The Word: Stonewalling

I totally missed this when it originally aired on Thursday, but Colbert is so spot-on it hurts.

"We're here. We're queer. They'll get to us eventually."

Feminist Flashback #43

My parents just sent me about four thousand pictures of the Christopher Street gay pride parade in Berlin, so for this week's feminist flashback we have the 1999 German film Aimée & Jaguar, starring the amazing Maria Schrader (Rosenstrasse) and Juliane Köhler (whom you may have also seen in the film Nowhere in Africa, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2003). Aimée & Jaguar based on a true story about a love affair between two women in Nazi-era Berlin. It's an amazing film and an incredible love story--beautiful and sad. And the book, a biography, upon which the film is based, is quite good, too.

Unfortunately, I don't think the English-language trailer really does the film justice, but it's the best I could do on short notice:

A Question of Nature

(In the as-if-anyone-cares department: Real Life caught up with me & I had to disappear for a while. Sorry. Also, I'm burned out on writing about music for the moment, so I'll try some other things and see what happens!)

A moderate while ago (a few hundred years or so), there was a general consensus that women were rather worthless 'creatures'. They were unsuited for work, any sort of stress was dangerous to their health, they had 'hysterics', and the best treatment for women who were sick was to remain immobile in be, thus rendering them weaker! That was the Nature of Women. (All this was only applied, of course, to white, affluent women... but that's another topic)

Since then, most people (early feminists, especially) noticed that those ideas were so much crap, and revised them to "Women are weaker physically, but equal mentally - and perhaps more 'moral'". Even more recently - having become certain of the mental part and dropping the moral part - a few optimistic statisticians noticed that female athletes were improving much faster then male athletes, and predicted that women would become physically equal to men by the 21st century.

This proved to be a bit too optimistic. It hasn't happened, and the current general consensus among politically correct people is that women are equal to men in every way (and to speak otherwise is anathema) except athletically. With regard to that, of course, we know that men have more testosterone, so they'll always perform at a higher level. That's the natural way. End of discussion, sorry girls!

But somehow, nobody ever seems to ask why.

The title of the linked article above is "Women athletes will one day out-sprint men", according to 'scientists', despite that the article actually favors the opposite. By 'scientists', then, they mean "people who know how to extrapolate data points", not "experts in women's athletic performance"; thus their foregone conclusion.

As someone who knows how to extrapolate, and who also knows when not to, I have a question: So, men have higher testosterone levels; why is that so? Why shouldn't women have high levels and men lower levels? There's even an animal (the Spotted Hyena) for which this is true. Why is the opposite 'natural' for humans?

The answer, on the face of it, is 'evolutionary pressure'. For most of human history (thanks to short lifespans and other pressures in pre-industrial societies) a woman's ability to pass on her genes was mainly determined by her ability to have more children, and to care for them effectively, not by her physical strength. The two, it seems, are not synonymous.

So! I'll admit that men are physically stronger than women. For that matter, it might be true (assuming these have a genetic component) that men are smarter, or more stable emotionally, or any other measure of human superiority you care to name. I'll admit - not without a fight, but admit - it's possible that men are naturally better than women in every aspect other than child-rearing ability. Perhaps the anti-feminists are correct...

Here's the thing: Being natural doesn't make it right!

To reuse a trite example: Let us say that someone cuts in front of me in line. I might feel an urge to bash their head in. That doesn't make it right. Furthermore - I probably feel less of an urge than my ancestor did 2000 years ago, as random, female, head-bashers don't last long in most societies.

In the same way, we know that there's something wrong with inequality, so why not try to stop it in all forms? Who cares about natural?

Now that the pressure for women to select for child bearing ability has been mostly removed, might not things slowly equalize? It will take thousands of years, perhaps, but it seems possible, even probable. For less obviously sex-linked traits, their evolutionary erasure is certain.

I'm not an expert, though - I've been looking for real genetic studies that examine this, and haven't been able to find anything. (If someone is a geneticist, or geneticist adjacent, leave a comment!) So, I could be missing something important. It does seem very sensible...

In the meantime, why do so many continue to fight about the natural, when 'natural' is so uncertain? We must learn to value all people equally, whether masculine women or feminine men, masculine men or feminine women - not to mention all arbitrary-gender-sphereoid-point arbitrary-sex-identities of all sorts.

