For the majority of us, jeans are a staple of our daily uniform (or, for the rest of us, something to look forward to on Casual Fridays). Today, April 27, jeans have a deeper meaning...
via Peace Over Violence:
Italy, 1990s: An 18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.
He appeals the sentence. The case makes it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans, it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”
Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same, which in turn spread to Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, and Denim Day in LA was born. The first Denim Day in LA was in April 1999, and has continued every year since.
http://www.denimdayinla.org/
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Louisiana Loonies, a Weakened Roe, and the Case for Reproductive Justice
A while back, I had asked readers how much time (in prison) a woman should do if she decides to end her pregnancy. Four years later, reproductive justice advocates are asking the same question – only, today’s societal climate feels much more threatening, ominous and just plain evil.
“[Louisiana] State Rep. John LaBruzzo, a Republican from Metairie, has introduced a bill that would ban all abortions in his state—with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother—and charge women who seek abortions and the doctors who perform those abortions with ‘feticide.’" (Please refer to #7 of The Unsexy 17 in my previous post, “States Gone Wild”).
The Louisiana Code for feticide reads, “The killing of an unborn child when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm” and carries a prison sentence of 15 years plus hard labor. LaBruzzo claims the verbiage of prosecuting women on "feticide" charges for having abortions was a "mis-draft," and would make the bill too hard to pass. He says that provision will be removed from the bill before it goes to a committee vote.
Call me a skeptic, but I wouldn’t bank on the removal of the language – or that language making the bill “too difficult” to pass the state legislature. After all, this is Louisiana we’re talking about; the state is already fertile ground for the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the country. Yes, LA is also one of those states with “trigger laws,” criminalizing abortion immediately should Roe ever be overturned. Removing the provision would only shift the onus from the woman to the providers.
So, we shouldn’t at all be surprised that LaBruzzo is apparently working in cahoots with an “unnamed conservative religious group,” whose main goal is to invalidate Roe v. Wade.
Roe has overcome some serious opposition in the past – but times they are a-changin’. The last Supreme Court case to challenge Roe was Carhart v. Gonzalez in 2007, and ultimately restricted abortion access by upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.
With Justice Anthony Kennedy as a swing vote in the abortion debate, increasing numbers of anti-choice governors, and the influx of socially conservative Tea Party nutjobs in Congress – the fight for Roe seems to be a train we’re not so quick to board this time around.
I am a woman who is fortunate to not know a world before Roe, and I sure as hell don’t want it any different. But look around today, and it’s almost as if the landmark Supreme Court case never existed. Take the recent story of J.M.S., the young woman in Utah who became pregnant at 17 by a convicted felon. J.M.S. paid a stranger $150 to beat her in order to induce a miscarriage. Not only does this show us what lengths women will go to end an unwanted pregnancy, but it shows why we don’t only need reproductive rights, but reproductive justice. You’ll see what I mean:
The convicted felon is “facing charges of using J.M.S. and another underage girl to make pornography. J.M.S. lived in a house without electricity or running water in a remote part of Utah. Even if she could have obtained the required parental consent and scraped together money for an abortion and a couple of nights in a hotel to comply with Utah’s twenty-four-hour waiting period, simply getting to the nearest clinic posed an enormous challenge. Salt Lake City is more than a three-hour drive from her town, twice that in bad weather, when snow makes the mountain passes treacherous. There is no public transportation, and she didn’t have a driver’s license.”
Reproductive justice is about access. We can have all the laws in our favor and more rights than we can shake a stick at – it doesn’t mean shit if there is no access. And by “access,” I mean access for ALL, not just those who are privileged enough to afford it. Waiting periods leave women in the dark who cannot afford travel/room and board. What about women who do not have their own source of transportation? And what if there is no public transportation? Childcare? Parental consent laws forget about young women who might not have living/present parents – or those who are pregnant because of a parent or relative. Repro justice shows how repro health intersects with many other issues such as poverty, education and the environment.
That being said, I wish this turned out to be a more positive post. Sadly, the majority of what we’re seeing on a daily basis is state legislators introducing bills that capitalize off our lack of justice – regardless of the contended law of the land.
“[Louisiana] State Rep. John LaBruzzo, a Republican from Metairie, has introduced a bill that would ban all abortions in his state—with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the life of the mother—and charge women who seek abortions and the doctors who perform those abortions with ‘feticide.’" (Please refer to #7 of The Unsexy 17 in my previous post, “States Gone Wild”).
The Louisiana Code for feticide reads, “The killing of an unborn child when the offender has a specific intent to kill or to inflict great bodily harm” and carries a prison sentence of 15 years plus hard labor. LaBruzzo claims the verbiage of prosecuting women on "feticide" charges for having abortions was a "mis-draft," and would make the bill too hard to pass. He says that provision will be removed from the bill before it goes to a committee vote.
Call me a skeptic, but I wouldn’t bank on the removal of the language – or that language making the bill “too difficult” to pass the state legislature. After all, this is Louisiana we’re talking about; the state is already fertile ground for the most extreme anti-abortion laws in the country. Yes, LA is also one of those states with “trigger laws,” criminalizing abortion immediately should Roe ever be overturned. Removing the provision would only shift the onus from the woman to the providers.
So, we shouldn’t at all be surprised that LaBruzzo is apparently working in cahoots with an “unnamed conservative religious group,” whose main goal is to invalidate Roe v. Wade.
Roe has overcome some serious opposition in the past – but times they are a-changin’. The last Supreme Court case to challenge Roe was Carhart v. Gonzalez in 2007, and ultimately restricted abortion access by upholding the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003.
With Justice Anthony Kennedy as a swing vote in the abortion debate, increasing numbers of anti-choice governors, and the influx of socially conservative Tea Party nutjobs in Congress – the fight for Roe seems to be a train we’re not so quick to board this time around.
