feminist blogs

I am *this* close to handing in my book on purity to my editor, and I'm just so happy that it's done! And it's not just that I'm stoked to get my life back (though finally seeing my friends will be a treat!), it's that this book is incredibly important to me. It's something I've been thinking about and working on for so long - to know that it's finally going to go out into the world is just the best. (Can you tell I'm in a good mood?)

If you want a sneak peek at the cover, it's after the jump!

Above: An artist's rendering of the men's rights trolls who populate this feminist blog and others. The jewels in their bellies give them magical powers that blind them to their own privilege!

Regular readers have probably noticed that the comment threads have been overrun as of late with a serious influx of trolls. We're not sure if it's just the Palin-related traffic lately, the general election frenzy, or some special link-lovin' from a men's rights site. In any case, we've noticed. We're on it.

What is a troll, you ask? A brief definition here.

More specifically, the breed of troll that's been showing up here lately typically...

• Has a username that's something vaguely female with some numbers at the end


• Makes racist/sexist/homophobic/generally ignorant comments


• Has a tendency to ask things like, "what about the MENZ?!" and "won't somebody think of the racism against white people?"

What to do if you spot a troll:

• Do not engage. It's a waste of your time, and the threads start looking very confusing after we delete the sexist/racist/otherwise ugly comments.


• Let us know. Send us an email with the trolling commenter's username, along with a link to the comment or thread in question. We are internet obsessives, so usually (sadly?) one of the editors is online at almost all times, but sometimes we leave to go eat dinner or interact with real, live humans or something. But we promise we'll delete the offending comments and ban the trolls as soon as we notice they're there.

We really value the comments threads as a place for everyone to engage and discuss and deepen our understanding of issues. Thanks so much for your patience while we work to resolve this. And double-thanks to our secret band of anti-troll vigilante commenters (you know who you are!) who have been so awesome about alerting us to trollishness on the site.

So I will be in Boston next week because some fabulous students from the Tufts Feminist Alliance invited me to speak. Shout out to Tiffany and Amanda for organizing that event! While I'm in town, I would love to organize a Feministing Happy Hour for all of you who live in Boston.

I'm looking for a volunteer to help me organize this happy hour, mainly finding a location. So email me at miriamATfeministingDOTcom if you want to help and have some ideas of public transportation accessible, affordable bars that will allow people under 21 to enter as well. Usually places that serve food are more willing/able. Also, it needs to be able to accommodate about 50 people.

Thanks everyone!

So to really get our minds off the election I thought I would switch it up and do a Feminist Fuck Yeah to Henry Rollins. Why Henry Rollins? Well because he is awesome (this is more awesome), but we also got several emails from readers who have seen his spoken word performances (which are amazing) and apparently he is a fan of Feministing. If that is not FUCK YEAH worthy, I am not really sure what is.

And I have been known to bite his style from time to time. (And full transcript after the jump.)

This week's Friday Feministing Fuck Yeah goes to Henry Rollins.

This is a little bit delayed but a couple of months ago we got a series of emails from fans of yours that are readers of ours that said you were dropping Feministing as a source for women's news and something that you read which is beyond flattering for me because I am an old school fan of yours and loved Black Flag back when i was 15, 16, 17 years old.

And it was always complicated my love for punk rock, I am a woman of color and I was a riot girl and I never quite fit but I always wondered what you felt about the racial dynamics of punk rock culture. Maybe one day you can tell me, I don't know.

But we have to give you a fuck yeah for dropping our name because you are fucking awesome. And thank you for championing the rights of gay people and queer people and women internationally through all the work you have done. And thank you for being a model for other people that are in the music business that could potentially use their power and privilege for creating social change.

So this weeks Friday Feminist Fuck Yeah goes to you, Henry Rollins, and thank you so much for reading and dropping our name.

My gay boyfriend Merv and I, caught on the scene (well more like at my apartment) probably after getting our thizzle dance on.

Now this is really really bad. It is so bad that I can't even believe I am admitting it. And not just because of the rampant misogyny in rap music videos (which is over the top, grotesque and unapologetic), but because I am considered a hip-hop head that should stick to the *real* shit mayne! There is just something about certain mainstream pop-like rap tracks that get under my skin and stuck in my head and before I know it I am head bopping with the best of them and sometimes even wearing my hat to the side with some electro-glasses on.

Mind you most of what I am listening to isn't even hip-hop, there might be some rapping but it is basically R&B and it has a groove that I can't resist. For example I love this Lil Wayne track with Lloyd, it just gets me up and singing. And it isn't just the super mainstream stuff, I like whatever young people are listening to all over the country. I just left the Bay and although it has seen its heyday, boy can I get down with some hyphy music, like E-40 or Mac Dre.

