MSU Women's Council

FEM Magazine Calling for Submissions--Spring 2011 issue.

2010-11-21T18:48:00.000-05:00

FEM Magazine is back in full swing and is calling for submissions for a January 1st deadline. If you're not already familiar with FEM, it is a do-it-yourself style magazine that has historically been sponsored by Women's Council. It is not quite a "zine," not quite your typical publication. Submit poetry, a short story, an academic-style article, or piece or art, to be included in the upcoming issue.

Benefits include being able to put this publication on your resume, and the sheer joy of opening its pages to see your own name under "Creator" or "Author." It's sweet stuff I'm tellin ya.

Deadline: January 1st 2011. Submit your work! The issue will hopefully be out in time for distribution at the MSU Vagina Monologues.

Kate

This advertisement is disgusting

2009-03-05T01:25:00.001-05:00

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/__XCWUd8FFjQ/Sa1IEpi28pI/AAAAAAAAGgU/S_0ZEyCvA7U/s1600-h/ImedeenSwallow.jpg

FEM

2009-01-03T13:09:00.002-05:00

HELLO femmes!

I hope you all are having a fantastic feministing break with your family, friends, and loved ones. I'm writing to remind everyone about the deadline for FEM Magazine, the annual magazine from Women's Council. The deadline is this Wednesday, January 7th. If you are interested in writing an article, you can contact Christina Fields at msufem@gmail.com and you may also submit any articles you wish to that e-mail.

This is a fantastic opportunity to write about something you are interested in and FEM is a very interesting, fun-loving mag. Here are some ideas:

articles, reviews, columns, photos, artwork, poetry, creative writing

or anything else that you feel would be appropriate.

Thanks

Music is not a mirror to reflect reality. It's a hammer, with which we shape it!

2008-12-02T23:36:00.005-05:00

Hello Feminists :)

I hope that preparations for final exams are being productive and time worthy! In the midst of all the studying, I hope that everyone is beginning to think about all the new and exciting opportunities that are coming up in the next semester. I know that I've been thinking quite a bit about some opportunities on campus and in the state of Michigan that I'm going to be taking advantage of.

Anyway, in the midst of all my studies I was able to discover and listen to an Israeli/Palestinian, Ann Arbor/Ypsi - ite rapper from Detroit. Yes, SHE identifies with all of those locations. She has been living in Detroit, rapping about a whole slew of social oppression issues that are taking place within Detroit, and throughout our totalizing society. Her name is Invincible. In June, she came out with an album titled "Invincible Shapeshifters" On this album, she has raps about everything from the "locusts" of Detroit and America the Beautiful (as her lover, listen to "Spacious Skies") to the Palestinian search for a just peace (I recommend "People, Not Places").
Invincible is a profoundly talented artist with a passion for community activism, specifically in the reurbanization of Detroit. Her lyrics are political, social and just plain RAW. And more importantly, they hit close to home...with the political and social oppression taking place right here in Michigan.

I hope that anyone who reads this takes a minute to listen to one of her songs. I will post a link to one of her songs in mp3 format and a youtube video with her own new music video of "Sledgehammer"

http://www.thisisrealmusic.com/albumreviews/30808/invincible/shapeshifters.php

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxZbpbCKKL4

SHE DESERVES MAD PROPS !!!!

Peace,

Bethany

WC on the web

2008-10-12T02:07:00.002-04:00

A couple of things to look out for in cyberspace:

Our website has been updated with pictures and bios of the eboard members. https://www.msu.edu/~msuwomen/eboard.html

Bethany and I were on an Impact 89 radio show a couple weeks ago talking about Sarah Palin and feminism. They finally posted the podcast (date: 9/24/08). We're featured in the first 25 minutes. http://www.impact89fm.org/pod_citypulselive.php

-Chen

Student Auctioning Virginity for School

2008-09-12T23:58:00.002-04:00

http://news.aol.com/article/student-auctioning
-virginity-at-brothel/169951

You should check this article out.

Purity Balls...

