As if American Apparel shouldn't already go f*ck itself

for its sexist, misogynistic and body-image-distorting ads. And its sexist pig of a CEO. Add to the list a raging case of co-opting and misrepresenting culture.

plus, who would want to wear those pants anyway?

Palin Charges Rape Victims for their Own Justice

While Mayor, Sarah Palin Charged Rape Victims for their Own Justice - Feministing

The argument regarding the abortion issue is particularly pithy. Also, the contrast between Palin's "fierce mother hen" persona and the purely commercial act of charging victims for their own rape kits is a pretty sickening kind of hypocrisy. In light of recent, disturbing conversations regarding rape and date rape (see Helen Mirren's comments in a British GQ article), to potentially be putting someone with these ideas into any kind of executive position (especially where you have some -- albeit ceremonial -- involvement in the legislative branch) I think is dangerous. It's much too much a step backward for women in particular and society in general.

I mean, doesn't it just assume that men have no control over their sexual impulses, and that women who cross certain physical boundaries (threshold to a hotel room, for example) are no longer allowed control over their own bodies? 'Cuz that's what Mirren's comments mean to me.


Soooooo disappointing, Helen Mirren.

Feminists: Up (in) Arm(ies) [Update]

I actually took a moment (when I should have been sleeping) to read up a little more on these articles. It seems I should have directed everyone instead to the Slate article by Linda Hirshman, to which Dickerson's article is merely a response. Hirshman brings up the concept, proposed by Amy Tiemann and presumably others, that it's time for an assessment (read: struggle) of the Mother-Daughter paradigm, that the "Mothers" (read: "old" feminists, first-wave feminism) are too busy calling the shots and holding the purse strings. That it's time we second-wavers -- if that's what we are -- need to start standing up for ourselves.

I don't know about my co-feminists who might read this (anyone?) but I don't know that I feel all that alienated by first-wave feminism. Any Women's Libbers I ever worked with through the Society for Women at WJU and through other networks professional, social and non-profit have been open to all suggestions and conversations about the status and progress of women and their rights in this day and age. I don't think any first-wave feminists are afraid of letting us in or having us prep for taking the helm of these organizations. That was never the point of feminism; it isn't to establish some kind of tacit Cabinet-for-Life network. I think we second-wave feminists and those of us who think like feminists but are afraid to call ourselves the F-word have shot ourselves in the foot with our hemming and hawing about what exactly the word "feminist" means, and whether we can apply it to ourselves without scaring off the status quo.

There seems to be a lot of backpedaling to me. Women with whom I've taken classes or know socially or who I've worked with, whom I regard as some of the most well-educated, confident, brilliant and talented people I know, are afraid to use the word. Of course, no one says "I'm afraid to call myself a feminist". But I've been in the presence of at least one woman who declared, in the presence of others including men, that feminism was just over and it was time to move on, that women should just "get over it". Get over it?

Sorry, but is humanism over? Is philanthropism over? Just because it's an "-ism" doesn't mean it has an expiration date. I was both saddened and frustrated to hear my friend say this, simply because it seems to be such a frightened and shallow answer to the question posed by the very nature of being female. Much as I'm sure some people would like to unsex themselves in the academic and professional sectors in order to ensure fair treatment, it just won't happen any time soon. It's gotten better, I absolutely concur. And I'll be the first to say that my colleagues -- of my age -- in academia are some of the best at working on leveling the playing field. But you only need watch "Flip That House", for example, to see sexism and double-standards alive and well in the US. There was an episode in which the house appraiser came to look at a house being worked on by three men who were doing a "flip" for the first time. The ringleader, aware that he was being filmed, continually addressed the no-nonsense appraiser (who was, of course, petite, blonde and had a southern accent) as "Sweetie" or "Hon". Later, when she no-nonsensically handed him the bad news that his house flip was a bust, the "Sweetie" approach vanished. He seemed almost hurt and betrayed by the failure of the appraiser to respond in a "feminine" manner to him as he was by the failure of his flip. Like, seriously? He thought that was an appropriate way to address a professional on national television?

So I'm not sure where this call to arms against the previous generation of feminist came from. I don't think it's appropriate, particularly when the only place you can argue equality for women exists is in the West, in the US and Canada and in Europe, and in Australia. Even then, I'm not sure we aren't just dealing with new iterations of sexism. There are much bigger problems out there to deal with; it's not the time for us to be taking the offensive against our mothers.


(I'll read the rest of the article later. This is going to be one loooooong set of posts.)

"How To Be A Good Wife", courtesy of the 1950s

How To Be A Good Wife

Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal on time. Devote at least half your mental energy to this. You really have nothing to think about anyway, do you? This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself. Take fifteen minutes to rest so that you will be refreshed when he arrives. Have your children trained to keep an eye on the dinner that should be warming on your entirely un-child-proof stove. Touch up your makeup. Remember, concealer is a must! Rid yourself of those unsightly bags immediately! Put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. I saw this on an old movie once. He has just been with a lot of work-wear[sic] people, whereas you've been dicking around the house all day, doing fuck-all knows what. Probably watching whatever daytime TV the 1950s had to offer. You slattern. Be a little gay and a little more interesting and even try for vapid and obsequious, his boring day may need a lift .

Clear away clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. because it shouldn't look like you, or the children, actually live there. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. And remember to keep your eye on that stove! And the children! And that ribbon! Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and will give you a lift too. on the arse, if you're lucky. "Hiya Toots!"

Prepare the children. They are best braised, with a little rosemary and salt. Take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. You needn't remember for the rest of the day that they are also your little treasures -- you need to be thinking about dinner. They only have to play the part for daddy.

Minimize all the noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quite[sic]. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him. Try not to let on to the shrieking despair you feel when you see his "work-wear" face and think about what being married will mean for the next fifty years.

Some Don'ts. Don't greet him with problems and complaints. Don't complain if he is late for dinner and smells like Impostor perfumes and gin. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through that day, like Important Office Stuff and Three Martini Lunches. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or suggest that he lie down in the bedroom. Have a chilled or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.(<-----I couldn't think of anything to say here. My gag reflex would seriously not let me. I do like the quasi-dominatrix voice in "allow", though.)

Listen to him. You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time and what you have to say is not really that important, anyway. Let him talk first.

Make the evening his. Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or other pleasant entertainment. Instead try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his needs are to relax and unwind. A lot, apparently. So don't you dare say anything.

The Goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can relax in body and spirit. Because when he's relaxed, then you can ask him for money for the Valium. Just make sure to say it's for "women's needs". After all, you need it, don't you?

Source: 1950s High School Home-Economics Textbook

I wonder how all this would sound if the pronouns were switched around?

Feminists: Up (in) Arm(ies)

MotherJones Blog: Throwing Clinton Under the Bus To Spite Mom

There was this article, that was linked to in this article: "Young Feminists Just Want to 'go wild and pole dance'"

And sadly, when I started reading the first one I gradually realized that the pseudo-jam-band outside my window here on campus was singing some song whose refrain included "short-skirt girl". I don't know what it means, but it definitely adds just one more layer to this hearty discussion.

More later, after I've followed through on all this, in my head.