SAUDI WOMEN DARE TO DRIVE IN DEFIANCE OF LAW

There are a lot of rights that western women take for granted. One of them is the freedom to drive - an activity that helps women be independent. Not so in every country or culture. Manal, a 32-year-old woman, is planning something she’s never done openly in her native Saudi Arabia: Get in her car and take to the streets, defying a ban on female drivers in the kingdom. Manal and 10 other people are organizing a campaign on Facebook and Twitter urging Saudi women with international driver’s licenses to join them starting June 17, risking their jobs and their freedom. Read more on Saudi Women Driving [Read More]

published May 11, 2011 at 6:15pm CDT

ANTI-RAPE CONDOM WITH "TEETH"- WHY ARE WOMEN RESPONSIBLE FOR STOPPING RAPE?

Look,  this is great. It will probably save someone from getting raped. Or, maybe it will just throw her/his attacker into an even more intense rage, and he'll just find another way to exert power and control. Because rape isn't about sex; it's power and control; punishment and terrorism; to conquer and humiliate. And this is where the whole "let's make it painful to insert a human penis into  [presumably] her vagina" idea isn't really that great. Becuase  this isn't about sex.  In some countries, the condom will prevent some attacks and no doubt help some women, but forgive me for hating these ideas that reinforce the idea that stopping rape is the responsibility of the victims. To me, this is just another example of victim blaming, albeit not in the classic sense. It is akin to people suggesting that women shouldn't wear short skirts and revealing shirts, in order to detract attention from men. As if dressing as frumpy as possible, thereby making oneself look less "sexy", will [Read More]

published October 25, 2010 at 7:17pm CDT

HOLLYWOOD FEMINIST OF THE DAY: REGINA KING

Regina King Rutina Wesley Regina King kicked a little Emmy butt in a piece on the Huffington Post.  First, she talked about the lack of people of color nominated.  She cited stats from the NY Daily News the that only 53 people of color were nominated in nearly 1,000 categories.  Ouch. People, especially those in the business, don’t usually bring up these issues so she gets major points for taking a stand. Several other things pissed her off especially when they mixed her up with Rutina Wesley an actress from True Blood.  When Wesley entered the ceremony they said she was King.  I mean they both have a name that starts with the letter r. Seriously.  That’s just bad form.  These women look nothing alike. The Emmys: As White As Ever and#40;Huffington Postand#41; [Read More]

published September 7, 2010 at 10:21pm CDT

WOMEN'S EQUALITY

Equality Going to the polls to vote, or stepping out on the court to play a basketball game, I realize that I have a voice. My voice stands for all women. Women who were not and still cannot vote for anything. For women who cannot participate in sports and will never know just how good it feels to run up and down a court, dribble a ball, and score a basket.  When I was younger growing up in the 90’s, I knew no other way.  I was always told that when I turned 18 to go register and vote.  When I was five I had a basketball placed in my hands and was told to be active, have fun, and play sports.  Can you imagine turning 18 and someone telling you that your vote, your opinion, your voice was not equal?  Or someone tells you “no sports!” Sometimes I try to imagine my life without sports, basketball in particular, and honestly I can’t.  I am not saying that I am defined by basketball, but I know it has helped shape me into the person that I am today. There have been so many w [Read More]

published August 27, 2010 at 4:46pm CDT

HOLLYWOOD FEMINISTS OF THE DAY: EVA LONGORIA-PARKER AND ROSARIO DAWSON

Kudos to Eva Longoria-Parker and Rosario Dawson for standing up and using their voices to protest the new immigration law in Arizona. Here’s what Longoria-Parker said to Us Magazine: I haven’t made it a secret that I’m strongly opposed to the Arizona law and I’ve been pretty vocal about it…I think the biggest misconception is that everybody who is dark or of color is from somewhere else. I’m ninth-generation American. I’m more American than a lot of my Anglo friends. If my father got pulled over because of the color of his skin, I could guarantee you I would be outraged. Dawson who is the founder of Voto Latino added: We recognize that this isn’t just a Mexican issue or a Latino issue… There are people blogging and Tweeting for everything, from the BP spill to education and healthcare…We’re all buzzing about these things, but unless we’re actually marching to the polls, nothing is going to actually change. The new PSA campaign will air starting in S [Read More]

