tough guise

hi friends!

following up from my comment on class.
here's a online video of the documentary i was talking about - 'tough guise 2':
https://vimeo.com/85972105

i highly encourage you all to share the video with the teenage boys you know in your life... i think that this as a resource would've helped me infinitely in terms of understanding myself, masculinity, and would've given me a lot of insight that i needed at the time.

if you've seen it before i'd love to discuss the documentary with you!!

Celebrities that don't Consider Themselves Feminists + some that do!

I was curious to see which celebrities and other famous figures did not identify as feminists. Some of these may shock you! This is especially tragic when you think about how much influence many of these women influence young women and girls who turn to media to shape their beliefs and identities. Clearly these women are very confused...someone has to teach them. 

https://www.bustle.com/articles/117519-9-female-celebrities-whove-bad-mouthed-feminism

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/17/feminist-celebrities_n_4460416.html

http://www.glamour.com/story/6-famous-women-who-say-theyre

Also...can we all talk about how the term "humanist" in response to feminist is a glorified version of "all lives matter" which seeks to undermine the women's movement? 

On a more positive note, here are male celebrities that identify as feminists! HOORAY! 

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a32323/celebrity-male-feminists/

A Personal Anecdote on Stereotypes of Feminists

I have been recently thinking about the stereotypes for feminists. We are all familiar with many of them--bra burners, angry unhappy career-hungry women who reject having a family, man-haters, women who have a lot of sex, "pro-abortion" women encouraging all women to not having children.

I recently went up to Ellensburg Washington to visit my grandmother for her 81st birthday. I love my grandmother; however, I find it extremely difficult to express my identity with her and the rest of my father's family for that matter. They are white, extremely conservative (one step up from the alt-right), "farm folk" and Trump supporters. I have never fully felt comfortable with them because they are extremely vocal about their hate for immigrants, for people of color, for liberals--in short, they are extremely vocal about their hate for every aspect of my identity. I think many times that the only reason they love me is because I came out light skinned with blue eyes, like my father, rather than dark skinned with brown eyes, like my Latina mother. I have always had to endure snide comments about my ethnicity and my Latinidad from them which, like a good and polite little girl I had to nod and smile to, later coming back home, crying to my mother, asking her why they hated who I was at my very core. Since coming to college, meeting and interacting with like-minded individuals, I have become more vocal about my anger for their hatred of anyone different than them. Instead of  crying to my always comforting mother, I have begun to get into heated arguments with my "family" from any issues ranging from pro-choice, support of gay marriage, immigration reform, and most recently, feminism.

During my most recent visit to hicksville, my grandmother had her car towed to a service station, where she and I waited for about a half hour, while her tires were being replaced. We were both waiting inside the car as they replaced her tires. I noticed that there were about 10 men, working on her car, a small job needing only 1 person. I didn't think too much of it until after we left the service station. My grandmother remarked, "did you notice those darling men staring at you back there?" I replied that I felt extremely uncomfortable with that situation, that I felt objectified and couldn't stand that those men would make such an effort to do such a thing. My grandmother got angry with that comment and told me to stop being such a "goddamn femi-nazi." I looked at her in disbelief and anger and sat in silence, processing her comment. She went on saying that "boys will be boys Larissa, you should be flattered they looked at you. All women love attention from men and a lot of women are too ugly to get it! Feel proud." I didn't feel proud. I felt angry and sick to my stomach. Her argument, "boys will be boys" is the same logic that encourages rape culture in this country, its is the same logic that forces women to regulate what they wear and how they act, because boys can't help themselves! It is the same logic that sets women's liberation back centuries. I tried to explain to her that this was not sound logic. That she had offended me with that comment. But it was fruitless. She is elderly and I do not expect much change from her. Later on during my trip, my aunts and uncles asked me whether I had a boyfriend and when I responded that I did not, I received an array of comments on my relationship status: "Kalle [my brain-dead boy obsessed cousin] has had many boyfriends, you gotta catch up to her!" "You're not one of those lesbians are you?" "Oh Larissa, it's not your looks that keep them away." "Don't you want a boyfriend? Aren't you miserable without one?" "Don't become one of those ugly hairy-legged feminists that hates men." (These are all direct quotes--I made an effort to write them down as I heard them, assuming I would be able to use them at some point).

With these people, feminism is a dirty word. To them, even the younger generation, a woman's place is in the home. Women can work, but probably shouldn't in order not to emasculate her husband/boyfriend. They see feminists as evil and unhappy women who hate men. But the most unfortunate part of this, is realizing that their views are not isolated, that so many other across out country belief or think in the same ways that my family does. Feminism to many has become a negative word. Most assume the definition of feminism is "women over men" rather than it's real definition: "The social, economic, and political equality between the sexes."  

