March 2013
2 posts
AfroLez®femcentric Perspectives: Urgent Deadline... →
thefeministwire:
In 1979, Black socialist feminist lesbian writer, scholar, and organizer Barbara Smith stood in front of the National Association of Women’s Studies and said the following,
Feminism is the political theory and practice that struggles to free all women: women of color,…
January 2013
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December 2012
3 posts
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A New Kind of Slavery
Photo from The Boston Public Library
My partner and I were wandered over to the Wolfgang Puck take-out stand at the Chicago Airport to ease my stomach rumbles after a 4-hour flight from NYC. While I patiently awaited my highly over-priced but much needed margherita pizza, I got lost staring at a black man working in the restaurant, perhaps in his early 60s with grey curly hair. He had a dignified...
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Dear Feminists of The United States,
I’ve had this post saved in my drafts for over 5 months now. I was fearful of posting it out of the high possibility that I could offend many of the people that inspire me to be a better activist. Though some of these sentiments have shifted, I realize now how important this personal statement is to my development as a feminist since my journey abroad. And so, I hope that when you read this...
November 2012
5 posts
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I Am A Feminist, Not a Man-Hater.
Ain’t I A Woman Conference, Galapagos Art Space, NYC Photo by Mimiko Watanabe + Christian Silva
I have been blessed to have a supportive group of family and friends who have respected my political beliefs and activism over the years. Sure, I have been challenged, my political stances have been questioned, and I have changed my mind regarding opinions I have had in the past-but never have...
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Students Start Racist Protests After Election...
On Tuesday, November 6th, 2012, the American people watched as President Barack Obama was re-elected. Though some rejoiced while others cursed in frustration, groups of students around the country gathered on their campuses to shout racial epithets and threats of physical violence to students of color.
At Hampden-Sydney College in Richmond, Virginia, 40 students “shouted racial slurs, threw...
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Manhattan Shelters In Need of Assistance, Post...
VOLUNTEERING & SUPPLIES NEEDED AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS: Updated Regularly. Last Update, Friday 11:19am
MANHATTAN - CHINATOWN
see: http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/chinatown
CAAAV (Open 10am-5pm)
46 Hester St Frnt A
CAAAV is really swamped with people seeking aid. Many are elderly and non-English speakers who are having a hard time. Volunteers are requested to come to the location...
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Brooklyn Hurricane Shelters In Need of Assistance
BROOKLYN SHELTERS In light of the demand for a list of places to donate and volunteer in Brooklyn in post-Sandy, I have shared a message from State Committeeman Chris Owens on where to assist in Brooklyn.
Overview: There is no network of shelter phone numbers for volunteers to call, so please simply go to one near you and ask if you are needed. At the moment, the shelters have many daytime...
October 2012
9 posts
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CNN removes sexist article on women voting and...
Yesterday, I wrote a post shedding light on an article posted by CNN discussing a recent study surrounding the correlation between women’s voting patterns and their hormones.
Apparently, CNN either realized this was as offensive a study as you can get, or they didn’t want to hear the public critique it any further.
Either way, the article has been removed:
Given the nature of the...
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Wondering Who To Vote For? Don't worry, your...
Image by: Todd Benson
According to a new study by Kristina Durante and colleagues of the University of Texas, San Antonio, single women who are ovulating are more likely to be socially liberal while relationship-committed women are more likely to be socially conservative.
Durante explains:
When women are ovulating,...
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emma .m. woolley: What it's like being a teen girl →
sodisarmingdarling:
The violations started small. I was 12, fairly tall with brand new boobs. My mother wouldn’t let me buy “real bras” for a long time. It didn’t occur to me that was weird until boys in my class started advising me to “stop wearing sports bras” because I was looking a little “saggy.”
It was a…
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“If Mitt Romney and his vice-presidential running mate, Representative Paul Ryan,...”
– The New York Times: “A World of Harm for Women” (via barackobama)
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Getting Jumped In An Alley Has Never Been This...
