Goddess Musings
Musings of a baseball loving feminist in Chicago
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
35 years of Ms.
WOW...the hubby & Ms. are the same age! Well on Friday anyway. *wink*
This anniversary issue is definitely one to pick up. If only for the Wonder Woman cover. It's one of those big pictures made up of smaller pictures. I forget what the term is actually called, but it's nifty & I love it.
What else is 35 this year? Title IX. Yeah, baby. It's really sad that so many people associate Title IX with just sports or even worse with angry pouting wrestlers who want to dismantle Title IX. It is far more than just that and even the most uncoordinated woman can learn to love women's sports. Believe me, I have to be one of the most uncoordinated semi-jocks you'll ever meet. I have no idea how I ever thought I could be a gymnast.
The six-page spread on Title IX covers its history, the gains we have made, and really highlights the way it was essential to increasing women's presence in science & engineering fields. How successful is Title IX? When my dentist saw me reading the article, as I was way high on anesthesia, he started in on 'reverse discrimination'. Yes, I went into my wisdom tooth extraction debating whether or not there is a lack of men in colleges & universities.
There is also a six-page spread on "What have feminism & Ms. magazine meant to you?" Sure we have the expected characters chiming in, Gloria, Whoopi, Alice Walker, and such. We love reading their thoughts, but what I loved best were the quotes from women in organizations that I hadn't heard of before or we don't usually hear from - the second tier feminist celebs. It was also awesome to see organizational comments as well and not just the "leader" speaking.
"Police Beat" is a fabu article on how the women's community came together in Pittsburgh to protest officers who were promoted DESPITE having domestic violence acts in their past. Of course, I know the fabu feminist who wrote the piece, so I'm a bit biased...but it's still a great story, that is still continuing, of women fighting back.
The piece on feminist media was pretty good. Seeing that I'm pretty familiar with the reasons why we need feminist media, it didn't hit me hard. BUT if you're not familiar with the scene, you must read it. Just because we see more and more women on TV reading us the news, doesn't mean we're getting feminist news. Elle magazine also has a piece currently on women in media & beauty standards. Nothing too new, but still a good read.
Martha Burk's column this issue is on women giving to candidates. It makes a lot of sense to think that if we just give more to candidates & PACs, women might have more political power. I just can't totally buy into it. Yes, I think EMILY's List kicks ass, but I'm still pissed about the whole Christine Cegelis snub. I rarely give to candidates, so when I do, it means a lot. Should I give my $50 to a candidate instead of to a non-profit? Not so sure. Should I give $50 to a candidate instead of that nice white dress shirt I bought yesterday? Maybe. But if you saw the state of my other white shirts, you'd buy ME another white shirt. But good food for thought.
There's a great review for what I expect to be a mind-blowing book, "Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System." WBB will dive into our society's obsession with incarcerating people, especially women & women of color. It touches on how racism collides behind bars, the devaluing of women who were involved in sex work, and how expected gender roles are reinforced. I know enough people to get the basic image of what is at play, but I think this book will allow me to learn what I should really know in order to advocate for women, all women, being treated as human beings.
And topping off my review of the magazine is one of my favorite medical providers - Dr. Susan Love. Gotta love a doctor named Love! Along with Sue Rochman, they provide in a short op-ed asking us to question why we, individually & collectively, run to grasp new detection devices for breast cancer instead of focusing on prevention.
The website doesn't have the cover image yet, so I assume that since I subscribe, I have an early copy. So watch your magazine racks and grab it when you spot it.
Technorati tags: feminism, Ms. magazine, Title IX, women in prison
This anniversary issue is definitely one to pick up. If only for the Wonder Woman cover. It's one of those big pictures made up of smaller pictures. I forget what the term is actually called, but it's nifty & I love it.
What else is 35 this year? Title IX. Yeah, baby. It's really sad that so many people associate Title IX with just sports or even worse with angry pouting wrestlers who want to dismantle Title IX. It is far more than just that and even the most uncoordinated woman can learn to love women's sports. Believe me, I have to be one of the most uncoordinated semi-jocks you'll ever meet. I have no idea how I ever thought I could be a gymnast.
The six-page spread on Title IX covers its history, the gains we have made, and really highlights the way it was essential to increasing women's presence in science & engineering fields. How successful is Title IX? When my dentist saw me reading the article, as I was way high on anesthesia, he started in on 'reverse discrimination'. Yes, I went into my wisdom tooth extraction debating whether or not there is a lack of men in colleges & universities.
There is also a six-page spread on "What have feminism & Ms. magazine meant to you?" Sure we have the expected characters chiming in, Gloria, Whoopi, Alice Walker, and such. We love reading their thoughts, but what I loved best were the quotes from women in organizations that I hadn't heard of before or we don't usually hear from - the second tier feminist celebs. It was also awesome to see organizational comments as well and not just the "leader" speaking.
"Police Beat" is a fabu article on how the women's community came together in Pittsburgh to protest officers who were promoted DESPITE having domestic violence acts in their past. Of course, I know the fabu feminist who wrote the piece, so I'm a bit biased...but it's still a great story, that is still continuing, of women fighting back.
The piece on feminist media was pretty good. Seeing that I'm pretty familiar with the reasons why we need feminist media, it didn't hit me hard. BUT if you're not familiar with the scene, you must read it. Just because we see more and more women on TV reading us the news, doesn't mean we're getting feminist news. Elle magazine also has a piece currently on women in media & beauty standards. Nothing too new, but still a good read.
Martha Burk's column this issue is on women giving to candidates. It makes a lot of sense to think that if we just give more to candidates & PACs, women might have more political power. I just can't totally buy into it. Yes, I think EMILY's List kicks ass, but I'm still pissed about the whole Christine Cegelis snub. I rarely give to candidates, so when I do, it means a lot. Should I give my $50 to a candidate instead of to a non-profit? Not so sure. Should I give $50 to a candidate instead of that nice white dress shirt I bought yesterday? Maybe. But if you saw the state of my other white shirts, you'd buy ME another white shirt. But good food for thought.
There's a great review for what I expect to be a mind-blowing book, "Women Behind Bars: The Crisis of Women in the U.S. Prison System." WBB will dive into our society's obsession with incarcerating people, especially women & women of color. It touches on how racism collides behind bars, the devaluing of women who were involved in sex work, and how expected gender roles are reinforced. I know enough people to get the basic image of what is at play, but I think this book will allow me to learn what I should really know in order to advocate for women, all women, being treated as human beings.
And topping off my review of the magazine is one of my favorite medical providers - Dr. Susan Love. Gotta love a doctor named Love! Along with Sue Rochman, they provide in a short op-ed asking us to question why we, individually & collectively, run to grasp new detection devices for breast cancer instead of focusing on prevention.The website doesn't have the cover image yet, so I assume that since I subscribe, I have an early copy. So watch your magazine racks and grab it when you spot it.
Technorati tags: feminism, Ms. magazine, Title IX, women in prison
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Flickr + Blogger = Feminist Photo Fame
Back in April I blogged about the Spring issue of Ms. Magazine and used the more adorable mother-daughter photo I've ever seen as the framing. Guess what? Ms. Magazine published it! As someone who ALWAYS reads the letters section of my magazines before doing my skimming of the issue, I was so happy to see that photo in there. So do Flickr photos qualify for the Pulitzer?
Following up on the "1,024 Things to do with a Women's Studies Degree" article, we hear from seven women doing amazing work in education, business, YWCA, family coach, law clerk, nonprofit, and social work. Outside of the business woman, everyone else seemed to fall into the expected fields. Did Ms. only get letters from do-gooders? (Don't fret, I'm one too!) If not, we need to hear from the police officers, fire fighters, and big corporate attorneys? OK, the woman working in education use to work in vehicle repair and waste management, that's outside the expected. So if you're reading this and you have a career where people think, "You have a what degree?" write in and let Ms. know about it.
Jessica & the gang must be utterly swamped to have not seen that she's quoted on the "Lest We Forget" column from her Colbert Report appearance. We also get a kick ass quote from Ellen Barkin, "Any woman in the year 2007 who says she's not a feminist is either a moron or has been living under a rock." Too bad her Ocean's 13 character wasn't beaten by mere sex games.
Here's where print media is far behind the blogosphere: There's a two page article on birth control prices going up on college campuses that we discussed months ago.
Here's why print media is sometimes better than the blogosphere: Ms. used the birth control pricing to wrap up many of the anti-birth control policies of the Bush Administration including conveniently leaving out EC in sexual-assault treatment handbooks, abstinence-only education, pharmacist refusal, and the freezing of Title X funds (which result in a real life decrease in funding). A few pages later we get a mind-blowing story about how abstinence-only money is being funneled into crisis pregnancy centers. Forgive me if I missed this one online, but my tax dollars are paying for tiny fetus dolls? WTF!
The cover story is about the latest USSC rulings. I skipped these stories because it's too depressing. I will read them eventually, but right now, I want to focus on other things.
Like human trafficking! I'll admit that while I know a lot of people are trafficked into slave work, I do first think of prostitution first. "The Invisible Ones" will change that in your head too:
There's some hope. In the next year there will be, hopefully, a reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Some of the items advocates hope to get into the legislation include "untying T visas from requirement that victims cooperate with law enforcement...[and] establish[ing] a database on patterns of trafficking. Sweatshop labor is key to this debate. Julie A. Su, co-founder of Sweatshop Watch, notes that "the situation won't improve greatly until the public becomes aware and outraged by the conditions under which a pair of pants was sewn, or produce was picked." It is suggested that "laws that require "sweatshop free" labeling in garments & on food products would increase consumer awareness and pressure for change." Hey, it worked for the dolphins!
There's also an amazing piece on how the plastic surgery industry is co-opting feminism. I know that I freaked out a bit when I noticed that at the same place I get my nails done I can also get Botox. Um, isn't that a medical procedure? What really threw me for a loop was this: "One Maryland college professor found that [injectables are being sold to physicians who aren't even cosmetic surgeons] during her annual Pap smear appointment, when her gynecologist offered to 'take care of her elevens' - unknit the 'teacher's frown' between her brows - with Botox." WHA??? You go in for a Pap and leave with a frozen forehead? Um, no thanks.
My favorite article has to be "Bluegrass Liberation" that highlighted the feminist revolution going on in bluegrass. Uncle Earl, Murphy Henry, Alison Krauss (first lady of contemp bluegrass), and Rhonda Vincent are discussed. While Vincent dodges the feminist question, she does tip her hat to the movement (She can teach a few ungrateful pop stars/actresses a thing or two). And it's not that the revolution began in the 1990s...Women have been kicking ass for over a century. The best part of this article? Not just finding new names to listen to (remember, I love country music!), but that Martha Burk wrote this article. Yes, the same Martha Burk that lead the protest at the Masters and is the money editor at Ms. Gotta love multi-skilled feminists. Maybe the next time I see her at a con, I'll have the nerve to ask her what's on her iPod.
We also can learn more about how women leading the green movement in business, the fear mongering behind bone density testing, and couples very much in love bucking the marriage train. That's not it, Nikki Ayanna Stewart asks black girls to use their voice and tell us, instead of letting the media tell us, what they think and want in life. So much more good stuff is in here.
So Ms. Magazine...I gotta tell ya, I think you're coming around. Considering that I met your online editor at Blogher, I can see why. But then again, now my expectations have risen! Hey Rochelle!
Ms. Magazine's Summer issue is on sale now. So if it hasn't shown up in your mailbox, hit your local (independent) bookstore and grab it.
Following up on the "1,024 Things to do with a Women's Studies Degree" article, we hear from seven women doing amazing work in education, business, YWCA, family coach, law clerk, nonprofit, and social work. Outside of the business woman, everyone else seemed to fall into the expected fields. Did Ms. only get letters from do-gooders? (Don't fret, I'm one too!) If not, we need to hear from the police officers, fire fighters, and big corporate attorneys? OK, the woman working in education use to work in vehicle repair and waste management, that's outside the expected. So if you're reading this and you have a career where people think, "You have a what degree?" write in and let Ms. know about it.
Jessica & the gang must be utterly swamped to have not seen that she's quoted on the "Lest We Forget" column from her Colbert Report appearance. We also get a kick ass quote from Ellen Barkin, "Any woman in the year 2007 who says she's not a feminist is either a moron or has been living under a rock." Too bad her Ocean's 13 character wasn't beaten by mere sex games.
