religion = child abuse... yea that makes sense

so I've seen this quote twice and I just think it's sick. I don't buy into organized religion and I really don't like how conservatives use it to justify all sorts of inequities. But I don't think teaching children about religion is the same as child rape. Duh. I mean come on people!! This would have been funny if they left it at "waving it around." So I don't think it's meant to be funny. I think this was meant to make a statement like "quit stopping me on the street in Edinburgh telling me how to convert jews to christianity" (yes this happened to me and my friend Katy)

But see, now that I think about it, it's perfectly fine to show your spirituality. I say this because many people say this about homosexuality. Gays and lesbians aren't allowed to hold hands or kiss in public because that would be shoving their way of life down other people's throats. Meanwhile heteros are free to express their affection in whatever way they wish. Stupid patriarchy... what the hell?!

Seriously Maryland, What the hell?

Behave yourself now...

Oh I love Spring Break! I finally have time to procrastinate homework and write blog entries!!

Ok so I was reading that quote, "Well behaved women rarely make history" (by historian Laurel Thatcher Ulrich) and I was thinking about the validity of that statement.

While now I think it serves primarily as an excuse to do what ever sexy, dirty, and downright fun acts we want, it builds on the gender expectation that women should be calm, chaste, caring, quiet and gentle. This is how we are supposed to "behave."

Now this quote refers to women who have broken that mold and lived life on their own terms. I'm going to pick a few famous women I think fit the bill and examine how exactly they've misbehaved.

Ok first I'm going to go with Alice Paul. She saw

the women's suffrage movement to the very end, getting thrown in jail and starting a hunger strike in the process. All she was trying to do was make men and women a little more equal. She wasn't asking for much, just the right to vote. Is this really misbehaving?

Next Marilyn Monroe. A sex icon. I think that about sums it up. Now how was she misbehaving? She was having lots of sex with lots of men. Kind of like men do with women....

So far we have Alice Paul who was trying to tackle gender equality and Marilyn Monroe who was behaving like a man. A pattern?

What about women who made history even though they are remembered for generally behaving well? Jackie Kennedy for instance. Well I propose that she only achieved such success because of her attachments to men. Jackie Kennedy would not have been able to make such contributions to the world if not for her marriage to President John F Kennedy.

So the lesson here ladies is there are only two ways to make history: Marry an influential man or act like a man.

Think we've grown? Think again.

This article, written a mere 4 days ago, appeared in the New York Time (THE TIMES PEOPLE!!)

It tells the story of an 11 year old girl who was gang raped by several adult males.

Ok so this article is fraught with blaming the victim. Just look at what neighbors said, "she dressed older than her age, wearing makeup and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her 20s. She would hang out with teenage boys at a playground, some said." She was obviously asking to be raped.

Also 'The students who were arrested have not returned to school, and it is unclear if they ever will. Ms. Gatlin said the girl had been transferred to another district. “It’s devastating, and it’s really tearing our community apart,” she said. “I really wish that this could end in a better light.”' Look this should not tear the community apart. Anyone who is on the side of the rapists is a rape apologist and is completely overlooking that this was a child. It is never the child's fault. It is never the victims fault. The only people who are to blame are the GROWN MEN who RAPED an 11-year-old girl. They should be thrown in jail for the rest of their lives and the community should be supporting the survivor and her family. I mean what the hell?!

This is a response that is more eloquent than I can put it just now. She makes the same two points I do as well as several more. Check her out!

Stumble Upon part 2

This one is on Masculinity and manhood. How interconnected are they?

"the positive definitions of masculinity are not really about being a man but simply about being a person" - This ties into the idea that male experience = human experience. Why do we say "mankind" anyway? dumb.

Stumble Upon!!

I know I'm a bit late to the trend but I just started stumbling and I love it!! I thought I'd share something that found me.

15 Aspects of Third Wave Feminism is a well written and very informative article on feminism.

One thing I wanted to point out was number 13. It states that feminists are not sexist against men. It's so silly to say because it should be so obvious! Duh, we're not sexist against men! We fight sexism, any and all. We can't expect women to break out of their mandated gender roles without encouraging men to do the same. It's not fair and it's not realistic. Men need the choice too. They need to be able to choose (just as women do) whether they want a 9-5 job or stay home with the kids. They can wear pink or not, play contact sports or dance, build houses or knit, etc.