Advertisment by: Bowlmore Lanes Photo by: @ericstephenbias
A student of mine at Hunter College recently sent a tweet with an image of an advertisement for Bowlmore Lanes featuring a scantily dressed woman mounting a man who is bowling with the caption “Getting Jumped In An Alley Has Never Been This Much Fun.”
In the last fifteen years, the world has been told to believe that New...
September 2012
1 post
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Equality For Whom?: Looking at communism through a...
Once the veil is lifted, once relations between the sexes are seen as power relations, it becomes impossible to see as simply unintended, well-intentioned, or innocent the actions through which women are told every day what is expected and when they have crossed some line - Catherine MacKinnon
Women In Uniform In La Havana Copyright: Talasrum
I am always stunned when I hear young activists...
August 2012
2 posts
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Hurricane Isaac: Why the silence?
A woman cries as she waits with other flood victims at the Convention Center in New Orleans, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005. Officials called for a mandatory evacuation of the city, but many residents remained in the city and had to be rescued from flooded homes and hotels and remain in the city awaiting a way out. (AP Photo/Eric Gay), http://www.flickr.com/photos/nabibhr/5407928368/
On Monday, August...
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Unfair Housing Laws and The Lessons You Learn When...
After an incredible year in Costa Rica (and a few years by the beach in LA before that), my partner and I made the decision to move back to Brooklyn, NY where I will be teaching at Hunter College and my partner will be studying Traditional East Asian medicine.
The decision to move back to NYC was certainly not an easy one for us perpetual wanderers and lovers of wide open spaces. Though the...
June 2012
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Fifty Shades of Grey: Not "Mommy Porn" Rather, A...
At some point this year, my partner informed me of the fury that was rising surrounding the new bestselling “mommy porn,” Fifty Shades of Grey by British author E.L. James. With a course load of readings from my masters program, little down time and absolutely no interest in reading yet another text that supported the submission of women in relationships, I was quick to push this book...
“We exists as women who are Black who are feminists, each stranded for the...”
– Michele Wallace - Black Feminist’s Search for Sisterhood (via jasmineburnett)
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Blacks Forever At The Bottom of The Job Market
In an article posted by the NYTimes yesterday, it was reported that “[m]ore than half of all of African-Americans and other non-Hispanic blacks in the [New York] city who were old enough to work had no job at all this year…” And, if that isn’t enough of a staggering number, black New Yorkers who lose there jobs spend an average of one year trying to find a new one.
The...
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Kickstarter Fundraiser: Too Much Information, A...
Cait Oppermann and Yael Malka* are recent graduates of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. They received their BFAs in Photography and are now preparing for a two-month long trip across Europe (as well as Turkey and hopefully Morocco) starting in July. What they really want to do is make a book of the photographs and text they collect on their trip.
Because their work is so deeply rooted in American...
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The Cap-less Graduation - Finale
In previous posts (first here, then here), I spoke about the eurocentric symbolism of the graduation cap and the difficulties it has given to natural haired people of color who are embarking on the glorious journey of graduating from their academic institutions.
I made a strong personal stance and stated that I would choose to break the tradition of the academic regalia by not wearing the cap...
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May 2012
2 posts
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UPDATE In Need Of A Paradigm Shift: Protesting The...
In a previous post, I discussed the need for a “paradigm shift” surrounding the old standards of power and prestige that come from the graduation regalia. I was surprised by the number of responses that I received from natural haired women of color from around the world exclaiming how they, too, were disappointed by the expectation to wear a graduation cap which a. they couldn’t...
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In Need Of A Paradigm Shift: Protesting The...
In exactly three weeks, students from the UN University For Peace will be walking across the stage to accept our M.A. Diplomas. We will all wear our universities signature white-and-blue caps and gowns as a symbol of our achievements. This will be a moment of sheer excitement for our successes and the future that we have worked hard to create for ourselves.
I have taken part in this tradition...
April 2012
1 post
“Patriarchy is not men. Patriarchy is a system in which both women and men...”
– Ashley Judd, here. (via thenewwomensmovement)
March 2012
2 posts
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The Lonely Task of Seeking Justice
“You can’t build peace by leaving half the people out.” Resolution 1325. Source: http://www.upliftmagazine.com
Fighting for justice can be a lonely experience.