Here's where print media is far behind the blogosphere: There's a two page article on birth control prices going up on college campuses that we discussed months ago.
Here's why print media is sometimes better than the blogosphere: Ms. used the birth control pricing to wrap up many of the anti-birth control policies of the Bush Administration including conveniently leaving out EC in sexual-assault treatment handbooks, abstinence-only education, pharmacist refusal, and the freezing of Title X funds (which result in a real life decrease in funding). A few pages later we get a mind-blowing story about how abstinence-only money is being funneled into crisis pregnancy centers. Forgive me if I missed this one online, but my tax dollars are paying for tiny fetus dolls? WTF!
The cover story is about the latest USSC rulings. I skipped these stories because it's too depressing. I will read them eventually, but right now, I want to focus on other things.
Like human trafficking! I'll admit that while I know a lot of people are trafficked into slave work, I do first think of prostitution first. "The Invisible Ones" will change that in your head too:
In the entire U.S., there are only a handful of shelters devoted entirely to victims of trafficking, and the situation is unlikely to improve i the near future...Now, over half the federal money available for victim servies no longer goes directly to nonprofit service providers, but instead is given to intermediaries, primarliy the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services....The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bisops also requires that srvice providers stipulate that they won't hand out condoms or provide referral for abortion.Yes, you read that right. Women who find shelter with agencies governed by the Catholic church can't get condoms or find out about abortion services. The article talks about how non-sex work trafficked women are subjected to sex abuse, rape, and torture. Can you imagine what it would be like to finally find shelter, discover the asshat who kept you for years and raped you had impregnated you? Then for your shelter to have to shrug their shoulders when you ask about getting an abortion?
There's some hope. In the next year there will be, hopefully, a reauthorization of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Some of the items advocates hope to get into the legislation include "untying T visas from requirement that victims cooperate with law enforcement...[and] establish[ing] a database on patterns of trafficking. Sweatshop labor is key to this debate. Julie A. Su, co-founder of Sweatshop Watch, notes that "the situation won't improve greatly until the public becomes aware and outraged by the conditions under which a pair of pants was sewn, or produce was picked." It is suggested that "laws that require "sweatshop free" labeling in garments & on food products would increase consumer awareness and pressure for change." Hey, it worked for the dolphins!
There's also an amazing piece on how the plastic surgery industry is co-opting feminism. I know that I freaked out a bit when I noticed that at the same place I get my nails done I can also get Botox. Um, isn't that a medical procedure? What really threw me for a loop was this: "One Maryland college professor found that [injectables are being sold to physicians who aren't even cosmetic surgeons] during her annual Pap smear appointment, when her gynecologist offered to 'take care of her elevens' - unknit the 'teacher's frown' between her brows - with Botox." WHA??? You go in for a Pap and leave with a frozen forehead? Um, no thanks.
My favorite article has to be "Bluegrass Liberation" that highlighted the feminist revolution going on in bluegrass. Uncle Earl, Murphy Henry, Alison Krauss (first lady of contemp bluegrass), and Rhonda Vincent are discussed. While Vincent dodges the feminist question, she does tip her hat to the movement (She can teach a few ungrateful pop stars/actresses a thing or two). And it's not that the revolution began in the 1990s...Women have been kicking ass for over a century. The best part of this article? Not just finding new names to listen to (remember, I love country music!), but that Martha Burk wrote this article. Yes, the same Martha Burk that lead the protest at the Masters and is the money editor at Ms. Gotta love multi-skilled feminists. Maybe the next time I see her at a con, I'll have the nerve to ask her what's on her iPod.
We also can learn more about how women leading the green movement in business, the fear mongering behind bone density testing, and couples very much in love bucking the marriage train. That's not it, Nikki Ayanna Stewart asks black girls to use their voice and tell us, instead of letting the media tell us, what they think and want in life. So much more good stuff is in here.
So Ms. Magazine...I gotta tell ya, I think you're coming around. Considering that I met your online editor at Blogher, I can see why. But then again, now my expectations have risen! Hey Rochelle!
Ms. Magazine's Summer issue is on sale now. So if it hasn't shown up in your mailbox, hit your local (independent) bookstore and grab it.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Next Wave
If this isn't the most beautiful photo I've seen, I don't know what is.
I received the current issue of Ms. in the mail a few days ago. As faithful readers know, I have a love/hate relationship with Ms. I chalk it up to my evolving feminism and their inability to really reach out to younger feminists. By this photo, hopefully this kick ass mom will help with that bridge.
So what's inside this issue? Racism, Iraq, Germs, Global Warming, HPV, Immigration, and Taxes.
The article I most looked forward to is hyped on the cover as "1,024 things to do with a Women's Studies Degree." As someone with two women's studies minors and a hubby who loves to quote Alex P. Keaton, "Women's Studies...haha!" this topic is near and dear to me. While inside there is not a list of exactly 1.024 things that can be done with a Women's Studies degree, it does discuss the evolution of students who earn Women's Studies degrees.
"In the early years, women's studies graduates tended to work on gender-specific issues, getting jobs in battered-women's shelters and rape crisis centers," [Beverly Guy-Sheftall] says. "But more and more we have students going into public health, international policy, journalism, electoral politics, film-making, K-12 education and other careers that allow them to effect large-scale change."Which is how I feel about my degrees. While I my programs didn't offer full degrees, only minors and concentrations, I knew that combining my majors with Women's Studies would give my education a fuller view of my major field.
"The Talibanization of Iraq" is a must read. Whether or not you support the Iraq War or want the troops home today, the fact is that women are worse off today than before our invasion. Iraqi women share a similar history with Afgani women - We used them to justify the war. Rape rooms, the Taliban, and burkas were the way the administration and the media wanted us to see them. Today Iraqi women are too scared to leave their homes to work, shop, or organize for a better life. Women and girls are being kidnapped, tortured, raped, and killed.
Many of the bodies of women and girls who are raped and killed are not getting claimed, because families are too fearful or ashamed to identify them."What's Up With Kansas?" is the bright spot of this issue. Normally the butt of jokes, Kansas was at the center of a progressive revolution thanks to the 2006 elections. "Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius was re-elected with 58 percent of the vote - against an anti-abortion Republican bent on abolishing the estate tax - although less than a third of Kansas voters are registered Democrats." Take a second to let that soak in. And that's not it. Kansas voters voted out Atty. Gen. Kline and a handful of state legislators who switched from the GOP to the Democratic party were reelected. So what is up with Kansas? You gotta read to find out.
Feminist economics has become a growing obsession with me since I took my first econ course in graduate school. I'm thinking I might be a kick ass econ professor by now if my fear of econ hadn't keep me out of that class for 25 years. Martha Burk gives us a wonderful essay on why taxes is a feminist issue. Some of Martha's suggestions are right on including not privatizing Social Security and removing the cap. Did you know everyone who earns more than $97,500 pays the same amount into Social Security as Donald Trump and Tom Cruise?
My one criticism is that Martha posits that paid family leave where full benefits would require dads to take leave would not help single moms. I'm assuming because being a single mom means the dad skipped town. I think we now live in a world where unmarried parents are in their child's life.
Sandy Boucher recalls in "Working-Class Hero" her 40 year friendship with author Tillie Olsen. Olsen died January 1st and left a wonderful literary legacy. Sandy's reminisces about visiting Tillie in an Alzheimer's nursing home. The piece is beautifully and lovingly written. It brought tears to my eyes not just because of their friendship, but because quite honestly each time I read a story about Alzheimer's I think of Amy and her Papa.
"The Melting Point" fabulously shows how women have played and still are in key roles in the environmental movement. It drowns in essentialism, but it's a must read article. "But will a change in U.S. leadership - led by powerful women - begin to reverse the dire direction in which we're headed?"
Which leads me to leave you with a review of the book reviews. Since I've been writing them myself, I figured I better read more of them so I can figure out my own style. I found 2 books that will be on my to read list: Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult, who I hate to say I've avoided because her books look like fluffy chic-lit to me. Her latest novel deals with the why of school shooters and the hyper-masculinity that plays a vital role. Timely. Oh and she's writing a few issues of Wonder Woman too. Why didn't y'all tell me she was like this?
Sexual Decoys by Zillah Eisenstein gets to the heart of that oft-asked question, "Why don't feminists celebrate Condi's power?" Because she's not a feminist asshat. From Condi to Abu Ghraib, Eisenstein reminds us feminists and explains to the rest of society that feminism is about not just about how many women are in power, but what they do with that power.
I could go on and on about the current issue, but I won't. This is already bordering on the world's longest blog post and I hate those! Not to mention that it's so long I needed to make the font smaller. Sorry! So go hit your local feminist bookstore (if you're lucky to have one) and get the latest issue of Ms.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Better late than never?
I told ya'll yesterday that I translated the fact that I felt everyone had gotten their Bitch Magazine and that the press date was last week into that I somehow let my subscription lapse...
Well it didn't. It came today.
I've eaten up about 1/4 of the magazine and have some amazing thoughts to blog about. On my address label was a sticker - Subscription expires Fall 2007. Well, I guess I'm just early in renewing!
BUT...once I opened up the magazine and saw an ad/piece on independent publishing & how mags like Clamor had to close shop, it hit me. I get one free year at Bitch because I paid for Clamor. Well off to talk with Clamor about getting that free year. Maybe I won't have to pay for Bitch until 2010?
Well it didn't. It came today.
I've eaten up about 1/4 of the magazine and have some amazing thoughts to blog about. On my address label was a sticker - Subscription expires Fall 2007. Well, I guess I'm just early in renewing!
BUT...once I opened up the magazine and saw an ad/piece on independent publishing & how mags like Clamor had to close shop, it hit me. I get one free year at Bitch because I paid for Clamor. Well off to talk with Clamor about getting that free year. Maybe I won't have to pay for Bitch until 2010?
Labels: magazines
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
How did that happen?
I keep reading all the self-promoting on certain feminist blogs about the latest issue of Bitch. I figured that it was just a tad late. Then when I checked today that the release date was last week, I thought SHIT! I let my subscription lapse. *pout*
Now to go hunt down a copy. I did renew. But I just have no idea how that happened. I mean, I get $10 put on my credit card each month to support them. How did I let my subscription lapse?
May the Goddess have mercy on my soul.
Labels: magazines
Monday, March 05, 2007
Letting Go
A blog post in many parts:
* ZuZu over at Feministe has posted another parent-bashing post regarding co-sleeping. I won't link it because it doesn't deserve my linky love. What it does deserve is a big fat raspeberry. :P
* I sucked it up and entered my name into a fabulous fellowship program. I've made it to the interview round. I am officially sick to my stomach. Winning would be wonderful, but knowing that I've gotten this far does sooo much good for my sensitive ego.
* Hat tip to Cinnamon for pointig me to this New York magazine piece on praising children. The bottom line? Saying "you are so smart" may end up hurting kids instead of making the self-esteem sky rocket. I do plan on writing more on this, but not here. All I have to say is that I *so* fit the profile of the smartpants girl who fears failure so much she doesn't try half the time. Read it. Be amazed.
* Due to aforementioned interview, I think it is time for me to resign from a few activities. The hard part will be living with the disappointment that I know I will cause. The fact that I haven't done much in the last 6 months lets me know that they will be okey-dokey without me.
* I really want to tell Ella that I did this or that with my mom when I was little. But the funny thing is that I can't remember doing most of the things I do with her with my mom. I guess that means I need to do more crafting with her.
* ZuZu over at Feministe has posted another parent-bashing post regarding co-sleeping. I won't link it because it doesn't deserve my linky love. What it does deserve is a big fat raspeberry. :P
* I sucked it up and entered my name into a fabulous fellowship program. I've made it to the interview round. I am officially sick to my stomach. Winning would be wonderful, but knowing that I've gotten this far does sooo much good for my sensitive ego.
* Hat tip to Cinnamon for pointig me to this New York magazine piece on praising children. The bottom line? Saying "you are so smart" may end up hurting kids instead of making the self-esteem sky rocket. I do plan on writing more on this, but not here. All I have to say is that I *so* fit the profile of the smartpants girl who fears failure so much she doesn't try half the time. Read it. Be amazed.
