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Aug
31
Bringing Back Feminism at its Finest
As you may have noticed, Feminism at its Finest was missing for a month. I was thinking of scrapping it all together but decided against it, which I bet makes a few of the dedicated submitters quite happy.
I will be accepting submissions for the next Feminism at its Finest roundup which will be posted September 30 so go submit your feminist posts!
Jul
4
Feminism at its Finest: 4th of July Edition
The last edition of Feminism at its Finest was put on hold for this month on purpose and what’s even more important, is that it was held for today, specifically.
I don’t celebrate the 4th of July; in fact, I don’t celebrate any holiday that is meant to celebrate a country who won’t fight for its people, but expect its people to fight for it so instead of celebrating the independence of a country consistently screwing over its citizens, I am going to celebrate feminism and intelligent feminist writing.
Amber Yoder presents Shove It: Part 2 - Don’t write a poem about rape posted at The Buffaloe Pen.
Amber Yoder submitted her mother’s blog post of a personal story about writing a poem about the rape of someone very close to her. Upon submitting it to a literary journal, she received a six-page, single-spaced letter in return from the editor that was a frightening rant against women. The letter said that he would never, ever publish a poem about rape because most women who are raped have it coming just by the way they dress and act around men. He said, in exact words, that he was “sick of wenchy women poets who are always bashing men.” He said that he was sick of hearing women whine and moan about the subject and that the subject of rape is “too baggy” and long and said that no poem should ever be longer than 15 to 20 lines. I urge you to go read the poem posted, it’s amazing and was also published in the summer 1992 issue of Calyx: A Journal of Art and Literature by Women.
Andrew Heath presents Abortion - Why It’s Important to Serve Everyone’s Rights posted at Rants of a Gay Lunatic.
A “semi-objective” view on abortion and why it is necessary to keep the option of abortion open for those cases that it is needed.
First Lady Of Poker presents Don’t Listen to the Fashion Police posted at Shopping Blog, saying:
“One of the most important things to remember about fashion is that it’s not meant to be the center of anyone’s world, but rather a tool for expressing your individuality and uniqueness “
Ian Welsh presents Clinton’s Legacy: Never Say Die posted at Firedoglake.
This is a fabulous post on the legacy Hillary Clinton has built for herself through the Democratic primary to the presidency. Even if she lost the candidacy, she did not give up until there was absolutely nothing else that could be done. While a great deal of Americans bashed her through the primary and are continuing to do so after, Hillary Clinton was the fighter in this primary election and as Ian Welsh explains, her second wind simply came too late and even though the Oval Office will not be hers in November, she built a legacy not only as the possibility of a woman president, but simply as a person who never gave up.
Jason presents 1950: Milada Horáková, democrat and feminist posted at Executed Today.
A look at the life of Milada Horáková as well as her death and last words. The letter written to her daughter and a few words written to her loved ones just before her hanging still hold more truth than most of what I have ever read in my life. She was a firm, fighting woman and while she died, she did not once ever go back on what she had believed was true.
Jenny presents The Media Makes Mom’s Look Unrealistic posted at the so called me.
How many moms out there dress like they’re going out on a hot date when they go to the grocery store with their kids? The media makes moms look like they have it all under control–The house, the husband, the kids, the dog and themselves. The media portrays moms as more as Stepford Wives than as real people, struggling along with the rest of us.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Is Olbermann Turning Into O’Reilly? posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.
A limerick on Olbermann’s narcissism and misogynist commentary.
Sarah McClellan-Brandt presents Wise words from former boy band member? posted at Fort Worth Feminism.
A fabulous post about former NSync boy band member turned judge on America’s Best Dance Crew, JC Chasez voicing his disappointment about Distorted X, a group comprised mostly of beautiful women, was named one of the bottom two teams as a result of “America’s” vote and in turn said that “society hates seeing a beautiful woman succeed.” I also agree with Sarah when she says that she would expand that sentence to “Society hates to see women succeed.”
Sarah McClellan-Brandt also presents Tracy Roberson posted at Fort Worth Feminism.
Interesting post on Tracy Roberson, a woman from Fort Worth, who was released on bond after being sentenced to five years in prison for a murder her husband committed.
Shaheen Lakhan presents Woman Comparable to Men in Domestic Violence: Stereotypes and their Consequences posted at GNIF Brain Blogger.
An in depth look at violence against men and studies done on how violence against men is not taken as seriously by the media, legislators, and even some women crisis centers.
