooses life". The images of an abortion clinic are coupled with ominous music, Nina's final decision is dramatized and emotionalized to a preachy extent. From a feminist perspective, the film cannot redeem itself with its positive attitude towards single-parenthood and alternative family structures. While, Bella is nicely written and directed well, it's highly implausible plot and lack of subtlety makes it feel more like a night at the church than a night at the theater.

Movie Rating: ♀♀ out of 4
Feminist Rating: 0 out of 4

I Suppose Our Snarky Wit is Orgasmic

According to a service I use to see how people come across our humble blog, a recent visitor was directed to Emily's A Shot at Change with Tila Tequila post after he/she typed in "tila tequila porn" in a MySpace search engine.

Isn't that just precious?

Does the Iowa Caucus Merit a Victory Dance?

The Iowa caucus is all said and done, and it's time to examine the results. Obama won over the Democratic set with 38% percent of the vote, and Republican voters selected Huckabee by a near landslide. I don't love Barack Obama (I'm a Clinton girl), but I do like him. I understand why people are crazy in love with Obama, and I do think he'd make a good President. I agree with him on many of the issues moreso than I do some of the other Democratic nominees.

As for Mike Huckabee, this is some awful news. The Christian soldier with a penchant for dieting and celebrity endorsements roundhouse-kicked his way to the top of the Republican polls by infantilising women who have abortions and playing surrogate daddy to pregnant teen star Jamie Lynn Spears. The silver-lining? In the general elections, Huckabee might as well start digging his grave (with a knife and fork, to say the least).

Thoughts?

New Hampshire Gets Civil-ized

New Hampshire law has just legalized civil unions for same sex couples, becoming the fourth US state to do so (Vermont, Connecticut, and New Jersey are the other three; Massachusetts allows same sex marriage). Civil unions give couples "the same rights, responsibilities and obligations of marriage" without violating the "sanctity of marriage" [re: making the religious right get all pissy]. While the legalization of same sex marriage throughout the world is an ultimate goal, this is progress indeed.

To commemorate this major event, I have included my favorite political and psychological dissertation [re: stand-up comedy routine] on the matter:

6 Grams of Absurdity

In a TV ad campaign for the Subway sandwich franchise, people unperturbedly refer to hamburgers and fries using the effects that eating these foods frequently may cause, such as "thunder thighs" and "blubber".



In one ad [not the one above], a 30-something woman asks what toppings are included with her hamburger. On the list? "Loss of self esteem" and "loss of boyfriend". The pound-packing effects of eating copious amounts of fast food do exist, and eating burger after burger will no doubt expand this woman's waistline.

The implied message, however, is not so tasty: if this woman becomes fat, her boyfriend will dump her because she is now ugly and undesirable. Someone's got a bad case of fatphobia. Many large girls are beautiful, just as many skinnier girls aren't (and vise versa). And to say all big girls are such because they pig out on fast food is a rude, sweeping generalization. The other suggestion, that this woman's boyfriend dated her purely because of her physique, and that her physique is her only desirable attribute, is, while possible, equally absurd.

Happy New Year!

Feministing.com has a great retrospective of 2007 from a feminist perspective. It contains blurbs detailing 2007's most terrifying, titillating, and terrific events, just in case it's old acquaintance and events you've forgotten.

Here's to a great 2008!