2008-07-28T22:13:00.002-04:00

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1823930,00.html?xid=newsletter-weekly

Maybe you've already heard about "purity balls," maybe not, but either way, you should check out this thoughtful article from Time magazine on the subject. Nancy Gibbs does a nice job of offering a balanced perspective on this phenomenon that some of us may find a little bit creepy.

I'd say I still have objections to the way the events are structured, the focus on sex as impure, and the limiting of the participants to girls and fathers (what about boys and mothers?). However, this article points out that many of the dads present are there to commit themselves to being a positive, involved presence in their daughters' lives, rather than leaving all the raising of their children to the mothers of their children. Also, I think that abstinence is a perfectly respectable and healthy choice, and I hope that Gibbs' conclusion including the importance of education and respect for teens' agency is part of the message imparted by these events.

Interesting...what do you think?

the only bush i trust is my own.

2008-07-16T13:38:00.003-04:00

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/washington/15rule.html?scp=1&sq=NARAL&st=cse

So, President Bush is still trying to screw over women, this time with proposed regulations that would limit federal funds to healthcare providers who didn't agree to hire employees despite their objection to birth control. Let's hope this never becomes an actual regulation, and that women who need birth control and emergency contraception don't have to face even more obstacles to getting it.

See the post on NARAL's blog for more info: http://www.blogforchoice.com/archives/2008/07/another-day-ano.html

Media's portrayal of women

2008-06-18T14:07:00.002-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-IrhRSwF9U

I just wanted to post this video for everyone to see. Perhaps, some of you have already seen it. It disgusts me that media is so sexist. I don't know why women put up this this. I do sincerely hope that as we enter the work force more of these kinds of statements will become infrequent.

Particularly, I would like to comment on Tucker's statement stating that he "is not embarrassed by being 68th for having women in Congress" What a ridiculous statement. I don't know if the news stations are simply trying to fulfill certain stereotypes through their news reporters... however, who thought that this kind garbage is acceptable on national television has been sorely misguided.

A call for posts

2008-06-10T00:43:00.002-04:00

Someone who has seen the Sex in the City movie should write about it!

Should Women of Color Call Themselves Feminists?

2008-04-29T22:16:00.004-04:00

So this link to came to me in an email from New Demographic which is a site dedicated to discussing representation of people of color (specifically multiracial people) in the media. I thought it was interesting that the topic of the article was about feminism. According to the article there has been a lot of discussion lately about women of color and whether or not they should call themselves feminist if feminist refuse to address racism as a feminist issue. I do not think this is a new debate at all, but I like to hear if any one else has opinions on this?

http://www.racialicious.com/2008/04/28/
does-feminism-have-to-address-race/

I personally do not have any problems with calling myself a feminist (speaking as a woman of color) but I have always felt that racism was an important issue addressed in feminism. Now that I reflect on my own experiences and some of the information I have read I can defiantly see where some of these women of color are coming from. However, I also recognize that I have some privilege as a white woman also, which makes my experiences different. Although I would say that I identify more as a person of color. Hmmmm.....

Pictures!

2008-04-18T00:52:00.003-04:00

Consider this a call for photos! I know more people took pictures at the voting event...
If you can post on this blog, POST! If you can't we can add you as an author or you can email your photos it to anyone who can currently post and we'll put it up.
I've dug up some pictures from my camera. Some of them are ones I already posted on Facebook, but I'll put them here anyway.

TBTN

2008-04-11T05:31:00.002-04:00

Take Back the Night 2008 was amazing!! Everyone should check out the poem Stacyann Chin wrote about it:
www.myspace.com/stacyannchin

Report: Men still not pulling weight on chores

2008-04-04T15:53:00.001-04:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/
personal/03/06/men.share.chores.ap/index.html

T-shirt design

2008-04-04T11:01:00.003-04:00

Given our last discussion on sexual assault, I found this article timely.
The New York Times published this article about allowing rape survivors to "own the experience", says the creator of these shirts. I think it would take a very brave woman to wear such a shirt.

This T-Shirt Is About Rape

By Susan Dominus

In 2004, Jennifer Baumgardner distributed T-shirts with a bold message across their fronts in blocky blue text: “I Had an Abortion.” More recently, the Williamsburg-based writer and activist decided to apply her T-shirt approach to consciousness-raising to the subject of rape.

