Sad stuff in the headlines yesterday – the idea that preventing bullying is coddling select groups is ridiculous.  Every person – every child – is entitled to safety in public, at school, and at work.  No name calling.  Talk to Jesus about it or something.

Focus on the Family attacks anti-bullying efforts as part of the “gay agenda” [feministing]

For these groups to use “what’s good for the children” as a guise to promote their intolerance only puts kids further at risk of serious harm — and we’re not just talking about hurt feelings; children are dying because of it. So if saving children from killing themselves over hatred that Focus on the Family is trying to protect is a “gay agenda,” then yeah, that’s exactly what this country needs.

The Pro-Bullying Lobby [yes means yes]

Their answer is tactically obvious: they have to try to encourage more homophobia at younger ages. They have to prevent young people from coming out in their early teens, forming their own peer groups and being seen to be happy. They need to use the social structures of teen life to enforce conformity to a heterosexist hegemon. They need to shut up the antibullying activists, and get those bullies back to beating up the queeny boys, the dykey girls, the gender nonconformists; marginalizing them by brutal force in the great public school tradition while the administration looks the other way.

Anti-Bullying Measures Are A Gay Plot, Says Gay-Bullying Org [jezebel]

In an interview with The Denver Post, Candi Cushman of Focus On The Family said, “We feel more and more that activists are being deceptive in using anti-bullying rhetoric to introduce their viewpoints, while the viewpoint of Christian students and parents are increasingly belittled.”

The other day I was poking around foxnews.com out of some masochistic form of curiosity.  It was kind of like perusing a tabloid, but more people believe that it’s true.  Sad.  Anyway, I came across an article that asked whether or not Sarah Palin should be referred to as a feminist.  I learned a lot from the comments.  I laughed, I cried, I wondered what the world is coming to.  Enjoy!

I felt like this one should be read in a Shatneresque poetic way.  With black clothes and finger snaps.

Bill589 has more wisdom and artistry to share:

Snappy little catch phrase, eh?  Here’s another perspective on why Sarah Palin is a feminist:

If producing a daughter who gets engaged to start a reality show isn’t feminist enough for you, I think the chopper hunting should put her over the edge.  Feminism is about flaunting assets, after all, not “conventional self growth areas” like *education,* right?  Not everyone agrees, though.  Here’s an argument for why Sarah Palin is not a feminist:

HA!  Feminists are crazy miserable lesbians!  Duh!  Thank you Slick Willie |||||||||||||||||||||Democrat elder statesman |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||!

Here are some SHOUTY tips on how Sarah Palin COULD become a REAL PATRIOTIC feminist:

I hope you’re paying attention.  CLASSY LADIES don’t do drugs.  Or show bare-feet.  Outside of the kitchen anyway.  And finally, a warning about the dangers of the feminist movement from someone who USED TO BE LEFTIST!!!

OMG won’t someone save us from the horrors of people freely admitting a desire to transform society!!?  I mean, equal rights for women was taking it pretty far already.  Damn modern feminists… (Does anyone else ever get confused when someone says something that you think is great like it’s terroristic or something?  Is that just me?)  But hey, what does Ms. Palin herself have to say about all of this?

Mmhmm… Well then.  There that is.

“I am not ultra-ultra-conservative on every issue. I actually support gay marriage. I think the gay marriage thing would definitely surprise people. I mean, for some people, it will surprise them to the point that they won’t want to hear it. ‘No, that can’t be, I really want to have this sort of idea of her in my head,’ so I sort of rain on their parade there. I am a person that does believe that life begins at conception, but I also don’t believe that the government should tell women what to do with their bodies. So I’m torn there in terms of supporting laws [for or against abortion].”

-  Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Um… yeah. Huh?  From fancast via jezebel.

Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of the passing of the 19th amendment – you know, that little law that gave women the right to vote.  There were some great posts celebrating this fact, as well as critiquing the methods and shortcomings of the heroines that fought for our rights.  A good feminist is always critical and willing to take a look at where we need to improve, so I send out kudos to all of those women out there who continue to fight the battles within while striving to foster an effective and efficient sisterhood.

Shoutouts to feministing for the awesome old school vid!

Young Women and the Battle for Women Suffrage [the ms. education of shelby knox]

‘Battle’ is the correct word to describe the 100-year campaign to get women the right to vote. Sadly, many American school children never learn about the courageous activism waged by the many women and men of all races it took to make the 19^th amendment the law of the land. If they get any information on the topic at all, they leave the classroom thinking Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton simply asked for the vote and it was kindly granted! The lack of women’s history education in schools leaves young women without a true understanding of all the women have done and become before, making it harder to do and become today.

Kristen Schaal always makes me laugh.  Usually by making me feel really uncomfortable/awkward first.  I think she also has this effect on Jon Stewart.

In related news, Jon Stewart’s new goatee also makes me feel really uncomfortable/awkward.