I am a woman who is fortunate to not know a world before Roe, and I sure as hell don’t want it any different. But look around today, and it’s almost as if the landmark Supreme Court case never existed. Take the recent story of J.M.S., the young woman in Utah who became pregnant at 17 by a convicted felon. J.M.S. paid a stranger $150 to beat her in order to induce a miscarriage. Not only does this show us what lengths women will go to end an unwanted pregnancy, but it shows why we don’t only need reproductive rights, but reproductive justice. You’ll see what I mean:
The convicted felon is “facing charges of using J.M.S. and another underage girl to make pornography. J.M.S. lived in a house without electricity or running water in a remote part of Utah. Even if she could have obtained the required parental consent and scraped together money for an abortion and a couple of nights in a hotel to comply with Utah’s twenty-four-hour waiting period, simply getting to the nearest clinic posed an enormous challenge. Salt Lake City is more than a three-hour drive from her town, twice that in bad weather, when snow makes the mountain passes treacherous. There is no public transportation, and she didn’t have a driver’s license.”
Reproductive justice is about access. We can have all the laws in our favor and more rights than we can shake a stick at – it doesn’t mean shit if there is no access. And by “access,” I mean access for ALL, not just those who are privileged enough to afford it. Waiting periods leave women in the dark who cannot afford travel/room and board. What about women who do not have their own source of transportation? And what if there is no public transportation? Childcare? Parental consent laws forget about young women who might not have living/present parents – or those who are pregnant because of a parent or relative. Repro justice shows how repro health intersects with many other issues such as poverty, education and the environment.
That being said, I wish this turned out to be a more positive post. Sadly, the majority of what we’re seeing on a daily basis is state legislators introducing bills that capitalize off our lack of justice – regardless of the contended law of the land.
Friday, April 22, 2011
States Gone Wild!
No, this is not a new DVD. Instead of being titillating, I would say it’s pretty damn infuriating. Riding the coattails of their GOP/Tea leaders in Congress, many state lawmakers have been spending their time pushing through anti-women’s health legislation. Because, really, that’s the answer to unemployment, poverty and rising healthcare costs. Duh!
According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, last November’s election gave us 8 more anti-choice governors, taking the final count from 21 to 29. The number of states with straight-up anti-choice governments (meaning both legislative houses and the governor are unfriendly) increased from 10 to 15.
Despite the fact that a majority of Americans support family planning services – including a woman’s right to choose – our state leadership is not reflecting this. Trying to find an organized, updated list or map of the nonsense cropping up across the nation is rather difficult; probably because things are happening Ludicrous Speed.
So, here are the fruits of my research (many thanks to National Women’s Partnership for their Daily Women’s Health Policy Reports). And, just like Apple products, by the time y’all read this, it will probably be outdated. After perusing this laundry list of legislation, I’m sure most of us would prefer to see a full-length feature of state legislators participating in inebriated spring break behavior…
The Unsexy 17:
1. Arizona: Passed HB 2442, making it a felony for health professionals to provide abortion care if they suspect a woman is seeking the procedure because of the race or gender of the fetus. It would not penalize the woman; only the physician. This is the first law of its kind in the U.S., and opponents maintain that there is no such evidence of racial/gendered abortions occurring in Arizona.
Gov. Jan Brewer also signed HB 2416/SB 1246, requiring every woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat, if audible.
2. Florida: Eighteen (yes, 18) anti-choice bills have been filed in the state legislature. Measures range from providing funds for crisis pregnancy centers to a complete abortion ban in the state – even in cases of rape and incest.
3. Idaho: Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (yes, “Butch”) signed into law SB 1148, making it a felony for a physician to provide abortion care after 20 weeks of pregnancy (except when the woman's life is in danger) based on the theory of fetal pain.
4. Indiana: Senate Health Committee approved SB 328 based on the supporters' claim that a fetus might feel pain at or before 20 weeks.
5. Iowa: House approved HF 657, banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based again on fetal pain. The bill now moves to the Senate.
6. Kansas: Not one, not two, but three bills surfaced in the Sunflower State. First, Gov. Sam Brownbeck (R) signed two bills into law: HB 2218, prohibiting abortions after 21 weeks of pregnancy with the exception of life endangerment. It also removes the current law’s exception for mental and emotional reasons. The second bill is HB 2035, requiring minors to obtain consent from both parents before receiving abortion services.
The third anti-abortion bill on deck is the House substitute for SB 36, which would require abortion clinics to comply with a series of medical standards and practices. In addition, the bill states that a “female observer” must be present during any abortion services or pelvic exams provided by a male doctor at an abortion facility; doctors providing abortion services must obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics; hospitals or surgical centers must register as abortion clinics if they provide more than five first-trimester abortions in a month; and any deaths linked to abortion complications must be reported to the state within one business day; reports of any injuries must be filed within 10 days. Democratic Rep. Judith Loganbill, questioned why these standards are being mandated for abortion clinics, but not for other surgical outpatient facilities. Another highly disputed provision of the bill requires a woman be in the presence of a physician when taking mifepristone, the medication used to induce abortion.
7. Louisiana: State Rep. John LaBruzzo (R) recently filed HB 587 that would prohibit "all abortions at any and all stages of the unborn child's development" and allow charges of "feticide" against abortion providers as well as women. LaBruzzo said he introduced the legislation at the urging of a conservative religious group (which he left unnamed) and the aim of the bill is to prompt a court case to challenge Roe v. Wade.
8. Minnesota: Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved SF 711, which prohibits abortion after 20 weeks gestation with no exceptions for rape, incest or mental health. The bill would allow abortion beyond 20 weeks to save a woman's life or to prevent irreversible physical harm to the woman.
The second measure approved is SF 264, barring state-funded health programs from funding abortion services.
A third Senate bill SF 1017, would require parental consent before minors can obtain care related to contraceptives, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and drug or alcohol abuse, unless the health condition is life-threatening. Fortunately, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton (D) supports abortion rights, is not likely to sign any of these.
9. Mississippi: On June 6, the Mississippi Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a pre-emptive court challenge against Measure 26, a ballot question that would define a person as a “human being from the moment of fertilization.”
10. Missouri: House approved HB 213, a bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy with an exception for the life of the mother. It would require providers to determine if the fetus could survive outside the womb before performing a termination. The bill now moves to the Senate.
11. Ohio: House Health and Aging Committee approved HB 125, a bill that would require physicians to deny women abortion procedures if a heartbeat can be detected from an ultrasound. Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder (R) has said he wants to consult with experts before moving the bill to the full House.
12. Oklahoma: Gov. Mary Fallin signed HB 1888, making it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the theory of fetal pain. The bill includes an exception for life/“major bodily function” endangerment, but does not include any exceptions for fetal abnormalities.