But the straightforward approach of her first rape T-shirt didn’t seem quite right for shirts she hoped to distribute on campuses through a sex-education Web site, as reported in today’s Big City column.

She and a graphic designer friend tried to counter the passivity of the sentence construction “I was raped,” by placing the sentence in a cartoon dialogue bubble, in bright pink.

“Too ebullient,” said Ms. Baumgardner.

A third approach went in the opposite direction: a white T-shirt with one word — “Raped” — pseudo spray-painted on in black.

“Too shocking,” she decided.

Finally, she approached her friend, Vinnie Angel, a graphic artist perhaps best known for designing Vinnie’s Tampon Case. His concept: a safe with its door wide open, revealing inside a small notecard that reads, in handwriting, “I was raped.”

“What the safe design loses is shock value,” said Ms. Baumgardner, but that’s not what she was going for in the first place.

What was she going for? A shirt that would let rape victims “own the experience,” she says, and would help chip away the cone of silence that surrounds a crime with humiliation at its core.

A shirt that would start conversations.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/04/this-t-shirt-is-about-rape/index.html?hp

Save the animals! ...what about the women?

2008-03-27T11:24:00.000-04:00

"'My sole purpose in this universe is to save every possible creature from pain and suffering,' he said."

Johnny Diablo is trying to save all creatures from pain and suffering by avoiding all animal products and promoting veganism. However, he seems not to mind the "pain and suffering" to which he contributes by running a strip club--a vegan one, at least.
This article discusses the use of women's bodies--often naked or scantily clad--to promote veganism, including PETA naked protests and Diablo's new club in Portland, OR.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/27/fashion/27vegan.html?th&emc=th

While I am no vegan, I do respect those who work for proper treatment of animals, and would agree that saving creatures from suffering is a noble goal. What I don't get, however, is the separation between saving animals and saving people. Women don't always need "saving," I suppose, but they do deserve not to be objectified for the sake of animals.

So yes, these women are posing and/or dancing for veganism voluntarily. But 'voluntarily' doesn't count the influences of a patriarchal culture which might just affect women's 'choices' to sell their bodies. And the thing is, the objectification of women's bodies and the use of their sexuality to sell a cause doesn't just affect the women in the pictures. Images of women in the media and that are projected by strip clubs and similar establishments encourage a view of women as something to be owned, enjoyed, used. These messages get carried out in violence against women, since violence against an object that exists for male pleasure is seen as a male prerogative. The women in these ads may not feel like they're betraying themselves, but I wish they would analyze more deeply the way these images are viewed by people and they way in which they are complicit with patriarchal goals and ideas.

This seems like a prime example of the ways in which oppressions intersect and the need to combat all types of oppression and injustice simultaneously in order to effect real social change. Even if you get some macho guy to eat a Boca Burger in your vegan strip club, he just learns that he'll be congratulated for objectifying women if he just doesn't eat animals while he does it.

What do you think?

This is what a Feminist looks like!

2008-03-25T13:58:00.000-04:00

This a cool video I recieved from the Feminist Majority Foundation.
http://feminist.org/FeministVideo/index.html
Happy Women's History Month!!

Too Far

2008-03-11T13:21:00.000-04:00

So I was in my dorm's cafeteria today, sitting at a table with two of my male friends, and two of my female friends. Someone was telling a story about an old man in Florida who had called Hillary Clinton a "dyke."

After we chuckled and shook our heads, I said, "I hope that guy dies before the election." I figured my friends would be with me on it, knowing that I'm not serious (I say stuff like that a lot; it's kind of a bad habit).

I was naive. They were almost as incensed that I had wished such a fate on a stranger as they were incensed that I had a problem with the word "dyke." There was some blah blahing about free speech, me trying to convince them that I didn't really want the guy to die, some assumptions that I wanted to censor the word "dyke," some of the other garbage that unfolds when people righteously defend themselves from the Feminazis' Political Correctness, and a friend telling me that I'd taken the feminism thing too far.

Really, now. Calling a woman "dyke" is okay?

