Feminism | Posted by Fiona L on 04/4/2012
To Educate A Girl
I’ve often wondered if those who are provided with less, make more with what they are given. A few weeks ago, I went to a screening of a documentary called To Educate A Girl, and was convinced once again of the life-changing importance of education for girls and women. More importantly, I also realized the incredible drive to learn that permeates communities where girls are not given such opportunities.
Filmmakers Frederick Rendina and Oren Rudavsky focused on the factors that inhibit girls around the world from getting an adequate education, through chronicling the stories of several girls in Uganda and Nepal, two countries emerging from violent civil wars.
To Educate a Girl begins with Manisha, a daughter of a brick-carrier in Nepal, who has been unable to attend school …
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Feminism | Posted by Gina S on 04/2/2012
The Flip Side of the Coin, or Just Because I’m Skinny Doesn’t Mean I Have An Eating Disorder
It’s a common presumption in our society that if you’re female, tall and skinny, you have it all. You are the perfect woman: you have the attributes of a high fashion model, and you should be extremely self-confident because you have it made. The truth, however, is much different.
When I was younger, I was bullied for five years because of my height and weight. “Oh they’re just jealous because you’re tall and skinny,” my well-meaning family members would say. “They just want to be like you.” But they didn’t want to be like me, because I was miserable beyond belief and the bullying was making me pick out tiny little things about myself that I hated. One by one, I listed off all the many things I hated about …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by LodB on 03/28/2012
Sexist Memes: Funny or Not?
While I understand that there is humour in provocation, this meme (the picture to the left) that’s been making the rounds on websites like 9gag and We Know Memes made me throw up in my mouth a little. Although I love these websites to death, and I think the political potential of memes is huge, these websites (9gag in particular) feature so much overt sexism that I often get mixed feelings. I think 9gag may be conditioning women to think that sexism is funny and perfectly acceptable.
Honestly, sexist jokes — such as the “woman-in-kitchen” variety — never used to offend me that much. I didn’t think that they really had much to do with women, just like yo-mama jokes have nothing to do with mothers. I figured they were …
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Feminism | Posted by Kate S on 03/23/2012
Why We Need To Stop Being Politely Active
The International Women’s Rights Collective (IWRC) went to the third annual Women in the World Summit last weekend. The Summit, as I expected, was built on post-imperialistic rhetoric where women from the third world countries were victims and it was our job as privileged women from the West to rescue them via the power of capitalism. That said, the amazing women leaders, survivors, and activists accounted for the sponsors’ ignorant rhetoric. Topics of the panel included forced marriage, sex trafficking, glass ceiling, and media among others.
My favorite moments from the panel somehow came together when Shelby Knox (who, despite being one of the younger panelists, was a TOTAL BOSS) responded to the question of why this generation of young women is not as active in the movement as its …
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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 03/21/2012
The Truth About Fat
I can honestly say I’m sick of hearing about, talking about and thinking about fat. And yet it’s everywhere – whether it’s the fear-mongering headlines that claim our country has been consumed by an obesity epidemic or if it’s the innumerable magazine articles written on the newest get-thin-quick scheme, it’s undeniable that over the years, our society has become obsessed with fat. But despite the often one-sided, overwhelmingly negative attitude our country has towards fat, the question remains: what is the true nature of fat as an issue of health?
As a feminist, I’ve always felt that the way our society views fat on the individual level is seriously messed up (i.e. unrealistic standards set for women’s bodies) But I’d never spent much time thinking about how fat is framed …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Callie B on 03/19/2012
Why the Jersey Shore is No Longer On My DVR List
When I first saw Miss Representation it stunned me—in the best of ways. I didn’t immediately take the time to reflect on it, but then a few nights ago I was unlucky enough to witness the newest Carl’s Jr. commercial, where a very hungry Kate Upton seductively devours a burger while wearing basically, well, nothing. And after 23 years of demeaning media onslaught, I’m thinking I’ve had enough.
Before watching Miss Representation, I indulged in the occasional “guilty pleasure”—reality TV being my wind-down-at-the-end-of-the-day treat. I saw no harm in it. It’s just mindless entertainment, right? Shows like Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With The Kardashians were among my favorites. But that was before the film, before my eyes were opened to the very (real) poison of this seemingly harmless …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/18/2012
Support Women Artists Sunday: Laura Gibson
Laura Gibson grew up in a small town in southern Oregon called Coquille. Her family lived in the middle of the woods, as her father was a forest ranger and her mother a teacher.
Her introduction to music began early, listening to the folk albums her parents kept around the house and learning to love the intense imagery and narrative storytelling of folks like Bob Dylan. Gibson was inclined toward music while growing up, but too shy to perform live for people.
She moved to Portland to go to school (on a math scholarship) and continued to grad school, where she studied counseling. After college, she took to playing music at nursing homes and for hospice patients. Seeing the joy it brought to her audiences, Gibson developed the confidence to …
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Feminism | Posted by Colleen L on 03/16/2012
Why I’m Against Abstinence-Only Sex Education
Is it a widespread tendency of conservative politicians to both promote abstinence-only sex education, which research shows contributes significantly to increasing teen pregnancy rates, and be anti-abortion. As Bristol Palin’s pregnancy in 2008 strikingly demonstrated, holding these seemingly contradictory beliefs even holds strong in the face of teen pregnancies galore (almost 1 million per year in the U.S. — the highest rate of any industrialized nation) as a direct result of abstinence-only education. Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich are all staunchly pro-abstinence-only education and anti-abortion.
So what’s the problem here?
Let’s start with the basics. Research has proven abstinence-only education is not only ineffective, but in fact detrimental, because it puts teens who decide to become sexually active at a much higher risk for pregnancy and contracting STIs. …
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