"Fashion"

Oddly, the NYT put this article about old-guard separatist lesbian communities from the 60s and 70s in their Fashion & Style section. I don't get that, but the article is pretty interesting.

Please give!

This is one of my favorite magazines. It's enlightening, informative, and witty.

A mile a minute, that's me

More thoughts on recent news and happenings:

• My favorite radical feminist blogger responds to the Spitzer case and the media's [unsurprising] misogynist reporting . She says,

"I don’t know anything about “Kristen”, except that as a prostituted woman — however “high class” or “expensive” — she is a de facto sub-human. As are the millions of other, more invisible prostituted women she so inaccurately represents in the popular imagination. “Kristen” may achieve a kind of kitschy, pop-culture cachet because of the high status and celebrity of the asshole who used her as a meatsock, and she might be able to parlay her position as a footnote to history into some kind of financial reward — such things are not unheard of — but the vast majority of what so many progressives like to call “sex workers” subsist much, much more precariously. Some merely teeter on the precipice of indenture and some are genuinely enslaved, but all are subject to violence, disease, imprisonment, marginalization, shame, and all the other degradations, large and small, that accrue with membership in the planet’s most despised class."

Wow.

• Yes, the U.S. economy is indeed in the shitter. It was only so long before the effects of an overblown housing market could be staved off with tiny interest rate cuts and carefully worded statements from "important officials." Larry Elliott at The Guardian says,

"Bear Stearns marks the moment when the global financial crisis went critical. Up until last Friday, it had been possible - just about - to believe that the worst was over and that things were about to get better. That pretence was stripped away when JP Morgan, at the behest of the Federal Reserve, stepped in when the hedge funds pulled the plug on the fifth-biggest US investment bank." "Having allowed the housing boom to rage out of control for too long and then delaying cuts in interest rates until the housing market was gripped by recessionary forces, the Fed is now trying to make up for lost time with a burst of hyperactivity."

Kinda makes me glad I'm too poor to have given in to my home ownership lust. I'd probably be one of those suckers with an exploding adjustable rate mortgage facing foreclosure and a brand new set of ulcers.

Big Girls Don't Cry,They Get Out There and Enjoy Life

Beth Ditto is awesome for many reasons, but one of the most obvious is her loud-n-proud love of her own body.

The Daily Telegraph did an interview with her recently where she talks about growing up in Arkansas, being gay and loving her voluptuous curves.

Going places? Not if you're a woman.

Here's Ellen Goodman's piece on just how far women have not come this year. Um, when is the rest of the world going to realize it's the 21st century?! [via Feministing.]

A hip hop dippity do!

I'm a little delirious this morning. Not sure why.

Putting the coffee down. Backing slowly away...

In other news: some jackass put a bag bomb in front of a women's clinic here in town yesterday. I'll never understand those kind of people: "Oh, I'm 'pro-life' but I'll happily kill doctors, nurses, and patients to save a blob of tissue..." Oh, puh-leese! Logic just doesn't get any more twisted than that! [Insert giant eye-roll here.]

Anyhoo, NPR has been running stories and interviews all week on the abortion debate because of the recent Supreme Court ruling that partial-birth abortions are not allowed. So the topic is kinda on my mind. I feel that I'm like most Americans when it comes to this issue: I'd rather that no woman had to have an abortion. Instead, I wish that attitudes and access to birth control and contraceptives were more accepted and widespread. American attitudes toward sex are so bizarre and unhealthy and guilt-ridden, I don't know how any babies get made in the first place!

Speaking of Americans' unhealthy and guilt-ridden attitudes toward sex: New Hampshire's sure to get backlash for legalizing civil unions in that state. NPR has an interactive map of what states allow same-sex marriage and/or civil unions and which ones don't. I find it odd that the map's blue states (the ones with so-called 'Defense of Marriage' Acts in place) don't also outlaw divorce. I mean, come on! Allowing divorce isn't really defending marriage, now is it? Someting like fifty percent of married couples divorce! It seems marriage is really just a sham in most instances, a multi-billion dollar industry designed to pressure people into getting married in a lavish ceremony, not really an institution of love. Why gays wanna get in on that crazy institution is baffling (although there are some nice perks)*.