She also signed SB 547, a bill that prohibits health insurance plans sold in state exchanges from covering abortion services
13. Pennsylvania: The state House Health Committee voted 19-4 to pass a bill that would require clinics providing abortion services to meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgery centers. The American Civil Liberties Union said PA law already contains guidelines for abortion clinics regarding equipment, staff, emergency transfers to hospitals, counseling and reporting. The bill would require costly changes at the clinics, which could force many of them to close, impacting poor women and women who reside in rural areas.
14. South Carolina: House approves H 3406, a bill that would ban private coverage of abortion care in plans purchased in the new state insurance exchange. Women who want abortion coverage will have to purchase it separately. In addition, the bill would expand the state’s conscience clause to include euthanasia, cloning and stem cell research. Physicians would be allowed to opt out of providing such services (including abortion) if they conflict with their religious beliefs.
15. South Dakota: Passed HB 1217, mandating a 72-hour waiting period before an abortion procedure. The law will go into effect July 1 and impose the longest waiting period in the U.S. HB 1217 also requires a woman to receive counseling from a crisis pregnancy center (notoriously anti-choice) before she can obtain services. There are no exceptions for rape and incest – only “emergencies”. There are many talks of challenges to the law, including a possible injunction by Planned Parenthood of South Dakota. Nancy Northrup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, points out how requiring women to disclose medical information to third parties who are not physicians is a violation of medical privacy laws. The ACLU has also threatened to bring a lawsuit against the state.
16. Texas: State Senate Committee on State Affairs approved a compromise bill between a House and Senate version of a sonogram bill. The final bill requires a woman see the sonogram, have her listen to the fetal heartbeat and hear a description of the ultrasound in detail before her procedure. The compromise also includes exemptions in cases of rape, incest or instances where the fetus is not expected to survive. The measure also exempts women in rural areas from waiting 24 hours.
17. Virginia: Passed HB 1428, becoming the first state to require abortion clinics to comply with hospital standards. Currently, clinics are licensed by the state and are treated like physician offices, similar to those that provide plastic and corrective eye surgeries, colonoscopies and a range of other outpatient medical procedures. Virginia is the first state to adopt such a requirement, which could include making structural changes to the buildings, making certain equipment mandatory, or increasing training. Opponents of the bill say that it could force up to 17 of the state's 21 abortion clinics to close. Public comment will be heard before the rules are adopted on Sept. 15; the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2012.
In addition, Virginia is another state that will prohibit abortion from being covered under any health insurance plans offered in the state exchange. Governor Robert McDonnell added this amendment to a bill already passed by the General Assembly, establishing insurance exchanges as part of health care reform.
And, done.
According to NARAL Pro-Choice America, last November’s election gave us 8 more anti-choice governors, taking the final count from 21 to 29. The number of states with straight-up anti-choice governments (meaning both legislative houses and the governor are unfriendly) increased from 10 to 15.
Despite the fact that a majority of Americans support family planning services – including a woman’s right to choose – our state leadership is not reflecting this. Trying to find an organized, updated list or map of the nonsense cropping up across the nation is rather difficult; probably because things are happening Ludicrous Speed.
So, here are the fruits of my research (many thanks to National Women’s Partnership for their Daily Women’s Health Policy Reports). And, just like Apple products, by the time y’all read this, it will probably be outdated. After perusing this laundry list of legislation, I’m sure most of us would prefer to see a full-length feature of state legislators participating in inebriated spring break behavior…
The Unsexy 17:
1. Arizona: Passed HB 2442, making it a felony for health professionals to provide abortion care if they suspect a woman is seeking the procedure because of the race or gender of the fetus. It would not penalize the woman; only the physician. This is the first law of its kind in the U.S., and opponents maintain that there is no such evidence of racial/gendered abortions occurring in Arizona.
Gov. Jan Brewer also signed HB 2416/SB 1246, requiring every woman seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound and listen to the heartbeat, if audible.
2. Florida: Eighteen (yes, 18) anti-choice bills have been filed in the state legislature. Measures range from providing funds for crisis pregnancy centers to a complete abortion ban in the state – even in cases of rape and incest.
3. Idaho: Republican Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (yes, “Butch”) signed into law SB 1148, making it a felony for a physician to provide abortion care after 20 weeks of pregnancy (except when the woman's life is in danger) based on the theory of fetal pain.
4. Indiana: Senate Health Committee approved SB 328 based on the supporters' claim that a fetus might feel pain at or before 20 weeks.
5. Iowa: House approved HF 657, banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based again on fetal pain. The bill now moves to the Senate.
6. Kansas: Not one, not two, but three bills surfaced in the Sunflower State. First, Gov. Sam Brownbeck (R) signed two bills into law: HB 2218, prohibiting abortions after 21 weeks of pregnancy with the exception of life endangerment. It also removes the current law’s exception for mental and emotional reasons. The second bill is HB 2035, requiring minors to obtain consent from both parents before receiving abortion services.
The third anti-abortion bill on deck is the House substitute for SB 36, which would require abortion clinics to comply with a series of medical standards and practices. In addition, the bill states that a “female observer” must be present during any abortion services or pelvic exams provided by a male doctor at an abortion facility; doctors providing abortion services must obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinics; hospitals or surgical centers must register as abortion clinics if they provide more than five first-trimester abortions in a month; and any deaths linked to abortion complications must be reported to the state within one business day; reports of any injuries must be filed within 10 days. Democratic Rep. Judith Loganbill, questioned why these standards are being mandated for abortion clinics, but not for other surgical outpatient facilities. Another highly disputed provision of the bill requires a woman be in the presence of a physician when taking mifepristone, the medication used to induce abortion.
7. Louisiana: State Rep. John LaBruzzo (R) recently filed HB 587 that would prohibit "all abortions at any and all stages of the unborn child's development" and allow charges of "feticide" against abortion providers as well as women. LaBruzzo said he introduced the legislation at the urging of a conservative religious group (which he left unnamed) and the aim of the bill is to prompt a court case to challenge Roe v. Wade.
8. Minnesota: Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved SF 711, which prohibits abortion after 20 weeks gestation with no exceptions for rape, incest or mental health. The bill would allow abortion beyond 20 weeks to save a woman's life or to prevent irreversible physical harm to the woman.