* Due to aforementioned interview, I think it is time for me to resign from a few activities. The hard part will be living with the disappointment that I know I will cause. The fact that I haven't done much in the last 6 months lets me know that they will be okey-dokey without me.
* I really want to tell Ella that I did this or that with my mom when I was little. But the funny thing is that I can't remember doing most of the things I do with her with my mom. I guess that means I need to do more crafting with her.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Bitch Magazine - The Green Issue
I've rarely felt the need to review an entire magazine, but I've rarely felt that an entire issue of any magazine was this fantabulous. So if you don't subscribe (and shame on you!) you must go out and get the current issue of Bitch magazine. Let's take this in order, shall we?
* dear bitch: This is ALWAYS the first thing I read. I love hearing from other feminists on how they felt about past issues. And thankfully Bitch publishes not just the praise letters, but also the WTF letters. I especially love it when someone writes a letter that I wrote in my head, but was too lazy to send it in.
* Ads: Did you know that in the next issue, #35 a.k.a. the Super Issue, Bitch will be accepting business-card ads on the cheap? So if you have that small business and needs a plug, check our Bitch.
* Love it/Shove it: Doesn't hurt to see my fave Jennifer L. Pozner featured again. It was sad to read that the goddess, Ani, has a guy on her label that has a song with the line: "I think Ann C0uler's got a c*nt that stinks." That's not very feminist.
* on trends: I knew that I needed to blog this review when I cited Bitch in an email exchange on 2-3 different topics earlier this week. This piece by summer wood on Oprah-philanthropy is *the* best critique of Ms. Winfrey I have ever read. It sums up almost everything that I've ever disliked about the Church of Oprah. Add to that, I live in Chicago, and have yet to see Oprah at a NOW or Planned Parenthood event. And I know locals who have written to get a tiny slice of the Oprah pie for very worthy feminist events (even topics she has covered!) without a note. It might be petty, but we're Chicago damnit! Think globally, Act locally.
* An interview with Katha Pollitt: I think I've blogged many times before how much I admire Katha. This interview has some awesome lines in it and make me love her even more. I really should have kissed her when I met her over the summer. Oh, well...there's always next time!
* Knot in our name: A piece on activism beyond the knitting circle. It is a great critique of the crafting community - at least from this outsider's view. I went to see Cinnamon on a panel last year and some of these issues were brought up and I don't feel like they were fully addressed. Particularly the dissing of 'country crafts':
* Green Heard: A WONDERFUL piece not just on the feminizing of eco-activism, but also on Al Gore as well. The Al Gore featured here is the Al Gore I voted for, not the man who kept showing up at the debates in 2000.
* Friend or Food: A fairly good piece. But one that I thought was full of contradictions, especially about women & sexuality. OOH, Aimee Dowl tsks (righty so) that groups like PETA and NOW don't work together, but does point out that PETA uses women in lettuce wraps as advertising. Then tsks NOW for not boycotting meat processors for using sexist advertising. The best part of this article was this explanation of why food is a feminist issue:
* Troop Therapy: As a former Girl Scout and someone who can't wait for her daughter to be one, I really enjoyed this critique of the modern GS movement. The need to be everything to everyone seems to have watered down the GS and their feminist ways.
* Sweet Nothings: This interview with Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb comes at just the right time. Miss Ella is learning from the media around her and it alarms her mommy & daddy. The fact that the only Latina role model for 3yos is selling out to the princess movement is even more scary.
So there is a peek into the issue. You gotta read it yourself. So get off your tush and use your holiday money at the bookstore. NOW.
* dear bitch: This is ALWAYS the first thing I read. I love hearing from other feminists on how they felt about past issues. And thankfully Bitch publishes not just the praise letters, but also the WTF letters. I especially love it when someone writes a letter that I wrote in my head, but was too lazy to send it in.
* Ads: Did you know that in the next issue, #35 a.k.a. the Super Issue, Bitch will be accepting business-card ads on the cheap? So if you have that small business and needs a plug, check our Bitch.
* Love it/Shove it: Doesn't hurt to see my fave Jennifer L. Pozner featured again. It was sad to read that the goddess, Ani, has a guy on her label that has a song with the line: "I think Ann C0uler's got a c*nt that stinks." That's not very feminist.
* on trends: I knew that I needed to blog this review when I cited Bitch in an email exchange on 2-3 different topics earlier this week. This piece by summer wood on Oprah-philanthropy is *the* best critique of Ms. Winfrey I have ever read. It sums up almost everything that I've ever disliked about the Church of Oprah. Add to that, I live in Chicago, and have yet to see Oprah at a NOW or Planned Parenthood event. And I know locals who have written to get a tiny slice of the Oprah pie for very worthy feminist events (even topics she has covered!) without a note. It might be petty, but we're Chicago damnit! Think globally, Act locally.
* An interview with Katha Pollitt: I think I've blogged many times before how much I admire Katha. This interview has some awesome lines in it and make me love her even more. I really should have kissed her when I met her over the summer. Oh, well...there's always next time!
"Becoming a parent is much too important a life event to letit ne decided by a missed pill or a split condom."
"I am so sick of [the so-called mommy wars]! It's always discussed as an individual moral choice, made by the woman in a vacuum. Where is society? Where are the men?"
* Knot in our name: A piece on activism beyond the knitting circle. It is a great critique of the crafting community - at least from this outsider's view. I went to see Cinnamon on a panel last year and some of these issues were brought up and I don't feel like they were fully addressed. Particularly the dissing of 'country crafts':
"Why does this recasting have to rely on its practitioners' distance from the previous generations, and thus from knitters' own history?"
"Not only does this ironic approach distance contemporary knitters from previous generations, it's often used as an elitist maneuver to distance crafting among younger urban folks from crafts done in rural areas."
* Green Heard: A WONDERFUL piece not just on the feminizing of eco-activism, but also on Al Gore as well. The Al Gore featured here is the Al Gore I voted for, not the man who kept showing up at the debates in 2000.
* Friend or Food: A fairly good piece. But one that I thought was full of contradictions, especially about women & sexuality. OOH, Aimee Dowl tsks (righty so) that groups like PETA and NOW don't work together, but does point out that PETA uses women in lettuce wraps as advertising. Then tsks NOW for not boycotting meat processors for using sexist advertising. The best part of this article was this explanation of why food is a feminist issue:
Anything that is so massive in its economic impact and so essential to our daily lives has implications for women in particular: Just like gasoline, housing, and childcare, meat - and meat production - is a feminist issue.
* Troop Therapy: As a former Girl Scout and someone who can't wait for her daughter to be one, I really enjoyed this critique of the modern GS movement. The need to be everything to everyone seems to have watered down the GS and their feminist ways.
* Sweet Nothings: This interview with Lyn Mikel Brown and Sharon Lamb comes at just the right time. Miss Ella is learning from the media around her and it alarms her mommy & daddy. The fact that the only Latina role model for 3yos is selling out to the princess movement is even more scary.
So there is a peek into the issue. You gotta read it yourself. So get off your tush and use your holiday money at the bookstore. NOW.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Clamor & Dixie Chicks
A quickie post for the weekend.
1. If you haven't heard by now, Clamor Magazine (who btw just merged with Altar Magazine) has a great set of articles on American Apparel. After AA read them, they threw Clamor to the lawyers. You can read the pieces right now if you want and you should. You can ALSO subscribe and get Clamor delivered to your home for only $15 if you ack now! And yes, after years of ignoring Clamor (I have enough mags to read!) I caved after reading the AA pieces. I gotta give it up for them.
In the past 3 years I have bought over 500 t-shirts for an organization I work for. About a year ago I decided that I needed to seek out a sweatshop free tee. Well all my vendors could offer was AA. I hemmed and hawed over it. I asked the vendor about the allegations against AA. They waved them off like they were flies. I went with a sweatshop tee. My logic was that if I was going to change the system, I didn't want to support the largest American based company who oh, happens, to also reek of slime.
And yes, I forgive all the progressive companies out there that bought shitload of AA sutom clothing before the allegations came out. If they continue to buy from them, well, then a talk has to happen.
2. The Dixie Chicks just sent an email out saying that they are only one week away from breaking the VH1 record for number of weeks at #1 on their Top 20 countdown. If you want to vote, just head on over and create your own Top 20.
1. If you haven't heard by now, Clamor Magazine (who btw just merged with Altar Magazine) has a great set of articles on American Apparel. After AA read them, they threw Clamor to the lawyers. You can read the pieces right now if you want and you should. You can ALSO subscribe and get Clamor delivered to your home for only $15 if you ack now! And yes, after years of ignoring Clamor (I have enough mags to read!) I caved after reading the AA pieces. I gotta give it up for them.
In the past 3 years I have bought over 500 t-shirts for an organization I work for. About a year ago I decided that I needed to seek out a sweatshop free tee. Well all my vendors could offer was AA. I hemmed and hawed over it. I asked the vendor about the allegations against AA. They waved them off like they were flies. I went with a sweatshop tee. My logic was that if I was going to change the system, I didn't want to support the largest American based company who oh, happens, to also reek of slime.
And yes, I forgive all the progressive companies out there that bought shitload of AA sutom clothing before the allegations came out. If they continue to buy from them, well, then a talk has to happen.
2. The Dixie Chicks just sent an email out saying that they are only one week away from breaking the VH1 record for number of weeks at #1 on their Top 20 countdown. If you want to vote, just head on over and create your own Top 20.
Labels: magazines
Monday, July 17, 2006
How do I love you, Ashley Judd? Let me count the ways
First it was you wearing a "This is what a feminist looks like" t-shirt, then it was seeing you root your lil Kentucky blue heart out while wearing non-glamorous pig-tails, next it was knowing that you were with me at the March for Women's Lives, and then last night, watching you on the ESPYs and bringing the house down with your feminist ways. *gush*
A group of Afghan female athletes who are spreading the sport of soccer to their fellow countrywomen will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2006 ESPYs.
The girls play in organized soccer leagues in Afghanistan. The leagues formed after a handful of Afghan girls traveled to the United States in the summer of 2004 to attend soccer clinics as part of the Afghan Youth Sports Exchange. Two of girls who visited the U.S. that summer and still play soccer -- Shamila Kohestani, 18, and Roia Ahmad, 16, will accept the award.
Seeing these amazing young women get a standing ovation by the world of sports brought tears to my eyes. Knowing that at least a few people, men and women, who might not call themselves feminists watched this presentation gave me chills.
Of course, then the feminist in my really kicked in.
The fairly long video on the life of these young women in Afghanistan was either a wonderful commercial on The Administration's side or a commercial on why we should have never let Afghanistan become our, at most, #2 battlefront. I'd say that it was both.
First it gave an impression that attacking Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks was a good thing - for women. It didn't paint a bright rosey picture, but it was fairly rosey. What it did do is make it perfectly clear that under the Taliban women were made to disappear.
Compare that to Martha Burk's piece, "Crude Awakening", in the current issue of Ms. Magazine. What she does is make the argument that oil is a feminist issue (as the cover screams). In it Burk tells us that the Taliban may not hold official power, but they do still hold some power and is on the rise.
Violence against women and girls remains rampant, including domestic and sexual abuse and forced marriages. According to the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, over 300 girls' schools have been burned or bombed. In five southern Afghan provinces, at least 90 percent of school-age girls do not attend class.
I have little faith that the viewers of the ESPYs will all take last night's video and think, "I should look into this!" but rather will take it at face value and think, "If these girls can play soccer (even if behind a military barricade & hidden from view for their safety), then everything must be going pretty damn well!"
The hubby loves to poke at me and afterwards said, "See, this would not be possible if [he] wasn't President!" I turned and said with a coy smile, "This would be better if we had just stayed there and done our job!" Of course meaning not turn and run to Iraq.
To Ashley: I still love you. I love that you told the crowd to "give it up for these amazing women." I love that you could not contain your enthusiasm. And for that, I say thank you.
Labels: magazines
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Still looking for a gift?
Join in the Bitch 10 year anniversary celebration!
Dear supporters of feminist and independent media:
Are you peeved by the insulting way women are portrayed in commercial media? Do you think publicly responding to those images and messages is important? Do you want to ensure a vibrant future of independent, noncommercial publishing?
