The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World by Joni Seager is a must own for any feminist. I had the 1995 version and it was amazingly helpful, not to mention extremely interesting. I was thrilled last week when I found out that Penguin had published this version (which has a slightly different name than the '95 edition) in 2003. Inside there are maps containing comparative statistics for women's issues worldwide with topics ranging from work to childbearing to the cult beauty. It's a must have and an amazing resource.
April 27, 2004I came across a new feminist group blog, Feministing, in my browsing for more information from the March today.
Their mission statement:
Young women are rarely given the opportunity to speak on their own behalf on issues that affect their lives and futures. Feministing provides a platform for us to comment, analyze and influence.
You should all check it out.
April 01, 2004I'm looking for a choice-friendly t-shirt to sport at the March for Choice/Women on April 25. Any suggestions?
If any of you are looking for feminist swag, check out:
the Feminist Majority's online store: kudos for doing both fitted and not fitted tees, and for doing a slightly larger range of sizes than some places, but why does the "radical feminist" shirt only come in pink?
Dyke Tees: mostly queer themed, but with a feminist angle in a lot of cases
the NOW store: an excellent source for stickers, buttons and such
Wacky Jac: purveyor of undies with a sex- and woman-friendly bent, lots of cute and clever pagan stuff
the variety of feminist Cafe Press stores: they get some bad press, but it's an easy way for people with something to say to sell shirts with that something printed upon them
Bust magazine's store: lots of pink. why are feminists so pink?
Cinnamon's Poise shop: maker of my favorite pro-choice bag, among other pretty things
Coyote's Corner: lots of generally progressive swag, not super-feministy - but remarkable because they carry a good range of large sizes
Any other suggestions? The perfect pro-choice march t-shirt just isn't falling in my lap here. I'd like something that's actually kinda cute and fitted, but with a message that might make you think "my god, does your t-shirt really say THAT".
December 16, 2003Feministe posted an update to the "feminist" influences meme that sprung up awhile ago, and I thought it was interesting to think about how one's influences change over time. Good reading.
When I thought about mine (see blog if you're interested), I noticed how much I've grown from a feminism that was partly about grrrl power and an assumption of sisterhood to a more equality-minded feminism.
So how about you? What are your feminist influences, and how have they changed over time? It's something to think about.
November 18, 2003I'm curious - how many of you are planning to attend or participate in some way in the March for Choice?
It's in D.C. next April 24 (a Saturday, by the way), and it could be the largest pro-choice demonstration ever. You should go, or get involved some other way if you can't.
Roni has created a new site - Bloggers for Choice - to help organize bloggers who are going to the march and would like to meet up. If you're planning to march, sign up on Roni's BFC site!
November 08, 2003Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is one of my favorite examples of revisionist fiction. Published in 1966 it is a prequel to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë written from the perspective of Bertha Antoinette Mason, the so-called "mad woman in the attic." It takes place in Barbados (for the most part) and sets up Rochester as the abuser rather than the victim who, after being "bought" in marriage by Antoinette, is driven slightly mad by the jungle around him and tries to destroy her mentally. In Wide Sargasso Sea there are comments on power, sexuality, madness, voodoo, culture, class, race, politics, and gender. It's a beautifully written book with light steam of consciousness and amazingly well developed characters.
Also it is important to note that Wide Sargasso Sea is very respectful of it's predecessor, the novel ends at the exact point where Bertha enters Jane Eyre.
October 24, 2003Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is one of my favorite feminist texts. It falls somewhere in between philosophy and fiction and is told from the perspective of one man in a group of three that have stumbled upon a women-only utopia. A lot of the ideas for her matrilineal soceity are based on, perhaps surprisingly, Plato's The Republic. To apply his established, and often sexist, ideals to an idyllic female culture is an amazing feat. In a way it's a "what if" tale, a beautifully executed hypothetical, and I definitely reccomend it! It's not only interesting, but also a great read.
Published in 1915 you can read it online here.
October 23, 2003Kerri posted a link to Feministe's post about believing victims rape. As Kerri said, anyone who is inclined not to believe someone's accusation of rape ought to be reading stories like this.
As Feministe points out there and elsewhere on her blog, one of the sad side effects of the way victims who allege rape are treated is that other victims don't come forward, and more people stay afraid.
[NOTE: Out of respect for people who choose to tell their stories, I have moved (in full text) all comments not specifically related to story recounting to the double violation collab topic, which is a more appropriate forum for debate. This topic is no longer open for comment - if you have a story or link you'd like to share, please email it to me at april @ wehavebrains.com. If you'd like to debate, please use one of the more appropriate fora.]
