feminist blogs in english

Wow, just when I thought Mel Gibson's existence couldn't get anymore appalling, the internet gets ahold of his latest disgustingly misogynist and racist rant. It was recorded by his girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva. "Horrific," "offensive," and "repulsive" are all understatements.

Here's a part of it, from AlterNet, where Gibson yells at Grigorieva for looking like a "Vegas whore." SERIOUS TRIGGER WARNING.

You go out in public and it's a fucking embarrassment to me. You look like a fucking bitch in heat. And if you get raped by a pack of niggers it will be your fault. Alright? Because you provoked it. You are provocatively dressed all the time with your fake boobs that you feel you have to show off. I don't like it. I don't want that woman. I don't want you. I don't trust you. I don't love you.

Even though this is absolutely detestable language, I'm posting this here because this is an unfortunately common sentiment today: dress like a "whore," and you're asking for it. Not too long ago, I was out at a bar with some friends, dressed in my usual jeans, boots, and a tank top with a cardigan over it. Some charming gentleman tried to hit on me, I took him I was married to get him off my back, to which he responded, "If you were my wife and you went out looking like that, I would smack you around." Nice.

The Sexist actually recently posted a really nice PSA from Scotland that dealt with this issue.



Seriously, this shouldn't be such a hard concept to grasp. Women NEVER "ask for it," and even if a woman does go out in public wearing a short dress or whatever and ends up getting raped, the fault ultimately lies with the rapist. To say otherwise is preposterous.

I'm encouraging everyone to head over to AlterNet to check out a recent article, "My Boyfriend Stole My Birth Control": When Men Force Women to Get Pregnant Against Their Will.

Scary new evidence is showing that a significant number of women experience their partners trying to steal away their bodily control through "reproductive coercion," or the act of forcing a pregnancy onto someone.

In the largest study of this phenomenon to date, “Pregnancy Coercion, Intimate Partner Violence and Unintended Pregnancy,” published in the January issue of the journal Contraception, lead researcher Elizabeth Miller and others surveyed nearly 1,300 16- to 29-year-old women who’d sought a variety of services at five different Northern California reproductive health clinics. Among those who had experienced intercourse, i.e., who could be at risk of unintended pregnancy, not only did 53 percent of respondents say they’d experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner, but one in five said they had experienced pregnancy coercion; 15 percent said they experienced birth control sabotage, including hiding or flushing birth control pills down the toilet, intentional breaking of condoms and removing contraceptive rings or patches. These figures were consistent from clinic to clinic.

Currently, this phenomenon is little-known, and the prevailing stereotype is still "the woman—call her the femme fertile—who conspires to get pregnant, perhaps by 'forgetting' to take her birth control pills, as a way to 'trap a man' and force marriage—or at least keep him in her life." But people need to know that there is another scarily common situation out there: the boyfriend or husband who, disgusted by a woman's ability to have reproductive control, goes to heinous measures to force pregnancies, abortions, or miscarriages onto his partner.

This is some seriously fucked-up stuff. Spread the word, feminists. Please.

My college graduation is rapidly approaching, and it's final project/exam time. For my wonderful Masculinities class, we're required to do a "liberating action," that is, some kind of activism that draws on what we've learned throughout the class. I've chosen to make small cards that can be carried around and given out to street harassers - whether they cat-call, make inappropriate comments, unwelcome sexual advances, or any unwarranted physical contact. I explain my reasoning for doing this in my accompanying paper:

Every time I have to walk down any street alone, I find myself preparing to be harassed. It’s sickening that I should have to prepare myself for such a thing, but the truth is that I cannot remember the last time I walked down Main Street by myself or with girlfriends, and was not at least honked at by a car full of men. When I go to the bars, I see men standing to the side of the dance floor, watching the women dancing, picking out which one is the hottest or the sluttiest, and then making their moves, which always consists of latching onto her backside without so much as a “hello.” The worst part is that I can’t even really hate them for what they do, because I know that it isn’t entirely their fault; they were just taught in a variety of ways by a variety of people that to be a “man” is to treat women as objects to be ogled. The sad truth is that, “Men learn that to effectively perform masculinity and to protect a masculine identity, they must, in many instances, ignore a woman’s pain and obscure her viewpoint” (Quinn 397). To the harassers, the cat-callers, and the gropers, there are no feelings or souls attached to our bodies, and we could not be their mothers, sisters, girlfriends, or friends because we are not really people, and that is what allows them to continue to do what they do.