If you answered yes to any of the above (and especially all three!), read on.
By now you've hopefully heard of the nonprofit magazine Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. If you haven't, hightail it on over to http://www.bitchmagazine.com and you'll see why this witty, informative quarterly is a critical part of feminist politics and independent publishing. For almost a decade, Bitch has been offering up informative and entertaining commentary of TV, film, music, books, and magazines while also spotlighting forward-thinking, ground-breaking feminist culture-makers.
And January 2006 marks their 10th year of publishing.
You may not realize it, but a 10th anniversary is a huge deal for a little magazine. In 1996, Bitch was one of 1,000 magazine launches. Only half of them survived long enough to publish four issues. Fewer than 100 are still around today. It hasn't been easy, but Bitch has beaten the odds for an entire decade. And on top of that, Bitch has proven that a magazine supported by readers - instead of advertising revenue - is possible.
Since its inception back in 1996, Bitch has grown to become a feminist institution, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. It's made feminist analysis part of the pop culture landscape and pop culture criticism part of progressive politics. Perhaps most important, it's inspired countless young people to feminist thought and action.
But the work is far from over! Bitch needs your support to stay strong for its next decade. So please join us to ensure 10 more years of feminist publishing.
Here's what you can do to help:
-Donate! All contributions are tax-deductible . Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/donate.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Become a subscriber! Subscriptions are crucial to Bitch's financial health, and here's why: When you buy Bitch at a bookstore, the magazine only gets about $2.25 of the $5.95 plus tax that it costs. When you subscribe, you pay only $3.75 per issue - great for you, 'cause it's a 37% discount, and great for Bitch, 'cause they get all of the money right away. Subscribing is easy! Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Give the gift of Bitch. Not only is Bitch perfect for any occasion, you get a discount when you order multiple subscriptions: $15 for the first and $12 for each one after that. Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612. Please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field (along with the other addresses) and we will manually adjust the price.
Dear supporters of feminist and independent media:
Are you peeved by the insulting way women are portrayed in commercial media? Do you think publicly responding to those images and messages is important? Do you want to ensure a vibrant future of independent, noncommercial publishing?
If you answered yes to any of the above (and especially all three!), read on.
By now you've hopefully heard of the nonprofit magazine Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture. If you haven't, hightail it on over to http://www.bitchmagazine.com and you'll see why this witty, informative quarterly is a critical part of feminist politics and independent publishing. For almost a decade, Bitch has been offering up informative and entertaining commentary of TV, film, music, books, and magazines while also spotlighting forward-thinking, ground-breaking feminist culture-makers.
And January 2006 marks their 10th year of publishing.
You may not realize it, but a 10th anniversary is a huge deal for a little magazine. In 1996, Bitch was one of 1,000 magazine launches. Only half of them survived long enough to publish four issues. Fewer than 100 are still around today. It hasn't been easy, but Bitch has beaten the odds for an entire decade. And on top of that, Bitch has proven that a magazine supported by readers - instead of advertising revenue - is possible.
Since its inception back in 1996, Bitch has grown to become a feminist institution, reaching hundreds of thousands of people. It's made feminist analysis part of the pop culture landscape and pop culture criticism part of progressive politics. Perhaps most important, it's inspired countless young people to feminist thought and action.
But the work is far from over! Bitch needs your support to stay strong for its next decade. So please join us to ensure 10 more years of feminist publishing.
Here's what you can do to help:
-Donate! All contributions are tax-deductible . Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/donate.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Become a subscriber! Subscriptions are crucial to Bitch's financial health, and here's why: When you buy Bitch at a bookstore, the magazine only gets about $2.25 of the $5.95 plus tax that it costs. When you subscribe, you pay only $3.75 per issue - great for you, 'cause it's a 37% discount, and great for Bitch, 'cause they get all of the money right away. Subscribing is easy! Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Give the gift of Bitch. Not only is Bitch perfect for any occasion, you get a discount when you order multiple subscriptions: $15 for the first and $12 for each one after that. Go to http://bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call 877-21-BITCH, or send a check to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612. Please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field (along with the other addresses) and we will manually adjust the price.
Labels: magazines
Monday, October 24, 2005
Bitch, Going Once...Twice...SOLD!
The second annual Bitch Magazine auction started over the weekend. And from the looks of it, everyone is waiting until the last minute to put in their bids. Smart move, I say. Why up the bid on a one-of-a-kind Bitch messenger bag when you can swoop down at the last minute and snag it for cheaps?
Well for one thing, I think that Ms. Cooper would like to see that bag go for mega-bucks because IT IS A CHARITY AUCTION PEOPLE! Let's raise some bucks for our favorite indie feminist magazine.
Don't need a bag? Then there is plenty of art.
There are also two Luna Pad starter kits!
The links above are just samples. There's a lot of great stuff to be had on this auction. And don't forget that the auction ends on SUNDAY at 3 pm PST. That's 5 pm in Chicago...right? But the time changes this weekend. Oh, fuck...just be online on Sunday and check in with the Ebay clock, ok?
Well for one thing, I think that Ms. Cooper would like to see that bag go for mega-bucks because IT IS A CHARITY AUCTION PEOPLE! Let's raise some bucks for our favorite indie feminist magazine.
Don't need a bag? Then there is plenty of art.
There are also two Luna Pad starter kits!
The links above are just samples. There's a lot of great stuff to be had on this auction. And don't forget that the auction ends on SUNDAY at 3 pm PST. That's 5 pm in Chicago...right? But the time changes this weekend. Oh, fuck...just be online on Sunday and check in with the Ebay clock, ok?
Labels: magazines
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Where are all the women?
That question gets raised every few weeks on the blogosphere. And my answer usually begins with Ms. Musings.
So it was heart-wrenching when I logged on last night and saw that Christine has written her last post. I'll stop here and just let her speak.
Now get over there and say a proper goodbye to Ms. Musings. While we can still read Christine, the Ms. Blog is gone. Considering that Ms. is constantly being questioned about it's relevancy to my generation and the younger feminists behind me, I so can't understand why they would let the Ms. Blog go away like this. Here's hoping that Christine has bigger and better things in store for her (and us!). Just when I thought that Ms. had finally gotten hip...Replacing Ms. Musings with a blog by Ellie - a fab feminist leader, but not even close to being a hip young feminist - and Carol Lief - again, a fab woman comic, but not close to being Margaret Cho, just won't do. At least for me. And I ain't just saying that because Christine is a fellow Chicagoan.
Now go bookmark PopPolitics.com.
And just to remind everyone how I met Christine...here's my post blasting her. Thank the goddess we got over that!
So it was heart-wrenching when I logged on last night and saw that Christine has written her last post. I'll stop here and just let her speak.
Thanks, and Good Night
This marks the last post I'll write for Ms. Magazine. I'm grateful to Ms. for the opportunity to sound off in this space for almost three years (whew!) and to all ms.musings readers and other bloggers for the insightful comments, links and encouragement. Ms. has launched two new blogs -- The Smeal Report and A New Leif -- that I'm sure you'll enjoy.
Years ago I started an online magazine called PopPolitics.com. It later turned into a blog, and that's where I'll be keeping up my cultural commentary. I hope to see you all there -- and please feel free to get in touch.
Now get over there and say a proper goodbye to Ms. Musings. While we can still read Christine, the Ms. Blog is gone. Considering that Ms. is constantly being questioned about it's relevancy to my generation and the younger feminists behind me, I so can't understand why they would let the Ms. Blog go away like this. Here's hoping that Christine has bigger and better things in store for her (and us!). Just when I thought that Ms. had finally gotten hip...Replacing Ms. Musings with a blog by Ellie - a fab feminist leader, but not even close to being a hip young feminist - and Carol Lief - again, a fab woman comic, but not close to being Margaret Cho, just won't do. At least for me. And I ain't just saying that because Christine is a fellow Chicagoan.
Now go bookmark PopPolitics.com.
And just to remind everyone how I met Christine...here's my post blasting her. Thank the goddess we got over that!
Labels: magazines
Monday, September 19, 2005
Getting our message across
This morning I attended the annual Chicago Foundation for Women's Symposium. The panel was made up of moderator, Diana Palomar, director of community services, WLS-TV/ABC 7 Chicago and panelists Lakshmi Chaudhry, former senior editor, Alternet, Lisa Jervis, publisher, Bitch Magazine, and Makani Themba-Nixon, executive director, the Praxis Project.
The fact that all these women were in the same room together is amazing. Then when they opened their mouths to discuss the issues and some questions from the audience, it was breath-taking. That said, I took some kick ass notes (withdrawal from graduate school perhaps?) and present them to you so you can hear the gospel. Of course, with my own 2 cents thrown in as I see fit. And they are notes, not a word for word transcript. Also do note that the speakers don't always answer the full question.
Palomar: The CFW believes that media is the tool for advocacy that we all should be using. It is central to our goals as advocates. My question to the panel is how to voice our priorities and views?
Q: The media is filled with the same news. It casts people in stereotypes - people of color as violent and whites as heroes/victims. How do we become more critical of media? How do we get it to cover feminism more?
Chaudhry: We have to understand that the media is much more corporate now. We also have to recognize that journalists are more affluent today and thus are removed from the everyday realities of the average person. Journalists reflect the bias of the elite and define themselves by their access to the elite. There is a gender bias as well. In the month after 9/11, there were 92 bylines in major newspapers about the terrorist attacks and only 19 were women. Why? Because war and terrorism is considered a boys topic. Women are only allowed to talk about women's issues. We can't have more feminism in the media until we have more women (generally speaking). We need to write and speak out on all topics.
Q: What have you observed when working with mixed groups (black & white, Asian & Latina) when they need to work on women's issues? [note: I know I messed up this question big time. I hope you get the gist of what was being asked.~roni]
Themba-Nixon: That words come out of pictures. How we deal with the pictures of the feminist movement? What are we losing when we ignore sexism? We give way to battles between career women and women in homes, welfare moms. Who do we value? All forms of media create a bigger picture. We need to focus on that picture.
Q: Why Bitch? How do we use pop culture to bring the younger generation to the movement?
Jervis: [Since Lisa gets this question a lot, I will point you to the Bitch Magazine answer.] The title is honest about what is inside the magazine. I see the divisions in the movement as an issue of age. Labeling the movement in waves and pitting those waves against each other obscures the real divisions. We need to look at media and ask what is it telling us? Who is paying for it? From that we can think about what we can do to shift the messages.
Q: What is the feminist agenda?
Jervis: It is important to label things as feminist. If we abandon the word, we risk losing it. We have to situate feminism within a broader human rights agenda. We have to assert that there is always something about gender in all conversations. Contextualize feminism within the world.
Themba-Nixon: People don't see patriarchy so they don't understand feminism. Much like people who don't see white privilege can't really understand racism. Need to be clear that there are oppressive systems. We need to articulate the agenda.
Chaudhry: Why do women fear feminism? I believe it is a fear of drawing attention to the inequality in our society. We don't want to make others defensive. Don't want to talk about why there is inequality. This is important when talking or thinking about women who say "I'm for equal rights, but I'm not a feminist." I got a lot of negative comments on Alternet recently when I said "Pardon me for saying so, I think we've had plenty of revolutionary movements of change headed by white males. Call me crazy, but I'd like to hold out for one that includes folks who look like me." There's great risk in talking about gender issues and inequality in progressive circles. Can you imagine the risk you would be taking if you talked about it in the NY Times? [Here's the link to the original Alternet posting and then her followup.]
Q: Can you give any tips to leaders on how to communicate feminism? Can you address using metaphors considering that most metaphors are either sports-related (even playing field) or military-related (class warfare)?
Themba-Nixon: We can shift the metaphors. We just need to be clear on who are we talking to. Validate people's reality. Tell better stories of what we do. Shift from careerist feminism (Take Our Daughters to Work Day) to a wider feminism. Talk about why we need women-only space. What is fair? Tell our stories. LISTEN to each other and what they are struggling for. Reflect in our own language. Don't be afraid of words. We need to map the discourse, a long term vision.
Q: What lessons can we learn from, mostly conservative, politicians who communicate well?