October 23, 2003Since we talked about transfolk a couple of weeks ago, I've come upon this - Jasperboi on the type of man FTMs are expect to be, and on being a feminist man. It's an articulate assessment of one perspective on how feminists relate to transpeople, and the complications in being trans and queer with an egalitarian perspective on gender.
Also, any of you who are following (or even just vaguely aware of) the partial birth abortion ban might find Ampersand's collection of posts analyzing the subject quite helpful in your ongoing education and fight; I'm coming to rely quite a bit on his research. Amp's comments on Jasperboi's post are also worth a read, by the way.
October 07, 2003Steven pointed out one site that references a "wage gap myth" [I'd like to point out that the use of "myth" in this context really bugs me, since I hate seeing "myth" used to mean just "untruth" given the context of mythology. Total sidebar, though.] in a comment this week, and I thought I'd share some additional resources on the wage gap debate. You can get dramatically different numbers based on how you derive your male:female wage comparison.
Ampersand's wage gap series has reviewed a variety of different sources on this topic and is one of the finest resources on the subject for a layperson.
Steven contributed this list of feminist "misinformation" from She Thinks - which just dismisses the $.75 thing, but does give you another source.
You can find a more generalist explanation of the wage gap concept, as well as some stats in the links (without a lot of definition behind the survey methodology used) at infoplease.com (beware the ads, though).
May 27, 2003Those of you who've been around the WHB collab for a few months (or more) will probably remember the project that Jordynn posted about. She observed and participated in the collab (as well as other feminist sites) as part of her coursework this year, and published the end result a few weeks ago.
It's insightful and intriguingly constructed as a blog essay. Check it out: Towards a rhetoric of weblogs: feminism and community at "We Have Brains". Nice work, Jordynn.
May 27, 2003Genderqueer: Voices from Beyondthe Sexual Binary (edited by Joan Nestle, Riki
Wilchins, and Clare Howell)
From Revo: A friend with whom I’d talked extensively about gender and queerness issues sent me this book, recommended by an intersexed, transgendered friend of his who knew the editor.
No group challenges conventional definitions of genderso much as those who are neither male nor female. This book features personal accounts from a variety of people that could be considered "genderqueer" in some manner – male-to-female and female-to-male transsexuals and transgendered people, crossdressers, high femmes, and intersexed people, including Sylvia
Rivera, best known for her role in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. Editor Riki Wilchins explores the theoretical side of genderqueerness in her iconoclastic essays, also challenging the validity of the polite dissociation of gender and sexuality in feminist circles.
It's not an easy book. Reading it challenges one’s beliefs about gender in ways that are really not discussed even in the feminist community, and Wilchins
in particular has an aggressive style that might be off-putting to some people. However, for anyone interested in learning and thinking more about transgender issues, queer issues, or the meaning of gender and sexuality, this is an excellent read.
I picked up The End of Gay (and the death of heterosexuality) at my favorite bookstore on vacation last week. I think I'll be making nearly everyone I know read it.
It's quite intriguing (and probably the inspiration for my next collab topic). While Archer's premise - that the gay/straight dichotomy is a cultural phase - is obviously focused on sexual preference, many of the core ideas amount to a sort of social constructionism that can be extended to gender as well as sexuality.
While not a book that will have everyone nodding along vigorously, it's written in a persuasive conversational style that will at least lead to some interesting discussions.
May 02, 2003I resisted reading Barbara Kingsolver for ages, I think because she was such a "chick" thing to be reading. I missed out. She's an excellent writer, and Poisonwood Bible is a strong example.
This book didn't change my life, but it did shift my perspective on Africa, educate me about the Congo, and provide me with a couple of weeks of excellent fiction. Is it feminist? Not exactly, but not exactly not, either - Kingsolver's own views on social equality and justice are obvious in her work.
May 02, 2003Awhile ago on WHB, we talked about the idea of class within feminism and other movements. This drove me to go and find some balanced reads on the subject of class, particularly as it impacts women.
Jennifer Johnson's approach in Getting by on the Minimum: the Lives of Working Class Women results in one of the least divisive books I've seen about class. Her combination of interviews, economic theory and surveys balances theory with women's experiences very nicely - all with a respect for her subjects that I think a lot of sociologists lack.
As for the content of the book - it's good fodder for those of us who find ourselves in "class does/doesn't matter" arguments. While it's not perfect (I found her physical descriptions of women semi-sexist, for instance), I think it's a valuable read.
