Sorry this is a day late!
* Hilarious Colbert Report episode feat. Jeff Goldblum
* Interesting and powerful article on the difficulties women face when trying to get their tubes tied — doctors who won’t perform the surgery, and so on.
* Vladimir Putin gambling law banishes Russian casinos to Siberian exile
* Hilarious site: Oh Crap. My Parents Joined Facebook. Speaking of which, my dad actually just friended me…
Hope you all had a great weekend and/or July 4th celebration!
Dollface
Ding dong, Palin’s gone! In a bizarre and unexpected turn of events, Former Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, resigned from her post. This follows shortly on the heels of a 10,000 word (or so) expose in Vanity Fair which practically eviscerates Palin (as if the entire McCain campaign wasn’t enough evidence of her shortcomings). I slogged through the entire thing just the other day, breaking my vow to stop covering Sarah Palin news last year. I recommend taking a look-see, for those still vaguely interested.
This “breaking news” throws Palin’s potential 2012 presidential bid into further confusion and analysis. Most political analysts seem to agree that jumping ship as Governor with 1.5 years to go doesn’t bode well for her political advancement in the national arena. CNN’s Republican analyst Mary Matalin, begs to differ, stating:
“Her delivery was incredible, if you’re a less charismatic person, you probably couldn’t pull it off,” Matalin said. “[Now] she will be freed up and liberated the way Mitt Romney is to raise money and get political chips by spending it and getting political capital. And she is still raising the kinds of crowds and money she always did.”
Now, Matalin says, Palin must focus on “putting up with the conventional wisdom” that this was a bad move and travel the country to drum up support for a presidential run.
“She takes that target off her back with a good record to launch from,” Matalin said.”
You’ve really got a gem of a political analyst, there, CNN. First of all, Mitt Romney was my former governor, and while I was never a fan of his politics, at least the man finished his term with dignity and reputation intact. So yes, I suppose by FINISHING HIS JOB, he is now “freed up and liberated”…Sarah Palin, on the other hand, just quit when the going got rough. The McCain campaign was unequivocally damaging to Sarah Palin’s image and political career in Alaska (let alone the rest of the country). Now that the jig is up, the “Barracuda” is showing what she’s really made of — endurance and perseverance cannot, apparently, be counted among her personal characteristics.
Furthermore, Ms. Matalin — can I call you Mary?** — what do you mean Palin has a “good record to launch from”?? A failed Vice-Presidential campaign…an aborted Governorship (aborted, get it?? Hee Hee)…accusations of ethics violations…opportunistic policy decisions….wow, that really IS a solid background for our next President.
In a more realistic statement, Brad Woodhouse (DNC Spokesman) had this to say:
“Either Sarah Palin is leaving the people of Alaska high and dry to pursue her long shot national political ambitions or she simply can’t handle the job now that her popularity has dimmed and oil revenues are down,”
Souja boy Woodhouse tell ‘em!!!
So, what are your thoughts on Palin’s abrupt resignation? Is it the final (and long-awaited) death-knell of her political career? Does she have a shot in hell in 2012? Weigh in (or crack more Palin jokes while they are still mildly relevant!!)
Pleasantly yours,
Dollface
Link to articles here and here.
** Anyone get the reference to the infamous Palin/Biden debate?? Ohhh, I’m such a geek.
As a I sit at my desk in a Chinese University dormitory listening to the Bulgarian State Female Vocal Choir sing a capella, I’m instantly sent back to a Tuesday night one week and a half ago when I lay next to a Chinese lesbian after sex while listening to the same song. Bet you want to hear more, huh? Let’s suffice to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the, um, activities. Whatever your sexual orientation is, we all experience new environments whether we like it or not, and perhaps you’ll enjoy my encounters with a completely contrasting culture.