My cafeteria table wasn't exactly a scientific survey, but man, do we have a long way to go.

School refuses female ref for HS boys basketball

2008-02-14T05:57:00.000-05:00

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/highschool/02/13/female.official.
ap/index.html?cnn=yes

So that boys can play with Barbies

2008-02-10T11:47:00.000-05:00

I have been waiting to see something written about "The Daring Book for Girls" and "How To Be the Best at Everything - The Girl's Book" and their companion male editions and it's finally here in today's New York Times Magazine. For those who somehow missed this publishing phenomenon, both these two series are similar handbooks on childhood activities and information that children generally should know.

I have several issues with the contents of these books. The authors try to make an effort try to include activities typically for the other gender but a comparison of the table of contents of the boys book and the girls book reveals that their contents are still gendered. The girls' book includes an overview of Robert's Rules of Order, how to paddle a canoe boy's. The fact based entries in the boys book tend to cover history, politics and the fact based entries in the girls book are devoid of conflict. Instead, the history related entries include "Queens of the World: Cleopatra of Egypt" and "Abigail Adams' Letters with John Adams". No mention of war! The boy's book has not one, but two chapter summarizing twelve battles from Thermopolyae to Gettysburg. It's a not-so-subtle message that boys are more active in the public domain and girls are shielded from the wars and battles the boy's book reveals.

A few of the entries overlap in content but are frame differently. In the boys, there is "The Fifty States". In the girls, a similar entry is called "States, Statehood, Capitals, Flowers, and Trees -- Plus Canada!" The girl's book also features entries on science but one of such is called "Paper Flowers and Capillary Action". Capillary action, as you might remember, is the process by which one substance travels through another, like water up a strip of paper. Why doesn't the boy's entry appeal to flowers and nature?

In addition, the crossing of gender lines only works on way in these books. The girls book covers traditionally male topics such as science and sports but the boys book says nothing of watercolor painting or famous female Olympians, entries in the girl's book. Are boys prohibited from learning about "Modern Women Leaders"?

The issue here is not so much that boys should not learn about female leaders but the deeply rooted homophobia. Boys who know too much about girl's activities are ... gay.

Secondly, even if you so mistakenly believe that the content of the girl and boy books are somehow appropriate for modern children striving for some, the design of the books is intentionally old-fashioned, harkening to the time when gendered behaviors were very much concrete and unchangeable.

As an advocate for gender equality, I want to see gender stereotypes of both sides broken down. In this overwhelmingly patriarchal world, it is less obvious the ways in which men too are bound by their gender roles. In particular, when it comes to children's toys, it seems that boys have it worse than girls in America. It is the boys who are less encouraged to cross the boundaries to play with "feminine" toys. Girls have more freedom than boys to engage in play that crosses gender role boundaries. There is a movement among parents to encourage girls to be more active outdoors and play with toys typically for boys -- Legos, cars, science kits. In fact, there's a hint of pride, of nonconformity for girls to be called tomboys. This is evident in that whenever a discussion of gender socialization comes up in my classes, a girl always raises her hand to proclaim that she decapitated her Barbies and climbed up trees. Imagine what people would think if a boy raised his hand to say he played with dolls?

I'd Rather Vote for Chisholm

2008-01-08T10:10:00.001-05:00

I won't claim to be an expert on the 2008 election, or the candidates. I dislike Edwards, Obama and Hillary less than I dislike all of the other candidates.

Wait a minute. Edwards, Obama, and Hillary...hmmm...something sounds wrong here...

Well, anyway, as a non-expert, I'm in no position to figure out why Barack Obama won in Iowa, and/or why Hillary Clinton didn't. That's why I'm bringing in a much more experienced politician, Shirley Chisholm, to explain things.

Unfortunately, Chisholm died in 2005, so we'll have to rely on her quotes.

"I've always faced more discrimination for being a woman than for being black."

Oh. Hm.

So, why "Hillary 08?" Why not "Clinton 08," or "Hillary Clinton 08?"

