Uncool: Feminist Carnival 42

As regular readers know, I've been computerless for over a week and only back online yesterday afternoon. I did ponder what would be best, a few well-presented links, or as many as I could get. I went for the latter, and here they are presented alphabetically (mostly) with defining quotes.

Before we begin - a quick note - I had asked sex bloggers to participate, and a few did. They are marked, for your convinience, as "(NSFW)" = Not Safe For Work.

It never quite seems like there's enough links when one is doing a carnival. And it is with reluctance that I quit blog hopping and present to you the latest Feminist Carnival!

Rich at Adonis Journal: A Pro-Feminist Journal writes In Their Own Words: Men trivialising rape.

Mandolin from Alas, A Blog reacts to a comment left on another blog, "Knowing that someone is a woman does not tell me anything about her fate, but it does tell me she knows what I know about what it’s like to bleed.”

The indomitable Bitchy Jones (NSFW) gives us the six words she wants obliterated from the English language: "And you know what’s fucked the most? The language. Want to know why? Because femdom was conceived, written and directed by submissive men who conveniently forgot to ask the opinions of any women except the ones who were being paid to agree with them."

cest.la.vie draws our attention to Nothing But Red: "The founders of Nothing But Red are asking for reader contributions to an anthology that will "explore women’s issues and the need for equality". Proceeds from the anthology will go to Equality Now."

Confessions of a Community College Dean talks about female academics 'reaching their full potential': "I'm all for civility, but to see a term like 'decorum' used to keep people in their place strikes me as fundamentally perverse. To suggest that a young woman with ambition is somehow unseemly strikes me as, well, what's the word I'm looking for, completely f-ing insane."

Cruella-blog addresses why women are reluctant to ask for pay-rises: "According to the Washington Post, women ask for more money or wage increases less frequently than men do. We hear this a lot as though it were the conclusion of the debate on women's wages. Clearly there are a number of other issues going on..."

Fat can be sexy posted at Deliciously Naughty (NSFW) : "I am sick to death of "plus-sized" women beating on themselves. Sick of it to the point where I just want to grab the next fat girl who whines about not being able to get a date or how awful she looks and SLAP her." (Also winner of Sugasm #90)

Den of the Biting Beaver discusses the politics of penetration: "You see, penetration is power to these guys. They don't get approval points for simply going down on us, or kissing us, or being intimate in other ways. They can only 'cash in' their currency by penetrating women. Because penetration is about conquering, controlling and ‘owning’ (anyone remember “You poke it you own it”?)"

Ex-Courtesan in Transition (again) (NSFW) discusses feminism and sex work: "Does escorting help or set back Feminism? I don't think it does either. Or maybe it does both, depending on the situation. I guess I'm kind of frustrated and sad that the question needs to be asked because I'm frustrated and sad about Feminism in general. And on so, So, SO many levels I don't really care about the discussion any more as I did enough of it years ago. I'm over talking about it because I decided instead to quietly do."

Ann from Feministing talks about the new Barbie website.

At The Feminist Pulse, Jaymi Heimbuch interviews Shira Tarrant in Men as Feminists.

Jill of Feministe asks questions of pro-lifers: "If women are so infantile that our bad acts toward fetuses must be punished with counseling or left to God, does that apply when our bad acts are directed at born people? If I kill my next-door neighbor, can I simply say that because of my tiny lady-brain and tinier lady-morals, I just didn’t know any better? Can I get counseling or some smiting instead of jail time?"

Foreign Affairs draws attention to a sexist article in the Economist: "The author's attitude is appalling. Not only does he (assuming gender) demonstrate a profound disrespect for women through his clubbing and handbag remark, but he also reduces women to baby making machines."

Greta Chritina argues the case for same-sex marriages as opposed to civil unions: "I'm just saying: It's not the same. It's not enough. And I am disinclined to pretend that it is. This fight will not be over in this country until same-sex marriage is legal and fully- recognized in all 50 states. You can put nice cushions in the back of the bus -- but it's still the back of the bus."

Hear me Roar discusses sexist billboard campaigns. "Young girls seeing this image will be very clear on the message. The sign says "THIS is what an acceptable, sexy woman looks like." And consequently, if you want to feel valued by men or if you want men to find you attractive, you will conform this beauty norm."

I Blame The Patriarchy laughs at the irony of two seventh years getting punished for slapping the arses of young girls: "I laughed because these boys are precisely the product of their culture. Do these outraged parents and attorneys and sociologists and radio jocks and sexperts really expect that boys will not initiate attempts to dominate girls as early in their lives as possible? Do they imagine that misogyny is a figment? Do they delude themselves that the attempt by these boys to join their elders in satisfying, lifetime careers of culturally-approved sex-based harassment was merely an anomaly, an aberration?"

I Never Leave The House Without An Incident reacts to the proposed bill to ban women from seeking obortions without written consent from the father: "A very big fuck you is in order."

Jon Swift discusses the reactions to Hilary Clinton's cleavage: Of course, Ann Althouse, the Internet's leading breast blogger, was quick to join in, accusing Hillary of "flaunting" her cleavage... "Breasts that are conspicuous in the political sphere warrant commentary," she wrote, typing with one hand while the other clutched a shawl to her neckline.