Chaudhry: The challenge is not that we have to learn and do what the Republicans do. We have to be honest, our task is harder. The appeal to the otherside is that of a world that once was, even if it is a false nostalgia. Anti-feminist ideas equate with ignorance is bliss because the fight is so uphill some women would rather pack it in and go home. Arguing for something that is not here is much harder to do. The conservatives have a lot of people saying the same thing over and over until it becomes "the truth." Repetition is the key.
Q: How can we communicate better with the undecided?
Jervis: We have to realize that indy media does feed into mainstream media. Some stories start out in the indy press and move into our mainstream press. We do need to expand that influence. We need to fund media. Train pundits. Ann Coulter didn't just pop onto the scene. She was trained. We need to prioritize the message and repeat it.
Q: How do we become more critical consumers of media?
Jervis: A lot of people agree with our ideas. We need to stop making the mistake that people don't agree with us. The polling is showing that more and more people are opposed to the war. Poll after poll shows that people agree with the theory of feminism even if they don't call themselves a feminist.
Themba-Nixon: There are great resources on the web. Youth Media Council. Media Channel. We have to deal with FOX. We need to work on policy that deal with pundits being paid to state a message. "This op-ed brought to you by PepsiCo." FOX negotiates deals with hotels and restaurants to be your background noise in the bar area. We have to ask our hotels and restaurants, "Do you have to show FOX in the bar area?" If yes, tell them they can't have your business or conference.
Chaudhry: Blogs are criticism. That's why journalists don't like them. People are drowning in information. Journalists don't state facts anymore. If Karl Rove said that the sun rose in the west and a liberal said it rose in the east, a journalist today says "make up your mind." If she were to say, Rove was full of bullshit, that would be labeled partisan. FOX has built an emotional connection to the viewers. In the same vein that Bush has an emotional connection to his supporters. Both reinforce personal worldviews and biases.
[Apologies to these fab women if I have totally gotten your message wrong. Again, these are my notes, not a transcript. -roni]
Question and Answer Session:
Q: Is feminism the real tool for the moment when class is the larger issue at hand?
Chaudhry: Class has always been a feminist issue, as well as race. But using and focusing on class may be the way to bridge NASCAR dads with feminists. Bush has been great at making NASCAR dads feel less emasculated by economics and society despite not improving their lot in life.
Themba-Nixon: Who gets to work and who doesn't is the question to ask. Being poor means being productive. People of color youth must have summer jobs. They don't get to just hang out over summer. They need to prove their worth by working for someone else. Does the healing start when we liberate men and women from their gender roles? We need to understand economic, social, and political issues. We then need to connect them.
Q: Has the increased media coverage of domestic violence and rape helped? Why don't we see more coverage of Darfur?
Jervis: Media coverage has changed a lot over the years. Heck, things like martial rape weren't even a crime a few years ago! But the media has never really told women's stories accurately. Reporters stick to the law enforcement method. They want a story that is believable beyond a reasonable doubt instead of just letting women tell their stories.
Chaudhry: Lifetime sums it up. We talk about individual cases where the woman is rescued (by a man, by the police). DV is isolated. We don't talk about the social reasons for DV. All of our success in DV and other areas is tenuous [recent VAWA funding issues is a great example. ~roni] because there is no larger discussion.
Themba-nixon: We're not doing a good job at framing DV. As to Darfur...Africa is very difficult for the rest of the world to understand (US and Europe). Most newspapers and agencies don't have reporters in Africa. They live in Rome or Portugal and fly in on occasion or have stringers in Africa sending in reports. There is this notion that the problems are unsolvable; that the people are incapable of governing themselves. We have to challenge that framework. We are global citizens.
Q: [Roni note: The woman who asked this question started off on a rant about how she'd like to go to one women's event that didn't involved man-bashing. She took Chaudhry's comment about NASCAR dads that she was bashing NASCAR dads, when in fact Chaudhry was stating that they are a likely ally of ours and we need to talk with them. The woman stated that she grew up with NASCAR dads and they aren't that different than soccer moms. This woman and Chaudhry had a lengthy exchange where they seemed to have come to an agreement that this woman, who was white, should talk with her people about feminism and Chaudhry will talk with hers. Don't take that as a diss to cross-cultural exchange, but more fodder for the "we listen to those we trust. and those we trust look like us." file. ] How do we get more men into the fold?
Chaudhry: How do we not diss men without pointing out women's problems? [see discussion above about the fear of speaking of inequality.~roni] In the end you listen to people you trust and grew up with.
Themba-Nixon: I would like to live in a world where I could kick it with NASCAR dads. We need to ask what does winning look like? We should start bringing in people who are already with us instead of trying to get those who are waaaaay not with us. There are a lot of African-American women out there who want to be in the fold. We need to just get them.
Q: Where does transgender issues fit into the feminist framework?
Jervis: Feminism is all about dismantling gender roles in society. There are tensions about who can call themselves a woman in the feminist community - this surrounds issues of woman-only spaces.
Q: [Roni note: I didn't ask this, but I'm glad someone did!] Racism exists in the feminist community. How do we create a better understanding of race issues?
Themba-Nixon: We need to create discussion space. But don't walk away. It's a hard process to get racism out of an organization or movement. We need better tools to help us talk to each other.
Chaudhry: After my blog entry I didn't walk away from the issue. I re-addressed it. We have to continue the conversation. We have to be willing to hear things that we don't want to hear. Be uncomfortable. Understanding comes from basic respect.
Jervis: White women need to understand our privilege. We need to understand racism. We have to do the work.
Q: How do we reclaim our vocabulary and the issue of abortion? [This wasn't so much a question as someone pointing out that up to that point the word abortion wasn't spoken. We did talk about health, even if my notes don't reflect it and reproductive health was mentioned. This goes back to the issue of some of us say abortion, some of us say reproductive health or justice. Read "Undivided Rights" for more on this dichotomy. Buy from here.]
Q: Are we ready for Roe to be reversed? What can we do?
Themba-Nixon: Law is an amalgamation of principles, public opinion. Law changes. We need to get out and tell pre-Roe stories.
Q: Does the rivalry between women put a damper on the feminist movement?
Chaudhry: It's a sexist myth. Men are just as bad. Women are afraid of expressing solidarity with other women because it brings attention to themselves.
Q: Given that we are fed bullshit by the media, we need to call all the media outlets and demand better coverage! [Not a question, but a challenge to all those in attendance.~roni]
Closing thoughts...
Themba-Nixon: We need better tools to communicate with each other. We need a toolkit for talking with friends and family about feminism. We need to look at our own internal sexism.
Chaudhry: Everytime you speak, whether it is in a staff meeting or with a friend, it is an opportunity to give a feminist message.
Jervis: Be out as a feminist. Make the calls. Write the letters. Make noise. And support alternative and feminist media.
[Roni note: Again, these were my notes, not a transcript. If you want to add to them, just drop me a line or add it in my comments. whew!]
The fact that all these women were in the same room together is amazing. Then when they opened their mouths to discuss the issues and some questions from the audience, it was breath-taking. That said, I took some kick ass notes (withdrawal from graduate school perhaps?) and present them to you so you can hear the gospel. Of course, with my own 2 cents thrown in as I see fit. And they are notes, not a word for word transcript. Also do note that the speakers don't always answer the full question.
Palomar: The CFW believes that media is the tool for advocacy that we all should be using. It is central to our goals as advocates. My question to the panel is how to voice our priorities and views?
Q: The media is filled with the same news. It casts people in stereotypes - people of color as violent and whites as heroes/victims. How do we become more critical of media? How do we get it to cover feminism more?
Chaudhry: We have to understand that the media is much more corporate now. We also have to recognize that journalists are more affluent today and thus are removed from the everyday realities of the average person. Journalists reflect the bias of the elite and define themselves by their access to the elite. There is a gender bias as well. In the month after 9/11, there were 92 bylines in major newspapers about the terrorist attacks and only 19 were women. Why? Because war and terrorism is considered a boys topic. Women are only allowed to talk about women's issues. We can't have more feminism in the media until we have more women (generally speaking). We need to write and speak out on all topics.
Q: What have you observed when working with mixed groups (black & white, Asian & Latina) when they need to work on women's issues? [note: I know I messed up this question big time. I hope you get the gist of what was being asked.~roni]
Themba-Nixon: That words come out of pictures. How we deal with the pictures of the feminist movement? What are we losing when we ignore sexism? We give way to battles between career women and women in homes, welfare moms. Who do we value? All forms of media create a bigger picture. We need to focus on that picture.
Q: Why Bitch? How do we use pop culture to bring the younger generation to the movement?
Jervis: [Since Lisa gets this question a lot, I will point you to the Bitch Magazine answer.] The title is honest about what is inside the magazine. I see the divisions in the movement as an issue of age. Labeling the movement in waves and pitting those waves against each other obscures the real divisions. We need to look at media and ask what is it telling us? Who is paying for it? From that we can think about what we can do to shift the messages.
Q: What is the feminist agenda?
Jervis: It is important to label things as feminist. If we abandon the word, we risk losing it. We have to situate feminism within a broader human rights agenda. We have to assert that there is always something about gender in all conversations. Contextualize feminism within the world.
Themba-Nixon: People don't see patriarchy so they don't understand feminism. Much like people who don't see white privilege can't really understand racism. Need to be clear that there are oppressive systems. We need to articulate the agenda.
Chaudhry: Why do women fear feminism? I believe it is a fear of drawing attention to the inequality in our society. We don't want to make others defensive. Don't want to talk about why there is inequality. This is important when talking or thinking about women who say "I'm for equal rights, but I'm not a feminist." I got a lot of negative comments on Alternet recently when I said "Pardon me for saying so, I think we've had plenty of revolutionary movements of change headed by white males. Call me crazy, but I'd like to hold out for one that includes folks who look like me." There's great risk in talking about gender issues and inequality in progressive circles. Can you imagine the risk you would be taking if you talked about it in the NY Times? [Here's the link to the original Alternet posting and then her followup.]
Q: Can you give any tips to leaders on how to communicate feminism? Can you address using metaphors considering that most metaphors are either sports-related (even playing field) or military-related (class warfare)?
Themba-Nixon: We can shift the metaphors. We just need to be clear on who are we talking to. Validate people's reality. Tell better stories of what we do. Shift from careerist feminism (Take Our Daughters to Work Day) to a wider feminism. Talk about why we need women-only space. What is fair? Tell our stories. LISTEN to each other and what they are struggling for. Reflect in our own language. Don't be afraid of words. We need to map the discourse, a long term vision.
Q: What lessons can we learn from, mostly conservative, politicians who communicate well?
Chaudhry: The challenge is not that we have to learn and do what the Republicans do. We have to be honest, our task is harder. The appeal to the otherside is that of a world that once was, even if it is a false nostalgia. Anti-feminist ideas equate with ignorance is bliss because the fight is so uphill some women would rather pack it in and go home. Arguing for something that is not here is much harder to do. The conservatives have a lot of people saying the same thing over and over until it becomes "the truth." Repetition is the key.
Q: How can we communicate better with the undecided?
Jervis: We have to realize that indy media does feed into mainstream media. Some stories start out in the indy press and move into our mainstream press. We do need to expand that influence. We need to fund media. Train pundits. Ann Coulter didn't just pop onto the scene. She was trained. We need to prioritize the message and repeat it.
Q: How do we become more critical consumers of media?
Jervis: A lot of people agree with our ideas. We need to stop making the mistake that people don't agree with us. The polling is showing that more and more people are opposed to the war. Poll after poll shows that people agree with the theory of feminism even if they don't call themselves a feminist.
Themba-Nixon: There are great resources on the web. Youth Media Council. Media Channel. We have to deal with FOX. We need to work on policy that deal with pundits being paid to state a message. "This op-ed brought to you by PepsiCo." FOX negotiates deals with hotels and restaurants to be your background noise in the bar area. We have to ask our hotels and restaurants, "Do you have to show FOX in the bar area?" If yes, tell them they can't have your business or conference.
Chaudhry: Blogs are criticism. That's why journalists don't like them. People are drowning in information. Journalists don't state facts anymore. If Karl Rove said that the sun rose in the west and a liberal said it rose in the east, a journalist today says "make up your mind." If she were to say, Rove was full of bullshit, that would be labeled partisan. FOX has built an emotional connection to the viewers. In the same vein that Bush has an emotional connection to his supporters. Both reinforce personal worldviews and biases.