April 20, 2003In Her Own Voice is a passionate blog focused on feminist subjects.
It's a new blog, so there's not much to read yet, but the site has a really clear voice (appropriate, considering the title) and is a compelling read.
April 02, 2003Fat!So? (Marilyn Wann)
Fat!So? is an irreverent introduction to fat activism and size acceptance, born out of Marilyn's zine (which was amazingly revolutionary at the time she started it, by the way). Though it touches on the idea of accepting people at any size and dives into a few of the feminist issues surrounding weight and beauty ideals, it's probably most of interest if you believe yourself to be fat, given its celebration of fatness.
March 02, 2003Cunt: A Declaration of Independence was recently re-released with an expanded resource section (like every feminist-ish link you could imagine).
This book seems to be a major force in converting younger women to feminism; so many people claim it changed their lives or their perspectives. It's written in a radical-yet-chatty zine-like style, which I think explains why so many people identify with it and so many others wildly disagree with it.
In any case, very good book. Not chock-full of analysis, but it's brilliant at what it is - an opinionated call to arms for young women.
January 09, 2003Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls is probably the most useful of the books about girl bullying you can find, since it also looks at ways teachers, parents & girls can address the issues that bullying brings up.
A particular strength of this book is that it includes multiple examples of girls who are bullies as well as their victims (vs. focusing entirely on the victim). Better than Slut! and Fast Girls, both good books that focus on individual experience of girl bullying, Odd Girl Out does a nice job of placing bullying in a wider social context without becoming more political than necessary.
December 23, 2002I recently picked up The Frailty Myth (recently released in paperback) by Colette Downing.
It's a quite good book that traces the past 100 years or so of conventional wisdom about women's fitness and physical capability, then highlights some of the persistent inequalities in the way we think about sports. I'll warn you that the book is written from the perspective that all people would enjoy sports if they were just taught well, and includes some assumptions about size and weight with which I don't entirely agree. Still, it's a good introduction to the topic - a nice blend of analysis and history.
Pink Think: Becoming a Woman in Many Uneasy Lessons
(by Lynn Peril)
If you're interested in the pop culture of femininity, you'll get a kick out of this analysis of mid-century guidebooks, toys and other tools used to market the feminine, pink, ideal.
October 18, 2002Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, and Life in a Half-Changed World (by Peggy Orenstein)
A great read if you're looking for a reminder that you're not the only one struggling with whatever you struggle with. Flux is essentially a series of connected biographies, focusing on women making choices about their lives.
October 03, 2002Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (by Christiane Northrup)
It thoroughly covers all sorts of health issues - menstruation, menopause, breast cancer, STDs, etc. in a radical feminist way, while pointing out the problems with the medicial profession and with not listening to your body. She's great.
(recommended by Liz Defiance)
October 02, 2002Blood, Bread, and Roses: How Menstruation Created the World(by Judy Grahn)
Quite fascinating if you're either pagan or a student (casual or otherwise) of myth and religion. Grahn's woman-centered theories on the development of religion are radical, but they make a lot of sense!
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Says Lauren - It's just such an inspiring novel, and it makes me want to call my mum and tell her I love her (until I remember I'd rather stab myself in the eye).
Says April - What do you all think? Is it empowering/inspiring? Some disagree (I know a lot of women find this book annoying, self-included).
(recommended by Lauren)
So not every feminist is a lesbian, and not every lesbian is a feminist.
Yeah, it seems obvious, but I figured I might as well restate it.
Anyhow, if you happen to be either (or both), you will likely get a huge ass kick out of Dyke Write. It's a ring, a clique, a blog, and a place where people will be nice to you while you read a bunch of great writing.
I just started checking it out, and I'm already in lurve. And no, you don't have to be a dyke to join. Though I suppose you definitely have to be queer-friendly.
You absolutely must check out Fat Girl Breakdown (thanks to pixiepuff for the linkage). Their writing is fun, unapologetic, and fabulously opinionated.
It's one of those sites that will make you wish you'd come up with the idea yourself. I'm jealous - and reading. Yum.
[Update - February 2004 - Fatgirlbreakdown.com is now defunct. The site is being rebuilt, though, so stay tuned for the new FGBD!]
August 04, 2002I ran into this new idea over at Dawn's site (This Woman's Work): a collaborative site for feminist mothers - particularly for mothers raising sons.
We've talked before about how little feminist guidance exists for men and boys, and I'm really interested in hearing what comes out of that collab. Check it out soon (and, if you're a mom, maybe you'll join?).
Dawn has also created a sister site for mothers of girls.