feminist blogs

I think I need some underoos.

I don't know how I missed this, but thanks, readers, for sending it in!

I did an interview with the charming Lindsay Campbell of MobLogic. It was a fun time. Though, not-so-shockingly, the comments devolved into how ugly I was. Fun, it's like junior high all over again! (It's hilarious, you look primped up in one appearance and you're a flighty hot feminist with nothing more to offer than your looks; you show up un-made up and you're nasty. There's just no winning.)

What really bothered me, however, was my own reaction to these particular comments. I get hateful, violent, sexist comments and emails every day - mostly about how I need to get back in the kitchen, I'm a stupid slut/cunt/whore. You know, your run of the mill misogyny. I can handle those pretty well. But throw a couple of comments about ugliness my way and I'm all upset, actually thinking to myself, "I knew I looked like shit that day!" It's amazing how women are taught to hate themselves, and how no matter what we do and what we look like, no matter how confident we are, how many compliments we get or how much we don't give a shit - there's always that creeping voice in there telling you that you are indeed an ugly, unworthy mess. (And then there's the feminist guilt, of course, for caring about what some idiot says.)

Self-loathing rant over. Now, back to your regularly scheduled sexism-smashing. (Random note: I was totally wearing my "end patriarchy shirt," even though you can't see it.)

Ann reported in our Weekly Feminist Reader that John McCain canceled a Texas fundraiser to be given by Clayton Williams after it was revealed that Williams, during his 1990 campaign for governor of Texas, compared rape to the weather: “As long as it’s inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it.”

After canceling the fundraiser, McCain's campaign said that they would be keeping the money raised by Williams - more than $300,000. (Various bloggers suggested, and I agree, that McCain should donate the money to an organization that works to combat rape.)

But the latest, and perhaps most egregious news, is that the fundraiser is back on! Because what's the big deal about rape, right? This is completely unacceptable. You can contact McCain's campaign here to let them know what you think.

Some choice quotes from Williams, including the rape remark, are highlighted in the video above.

UPDATE: I was remiss in not mentioning that Williams will be not be hosting the revived rundraiser. I didn't realize that was the case. I still think this whole situation is fucked, and that the money should be given to an organization working against rape.

Personally, I vote with my vagina. And let me tell you, pulling that lever is not fucking easy.

Via MediaMatters.

Michelle Bernard, President and CEO of the Independent Women's Forum (the anti-feminist organization we love to hate), is out promoting her book, Women's Progress: How Women Are Wealthier, Healthier, and More Independent Than Ever Before. And boy oh boy is she fun to watch!

In the clip above, Bernard explains that she's a "real" feminist - you know not like those nasty hairy man-hating kinds that want women to excel at the expense of men.

She also notes that women who call IWF anti-feminist just "think it's cute to throw bombs." I'd hardly say that calling IWF anti-feminist - an organization that exists to bash feminism and convince women that sexism is actually fantastic for them - is throwing bombs. It's more like...lobbing marshmallows.

Just take this description of Bernard's book:

Though many influential groups feed on the prevailing myth that women are oppressed, most women are healthier, wealthier, and better educated than ever before. Michelle Bernard, the president of the Independent Women s Forum, lays out the facts in a new book that will make life harder for radical feminism's ideological hucksters.

Oh you caught us! We're such hucksters...trying to peddle the myth of equality! For shame.

Some more undeniable proof that IWF could in no way, never ever, be an anti-feminist organization:

• IWF's campus program is dedicated to shutting down productions of The Vagina Monologues across the country because it "glorifies promiscuity and treats women as sex objects."

• The organization was home to now-notorious Charlotte Allen, who wrote a WaPo piece about how stupid women are.

• The org spoke out against the HPV vaccine, claiming it would make girls slutty.

• In a press release for a report IWF did on young women and sex, it states that by "pouring through women's studies texts, [IWF VP Carrie] Lukas found feminist authorscriticizing the institution of marriage as repressive for women and uncovered essays glorifying promiscuity." (Oh noes!)

• They believe that women making less money than men is actually a good thing.

So yeah, nothing anti-feminist or actively anti-woman about them. Nothing to see here!

Thanks to Bella for the heads up.

Some warm fuzzies to start off your weekend.

(I've included a transcript after the jump, per our readers' suggestion.)

So as most of you probably have already seen, last week’s Friday Feminist Fuck you garnered a lot of negative attention in the online misogynist world and we had an interesting influx of comments – most of them hateful, a lot of them threatening comments. And I certainly got my fair share of charming emails as well.

But we also got a lot of really amazing amount of positive and supportive emails from you guys, just saying ‘keep up the good work’ and just generally sending good thoughts our way.

So since I’m up in Woodstock, NY – I’m at my parents’ house - land of the hippie, I thought that instead of doing a Friday Feminist Fuck You this week, we’d do a Friday Feminist Thank You.

So thank you, to all of the incredible feminists out there, not just for supporting our work and other feminist bloggers’ work, but also for the incredible amount of work that you guys are doing in your own communities. That work certainly makes our job worthwhile, even when there’s some bullshit involved – so thanks.

In keeping with the mushy theme, there’s an email that I wanted to share with you, it’s actually an email I read last week at Feministing’s four-year anniversary party, and I just love it. It’s really cute, I got it a couple of weeks ago. And it’s from a girl named Charlotte:

I am 13 years old I love feministing.com. I started reading it about a year ago and am now addicted. Feminism is really great for me (especially in my teenage years). Feminism makes me feel good about myself. And it gives my confidence, so much in fact that when I got an assignment for my English class to write an essay titled “Why Me? Why Not?” I decided to write about abstinence-only education. I had to put up with a lot of crap from both classmates (“What’s wrong with not having sex?) and my douchebag teacher (“It’s supposed to be about optimism. You sound angry and bitter in this essay” Ooooh. Feminists are angry and bitter. THAT’S original) but it was totally worth it when I presented. There I was, bitching about something I cared about and it felt great! I like to think I did something semi-important and cool.

And clearly she did do something semi-important and very cool. So thanks so much to Charlotte and thanks to all of you guys your ongoing support. It really means the world to us, much more than we could ever say in a YouTube video.

So thanks, and have a great weekend.

Also, they pee by themselves.

This new trend of commercials defining what "real men" are and should like (and of course deriding women/femininity) is making me nutso.

I frigging love this Sarah Haskins gal

I like these folks.

Thanks to Robin for the link!

Many of you have emailed us about this Klondike commercial. And I agree, it's atrocious. Not only does it feed into the sexist idea that men deserve a cookie for being halfway decent human beings, but it also denigrates men by suggesting that they're animals, unable to resist any ass that that happens to pass their way. Thumbs down.