[Apologies to these fab women if I have totally gotten your message wrong. Again, these are my notes, not a transcript. -roni]
Question and Answer Session:
Q: Is feminism the real tool for the moment when class is the larger issue at hand?
Chaudhry: Class has always been a feminist issue, as well as race. But using and focusing on class may be the way to bridge NASCAR dads with feminists. Bush has been great at making NASCAR dads feel less emasculated by economics and society despite not improving their lot in life.
Themba-Nixon: Who gets to work and who doesn't is the question to ask. Being poor means being productive. People of color youth must have summer jobs. They don't get to just hang out over summer. They need to prove their worth by working for someone else. Does the healing start when we liberate men and women from their gender roles? We need to understand economic, social, and political issues. We then need to connect them.
Q: Has the increased media coverage of domestic violence and rape helped? Why don't we see more coverage of Darfur?
Jervis: Media coverage has changed a lot over the years. Heck, things like martial rape weren't even a crime a few years ago! But the media has never really told women's stories accurately. Reporters stick to the law enforcement method. They want a story that is believable beyond a reasonable doubt instead of just letting women tell their stories.
Chaudhry: Lifetime sums it up. We talk about individual cases where the woman is rescued (by a man, by the police). DV is isolated. We don't talk about the social reasons for DV. All of our success in DV and other areas is tenuous [recent VAWA funding issues is a great example. ~roni] because there is no larger discussion.
Themba-nixon: We're not doing a good job at framing DV. As to Darfur...Africa is very difficult for the rest of the world to understand (US and Europe). Most newspapers and agencies don't have reporters in Africa. They live in Rome or Portugal and fly in on occasion or have stringers in Africa sending in reports. There is this notion that the problems are unsolvable; that the people are incapable of governing themselves. We have to challenge that framework. We are global citizens.
Q: [Roni note: The woman who asked this question started off on a rant about how she'd like to go to one women's event that didn't involved man-bashing. She took Chaudhry's comment about NASCAR dads that she was bashing NASCAR dads, when in fact Chaudhry was stating that they are a likely ally of ours and we need to talk with them. The woman stated that she grew up with NASCAR dads and they aren't that different than soccer moms. This woman and Chaudhry had a lengthy exchange where they seemed to have come to an agreement that this woman, who was white, should talk with her people about feminism and Chaudhry will talk with hers. Don't take that as a diss to cross-cultural exchange, but more fodder for the "we listen to those we trust. and those we trust look like us." file. ] How do we get more men into the fold?
Chaudhry: How do we not diss men without pointing out women's problems? [see discussion above about the fear of speaking of inequality.~roni] In the end you listen to people you trust and grew up with.
Themba-Nixon: I would like to live in a world where I could kick it with NASCAR dads. We need to ask what does winning look like? We should start bringing in people who are already with us instead of trying to get those who are waaaaay not with us. There are a lot of African-American women out there who want to be in the fold. We need to just get them.
Q: Where does transgender issues fit into the feminist framework?
Jervis: Feminism is all about dismantling gender roles in society. There are tensions about who can call themselves a woman in the feminist community - this surrounds issues of woman-only spaces.
Q: [Roni note: I didn't ask this, but I'm glad someone did!] Racism exists in the feminist community. How do we create a better understanding of race issues?
Themba-Nixon: We need to create discussion space. But don't walk away. It's a hard process to get racism out of an organization or movement. We need better tools to help us talk to each other.
Chaudhry: After my blog entry I didn't walk away from the issue. I re-addressed it. We have to continue the conversation. We have to be willing to hear things that we don't want to hear. Be uncomfortable. Understanding comes from basic respect.
Jervis: White women need to understand our privilege. We need to understand racism. We have to do the work.
Q: How do we reclaim our vocabulary and the issue of abortion? [This wasn't so much a question as someone pointing out that up to that point the word abortion wasn't spoken. We did talk about health, even if my notes don't reflect it and reproductive health was mentioned. This goes back to the issue of some of us say abortion, some of us say reproductive health or justice. Read "Undivided Rights" for more on this dichotomy. Buy from here.]
Q: Are we ready for Roe to be reversed? What can we do?
Themba-Nixon: Law is an amalgamation of principles, public opinion. Law changes. We need to get out and tell pre-Roe stories.
Q: Does the rivalry between women put a damper on the feminist movement?
Chaudhry: It's a sexist myth. Men are just as bad. Women are afraid of expressing solidarity with other women because it brings attention to themselves.
Q: Given that we are fed bullshit by the media, we need to call all the media outlets and demand better coverage! [Not a question, but a challenge to all those in attendance.~roni]
Closing thoughts...
Themba-Nixon: We need better tools to communicate with each other. We need a toolkit for talking with friends and family about feminism. We need to look at our own internal sexism.
Chaudhry: Everytime you speak, whether it is in a staff meeting or with a friend, it is an opportunity to give a feminist message.
Jervis: Be out as a feminist. Make the calls. Write the letters. Make noise. And support alternative and feminist media.
[Roni note: Again, these were my notes, not a transcript. If you want to add to them, just drop me a line or add it in my comments. whew!]
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Latinas everywhere!
In my new pursuit to be more involved in the Latina community, I've been to two events in the last week.
Last Friday, Latinas for Justice held a forum on the US Supreme Court. I went mostly to see Dolores Huerta again and hear her speak. She was fucking awesome. I had wanted to get my photo with us printed out so she can sign it, but I never got my act together. Oh well. But it was a good event and I got to meet a few new Latinas.
Last night at the W downtown, there was a Catalina Magazine tea with a silent auction that benefited Mujeres Latinas en Accion. It was an ok event. Might had been more fun if I knew more people and actually sat with them. Unfortunately it was a sit down event. I'm better a those events where you just wander around with a drink and try to chat with people here and there. At these sit down events, people usually go together and sit there and chat while eating the free food and downing the free sangria (which was fab). I did get to see "Maria" from Sesame Street upclose. I didn't go all fan crazy with her. Instead I just sat back and watched. But there is photographic evidence at the Chicago Latino Network.
Cinnamon has alerted all of us that a Latina in Ohio is running for office and needs our help. The Mexican government wants those of us living in the USA to represent. So Elena is running for a seat. You can help by visiting her campaign HQ page and sending an email to the committee who will elect her. Since I just found out about her yesterday, I can't totally vouch for her. But if Cinnamon says someone is worth my time and effort, then they must be.
Last Friday, Latinas for Justice held a forum on the US Supreme Court. I went mostly to see Dolores Huerta again and hear her speak. She was fucking awesome. I had wanted to get my photo with us printed out so she can sign it, but I never got my act together. Oh well. But it was a good event and I got to meet a few new Latinas.
Last night at the W downtown, there was a Catalina Magazine tea with a silent auction that benefited Mujeres Latinas en Accion. It was an ok event. Might had been more fun if I knew more people and actually sat with them. Unfortunately it was a sit down event. I'm better a those events where you just wander around with a drink and try to chat with people here and there. At these sit down events, people usually go together and sit there and chat while eating the free food and downing the free sangria (which was fab). I did get to see "Maria" from Sesame Street upclose. I didn't go all fan crazy with her. Instead I just sat back and watched. But there is photographic evidence at the Chicago Latino Network.
Cinnamon has alerted all of us that a Latina in Ohio is running for office and needs our help. The Mexican government wants those of us living in the USA to represent. So Elena is running for a seat. You can help by visiting her campaign HQ page and sending an email to the committee who will elect her. Since I just found out about her yesterday, I can't totally vouch for her. But if Cinnamon says someone is worth my time and effort, then they must be.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Bitchies Going Shopping
Psst...Sunday at 5 pm Chicago time, Bitch launches their first auction on eBay. These is some awesome stuff to snag, including many art pieces by the fabulously kewl Andi Zeisler. You can check out the preview and warm up those credit cards now.
Why are they doing this?
Well if you don't know, Bitch Magazine is a non-profit magazine. They aren't out to make a ton of money, they put their heart & soul into each issue, and well, indie publishing is not cheap.
So support Bitch by bidding and hopefully win a few kick ass items. I do wonder if I won the "Bitch staff cooks dinner for you and a friend at the home of publisher Lisa Jervis" if that would be a good enough excuse to blow our tax return on a trip to Cali?
This is also your chance to get some back issues that you might have missed, perhaps you lost in the last move, or just want a copy with the ladies of Bitch signatures on it.
Either way, bid, bid, bid! And stay away from the scarf Lisa made. It's mine! BAWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Why are they doing this?
Well if you don't know, Bitch Magazine is a non-profit magazine. They aren't out to make a ton of money, they put their heart & soul into each issue, and well, indie publishing is not cheap.
So support Bitch by bidding and hopefully win a few kick ass items. I do wonder if I won the "Bitch staff cooks dinner for you and a friend at the home of publisher Lisa Jervis" if that would be a good enough excuse to blow our tax return on a trip to Cali?
This is also your chance to get some back issues that you might have missed, perhaps you lost in the last move, or just want a copy with the ladies of Bitch signatures on it.
Either way, bid, bid, bid! And stay away from the scarf Lisa made. It's mine! BAWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!
Labels: magazines
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Latinas and our Black sistas
I was lucky enough to catch bits of my hermano, Alberto Gonzales, during his confirmation hearings. Well I first caught some Senator going on and on about OPEC and then I heard it. A voice that sounded like mine. Ok, not me, me...but me, latina/o me. I could have been listening to the hubby, his uncle, the guy down the street talk. He's an example of what we like to say, "You can take the Latino out of the ghetto, but you can't take the ghetto out of the Latino." He didn't have an accent persay, but you can tell a Latino is speaking.
The hubby said that he'd be happy if Gonzales was confirmed because we'd have a Latino up there. I'm not so hure I want to see a Latino in charge of torture. Yeah, in a way I'm proud that us Latinos can rise to the level of US Atty General, but am I proud of him as a person? Don't think so. I do have to give him kudos for saying the one thing I wanted him to say today, "I will no longer represent only the White House. I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the difference between the two roles." Now to hold him to that standard.
As I was driving into work yesterday I heard that Essence Magazine is taking on the Hip-Hop industry for its misogyny! About time!
"'We started looking at the media's war on young girls, the hyper-sexualization that keeps pushing them in sexual directions at younger and younger ages" Editor Diane Weathers told Daily News.
The conversation on the radio morning show was all about whether some of us are just too old to get it. To understand the bitches and hoes talk of today's HipHop Generation. It got me thinking...
Two of my favorite bands growing up used women in a similar fashion that Hip Hop guys do today...Duran Duran and Van Halen. I say similar because in the 80s having a blonde in a bikini dance in a schoolroom is parallel to pole-dancing at a stripclub today. Wait...was there a stripper pole in "Hot for Teacher"?
So are we just too uptight? Or have we just gotten fed up with the gradual dumbing down of our men? Do we really want our men to be pimps? To think that they need to take style lessons from Snoop Dog? Did white America feel so white that they had to embrace the worst parts of hip hop? Seriously, most hip hop CDs are bought by white kids. How did we let disrespecting women be ok?
I shove my booty to a lot of questionable music as a youth. Heck, we use to play "Rumb Shaker" in AP Chemistry. I tell ya, I had my slut creds. Oh, yes...But back to the music.
Somehow we bought the idea that it's just music. That it doesn't matter. But it does. No one should ever be called a bitch or a hoe. It's not a nice thing to call a woman. There's got to be a difference between open sexuality and sexual degregation. Does the hip hop generation know that?
I'm rambling with questions because I really don't know. I had hoped that my fave bloggers would tackle this one, but I didn't see it blogged anywhere I usually hang. I did find one blog posting about it thou...by a dude. An enlightened dude thou. Yeah!
The hubby said that he'd be happy if Gonzales was confirmed because we'd have a Latino up there. I'm not so hure I want to see a Latino in charge of torture. Yeah, in a way I'm proud that us Latinos can rise to the level of US Atty General, but am I proud of him as a person? Don't think so. I do have to give him kudos for saying the one thing I wanted him to say today, "I will no longer represent only the White House. I will represent the United States of America and its people. I understand the difference between the two roles." Now to hold him to that standard.