The second measure approved is SF 264, barring state-funded health programs from funding abortion services.
A third Senate bill SF 1017, would require parental consent before minors can obtain care related to contraceptives, pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, and drug or alcohol abuse, unless the health condition is life-threatening. Fortunately, Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton (D) supports abortion rights, is not likely to sign any of these.
9. Mississippi: On June 6, the Mississippi Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in a pre-emptive court challenge against Measure 26, a ballot question that would define a person as a “human being from the moment of fertilization.”
10. Missouri: House approved HB 213, a bill that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy with an exception for the life of the mother. It would require providers to determine if the fetus could survive outside the womb before performing a termination. The bill now moves to the Senate.
11. Ohio: House Health and Aging Committee approved HB 125, a bill that would require physicians to deny women abortion procedures if a heartbeat can be detected from an ultrasound. Ohio House Speaker William Batchelder (R) has said he wants to consult with experts before moving the bill to the full House.
12. Oklahoma: Gov. Mary Fallin signed HB 1888, making it a felony for doctors to perform abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the theory of fetal pain. The bill includes an exception for life/“major bodily function” endangerment, but does not include any exceptions for fetal abnormalities.
She also signed SB 547, a bill that prohibits health insurance plans sold in state exchanges from covering abortion services
13. Pennsylvania: The state House Health Committee voted 19-4 to pass a bill that would require clinics providing abortion services to meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgery centers. The American Civil Liberties Union said PA law already contains guidelines for abortion clinics regarding equipment, staff, emergency transfers to hospitals, counseling and reporting. The bill would require costly changes at the clinics, which could force many of them to close, impacting poor women and women who reside in rural areas.
14. South Carolina: House approves H 3406, a bill that would ban private coverage of abortion care in plans purchased in the new state insurance exchange. Women who want abortion coverage will have to purchase it separately. In addition, the bill would expand the state’s conscience clause to include euthanasia, cloning and stem cell research. Physicians would be allowed to opt out of providing such services (including abortion) if they conflict with their religious beliefs.
15. South Dakota: Passed HB 1217, mandating a 72-hour waiting period before an abortion procedure. The law will go into effect July 1 and impose the longest waiting period in the U.S. HB 1217 also requires a woman to receive counseling from a crisis pregnancy center (notoriously anti-choice) before she can obtain services. There are no exceptions for rape and incest – only “emergencies”. There are many talks of challenges to the law, including a possible injunction by Planned Parenthood of South Dakota. Nancy Northrup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, points out how requiring women to disclose medical information to third parties who are not physicians is a violation of medical privacy laws. The ACLU has also threatened to bring a lawsuit against the state.
16. Texas: State Senate Committee on State Affairs approved a compromise bill between a House and Senate version of a sonogram bill. The final bill requires a woman see the sonogram, have her listen to the fetal heartbeat and hear a description of the ultrasound in detail before her procedure. The compromise also includes exemptions in cases of rape, incest or instances where the fetus is not expected to survive. The measure also exempts women in rural areas from waiting 24 hours.
17. Virginia: Passed HB 1428, becoming the first state to require abortion clinics to comply with hospital standards. Currently, clinics are licensed by the state and are treated like physician offices, similar to those that provide plastic and corrective eye surgeries, colonoscopies and a range of other outpatient medical procedures. Virginia is the first state to adopt such a requirement, which could include making structural changes to the buildings, making certain equipment mandatory, or increasing training. Opponents of the bill say that it could force up to 17 of the state's 21 abortion clinics to close. Public comment will be heard before the rules are adopted on Sept. 15; the law takes effect Jan. 1, 2012.
In addition, Virginia is another state that will prohibit abortion from being covered under any health insurance plans offered in the state exchange. Governor Robert McDonnell added this amendment to a bill already passed by the General Assembly, establishing insurance exchanges as part of health care reform.
And, done.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Bloggin' and Schemin'
Good lord, it must really look like I was incredibly crushed over Sex and the City’s decline of epic proportions – almost one full year with no posts! Yes, I quickly got over my disappointment and now follow my amazing friend Holly’s blog Back On Carrie’s Stoop, reliving the good ol’days and examining the series with a different set of lenses: one that knows what’s coming.
So, for the past 10 months I’ve been dealing with life sans blog. Although I’m notorious for crowding my back burners, I always end up coming back to R4R because…really, nothing I could possibly do in my professional or personal life gives me as much satisfaction as being able to create something on my own terms. No board members, no stakeholders, no supervisors, no editors – just me. (Cue sinister laugh)
Truth be told, the thought of blogging again almost became a tad overwhelming. With all the wretched nonsense happening on the women’s health/reproductive justice front, I didn’t know where to start. As soon as I had an idea of where to start, more nonsense would fall from the sky and my head would explode once again (rightfully so).
Since I last logged into R4R, our U.S. House has been taken over by wackadoos who see fighting the culture wars as reeeaaally, reeeaaally important right now – despite the fact that our economy is in the shitter. Newly (and no so newly) elected wackadoos across the nation are masquerading their sexist/racist/classist/ableist agenda as – ahem – “fiscal responsibility”. Explain to me the logic, asshats, of how eliminating programs that help keep low-income folks afloat will be better for our economy…while letting those top 2% income earners sit on their fat assets??
Oooh, I’m getting angry! How I missed blogging! A few more thoughts:
* I find it incredibly ignorant – no, I mean stupid – that wackadoo legislators can stand on the SENATE FLOOR and give outright FALSE statistics about Planned Parenthood…and wake up the next morning with their jobs intact. If I came into work spewing lies and disseminating them on our listservs, I’d be gainfully employed no more. Just because PP is considered “controversial”, it’s ok to not pay attention to facts?! Who does your research?! (You do know what research is, don’t you?) Oh, and the fact that it’s considered “controversial” is only because of your verbal shit-tactics – not because of any truth.
* Recently, I found out from Glenn Beck that I’m a hooker. Apparently, so are ALL of my female friends…and a few of my male friends, as well. He also informed me that if birth control is too expensive, we should quit crying about it and just use condoms. While I am tickled that GB is advocating condom use, I will assume (with good reason) that if said condom were to break (with no backup method), I would no longer be considered a responsible woman, but a stupid “tough luck!” whore.
