Feminist Monday, December 10

Posts have been pretty scarce around here lately. The reason why is because I'm nearing the end of the rewrites on my new novel Persephone Station. And it's time to really focus on making that ending great. Also, it's the holidays. This is a very busy time of year for me. So much baking to do. All to say...Friday's post is going to be sketchy until I turn the novel in. After that, I've a new project on the fire. We'll see how that goes. :) 

Anyway, on to the links. First, the videos. First, Hannah Gadsby talks about "The Good Men" & Misogyny. 

I have to admit that it's a little jarring to see some late night tv comic personalities talk about misogyny because I can't help feeling like they're two steps ahead of a "Me Too" moment themselves--not all of them. Just most of them. And yes, it's weird watching them draw the boundaries and not women. I like how Hannah pushes it farther and says these things apply to white people too, and CIS people, and abled people...and so on. 

It always amuses me when women talk about Barbie and clearly have no earthly idea about her origins as a sex doll. (yes. there's an honest to god reason for her weird proportions. and people wonder about why i bitch about comic book portrayals of women's bodies.) 

​And now...the links.

Entertainment/Literary: 'Wait Wait' For Dec. 8, 2018 With Not My Job Guest Candice Bergen--NPR interviews Candice Bergen, the star of Murphy Brown. And for those of us who are into gothic fiction this art. And A female soccer player’s historic moment was spoiled by one man’s question: ‘Do you know how to twerk?’ And Changing the Lore is about author N.K. Jemisin and her latest story collection, How Long ’til Black Future Month? And lastly, Aliette de Bodard on Motherhood and Erasure.

General: Incompressible Flow is a blog about domestic violence. Domestic slayings: Brutal and foreseeable. From the article: "In a close analysis of homicides in five of the cities, The Post found that more than one-third of all men who killed a current or former intimate partner were publicly known to be a potential threat to their loved one ahead of the attack." One of the things that never fails to crop up in these stories is how women are blamed for their own deaths. "Gosh," says Policeman Bob. "Women often don't press charges against their abusers. There's nothing we can do." And yet, the main story is all about how one third of the men who murder women have had a restraining order placed against them. Yes, even in this story. I find it super frustrating. Especially when you add in the number of rape kits that get destroyed without ever being processed. The police are not taking abuse against women seriously. My question is, Why would any of these women risk angering an already unhinged man when it's clear police won't take them seriously in the first place? The other thing that pisses me off is the fact that all the discussion is reserved for how women can protect themselves as opposed to how do we stop men from committing this crime? Per usual.
The reason why? America is deeply steeped in misogyny. And whenever it's pointed out the information is shrugged off. You know, ye old I’m fine with women in power, just not this one specific woman currently in power. That shit needs to go. The problem is, it cannot be addressed by telling women to fix it. What's even more enraging is this is the same shit thrown at: all genders who aren't men, people of color, the differently abled, non CIS-heterosexuals, and so on. It's the System of Oppression asserting itself over and over. In other news, Social Media decides to do everything wrong in an attempt to abolish sexual content[1], and yet, continues to do nothing at all about Hate Speech. Next up, Ohio lawmakers vote to end sales tax on feminine hygiene products. Oh, hell YES. The pink tax should flat out die already. (I like how in that article on the Pink Tax they instantly state why it's okay. Infuriating.) So, everyone who menses--there are folks who don't identify as women who have periods too--let out a healthy HELL YES!!! And Are Rural Voters the ‘Real’ Voters? Wisconsin Republicans Seem to Think So. That shit is straight up racist. But what else is new? Not that. And IN ‘AMAZING’ VERDICT, JURY AWARDS TRANSGENDER WOMAN PUNITIVE DAMAGES AGAINST SUFFOLK COUNTY JAIL. YES!!! I hope she gets all of the money. The Guilt Trap and How to Escape It is about how women are disproportionately affected by guilt. And Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Careers That Weren’t and Neil deGrasse Tyson and the Persistence of the Bad Male Apology. And 'I was not sent to Washington to play nice': Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other new House progressives are tweeting their dissatisfaction with orientation at Harvard. And Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Promises She Will Pay Her Congressional Interns, Unlike Much of Congress Historically. So...if you blame old dudes for the persistence of misogyny, think again. Four Days Trapped at Sea With Crypto’s Nouveau Riche. Yes, Virginia, Libertarianism is sexist. And racist. And Trump’s “Enemy of the People” Rhetoric Is Endangering Journalists’ Lives. And The GOP Election Plan Is Simple: Even When You Don’t Win, Cheat, and Republicans Brazenly Gut Voting Rights in Lame Duck Before They Lose Power. And Employers Are Discriminating Against Overweight Women — And It’s Totally Legal. And Anti-fascists were stabbed at a neo-Nazi rally. Then police tried to charge them. The FBI warned us about the rising numbers of white supremacists within police departments. Yes. That's related. And Black Feminism: The Beginning and End of a World. 

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[1] That disproportionately affect the trans community, no less.