As I was driving into work yesterday I heard that Essence Magazine is taking on the Hip-Hop industry for its misogyny! About time!
"'We started looking at the media's war on young girls, the hyper-sexualization that keeps pushing them in sexual directions at younger and younger ages" Editor Diane Weathers told Daily News.
The conversation on the radio morning show was all about whether some of us are just too old to get it. To understand the bitches and hoes talk of today's HipHop Generation. It got me thinking...
Two of my favorite bands growing up used women in a similar fashion that Hip Hop guys do today...Duran Duran and Van Halen. I say similar because in the 80s having a blonde in a bikini dance in a schoolroom is parallel to pole-dancing at a stripclub today. Wait...was there a stripper pole in "Hot for Teacher"?
So are we just too uptight? Or have we just gotten fed up with the gradual dumbing down of our men? Do we really want our men to be pimps? To think that they need to take style lessons from Snoop Dog? Did white America feel so white that they had to embrace the worst parts of hip hop? Seriously, most hip hop CDs are bought by white kids. How did we let disrespecting women be ok?
I shove my booty to a lot of questionable music as a youth. Heck, we use to play "Rumb Shaker" in AP Chemistry. I tell ya, I had my slut creds. Oh, yes...But back to the music.
Somehow we bought the idea that it's just music. That it doesn't matter. But it does. No one should ever be called a bitch or a hoe. It's not a nice thing to call a woman. There's got to be a difference between open sexuality and sexual degregation. Does the hip hop generation know that?
I'm rambling with questions because I really don't know. I had hoped that my fave bloggers would tackle this one, but I didn't see it blogged anywhere I usually hang. I did find one blog posting about it thou...by a dude. An enlightened dude thou. Yeah!
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Miracle
Saturday a miracle occurred. It was small, but lovely. It didn't happen in a flash of lights or the Goddess' voice streaming down from the heavens. It was quiet and I'm sure went unnoticed in this universe until I started to scream.
My Ms. Magazine was forwarded to the new place.
Never did I imagine that a magazine would be forwarded by the USPS. After I sent in my change of address, Ms. told me that the new issue was already sent out. I was sad, but knew that I'd just go and buy the new issue. But not anymore! I have it in my hungry lil hands.
Just as fate would have it, there's a nice pic of one of our fave feminist bloggers, Ms. Musings, in the writers section. I have to admit, I have a better pic of her. Perhaps I'll share it when I get home tonight. I didn't want to blow her cover, but now she's revealed herself. ;)
There's also another fab piece by Jennifer L. Pozner on reality tv. I almost missed her by-line and began reading. Then I had to see who wrote it after the first line and bam! Yup, it's Jenn. *ha* Brava, Jenn. A brilliant piece written in a tone that conveys exactly how she talks, helps me see reality tv in a new light, gives me fodder for everyday conversation, and makes me feel bad for loving the first season of "The Apprentice." She just makes such a good case for why shows like that are bad that I get feminist guilt. Is feminist guilt worse than Catholic guilt? Jewish guilt? *shrug*
Either way, be on the lookout for the new issue. And take that picture of Ms. Musings and put it in your wallet. She's a doll.
as promised:
My Ms. Magazine was forwarded to the new place.
Never did I imagine that a magazine would be forwarded by the USPS. After I sent in my change of address, Ms. told me that the new issue was already sent out. I was sad, but knew that I'd just go and buy the new issue. But not anymore! I have it in my hungry lil hands.
Just as fate would have it, there's a nice pic of one of our fave feminist bloggers, Ms. Musings, in the writers section. I have to admit, I have a better pic of her. Perhaps I'll share it when I get home tonight. I didn't want to blow her cover, but now she's revealed herself. ;)
There's also another fab piece by Jennifer L. Pozner on reality tv. I almost missed her by-line and began reading. Then I had to see who wrote it after the first line and bam! Yup, it's Jenn. *ha* Brava, Jenn. A brilliant piece written in a tone that conveys exactly how she talks, helps me see reality tv in a new light, gives me fodder for everyday conversation, and makes me feel bad for loving the first season of "The Apprentice." She just makes such a good case for why shows like that are bad that I get feminist guilt. Is feminist guilt worse than Catholic guilt? Jewish guilt? *shrug*
Either way, be on the lookout for the new issue. And take that picture of Ms. Musings and put it in your wallet. She's a doll.
as promised:
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Bitch in Need
I'm sure that you have noticed that at the top of each post lately is a plea to subscribe to Bitch Magazine. Why have I done that? Five reasons:
5. My girlfriend Jennifer writes for them on occasion.
4. Where else can one read about dildos in such an empowering way?
3. When else can you write a check out to Bitch?*
2. I've met Lisa Jervis and she fucking rawks.
1. I love it.
I love magazines. I especially love them now that I rarely have time for books. I love Bitch so much that when they asked for people to join Team Bitch, my hand shot up like an eager kid in class.
So what does that mean that I'm a member of Team Bitch?
It means that I have an obligation to the magazine to spread their gospel.
That's why we're here reading this ditty.
Not only does Bitch Magazine showcase some of the best in feminist writing, but it is also run by some fabu feminists. It's really just a large scale zine. But together with blood, sweat, and a lot of tears.
That said, I've love it if everyone reading this (there aren't a lot of you, I know, I check the stats) could do one of two things:
1] Go and subscribe. Now!
2] Send them a donation. This extra money goes right into the magazine. They need some mucho money ASAP.
I'm in a very tight money crunch right now, but I'm sending $10. It's not a lot, but it's what I can give. Ideally, I'd send in $50. Maybe every few months I'll try to send in $10, but we'll see.
Another good way to support Lisa & the grrrrrls is to buy me a Bitch hoodie. *grin* OK, buy yourself a Bitch hoodie or panty. Just buy their stuff and let's keep the Bitch machine a'rolling!
* whiny-ass ex-husbands don't count.
5. My girlfriend Jennifer writes for them on occasion.
4. Where else can one read about dildos in such an empowering way?
3. When else can you write a check out to Bitch?*
2. I've met Lisa Jervis and she fucking rawks.
1. I love it.
I love magazines. I especially love them now that I rarely have time for books. I love Bitch so much that when they asked for people to join Team Bitch, my hand shot up like an eager kid in class.
So what does that mean that I'm a member of Team Bitch?
It means that I have an obligation to the magazine to spread their gospel.
That's why we're here reading this ditty.
Not only does Bitch Magazine showcase some of the best in feminist writing, but it is also run by some fabu feminists. It's really just a large scale zine. But together with blood, sweat, and a lot of tears.
That said, I've love it if everyone reading this (there aren't a lot of you, I know, I check the stats) could do one of two things:
1] Go and subscribe. Now!
2] Send them a donation. This extra money goes right into the magazine. They need some mucho money ASAP.
I'm in a very tight money crunch right now, but I'm sending $10. It's not a lot, but it's what I can give. Ideally, I'd send in $50. Maybe every few months I'll try to send in $10, but we'll see.
Another good way to support Lisa & the grrrrrls is to buy me a Bitch hoodie. *grin* OK, buy yourself a Bitch hoodie or panty. Just buy their stuff and let's keep the Bitch machine a'rolling!
* whiny-ass ex-husbands don't count.
Friday, June 11, 2004
Bitch Summer Subscription Drive 2004
*Please forward widely*
Dear friends,
Just about a year ago, we found ourselves in a spot of financial peril; we weren't getting as many subscriptions as we'd planned on, and were in danger of a serious budget shortfall. So we sent out an e-mail explaining the situation—and you responded in droves. It was fantastic, not only because it got us through a scary cash-flow moment (and got us more than 2,000 new subscribers!), but because of the amazing expressions of support that came along with it all--and the fact that so many people were surprised but grateful to learn how crucial subscriptions are to our financial health.
That’s why we're doing it again. Yup, that’s right: Welcome to our summer subscription drive, 2004.
Here's the deal: We depend heavily on subscriptions to continue publishing because we get all the money you're paying for the magazine, and we get it right away. It's very different from when you buy Bitch at a bookstore, where we eventually (many months later) get between $1.77 and $1.98 of the $4.95 plus tax that you're forking over. The best part of a subscription is that you're paying only $3.75 an issue, so you're actually saving money while you support us.
So if you love Bitch and want to see us stay healthy in the coming year and beyond, please help us out by doing some of these handy-dandy things:
* If you are not a subscriber already, become one today. Go to http://www.bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call us toll-free at 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612. (In Canada, a sub is US$25; elsewhere outside the U.S., it's US$40. Please use your credit card or send an international money order.)
* Buy gifts for your friends and family. Multiple subscriptions are even cheaper: $15 for the first and $12 for each additional. See info above, and please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field (along with the other addresses, of course) and we will manually adjust the price. You need to mention the discount to get it!
* Help us get the word out by passing this message along to anyone you know who likes Bitch or who you think would like it.
* Tell people about Bitch. Read it on public transportation. Leave a copy in places where people will discover it (your local coffee house, your college’s student center, the waiting room at your friendly women's health clinic, etc.). If you want to take part in a more formal effort to do this, e-mail us at promotions@bitchmagazine.com and tell us you're interested in helping to promote the magazine in your area.
* Buy Bitch merchandise! We're in the process of overhauling our apparel line, and within about three weeks we'll have some very cool sweatshop-free Bitch t-shirts, baseball tees, hoodies, underwear, and more. Check our website for updates.
* Pester your local library to buy a subscription (they really do listen to patron requests).
* Donate a subscription to your local campus women's center, community resource center, or the like.
* Make a tax-deductible donation either in your name or as a gift, in honor of a friend or family member.
With gratitude,
Lisa
Dear friends,
Just about a year ago, we found ourselves in a spot of financial peril; we weren't getting as many subscriptions as we'd planned on, and were in danger of a serious budget shortfall. So we sent out an e-mail explaining the situation—and you responded in droves. It was fantastic, not only because it got us through a scary cash-flow moment (and got us more than 2,000 new subscribers!), but because of the amazing expressions of support that came along with it all--and the fact that so many people were surprised but grateful to learn how crucial subscriptions are to our financial health.
That’s why we're doing it again. Yup, that’s right: Welcome to our summer subscription drive, 2004.
Here's the deal: We depend heavily on subscriptions to continue publishing because we get all the money you're paying for the magazine, and we get it right away. It's very different from when you buy Bitch at a bookstore, where we eventually (many months later) get between $1.77 and $1.98 of the $4.95 plus tax that you're forking over. The best part of a subscription is that you're paying only $3.75 an issue, so you're actually saving money while you support us.
So if you love Bitch and want to see us stay healthy in the coming year and beyond, please help us out by doing some of these handy-dandy things:
* If you are not a subscriber already, become one today. Go to http://www.bitchmagazine.com/order.shtml, call us toll-free at 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612. (In Canada, a sub is US$25; elsewhere outside the U.S., it's US$40. Please use your credit card or send an international money order.)
* Buy gifts for your friends and family. Multiple subscriptions are even cheaper: $15 for the first and $12 for each additional. See info above, and please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field (along with the other addresses, of course) and we will manually adjust the price. You need to mention the discount to get it!
* Help us get the word out by passing this message along to anyone you know who likes Bitch or who you think would like it.
* Tell people about Bitch. Read it on public transportation. Leave a copy in places where people will discover it (your local coffee house, your college’s student center, the waiting room at your friendly women's health clinic, etc.). If you want to take part in a more formal effort to do this, e-mail us at promotions@bitchmagazine.com and tell us you're interested in helping to promote the magazine in your area.
* Buy Bitch merchandise! We're in the process of overhauling our apparel line, and within about three weeks we'll have some very cool sweatshop-free Bitch t-shirts, baseball tees, hoodies, underwear, and more. Check our website for updates.
* Pester your local library to buy a subscription (they really do listen to patron requests).
* Donate a subscription to your local campus women's center, community resource center, or the like.
* Make a tax-deductible donation either in your name or as a gift, in honor of a friend or family member.