Divisions in My Dorm Room Op Ed series

When we were talking about creating a space for Trump supporters to have their voices heard on college campuses in the wake of the election, I stumbled across this pair of articles while reading other articles and I thought it was very thought provoking. I think the op ed published by the Trump supporter makes a very compelling argument, but I also think that it is very difficult to get to the world that she wants to see.

Obama Signed to Permanently Fund Planned Parenthood

Obama is still doing amazing things with the short amount of time he has left in office. Take a look!

http://www.nationofchange.org/2016/09/17/obama-just-protected-planned-parenthood-funding-permanently/

How Obama’s Female Staffers Made Sure Their Voices Were Heard

Here's a pretty cool article about the women in Obama's staff and how they worked together to make sure that their voices were heard in rooms full of men.

As a sneak peak: Female staffers adopted a meeting strategy they called “amplification”: When a woman made a key point, other women would repeat it, giving credit to its author. This forced the men in the room to recognize the contribution — and denied them the chance to claim the idea as their own.

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/09/heres-how-obamas-female-staffers-made-their-voices-heard.html

Free To Be ... You and Me

Here are a few clips from Marlo Thomas's 1974 TV special, "Free to Be.. You and Me":

"William Wants a Doll"

"Princess Atalantis"

"Parents are People"

Opening sequence

Interview Miss Representation Director/Writer

Hello All!

If anyone is interested, here is an interview from huffpost with Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the writer and director of Miss Representation. It also features remarks on the subject by others, including Nancy Pelosi!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianne-schnall/miss-representation-a-gro_b_1017303.html

No Breakthrough at Top of Ticket, But Women of Color Gain in Congress

Here's a helpful summary of election results from the Center for American Women and Politics.

The Misrepresentation of Women in Media

Hi all,

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving break. Over the break, I watched Miss Representation and was fascinated/concerned by the points raised in the movie.

I did a little research and found an interesting/brief piece that gives a few statistics on the misrepresentation of women in media in the United States. The article can be found here.

Here are a few excerpts from the piece that stood out to me!

"For production of the 250 top-grossing domestically made films of 2013, women accounted for 16 percent of all directors, executive producers, producers, writers, cinematographers and editors, slightly lower than the 2012 and 1998 figures." 

"Two women—1.09 percent—were among the 183 sports talk radio hosts on Talkers magazine’s “Heavy Hundred” list. The Top Ten among Talker’s news talk show “Heavy Hundred” included no women."


This article was released by the Women's Media Center, an organization that seeks to achieve the "goal of making women visible and powerful in the media."

Please feel free to read more about their work here. 

Trump likes Gail Collins!

Just reading through the transcript of NYTimes's interview with Trump and found this excerpt:

Btw - I highly recommend reading it! Of course, it's Trump speaking as Trump, but I think it's really important to see what his concrete plans are for the future, and the New York Times obviously won't let him get off easily (although I do think they were a little too soft on him here). 

Obama, "This Is What a Feminist Looks Like"

Here's the piece in Glamour that Kyla mentioned in class.  According to President Obama,

"That’s what twenty-first-century feminism is about: the idea that when everybody is equal, we are all more free."

Obituary for Phyllis Schlafly

Hi friends,

Here is a fascinating article that is an obituary for Phyllis Schalfly from the Economist.

It covers major points in her life, her major views and covers how relentless she was fighting for what she believed in.

Although I recognize that many of her points today may not be considered "socially acceptable," I thought it was interesting to learn more about her life and her political work in this piece.

Have a great Thanksgiving break!

Photo: Phyllis Schlafly

Dress Codes for Women Under Mike Flynn's DIA

Just came across this article from The Daily Beast on General Mike Flynn, Trump's pick for national security advisor.

Reading it reminded me of the opening anecdote from When Everything Changed - in which Gail Collins describes a judge's reaction to a woman showing up to traffic court wearing slacks.

Here's the link: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/18/gen-mike-flynn-s-office-told-women-to-wear-makeup-heels-and-skirts.html

I highly encourage everyone to at least take a look at some of the screenshot of the slides that were shown in the Defense Intelligence Agency's "Dress for Success" briefing, advising women to "not advocate the 'Plain Jane' look," to "Consider their body type" and to never wear flats.

After the election of Donald Trump, we will not mourn. We will organize.

Comments on the election from Gloria Steinem.

Hillary, Donald, and Womanhood

The Atlantic visited a Clinton rally and a Trump rally, and asked the question, "What role should women have in society?"

An African American woman at a Trump rally said that she loves being a woman and wouldn't want to be a man - because "we have the benefit of 1) getting pregnant, having kids, and 2) we have the privilege of being able to be a wife to a husband." A Latina woman for Trump said, "We are the heart of the house, the heart of the family, and the heart of society."

When asked if she identified as a feminist, another woman for Trump said, "I wouldn't say that I'm a feminist...I support the traditional role of a woman."