Tali presents Contemporary Pinup Dilemma: Classic Sweetness Vs Modern posted at The Pinup Blog.
Tali’s post asks the question is contemporary pinup considered porn after receiving comments on her blog, which speaks a lot about classic and modern pinup art, asking where all the “real women” were, as they obviously weren’t being granted material to stroke to by visiting her blog.
Tali presents 10 Reasons Why We Love Pinups posted at The Pinup Blog.
10 reasons why people not only love pinups, but why pinups are especially important when it comes to art and peaking into a time capsule of what the world looked like then and what it is now, as pinups have progressed with society and the times.
And that’s it for this edition, please submit your posts for the next Feminism at its Finest carnival, to be up on July 31.
Jun
1
Feminism at its Finest: May 2008
The Feminism at its Finest blog carnival is a day late, so we’re just going to pretend that it’s still May; just for today! Of course, thanks to everyone who submitted their posts and to submit your posts for the June edition, which will be up on June 30, just go here.
I would also like to clarify that in order to submit your blog posts, you do not need your own domain, a Blogspot, Wordpress or whatever else is out there; even if you just wrote something on your MySpace blog and it is feminism-related, please feel free to submit it as well; not enough people give the MySpace bloggers a chance to really take part in the blogosphere happenings, so here it is. And now, on with the carnival…
A. Lee presents American Conceptual Artist & Feminist Barbara Kruger Probes Your Views posted at eArtFair, saying:
“Barbara Kruger juxtaposes mass media photographs with biting slogans. Her art both questions and condemns mass media’s ways of control self-identity, desire, and public opinion. A key aspect of her work centers around the question of what it means to be feminine.”
Amanda Moore presents 106 Organizations That Are Changing the World - Are you helping? posted at VagabondetteVA.
Garry presents Whirled News - President, Candidates Address Gasoline, Climate Crisis posted at Chicks With Guns.
Ian Welsh presents Ok, Enough With the Stupidity About Clinton’s “Kennedy Statement” posted at The Agonist, saying:
“The level of near hysteria, of complete unwillingness to read Hillary Clinton’s words in any context with any good will that is sweeping large portions of the political blogosphere, reflects a deeper pathology.”
Lauren Martin presents Liberty Lowdown: Magic 8-ball, primaries, and you posted at Blog for Choice, the newly improved pro-choice blog from NARAL Pro-Choice America!
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Next, They’ll Claim Obama Inherited Clinton’s Reverend posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.
nandita presents Domestic Violence in the Press a Century Ago posted at law Matters.
Nine Deuce presents The First Amendment is only sort of cool. posted at Rage Against the Man-chine.
O. Daille Nation-Ashley presents David vs Female Lawyer (Goliath?) posted at Power Of Attorney: Not Happy Hour At The Bar.
Renee presents I Wish I Was In Dixie posted at Womanist Musings, saying:
“This post is about internalized racism and how it cause some to act in ways that are detrimental to POC. It stands as a legacy of slavery.”
Renee also presents MacFarlanes Babes posted at Womanist Musings, saying:
“I posted on the Family Guy spin off because I believe that people mindless consume pop culture without realizing how damaging the images are that they are consuming. When we internalize without thought we are accepting negative portrayals of others as normal.”
Shaheen Lakhan presents Domestic Violence and Executive Dysfunction posted at GNIF Brain Blogger, saying:
“Executive function has big implications for the design of domestic violence programs. It is important to know the subtypes of batterers because different subtypes have different needs for treatment, and different levels of intervention that are necessary to ensure safety.”
Shaheen Lakhan also presents Democracy vs. Domestic Violence posted at Brain Blogger, saying:
” People are looking at how we are affected by the groups we belong to that are treated unequally and subjected to various kinds of stress and discrimination — a field called intersectionality.
Tali presents 10 Strangest Pinup Artist Quirks | Artists, Cartoons, posted at The Pinup Blog, saying:
“Visual artists can’t hide behind their work, at some point, some one will notice, a fetish, a habit a quirk. Missing belly buttons, fake breasts, detached heads- This is a list of the 10 most fucked up pinups in classic cheesecake history.”
Tracee Sioux presents Empowering Girls - Hillary Clinton posted at Empowering Girls: So Sioux Me, saying:
“Don’t Quit. It’s a good message for all women and girls.”