With gratitude,
Lisa
Labels: magazines
Friday, April 02, 2004
we have brains:
my magazine
my magazine
Please put on your imagination caps. You have been granted the position of editor for a new feminist magazine. Your budget is not a problem, allowing you to be picky about writers and advertising. What would this magazine look like? Who would be your target audience and why? What types of articles would you have and who would write for them? What would be featured on the cover?
wow...hopefully this wouldn't sound like a co-op, but if I suddenly had the money to put out my own magazine, I'd hire my girlfriend, Jennifer Pozner, and tell give it to her to run. It would be much like Bitch magazine in that it would focus on critiquing pop culture and the mainstream media. I'd give Cinnamon & Rachel columns on how to bring out your inner Martha with that feminist twist (in case you don't think Martha's feminist!). Of course, I'd have the back page so I could rant in a new forum.
Since it would be my magazine, I'd put any celebrity thru a rigorous litmus test on a variety of feminist ideas.
As for who would be on the cover? Why Miss Ella of course! lol...just kidding. Maybe I'd have a photo contest each issue for the cover.
wow...hopefully this wouldn't sound like a co-op, but if I suddenly had the money to put out my own magazine, I'd hire my girlfriend, Jennifer Pozner, and tell give it to her to run. It would be much like Bitch magazine in that it would focus on critiquing pop culture and the mainstream media. I'd give Cinnamon & Rachel columns on how to bring out your inner Martha with that feminist twist (in case you don't think Martha's feminist!). Of course, I'd have the back page so I could rant in a new forum.
Since it would be my magazine, I'd put any celebrity thru a rigorous litmus test on a variety of feminist ideas.
As for who would be on the cover? Why Miss Ella of course! lol...just kidding. Maybe I'd have a photo contest each issue for the cover.
Labels: magazines
Friday, November 14, 2003
Feminist Friday
My Friday rant is over on Bloggers For Choice.
I also have a feature on Gapers Block this week about Bitch Magazine.
It's weird cause I wasn't looking to write it and had a hard time writing it. I use such a flippant tone in my writing that I'm always hesitant to write for a new venue. I just like to write the way I talk to people which is very casual and flippant. Some of it was having Andrew edit it too. I just have this utter fear that one day someone will unmask how stupid I really am and well, Andrew's one of the people who could totally do it. But thankfully he keeps the truth under wraps.
I also have a feature on Gapers Block this week about Bitch Magazine.
It's weird cause I wasn't looking to write it and had a hard time writing it. I use such a flippant tone in my writing that I'm always hesitant to write for a new venue. I just like to write the way I talk to people which is very casual and flippant. Some of it was having Andrew edit it too. I just have this utter fear that one day someone will unmask how stupid I really am and well, Andrew's one of the people who could totally do it. But thankfully he keeps the truth under wraps.
Labels: magazines
Wednesday, July 16, 2003
BITCH
Thanks to Bee for the heads up:
Dear friends--
As many of you know, Bitch has always functioned on a shoestring budget, especially in the spreading-the-word department. Well, our mid-year financial statements show that the shoestring has gotten even stringier of late. We're falling pretty short of our projected magazine sales for the year, and to ensure that there's a Bitch next year and for many years to come, we need your help now. To put it bluntly, we need more subscribers. About 3,000 more.
Here's why subscriptions are so crucial to our financial health: When people buy Bitch at a bookstore, we eventually (four to five months later) get between $1.77 and $1.98 of the $4.95 plus tax that it costs. When people subscribe, they pay only $3.75 per issue (better for them), and we get all of the money right away (better for us).
A lot of people think that buying Bitch on the newsstand supports us just as much as subscribing. Some even think it's more helpful because it convinces bookstores that Bitch is worth carrying. But the bottom line is that Bitch is much better off having you as a subscriber than as a newsstand buyer. (Of course we'd rather have people buying it in the bookstore than not buying it at all, but I promise that stores will continue to stock the magazine, and new newsstand buyers will always come along.)
And then there are all those folks out there who say, "Oh, yeah, Bitch, I've thumbed through that in the bookstore/been to the website/read a friend's copy, and I always meant to subscribe." Now is the time to get all of these people to actually sign up!
Here's what you can do to help:
-If you are not a subscriber right now, become one today. Go to www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm, call us toll-free at 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Buy gifts for your friends and family. Multiple subscriptions are even cheaper: $15 for the first and $12 for each additional. See info above, and please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field about it (along with the other addresses, of course) and we will manually adjust the price.
-Pass this message along. This e-mail is going out to about 700 or so people. To meet our goal, every one of you would need to buy 4.3 subscriptions--or we would collectively need to reach out to a whole bunch more than 700 of Bitch's closest friends. So please send this to anyone you know who likes the magazine or who you think would like the magazine. Help us get the word out!
-Tell people about Bitch. Read it on public transportation. Leave a copy in places where people will discover it (your local coffee house, your college's student center, the waiting room at your friendly women's health clinic, etc.). If you want to take part in a more formal effort to do this, e-mail publicity director Marisa Meltzer at marisa@bitchmagazine.com and tell her you're interested in helping to promote the magazine in your area.
-Buy a t-shirt, too. We have a bunch of styles now and they're super-cute. If you're an exhibitionist, we also have very happenin' underwear for sale. (Pictures and descriptions are at www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm.)
-Pester your local library to buy a subscription (they really do listen to patron requests).
-Donate a subscription to your local campus women's center, community resource center, or the like.
Anything you can do to get us further toward the goal of 3,000 subscriptions will help Bitch be strong and healthy!
With gratitude,
Lisa
--
Lisa Jervis
Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS!
1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 515
Oakland, California 94612
510-625-9390/
lisa@bitchmagazine.com
www.bitchmagazine.com
Thanks to Bee for the heads up:
Dear friends--
As many of you know, Bitch has always functioned on a shoestring budget, especially in the spreading-the-word department. Well, our mid-year financial statements show that the shoestring has gotten even stringier of late. We're falling pretty short of our projected magazine sales for the year, and to ensure that there's a Bitch next year and for many years to come, we need your help now. To put it bluntly, we need more subscribers. About 3,000 more.
Here's why subscriptions are so crucial to our financial health: When people buy Bitch at a bookstore, we eventually (four to five months later) get between $1.77 and $1.98 of the $4.95 plus tax that it costs. When people subscribe, they pay only $3.75 per issue (better for them), and we get all of the money right away (better for us).
A lot of people think that buying Bitch on the newsstand supports us just as much as subscribing. Some even think it's more helpful because it convinces bookstores that Bitch is worth carrying. But the bottom line is that Bitch is much better off having you as a subscriber than as a newsstand buyer. (Of course we'd rather have people buying it in the bookstore than not buying it at all, but I promise that stores will continue to stock the magazine, and new newsstand buyers will always come along.)
And then there are all those folks out there who say, "Oh, yeah, Bitch, I've thumbed through that in the bookstore/been to the website/read a friend's copy, and I always meant to subscribe." Now is the time to get all of these people to actually sign up!
Here's what you can do to help:
-If you are not a subscriber right now, become one today. Go to www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm, call us toll-free at 877-21-BITCH, or send a check for $15 to Bitch, 1611 Telegraph Ave Ste. 515, Oakland CA 94612.
-Buy gifts for your friends and family. Multiple subscriptions are even cheaper: $15 for the first and $12 for each additional. See info above, and please note: If you are ordering online, the discount for multiple subscriptions will not show up automatically. Write a note in the comments field about it (along with the other addresses, of course) and we will manually adjust the price.
-Pass this message along. This e-mail is going out to about 700 or so people. To meet our goal, every one of you would need to buy 4.3 subscriptions--or we would collectively need to reach out to a whole bunch more than 700 of Bitch's closest friends. So please send this to anyone you know who likes the magazine or who you think would like the magazine. Help us get the word out!
-Tell people about Bitch. Read it on public transportation. Leave a copy in places where people will discover it (your local coffee house, your college's student center, the waiting room at your friendly women's health clinic, etc.). If you want to take part in a more formal effort to do this, e-mail publicity director Marisa Meltzer at marisa@bitchmagazine.com and tell her you're interested in helping to promote the magazine in your area.
-Buy a t-shirt, too. We have a bunch of styles now and they're super-cute. If you're an exhibitionist, we also have very happenin' underwear for sale. (Pictures and descriptions are at www.bitchmagazine.com/merch.htm.)
-Pester your local library to buy a subscription (they really do listen to patron requests).
-Donate a subscription to your local campus women's center, community resource center, or the like.
Anything you can do to get us further toward the goal of 3,000 subscriptions will help Bitch be strong and healthy!
With gratitude,
Lisa
--
Lisa Jervis
Bitch: Feminist Response to Pop Culture
PLEASE NOTE OUR NEW ADDRESS!
1611 Telegraph Avenue, Suite 515
Oakland, California 94612
510-625-9390/
lisa@bitchmagazine.com
www.bitchmagazine.com
Labels: magazines
]^23900]coral]navy],](](]]]black],]8]1]16]1]1]8]3]1]2]3]1]1],](](]^23CCC])])]Goddess^20Musings]Musings^20of^20a^20baseball^20loving^20feminist^20in^20Chicago],](],](](]black](](](]^23666](](](]^23333](](],](]75]20],](](]^23036])])]black]1.5]15],](](]^23999])])]black]^23CCC])])]^23666]30]black]black],](](]^23333](],](]^23333]^23039]^2306C],](](]^23CCC])])],](](]^23EEE])])],](](]^23CCC])])],](]black]^23666]15]3]25]20]black],](](],](],](](],](]black](](](],](](](],]black](](](],](](]^23333](](](](](],]^2336F]^23333](],](]Written^20at^20^24TIME^20by^20^24AUTH.]20],](](]black])])]^23CCC])])]^23666]30]black]black],](](]^23333](],](]^23333]^23039]^2306C]Menu]]]about^20me])www.veronicas.org/about.html]if^20you^20need^20more]pro-choice])www.veronicas.org/prochoice/index.html]The^20Pro-Choice^20Webring]wish^20list])www.powells.com/cgi-bin/wishlist^3Femail^3Droniweb@gmail.com^26list^3DRoni]buy^20me^20things]library])www.librarything.com/catalog.php^3Fview^3Droniweb]what^20books^20i^20own]contact]roniweb^5Bat^5Dgmail^5Bdot^5Dcom]email^20me]win^20with^20me])www.blingo.com/friends^3Fref^3DH58XFiY6h3KHzMDEiPojOEVhE2A]Blingo^21]I^27m^20going^20to^20Blogher])blogher.org/node/15811]Blogher]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22^22^20alt^3D^22^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^201px^20solid^20black^3B^22^20/^3E])getthemblogging.org/]Get^20Them^20Blogging^21]Reading]]]^24ARCHIVE]^20]]Labels]]]abortion])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/abortion.html]]books])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/Books.html]]ella])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/Ella.html]]family])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/family.html]]feminism])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/feminism.html]]feminist^20card])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/feministcard.html]]goddess])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/goddess.html]]health])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/health.html]]latina])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/latina.html]]misc])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/misc.html]]movies])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/movies.html]]music])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/music.html]]phd])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/phd.html]]politics])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/politics.html]]sports])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/sports.html]]tv/radio])www.veronicas.org/blog/labels/TV__Radio.html]]Flickr]]]Flickr]link]]Blogroll]]]Sample^20Link])psyc.horm.org]Good^20Link^21]Credits]]]Content^20^A9^20Roni]roniweb^5Bat^5Dgmail^5Bdot^5Dcome]No^20stealing^21]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22^22^20alt^3D^22^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^201px^20solid^20black^3B^22^20/^3E])www.blogger.com/]]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22)psyc.horm.org/barimg/bar_psycho.png^22^20width^3D^2280^22^20height^3D^2215^22^20alt^3D^22PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^200px^20solid^20black^22^20/^3E]^24PSYCHO]PsycHo^3A^20Free^20Template^20Generator])www.bloglines.com/images/sub_modern7.gif])www.bloglines.com/sub/)www.veronicas.org/blog/goddessfeed.xml]Read^20me^20on^20Bloglines]^3Cimg^20src^3D^22^22^20alt^3D^22^22^20style^3D^22border^3A^201px^20solid^20black^3B^22^20/^3E])www.veronicas.org/blog/goddessfeed.xml]RSS])www.veronicas.org/blog/uploaded_images/haloscan-718561.gif])www.haloscan.com/]Comments]sitetracker^20]]]^20]]^26^2361470^3BPsycHo}){kind=tracking}
