Yeah. A local politician added me as a friend today on Facebook, apparently. Haven’t acted on it yet (I don’t live on FB like some), but yeah. Made me chuckle.
Not adding them, though. Sorry. I only add you if I’ve actually spoken with you in some form or other, and want to continue to do so. No random politicos.
Note: there may be food blogging tomorrow. Or Friday. I have a 7-lb. butternut squash that Will Be Made Into Something, possibly several Somethings.
I sent a rather nasty letter to Picasa, expressing my disappointment with them that this woman’s post-breast-cancer-surgery pics were pulled yesterday, but I managed to find pornographic images still on the site.
Late yesterday, the pictures were restored. Apparently, the outpouring from friends and internet acquaintances and coverage in The Consumerist were enough to get Google to look at the photos more closely, or simply put them back up, complete with comments.
I am really very glad that I did something. It wasn’t much, but I was so angry that, yet again, images of women in scanty-if-existant clothing arching their backs or, in the case of the example photo I linked in my message, bound and gagged in a pose more like torture than anything else, that these were “acceptable” (they aren’t) and this woman’s scars weren’t.
For now, I’m keeping my Gmail account. For now. This was one instance, but it would be naive of me to think that it’s the only one there has been, or ever will be.
Declaration: I am a feminist.
I. Am. A. Feminist.
I am a radical feminist. I believe with all my being that all women are human beings, inherently worthy of all the rights and dignities that other human beings (men) enjoy.
I have been hesitant to ‘out’ myself to certain people I know; mostly conservative men, all of whom have no actual authority over me, some of whom are relatives, all of whom I consider to be friends. I have been afraid of losing their friendships and love because of my beliefs.
No more.
If I can remain friends with them, despite having serious objections to some of their beliefs, then they can remain my friends, if they don’t agree with me. If they can’t they were never friends to begin with. If they can’t love me and know I believe these things, they cannot really love me.
We women are asked, every day, to be silent about disagreeing with others so that we don’t upset them, so we don’t ‘rock the boat’, so we ‘aren’t a bother’.
No more.
Listen up: I am a radical feminist.
I don’t believe in limiting a woman’s control over her own body; I don’t believe any man has any right to exercise any control over a woman’s body, mind, speech or actions; I don’t believe any woman has any right to control other women either, whether of her own choosing or in the name of a man.
I believe anyone who attempts to control women’s bodies, minds, speech or actions are misogynist: including rape apologists, rape celebrants, Men’s Rights Activists, promoters or supporters of pornography, promoters or supporters of prostitution, people who seek to limit or obstruct women’s access to health care, contraception, safe and legal abortion, STD prevention, higher education, a living wage, food for her children, her choice of partner(s), her choice of clothing, her choice of sexuality and sexual expression, her bodily autonomy.
If any of these terms or concepts are confusing to you, or if you aren’t sure what I mean by any of them, you may read for yourself at any of the sources listed below. I will be happy to have a civil conversation with any of you about any of these things, where ‘civil conversation’ means you listen to what I have to say, and I listen to what you have to say, and we respond to each others’ concerns. Basically, all the caveats of this blog apply.
If you cannot understand, that is fine. If you will not try to understand, or will not read those things which I suggest that might help you understand, I will have neither sympathy nor time for you. If you cannot treat me like a human being, I will not stay around for the abuse.
So. I’m hanging around IM, minding my own business, when a buddy of mine sends me a pretty damn cool video, thus:
This, I say, is pretty damn spiff. In the words of lolcats everywhere:
PLZ I CAN DRAWZ LZR GRFFITI??
Speaking of which:
Internet Commenter Business Meeting 1 and 2
Anyone who’s commented on a blog bigger than this one, let alone a forum, knows exactly what this is about.
Yep, my feminist education is serving me well.
I recently read that Joe Bob and Michelle (http://www.duggarfamily.com/) have had their seventeenth child, and, although a painful thought, I’m not really surprised. I tried to find the blog entry I’d read again (was it on Feministing? Pandagon? Broadsheet?) so I could send it to Da Spouse: one of the guests at a cookout we held last weekend mentioned it, and I wanted to share.
So I searched “Vagina Clown Car” on Google.
Of course, the famous line gracing the photograph of this family (which is old, I think: I only counted fourteen children) became the title to several posts around teh internets. When investigated they yielded some seriously misogynistic lines, all in the name of criticizing Republicans, conservative Christians, or whatever.
This Arkansas couple has seventeen children and still wants more. They’re all home-schooled. All the kids’ names start with the letter J. Is it just me, or does someone need a swift kick to the ovaries?
How many minutes out of the past thirty years has she spent on her feet?
Sure. Blame her. Call her an idiot. No, better yet, call her a slut. Say not one damn word about him. Or the religious background telling her about her Rightful Place.
This is the main point to this feminist:
Among the “fun facts” listed on Discovery Health’s Web page devoted to the Duggars: A baby has been born in every month except June; the Duggars have gone through an estimated 90,000 diapers, and Michelle, 40, has been pregnant for 126 months — or 10.5 years — of her life.
That is. So. Fucking. Scary.
EDIT: Women are now being educated into their Rightful Place… at Seminary. Specifically Southwestern, a Southern Baptist seminary in Nashville.
« Even the cat tries to keep me away from those evil fem-blogs. I needed something to break up the monotony of text, so I’m copying Twisty by posting photos.
I’ve been back to reading the occasional feminist blog, as well as Salon.com’s Broadsheet. Usually I just read the articles, without even realizing, I guess, that there was a comments section too.
Perhaps, though, my subconscious was protecting me from what I was certain would be there.
What is intriguing (well, discouraging, really) to me is that the first (or early) response to each post there is some sort of personal attack, or statement meant to belittle, demean, or trivialize the topic — and usually by an anonymous poster.
Read the rest of this entry »
So I’m checking my email…
The message that I was reading this morning was fairly simple: just a notice that a blog I had commented on had received another comment. This is pretty straightforward.
This resulted in the following Google Ads:
Okay, the X3 ad I get. The blog ad I get. Even moving to Brisbane I get. But Ann Coulter??? WTM??? Is this from… oh, I dunno, the word hoyden, maybe? Is Google browsing the material on pages linked in the email to get some of this info?
Strange strange strange.