Tracee Sioux also presents Hillary’s “Feminine Ideal” Sin posted at Blog Fabulous, saying:
“What was Hillary’s big crime in the face of women? She didn’t self-deprecate.”
Tracee Sioux also presents Real Breasts Gallery posted at Blog Fabulous, saying:
“We’re so inundated with images of “perfect” breasts in the media and marketing that most people’s idea of what real women look like has been distorted. Women stand in front of a mirror and compare themselves to the unreal and declare “I just wish mine were normal.” For a better perspective enter the Real Breasts Gallery.”
And that’s all for this month. Remember to submit your posts for next month’s carnival by going here
Apr
30
Feminism at its Finest: April 2008
Hooray, it’s the April 2008 edition of Feminism at its Finest!
Carol presents Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing, a great post on spousal abuse and when you know someone who is being abused by their spouse–physically or verbally. Definitely a must-read, so head on over toCan’t Holder Tongue.
The Eclectic Female presents Recognizing Verbal Abuse in Relationships, saying:
“Words can hurt, and it is important to recognize when verbal abuse occurs.”
This is posted at Women’s Lifestyle.
Jackson Kern presents 40 Million Trees and a Nobel Peace Prize: One Woman’s Story, which is a video exclusive on how Wangari Maathai became the first African woman, and first environmentalist, to win the Nobel Prize for Peace. You can see the video at The Alternative Channel Blog.
John Phillips presents Guide to Hiring Women. I’ve seen these pictures before, but here’s a little trip to the past for you. This is posted at The Word On Employment Law.
Kejda Gjermani presents Dissecting the Burqa posted at Kejda.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents An Ode To Lefty Bloggers Who Hate Hillary Clinton posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.
Nine Deuce presents Porn Part 4: Half of the Big Picture. This post is not offensive. In fact, it makes some phenomenal points, such as:
“There’s no other object that is both desired and hated in the way women in porn are.”
~
“The porn industry is fucking lousy with producers who not only don’t work too hard to make sure their “actors” are of age, but who actively seek underage girls as they know it will increase the revenue they can extract from the kinds of assholes who are obsessed with virgins and young girls. Chances are, if you use a lot of porn, you’ve participated in the rape of a minor by proxy, especially if you’ve ever done a search with the word “young” in it.”
This is definitely a post worth checking out, posted at Rage Against the Man-chine.
Shaheen Lakhan presents Domestic Violence: Call for Primary Care Screening and Gender Issues - Part I, saying:
“Nearly half of women killed by their partner are seen in primary care settings prior to their deaths, but only 4% of them were in shelters.”
You can read the whole post at GNIF Brain Blogger.
Tali presents Plus Size Pinups - Could they Ever Grow Beyond Sidestream?, saying:
” Plus-size pinups are a niche within a niche. It’s hard to see a potential of growth outside of the plus-size fetish community. I would like to propose otherwise, by showcasing a few plus-size pinup artists.”
She also presents Where Pinups Got Their Start, saying:
“he end of the 19th century brought us the curvy, flowing styling of Art Nouveau. What better suiting movement to kick-start the pinups of the mid 20th century?”
Both of these stories can be seen at The Pinup Blog.
And lastly, for some shameless self-promotion, everyone should go check out my weekly section on the commercial sex industry, Take Me Now Here.
And that’s it for this month. Be sure to submit your posts for next month’s carnival here.
Mar
31
Feminism at its Finest: March 2008
Welcome to Feminism at its Finest, March 2008 edition. This is by far the largest edition we have had to date and I am very excited for this carnival to keep building awareness and momentum. So let’s get to the submissions.
Blue presents Hotties On TV Sell Get Rich Scams, a post talking about an infomercial that I have seen on some lazy late nights that used women who are depicted as brainless and naive while objectifying women and using the “sex sells” mentality and sadly, they are selling to millions of people using this mentality. This post can be seen at Money Blue Book.
Carol presents What Kind of Feminist Am I? posted at Can’t Holder Tongue.
Christine presents Is Marriage Outdated?, which starts off with:
“The marriage ritual is Anglo-Saxon in nature and archaic in today’s society. Marriage for tax break reasons is not a very romantic notion nor should it be a reason for two people to stay together.”
Posted at Me, My Kid and Life: An American Single Mom Living in France.
She also presents Think Before You Vote,posted at Me, My Kid and Life.