"When I think of feminism, what I think of is the bra-burning!"

"Kind of a militant, almost angry, assertive female..."

"I don't know what feminism is, I don't pay attention to that!"

"If we just relax and be who we were created to be, I think it's a much better approach."

On Trump: "We see that he's a strong leader! Strong women love a strong man, and we don't care that he's a little rough around the edges."

I think many of these statements resonate with what we read from Phyllis Schlafly—women who reject "militant feminism" and are happy to have the privilege of being mothers and wives. We talk a lot about our country becoming increasingly polarized, and I think this is another great example of the sharp divide arising between women. Some expect all women to be immediately repelled by Trump's atrocious comments about sexual assault, but many women still support him. Does this go to show that women merely vote along party lines as they always have, and it's impossible to ever expect women to vote as a bloc, even for women's issues? Or does this show that women have wildly different perceptions of a woman's role in society, made even more polarized by candidates who couldn't encapsulate this difference more perfectly?

Trump Defeated Clinton, Not Women

From writer Naomi Klein.

For Women, Glass Ceilings, and Glass Walls, Too

An opinion piece by Kathleen McCartney, president of Smith College.

Why Women Voted for Trump

Here's an interview with Stephanie Coontz, author of A Strange Stirring: The Feminine Mystique and American Women at the Dawn of the 1960s, Marriage, a History, and The Way We Never Were. In it, she offers her perspective on why women voted for trump.

http://www.vox.com/conversations/2016/10/25/13384528/donald-trump-women-stephanie-coontz

"The Glass Ceiling Holds"

Here's a piece by Gail Collins, author of When Everything Changed.  Collins writes,

"When we look back on the Clinton campaign as part of history, we’ll see something different from the abrupt, shocking defeat her backers experienced last week. It was a big step in a journey that’s been both inspiring and really, really long."

Collins concludes,

"In this whole long, long amazing story, we celebrate the steps. Susan B. Anthony didn’t live to vote, but this year on Election Day, women stood in line to put flowers on her grave.  Sometime soon, there’ll be another woman presidential nominee. Maybe she’ll be in the Clinton tradition, the grand and glorious American worker bees. Maybe she’ll just leap out, like Barack Obama did, a fresh face with a new message. All we can know now is that when we talk about how she got there, we’ll be telling Hillary Clinton’s story."

Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech + Video

Hi all,

I just wanted to share Hillary's touching concession speech, in case anyone would like to read it.
Reading her speech filled me with an tumultuous cascade of emotions, ranging from respect and sorrow. However, I feel that one of the most important messages that Hillary shared was the importance of not losing hope.

As she noted, "This is painful and it will be for a long time". However, this does not mean that we should lose in our country, the American people and in our ability as a society to work together for a brighter future. 

Over the next 4 years, it is crucial that our country comes together and works together to facilitate positive change. She reminds us that although it may be difficult when contemplating her loss and what it represented, she asks us all to "never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it."

Although the glass ceiling may not have shattered this week, it is now hanging in tatters. I am confident that the efforts of Hillary Clinton will inspire students/youth throughout our entire nation on the importance of bravery, determination and most importantly hope. 

 I just wanted to end with her finals words, which are recognizing how important it is for us "work together with respect for our differences, strength in our convictions and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us".

The Audacity of Hopelessness

This piece by Roxane Gay in the New York Times reflects the views and emotions that many of expressed yesterday.

Aaron Sorkin's Letter to his Daughter Following Trump's Official Win

This letter articulates everything I wish that my father had explicitly stated to me. I know he was upset, and it is true that everyone has been processing this differently, but my father's midwestern way of dealing with disappointment, fear, and anger really irked me. This letter is a powerful testament to this father's love for his daughter and wife and articulates what a lot of Americans have been feeling.

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/aaron-sorkin-donald-trump-president-letter-daughter

Petition to Abolish the Electoral College

If you would like to take a stand against the injustices that the electoral college has produced, sign the petition to abolish it!

https://www.dailykos.com/campaigns/petition/sign-the-petition-abolish-the-electoral-college

Women Actually Do Govern Differently

From the New York Times:
Women’s representation in government is stalled, and in some cases moving backward. Does that make a difference to the work of governing? Yes, according to decades of data from around the world.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/annehelenpetersen/america-hates-women?utm_term=.sa0o3x96q#.weP35oqZy

This article is written by a woman who I really like on Buzzfeed who has written a book about Classic Hollywood scandals and how Hollywood treats women. She has also been covering Donald Trump for Buzzfeed and this article I think is well worth reading about women who support him, like what we talked about in class today.

People Are Flocking To Susan B. Anthony’s Grave On Election Day

Men and women are honoring Susan B. Anthony, the famous suffragist who helped women get the right to vote, by standing in line at her grave on Election Day and placing their “I Voted” stickers on her tombstone. 

