And now for something frivolous...

...which will hopefully be as fun as it looks.

Tina Fey and Steve Carell in a romantic comedy/buddy film/action adventure? Bring it on!



(H/T AfterEllen)

And...care of Salon Broadsheet, a new feminist pop punk band to check out:

No Girls Allowed, Academic Version

Love this (from The New Yorker, h/t Sociological Images):

A.I.R. Gallery in Brooklyn, NY Calling All Women Artists

Just a quick PSA:

A.I.R. Gallery invites you to participate in an invitational holiday exhibition of small works, Generations VII, December 2nd- January 3rd 2010. The exhibition includes a silent auction. Sales will benefit participating artists and A.I.R. Gallery. 60% of the proceeds of each work will be paid to the artist within one month after the close of the exhibition. The remaining 40% of sales will support the A.I.R. Fellowship Program for Emerging and Underrepresented Artists. Please join this biennial celebration of art made by women!

Entry forms must be postmarked by November 22, 2009. More information about A.I.R. Gallery and the exhibition guidelines can be found here.

On Not Saying the Pledge of Allegiance

When I was in elementary school, I decided to stop saying the Pledge of Allegiance in school because my family was atheist and I thought it absurd that a pledge to a supposedly secular nation included the phrase "one nation, under God" (that said, I should've stopped using American money, too, but that seemed a bit complicated). This was not my parents' choice, but my own, and I went many years during pledge time either just standing up and not saying anything or remaining seated at my desk. After a brief explanation, teachers were very accommodating and no one ever tried to force me to say the pledge--and I wasn't alone, as a friend of mine (whose family was Dutch and also atheist) and a good acquaintance (who was a Jehovah's Witness) also didn't say the pledge. The (non-)response of my teachers and classmates is just a testament to how liberal my primary schools and teachers were (and, for the record, I went to public school). I felt I was taking a stand and, as an 8 or 9-year-old, that was very important to me. But, considering my environment, I wasn't taking a huge risk.

But this kid, who refused to say the Pledge of Allegiance in spite of his (then substitute) teacher's protests and classmates' teasing and in support of same-sex marriage rights, is my hero:



Also, check out this great rebuttal to the boy's detractors from a reporter at the Arkansas News.

With all the other crap going down right now vis-a-vis same-sex marriage and health care and the war(s) in the Middle East, at least there are a few good things left. Maybe the younger generation really will be different?

(Via Huff Po.)

More "Fun" with Google Search

After Stiletto Revolt's enlightening experiment with Google Search (h/t Feminist Law Professors), I decided to conduct one of my own.

The results:


Apparently, however, "feminism" has a better rap than "feminists," since this version turned out marginally better:


Sigh.

Two Steps Forward, But How Many Steps Back?

I've read one interesting and one infuriating article about same-sex marriage published in the past few days that are definitely worth sharing. The first, from The New York Times, talks about the dichotomy of popular mainstream lesbian celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and the struggle for same-sex marriage rights in the US:

In what may have been the most public display of gushingly romantic affection between two gay or lesbian celebrities, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi professed their love in the secular chapel of Oprah Winfrey’s daytime talk show on Monday.

The moment came less than a week after voters in Maine, like those in 30 states before it, rejected same-sex marriage, and just a day before New York legislators would again postpone consideration of a bill to legalize such weddings, conceding inadequate support.

[...]

In the handful of states where same-sex marriage is legal, legislatures and courts — not voters — have made it so. A few polls in recent months have suggested that while a majority of Americans believe that gay couples should be able to enter into unions with some of the legal protections of marriage, a minority believe that gays and lesbians should be permitted to “marry,” per se. Same-sex marriage doesn’t fit into the kind of family that many Americans believe should be idealized; it offends many others’ deeply felt religious principles.

And yet Ms. DeGeneres, who exchanged vows with Ms. de Rossi during a span last year when same-sex marriage was legal in California, seems more popular than ever — and among audiences squarely in the mainstream.

The second, from The Washington Post, reports on possibly the shittiest thing the Catholic Church has done (or, in this case, threatened to do) in recent memory (and that's saying something):

The Catholic Archdiocese of Washington said Wednesday that it will be unable to continue the social service programs it runs for the District if the city doesn't change a proposed same-sex marriage law, a threat that could affect tens of thousands of people the church helps with adoption, homelessness and health care.

Under the bill, headed for a D.C. Council vote next month, religious organizations would not be required to perform or make space available for same-sex weddings. But they would have to obey city laws prohibiting discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

Fearful that they could be forced, among other things, to extend employee benefits to same-sex married couples, church officials said they would have no choice but to abandon their contracts with the city.

I mean, really, what a better way to say "God is love" than to threaten to stop helping people if you don't get what you want!

(H/T Kate R. for the links)

Illustrating the Hypocrisy

A great political cartoon by Steve Sack of Slate Magazine (where you can find more cartoons of a similar persuasion):



(H/T FMF's Choices Feminist Campus Blog.)

Target Women: Broadview Security

Sarah Haskins' latest Target Women is spot-on. I've been watching these crazy Broadview Security ads for months and wondering, "What the hell?" (I mean, really, who would ever, ever turn on their security alarm in broad daylight when they've just come inside for lunch?) Way to make the world look like an evil, scary place with lots of men in black out to assault women, Broadview. An evil, scary place only your security system can protect us helpless women from, right? Rape fables, indeed.

Schroedinger's Rapist

I want to share with you all a guest post at Shapely Prose by writer Phaedra Starling that I found not long ago which has put a lot of my thoughts about public interactions with men into words. It's not a short post, but I really recommend reading the whole thing, especially if you happen to possess a penis.

The post discusses how, when one approaches a woman in public, it's really important to be aware that she does not know whether or not you're a rapist. An excerpt:

Consider: if every rapist commits an average of ten rapes (a horrifying number, isn’t it?) then the concentration of rapists in the population is still a little over one in sixty. That means four in my graduating class in high school. One among my coworkers. One in the subway car at rush hour. Eleven who work out at my gym. How do I know that you, the nice guy who wants nothing more than companionship and True Love, are not this rapist?

I don’t.

When you approach me in public, you are Schrödinger’s Rapist. You may or may not be a man who would commit rape. I won’t know for sure unless you start sexually assaulting me. I can’t see inside your head, and I don’t know your intentions. If you expect me to trust you—to accept you at face value as a nice sort of guy—you are not only failing to respect my reasonable caution, you are being cavalier about my personal safety.

Fortunately, you’re a good guy. We’ve already established that. Now that you’re aware that there’s a problem, you are going to go out of your way to fix it, and to make the women with whom you interact feel as safe as possible.

Now, there have been some negative reactions to her tone. I think, given the subject matter, that it's called-for, although perhaps her condescension is unhelpful. If you can disregard the talking down just for a minute, though, and if you hear all the dismal statistics and despair at the state of affairs, if you wonder how you can successfully approach a woman without being a creeper, or if you're just really awesome, read the rest of the article. It's worth it.

Cross posted at Paper Cuts and Plastic.

Three Things for Tuesday

In order to not get too terribly depressed about Stupak and the attendant health care debacle, I went out seeking mindless entertainment today. Good things (some poignant, some funny, some crazy fun) were found. I thought I would share.

Poignant: Emma Thompson on The View speaking out about sexual slavery.

(H/T Melissa at Women in Hollywood

Funny: Sesame Street does Mad Men.

(H/T my good friend Gloria)

Crazy Fun: Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance" video

(H/T FanGrrl Magnet)

The bigoted 'yes' voters in Maine can bite me

That is all.

Maine Voters Reject Gay Marriage Law