Thus concludes today's political confusions and resulting rants. Thank you, Gentle Readers, for your love and devotion.

*Disclaimer: I have often considered gay marriage (yes, this robot is a 'mo) but my state doesn't allow it. Besides, all one really needs is a good lawyer and some handy documents...

I am a letter-writing fool today!

Texas State Senator Dan Patrick (R) of Houston has proposed a bill to (get this!) pay Texas women $500 to give their newborn up for adoption instead of having an abortion. Klassy guy. Below is the letter I sent to his office on this topic. You other Texans out there can write to him too, if you are so inclined. These crazed religious-right wackos in office need to be told that their zany schemes to sell babies are just that: insane.

"I do not reside in the distict you represent; however, I am compelled to write to you about Senate Bill 1567. I am saddened and sickened that you have put forth such a bill, which, if enacted, would pay Texan women a measly $500.00 to give up their parental rights to their newborn child as an adoption "incentive." This bill is both insulting and demeaning to women. It also puts a tiny price tag on the tiniest of our citizens: newborns. Let Texan women decide what happens to their own bodies. Abortion is legal in this country and dangling $500 in front of the faces of women who may be poor, in a bad relationship, or in some other situation where having a child may not be the right choice for them is wrong."

Holy sh*t

I was out enjoying dinner with friends Wednesday night, so I did not watch this week's episode of America's Next Top Model. Come to find out (via Feministing) that this week's challenge was for the contestants to be "beautiful corpses" via a "CSI"-style photoshoot.

To echo many of the comments made on Feministing, WTF, Tyra?!

An open statement to Tyra Banks:

Trya, I know you're a ditzy but fun-loving showbiz-crazed gal, but for god's sake, what is wrong with you? It's one thing to herd this gaggle of naive model-wannabes through the hoops of your show; but to glorify violence against women is completely sick and utterly reprehensible.

I've watched all 7 "cycles" of your show, but will watch no more. That's it, it's over. I put up with your and the other judges' comments about the "fat" size 8 girls, comments about the ethnic attributes of some of the girls (see our banner), and the objectification of your willing contestants, all in the name of entertaining television; however, when you have 19- and 20-year old young women painted with bruises and fake blood, their eyes rolled back in their heads and their legs splayed, all in the name of selling fashion, you're sending a very powerful message about the disposability of not only the contestants, but women in general, to viewers.

I get it that the girls are competing (hence, the "knifed by a model" etc themes of the shoot). But I have to say murder is not sexy. Never has been, never will be. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Sincerely,

Tiny Robot

Great Quote

Scott Brown in Entertainment Weekly's Hit List:

"Bijou Phillips nude, beheaded on movie poster: Once you're at 'post-post-post-feminist' I think you can just shorthand it to 'misogynist'."

So what do the ladies get?

When nutso suicide bombers of the Muslim persuasion die in the course of violently offing their enemies and innocent bystanders alike, it is well known that said crazies believe they get to go to heaven and frolic with 72 virgins since they martyred themselves for the faith.

So what do female suicide bombers get? A harem of hot guys to fool around with for eternity? Nope. They get to be the boss of the 72 virgins their former husbands in life will be shagging. Huh?!

And people wonder why I have such a hard time giving credit to religion's (any religion's) afterlife stories. What a load of cracked-out crap!

Oh Craig.

There's a very interesting discussion going on over at Feministing.org about the marketing campaign for Craig Brewer's latest film, Black Snake Moan. I saw Brewer's two previous cinematic efforts and, for the most part, liked them. I haven't seen Black Snake Moan, as it hasn't yet been released in theatres, but I have to wonder why he continues to make films that exoticize the citizens of the South, the Deep South, in particular.