From the Huffington Post. 

Conservative's view of Hillary

Proving once again how so many people can see past Trump's horrible comments, and see nothing good in Hillary.

http://www.loneconservative.com/?p=365

Want to make calls for Hillary?

Hello class!

If anyone is interested in making a few calls for the Hillary campaign this Sunday afternoon, I will be calling a GOTV list from Ohio. Text me if you want to be a part of this historic campaign--it's your last chance (617-953-1828)! If not, feel free to ignore this.

Steph

Louis C.K., Michael Moore, Hillary Clinton, and the rise of benevolent sexism in liberal men

This is an interesting article that touches on themes of our class like women's alleged moral superiority and what that means for women in politics. The author says about comedian Louis C.K.'s recent comments on a Hillary Clinton presidency: "he’s trying to compliment mothers in general and Hillary in particular, and to reframe the political liability of her gender into an asset. But he’s playing into a very old and unpleasant narrative that’s become weirdly popular among liberal men this election cycle: the idea that we need women in government because they are intrinsically morally superior to men. Women should be represented in our government, this story goes, not because they are people, but because they are better than people: They are angelic; they are virtuous; they are pure."

The article also discusses the erasure of women in our political conscious in general.

http://www.vox.com/culture/2016/11/2/13497320/louis-ck-michael-moore-hillary-clinton-benevolent-sexism-liberal-men

Women Senators' Girl Club

This one's similar to Jo's Stronger Together video (and it's also from EMILY's List); I just had to share! I hope everyone loves this, it made me so proud and teary and happy

Stronger Together Democratic Women Senators Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guLWBvEmaLU

This video is great and super empowering to women. Currently trying to be best friends with all of these women it's not working out so well.

Margaret Chase Smith: This I Believe

Hi all,

I'm writing my paper on Margaret Chase Smith, and I've really loved researching and reading the documents she's written—speeches, articles, letters, etc.

I found this short piece that she wrote for Edward R. Murrow's (a renowned NBC broadcaster) series called This I Believe, basically asking people (famous and non-famous) to write statements on what motivates them to keep going with their work.

Hers is short and extremely eloquent, and touches very nicely on a subject she was passionate about: free speech, moral courage, and standing up to demagogues. Of course, when she was writing and working, the demagogue she was talking about was Joseph McCarthy (and I highly recommend reading/listening to her "Declaration of Conscience" too). But I think that we can find her message just as relevant now as ever.

Her voice is also beautifully lyrical too; she has a fascinating, almost Southern-sounding drawl, mixed with a higher-society New England accent.

I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I did!

Link to Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech

Hi all!

I just wanted to share the link to the video of Hillary Clinton's Concession Speech in 2008.

Reading her speech in class was very compelling, touching and a reminder of how important the election will be this month.

I thought that after reading the speech for class, it was a nice complement to watch Clinton deliver her own, amazing speech.

I hope that you enjoy this as much as I did!

BuzzFeed Article Similar to the "96 Years" Post

There are just a few more women who were either born before suffrage or were alive during the Wilson administration and shared their excitement in voting for Hillary.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/juliareinstein/grandmas-for-hillary?utm_term=.rpkXJVxJkB#.dhaX3BQ3Kr

Pictures of Suffragists

I found this while looking for another article, but this has some really great pictures of suffragists during the movement and of some other ads that were actually against suffrage. It's fun to look at these pictures and see what women looked like during the time, fashion, etc.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/gabrielsanchez/inspiring-pictures-of-womens-suffrage-in-america?utm_term=.se1jrWNrpw#.djeV6Db6qY

Single Women and the Gender Gap

Hello, all!

Our discussion today about the gender gap reminded me of a great article that I read last year about the increasing demographic shift from married women to single women, and how that will affect politics. For example: "Today, only around 20 percent of Americans ages 18–29 are wed, compared to nearly 60 percent in 1960."

The author of the article, Rebecca Traister, argues that the significance of this shift in our political climate is that our politics will be dominated by "adult women who are no longer economically, socially, sexually, or reproductively dependent on or defined by the men they marry."

Without giving the entire article away, because I do think it is a very interesting read, I also am quite fond of this quote: "[Women] are [not marrying] because they have internalized assumptions that just a half-century ago would have seemed radical: that it’s okay for them not to be married; that they are whole people able to live full professional, economic, social, sexual, and parental lives on their own if they don’t happen to meet a person to whom they want to legally bind themselves."

http://nymag.com/thecut/2016/02/political-power-single-women-c-v-r.html

As a bonus, there is also an entertaining (or disheartening) video going around social media showing a selection of clips displaying sexism on cable news: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/megyn-kelly-cable-news-sexism_us_58127d0de4b0990edc302ffe

I Waited 96 Years!

Check out these profiles of voters born before passage of the 19th amendment.