Despite the exciting and very lesbian circumstance I just described myself to have engaged in, I discovered the depths of my sexuality just last year in the States when I started living with a wonderful and loving gay couple. The questions they asked about my assumptions and unwillingness to even consider different walks of life shocked me, but as you’ve probably already guessed, they turned out to be pretty catalytic. Thank goodness too, because if you knew me, you’d know that I’m a ball of sexual energy, and my love for women was curled up so tightly that it’s no wonder I felt repressed despite my colorful sexual history. So I came out, happy ending right? No, not quite. I found myself a cute and sensitive girlfriend who was about to graduate and I thought “She’s a girl, I like girls, perfect.” But really it was more complicated than I’d originally thought because when she emailed me saying that we were too busy to see each other, a week before classes ended, I glared at the message for so long that I nearly bore a hole into the screen. I learned a lot (alert: cliche!) of course but I was nonetheless hella nervous about navigating the queer scene in China. I nearly decided that there couldn’t be queer culture in China because we all know the government’s influences are large and extensive.
Alas, I diverted my shyness and went to a famous lesbian bar, sang along with a rap song ‘I like girls, I like girls’ with a 60 year old Chinese lesbian and drank beer with a cute, Asian, butch tennis coach who slept next to me two weeks later. What you must know is that I have quite literally 8 months of Chinese under my belt. Luckily I’m getting along quite well linguistically!
No matter the circumstances, relationships fill me up with as much joy as confusion. My several friendships with Chinese people worry me because there is the possibility they only want to be my friend because I’m an American/foreigner. What is it that we seek from one another? I do believe that each and every one of us, yes even Gandhi, forms relationships with others for our own benefit. Sometimes we use others, sometimes we respect others, most times we learn from others, but it comes down to receiving something from another person. And because everyone does it, it must be mutual.
Well then why can’t our world recognize that we all have needs, many needs, and that other people can provide us with what we’re lacking. Race, sexual orientation, gender, economic status etc. It sure sounds like what I’m saying is common sense, but does our society reflect it? Does Prop 8 ring a bell?
Before I close my eyes to listen to the Bulgarian women again to relive that magical night, I want to ask you what you want from people. Do you ever fear that someone is befriending you for your material, mental or bodily characteristics? Do you feel like you have to make friends in order to feel rooted? What does it mean to be alone in this world? Enlighten me!
-Hina
“Creationists make it sound like a ‘theory’ is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night.”
– Isaac Asimov
* Why Can’t Politicians Stay Faithful? at the Blue Flag
* Women Are Risking — and Losing — Their Lives On the Front Lines of the Iran Uprising
* Guy Wakes Up With Vagina, Pitches Tampax at Geek Porn Girl
* Proust Discovers Livejournal by Summer Block Kumar at McSweeney’s
* The world says goodbye to Farrah and Michael. I say “meh.” at Heartless Doll
This is going to be about privilege, how I figured out mine, and the role porn played in all of it. It’s going to be anecdotal and non-scientific, but I think it’s an important subject.
Privilege is designed to be invisible, it’s designed to seem natural, and it’s one of the major challenges that anyone trying to end inequality has to face. It is the way societies reward the dominant group, just because they are dominant. It’s an exclusive club with all the best toys.
I was confronted by the invisibility of it all at work a bit ago. I work at a call center for a web-hosting company helping people maintain their sites and dealing with any problems they have with our servers. One of the major rules we have is no adult content, which basically means no sexualized nudity…otherwise known as ‘porn.’ When we find some on the servers, we give them 24 hours to remove it or find a new host. This happened today when I received a call from a woman angry because we had shut her down for hosting a pornographic chat site. Throughout the call I pepper in the phrase “naked men and women,” which sets her off. For some reason she got upset, and shouted “what the hell are you talking about, there are no naked men online.” I told you this to make you think about it. The internet is full of porn, and almost all of it is of college-age girls. There are other markets of course, but this is the main one. It’s just an element of male privilege to know that your fetish is there for you to find, no matter what.
