12 posts tagged “feminism”

I hate the end of January. It's dreary, the weather sucks, I have to go back to school, and all the idiotic anti-choicers come out of the woodwork to whine and cry about the evils of abortion (while conveniently ignoring the plight of poor children who are, you know, actually born). Today, the New York Times asks Is There a Post-Abortion Syndrome? and does an excellent job of exposing the hypocrisy of the rhetoric of "Silent No More," "Operation Outcry," and other anti-choice groups that try to use a few women's negative experiences with abortion to justify re-criminalizing it.

Evidently, a women who was sexually, physically, and emotionally abused by her male family members as a child and teenager who went on to experience various drug addictions, a string of abusive relationships, and a handful of abortions as a result is infallible proof that Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome exists. Never mind the fact that the Reagan and both Bush administrations have poured millions of dollars into psychological/psychiatric studies that have all turned up inconclusive, that Congressional hearings have never turned up any proof either, nor have those conducted by a number of American medical associations and journals. In fact, the only studies in existence that do show evidence of so-called "Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome" have highly flawed methodologies (most of them rely on extremely tiny, cherry-picked samples that aren't representative), are conducted by researchers or institutions with an obvious agenda, or both. Oh no, we should never let reality get in the way of a good masturbatory hand-wring over those cruel, callous women who kill their babies and cause irreparable emotional damage to themselves.

I am so, so sick of the hypocritical attitude that so many people have towards abortion rights. I am so unbelievably tired of hearing people say things to the effect of "Oh, I hate abortion and think it's cold, vicious, cruel, and totally the wrong decision, but I guess it's better than letting those poor, irresponsible, slutty women breed babies that the rest of us will have to take care of." If you think abortion is mean, vicious, cruel, or whatever else, that's your business, but for the love of god, can you please stop raining condescension and moral judgment down on women who are already dealing with enough? Having an abortion isn't always an easy choice, and until you know every single woman who has ever had or ever will have an abortion to the core of her being, you have no right whatsoever to criticize her; I don't care how many warm, fuzzy feelings you happen to have about fetuses.

The only thing that those attitudes does is legitimate the anti-choice view that all women who have abortions are evil whores (and the  "logical" conclusion: that the pregnancy and future child are adequate punishments for promiscuity) and contribute to a cloud of shame and silence that surrounds the women who chose to have abortions, possibly causing a number of the "symptoms" associated with "Post-Abortion Stress Syndrome." While the women who have abortions may not regret their decision, years and years of verbal abuse at the hands of self-righteous asshats can take its toll, especially when even the most reasonable among us are joining forces with heinously misogynic anti-choicers to condemn them. And where does that leave women?

I really recommend that everyone read the rest of the article. It's quite well-written and informative.

I'll be Blogging for Choice tomorrow in honor of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Watch for it!

I am insanely excited about my classes this semester:

English 237E: Shakesperean Sexualities:

Pericles
Coriolanus
Antony and Cleopatra
The Winter's Tale
Troilus and Cressida
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Twelfth Night
Measure for Measure
Othello
The Merchant of Venice
All's Well That Ends Well
Macbeth

Real Knockouts:The Physical Feminism of Women's Self-Defense by Martha McCaughey
The Male Body by Susan Bordo
The Politics of Women's Bodies by Rose Weitz

Women's and Gender Studies 201: Perspectives on Women in the World:

Orientalism by Said
Western Women and Imperialsim: Complicity and Resistance by Nupur Chaudhuri and Margaret Strobel
Women's History in Global Perspective by Bonnie G. Smith
Guests of the Sheik by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea
Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Mernissi
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
Truth Tales by Kali for Women

This is my final list. I chose these programs based on departmental structure and practical application. Most master's programs in Women's Studies are with entirely theory [which would be fine if I wanted to be an academic/have a job outside academia, but I don't/do] or are three or four theory classes and then random courses cobbled together from other departments [which is what Vandy's program is, and I'm not a fan]. These programs also either require or offer off-campus study in the form of individual projects in the community or internships. Since I plan on being employed in this field, I obviously would like both. Anyway, here's the list:

1. California Institute of Integral Studies. (MA in Social and Cultural Anthropology)
2. Towson University (MS in Women's Studies)
3. University of Southern Florida (MA in Women's Studies)
4. Roosevelt University (MA in Women's Studies)
5. New College of California (Some random activist program whose name I can't recall).

Notice the following:
1. None of them are in the South.
2. All are located in or near large cities.
3. None of them require the GRE!

I'm pretty sure my chances are good.

I always make a ton of these, so I've separated them into categories.

I. Education-Related Resolutions
A. Finish my thesis.
B. Graduate
C...Magna Cum Laude.
D. Finish my grad school applications.
E. Get into grad school.

II. Not Strictly Education-Related, but Nevertheless Intellectual Resolutions
A. Read more outside of class. This includes literature, non-fiction, philosophy, and feminist theory. The older I get, the more I realize that I need to take it upon myself to educate myself.
B. Find a school of feminist thought that suits me better and pisses me off less than radical feminism.
C. Use this thing more. It makes my brain feel all limber and stretchy, especially since I have so few intellectual conversations these days.
D. Start paying better attention to current events.

III. Personal/Health-Related Resolutions
A. Continue working on last year's resolution of "Quit taking [unnecessary] shit off people."
B. Pay more attention to my appearance [because, normally, I don't].
C. Eat healthier.
D. Stop consuming soda. Even the diet kind.
E. Make a workout schedule and stick to it.
F. Make some friends who don't suck.
G. Date guys that don't suck.
H. Take vitamins.

IV. Miscellaneous
A. Write at least five crochet patterns.
B. Knit a sweater.
C. Go camping/hiking at least once.
D. Learn to kayak.
E. Get a decent job.