* If Donald Trump really wants to help America, he should write the U.S. Gov’t a check and go hide under a rock. I’ve seen and heard more from him in the past few weeks than I care to EVER. (And I thought I could avoid his “my-mother-breast-fed-me-with-a-lemon-face” by simply not watching The Apprentice. Joke’s on me!)
* What the hell is happening in the states?! Last I checked, we had this thing called Roe v. Wade…(more on this later…)
* Congressman Bob (Wackadoo) Latta of Ohio wants to ax funding for the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) under the guise of being “fiscally responsible”….but how dare we talk about cutting funding for abstinence-only education, which has PROVEN to be….um….not working and not based on any…….how do you call it?……evidence.
Sigh.
So, for the past 10 months I’ve been dealing with life sans blog. Although I’m notorious for crowding my back burners, I always end up coming back to R4R because…really, nothing I could possibly do in my professional or personal life gives me as much satisfaction as being able to create something on my own terms. No board members, no stakeholders, no supervisors, no editors – just me. (Cue sinister laugh)
Truth be told, the thought of blogging again almost became a tad overwhelming. With all the wretched nonsense happening on the women’s health/reproductive justice front, I didn’t know where to start. As soon as I had an idea of where to start, more nonsense would fall from the sky and my head would explode once again (rightfully so).
Since I last logged into R4R, our U.S. House has been taken over by wackadoos who see fighting the culture wars as reeeaaally, reeeaaally important right now – despite the fact that our economy is in the shitter. Newly (and no so newly) elected wackadoos across the nation are masquerading their sexist/racist/classist/ableist agenda as – ahem – “fiscal responsibility”. Explain to me the logic, asshats, of how eliminating programs that help keep low-income folks afloat will be better for our economy…while letting those top 2% income earners sit on their fat assets??
Oooh, I’m getting angry! How I missed blogging! A few more thoughts:
* I find it incredibly ignorant – no, I mean stupid – that wackadoo legislators can stand on the SENATE FLOOR and give outright FALSE statistics about Planned Parenthood…and wake up the next morning with their jobs intact. If I came into work spewing lies and disseminating them on our listservs, I’d be gainfully employed no more. Just because PP is considered “controversial”, it’s ok to not pay attention to facts?! Who does your research?! (You do know what research is, don’t you?) Oh, and the fact that it’s considered “controversial” is only because of your verbal shit-tactics – not because of any truth.
* Recently, I found out from Glenn Beck that I’m a hooker. Apparently, so are ALL of my female friends…and a few of my male friends, as well. He also informed me that if birth control is too expensive, we should quit crying about it and just use condoms. While I am tickled that GB is advocating condom use, I will assume (with good reason) that if said condom were to break (with no backup method), I would no longer be considered a responsible woman, but a stupid “tough luck!” whore.
* If Donald Trump really wants to help America, he should write the U.S. Gov’t a check and go hide under a rock. I’ve seen and heard more from him in the past few weeks than I care to EVER. (And I thought I could avoid his “my-mother-breast-fed-me-with-a-lemon-face” by simply not watching The Apprentice. Joke’s on me!)
* What the hell is happening in the states?! Last I checked, we had this thing called Roe v. Wade…(more on this later…)
* Congressman Bob (Wackadoo) Latta of Ohio wants to ax funding for the Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) under the guise of being “fiscally responsible”….but how dare we talk about cutting funding for abstinence-only education, which has PROVEN to be….um….not working and not based on any…….how do you call it?……evidence.
Sigh.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
End of an Era: Confirmed
SPOILER ALERT! Well, can it actually be a spoiler alert when I’m certain I was part of the last audience on Earth to see Sex and the City 2? If you haven’t seen it, and don’t care to read anything about it until it quickly and quietly makes its way to DVD, then avert your eyes. But let it be known that many have spoiled before me – I am not alone in my spoiling!
It was definitely cringe-worthy, just as I suspected. But truth be told, I expected much worse. Maybe it was because I had spoiled it for myself by previously reading about the horrid displays of Samantha, dry-humping the Abu Dhabi air in front of an angry mob of Muslim gentlemen; by already knowing that Carrie has never seen anything more hilarious than a woman in a burqa eating french fries.
Let’s break this down into Lisa’s List of Pros and Cons. You’ll notice some of these aspects appear on both lists…
ME LIKEY:
The Gay Wedding. I enjoy when popular media can show a gay or lesbian couple get hitched like it ain’t no thang. It’s like viewing the utopia our society could be, if only some lawmakers were to either a.) pull the sticks out of their asses, or b.) keel over and die.
The Motherhood Talk. Over drinks, Miranda and Charlotte admit all the not-so-happy parts of motherhood. No, it’s not all goo-goo gaa-gaa Gerber; sometimes Charlotte is so frazzled, she wants to lock herself in a closet while her children scream and cry. This is reality; this is the shit people forget about when they get all wrapped up in baby fever. This is a job that lasts a lifetime.
Just Us Two. Carrie and Big have mutually decided to not have children (Thank god! Remember when she lost Aidan’s dog??!). Seriously though, as they tell others of their wishes to remain childless, they are bombarded with quizzical looks and outright avoidance. So….just because a married couple doesn’t want to have kids, there’s something wrong with them? (Well, maybe according to the Christian Coalition). I say, poo on the naysayers! Carrie and Big make their marriage (life together) work for them – not simply go though the motions that society expects them to.
Also, we see Carrie and Big’s marriage hit “the terrible twos”: the span of time where the excitement of being newlyweds is over and forever begins to take shape. “Mr. and Mrs. Preston, this is your life!” Especially since kids are out of the picture, the life they have now will be it. We see Big preferring to order take-out and fall asleep to The Discovery Channel, while Carrie is itching to dress up and have a night out on the town. These “terrible twos” bring the fear of becoming…(ominous music)…an old boring married couple (OBMC). This is one of those life experiences many people go through, yet not many talk about publicly (much like Miranda and Charlotte’s motherhood discussion). I’m going to bet at least 90% of couples don’t want to seclude themselves in their split level suburban home or upper west side apartment as soon as they return from their honeymoon….yet, there’s this expectation floating around (and if I ever find out who started this ugly rumor, I will have them killed) that once you’re married, you’re supposed to do just that. No more nights out with the girls or boys, no more having one too many cocktails (oops!), no more…fun. This “expectation” also dictates that if you desire a night out with the girls or boys or otherwise away from your spouse, you must not be happy with your marriage. Horseshit, I say! Welcome to 2010, where there is more to a happy marriage than just the act of being married. Two people with full lives make for a very non-boring partnership. Try it, I dare you. And while of course in Hollywood, Carrie and Big magically squash their OBMC fear in 2.5 hours, I’m at least glad SATC stayed a little true to its roots and attempted to shed light on an issue such as this.
