When I was fourteen, my dad told me that the most important thing I would ever learn was how to be alone. Granted, he said this as he took away my cell phone, Facebook and cut off all ties I had to the outside world. I was crushed to say the least. At the time, high-school-freshman-me felt like my dad was completely overreacting to the fact that I had made out with a boy, especially since he was my boyfriend. That meant something, right? And my friends had all kissed boys, so I didn’t understand why it wasn’t okay that I had, too.
However, the time spent on my virtual desert island, as sucky as it was, really allowed me time to think. During this period I spent most waking …
So, as I have mentioned before, I’m writing a book and I want to include the FBomb community in any way I can in accomplishing that task. In fact, you guys already helped me title it and everything.
Well, GOOD NEWS! I found another way to involve everybody. I want to include a “resources” page at the end of the book, in order to direct readers who are new to the feminist movement towards great feminist books, blogs, organizations, movies etc. so that they can further their feminist immersion. And who better to ask about sources of great feminist enlightenment than the readers of the FBomb?!
I’ve already thought of a few, so I’ll kick it off with a few examples:
New book from Rachel Lloyd, “Girls Like Us”, is more than a memoir—it’s a life-changing experience. Lloyd, Founder/Executive Director of Girls Education and Mentoring Network (GEMS), tells the story of the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States. She does this by weaving her story in with the stories of people whose lives she has touched, and the genesis of GEMS itself. But the stories alone are not what made this book the best one I have read in a long while—it’s how effortlessly they get to the heart of what choice really means. In short, “Girls Like Us” is where theory and practice, activism and ideology, all sing in perfect harmony.
As a feminist, I feel that the concept of “choice” is an ideological cornerstone. That’s …
Saturday Vids: Homecoming Queen Kicks Winning Field Goal
This shit’s as awesome as it is unreal – like, seriously, it belongs in a Lifetime made-for-TV movie. It would be even more awesome if the local anchor didn’t make an ADORABLE joke at the end about kicking in high heels, but what can you do?
You know that scene in Mean Girls where Tina Fey’s character tells all the girls that they need to stop calling each other sluts and whores because it only makes it okay for guys to call them sluts and whores?
I wish Fey would tell that to girls everywhere.
There’s pretty much two types of that sort of name-calling and they both piss me off.
First, there’s the casual, “Hey, slut, what’s up?” or “Hey there, ho!” that friends say to each other. Now, this would be one thing if they were trying to reclaim the word, if this was some sort of movement or statement – but in the vast majority of cases, it’s not. These girls are just trying to fit in with the patriarchal bullshit that tells …
Feminism | Posted by Harriet S. Hughes on 10/12/2011
London Calling: Feminism Across The Pond
The political terrain of Britain is shifting beneath our feet. Children of the ‘80s and ‘90s will have no memory of anything comparable to the dramatic, fundamental transformation of our nation that’s currently taking place. In an atmosphere of such instability, where the media’s frantically trying to keep pace, women’s issues – sidelined at the best of times – are slipping further and further down the agenda. That’s where we come in: YouFem is a London-based feminist organisation, aiming to harness the political power of young people and draw women’s issues back into the light…and to have fun doing it.
The elections of 2010 landed us with a Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition. Since then, Britain has been made to swallow a manifesto that no-one voted for; we’re facing a tsunami of …
Sexual Harassment and the Legacy of Anita Hill: Where Are We Now
This Saturday (October 15th) I will be speaking at the conference “Sex, Power and Speaking Truth: Anita Hill 20 Years Later”. I’m going to be representing our generation and speaking about our relationship with sexual harassment, exploring concepts such as how our generation feels about sexual harassment, whether or not we feel it’s a relevant issue, how technological advancements play a role in sexual harassment, etc.
Now, I’ve thought a lot about this and formed my own opinions on this matter, which I’ll share at the conference (and will probably post a video of at a later date), but I want to take this opportunity to open this topic up completely to the FBomb community. My opinion on this topic is just one tiny window into what our generation …
Alright time for super indie. The near impossible to find, but incredibly talented Blair!
You know how when you go to a concert you kind of roll your eyes when the warm up band comes out that you’ve never heard before? If you find a gem, your concert experience is multiplied by about 10000 but if they’re a dud, it really puts a damper on your evening. This year I saw Say Hi when they came to Cleveland. Blair opened up for him and wow were they talented. She has just that right kind of voice that’s soothing to listen to. Blair’s style is kind of pop but while teetering on the edge of becoming folk. I can’t recommend Blair’s first album Die Young highly enough, it’s a go to …
