Check out all the great posts--some compelling, some fun, some thought-provoking, some heart-wrenching--below:
Politics on the brain
slothwomyn at ...snapshots of a spiral path muses on the ups and downs of election day. Celebrating Obama's win, she also considers the passage and defeat of a few California propositions, for better and for worse.
P Threlfall at Sociology Eye wonders about former Vice Presidential candidate, Governor Sarah Palin and whether she can be considered a feminist icon. Some compelling questions are asked, so go weigh in on the debate.
And, Word Bandit offers a few thoughts on misogyny, Sarah Palin and double standards. Was Sarah Palin picked for all the wrong reasons and how would she be treated differently now if she were a man?
On Women, Writing and Big Ideas
Jason at Executed Today remembers Olympe de Gouges, beheaded in Paris in 1793. Ahead of her time (pun intended), this "proto-feminist" authored Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Citizen, voraciously wrote plays and pamphlets, and lobbied for the rights of those less fortunate.
earlgreyrooibos at This is What a Feminist Blogs Like critiques the claim that women don't write "big idea" books. She considers the gendered nature of the publishing industry and wonders why women are often deemed better at fiction than nonfiction.
Popular Culture and Everyday Life:
Unmana at Unmana's Words recounts an anecdote about sexism and cooking. Are the two so intermeshed that some men only want to eat food cooked by women?
harpymarx analyzes misogyny in slasher films. She considers the filmic trope of "the final girl," and asks some really compelling questions about where women viewers are allowed to seek identification in horror films.
Sierra at Pervyficgirl rants about fan fiction and consent. She writes about how she sees pairing a mentally-unstable, teenaged girl with an older man in the Marvel comics fandom as akin to a rape narrative.
mzbitca at What a crazy random happenstance explores the women of Harry Potter. In particular, she examines how the character of Molly Weasley, as a stay-at-home mom in the series, challenges our assumptions about homemakers and feminist roles.
Reproductive Rights, Sexuality and Our Bodies:
Word Bandit's anecdote about her neighbor's sex life leads to an examination of female sexuality. How is female sexuality often performed, used and abused in our society and what does it say about women's position of power in relation to sex?
Saranga at Pai writes about the erasure of bisexuality in Diva magazine. She wonders why bisexuality is often elided by the media and despairs at not finding bisexual representation in UK-based popular culture.
Jill Morrison at Womenstake argues that a pro-life pharmacy is far from "pro-life." She wonders what will happen to women who fall through the cracks because they're falsely instructed by a pro-life pharmacist that they can't get the contraception they want or need.
little light at Taking Steps recounts her heart-wrenching trans rape narrative (trigger warning!). She opens up about the stigma she faced from the very people who were supposed to help her because she is trans.
Genevieve Dusquesne at UneFemmePlusCourageuse offers an impassioned rant against John McCain's “health of the mother” scare quotes. She ruminates on the reasons for third-trimester abortions and wonders if McCain and those who think like him actually have any compassion for women.
Last, but not least, Meditations on feminism:
At incurable hippie's musings and rants, the author contemplates disability and access to feminism. She offers a variety of critical accounts and recounts her personal experience with ableism among other feminists.
Aerik wonders what makes a feminist ally. He examines what makes a good ally as well how sexism often prevails in the name of pseudo-feminism, particularly in relation to science and Skepticism.
Kenneth Reitz discusses modesty and political centrism. He wonders who's to blame for commodity culture's objectification of women and what both women and men can do to stop it.
mzbitca at What a crazy random happenstance contemplates feminist deal-breakers. Her post about what she finds untenable in regards to otherwise feminist people and actions inspired a great discussion, so go join in.
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And that's all for this edition, folks! Thanks for stopping by.
By the way, if you forgot to contribute this time around but would still like to, send me your post within the next day or two (to fourthwave[dot]feminism[at]gmail[dot]com), and I'll add it to the Carnival.
If you'd like to contribute to the next Carnval (wherever it may be), you can fill out this form.
Enjoy!
Posts
4 comments:
I'm a little uncomfortable with the "Fan Fiction and Consent" link, because there's quite a bit she says there that mirrors (probably unintentionally) some pretty ableist stereotypes about mental illness and sex and the ability to consent or not consent to it.
I'll re-post what I commented there with:
Found you through the Carnival of Feminists. I'm not familiar enough with the fandom you're describing to know the characters, so I can't say one way or the other whether I think this pairing is creepy. But I will say that I'm quite bothered by this:
"BUT. I hold that Terra was mentally unwell. (As do many other people.) Thus, her relationship, in my eyes can never be "consensual." Because mentally unwell people cannot give consent. This is why I consider Slade to be a rapist. There is a difference between a crazy 15/16 year old and a sane one of the same age."
The idea that people who have mental illnesses cannot or should not have sexual autonomy is really creepy, and a widespread ableist assumption that breaks up loving relationships, prevents people who want to from getting married to people they love, and ignores that people can and do have sexual desires and enjoy sexual experiences, even if "unwell." The idea that mental illness completely vitiates someone's consent is really creepy.
Now, "I don't think she was ready for sex with this other character because this particular psychological problem she dealt with made her misinterpret this motivation from the other character," I can understand, and have no problem with. But I'd like to ask you to reconsider your blanket language here.
Plenty of people who have plenty of mental illnesses -- including some of the Big Scary Granddaddies of Illness -- can and do consent to sex. So... I'm not asking you to rewrite this or anything, only to keep it in mind for the next turn of the Rantage Wheel.
You may also be interested in reading this post, on the same topic and how this stigma impacts real people: http://trinityva.livejournal.com/916135.html
I hope that, as feminists, we can call attention to the problems with sex that involves taking advantage of people -- particularly vulnerable young people who may be going through tough times -- without falling back on tired ableist rhetoric about mental illness and "protecting" those who have it.
Especially since, as Cheshire points out in the post I link, "the good mentally ill woman" is one who submits to the sexless life society expects of her.
Intersectionality is important. Many of us know that from our own personal struggles, but have a difficult time realizing when we trip headlong over someone else's.
Lovely job thanks - some new blogs here definitely to add to my blogroll!
Natalie
Just a detail to correct, credit where credit is due and all that: I'm not the author of the post on disablism and access to feminism at Incurable Hippie--I just submitted the link for the carnival.
@Penny: Thanks for pointing that out! I thought I'd corrected that, actually. Oops...
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