Kindly Pog Mon Thoin (the most wonderful zuzu from Feministe) praises Harley Davidson for the marketing campaign of bikes designed for women: "While it’s always a little uncomfortable praising a corporation for successfully figuring out how to get women to spend their money without condescending to them, or to be approving of the idea that some kind of consumer product is empowering, it’s hard to deny that getting more women to think about motorcycles as something they control, rather than just something they ride while their men control, is a positive thing."

La Fille (NSFW) talks about the idea of a 'feminist slut': "To what extent am I a slut, whatever that means? Should I be proud if I fit my own definition of one? Am I rationalizing the use of the word to describe since I sense that I'll be called it anyhow? When I call myself a slut, am I simply playing into male fantasies of women who acknowledge their sluttiness as part of a performance piece for them? Am I one of those who describe themselves as dirty little sluts in order to give their man a frisson of pleasure? Or am I asserting my independence, my right to act however I please, for my pleasure, not his?"

Laurelin discusses the use of the term 'empowerment' : "We do not hear that certain acts empower men, for example, because men are presumed not to require empowerment. In a general sense this is true; men have social, sexual and economic control of women as a class, and thus as a class they are not in need of this extra boost."

Sagar Satapathy presents Role Reversal: Do Women prefer Stay-at-Home Husbands? in the blog Love, Romance & Dating: "The modern woman is no longer dependant on her husband to fulfill her needs. She works hard, earn good money and draws appreciation at her workplace. So, what's the big deal? Why would she leave her job and reply on her hubby for bread and butter? Rather, she prefers a stay-at-home husband who will look after the house and the kids when she is away at work."

Mad Melancholic Feminist talks about family values: "I think the majority of the readers of this blog are as sick as I am of the hollow rhetoric of "family values." We could get behind a party that rallied around family values if it meant more than anti-gay, anti-feminism, and pro-gun..."

Mind the Gap! discusses pornography: "It's getting to the point where the word no longer has any meaning, and I feel that if I ever use the word "pornification" seriously, I will be compelled to instantly stab myself in the throat with the nearest sharp object, be it letter opener or tipp-ex pen. It has got to the point where the definition is so nebulous that I don't even know what the holy mother of Christ I'm talking about."

Ornamenting Away defends the right to be offended by misogyny: "The thing is: From the minute I leave my house in the morning I am inundated by misogynistic messages, from the things I hear people say to the images I see all around me. For every one time that I make any sort of comment on these messages there are approximately 1,172 times that I’ve recognized something as sexist and not said anything. There are about 5,249 messages that I didn’t even pick up on."

In Feminism and Sex, Polyamorously Perverse (NSFW) looks at sex workers in the context of feminism past and present: "The key to this who matter is whether a woman's choices are hers to make, and whether they advance her well-being and happiness. That is, after all, what the ERA stood for. Sadly, it fell three states short of the 38 needed for ratification, and expired on July 1, 1982. Talks about reviving it are mostly a pipe dream at this point."

Radical Vixen (NSFW) talks about the struggle to convince doctors that she does not want to have children: "Here it was all over again-the lecture I had been getting my entire life. You’ll change your mind. Everyone has children. Of course you’ll want children someday. When you turn 30 you’ll want children. If you don’t have children you’ll regret it when you’re older. Who will take care of you when you’re old? Don’t you want a family? What’s wrong with you that you don’t like children? Everyone loves babies, why don’t you?"

Reproductive Rights Blog gives us her round up of what's been going on in the news for women.

Shakespeare's Sister talks looks at the statistic that suggests indigenous women are more likely to be raped: "So, I see the headline House Approves Funding to Combat Abuse, Rape of Indigenous Women, and I get all excited, since an April Amnesty International report found that "indigenous women are at least twice as likely to be sexually assaulted as other women in the US. One in every three indigenous women will be raped or sexually abused in their lifetime." And then I read what the funding to "combat" rape actually funds..."

Social Justice Feminist responds to a poorly researched article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: "Short definition: emergency contraception does not abort. Thus, there truly is only one victim in these circumstances: the woman who (if raped) is traumatized, scared and in need of a solution. She has a five-day deadline (as that is how long sperm can survive in the vaginal canal), and folks such as Ms. Daily continue to make it difficult to live within that time frame."

Talk to Vanessa (NSFW)discusses the encierro, drawing attention to the women who want to partake using cows instead of bulls in the interest of equality in the post 'Gender Equity? Sounds like a lot of bull'.

the wannabe indian punkster rejects marriage: "For all the progressive ideals we frame in our minds as to the division of labor, the surname, work etc. and all the rosy ‘everything will be shared equally between both of us’ type plans, it never really happens, does it? Consciously, or unconsciously we fall back into the age old trap of performing duties which comply with heavily gendered roles and power differentials laid out for us by cultural and societal norms and practices."

Well I'll Go To The Foot of My Stairs points to the 50 years of women-centred journalism in the Guardian in her post 'Lest We Forget'.

Don't call z from The Naked Truth (NSFW) a slut: "I’m not your slut, I’m not your whore, I’m not your anything. I’ll be your lover, because that’s what you are to me."

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Many thanks to:
Tom Paine, La Fille Mariee, Gillette and Viviane's Sex Carnival for helping me advertise this edition, and to all of those who submitted a post!