feminist blogs in english

Read Mandolin's mashup poem based on pro-life rhetoric from some threads on Alas.

The great folks at First Run Icarus Films sent me a DVD of the excellent Judith Butler: Philosophical Encounters of the Third Kind several months ago. I watched the film recently, and I'm finally getting around to writing a brief review of it.

High points: Butler walks through an art gallery discussing photographs by Cindy Sherman, who is one of my favorite photographers. She points out how Sherman's images critique gender categories and norms, and her comments are illuminative.

Butler also talks about violence and hate crimes, and while I was always convinced that the whole "Judith Butler doesn't pay enough attention to what's happening on the ground" argument was misguided and inaccurate, I think anyone who sees this film would recognize that Butler cares very much about real, material bodies and what happens to them.

One point of criticism, though. This has nothing to do with the content of the film, but rather the copyright policy (my emphasis):

We send review copies of First Run/Icarus Films releases with the understanding that if a review is published or posted (on-line), the reviewer may then retain the review copy sent for his or her own personal (but not classroom) use.

It's too bad that classroom use -- even, it seems, just showing a clip of it in class -- is prohibited. I had considered ripping a short clip as a sample so as to help sell the film, but I don't want to get a cease-and-desist letter from an attorney.

Bottom line, I would recommend that research libraries purchase the documentary. At $390 for the DVD, it might be a tad expensive for individuals, but if you're doing work on Butler, it might be worth it, especially if you have some grant funding.

More coverage of the women's housing takeover!

A women and trans-folk only housing squat in Toronto attracted about 300 participants on Sunday, and a large number of police. Despite a strong anti-violence message, protesters were forcibly evicted from the squatted house at 4 Howard Street (Bloor and Sherbourne Sts.) after occupying the site for several hours.

The murder of two female journalists in Afghanistan in the space of a week has brought home the risks that newswomen face in a country where women are not expected to ask questions.

Zakia Zaki, 35, was shot seven times as she slept in her bed with her young son late Tuesday. A respected journalist and human-rights activist in the province of Parwan just north of the capital, she headed the U.S.-funded Peace Radio. She was also the principal of a local school and ran for parliament in 2005.

This is so frightening. I don't support the current Canadian presence in Afghanistan - in its military role - but I do acknowledge that things in that country are scary. The treatment of women there is particularly scary.

My friend Jill posted this video on her Facebook. It's called A Fat Rant.



It was made by a woman named Joy Nash and is around eight minutes long. There are also many video responses to her "rant." I haven't watched them all, but this one Re: A Fat Rant is my favourite.



One of the things Joy talks about in her video is shopping. How hard it is to find something larger than 14. I am a size 14, and I still have a hard time finding anything.

The best part about her rant is that she talks about not being ashamed of fatness, and not allowing it to be a definition. Like those who reclaim words, like "queer" or "cunt," this follows with the reclamation. Joy offers that we shouldn't hide our weight, but state it like we'd state a hair colour.

An amazing video.

And, to join in, I weigh 184 and my hair is brown.