NO ME GUSTA!
The Gay Wedding. Although it was here and very, very queer, we were constantly reminded that it was a GAY wedding. A wedding is a wedding – who cares? Why do we need the adjective? Also, I really could have done without hearing that fucking Single Ladies song again…uncomfortably done by Liza Minnelli. And to see Samantha dancing around, singing, “If ya like it, than you shoulda put a ring on it” was quite weird and totally out of character.
The Motherhood Talk. Sure, Miranda and Charlotte were addressing the less glamorous side of being a mom…but we’re watching two upper-class white women with NANNIES addressing this topic. Then, they had to throw in, “How do the women without help do it?!” On one hand, it’s a valid question that shows how hard motherhood is even with hired help – but one can’t argue the asinine element of that conversation. Oh hello, white privilege, where have you been hiding?
Pointing at the Natives. I mentioned Carrie making fun of the women in burqas and Samantha refusing to respect the conservative Muslim culture in any way. It’s really quite horrifying. Although (and this may be a good aspect), it reignites the debate of what qualifies as being an empowered woman. Is wearing a sleeveless dress and being highly sexual mean you are any stronger of a female than a woman who wears a burqa? It’s a drastically different way of life than what we westerners are used to…and of course, anything we deem as different from our way is the “wrong” way.
What I found somewhat humorous – as well as appalling – was when the women of Abu Dhabi were behind closed doors, they reveal to Carrie ‘n’ friends that they wear the latest Dior fashions under their burqas. So….deep down, they’re all really slaves to exorbitant western fashion?? Highly unlikely…and a little egocentric, no? At the same time, it could have been Michael Patrick King’s demented way of showing that women around the world may have more in common than not. Call me picky, but somehow I think it could have been done more meaningfully than simply wrapping them up in Dolce.
The Sickening Display of Affluence. Ok, you gals have money. We get it. Sometimes we wonder how you manage to make the money you have, with all the lunch dates, late night cocktails, etc. This international trip happened to be financed by a hotel mogul in exchange for Samantha’s PR expertise. However, an hour into the movie, I was sick and tired of looking at that fucking $20,000 a night (no lie) hotel room. Each woman had her own personal servant and car complete with driver. Oh, and they ride in the middle of the desert on camels and stop for lunch in this oasis cabana their servants set up! I, for one, was wondering where the hell they put all that stuff. Some poor camel was probably stuck in the back of the caravan pathetically lugging their bullshit.
Too much! I guess what added to it was the ladies’ squealing at each amenity. Got old real fast. What set the tone for excess was Samantha’s comment of needing to “go somewhere rich” in this depressing economy. NYC ain’t swank enough for you no more?
Sigh. I could go on. There’s Carrie’s servant, who shares that his wife lives in another country. We learn that he only sees her once every three months because he needs this job serving rich white tourists in this $20,000 a night hotel. That’s the end of any cultural or political questions – Carrie (given her tensions with Big) wants to know how they keep their marriage strong with such distance.
It was one of those movies I had to see, as opposed to want to see. My, how we have strayed from the series! If you can accept that this is not Carrie ‘n’ friends circa 1999, and can get past the awfully cliché zingers, Godspeed.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Designing Me
I had an epiphany last week. Still not sure if that’s the correct word to describe it. It was a feeling that only comes when you’ve lived a certain number of years, long enough to have the ability to see the girl you were 17 years ago; to understand her and know what made her the person she is today; to witness firsthand how what we’re exposed to in our formative years impacts our beliefs, worldviews, who we are in a not-so-perfect nutshell. Epiphanies are much cheaper than therapy; too bad you can’t schedule them like sessions.
For the longest time, I was super-excited to find that the seasons of Designing Women were being released on DVD. I can remember watching episode after episode of that show when I was a wee little thing attending elementary school at St. Catherine of Sienna. My viewing pleasure continued into junior high as I entered the public school system, and began to learn that kids aren’t so nice. At age 12, I guess I seemed pretty weird – enjoying movies made before 1960 and watching TV shows that centered around women in their 30s and 40s. My great-aunt would say I was “of a different era.” That sounded nice, but really didn’t solve my problem of being a weirdo to my fellow classmates.
So, the other day I treated myself and bought Season 2. I couldn’t wait to get home, fight with the NASA-sealed packaging, and re-live those episodes to which I can still recite some dialogue.
For those of you who missed out on watching Lifetime reruns in your youth, Designing Women ran from 1986-1993 and followed the comedic lives of four southern women working for Sugarbaker Interior Design. Julia Sugarbaker (that’s right, she owns her own damn business!) is a classy, strong, sophisticated, well-read, widowed woman of the “old south” – and a self-proclaimed “big-mouthed broad.” Her monologues are things of beauty that I really can’t describe with any justice. Just watch people try to cross her, or make an ignorant comment…they leave the scene with their tail between their legs.
Suzanne Sugarbaker, Julia’s sister, is her polar opposite. Former Miss Georgia World, her glass case of tiaras is enough to make Tiffany’s look like Claire’s. The only collection to rival her pageant crowns is her collection of ex-husbands. Very “Elizabeth Taylor.” Suzanne is selfish, self-centered, and spends more time looking in the mirror than…anything, really. We’re never quite sure what she even does for Sugarbaker’s – she’s usually seen lounging on the sofa. Despite her fluffy lifestyle and vanity, Suzanne is depicted in such a way that makes her loveable. Her selfishness comes from her own ignorance, not from any malicious intent.
Mary Jo Shively is a divorced mother of two, dealing with her surgeon ex-husband’s revolving door of girlfriends and spoiling their children with his M.D. income. She’s witty and sarcastic. Strong in her convictions, yet terrified of being in the spotlight. Her struggle with being assertive, yet feeling so vulnerable is all too real (and a welcomed character for those of us who can relate all too well).