I know Hillary is trying to distinguish herself from Bill, but George W. Bush didn't seem to worry about being distinct from Bush Sr. (and in both 2000 and 2008, the candidates with the surnames of former presidents have run eight years after their predecessors left office). In fact, Al Gore's decision to distinguish himself from Bill in 2000 is now widely regarded as a political mistake. I concede that father-son, husband-wife and President-VP are each a very different type of relationship. But I don't buy that this is only about being distinct from Bill - it's about rampant sexism in American politics, which Hillary's campaign has regrettably participated in.

Some may recall Segolene Royal's failed presidential bid in France. I don't recall much about it, other than that I read a column on it by Maureen Dowd called "La Campagne, C'est moi," linked below.

Ever Thus to Female Politicians Complicit with Sexism

2007-12-09T18:46:00.001-05:00

...

why?

why not!

It's finals week and who doesn't need an excuse to procrastinate?

I thought I would post these feminist blogs for you to peruse ... they're personal favorites ... feel free to reply with your own recommendations!

http://bitchphd.blogspot.com/

http://www.feministing.com/

http://www.bitchmagazine.org/

and this:

violet blue is a sex positive bad ass.

she posts great stuff, like her opensourcesex podcasts .... she reads erotica or discusses alternative sex-ed topics (like tips for using a strap-on on your boyfriend, things to consider when contemplating a threesome, how to get yourself off in bed no matter what, foods that have the same pH as your cunt, and random things that you didn't know existed)

you can download them here and listen to them on your MP3 player .... I like to listen to them when I'm doing chores or driving. anyway, she's fabulous and sex positive and you can see for yourself here:

http://tinynibbles.com/

enjoy your feminism, fucks, and finals ....!

xoxo,

beth

vintage advertisements

2007-11-29T19:59:00.001-05:00

Seriously?
Seriously!!?
Are these for reals?

Sadly.... yes.

When we hear about how ads these days objectify women, it's amazing to realize what was considered "acceptable" back in the day ......

Thank God(dess) for the women's movement...

<3

beth

source

Delegate or Inspire?

2007-11-02T22:19:00.000-04:00

The premise of this article is not groundbreaking -- women are wrapped in a contradictory tangle of expectations in and out of the home -- but what I found interesting in this article is that the most desired qualities in a leader vary by country. More than a critique of feminism, this is a look into leadership, man or woman.

The New York Times writes, "Respondents in the United States and England, for instance, listed “inspiring others” as a most important leadership quality, and then rated women as less adept at this than men. In Nordic countries, women were seen as perfectly inspirational, but it was “delegating” that was of higher value there, and women were not seen as good delegators."

Feminism is good for your sex life--duh.

2007-10-21T13:30:00.000-04:00

So, a WC member alerted me to this random article, the author of which sounds a little surprised that feminism makes for healthier relationships and more sexual satisfaction. (Check out the article--I posted it under news--to see for yourself what feminism can do for you.)
Apparently someone actually conducted a study- so now no one can question whether equality of power in relationships actually makes them more fun to be in, or whether your girlfriend would be happier if she wore an apron and stayed in the kitchen all day.
Gender roles suck, is basically the point, and the more a relationship avoids expecting or enforcing these stereotypes and prescribed behaviors, the more time everyone has for really getting to know each other as individuals and the easier it is to share equally and trust each other.
Apparently scientists are still stumped: "While they aren't sure how feminism works to enhance relationship health, the researchers have some ideas."
Let's see--how does feminism enhance your relationships?

2007-10-20T12:26:00.000-04:00

Kelley and I went to the 2nd Annual MSU Def Poetry Jam put on by the UAB, and it was amazing! The special guest was a spoken word artist named Bridget Gray and not only did she go right into referring to vagina proudly, but she is the only female to become a two time Grand Slam Champion back to back. Anyway, the point is that you should check out her work, especially "I am a woman" which is a fiercely empowering feminist statement on what being a woman can be.

Yay for Sex. Ed.!

2007-10-18T15:52:00.000-04:00

Check out the article about a Maine school board voting to allow their middle school students to get contraception without parental consent and information about safe sex. It's so heartening to hear that not everyone thinks that kids will start having crazy amounts of sex as soon as someone hands them a condom--these people are being reasonable about the needs of their students and the best ways to help them stay safe from unintended pregnancy and STIs. I love it!