I guess a lot of male directors pick their "theme" and run with it: Spielberg and his "daddy" issues, Scorcese and his hyper-masculine violence, and Allen and his numerous neuroses. What's odd is that these celebrated directors get all the financing in Hollywood and keep churning out misogynist film after misogynist film.

What really saddens me is Christina Ricci. She was once an indie darling, an actor who was not only a good performer, but a unique individual whose talents brought interest to the big screen. Now she looks just like every other withering brittle-haired starlet. I'm not holding out much hope that this particular role will do anything besides confirm the long-held backwards notions of our society that abused women are damaged goods, only worthy of further abuse.

Can somebody please annouce that we're in the 21st century?!

She loves the ladies

Well, I guess it's really not that shocking. Suze Orman, financial investment 'guru' admits she's a lesbian and a 55-year-old virgin. She's not a virgin in my book; she's been with her partner, K.T., for seven years. I find Orman kinda irritating as a television personality, but I'm glad she came out! Go Suze! Welcome to Tha Family!

She'll be comin' 'round the mountain

A few things...

Tori Amos is putting out her 9th studio album in May. For those of you who may not know, I'm a big Tori fan; however, her past few albums have been kinda bleh to me, mostly because they've been heavy on the 'adult contemporary' and light on the traditional Tori. Her website features the new album artwork, and, it's wonderfully subversive. I'm hoping this is an implication that the music is going to be better than the soft mushy la-la stuff she put out on the 2 previous albums. I know the first 4 albums by heart --- but then things changed. Or maybe I changed? Regardless, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some good ol' angry, pro-girl, recovering christian, in-your-face Tori music! Is that too much to ask?

Home ownership is whirling around in my head. I'm addicted! I can't stop window shopping for housing. Real estate consumerism has me by the tail. Sure, I've investigated the realities of buying. I have good credit and a steady job. However, I can apparently afford house payments, but can't get a loan because I am "cash poor". This is sadly true. If I lost my job today (gods forbid!) I'd be out on the street in a month. So, I've gotta get this horse off my back. Stat. Or throw myself on the mercy of the FHA.

Trivia Night. Baby G and I are going with friends to play trivia tonight at some lesbo watering hole. Should be interesting. Hopefully the number of mullets and bois won't outnumber Baby G and I and our posse. We'll probably be the only "normal" looking mo's in the room. C'est la vie. It's just too hard to be a hipster these days. Too much attention to hair styling...

A Refreshing Voice

(Gentle Reader Sarita has asked me to talk about what Gloria Steinem said the other night. I started to write in the little comments box, but figured this was a better place to put my response.)

She was great! She didn't say anything that was "new" to me, but I'm quite sure there was a number of folks in the audience who took something new away with them. (Always a good thing!)

She spoke about how historically, patriarchy and racism have gone hand in hand; how the notion of race is a bunch of bullsh*t (because it is); how women's history has been relegated to the "backburners" of our collective history so to speak, along with African-American history and the history of the rest of the world. Think about it -- whose story gets told? Benjamin Franklin's? Yes. The Iroquois Tribe's? No. (Why do you think it's called Pre-History?! A major clue to the notion that something is being purposefully left out.)

She made much mention of the "memory" and "empathy" of humans -- how everyone on this planet comes from common ancestors and have physically adapted to our environments over time (thus the differences in our appearance, cultural traditions, etc). The problems of inequality we have today started when offspring became seen not as wonderful gifts and the continuation of a respect- and equality-infused community, but instead as property or trophies. The men in power wanted to know that their offspring were theirs and that those offspring were "untainted," i.e., not the spawn of someone of a different "race." When women and people of color were made subservient in our societies, empathy was lost, memory was forgotten, history was rewritten or obscured all together. Race and gender were used as reasons to take land from native cultures. The institution of marriage became a way to control women's bodies and create children to take over the properties of the father or marry a certain person to gain their properties. (As you probably know, marriage didn't start off as the loving commitment that most people think of today.)

