thisgirlangie's feminist thoughts go here

"So what would happen if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not? Clearly,..."

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:04:37 -0800

“

So what would happen if suddenly, magically, men could menstruate and women could not?

Clearly, menstruation would become an enviable, worthy, masculine event:

Men would brag about how long and how much.

Young boys would talk about it as the envied beginning of manhood. Gifts, religious ceremonies, family dinners, and stag parties would mark the day.

To prevent monthly work loss among the powerful, Congress would fund a National Institute of Dysmenorrhea. Doctors would research little about heart attacks, from which men would be hormonally protected, but everything about cramps.

Sanitary supplies would be federally funded and free. Of course, some men would still pay for the prestige of such commercial brands as Paul Newman Tampons, Muhammad Ali’s Rope-a-Dope Pads, John Wayne Maxi Pads, and Joe Namath Jock Shields- “For Those Light Bachelor Days.”

Statistical surveys would show that men did better in sports and won more Olympic medals during their periods.

”

- (c) Gloria Steinem, Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions. NY: NAL, 1986.

NOT BOOTH BABES BUT STARTUP FOUNDERS — On being a...

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:39:00 -0700

NOT BOOTH BABES BUT STARTUP FOUNDERS — On being a nonprofit (and a girl) at TechCrunch 50 — by Leila Chirayath Janah

Tina Fey Sheds Her Smart Girl Image In Bazaar (Jezebel Photo...

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:31:09 -0700

Tina Fey Sheds Her Smart Girl Image In Bazaar (Jezebel Photo Gallery)

Barnard’s Smart Women Lead club hosted president and co-founder...

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:37:37 -0700

Barnard’s Smart Women Lead club hosted president and co-founder of the White House Project Marie Wilson on Thursday night. Marie Wilson calls for women leaders.

Tekserve put ad dollars in BUST Magazine - love it!

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:33:18 -0700

Tekserve put ad dollars in BUST Magazine - love it!

The Financial Times’s top 50 women in world business -...

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:58:10 -0700

The Financial Times’s top 50 women in world business - representing a variety of industries. Compare it to this list. (thx jessicalee)

Reconsidering the Female Gaze — That a female gamer is not...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:12:15 -0700

Reconsidering the Female Gaze — That a female gamer is not permitted aggressive and powerful action touches a deeper issue in the gaming community, and perhaps reflects the society at large. Simply, games are not made for women, and women often have a hard time “fitting in” with the games they play. (more)

“I call myself a feminist,” said the Dalai Lama in...

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:54:47 -0700

“I call myself a feminist,” said the Dalai Lama in Memphis yesterday. “Isn’t that what you call someone who fights for women’s rights?”

Internet spreads sexist tweets faster than ever

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:07:52 -0700

It’s no secret that the tech world is one big sausagefest.

There were zero women — none — in Paul Graham’s YCombinator startup class last month. There were maybe two female founders at Facebook’s fbFund Rev and about five women presenters at TechCrunch50 last week. DEMO, the conference VentureBeat co-produces and at which I’m now sitting, seems to have about the same ratio.

There’s been plenty of handwringing over why so few women start companies. Is it education? Is it gender norms propagated through our culture? Is it that starting a company is incredibly taxing during a woman’s best reproductive years?

All I know is, you guys need to shut up. You say a lot of piggy things that end up in my work screenshots. When TotalTrainer co-founder Erin Lutz took the stage with partner Darin MacDonald just now, out came the twits. Look at CNet’s Rafe Needleman: “Those muscles don’t belong at Demo.”

Of course they do.

From Kim-Mai Cutler reporting for VentureBeat on DEMOfall 09.

“There is a great Gloria Steinem quote — and I’m...

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:55:47 -0700

“There is a great Gloria Steinem quote — and I’m paraphrasing — ‘Become the man you want to marry.’ I’ve taken that on. What qualities do I find attractive, and can I find them in myself? What am I missing? Can I be that for myself?”

— Michelle Williams, in the 2009 October issue of Vogue

“You’re going to have, for the first time ever, two women...

Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:33:17 -0700

“You’re going to have, for the first time ever, two women competing as solo anchors in a television framework that just — within living memory — sort of destroyed every woman who tried to do it,” said Richard Wald, a former news executive at ABC and NBC.

How changing the lives of women and girls in the...

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 19:01:12 -0700

How changing the lives of
women and girls in the developing
world can change everything

True for Boys & Girls

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:04:00 -0700

True for Boys & Girls

Sexual Harassment Is A Crime Of Power, Not Passion

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 21:43:10 -0700

Sexual Harassment Is A Crime Of Power, Not Passion

Her Face Is My Face, Too

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:53:44 -0700

Her Face Is My Face, Too

There appears to be plenty to love about Yi. She has an offbeat...

Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:10:59 -0700

There appears to be plenty to love about Yi. She has an offbeat sense of humor, and an awkward laugh that either melts your heart or makes you beg for earplugs. She sports unkempt hair with a casual style of zip-up hoodies, jeans, and flannel shirts — a pleasant contrast from her Hollywood twenty-something counterparts (that would be you, Megan Fox).

Is George Clooney Dating Down? Now that George Clooney is...

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 19:16:00 -0700

Is George Clooney Dating Down? Now that George Clooney is reportedly dating an Italian model -slash- TV presenter, Jezebel.com wonders why he’s established a pattern of dating women much less professionally successful than himself. (Check out the comments!)

Because American women aren’t insecure enough about their...

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:33:33 -0700

Because American women aren’t insecure enough about their bodies, Gold’s Gym has declared that July should be Cankles Awareness Month.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Cankle, a portmanteau word combining calf and ankle, refers to “the area in affected female legs where the calf meets the foot in an abrupt, nontapering terminus,” according to Urban Dictionary.

The WSJ adds:

A spokeswoman for the American Podiatric Medical Association says the word is not a medical term.

If you have cankle issues, you’ll be glad to know that Gold’s is offering a customized “cankles-busting workout” at its gyms. Which I find curious since my personal trainer and many other fitness experts say spot reducing is not possible. (From “Advertising Is Good For You”)

A quick quiz for those of you who attend tech conferences....

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:11:40 -0700

A quick quiz for those of you who attend tech conferences. You’re organizing a “Women in Tech” panel, and you have the following panelists:

Which of the below do you add as the final member of your panel?

An expert in social networks
An academic who has studied the declining numbers of women in tech
The head of a non-profit that supports women in tech
A guy who tried to hire a woman, but wasn’t able to find one
A designer who works with technical people
A consultant who uses words like “synergy,” “paradigm,” and “liase”
Other

Put your answer in the comments here, please.

Taiwan-born sex worker Niko, 47, smokes a cigarette outside a...

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:08:00 -0700

Taiwan-born sex worker Niko, 47, smokes a cigarette outside a brothel in Taipei June 24, 2009.

Taiwan began a process of legalising prostitution on Wednesday, making the island the latest place in the world to decriminalise the world’s oldest profession. In six months, authorities will stop punishing Taiwan sex workers after prostitutes successfully campaigned to be given the same protection as their clients, a government spokesman said.

REUTERS/Nicky Loh