'Natural', as it turns out, has no useful meaning.

Thank you, Burger King...

...for making me want to shoot myself.

Ugh.



(H/T Bridget)

Rest in Peace, Legends of my Childhood...

I'm not ashamed to say that, glorified pin-up girl or not, I adored Farrah Fawcett--especially as Jill on Charlie's Angels, but also the hair! And she was only 62... Rest in Peace.



And Michael Jackson, at 50, on the same day. Sigh.

Feminist Flashback #42

What is marriage? Grover wants to know...



(H/T The Bilerico Project)

Obama, DOMA, Dean and Maddow

Or, the long-form alternative title for this post: Yes, Obama, changing the Civil Rights page on the White House website after your election and then defending(!?!) DOMA is not only ridiculous, but also downright insulting.

Ahem.

I haven't said much here yet about Obama's atrocious record so far when it comes to LGBTQ rights, mostly because I was abroad for three weeks and simply didn't have time...but also because I haven't been properly able to channel my outrage into coherent sentences. I'm still not sure I can manage the latter, but I can at least post here with a link to CREDO's newest petition, asking the Justice Department and the Administration to apologize for its abominable and hypocritical defense of DOMA. Please read and sign.

If you need to know more before you commit to a signature, Rachel Maddow and Howard Dean discussed the issues on Maddow's show last Monday (h/t AD Miller):

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Better Off Ted

ABC's work place sitcom, Better Off Ted, returns tonight and I, for one, couldn't be happier. It had a short (six episode) run in the spring and has since been approved for another limited season. I think the show's pretty hilarious, and I'm especially fond of its quirky, over-the-top sense of the humor and the fantastic characterizations. It actually reminds me a bit of Andy Richter Controls the Universe, but better, and hopefully with a longer run.

Oh, and did I mention that the show co-stars Portia de Rossi, who is absolutely hysterical (meaning funny, not literally hysterical) as the megalomaniacal, matter-of-fact Veronica, the eponymous Ted's boss. But don't take my word for it; below, Portia de Rossi explains the show:



Ted's definitely the "straight man" of the show, while characters such as Veronica, Ted's co-worker Linda, and scientists Phil and Lem engage in all the comic hijinks. How nice it is to have a television show where all the jokes aren't at the expense of the women (and, when they are, it's never because they're women) and where the male protagonist doesn't feel the need to put down the other characters in order to be funny.

Anyway, check it out. Better Off Ted airs on ABC Tuesdays this summer at 9:30/8:30c.

The Good Wife

So, I was sitting and watching television and minding my own business last night, when a very short teaser-type ad for a new CBS show called The Good Wife flashed by. Now I wasn't really paying close attention, so I only caught the tail-end of the preview and had an immediate gut reaction to the show's title that amounted to something along the lines of what the...hell?! But I decided I shouldn't pass judgment so quickly without having any idea what the show was about and went online to find out more. What I discovered is the video below, a 3-minute combined trailer/interview with cast and crew discussing the show, and I have to say that, despite the dubious title, the show actually sounds like it might be quite compelling (and, dare I say, feminist or, at the very least, a show with strong female characters)...if it's done well.

From the limited information given in the below preview, what do you all think?

Feminist Flashback #41

Melissa over at Woman and Hollywood wrote a really interesting post the other day in which she weighs the pros and cons of paying to see Sandra Bullock's new film, The Proposal. I totally get where she's coming from as I'm also a huge fan of Sandra Bullock, but I think the previews for the The Proposal make it look mediocre at best and potentially insulting (to women) at worst. That said, Melissa's post--particularly the excerpts she provides from some revealing interviews with Bullock--convinced me that I should give the film a chance. If nothing else, I know that Bullock herself will be good...

...which leads me to my 'catch-up' feminist flashback (a make-up for the one I missed the week of June 7 -- and then I'll do this week's on Wednesday and be all caught up!), the trailer of one of my favorite Sandra Bullock movies, a film decidedly in the genre of 'feminism in surreal places', Miss Congeniality:

Target Women x2 (a.k.a. watch this while I get my groove back)

I got back from Europe late Friday night, after a long international flight, a delayed flight out of O'Hare (where we sat on the tarmac for two hours while lightening flashed around us), an hour drive home from the airport, and then, finally, spending the hour and half after returning home battling the moth invasion that had taken over in our absence (over 40 of them...I counted!). Suffice it to say, yesterday was spent in a state of full-body exhaustion, and today I'm just starting to get back on track.