Now, I have nothing against marriage or men. I want to make that perfectly clear. I was raised by a loving caring mother and father (who are still together after 30 yrs), have three loving caring brothers, and have many male friends who I respect and adore. I do have a problem, however, with the notion of a patriarchal system in which women and people of color are treated as second class people. We also can't forget gays & lesbians, disabled people, and transgendered people...they too lose out in our current patriarchal social system. Love, Equality, and Respect have been taken over by certain people in the names of certain governments and certain religions so that those people can control others and gain power. There's no balance. Not between peoples, not between people and the environment, not between people and governments.

We don't currently have a societal system of support and tolerance. We don't have a nationwide system of healthcare, we don't recognize parents who want to stay home to raise their children (neither socially nor through tax benefits), we don't recognize the dignity of our elders (we shut them away in nursing homes), and we still have a seething underbelly of racial discord threatening everything our country claims to stand for (you know, freedom, equality, justice...etc).

Ms. Steinem's main point was that all this can change. The good parts of history CAN repeat themselves-- even history that's been buried away. Humanity can return to a time of giving, caring, and empathy. A time of equality and respect. A time of acceptance and love. People are not property. Women have the right to make decisions for themselves and choose how many children to have. Communities should support children and provide nurturing care for them. Everyone should get equal pay for equal work. The notions of race should melt away to reveal our overwhelming similarities--our innate human qualities.

I felt so good after she spoke. I felt a tinge of sadness, too. If only everyone could see the world the way she does. If only everyone could revel in their humanity and share that love of life with their fellow human beings --- not men, not women, not white, not black or brown, or yellow, but human. Until the day when everyone is taught that they are a whole individual and a meaningful member of their community, and that lesson is then actually and honestly exemplified throughout our communities and nations, then no one is really free: everyone will continue to be a slave to the boxes and labels that the patriarchy puts them in.

Whew. That was a mouthful. Thanks for reading.

Jet-lagged and up to my ears

We got home at 3am last night... we were zonked. I took this morning off to catch up on sleep. This afternoon I'm preparing yet another presentation/training session on, you guessed it, printing to frickin' file. (Labels are going to be the end of me, people. Seriously.)

Last night was wonderful. Gloria gave a lovely and empowering speech. The ballroom was standing-room only, and I even got her autograph afterward! Woo! I've tried coaxing Baby G into posting about our trip, but I have a feeling she won't. I can tell you she and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was great to see Prophet, Ack, and Sarah, and Steve, along with new faces Charlie and Grace. Hope you kids don't have too bad of a hangover this morning.

Zombie Brains are on the menu!

My brain isn't working today. It's still asleep. I went to bed at a decent hour last night and everything.

I scored a copy of Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell last night for $7. Granted, there was a tear in the book jacket, but the text block was in excellent condition so I took it home with me. I've wanted to read this novel since it came out, but long-time Gentle Readers know I'm cheap. Heh. Honestly, if you just wait, the things you want will fall into your lap for little or no money. This weekend, Baby G and I got a lovely like-new dresser from the dumpster that now graces our living room. It holds the TV, the stereo, and all of our dvds, videos, and games. FREE. Woo! All we had to do was carry it home and dust it off. I'll post pics soon.

Speaking of Baby G, she and I are traveling to see Gloria Steinem speak tonight. We're very excited! I even dug out an old issue of Bust that had her on the cover in the hopes that she might sign it. She probably won't, but it can't hurt to try, right? Another nice part of the evening will be my chance to see my brother, Prophet, and my "younger twin" and fellow kitten poster-lover, Ackkapoo. (Inside joke, folks. Sorry.) I'll give a full report on Steinem's State o' the World tomorrow. She's 72 years old and still going strong. Wow.