Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 09/8/2010
Do It Anyway
In my opinion, Courtney Martin is one of the coolest people ever. I appreciate nothing more than honesty – especially when backed up by intelligence and clear hard work – and nobody is more emblematic of such qualities than Courtney. So, when I heard that she has a new book out called Do It Anyway - a book profiling 8 activists – you can imagine my excitement. The goal of writing this book, Courtney says, was to, find, ”examples of ordinary young people who were making change and feeling hopeful about it.”
Personally, I’ve been thinking about activism a lot lately. I’m taking an elective at school called Gender, Culture, Power (taught, of course, by the same teacher that handed me Full Frontal Feminism in 9th grade) and the summer …
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Feminism | Posted by Anonymous on 09/7/2010
A Reason to Believe in Feminism
I have for you a tale of feminism in its physical manifestation.
It was only weeks ago that I, a nineteen-year-old girl, sat at a window seat on a bus swindling its way down a road in the city one night. Ere long I felt another’s presence, and turned to find a beefy drunkard leering at me as he stumbled to sit by my side. He had prickly grey stubble covering his weathered cheek; bloodshot eyes and thin lips smacked together as he looked me up and down.
‘How ya going, alright?’ He grunted, and I nodded curtly before stepping away and re-settling myself on a different seat, a couple of rows back. I had smelt the Red Label on his stale breath and seen how his eyes had rested …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 09/1/2010
Ellen Hopkins, Censorship and Why We Can’t Tell Teens the Truth
Crank and Glass, both written by Ellen Hopkins, follow Kristina Snow, a high achieving 17 year old, as she nose dives into a meth addiction, with details on her subsequent rape, unwanted pregnancy and eventual jail time. Now, with just that one line description to go on, I can kind of see what the administrators at the high school over in Humble, Texas were thinking when they were presented with the opportunity to have the mastermind behind the series speak to their students. Who wants their kids exposed to what it’s really like to do drugs? So, they uninvited Ellen Hopkins to their “Teen Lit Fest.” Their thought process, as “concerned parents” sort of makes sense…until you actually read the books.
Both of these books were based on the author’s …
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Feminism | Posted by Janani B on 08/17/2010
Queer Hair and Musings on Activism
I recently donated my hair for the 4th time. Locks of love requires that donations measure at least 10 inches, tip to tip. But while in the past my donations had left me with bobs at least chin-length or a bit longer, this time 10 inches meant lopping off the do up to the very roots. I am left now with a pixie cut. Truth be told, I love it. It’s comfortable, practical, and fun. But then, just two days after getting the cut I found myself in an uncomfortable predicament. I was just about to put on my “No on Prop 8” (repealed!) t-shirt when I caught myself in the mirror. Unsurprisingly, I look more queer than ever. Rather I look queer where before I passed as either straight …
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