I can't believe I'm writing this.

Seriously, people, in what alternate universe is calling sexual assault, which is not only an act of extreme brutality, it's absolutely horrifying and soul-shattering to experience, "surprise sex" acceptable? I'd kind of like to know so that I can send you there, never to return.

I'm not a big fan of the whole "OMG I RAPED THAT FINAL" or, conversely, "Boo hoo, that final raped me and left me in a metaphorical dumpster with my underwear torn and duct tape around my wrists! *kutkri*" routines, either. Call me crazy, but you really can't sexually violate an exam, nor can one sexually violate you. If you studied and did well, great. If you didn't study and did well anyway, really great. If you didn't study and failed, ha, sucks to be you. But for the love of freaking god, rape is not an acceptable analogy for any of these processes. It's not cute, it's not clever, it's not funny.

All it is is really fucking offensive and all it does is make me hate you and not want to talk to you ever again.

Especially those of you who know full well what I've been dealing with lately. Screw you.

The abortion ban in South Dakota? FAILED.

Parental notification in California? FAILED.

Parental Notification in Oregon? FAILED.

The Democrats have taken the House.

The Democrats now hold 48 Senate positions and are in the lead in three other races.

Best Birthday Ever.

It's a long-running joke between my friends and me that Vanderbilt does not admit ugly people. Of all the nine colleges and universities I've applied to, it's the only one that has required a photograph on its application. The ostensible purpose for that is to publish a "new faces" book for incoming freshman (this was pre-facebook, mind you), but we're nevetheless convinced that they also used these photographs to weed out ugly people. Ugly people do not look good in group Greek photos (no one wants to see an ugly Theta in pasties [yeah, that happened at Vandy]). Ugly people do not grow up to be successful politicians, businessmen, lawyers, and trophy wives. In short, ugly people ruin the Vandy image. We're supposedly the best and the brightest, yes, but we also have a reputation of being ridiculously wealthy and impossibly attractive to uphold as well.

I'm not kidding about this. I can count the number of truly unattractive people I've seen on this campus on one hand, and, in a school of six thousand, that's depressingly impressive.

Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities

Alexandra Robbins

I haven't decided to what extent it's a good or a bad thing. In terms of visuals, it's nice to not have to stare at ugly people day in and day out, but I'm not sure how I feel about the culture of Pledged that perpetuates it. Something like 50% of the student body is Greek (about 60% of the women and 35% of the men), and the prevailing influence of that isn't always positive. I know Alexandra Robbins got lambasted by critics for being overly sensational in Pledged, but in my opinion and experience at a super-Greek school, her depiction of sorority life was, once again, depressingly impressive in terms of its accuracy. While I never went Greek myself (I fail at the kind of conformity that most of the Vandy sororities require: they can order you to wear specific clothing, wear your hair a certain way, and all manner of other crazy things), what I've heard firsthand from my friends who went Greek, my friends who dropped out of the Greek system, and secondhand from the campus rumor mill confirms just about everything that Robbins wrote. Vanderbilt has a huge culture of superficiality and the eating disorder rates to go with it.

This brings me to three weeks ago. I've been on a quest to lose weight since May of this year, when I made the unfortunate discovery that my tendency to eat cheeseburgers for lunch every

My downfall

The Rec is a Vanderbilt institution of utter self-hatred. One goes to the rec to socialize, to be seen in skintight workout clothes, full makeup, and pearls (I'm not making this up), and to purge what few calories one has consumed in a Ro*Tiki salad while listening to Paris Hilton on one's iPod and reading trashy magazines. Every machine is set up in front of a mirror- ostensibly for motivation, but all it does is maximize self-loathing. Who wants to see themselves, red-faced with runny makeup huffing and sweating underneath fluorescent lights? Even the impossibly-skinny sorority girls look god-awful, and I can't help but feel sorry for them. Most of them are rail thin, if not outright emaciated, and yet they elliptical in such a frenzy that you'd think wild dogs were chasing them. And they look so miserable.

There are a couple of girls I see every time I go. One is always wearing a sweatsuit, even though it's autumn and the heat is on (making it hotter than the hinges of hell in the Rec). She sweats buckets, and that can;t be comfortable or healthy. I'm convinced that another one is there all day; whenever I arrive, she's already red and puffing and exhausted-looking (to the point where she looks like she's experiencing intense pain). I'm there for at least forty-five minutes to an hour, and yet she's still going strong when I leave. I've seen her calorie counter- it's well over a thousand every time. And there's no way she's consuming enough calories to make up for it. She's par for the course; most of the women who exercise there look miserable. The self-hatred on their faces is evident.

It's so depressing. I went to a high school where eating disorders were epidemic, and I've witnessed (and experienced) firsthand how devastating they are. But at least Webb gave lip service to healthy eating and exercise habits (even though nothing was ever said to the girls who were obviously ill). Vandy doesn't, not really, and everything about it, from its hyper-emphasis on Greek life and all the craziness that goes along with it to the raging hookup culture to the prevailing mindset of "It's impossible to be too rich or too thin or too fashionable" encourages them. I try to tell myself that I'm the normal one, but it's really hard when I'm surrounded by hordes of blonde, skinny, made-up Vandygirls-- and I know full well that the beauty standard in this culture is them, not me. And when you have to be ill to fit into your culture's fucked up notion of beauty-- well, that really sucks.

Brought to you by Andrea Dworkin:

Everything that didn't happen to you-- and I apply this to myself; it's part of the way I survive-- is a little slack in your leash. You weren't raped when you were three, you weren't raped when you were ten, or you weren't battered, or you weren't in prostitution-- whatever it is that you managed to miss is the measure of your freedom and your strength, and the measure of what you owe to other women.

Perspective is good; sometimes even I need to be reminded that I'm one of the lucky ones, despite everything.