I have found myself to be very much conflicted by my decision to attend a peace university. When I applied to this institution, I was naive and believed that everyone would believe in the same peace that I fought for...
February 2012
2 posts
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The Road To Peace Is Complex
I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence would save us, but it won’t. - Audre Lorde
I applied to the University For Peace with the belief that I would be entering into an institution that had none the major issues affecting elite...
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Coexistence & Compromise: Thin Lines Between...
I flew home to New York City to bring in 2012 and indulge in the chaos of the city after an extended (3-year) absence. On one of my last days in the city, I had the unexpected but immense pleasure to catch up with an old friend, Leemore, from High School. We hadn’t seen each other in years but without hesitation, we managed to talk about all of our experiences starting from the day we had...
January 2012
4 posts
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Blue Ivy Carter and the Abolishment of the...
Celebrity magazines are once again excited to profit off of the recent birth of yet another celebrity baby, Blue Ivy Carter, the daughter of Beyonce and Jay Z.
Unlike most tacky and mindless celebrity magazine articles that share the amount of money spent on new baby clothes, the focus this time is on the “special gift” the couple with everything has given to their new baby girl:...
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December 2011
2 posts
4 tags
Little Girl Challenges Gender Specific Toys
From Jezebel: Video of a little girl getting pissed off at gender specific toy colours.
I am often disturbed in the ways in which a large part of America teaches children about their bodies. It’s a cliche, but over the past few years the idea of not having children has entered my mind. Of course, the upbringing of American children isn’t the only reason for this sudden...
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A Terrifying Marriage Contract: Kenya
As feminists, our goal is not only to assist in the liberation of women in our own countries but also to understand and provide support in the obtaining equalities formen and women around the world. Over time, I have found that many Western feminism (and feminists) lack a clear understanding of the limitations and needs of (self-identified) women and men internationally, leading to our own...
November 2011
2 posts
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Education Petition: Kenn Starr (Clinton Nemesis)...
Yesterday afternoon, I met with a professor at the University of Peace where I learned that her colleague and friend Marc Ellis, was being forced out of his position under “abuse of authority” charges at Baylor University by Kenn Starr, the President of Baylor and former Clinton White House nemesis.
The exact chargers against Marc Ellis are unclear, however this situation must force...
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“This tribe called “Women of Color” is not an ethnicity. It is one of the...”
– Aurora Levins Morales, My Name is This Story from Telling to Live: Latina Feminist Testimonios. (via art-is-the-word)
Exactly.
(via blackfeminismlives)
October 2011
5 posts
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Part 1: The Sex Industry in Costa Rica, Unveiled
Costa Rica abolished its army in 1949 and has made it to the third ranked country in the world in the 2010 Environmental Performance Index. It is widely viewed as the land of peace and “Pure Vida” (Pure Life) where few can do harm to the body or the land. But Costa Rica has another side that few discuss, the land of pure life is also the growing capital of prostitution and sex...
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Torture in The Name of Culture
Source: www.middle-east-info.org
As an anthropology/sociology student at Middlebury College, I was taught to respect but also embrace culture. Professors preached about the importance of recognizing the horrors of essentialism and “Other-ing” and the problems that can stem from trying to bring about cultural change in societies that we lack knowledge of. I spent four...
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Book Review: Transitional Justice
In Transitional Justice, Anderlini illustrates women’s contributions to transitional justice processes, focusing mainly on reconciliation commissions and tribunals. Through women’s experiences, knowledge and positions within societies around the world, women have been able to successfully transform the justice system so that those most affected by war are able to live a life free of...
September 2011
2 posts
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Book Review: The Surprised Feminist and Gender...
In The Surprised Feminist and The Gender World of Politics, both authors’ overarching belief is that one cannot assume anything is “natural” or “normal.” While social norms deem a surprised feminist “unprofessional” or “inexperienced,” this attitude limits the ability to understand global politics and see contextual factors (race, class, religion, ethnicity) that define societies’ power...