published August 10, 2010 at 11:29am CDT

HOLLYWOOD FEMINIST OF THE DAY: NICOLE KIDMAN

Photo: Fame Pictures Inc. While I’m sure that Lindsay Lohan getting out of jail will get more attention, Nicole Kidman went down to Haiti last week with UNIFEM to raise awareness about sexual violence against women in the wake of the earthquake over 6 months ago. This is a country that had a massive sexual assault problem before the quake.  Stats from 2006 shows that 1 in 3 women had been sexually assaulted.  And there is only one shelter that can house victims of sexual assault. Here’s what she said about how women are coping: During this trip I saw first-hand how this humanitarian disaster is impacting women and girls.  The lack of shelter and security makes them more vulnerable to violence, in particular sexual violence. I love that she is so on message and knows how to use her visibility to raise awareness about women’s issues, which many celebrities avoid. I’m just constantly trying to give a voice to the women around the world, women everywhere, who are in ne [Read More]

published August 2, 2010 at 12:12pm CDT

HOLLYWOOD FEMINIST OF THE DAY: SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO

First things first.  If you haven’t seen The Stoning of Soraya M. you must.  It’s a very intense and well done film about a young woman who is accused of adultery and is put to death in the town square.  The stoning scene is very hard to watch but the reality is that this is no ancient custom.  It is happening now. A woman in Iran, Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, 43, was thisclose to being stoned to death for adultery.  She was arrested in 2005 and was given 99 lashes witnessed by one of her sons.  She rescinded her confession which she said was made under duress and has been in jail under a death sentence since then. There has been a tremendous outcry across the world not to carry out the sentence.  For right now it is on hold. Shohreh Aghdashloo played a character in The Stoning of Soraya M. who spoke out and revealed what happened in her community.  She was ostracized and threatened for her honesty. Aghdashloo is using her bully pulpit to get the Iranian government to [Read More]

published July 16, 2010 at 11:42am CDT

LOVING DIABLO CODY

Not matter whether you love or hate her work, or love or hate her persona, she really is one of the only women working in the film business who is not afraid to talk about feminism and Hollywood. She spoke this past weekend in SF at a screening of Jennifer’s Body and the blog TresSugar got some juicy quotes from her about her feelings on women and Hollywood. On a Hollywood double standard: “Women aren’t allowed to be anti-heroes or flawed. Megan got lambasted for talking about Michael Bay. Shia LaBeouf criticized another director, and he got called ‘refreshing’ and ‘honest,’ while Megan is a bimbo who should never work again. Women aren’t allowed to be as complicated as men.” On being a feminist filmmaker: “If anything we’re less post-gender than 10 years ago. The Kathryn Bigelow thing was awesome, but it’s difficult to be a feminist filmmaker. No one wants you pressing your feminist agenda on nice clean celluloid. It doesn’t sell.” I really have [Read More]

published June 16, 2010 at 4:12pm CDT

WHY I LOVE SHONDA RHIMES

In case you don’t already know this, having Shonda Rhimes be a part of the TV landscape has upped the feminist quotient exponentially. Next season she adds a third show to her roster Off the Map created by Jenna Bans.  She is now officially a mogul. This morning while reading the weekly Ask Ausiello column on Entertainment Weekly I came across this quote when a reader asked if Meredith and Derek were going to have a real wedding on Grey’s Anatomy and had to share. From Shonda: I deeply appreciate the fans and how much they care about Meredith and Derek, but as a woman and a human being and the mother of a girl, I just feel like this idea that somebody in a big, white dress is the be-all and end-all of human existent is a terrible message to send out. I felt like Meredith and Derek’s choice to be together becomes a marriage of equals as opposed to some faux fairy tale. And while I love a good wedding, I felt like for Meredith, it was so counter to who she is as a human being. [Read More]

published June 3, 2010 at 11:59am CDT

HOLLYWOOD FEMINIST OF THE DAY: ANNETTE BENING

Bening made the following statement about reproductive freedom while doing press for her current film Mother and Child: Women have to have their own personal choice about reproduction; ultimately women have to make these decisions on their own,” Bening recently told Pop Tarts. “All of these decisions are very different and precarious and in some cases involve questions of health, but I do think that and#40;abortionand#41; is an important thing for women to be able to do. Annette Bening: Women Have to Make Decisions About Reproduction ‘On Their Own’ and#40;Fox News.comand#41; [Read More]

published May 19, 2010 at 8:24pm CDT