Links roundup
Links: Miscellaneous links that I’ve seen lately and thought were interesting: feminism, sexism, law, academia, climate change, U.S. politics, abortion
NB: All of the Feministe posts have thoughtful and thought-provoking discussion in the comments that are worth reading.
Feministe: always interesting, well written, thoughtful, provocative, and informative. There are good discussions in the comments, too, as the mods allow dissenting opinions through rather than banning them.
I Am Emily X: the blog of workers at the Aurora Planned Parenthood chapter. Anti-life protestors are staging a “40 Days For Life” campaign of protests at Planned Parenthood clinics across the country, and this blog publishes the experience of Planned Parenthood workers, why they work at Planned Parenthood, the daily tally of protestors, and video clips.
Tamora Pearce on WB exec Robinov’s banning of female leads in movies: Why we shouldn’t be surprised by his sexist comment, the lack of movies with strong female leads, sexism in Hollywood’s movies. My thoughts upon reading the post were a) what? But surely there are lots of movies with strong female leads! b) such as The Interpretor, Nicole Kidman was awesome! That movie was awesome! And…and…um…Room with a View…and…uh…huh. c) I saw the remake of Poseidon Adventures on a plane recently and it was sexist (women are useless for anything but crying, having hysterical fits, needing protection, dying, and making sacrifices). d) I don’t see very many movies. e) I’m not missing much, am I? f) Tamora Pearce is absolutely right.
Feministe post on recent WHO study on the effects of outlawing abortion: it doesn’t lower the number of abortions, it just makes them more dangerous and unsafe. Also contains content on the hypocrisy and anti-life nature of the pro-life movement.
Bob Herbert: The Trivial Pursuit: NYT opinion piece contrasting the behavior of Al Gore since the 2000 elections with the behavior of George W. Bush since the 2000 elections and the behavior of Rudy Giuliani at present. As usual, Herbert is insightful and thoughtful, and this time he’s depressing, too.
Congratulations to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore for winning the Nobel Peace Prize for “their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.”
On that note, A Prize for Mr. Gore and Science, NYT editorial on Al Gore, the IPCC, the Nobel, climate change, and the U.S. government. Additionally, IHT article on Nobel Peace Prize, quote: In this decade, the Nobel Peace Prize has been given to prominent people and agencies who differ on a range of issues with the Bush administration, including former President Jimmy Carter, who won in 2002, and Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the United Nations’ nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna, in 2005.
Pennsylvania court recently ruled that forced gangbanging at gunpoint is not rape: the decision reifies stereotypes about what constitutes rape, how a rape victim is supposed to behave, the kinds of women who can be raped (white, upper class virgins) and the kinds of women who can’t (everyone else).
Post and discussion: is there common ground between anti-lifers and pro-choicers on abortion? Consensus answer from both sides: no. You would think yes, because both anti-lifers and pro-choicers want fewer abortions and fewer unwanted pregnancies. However, anti-lifers are usually anti-contraception, anti-sex education other than abstinence education, and anti-women-having-and-enjoying-sex. So their solution for decreasing the number of abortions is to ban it, which drives abortion underground and makes it more dangerous to the women. Pro-choicers support contraception, informative sex education, and generally, giving women control over their bodies and the kind of sex they have. It turns out there’s little room for compromise.
Feministe on Yahoo! dating advice: dating advice is the same old, same old: heteronormative, sexist (makes women subservient to men), and says that the only thing wrong with relationships these days is women.
The Leaky Pipeline: Women in Academia: interesting post, interesting discussion.
Sexism in our everyday professional lives: exactly what it sounds like. Go read it.