Porn is a touchy subject in feminism. It’s something that has created a great debate and neither side can seem to come to an agreement. I personally came to the conclusion that I needed to remove it from my life, but I avoid criticizing others for not doing the same. I realized that while I don’t have a problem with pornographic materials in and of themselves I have a problem with the submissive and objectified nature of most of it. Even supposed ‘positive porn’ such as the Naughty America series (which claims to be a female positive company.) In almost all of the porn I have ever seen, the woman was nothing more than a cum dumpster or sex doll whose sole purpose was to get the male star off. There is no concern for the woman and she is just there to do the servicing. It just helps reinforce the idea that a woman gets fucked and that her value is that of a sexual object, not a sexual partner. This is just something I don’t wish to consume anymore, out of respect for my beliefs and for the women that I know. It’s a part of the privilege system and I think most of us can agree that is a problem.
In order to get away from this system you have to acknowledge your role and try to get past it. Here are a few examples that I have put together from my list of my privilege:
* If I lost my job, there would likely be another. If it took me a while to find one and I had to partake in government assistance, I wouldn't be considered a stereotype of my race or gender.
* I can go almost where ever I want, as long as I can afford it, with little fear for my safety and with no one questioning my right to be there.
* I am almost guaranteed a fair trial in almost everything but custody cases.
* If I look through a history book, it's completely filled with examples of people that look like me acting bravely and selflessly.
* If I were to be profiled it would almost always be in my favor.
* Someone who looks like me, with my genitalia, is almost always in charge.
So please make your list; it helps, I promise. Together we can work on unpacking our privilege and overcoming inequality.
- Ian
For more information on privilege, check out this article.
—-
Note: I’ve added Ian’s name to the sidebar; be sure to check out his other posts by clicking his name! – Dollface
When I was a freshman, a rather queer event took place.
My best friend, Harlequin, had gone home for the weekend, so I spent Friday night with my roommate. We decided to go to a dance on-campus, pre-gaming beforehand for liquid courage. I had never heard of pre-gaming before I entered college, but it quickly became routine. Bolstered by several shots of cheap vodka, my roommate and I headed out.
At the dance, two upperclassmen approached us and we started dancing together. I had never seen them around campus before, but could tell that they were older from the way they carried themselves. They were sloppy drunk. My partner’s breath smelled like vomit – only later did I realize it was just stale beer.
I was too shy to look up at him while his crotch was grinding suggestively into my hip bone. At some point, my roommate disappeared with her dance partner. So when my partner asked me to go to his place, I shrugged and followed him to his car. When we got to his place on campus, I finally got a good look at him. In the glare of the overhead fluorescent lighting, his white teeth leered at me, reminiscent of Alice’s Cheshire Cat. Whether it was the alcohol or the time of night, he looked menacing and I was grateful when he turned off the lights.
I’m not sure why girls like me get into situations like this. I was drunk, but I didn’t feel threatened or pressured. In a way, I felt defeated. I had come to college thinking I would be surrounded by intelligent, sophisticated men who would take me out to nice restaurants and write me poetry in iambic pentameter. Instead, I quickly found out that (most) college boys would rather guzzle watered-down beer from red plastic cups and play beer pong than go out on a Saturday night date.
At college, it’s sex or nothing. Sure, there are those few couples that are attached at the hip, playing house in their dorm rooms, but for the most part it’s go home with a guy from a party or go home alone. That night I didn’t want to go home alone.
So I found myself in a stranger’s bedroom, practically empty save a Corona poster and some sports equipment. I knew his first name and that he was a baseball player. I didn’t know much else, and I didn’t really want to. We made out for a while and then we tried to have sex. We were, however, cock-blocked by his whiskey dick. Looking back on it, I’m relieved. At the time, we were both disappointed. I eventually walked back to my dorm room in the rain. My roommate was in bed with her dance partner, so I changed in the closet.
The Jock and I played a half-hearted game of phone tag for a few weeks. Then, the inevitable I’m-Going-to-Pretend-Like-I-Never-Met-You phase began. Unfortunately, I saw this guy in dining hall every day. Even worse, he sat with a bunch of his baseball teammates and I started to notice that whenever I would walk by their table, his teammates would nudge him and start laughing or whispering. I thought I was just being paranoid at first, but day in and day out I began to realize I wasn’t making it up. It was particularly uncomfortable for me, considering I rarely date jocks and I’m not exactly the preppiest girl in the world (I’m prone to stalking around in Doc Martens and a scowl on my face). Not only did I feel like they were dissecting my body and my clothing, but I felt like I was a huge, fat slut in their eyes.