Clever Elsie presents a few posts, first off we have “Marry Him” by Lori Gottlieb: A Singletude Response and How Single Men Make Women Settle, which is a followup on the “Marry Him” post about how Lori Gottlieb says that women settle, but men don’t have to and Commit to Yourself, a great post on a tongue in cheek idea of self-commitment parties, which I find to be a refreshing new look on being a happy single. All of these posts can be seen at Singletude: A Positive Blog for Singles.
Edith presents How to Succeed Without Being a Man, an interview with Kerrie Halmi, posted at Edith Yeung.
Greg Laden presents Board Room Gender Gap posted at Greg Laden’s Blog.
Katie presents Powerful Speech: Suggestions For Feminist Media, saying:
“This lets feminist media makers (like we bloggers!) one of the most useful things we can do right now (and, I suppose, forever?) to end sexual/gendered violence against a huge population of women.”
This post can be seen at Brown Femi Power.
Lori Jewett presents Ending Violence Against Women, saying:
“Strong, confident women everywhere are making themselves heard, but violence against women still threatens us. Learn more about women’s struggles against this plague of violence and what you can do to help.”
She also presents Coming Together for Change, saying:
“What the world needs now…is a woman in the White House. Rational, compassionate thinking, the ability to bring people together, the creation of consensus, real change…isn’t it about time?”
These posts can be seen over at Between Us Girls.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Hysterical Lefty Bloggers Whine For Clinton To Leave Obama Alone, a great limerick, as well as Ode To Eliot Spitzer, posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.
Marcella Chester presents Socialization Which Sets Up Sex Predator/Passive Victim Model posted at abyss2hope.
Tina Su presents A Gift That Wows!, saying that the best gifts we can give another person are appreciation and open communication, posted at Think Simple. Be Decisive.
Tracee Sioux presents a few posts, Girl Characters and Geena Davis, saying:
“Girl characters are outnumbered 3 to 1. Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media is trying to change that. A look at some studies and what you can do to help.”
Posted at So Sioux Me.
She also presents Mood Shaper, a post on how a full-body girdle made her feel about herself, including adjectives such as angry, moody, irritable, cramped, shoved in, judged, restricted, oppressed, repressed, hostile, wrong, fat, unacceptable, picked apart, flawed, pinched, unworthy, squished and frustrated, as well as Stop Abortion Vote Healthcare!, saying:
“With health care for disenfranchised women on the table we have an unprecidented opportunity to drastically reduce the abortion rate without criminalizing women in poverty.”
These posts can be seen at Blog Fabulous.
And that’s it for this edition! Make sure to submit your feminist posts for next month, which will be up on Wednesday, April 30.
Feb
29
Feminism at its Finest: February 2008
The February 2008 edition of Feminism at its Finest is here! Since changing this carnival from a once a week roundup to once a month, the carnival has obviously taken some form and submissions have been trickling in to form an actual list. It has also given many people the opportunity to promote the carnival, as there is now more time to make people aware of the carnival in advance.
And on to the posts…
Beth Terry presents Plastic-free sex, part 2: “Pedro offers you his protection”, saying:
“Fake Plastic Fish is an eco-blog about one woman’s campaign to significantly reduce her plastic waste and plastic consumption. This particular post deviates a bit, as it is about how using birth control, plastic or otherwise, can be the most environmentally-friendly step that heterosexuals can take. Pro-choice with an environmental slant.”
This post is at Fake Plastic Fish.
Gloria Pan presents Breast Implants: If a Woman Gives Consent, Does It Mean She’s Informed?, a post on the many, many dangers of breast augmentation, posted at Beauty and the Breast.
Hops, one of my personal favorite bloggers, presents Wherefore the hot wife?, saying:
“Revisiting the sitcom standard of “fat husband, hot wife.”
This post is at Be a Good Human.
Jenn Bazar presents A history of women and the mind doctors, saying:
“An interview with novelist Lisa Appignanesi, on her recent book “Mad, Bad and Sad: A History of Women and the Mind Doctors from 1800 to the Present.”
This post is at Advances in the History of Psychology.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents Obama’s Words - A Textbook Case Of Subtle Sexism, posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness.
Veronica Dr. Susan Wicklund at Women & Children First, posted at posted at Viva La Feminista.
As for a few I’ve taken the liberty of throwing in myself just because 1.) I can and 2.) Who doesn’t like some free website promotion?
Cara, who runs another one of my personal favorite feminist blogs has a great post up, LA Times: Women Should Stop Bitching About the Rape that Doesn’t Actually Happen. The LA Times, rape and misogyny; good times! Check it out at The Curvature.