Charlene Fraizer has a heart bigger than the state of Georgia. She’s originally from a dinky town in Missouri, which she continuously references in a multitude of irrelevant stories (think Rose Nylund and St. Olaf). She loves Elvis, her Baptist roots, daytime talk shows, psychics and the National Enquirer. She’s fun, bubbly, a little naïve, and her aimless rants can sometimes prove to be a bit annoying to her friends (I believe she was described in one episode as a “big ol’ donkey girl scout”).
Considering other female foursome shows out there, Designing Women is nothing new. Very similar comparisons can be made to…oh, say, Sex and the City (as if this dead horse hasn’t been beaten enough). Now, I discovered SATC at a later age, and it too has affected my views on what it means to be an independent woman. But (sigh) I must say, after reliving my first female foursome love affair in just one season, I’m going to say DW does it just a little better.
The characters are all there: Julia=Miranda, Mary Jo=Carrie, Suzanne=Samantha, Charlene=Charlotte. Maybe not the same backstories, but their personalities and idiosyncrasies all match up. The differences that do it for me? As opposed to setting the series in glamified Manhattan (I still love you, NY), we’re set in Atlanta, which really doesn’t play as large a character as NYC. As opposed to the SATC cast professing their love for their borough, we find the DW ladies having to defend their south against the elitist north, who still believes all southerners are backward hicks named Bubba. We know our SATC characters have careers (sometimes we wonder, in that they seem to have endless time for long lunches, late night cocktail parties and carefree saunters down 8th Avenue). Many critics have pointed out the ludicrous nature of the fact that Carrie can afford an uptown Brownstone, Manolo Blahniks, daily cab fares, and New York-priced cosmopolitans on a columnist’s salary (you can be a salaried columnist??). What kind of rent-control did I miss out on?
What I’m attempting to illustrate is that DW’s women are operating in a more believeable reality. The only character living lavishly frivolous is Suzanne – for which she is the butt of many jokes and clearly depicted as not the norm. While all eight women’s struggles may be the same – raising children (or not), being successful in work, making friends, maneuvering the dating world, taking a stand, dealing with illness and sometimes loss – DW is just more relatable (this coming from a Yankee, herself – can you believe it?).
I don’t think it’s the glitzy NYC lifestyle traded in for a low-key Atlanta (could almost be an Anytown, USA) that makes the total difference. But, as I revisited Season 2, I was astonished to see…well, me. At 10, 11, 12 years old, I was watching stories about a young gay man with AIDS and that no, it’s most certainly NOT a ridiculous punishment from god for what people might refer to as “immorality.” I watched Mary Jo nervously convince the PTA to approve condoms and sex-ed in her children’s school. I saw Charlene stand up to her minister when he voted against women being able to hold his position in the church. I watched Julia – with both barrels loaded – tell off racists, classists, and sexists with her sharp wit and sharper tongue.
These are the stories I watched as a girl. These are the women I saw in my media. And seeing them reflected in the woman I am today – well, I couldn’t be more thankful for them.
I leave you with some amazingly awesome quotes from my newly-purchased-and-already-exhausted Season 2:
Mary Jo: “We’re not just preventing births anymore, we’re preventing deaths…More important than what any civic leader or PTA or Board of Education thinks about teenagers having sex – or any immoral act that my daughter or your son might engage in – is the bottom line that I don’t think they should have to die for it.”
Bernice: “Just remember, after Christ was crucified on the cross, and all his men had gone home, it was women who stayed until the bitter end. And it was women who first heralded the news of his resurrection. So just put that in your pulpit and smoke it.”
Julia: “History has shown that in general, it has been the men who have done the raping and the robbing and the killing and the WAR-MONGERING for the last two-thousand years! It has been the men who have done the pillaging and the beheading and the subjugating of WHOLE RACES into slavery! It has been the men who have done the law-making and the money-making AND MOST OF the mischief-making – so, if the world isn’t quite what you had in mind, you have only yourselves to thank!”
For the longest time, I was super-excited to find that the seasons of Designing Women were being released on DVD. I can remember watching episode after episode of that show when I was a wee little thing attending elementary school at St. Catherine of Sienna. My viewing pleasure continued into junior high as I entered the public school system, and began to learn that kids aren’t so nice. At age 12, I guess I seemed pretty weird – enjoying movies made before 1960 and watching TV shows that centered around women in their 30s and 40s. My great-aunt would say I was “of a different era.” That sounded nice, but really didn’t solve my problem of being a weirdo to my fellow classmates.
So, the other day I treated myself and bought Season 2. I couldn’t wait to get home, fight with the NASA-sealed packaging, and re-live those episodes to which I can still recite some dialogue.
For those of you who missed out on watching Lifetime reruns in your youth, Designing Women ran from 1986-1993 and followed the comedic lives of four southern women working for Sugarbaker Interior Design. Julia Sugarbaker (that’s right, she owns her own damn business!) is a classy, strong, sophisticated, well-read, widowed woman of the “old south” – and a self-proclaimed “big-mouthed broad.” Her monologues are things of beauty that I really can’t describe with any justice. Just watch people try to cross her, or make an ignorant comment…they leave the scene with their tail between their legs.
Suzanne Sugarbaker, Julia’s sister, is her polar opposite. Former Miss Georgia World, her glass case of tiaras is enough to make Tiffany’s look like Claire’s. The only collection to rival her pageant crowns is her collection of ex-husbands. Very “Elizabeth Taylor.” Suzanne is selfish, self-centered, and spends more time looking in the mirror than…anything, really. We’re never quite sure what she even does for Sugarbaker’s – she’s usually seen lounging on the sofa. Despite her fluffy lifestyle and vanity, Suzanne is depicted in such a way that makes her loveable. Her selfishness comes from her own ignorance, not from any malicious intent.
Mary Jo Shively is a divorced mother of two, dealing with her surgeon ex-husband’s revolving door of girlfriends and spoiling their children with his M.D. income. She’s witty and sarcastic. Strong in her convictions, yet terrified of being in the spotlight. Her struggle with being assertive, yet feeling so vulnerable is all too real (and a welcomed character for those of us who can relate all too well).