I have written about negotiating my feminism with my love for hip-hop, so this is something I have given a lot of thought to. And frankly, sometimes I can handle it, but most of the time I am thinking, was that really necessary? And there are moments that are so over the top (like Nelly's Tip Drill track) which is just too much for me and I am grossly offended and ready to boycott the artist.

Does this music have sexist attitudes in it? It sure can and a lot of times yes. But it is also what my friends and my community listen to and not all of it is horridly offensive. Some of it is just cute. I actually got into commercial rap by hanging out with lesbians (well that and working in public schools for 5 years). I am not going to make a case for some type of reverse signification where we are reclaiming the music. We aren't, we are human and we like good beats with cheesy bass lines and corny lyrics and relate to the universal themes of sexual attraction, love and heart break.

I have no idea how I will continue to reconcile my love for mainstream commercial hip-hop since I am aware of its nefarious corporate packaging, mistreatment of members and a form of music that people of my generation (from the golden years of hip-hop) consider to be responsible for ruining hip-hop as we know it. However, I will make the argument that I don't think rap/hip-hop is any more sexist than other male dominated forms of music. So maybe your guilty pleasure is cock rock and mine is faux mainstream gangsta' rap. Either way, if you see me dancing somewhere and you are like, "omg is that Samhita from FEMINISTING" just know I recognize the potential contradiction, but also, like everyone else like to have a good time, dance with my friends and have taken myself to the task of mastering the balancing act of hip-hop love and feminist self-preservation.

In the spirit of Courtney's ten things she could do without list last week and all the amazing responses I wanted to do my own list. Now we must pressure the other ladies to do them too!

10. Being told I have an accent but you can't place it, when the closest my accent comes to is California valley girl.

9. Shops that don't carry larger than a size 8.

8. Body hair removal.

7. Being asked for empirical, statistical and quantifiable evidence, policy briefs, historical documentation, video, and whatever other proof that racism exists.

6. Being told that because of my interests and education I am not really a person of color.

5. Progressive men that do sexist shit.

4. The McCain/Palin ticket.

3. Having my weight scrutinized by friends and family on a regular basis even though I am a grown ass woman and it is none of your business.

2. Homophobia/transphobia/queer-phobia/disability-phobia. It is gross, it is tacky and it is upsetting.

1. Dating.

For the slow posting today, we had some technical issues earlier. Thanks so much for your patience!

I am concerned about putting these on little babies, are we trying to ensure they are inundated with sexist imagery from birth?

It would be so much cooler if she was giving the finger, don't you think? I have thought of all kinds of different things I want to put the Feministing logo on, aprons, actual mud flaps, underwear....other ideas? Where can we have our gal flicking people off for their sexist attitudes?

And for those who perhaps take issue with our subversive appropriation of the mudflap girl, I suggest checking out a post Ann did on the topic.

I had to find a reason to post Tony Bennett. You know this.

So as you see I have gone missing again, but this time it is for two very positive reasons (as opposed to neighbors gone mad). The first is that I lost my Burning Man virginity (separate post to come on that, wowza), and the second is that I have left my beloved home of 7 years, San Francisco, and have moved back to upstate NY where I am originally from. I will be hanging out up here at my parent's house for a couple of months while I work on a book and get away from the hustle bustle of urban life. And apparently to find out if a 30 year old, actively single feminist can live in a small town with her parents. Wish me luck with that one!

But I already miss the sunny, liberal, beautiful, health conscious, fashion forward, musical, geeky city that I called my home for the last 7 years. It was a fun-filled, adventurous, loving and productive time in my life and I will never ever forget that place. If any of you have been there, you know what I am mean!

I think my neighbors here are McCain supporters (ew!) and I wasn't able to find soy milk creamer for my coffee. Yeah, you can laugh at me for that one. I am sure this is just the first of many new things I will have to get used to on my new east coast adventure. I will no doubt keep you posted.

I am thrilled to announce that Shark Fu of Angry Black Bitch will be contributing a weekly post to Feministing: Notes From a Bitch.

I have been begging Shark Fu (aka Pamela Merritt) to blog for Feministing for...well, it seems like forever! All of us here at Feministing have been fans of Angry Black Bitch for a long time, so we're all incredibly happy that she's decided to bring her incredible writing style and perspective to the site.

Be on the lookout this weekend for her first post - and leave words of welcome in comments!