I actually have a whole list of things about which I'd like to post in the next couple weeks--including two feminist flashbacks I need to catch up on--but, for now, as a sort of buffer while I get back on my feet, here's Sarah Haskins' two latest. Funny and insightful as ever!



...and...

Feminist Flashback #40

I know I've been very, very MIA, what with my traveling and all, but I wanted to at least throw a feminist flashback your way (I'm one behind, I know!) for this week. Today's flashback is especially fitting because I've been enjoying DVDs of the first season of the beloved 80s detective series Cagney and Lacey on my laptop while I've been away, and I have vivid and happy memories of watching it when I was a kid. More on C&L soon I hope, but for now your just get to enjoy the opening:

Otalia and Guiding Light

Yeah, that's right, you heard it here first.* I've succumbed to the phenomenon known as Otalia--that's an amalgam of the names Olivia and Natalia for neophytes. And, yes, that means, I am forced to admit as I hang my head in shame, that I've become a wee bit addicted to a soap opera. Not that there's anything wrong with soap operas, particularly a soap opera with the impressive legacy of Guiding Light, the longest-running scripted broadcast drama ever. GL first aired on the radio in 1937, moved over to the small screen in 1952 and is currently in its 72nd season. I'm well aware that soap operas were reclaimed by feminist scholars in the 1970s and 1980s--Modleski, Ang, Radway...rah rah rah!--and I completely understand and appreciate the appeal of the melodrama of daytime television. Still, I can't help but feel a little silly about my sudden fannish devotion to the Otalia phenomenon and, by extension, Guiding Light's continued survival (it was recently canceled by CBS, and the jury's still out on whether or not it will be taken on by another channel).


If you know anything about soap operas, you know it would be pretty difficult for me to explain the appeal of Olivia and Natalia and the year-long build-up of their relationship. Really, either you know about Otalia and love them or you've probably never heard of them. But everyone has to start somewhere, as I did when I finally succumbed a couple months ago to the groundswell of chatter about GL and decided to check out what this Otalia business was all about. In short, as with the best soap relationships, these two characters have slowly morphed from enemies to reluctant acquaintances to best friends to a loving couple (bound together through a dead husband's transplanted heart, spurred on by a misunderstood "my two mommies" school presentation innocently delivered by Olivia's daughter, and, in the best soap-y fashion, finally brought together by way of a ruined wedding).

(For an overview of their relationship in clips, I offer a couple useful links: a LiveJournal entry with a collection of links to Otalia scenes from April 2008 until March 2009 and then a more recent, picture-heavy (super pretty but less comprehensive) entry by another LJ user which covers some Otalia scenes from January 2009 through April 2009. And, if you have a lot of time on your hands (and if you want to see more recent episodes), sidle on over to the Otalia Channel on youtube. Of course, you can also watch current episodes on CBS or at cbs.com.)

The relationship is unique, obviously, because both characters are women (a big deal for the relatively conservative soap genre), and, so far, the storyline has been handled remarkably well by the network, writers and producers--which is to say, the mainstream "hotness"-factor of lesbianism isn't being exploited and the women's relationship has been allowed to develop organically.

While GL has tried to maintain that the Otalia relationship is "label-less" (as opposed to lesbian--which seems a fair distinction considering both characters have been married to men in the past...many men, in Olivia's case), the show has not shied away from allowing the women to express their love (verbally, if only somewhat physically...at least so far). Their relationship isn't sensationalized, but it also hasn't been swept under a rug.

Other points of interest: both women are incredibly supportive of each other; they are both dedicated working mothers, Olivia especially ambitious as the owner and manager of The Beacon Hotel; and Natalia is a devout Catholic. The latter issue has been handled particularly well, in my opinion. Natalia's religion remains significant in her life, and yet she recently admitted her love for Olivia to her priest and stood up admirably to his admonishments and warnings, insisting that if God is indeed love, as the Bible insists, than her love for Olivia can't be wrong (scenes from this episode can be viewed here and then you can click through to part 2).