“The American Psychological Association is gratified that the court agreed that there is no justification for denying marriage equality to same-sex couples. The  research shows that same-sex couples are similar to heterosexual couples in essential ways and that they are as likely as opposite-sex couples to raise mentally healthy, well-adjusted children. Thus, there is no scientific justification for denying marriage equality, when research indicates that marriage provides many important benefits.”

- American Psychological Association
President Carol D. Goodheart, EdD

I am proud to be going into a profession that acknowledges and supports the rights of all people, and uses its resources to make sure that those rights aren’t taken away.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has recently appointed actress Geena Davis to a state commission aiming to promote women’s equality.  Sweet!

According to Wikipedia:

In 2004, while watching children’s television programs and videos with her daughter, Davis noticed what she thought was an imbalance in the ratio of male to female characters. From that starting point, Davis went on to sponsor the largest research project ever undertaken on gender in children’s entertainment (resulting in 4 discrete studies, including one on children’s television) at the Annenberg School for Communication of University of Southern California. The study, directed by Dr. Stacy Smith, shows that there are nearly 3 males to every 1 female character in the nearly 400 G, PG, PG-13, and R-Rated movies the undergraduate team of Annenberg students coded.

In 2005, Davis teamed up with the non-profit group Dads and Daughters to launch a venture dedicated to balancing the number of male and female characters in children’s TV and movie programming.

It’s nice to see someone with power, and with a background in the entertainment/film industry no less, acknowledging that this is a problem worthy of attention and taking steps towards change.  Let’s hope that Geena is able to really get the ball rolling and that change starts to happen!

(Check out Alethea Joy’s post on research inspired by Ms. Davis.)

When asked if he would like to see gay marriage approved in his home state of Michigan:

“I think if two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want.”

- Eminem

Alright, maybe not the most positive endorsement of gay marriage, but a significantly different message than anyone that is familiar with Eminem’s music would expect.  Maybe Elton John’s theory really has something to it.  From advocate via feministing.

A lot of quotes this week, folks.  People seem to be saying some cool things, and I have taken it upon myself to highlight them for you.

Rush Limbaugh was recently married (for the fourth time after three divorces – this is the sacred tradition of marriage between a man and a woman that he believes he is protecting from the gays, remember?) and he invited the very out and proud Sir Elton John to perform at the wedding.  Perplexing, no?  Apparently the gays make for great entertainment, even if they don’t deserve equal rights.  Classy.  Here’s what Elton had to say about it:

“Life is about building bridges, not walls. [It was a chance] to go where people wouldn’t expect me to go. And maybe if I can make a great impression, people might change their perspectives on life.”

- Sir Elton John

Now that actually is classy.  From Daily Express via Jezebel.

A lot of interesting links floating around out there regarding Sarah Palin and what it means to be a feminist.  And if those two things are mutually exclusive.  I’ll let you make up your own minds about that business and recommend the following links in your investigation.  However, I was pretty astonished by the following quote from Ms. Palin and wanted to throw that out there as well:

“To be judged on or to be talked about on appearance, say chest size — it makes me wear layers. It makes me have to waste time figuring out, What am I going to wear so that nobody will look in a area that I don’t need them to look at? I want them to hear what it is that I’m saying. It ends up wasting time and that’s just very, very unfortunate.”

- Sarah Palin on her boob-job rumors (via jezebel)

Sarah Palin, False Prophet [jezebel]

This is what I think of whenever I hear people talk about conservative Christian women “reclaiming” feminism, or blaming those mean and nasty “traditional” (read: “actual”) feminists for keeping them out. You don’t even want [it]. But you’d rather turn it into a lump of mush that nobody wants than let anyone else have it.

When feminism and conservative women collide [feminocracy]

As someone who has considered myself a feminist for quite some time, it’s amusing to watch feminism declared “dead” or “irrelevant” for years – or, paradoxically, responsible for everything from the divorce rate to crime and Everything That Is Wrong With America – then have it be resurrected and trample the political landscape in a zombie-like fashion, with little thought put into the use of the term by its new appropriators and eating all our brains, as those of us who didn’t shy away from the label internally combust from its perversion.

Who You Callin’ A Feminist? [this ain't livin']

I still don’t think it’s my business to determine who is feminist or not, and I hold to that. I am not interested in stripping people of the identities they claim. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t think that we should have conversations about the co-option of feminism, and about whether people who identify as feminist bear that identity out in their actions. I think that, evaluating Palin’s life and work, it’s pretty evident that her actions are not feminist.

Feminist Does Not Mean “Strong Woman” [red vinyl shoes]

Feminist does not mean “strong woman”. Conservative feminists conflate the two entirely, which is why they feel they can get away with calling themselves feminists while holding beliefs and supporting causes antithetical to feminism. By labeling every female Republican primary candidate “feminist” when they mean “strong woman” they seek to redefine the word so that they can appropriate it for their own benefit.