In these extreme times, some supposed satire just doesn’t work. Instead of being funny, it seems merely to repeat what is objectionable.
I think this video does work, but if anyone wants to argue it should not be here, please do.
Many thanks to ck for her comment on this post of Jender’s.
Google’s controversial project to digitize the world’s literature. It looks like a wonderful idea, especially to someone like me who doesn’t expect to lose royalities. They do, however, invite reviews. Below you’ll see the two reviews for the classic, Treasure Island.
I’m personally looking forward to when museums catch up and post viewers’ reactions next to the art work.
McCain put a woman on the ticket! That’ll get all the women voting for him, right? Because that’s what we do– mindlessly support other women with no attention to boy-stuff like actual positions on issues. But oh no! Maybe it’s not working out that way after all! Women say Palin choice makes them less likely to support McCain. How mysterious: they actually care about like, equal pay and control over their own bodies. And maybe even the Iraq war. Or the economy. Or the environment. Nah, can’t be that– we must just not yet have realised she’s a woman.
When will there be a US election destined to end with either an African-American President or a woman Vice President? When cats sprout wings, apparently.
The Daily Mail assures us that “Experts claim there is nothing angelic or magical about the condition”. Thanks, Mr Jender!
Gov. Palin, McCain’s choice for running mate, is a woman of many accomplishments. Some of them, such as her being a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and a hunter, along with her winning “Miss Congeniality” in a “Miss Alaska” beauty contest, are ones that one might see as negative. And, of course, she has the conservative agenda that gets called “pro-life” which McCain advocates. Even all taken together, they do not amount to adequate qualifications for the job, Democratic commentators are claiming. Nonetheless, she looks to be very bright, assertive and an excellent debater.
Among the questions her candidacy raises are some that do not bear directly on her ability to take over the presidency of the US, should McCain win but not fill out his term. One we can think about here is what will be its impact on discourse about professional female politicians in the United States. Having seen the outrageous misogyny that Hillary Clinton faced, and that many, many people deny, I think the discourse about Palin may be revealing. Some random observations/questions:
– Does anyone have any ideas about what to predict regarding the appearance of sexism in the press? Of course, we can expect conservative commentators not to go after her with such glee, can’t we?
– I’m not expecting all those guys in the press, along with Maureen Dowd and some other women, will necessarily indulge themselves. In fact, I’m betting that they’ll have seen that the country has had a lesson in what is sexist and, despite the wide-spread denials by the public, people are ready to play “gotcha” this time around. This view might be wildly optimistic.
– Nonetheless, understanding what is sexist really involves confronting such things as gender schemas and implicit associations. How much failure to understand them will show up this time?
– Was she chosen in significant part because she’s an attractive young woman? If so, is it different from all the ways in which being an attractive young man have gotten men all sort of places?
– Finally, What Do You Think?
I know someone whose SISTER thought that she was Percy the train. I know several little girls who are wild about Thomas. And the Thomas people know this– that’s why they actually have lots of trains with girls’ names. So WHY, WHY call them “toys for boys”? I mean, it doesn’t even make good economic sense, since it may make people less likely buy them for their girls. And then who’s gonna buy Rosie or the other girl trains? (Other than the “we don’t care about your gender stereotypes” market, which sadly isn’t huge.)
Susie Tompkins Buell writes:
Over the past two months I have become the poster-child, in the press, for the so-called Hillary holdouts; Hillary Clinton supporters who were angry and frustrated with the way she was treated in the primary and post-primary and weren’t ready for unity….
The turning point for me was the Democratic Convention in Denver this week. I saw how Hillary was treated by the Obama campaign and his supporters and I saw how President Clinton was greeted as a hero in our party and our country….
I know that Hillary’s most important work is yet to come and I know with a President Obama, her dream of Universal Health Care for all Americans will come true. Senator Obama has done the right thing; he has honored her and her policies in the way they deserve to be honored. Do I wish she were at least Vice-President? Absolutely, but that’s water under the bridge. We live in dark times and we need the kind of leadership that can take on our problems head-on and I know Senators Obama and Biden will do just that. So I hope everyone will join me and Hillary in saying, NO WAY, NO HOW, NO MCCAIN.
She has founded an organisation which is now devoted to fighting media misogyny, Women Count. Hurrah!
For more of Buell’s statement, go here
Am I the only one who thinks it’s really icky to suppose that I need a condom to protect me from McCain?
Via Broadsheet.
Lilly Ledbetter is the Goodyear employee who sued for sex discrimination after a lifetime of pay raises that were less than those received by her male counterparts. She won her lawsuit, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision because she did not file a suit within 6 months of her first discriminatory pay raise. (She of course didn’t know about the disparity till near the end of her career.) This led to the Fair Pay Restoration Act, which John McCain opposed, saying that women just need more training not equal pay. She spoke at the Democratic Convention, but I’ve seen many people complaining that this was not carried on most TV stations. Her speech is important (and short!). See it here. Or read it here.
Feminist Philosophers 