It's insane that I even need to say it but I think sometimes we feminists lose this knowledge. Embracing men into feminism and showing them they have something to gain from it is so important to the cause. If men stop thinking women are taking their power away, they'll stop fighting us. Working towards gender equality means we have to work for all sides. Simple as that.

ET by Katy Perry

The lyrics in Katy Perry's new song ET include:

"They say be afraid, You're not like the others..."

"Infect me with your love and fill me with your poison. Take me... wanna be a victim, ready for abduction."

Not so subtly she's singing about the alien ET but honestly these lyrics glorify abusive relationships. I'm splitting hairs you say? Maybe. But I believe there is a fine line between singing an ironic song about loving an alien and wanting to "be a victim." Oh well, what can we expect from the woman who set our perception of lesbians back a decade? But seriously, what the hell?

oh Rush, how I loathe thee...

"The problem is, and dare I say this, it doesn't look like Michelle Obama follows her own nutritionary, dietary advice. And then we hear that she's out eating ribs at 1,500 calories a serving with 141 grams of fat per serving...I'm trying to say that our First Lady does not project the image of women that you might see on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue or of a woman Alex Rodriguez might date every six months or what have you." - Rush Limbaugh

So right, according to the fattest man in the world, Rush Limbaugh, (who couldn't get on fox and friends if he tried because they all look alike), Michelle Obama (or as she's affectionately called by the conservative bloggers, "Moo-chelle") is getting a little hefty and apparently Alex Rodriguez (a Yankee) would never date her.

Apparently we should all strive to look like this:

Or this:

But not this:

Oh no, god forbid you look anything like this fatty-mic-fatterson. I mean look at her! She's so HUGE!!

So obviously my point is, Rush is stupid. We should kick him off the air. I mean what the hell?!

So the point Rush so generously tries to point out to us is that we need to strive to not only be like a woman Alex Rodriguez would want to date or a woman on the cover of Sports Illustrated (but only the swimsuit edition because normal female athletes are all lesbians) but we need to BE them! Because they are the only attractive women in the world and if Rush doesn't want to fuck us, then life just isn't worth living.

Are you a "guy"?

Ok so there's this Brad Paisley song called "I'm Still A Guy" (listen to the song here) and it explains to women how "guys" are.

According to Brad, guys hunt and fish, punch other guys out and always want sex. They definitely do NOT get facials, use lotion (well for the sole purpose of making their hands smooth...), or get botox. Because gosh, they might as well "get neutered"...

Alright so I get that Brad is trying to be funny and clever. However, his generalization of what real men do excludes so many male hominids.

I'm on spring break and have lost all motivation to explain this stupidity further so I'm just going to turn it over to this guy and he'll clear everything up!

Planned Parenthood.

Ok so I've signed the thing and I completely support any prochoice efforts.

But I feel like I have to share my own personal experience with this organization that goes against the current trend...

So when I was a senior in high school I was just starting to explore my sex life. I was gaining friends who'd already "done it" and sharing stories. Well a good personal friend told me her partner pulled out instead of wearing a condom. This is of course a stupid thing to do (BOY!). Wear a damn condom! So we chatted and decided she needed plan B. Well she was only 17 and you need to be 18 to buy it without a prescription. I was 18 so I offered to buy it for her. I had no idea where to get it (walmart in case you're wondering - $40) so I searched the internet and found the number for Planned Parenthood. I called to talk about Plan B and (I will never forget this) the woman told me in the most judgmental tone that Plan B wasn't contraception, it was an abortion pill. I told her that was ok and she asked me if I was sure I wanted to abort the baby. So I hung up. The next day my friend and I skipped class to go get a pregnancy test and Plan B. We were such class acts lol

The point is, this woman completely turned me off PP. She absolutely lied when she said Plan B was the abortion pill. It is contraception. It's emergency contraception. In another life it was called EC. Now I've never called back because she scarred me for life but if that's what PP is still doing, I can't condone giving them any money at all.