Feminism | Posted by Zad B on 10/30/2009

The Hairy Legs Dilemma

the joy of shaving

I am a very hairy person.

I’m okay with that, for the most part, but it seems the rest of the world isn’t.

I turn on tv (or the computer, or a magazine) and am immediately faced with an ad for an (incredibly painful) device that promises to give you sensual smooth skin, that will last for a whole five days!

The thought of shaving every five fucking days gives me shivers. My skin happens to be very sensitive. It does not enjoy being pulled from every pore. In fact, every time I shave I am bought to near tears by the piercing pain I feel. Nonetheless I do it. I purposefully hurt myself to change my natural body and fit the stereotype of what a girl is that society…

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Uncategorized | Posted by Becka W on 10/29/2009

Our Rights to Privacy Don’t Just Stop in Oklahoma

Oh, Oklahoma. No no no no no.

On November first, a law in Oklahoma will go into effect that collects personal details about every single abortion preformed in the state and post them on a public website. This will cost Oklahoma $281,285 the first year and $256,285 each year after that.

These details include the date of the abortion, the county in which the abortion was preformed, the age, race, and marital status of the mother, the years of education the mother has, the state or country of residence of the mother, the total number of previous pregnancies of the mother; including the number of live births, miscarriages, and induced abortions. (info via Feministing)

And these are only the first eight questions. I really honestly don’t understand the point of this. What does spending all this money to obtain…

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Awareness | Posted by Sheridan T on 10/28/2009

Speaking Out Against CPC’s

CPC's

The Feminist Majority Campus Team has declared the week of Halloween (October 25-31) The CPC Week of Action, aimed at exposing Crisis Pregnancy Centers for what they really are: Pro-life organizations preying on vulnerable women and feeding them fear and guilt when it comes to abortion.

Seriously, these organizations will do anything.

Starting in kindergarten, and continuing on through middle school, I went to a catholic school. In front of our school was always a sign for one of these centers, with a picture of the Virgin Mary and the promise of someone who will “really listen to you.” It turns out this center is run by my local Catholic Pro-Life Organization, a group that holds candle vigils outside Planned Parenthoods and who try to say abortion will give you breast cancer…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 10/28/2009

The Disney Princesses and Sexism

I found this picture on feministing yesterday. Considering the response to my last post about Disney, I thought you guys might find this pic interesting.

I think the sexism they point out in the picture is legitimate as far as plot lines go, but statements like, “Her only asset, physical beauty…” and “her only asset, sexuality” get to me a little bit. Sure, I think Disney created some pretty sexist characters here. But they weren’t exactly dumb bimbos who acted without any purpose throughout the entirety of the movies.

As I recall, I actually identified with Belle quite a bit because we were both voracious readers. I’d say an appetite for literature is a pretty good asset to have. And Jasmine was totally empowered by demanding to marry only who she wanted.

So, yes, these…

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Feminism | Posted by Chelsea H on 10/28/2009

Dealing With Parents…

parents…

I live in an extremely Republican environment, and I identify as a Democrat. I am an extremely involved member in my Young Democrats Club at my school.  I was in the process of letting my mother know that I was campaigning for our upcoming local elections, and my stepdad cut me off and started arguing with me.

One of the things we argued about was gay rights.  I’m not homosexual, but I still don’t believe that heterosexuals have the right to tell others they can’t be gay. So with my quick wit, I won the argument. But then my stepdad asks, “Who’s the boy?”

I said, “There isn’t one.” (Because there isn’t.)
And he goes, “Well, when I was in high school, girls joined clubs to get the boy’s attention that they were interested…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 10/27/2009

That’s Not Cool

omgz txting!

It seems to me like our parents, and other various adults, are freaking out about the technology we have available to us today. I’ve always thought that if you’re responsible — you put up all the privacy settings, you don’t talk to strangers, you generally use your brain — technology is actually a positive thing. We have so much information available to us, and I think social networking is healthy, and a good thing for kids to learn how to do. And you don’t hear about 47 year old sexual predators masquerading as 15 year old guys (or girls…) so much anymore. Unless that’s more because it’s not fresh news, rather than it’s not occurring.

But as one of my former teachers recently observed, “Technology is sucking the emotions from…

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Awareness, Feminism | Posted by Sarah F on 10/26/2009

Feminist Action Can Save Lives

Living as a white teenage feminist in America, surrounded by so many other white teenage feminists, it’s so easy to forget that feminism is so much more than just you and me. It’s easy to forget that that there are several teenagers out there just like us who are less fortunate, and whose daily terrors are more than we could begin to fathom. As I went through my daily binge of Jezebel articles, I found an example of those terrors.

Bangladesh: A Brave Face

Just little while ago, ABC Australia ran a documentary by Sally Sara entitled “Bangladesh: A Brave Face”, following the horror stories of women and children across the capital of Dhaka who have been attacked with acid as a result of sexism. Some of these women included are guilty…

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Feminism | Posted by Rachel F on 10/26/2009

Why I Became a Feminist

It’s summer, and I’m walking along, talking to some friends. And because it’s summer, I’m wearing a skirt, with bare legs. Anyway, we were walking, when we heard a voice behind us. It’s a boy from my year, so we slow down and wait for him to catch up. And the very first thing he says to us, as he gets close, is “Hey Rachel, you should really get some fake tan on those legs.”

Now, there are so many things wrong with this statement. Firstly, of course, there’s the implication that I ought to conform to his standards of beauty, which exclude anyone who isn’t blonde, tanned, a size 8 and (basically) a Page 3 girl. Then there’s the fact that he thinks that he has the right to say…

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