First he drives drunk, gets arrested, and gets abusive. Then it turns out he made anti-Semitic remarks along with his other abusive language, and those remarks included “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world”. Then Gibson apologized. Then he apologized again, this time to the Jews, saying (among other things) “I am not an anti-Semite.” So clearly the world longs for my rant on the topic, and here it comes.
I just. Can’t. Stand. It.
What to Expect When You’re Pre-expecting.
Hat tip to Feministing.
My friend Ken sent me this link to an article about anti-feminism in the Bengali community.
The logic of multiculturalism has made it hard for these thugs to be challenged. Multiculturalism treats immigrant communities as homogenous blocks, represented by elderly, reactionary “community spokesmen”. It has created the bizarre situation where the often-great feminist Germaine Greer has ended up siding with the patriarchal protestors as the keepers of authentic Bengali culture against the carping feminists. Yet in reality, immigrant communities are diverse, clashing cacophonies like everyone else. As the great Amarya Sen has been arguing, we should ditch the outdated idea of multiculturalism and support the progressive wings of all and any communities.
Read the whole thing.
Arthur and I got into a conversation about makeup. Specifically, “should” women wear makeup. And that morphed into a conversation about the male gaze.
Understanding the male gaze is probably the most abstract and hard to grasp part of feminism. Equal rights, equal wages; everyone gets that. Double standards about sexuality and sexual freedom, about social freedom, outspokenness and aggression; not hard to define and explore. But how we look at things, how we display or do not display ourselves, how we use our eyes and images to create subject and object; these are pretty highfalutin.
I am not opposed to the idea that the male gaze is hard-wired. We certainly know other species in which one gender draws the gaze of the other; peacocks are prettier than peahens. On the other hand, male and female gorillas and chimps look more or less alike, and I’d wager I’m more a chimp than a peahen. (Remind me to tell the story about the lesbian peahen someday.)
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Amanda makes a brilliant point:
I’ve never quite understood why we have to legislate and/or use social pressure to force women to behave naturally. I breathe and walk on two feet without society interfering, so why is it that if I, as a woman, have a “natural caution”, then only the fear of being tarred a slut will make me cautious? You’ll see the same argument coming from people who claim that women have a natural love of staying home and having lots of children—because this is our nature, apparently we need to be forced into it by having our reproductive rights stripped from us.
Well, he doesn’t say that, but give it to him anyway.
Over at Alas (A Blog), Rachael linked to a bunch of blogging about interracial relationships. I was struck by this very sharp observation:
One thing that really gets me frustrated when I read about interracial relationships [is] the whole normativity of same race relationships. When people marry or date people of the same race, their racial views are not interrogated; the racial nature of their relationship is not questioned or noticed largely because it is considered normal.
This struck me very strongly. In part, because one argument in favor of interracial relationships is that they should be normal; there should not be a special term for them. Mostly, though, because I think you get into a place in life where you want to feel normative. You want to get home, and kick off your shoes, and not be Other. Not be Interesting.
In a blog entry that lists reasons that black people should date each other, Racial Realist includes:
Shared Experiences/ Shared Worldview – For anyone who wants a life partner/ soulmate (as opposed to a fling/ relationship driven by enhancing one’s status), it’s natural to seek out an individual who has been through/ is going through what one has been through/is going through
I get that. It’s comforting.
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You see there? This is what I’m talking about! This is everyone’s fight.
A Schaumburg company allegedly fired a woman, and one employee is accused of calling her a “devil worshipper” after she disclosed she practiced Wicca — a pagan religion viewed by some as witchcraft.
Hat tip to Jason.
I’ve been reading about this story everywhere. In short, a Jewish family in Delaware was driven out of town by the aggressive Christianity of the school district.
A large Delaware school district promoted Christianity so aggressively that a Jewish family felt it necessary to move to Wilmington, two hours away, because they feared retaliation for filing a lawsuit. The religion (if any) of a second family in the lawsuit is not known, because they’re suing as Jane and John Doe; they also fear retaliation. Both families are asking relief from “state-sponsored religion.”
The Bush White House and its fundie-sponsored Republican majority thrives on strife. It needs an end to pluralism; it needs people to hate and fear one another. It’s called a “wedge issue.” That’s what’s behind the phony campaign to “do something” about immigration. They don’t want to change the law (which is why attempts to do so have been blocked by Repugs), they just want people riled up and full of hate.
And it’s just so classic to hate Jews. » Read more..
Listening to The Waitresses on the drive home last night, and I was struck by how much I still love these lyrics:
Get tough, don’t be so patient
Get smart, head up, shoulders straight
Since when is it a disaster?
If the “S” on your cape is a little frayed?What’s a girl to do?
Born to shop? No! Pretty victories
What’s a girl to do?
Scream & screw? No! Pretty victories
Chris Butler was a man writing from a woman’s point of view. Sometimes he got it and sometimes he didn’t, but mostly the songs were great. And this one, Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful?, reads almost like a feminist anthem.
The song is written as “girl talk.” One friend speaks to another who has dropped by, giving her a pep talk about relationships and self-esteem.
Don’t work your buns off, for a fool, for a fool
Who can barely tie his shoes.
Twenty-four years later, Wasn’t Tomorrow Wonderful? feels fresh and smart and interesting, and expresses both anger and hope. And now I have it stuck in my head. Full lyrics below the fold. » Read more..