It’s time to start reminding these men that, contrary to what they have been forced to believe, what they do does affect us. A honk or a “hey sexy” might seem harmless, but I know that every time I get that attention on the street, it hurts me. It hurts even more when I can’t respond to this inexcusable behavior because it just gets too exhausting to say something to every jerk on the street. Therefore, for my liberating action, I want to make it easier for me and every other woman to call harassers out on their behavior, and for the harassers to realize that their actions affect us.

I'm sure some people might argue that this isn't the best way to handle harassment, and I think it is important to discuss what the best way to respond to being harassed is, but these are for the women who feel that this method is the best for them.

You can download the cards I made as a Word document here.

Please note that the cards are intended to be printed double-sided so that one side has English text, and the other side has the same text in Spanish. Feel free to make any adjustments you see necessary and to post these to your own blog/site (I just ask that you link back to here). And I would love to hear your experiences with carrying these around and distributing them - whether through comments on this post, or through e-mail.

Good luck, and stay safe.

There is some chilling new evidence that indicates that the rates of domestic violence increased in 2009. Interestingly enough, according to FBI statistics, many cities reported falling crime rates:

FBI figures indicate law-enforcement agencies throughout the nation reporting a decrease of 4.4 percent in the number of violent crime offenses for the first six months of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008. The violent crime category includes murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault.

Nationwide, FBI statistics for 2009 show a 10 percent decrease in murders.

Unfortunately, the FBI doesn't track domestic violence homicides as a separate category, so it's difficult to tell if DV cases are are on the rise.

But phone calls to state anti-violence coalitions and to the Washington, D.C.-based National Network to End Domestic Violence are revealing that in many states, domestic violence deaths rose in 2009, sometimes dramatically.

Some are speculating that the increased violence is being caused by stress related to the recession - that lost jobs, debt, and evictions may be contributing. What does everyone else think? Why the increase in domestic violence? And most important, what can we do about it?

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network

Today is brought to you by the letter "C" for CREEPY.

We, unfortunately, know that people who crave sex on demand without strings attached can purchase sex dolls, ranging from your everyday "blow up" doll found in sex shops for $19.95 to high-end models, in which you can customize every aspect of your doll, right down to her pubic hair.

Going even further... a New Jersey company has created the world's first "sex robot," a scantily clad rubber woman named Roxxxy whose mouth stays permanently open and can not only satisfy her owner's sexual needs, but their needs for pillow talk as well.

"Sex only goes so far – then you want to be able to talk to the person," said Douglas Hines, founder of the company that created the robot.

She comes with a variety of prerecorded phrases ("I love holding hands with you," for example) but you can also (brace yourself) connect her to a laptop so she can download updates from the internet to expand her vocabulary and, ahem, capabilities.

Owners can also select different personalities for Roxxxy, from "Wild Wendy" to "Frigid Farrah." GAH.

My main problem with sex dolls that are carefully crafted to emulate women is that it reinforces the idea that women should adopt a passive role during sex - a role that involves becoming a mere hole to be penetrated. Additionally, I speculate that men are attracted to sex dolls because it allows them to have some form of "sex" without the work - without the talking, the seducing, the awkward goodbye afterwards - but the fact is that sex shouldn't come without all those things. Sex involves communicating with another person, whether you wish to see this as a positive or negative aspect. If we start manufacturing sex dolls whose jobs are to shut up and be penetrated, how will men who purchase these dolls behave when it comes time to actually have sex with a real person? It's provocative to suggest that sex dolls can lead to real women being raped, but... I think it can. And more commonly, it can lead to general mistreatment of women: the whole "shut up and get in the sack" mentality that stems from the good ol' patriarchy.

Now, some might argue that this new "sex robot" comes with a personality and a voice, thereby debunking all I've said above. My response is that I see no good coming from this. It's one thing to get sexual satisfaction from a sex toy, but to get emotional satisfaction as well? Isn't this just removing us even further from reality?

Hines said he was inspired to create the robot after a friend died in the 9/11 attacks, and he began to think about preserving his friend's personality for his grieving loved ones to enjoy.

All of this just sounds delusional to me. There is no way a robot can be a healthy and satisfactory substitution for genuine human interaction and love. To replace a partner or a friend with a rubber doll and a voice box is to hold onto something that isn't real. I think that by unveiling this "sex robot," Roxxxy's creators are headed down a dangerous path.

The folks in charge of the casting of the newest Real World season, set in Washington, D.C., picked a real winner when they cast Andrew Woods. Since I'm a Real World junkie, I was excited to watch the recently aired pilot episode of D.C., only to discover that I'm repeatedly going to have to throw objects at my television every time he talks. I said, "Uh oh, I'm going to have problems with this guy" when he admitted that he got fired from a newspaper for "trying to offend women and lesbians and stuff like that." Don't be fooled: this Real World cartoonist is by no means similar to the lovable and adorable cartoonist cast in Real World: San Francisco, Judd Winick.