Charlene Fraizer has a heart bigger than the state of Georgia. She’s originally from a dinky town in Missouri, which she continuously references in a multitude of irrelevant stories (think Rose Nylund and St. Olaf). She loves Elvis, her Baptist roots, daytime talk shows, psychics and the National Enquirer. She’s fun, bubbly, a little naïve, and her aimless rants can sometimes prove to be a bit annoying to her friends (I believe she was described in one episode as a “big ol’ donkey girl scout”).
Considering other female foursome shows out there, Designing Women is nothing new. Very similar comparisons can be made to…oh, say, Sex and the City (as if this dead horse hasn’t been beaten enough). Now, I discovered SATC at a later age, and it too has affected my views on what it means to be an independent woman. But (sigh) I must say, after reliving my first female foursome love affair in just one season, I’m going to say DW does it just a little better.
The characters are all there: Julia=Miranda, Mary Jo=Carrie, Suzanne=Samantha, Charlene=Charlotte. Maybe not the same backstories, but their personalities and idiosyncrasies all match up. The differences that do it for me? As opposed to setting the series in glamified Manhattan (I still love you, NY), we’re set in Atlanta, which really doesn’t play as large a character as NYC. As opposed to the SATC cast professing their love for their borough, we find the DW ladies having to defend their south against the elitist north, who still believes all southerners are backward hicks named Bubba. We know our SATC characters have careers (sometimes we wonder, in that they seem to have endless time for long lunches, late night cocktail parties and carefree saunters down 8th Avenue). Many critics have pointed out the ludicrous nature of the fact that Carrie can afford an uptown Brownstone, Manolo Blahniks, daily cab fares, and New York-priced cosmopolitans on a columnist’s salary (you can be a salaried columnist??). What kind of rent-control did I miss out on?
What I’m attempting to illustrate is that DW’s women are operating in a more believeable reality. The only character living lavishly frivolous is Suzanne – for which she is the butt of many jokes and clearly depicted as not the norm. While all eight women’s struggles may be the same – raising children (or not), being successful in work, making friends, maneuvering the dating world, taking a stand, dealing with illness and sometimes loss – DW is just more relatable (this coming from a Yankee, herself – can you believe it?).
I don’t think it’s the glitzy NYC lifestyle traded in for a low-key Atlanta (could almost be an Anytown, USA) that makes the total difference. But, as I revisited Season 2, I was astonished to see…well, me. At 10, 11, 12 years old, I was watching stories about a young gay man with AIDS and that no, it’s most certainly NOT a ridiculous punishment from god for what people might refer to as “immorality.” I watched Mary Jo nervously convince the PTA to approve condoms and sex-ed in her children’s school. I saw Charlene stand up to her minister when he voted against women being able to hold his position in the church. I watched Julia – with both barrels loaded – tell off racists, classists, and sexists with her sharp wit and sharper tongue.
These are the stories I watched as a girl. These are the women I saw in my media. And seeing them reflected in the woman I am today – well, I couldn’t be more thankful for them.
I leave you with some amazingly awesome quotes from my newly-purchased-and-already-exhausted Season 2:
Mary Jo: “We’re not just preventing births anymore, we’re preventing deaths…More important than what any civic leader or PTA or Board of Education thinks about teenagers having sex – or any immoral act that my daughter or your son might engage in – is the bottom line that I don’t think they should have to die for it.”
Bernice: “Just remember, after Christ was crucified on the cross, and all his men had gone home, it was women who stayed until the bitter end. And it was women who first heralded the news of his resurrection. So just put that in your pulpit and smoke it.”
Julia: “History has shown that in general, it has been the men who have done the raping and the robbing and the killing and the WAR-MONGERING for the last two-thousand years! It has been the men who have done the pillaging and the beheading and the subjugating of WHOLE RACES into slavery! It has been the men who have done the law-making and the money-making AND MOST OF the mischief-making – so, if the world isn’t quite what you had in mind, you have only yourselves to thank!”
Friday, June 4, 2010
The End of an Era
Embarrassingly, I have yet to see the latest installment of Sex and the City. Embarrassed because I am one of many hardcore fans that has followed Carrie through each and every experience documented in that furry, magenta DVD collection. Also, because it has seemed to seriously let down my fellow feminists, and I am – per usual – late with any witty, cynical, analytical critique.
I’m happy to say, my nearest and dearest have not been sitting on the sidelines. First, continuing to inspire me in my writing (as well as in life) is my good friend and feminist conspirator, Holly Kent. The SATC 2 train wreck has moved her to such extent that she’s started Back On Carrie’s Stoop – a journaling, if you will, of her experience as she examines the entire series start to finish, knowing where the end has brought us. Think of it as dusting off old yearbooks and remembering the good old days….but a hell of a lot more fun.
Another good friend – riot grrl, roller grrl, all-around ass-kicker – Cindy Rodriguez has written an amazing piece for Lesbiatopia, examining how a woman can love SATC and still be a – GASP – lesbian…?? Good stuff.
I will be frequenting the literary works of my friends and other feminist lens-wearers until I can be fully prepared to dish out a week’s worth of rent to purchase a nauseatingly overpriced L.A. movie ticket to what Ms. Kent refers to as, “…a film which I knew, with a certainty as sure as death and taxes, that I would whole-heartedly despise.”
Bring on the tartinis.
I’m happy to say, my nearest and dearest have not been sitting on the sidelines. First, continuing to inspire me in my writing (as well as in life) is my good friend and feminist conspirator, Holly Kent. The SATC 2 train wreck has moved her to such extent that she’s started Back On Carrie’s Stoop – a journaling, if you will, of her experience as she examines the entire series start to finish, knowing where the end has brought us. Think of it as dusting off old yearbooks and remembering the good old days….but a hell of a lot more fun.
Another good friend – riot grrl, roller grrl, all-around ass-kicker – Cindy Rodriguez has written an amazing piece for Lesbiatopia, examining how a woman can love SATC and still be a – GASP – lesbian…?? Good stuff.
I will be frequenting the literary works of my friends and other feminist lens-wearers until I can be fully prepared to dish out a week’s worth of rent to purchase a nauseatingly overpriced L.A. movie ticket to what Ms. Kent refers to as, “…a film which I knew, with a certainty as sure as death and taxes, that I would whole-heartedly despise.”
Bring on the tartinis.
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