But besides the positive-portrayal-of-women stuff (obviously important!), one of my favorite things about Otalia is the amazing graciousness with which the two actors, Crystal Chappell (Olivia) and Jessica Leccia (Natalia), have treated their fans--sometimes popping by the Otaliafans message board to chat and continually expressing gratitude to all the people who've contacted them and shared their personal stories (about coming out later in life, about homophobia they've faced, etc.). There's a great interview with the dynamic duo here, and I can also highly recommend the podcast-ed interviews with Jessica and Crystal, respectively.

Forgive my gushing, but the depiction of an engaging, fun, well-developed, and relatively realistic relationship between two women on television--on a soap no less--deserves a little praise. At least in my book. So, if you're curious at all, check out Otalia. You won't be sorry.


*And if anyone's wondering what I'm doing posting about an American soap opera from my travels abroad, this post was already written before I left, and I simply forgot to post it (oops!). In any case, I actually have a few things I'd like to say about some German soap operas, but that will have to wait for another day.

Wrinkles and the FDA

I saw that the FDA approved an over-the-counter laser to be used at home to remove wrinkles. The news reporter talked as a video of a woman with alien-type goggles on winced as the doctor used some laser contraption to zap wrinkles and instantly make her younger…

Seriously folks, is this really something we need? I can just see it now…”Woman zaps off earlobe after sneezing while using at-home laser treatment.” Hours have passed and I keep thinking about what this development really means. First, maybe food safety is a more important issue to tackle for the FDA to tackle than beauty products (just a thought). Secondly, but no less disturbing, is the notion that you can’t be youthful and beautiful unless you don’t have wrinkles.


Of course, this targets women only even though nobody says it. Why is that? Well, think about this. All the wrinkle removal systems, all the anti-aging products, etc. are advertised in women’s magazines and through commercials starring women. They promise to reduce your wrinkles and fine lines, making you look and feel more beautiful with each application. The flip side of this being I’ve never seen Burt Reynolds or Sean Connery or even Tony Bennett in one of those ads. You know why? Somehow, men become “regal” or “stately” when they get old, wrinkles and all. A touch of gray at the temple is attractive and sexy. That’s the message society sends…

Now, I don’t know about you but I think this is a bunch of fahooey. Old is old. I don’t think Burt Reynolds’ wrinkles are any sexier than Angela Lansbury’s. However, we’ve allowed beauty to become synonymous with youth (for women anyway), and society is constantly putting pressure on women to be beautiful. I mean, let’s face it, the first thing people see is your face. God forbid that someone stops to think that you actually may be a good person despite your wrinkles or gray hair. I’m not against using these products if you know why you’re using them. In other words, you’re not trying to comply with the unattainable and warped definition of beauty—you love being you and are secure with that but maybe a few less wrinkles make you happy.

Women are the wiser sex; after all, we’ve tricked these men into believing that the older they get, the better they get. I think the trickery/boosting their egos should stop and say, “Hey guys. Maybe you should try that new wrinkle treatment because you look really old. You’re not a bottle of Scotch, you don’t get better with age.” See how they like it…

Feminist Anthems: "Something Inside Of Me" (Wicked Wisdom)

Anger is a fascinating emotion. On one hand, it's a natural, normal reaction to a negative situation, just another piece in the range of human expression. On the other hand, though, anger is seen as overly violent, as a nonconstructive way of dealing.

Especially for women.

We're taught that women aren't supposed to get angry. Sugar and spice and all that. We're supposed to collapse and cry in negative situations. Anger is a sort of 'tough job' that is reserved for the men. If we do express anger? We're bitches and shrews.

As feminists/womanists, we're opposed to that concept, of course. We're allowed to be angry. And we certainly spend our fair share of time being angry - enough that the 'angry feminist' is one of the more common stereotypes. There's honestly little wrong with that. Anger gets stuff done.

But there's a further layer to the emotion:


Feminists tend to be angry about something. We're angry about a problem, and want it fixed: a organization created, a law enacted, media representation of x, acceptance of y, society changed. And this song is seemingly the same. It's about sexual abuse of children - a important issue if there ever was one. The singer is rightfully angry about it. "VIOLATED LITTLE GIRLS AND / LITTLE BOYS I HATE THIS WORLD" But notice her 'solution'. It is to change anything? Is it a 'fuck you' sort of reaction?

