feminist blogs in english

Ever since reading Hollywood Babylon recently, I've been on a silent movie kick, mainly watching Clara Bow movies from Netflix. The following stills are from The Show-Off and The Plastic Age. I find it interesting that Bow, the original It Girl, the hottest of the hot in her day, isn't as skinny as most celebrities now.

Also, I'm intrigued with how queer and alt these women look. I think of a post Margo, Darling wrote a long time ago about getting her hair cut really short:

I cut it because my building has very weak circuits and my blowdryer kept knocking the power off. I cut it because I teach an early class this quarter and this requires no fixing at all. I cut it because I lost about twenty pounds last year and I promised myself that when I got my cheekbones back (sharper, stronger, bolder now, because I'm older) I could pull it off. I cut it because I didn't want to look preppy, or upwardly-mobile. I cut it because I wanted more queer visibility, because it seemed important that I not acquiesce to the tyranny of socially-normative standards of white female beauty (watch for women with short hair on tv tonight. You will not see one, unless she is an old woman in a posture-pedic bed commercial, or a crying contestant on a rerun of last season's America's Next Top Model.)

She's right. I know, for example, that my family -- not Jonathan, he would like anything I did with my hair -- would be horrified if I got this haircut (Louise Brooks):

But in these films, literally all the women have haircuts like those of Bow and Brooks, and it was fine. I wonder what happened to make this look so fashionable, then what happened to give it the queer cast it has now.

Sorry to everyone who has submitted their info for a feature here. I've had no access to the internet for several weeks due to weather conditions, but I'm back on line now, so anyone who submitted an eligible profile will show up here in the next week. If you have any questions, email me at morgaine -AT- the-goddess.org.

Peace~

Wow. I'm not sure how to change the animation to make it a little slower, but there the image is. Via Jezebel, and here's the annotated guide. I had noticed the arm resizing and the trimming down of her back, and obviously the removal of wrinkles, but I hadn't noticed some of the other stuff. I need to start reading Jezebel more often.

Edited to add a link to their manifesto.

Here is the latest example of male emotional intelligence a la Malaysia. Some of the men there are so in touch with their feelings of emotional abuse that they are speaking out of their pain and anguish. And who might be responsible for this? The women, of course. 

                                                               

Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, the spiritual leader of one of Malaysia's political groups, has opened up and shared his horrible distress, one that causes him to lose sleep at night and affects his concentration during praying. The vicious women, he has announced are just too damn sexy. They are a distraction. And its one thing to be sexy, but to wear clothes that show that your body has a shape, is just offensive. So offensive, in fact, that he compares it to physical abuse of wives and children by husbands.

So here's an idea. Take it from a woman, because we know about feelings. I won't tell you what I'm wearing, either. Your inability to control your thoughts when a woman wears jeans is not a great reason to lock her up in her kitchen. You see, the issue here is YOUR thoughts, so maybe you should channel them in a way that is more constructive. Weird as we may sometimes be, we girls don’t yet know how to put thoughts into your minds.

Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, and thanks to the pharmaceutical companies, you don’t have to be a sophisticated investigator to find one.

Take the study that came out this week from the University of Pennsylvania (Barnhart et al.) They found that almost two out of every three women in a US nationwide study said that they’d be interested in stopping their periods using continuous birth control pills, but many of these women remained fearful of the safety of said pills. 

The next point they made in the study was that women needed more reassurance from their physicians regarding the safety of these pills, but then they surveyed the physicians, who felt that they had been giving the information.

So here comes the twist. If the pills are safe, and the doctors believe they are safe and keep telling women this, why aren’t the women hearing it? The researchers say that doctors aren’t communicating effectively with female patients, and therefore – they claim – aren’t giving us what we need.

This is in fact a very sophisticated way of making the doctors feel inadequate, and urging them to raise the subject more, thereby encouraging greater use of the continuous pills. It’s safe, they shout, we’ve proved it.

Yes, it would seem that it is safe, but there are no studies that can make women want to eliminate their period if it’s the way we want to follow our fertility and natural cyclical patterns. Yes, some pressure from the doctors could push drug sales up, but is that what women really want?

By the way, did I mention that this study was funded by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, the same fellas that produce Lybrel, the 365 day pill?

More on the continuous use pill

As I write this, 2 billion people are watching some of the best music created on our planet in our lifetime.

Hopefully some of the love for our earth will survive when the music stops and every one of us will have internalized a few messages, at least.

And speaking of internalizing, The Dinah Project continues to campaign for safe sex and environmentally safe use of sex toys and products, under the banner “We Play Green”. 

                                  

We believe that healthy sexuality in inseparable from a healthy body, a healthy spirit and a healthy environment. We know that we can make a difference!

Here are just a few of the articles and postings that we have produced on environmentally-safe sex…

Taking Earth Day all the way
Ever thought about the toxins in your sex toys?

Reviews of the latest green sex toys:

Glass wand
Layaspot
Sweet Spot

         and there will be plenty more ahead....