Justice Thomas Requires a Kerchief

2007-10-04T06:46:00.001-04:00

A book rank with the putrid stink of misogyny is going to be hitting the shelves soon, and the author is a prominent figure in modern politics.

(I'll begin by linking to Anita Hill's response to this episode, which I feel should be prominently placed before my polemics.)

Until recently, one might have interpreted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' silence on the subject of Anita Hill as a sign of guilt. In this day and age, of course, some of the guilty prefer instead to launch absurd rhetorical claims in a book, which is what we can expect in Thomas' forthcoming memoir "My Grandfather's Son (Washington Post link)."

A quick review of the controversy surrounding Anita Hill - when George H.W. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in 1991, Hill testified that Thomas had sexually harassed her when he was her supervisor at the Department of Education. It turned into an epic political battle, which Thomas won, claiming that Hill's accusations were a "high-tech lynching" orchestrated by liberals trying to defeat his nomination. (A side note about the controversy - an author of a book about Anita Hill, David Brock, later went against his book on the grounds that it was character assassination, as he writes here, and similarly here.)

In his new memoir, for which he is receiving $1.5 million (not exactly a non-sequitor), Thomas says that a "mob" of activist groups and liberal elitists "desecrated" his life. From the Washington Post: "In the book, Thomas writes that Hill was the tool of liberal activist groups 'obsessed' with abortion and outraged because he did not fit their idea of what an African American should believe." His civil rights rhetoric is incredible: he claims that he faced a "mob" whose "weapons were smooth-tongued lies spoken into microphones and printed on the front pages of America's newspapers. . . . But it was a mob all the same, and its purpose -- to keep the black man in his place -- was unchanged."

Having gone on after the controversy to serve on the Supreme Court and become pivotal in a number of votes is meaningless in the face of his tarnished reputation! The racist liberal elitist liars personally attacked him to oppress him; to "keep him in his place." I assume this "place" would have to be anything else but that cabin of an old novel he's currently holed up in.* What other incredible injuries he's suffered, we'll have to read the memoir to learn.

What's so spectacularly arrogant about Thomas' arguments is that he seems to ignore the very relevant identity of Anita Hill - she is every bit as "black" as him, and every point over which he whines in the upcoming memoir looks silly compared to what she faced. Books like Brock's "The Real Anita Hill" made her out to be not only a liar, but a bizarre, mentally unstable and possibly even whorish tool of an ulterior liberal agenda, characterizations which some might see as an injury to her reputation, even possibly a "desecration of her life." That Thomas went on to a position of immense power and influence on the highest court in the land can't be ignored (nor can his accountability to his record in that role: according to Harper's Magazine, Thomas uttered a mere 132 words during Supreme Court oral arguments from February 06 to July 07; the next-fewest word count of all the justices belonged to Samuel Alito at 14,404). And if he wants to throw around baseless allegations about being "kept in his place," there's every bit as much reason if not much more to accuse him of trying to keep women in their "place." Anyone who so much as remembers the crudest basics of the story must admit that Hill got the worst of the fight, regardless of who was right.

After many years of silence, Clarence Thomas feels the need to soil the national discourse with self-victimization and misogynistic trash, for a check no smaller than a million and a half dollars. I suggest he cry some more, because history might indeed remember him unkindly.

*That's not a cheapshot pun on his name - the incredible disrespect, disregard and damage he leveled against the rights of black women makes him a very legitimate, very real Uncle Tom.

Because you didn't get enough of us during the meetings.....

2007-09-27T22:33:00.000-04:00

That's right, now there is another way to keep intouch with the fabulous people of women's council. We hope that this blog provides a way for people to learn more about our organization, keep up with events we are involved with, and catch up on all the wc action they may have missed. It also is a forum for the members of women's council to talk about the things that matter most to us, from how a meeting went to giving a shout out to someone who put a lot of work into an event to amazing feminist rants. We hope that you enjoy this resource, and please contact msuwomen@msu.edu if you would like to be a contributer.

Thanks,

Jackie and Kelley
Women's Council CoChairs