The Sexist published some of Andrew Woods' cartoons, and they're horrifying, to say the least. Woods is clearly a fan of rape jokes.

Text: Seducing women doesn't have to be some expensive ordeal, just funnel some cheap vodka into half a bottle of sparkling cider... as long as it looks like champagne, she'll drink it!

The above entry and the post I linked to on The Sexist aren't meant to be celebrity gossip. It's important to publish Woods' illustrations as a reminder that joking about rape makes you an insensitive asshole. Maybe (and by "maybe" I mean "undoubtedly") Andrew can't understand the reality of rape because his chances of actually being raped or sexually assaulted are significantly lower than they are for a woman, but his ignorance is no defense.

I suppose people like Andrew Woods are willing to sink to the lowest of the low for a cheap laugh, but the rest of us have something that these soulless morons lack: morale.

Two positive pieces of news regarding women's rights in the Middle East:

In Pakistan, the National Assembly passed a law increasing the penalty for sexual harassment. It now must be passed in the senate, but let's keep our fingers crossed. If passed, the law would increase the penalty for sexual harassment from one year to three years in prison and would add a fine of up to 500,000 Pakistani rupees (6,000 American dollars).

In Saudi Arabia, women's rights activists are launching a "Black Ribbon Campaign" to demand women's rights in the country. Activists are asking those who support women's rights to wear a black ribbon or bracelet. The campaign has three goals: "that Saudi women be allowed to represent themselves in official and government agencies without a male guardian; that Saudi women be treated as citizens equal to Saudi men; and that Saudi women be allowed to enjoy rights and privileges that are currently restricted including the rights to travel, work, study, inherit, gain custody of children, marry, divorce, drive cars."

This is horrifying.

In California, a 15-year-old girl was beaten and gang-raped outside her high school homecoming dance for two hours on Friday night.

According to police, there were as many as a dozen people watching this happen... and instead of calling the police, they laughed, took pictures, and joined in.

Honestly, what kind of sick person do you have to be to watch something like this happen and not do a damn thing about it?

Thankfully, police were finally called after a female student overhead people talking about the rape. Police found the teenage girl semi-conscious near a picnic table, and now the survivor is in the hospital with injuries, though none are life-threatening. Two suspects were taken into custody, but as many as five other men are said to have attacked her.

What an utter nightmare. In combating rape and sexual assault, we tend to forget to educate people not only against sexually assaulting other people and against walking alone at night, but also to educate anyone who might witness a crime like this to call 911 immediately.

This is no excuse for witnessing something like this and doing nothing but laugh and snap photos. I sincerely hope the police not only prosecute the rapist assholes, but also the people who did nothing.

In the Bahamas, a person can only accuse a partner of marital rape if they are legally separated or in the process of getting a divorce. I suppose Phyllis Schlafly would fully commend this policy, since she believes that "when you get married you have consented to sex." Rape can happen in any situation and within any relationship, including marriage.

Now, there is a bill in the Bahamian legislature that would fully criminalize marital rape, and not surprisingly, it's drawing controversy. From the Associated Press:

The bill already has caused debate on radio talk shows, with some islanders saying women could file false rape charges as leverage for alimony, child support or custody. Others have said the bill contradicts traditional Christian values.

Wow, people really give women no credit whatsoever. Keep your fingers crossed that this bill passes for the safety of Bahamian women.

I don't even have words to describe this. Horrific, appalling, disturbing, deplorable. Men in Afghanistan have won the "right" to starve their wives in order to control them and force them to meet their sexual demands:

Bowing to international pressure and unprecedented protests by hundreds of women on the streets of Kabul, the Afghan government promised in April to review a new law imposing severe restrictions on women in Shiite Muslim families.

Last week, though, Human Rights Watch discovered that a revised version of the Shiite Personal Status Law had been quietly put into effect at the end of July — meaning that Shiite men in Afghanistan now have the legal right to starve their wives if their sexual demands are not met and that Shiite women must obtain permission from their husbands to even leave their houses, "except in extreme circumstances."

Many Afghan men fully support this law because they enjoy the ability to exercise control over their wives. In Afghanistan, equality remains a myth.




And sadly, allowing starvation isn't the only thing promised by this new law:

According to Human Rights Watch, the new law also "grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers" and "effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her."

I don't even know what we can do about this, other than spread the word. I feel really powerless.