This continued all year, much to my dismay. It all came to a head one day in May, one of the first sunny days that spring. The entire student body was out on the green, wearing skimpy clothing and slathering on sun-tan lotion. I was wearing a bright blue sun-dress that I had just purchased and had already gotten several compliments on. Feeling completely relaxed and content, I walked into the student center with two of my girl-friends. In the middle of the crowded café area, we ran into the Jock and some of his buddies. They all gave me lecherous once-overs and as I passed by them, one of the guys yelled out loudly, “My friend hooked up with that girl in the blue dress!” and the other guys broke out into cat-calls while the Jock just looked at me. I felt so ashamed and shocked. Harlequin shouted at their retreating backs, “Yeah, well he had WHISKEY DICK!” but I’m not sure if they heard. I ran out of there as fast as I could, aware that everyone’s eyes were on me. I was shaking.
To this day I don’t understand why that happened. I’ve had plenty of one night stands, casual flings, and serious boyfriends and none of those relationships resulted in the extreme slut shaming I felt from this guy and his friends. Maybe it was the fact that they were all on the same team and it lent to a misogynistic atmosphere. All I know is, three years later I can still vividly recall that day every time I wear that blue sun-dress. When I slip the dress on over my body and zip up the side, I hear the echoes of those catcalls.
The last time I saw the Jock before he graduated, I was walking past him in dining hall. He was alone and I gave him my coldest glare. I’d like to think he felt ashamed.
- Dollface
The following is an extremely abridged version of my final essay for one of my classes last semester. Hope you all find it interesting!
In a post-9/11 world, the term “suicide bomber” has a visceral effect on Americans. Immediately, images of Middle Eastern men in market places, bombs strapped to their chests, come to mind. Suicide bombing is a particular frightening and effective form of terrorism – it is hard to combat, hard to predict, and involves intense levels of courage and devotion to a cause bent on destruction. Though the first female suicide bomber was a 16 year old girl who blew herself up in 1988 (Zedalis, 2004: 8), in the post-9/11 years the American media has increasingly paid unique attention to female “martyrs.” The constant articles detailing the violence wreaked by male suicide bombers has caused the American public to become almost de-sensitized to Middle Eastern terrorism (provided it’s on foreign soil). However, female suicide bombers, though more and more common, are still considered a “hot topic.” Due to their gender, the media sensationalizes their stories to a problematic degree. I believe that most Americans’ first instinct is to assume suicide bombers are male, due to the fact that the media has inundated us with story after story about male suicide bombers in the Middle East. However, I believe that articles about female suicide bombers discuss their motives more deeply and arouse greater sympathy from readers.
While suicide terrorism can be traced back to the 11th century, the use of female suicide terrorists (in this case, suicide bombers) is relatively recent (Zedalis, 2004: 7). However, in the recent decades there has been a significant increase in the number of women in terrorist organizations and the number of successful and attempted suicide bombings committed by women. There are several advantages to using a female suicide bomber. On the one hand, she is unlikely to be searched and can smuggle bombs more easily under her robes. On the other hand, there is the stereotype that women are nonviolent and therefore they typically garner less suspicion than their male counterparts while carrying out their mission, (Shedd, 2006: 7). Finally, female suicide bombers generally get more publicity, the resulting psychological effects of which can be particularly useful to terrorist organizations – women terrorists tend to receive more public sympathy than men, which can lead to an increase in the recruitment rate of new members to terrorist organizations. Indeed, “in these contexts, differences in coverage [between genders] may encourage terrorists to use women as operatives to secure frequent and more sympathetic coverage,” (Shedd, 2006: 2). While male suicide bombers are more common (at least, presently), female suicide bombers generally receive more written coverage, (Shedd, 2006: 26).