No, she instead wants to "...break / that muthafucka’s neck"!

This isn't constructive anger. It's simple, unmitigated rage. And yet - at some level it seems completely appropriate. 2,400 children will be sexually abused today, in the US alone. How can you honestly respond any other way?

Now, I'm fairly certain Jada Pinkett Smith isn't actually advocating vigilante violence against child molesters. The song is, after all, entitled 'Something Inside of Me'. Still, this sort of anger is helpful, even needed - as a motivator, as a clarifier, as a release.

There's a place for calm. There's a place for righteous anger, and there's a place for the violent outburst.

Embrace the rage! (But only musically, please...)

Feminist Television Characters (with clips!)

Jezebel just published a list of 20 feminist television characters and, although their list is great, they also lament that 1) most of the characters aren't that recent and 2) they're almost all white. While the latter is pretty much true of television in general--with a few exceptions--I thought I could still find a few more women from the 1990s and the 2000s to add to the list...especially a few more women of color.

Here are five more feminist television characters--three of whom are of color--just off the top of my head (and in order of appearance). Tell me more in the comments (Buffy and Xena are already givens)!


1. Clair Huxtable (Phylicia Rashad), The Cosby Show (1984-1992)



2. Winifred 'Freddie' Brooks (Cree Summer), A Different World (1987-1993)


(Freddie comes in around 3:30 or so, but the whole clip's interesting -- this episode dealt with domestic violence. A Different World might be one of my favorite sitcoms of all time.)

3. B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Dawson), Star Trek: Voyager (1995-2001)

I couldn't find a good, representative clip of her awesomeness (although, admittedly, they tamed her down a good bit over Voyager's seven seasons), but you should watch this fun little tribute video for the women of Voyager (Torres, Captain Janeway, and Seven) set to Salt-N-Pepa's "Ain't Nuthin' But A She Thing." It's priceless!

4. C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney), The West Wing (1999-2006)


Probably not the most representative clip, but I sadly, don't have all day to troll around Youtube! ;-) However, speaking of Janney, Melissa Silverstein of Women and Hollywood just posted a great interview with her the other day.

5. Sarah Connor (Lena Headey), Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009)


Again, a compilation (made by folks who want to save the recently-canceled show). Still, so true...

That's all for now, folks! Seriously, though, add to Jezebel's list...and to mine.

Update: Check out the excellent additions (also with clips) by Melissa over at Women and Hollywood.

Dear New Hampshire, Coming in 6th Place is Still Pretty Great...

...especially considering there are forty-four other states that are slow as freakin' molasses. Hop to it, Other States!

New Hampshire Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage

Feminist Flashback #39

So Monday I flew to Germany, with a trip to Paris to come in a week, to visit friends and family, which is my excuse for my lag in posting this week's feminist flashback. That said, since I'm currently in Berlin--my favorite city in the world--I thought I'd post an appropriately germane (no pun intended) flashback this week.


AVIVA Berlin, an online magazine for women, turns 9 years old this month. If you can read German, you should check it out. I don't know much about the magazine, but they've got sections on Culture, Jewish Life, Women and Work, Book Reviews, Interviews, etc.--all woman-centered, of course. Plus, and most importantly, they share my name and should, I think, hire me. Who wants to help me start a campaign to get myself hired as their spokesperson? ;-)

Aging with Grace and Beauty

I just read this column by Lesley M. M. Blume on The Huffington Post and thought I would share it with Fourth Wave readers. It presents six short profiles of celebreties who Blume describes as "natural-looking, beautiful women of a certain age." Though these women should obviously be admired for a great deal more than their physical appearance, I have to agree with Blume; such women provide a refreshing and much-needed departure from the photoshoped, plastic-surgeried images of women that dominate the press. Perhaps our readers have their own role models who redefine beauty-after-50 that could be added to Blume's list. My personal favorite out of this lot: Carmen Dell'Orifice. You can also turn to this NPR report to hear Dell'Orifice's comments on the impact of the recession on the fashion industry.