Courtney has a great post, The Ol’ F-Word Debate, which covers feminism, how women react to being introduced to the feminist movement and other intriguing and informative tidbits. A must-read for all feminists or those who want a little more insight into the movement. That post is at Feministing.
Debs, who is always teaching me something new, has a post of a few, different stories all depicting woman-hating. Check it out! Sometimes the misogyny becomes too much…, posted at The Burning Times.
And that’s it for this month. Thanks to everyone who submitted and be sure to submit your feminist posts for next month!
Jan
20
Yay! It’s the Fourth Edition of Feminism at its Finest
The fourth edition of Feminism at its Finest is here! I’ve been posting quite a bit lately, which I am quite proud of, so check back often for new content and posts!
We didn’t receive that many submissions this week, so promote promote promote–If you can.
Pretty Lady presents Feminist fashion advice posted at Pretty Lady.
Madeleine Begun Kane presents An Arresting Affair, a fabulous piece about a recent court settlement of $29,000 against the city of New York by a woman who walked down the street topless and was arrested, although a woman going topless is perfectly legal and has been since 1992. This piece is posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
Carole G. McKay presents China, the Olympics and the S.P.C.A. posted at Gold Post-it.
Akemi presents The Mystery of Male Bonding, which talks about how men communicate with each other and also goes on to say a little about how women communicate, as well. The list includes parenting, family health issues, weight issues…I can’t go on, come on. What about politics? Human rights? What about philosophy? And I know I sure do have a damn lot to say about society… This post is at Gratitude Magic.
And for some shameless self-promotion, we have Colorado and Missouri Wage War on Women’s Rights posted over at Woman Tribune.
And that’s it! Be sure to submit your posts for next week!
Jan
13
Third Edition of Feminism at its Finest
The third edition of Feminism at its Finest is here! This week was a great turnout, a lot more than I expected. Thanks to everyone who contributed.
Firstly, my favorite feminist post I’ve seen this past week is from Cara of the The Curvature. In Whose Abortion? she talk about a new men’s rights, anti-abortion movement that seeks to change political and personal language from “I had an abortion” or “she had an abortion” to “We had an abortion.” This is definitely a must-read; I know I was seething from beginning to end!
Madeleine Begun Kane presents a great little piece on bras, Keeping Abreast Of Bras. Bras…a subject I am all too familiar with, yet not so familiar with at the same time. I know I hate them, I even know how much I hate them! This and much more is at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.
D Robinson wrote a post warning people about an incredibly offensive T-shirt website that completely degrades women and uses their merchandise as their little sexism playground. Men behaving badly: sexist t-shirt slogans.
She also presents a post, ‘Right to Life’ bias in pregnancy counseling, which talks about anti-abortion pregnancy centers and pro-life extremists, citing a specific website, Pro-Life Victoria. This website has pictures of alive children and of course, being the extremists they are and carrying the entire pro-life “movement’s” belief that women have no idea what they are doing or are too unintelligent to care when seeking an abortion, aborted fetuses. For this, I issue a trigger warning because these types of pictures, while unnecessary and uncalled for, are rather disturbing. Both of these posts can be seen at Australian Women Online.
Vishal Gupta wrote a post, along with every other person in the blogosphere, about the one woman getting the most publicity in the media, Hillary Clinton. Iron my shirt?- Sexism and Leadership is posted at A Business Professor’s Weblog.
Megan Bayliss presents a great post on the traveling bra project that All For Women have going on right now, All for women, two sheilas and under cover BRAvery. She says:
Some women wear their bras on the inside, some on the outside. I wore mine up the street, in full view, as a consciousness raising walk about women’s issues and the circle of friendship between women the world over. Who stopped to talk to me about the bra - WOMEN.
Read this post at Imaginif child protection became serious business.
blue skelton presents Slippery Slope Movie Trailer, a trailer for a movie about Sarah Shenck and her dream to direct meaningful movies with a feminist message, but desperate for finances, finds herself directing a porno film. Could be interesting, especially if done right. This can be seen at Blue Skelton Publications.
For all of the business women or business women hopefuls out there, Bonnie Krueger has a post about business grants and loans–Where Do Women Go To Find Business Grants Or Loans? This is posted at Women Personal And Business Loans.
This week’s turn out was great! Thanks to everyone who submitted their posts, you can start submitting any feminist posts you may have for next week’s carnival!
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