While some terrorist groups historically did not include women in their ranks for religious reasons and to preserve the fraternal bond that strengthened the loyalty of their members, in the last decade many religious leaders have declared “fatwa’s” (religious rulings) allowing women to become terrorists out of necessity. They claim that these are temporary measures for desperate times, (Shedd, 2006: 17). Women are becoming very advantageous to terrorist organizations – especially considering they have a higher rate of success due to their gender and the fact that their successful attacks make a greater splash in the media.
Though I did not extensively research how the media depicts these women, there is the usual theme: “poor brainwashed widow exploited by terrorist organizations”. I think that people would do well to remember that women are just as capable of being motivated by political aims and a sense of religious imperative as men. While I do not condone the actions of female suicide bombers, I do not think they are all merely pawns in the hands of their male comrades.
I would advise the American media to avoid giving female suicide bombers any more attention than male bombers, because the amount of media coverage a female terrorist receives is causing more terrorist groups to see the usefulness of women in their organizations. Unfortunately, by indulging our curiosity about female suicide bombers we are merely furthering the aims of terrorist organizations.
Works Cited
Shedd, J. R., (2006). Understanding Female Terrorists: An Analysis of Motivation and Media Representation. American Political Science Association. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p153284_index.html
Zedalis, Deborah D. (2004). Female Suicide Bombers. Strategic Studies Institute, Retrieved May 5, 2009, from http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB408.pdf
- Dollface
For those curious, the bulk of my essay was devoted to a pilot study I conducted in which I interviewed college students about their perceptions of suicide bombers. If you want to know about my results, feel free to email me!
What are your thoughts & opinions on American media coverage of female suicide bombers? Let me know in the comment sections.
Also, here is a great post about female suicide bombers that I found while looking for a picture for this post. I’m definitely going to add this blog to my RSS feed.
Is it just me, or is everyone experiencing the Wednesday slumps? For some reason I feel mentally exhausted! So, I thought instead of forcing my rotten little brain to fry itself, I’ll just post some hilarious videos. Enjoy!
Al Roker schools Spencer and Heidi:
Bear Force 1! Everyone’s favorite Danish Homosexual Boy Band!
Some of the best scenes of Spinal Tap:
Objectum Sexual: The Movie (Part 1):
Part 2:
Cheers,
Dollface
End of the Week Links — 6/15/09
15 06 2009It’s been a while since I did a blog links round-up! Here are the latest interesting articles I’ve stumbled across…
(c) Dina Goldstein, Part IV of Fallen Princess Series
–> This has to be the most awesome-badass-edgy-fucking-rad series of photographs I’ve come across in a long time. The photographer, Dina Goldstein, depicts the Disney Princesses in their potential “modern” situations — Snow White is taking care of multiple children with a dead-beat Prince Charming sleeping on the couch…Jasmine is fighting in a war (against the U.S. perhaps?), and so on. Check it out here! Social commentary + Pretty Pictures = Badass.
–> Political activist for the GOP in South Carolina, Rusty DePass, says the gorilla is Michelle Obama’s ancestor. What a racist asshat.
–> Riot Grrrl is making a comeback! Read Greta’s article & check out her site.
–> There might be a new sexual orientation…and it involves the Eiffel Tower…
Objectum Sexuals are women (and a few men) who fall in love with inanimate objects. Like buildings. To quote one woman, “While other teenagers were dating each other, I was dating a bridge.” This is full of awesome, in my opinion. Are these women insane or do they genuinely love these objects? Read more here, here and here, and check out this clip. It’s hilarious.
A special thanks to the Evil Slut Clique for filling me in on the details of Objectum Sexuals. Don’t worry, they aren’t in love with the Washington Monument or anything…I’m pretty sure they are still slutty penis-loving “good time girls.” (Joke!)
Hope you all had a fabulous weekend!
Cheers,
Dollface
Thanks to Heartless Doll for some of these links!
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Tags: Dating inanimate objects, Dina Goldstein, Disney Princesses, Evil Slut Clique, Fallen Princess, Objectum Sexual, Objectum Sexuality, Photography, Riot Grrl, Riot Grrrl, Social commentary, Women who love buildings
Categories : Links