White Ribbon Campaign

Where do men fit in the ongoing issue of violence against women? Is our only role to be perpetrators and the cause of the problem? The White Ribbon Campaign is challenging men to get involved. It is a campaign designed to educate men and boys to stop the cycle of violence. Check it out.

Thoughts...

A Friendly Reminder From Toronto's Police Not to Dress Like "Sluts"....

Toronto police  Const. Michael Sanguinetti had some choice words for a class room discussion on rape. “Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized." There are a few glaring problems with this sort of conversation. For one, this puts the blame on the victim and the way she was dressing, and not on the fact that some on sexually assaulted her. Lets get this clear: it is not the victims fault. Period. End of story. We need to seriously shift gears away from victim blaming with this sort of discourse. The people of Toronto have responded very appropriately.

"Too Fast to be a Woman"

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/The_Passionate_Eye/1274903384/ID=1836060745
South African runner Caster Semenya's gender has come under question. Higher levels of testosterone in her body were seen to have given her a potentially "unfair" advantage over her fellow competitors and as of such she was forced to undergo gender testing. The testing, which was supposed to be a closed and private matter due to its highly sensitive nature, proved to be anything but sensitive. The very public testing and scandal was emotionally devastating to the young runner.

This documentary humanizes her struggle and is very worth while... enjoy...


Thoughts?

Modern Day Gender Binary Hierarchy: "Slut Shaming"

Gender Binary Hierarchy is a term that refers to the unequal relationship between women and men in which women are always seen as subservient and lesser to men. This is a hard concept to swallow. You can point to any number of legislation that would seem to negate this concept. Women are legally equal to men, which should make the gender binary hierarchy a thing of the past. But it is not a thing of the past.

Slut shaming is the practice of degrading women for their sexual practices. What do you call a man with multiple partners? A player, a pimp, lady killer, casanova? And waht do you call a women with multiple partners? Think about it... Slut shaming stands as evidence that the gender binary hierarchy is alive and well. Check it out...http://finallyfeminism101.wordpress.com/2010/04/04/what-is-slut-shaming/

International Woman's Day

Check out the coverage on International Woman's Day on Democracy Now.

So... What is Feminism Exactly?

The New Oxford American Dictionary defines feminism as: "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men."

This definition however is somewhat problematic. It implies that all men are superior to all women politically socially and economically. It ignores that there may be some men who are in fact inferior to women on these terms. This definition is, therefore, inadequate.

Feminism is in my opinion as simple as this: the attempt to remove gender differentiation and to promote equality.

Your thoughts?