[InsaneJournal is down and won't let me update, so I'm back to LJ for today.]

Today I found a link to Joss Whedon's commentary on the murder of Dua Khalil, a young woman who was killed almost exactly one year ago. Her death is yet another instance of the abuse of women being treated as a spectator sport - and in the year since, that has not changed. The reason Joss' entry surfaced again is that a charity anthology, Nothing But Red, was written to commemorate Khalil's murder and raise money for Equality Now, and it has just been released.

I never read Joss' entry last year, but I'm glad I found it now. If you are like me and also missed it, I want to bring this it to your attention now for two reasons: the first is that, as to be expected, Joss writes very eloquently about Khalil's death, as well as the pervasiveness of misogyny and sexual oppression.

The second reason is this quote:

"Women’s inferiority – in fact, their malevolence -- is as ingrained in American popular culture as it is anywhere they’re sporting burkhas. I find it in movies, I hear it in the jokes of colleagues, I see it plastered on billboards, and not just the ones for horror movies. Women are weak. Women are manipulative. Women are somehow morally unfinished."

I appreciate that Joss does not use this event as a call to arms for feminism that relies on perpetuating racist and imperialist power differences. In other words, he does not seek to protect women from misogyny by redirecting our malice against non-white men and non-U.S. cultures. Too often, the response - the feminist response, even - to news such as this is one of, "Look how awful they are," and "We should help those women over there." Villainizing minority men, infantilizing minority women, and ignoring the whole heap of steaming bullshit that is sexism in the United States.

I do not feel safe from misogyny for being born in the U.S. In fact, when my so-called "liberal" or "progressive" male peers decry "foreign" sexism but refuse to acknowledge the necessity of combatting or even acknowledging their own privilege - I don't feel very safe at all. Finding one more male ally who not only challenges his male privilege, but also refuses to soothe his ego by relying on his racial privilege, gives me some hope.

Hey, white parents? Just so you know, when your darling little precious decides to use traditional clothing from non-white cultures as a HALLOWEEN COSTUME, that ain't cute. It's ignorant and annoying.

I don't like opening the door of my own goddamn home to find some white girl who thinks being Chinese is like a toy, something you can pick up and toss around and then throw away when you're done.

Also? I think Halloween reminds me why I'm generally not good parent material. I like looking at kids in cute costumes, but that's not enough to make me enthusiastic about trick-or-treating in general, not when kids who jackhammer my doorbell or get all grabby about candy fray my nerves. The cute just doesn't overcome the irritating, for me.

Which is pretty much my reaction to children in general.

Now, my own celebration of Halloween was much more pleasant, because I got to hang out with people who are not eight years old (even if they act that way sometimes XD) at a Halloween party over the weekend. Also, the almighty lunapome lent her costume-making talents to the project of creating costumes for herself, me, zinjadu, nekokoban, and miss_arel as representations of fire, water, earth, metal, and air, respectively. It was nerdtastic and awesome. XD

Wear black (or green) on Thursday, September 20 to show solidarity with the Jena Six.

If you aren't aware of the Jena Six, go here for the story.

Then wear black or green, and tell people why. Raise awareness of institutionalized racism in the legal system.

Very different, but both are good.

( 'Yellow Rage' )

This one just made me squee in delight. Asian women being angry! Performing spoken word! You don't see enough of either of those, like, ever. And they rock at both, which is just all kinds of awesome.

I got the link from tekanji, who linked to 'cause knowledge is power's transcript of the performance. It's especially helpful at the beginning, when the two women speak at once.

( 'The Spare' )

This is a short movie tea_at_tiffs sent me, about a couple of days in the lives of young couple. Very simple, very sweet.

I'm afraid I don't have anything (yet?) for International Blog Against Racism Week, but I point you all toward the community: ibarw. Each day there's a link round-up for relevant posts.

I also recommend the entry on Race-related resources, which is just what it says, a thorough collection of links regarding (fandom and) race, particularly for white people. This is going in my Memories, so I can point anyone who whines that race stuff is too hard or complicated. Incidentally, I'd love to hunt down similar resources for myself, for when I want to whine that class or queer stuff is too hard or complicated.

Also check out the icon post for icons for white fans and fans of color alike. I snagged a few myself. *points*

On Friday I went out with some coworkers to say goodbye to a coworker who's leaving for a new job. They took me to Feierabend, a German tavern just north of downtown. There was good beer that I actually liked (usually beer and I don't get along well), and mouthwateringly delicious German food. It struck me as the kind of place rivendellrose might like, but I think it would be fun for anyone to try.

After dinner, we went to see The Bourne Ultimatum - even though I haven't seen the first two movies in the trilogy, because my coworkers assured me that Matt Damon was The Sex in it. That wasn't the *only* reason I went to the movie - I was also told that they're pretty self-contained and easy to follow, and that the action is good - but it helped. :P

( But before the movie, there were previews )

As for the movie itself, I had fun. It took place in several different countries, including predominantly non-white countries, but I didn't feel that it was excessive or exploitative. The action was clever and sometimes ridiculous - but the movie felt self-aware enough that I laughed with it, not at.

Although the scene in which both the assassin and Matt Damon locate Julia Stiles through her hairstyle was a little much. In the next scene, we see Stiles dying her hair, and I can just imagine her thinking to herself, "Perhaps my distinctive bright blonde highlights in dark brown hair are not conducive to my life as a secret agent!"

There was also the pre-climactic final scene in which Matt Damon mutters, "This is where it began for me. This is where I'll end it," and the dramatic BOW-WHAKA-SHAKA-BOW music kicks up before he even finishes talking. XD

One day left before zinjadu and I flee the country (breathe, Dora, breathe!) and I'm just about ready to go. All my stuff is ready and just needs to be put in my suitcase. I've even managed to work within the regulations on liquid substances (which, by the way, includes liquid gel cap OTC medicines because they're semi-liquid - which begs the question, what would happen if I packed a cat?). Everything is in order and ready to go.

Now if my debit card would just get here already, dammit.

As you might expect, I'm going to have very little Internet access for the next two weeks. I'm going to try to check my email every few days or so, because I should be getting a notification about my prospective job soon. But besides that, I think I'd rather spend my time seeing the sights - so that means no blog-reading (gasp!). So if there's anything you want to talk to me about, speak now or for-two-weeks hold your peace.

The prospect of going blog-less for a couple of weeks meant that I was eager to get my fill of blogs ... but also a little hesitant, because most of the worthwhile content I read is also rage-inducing in one form or another, and I don't want to start my vacation off on a sour note. But the Internet gods must be smiling on me, because I found a lot of things that pleased me:

( links! )

Okay, that's it from me for now. See you in July!

Reading the anti-feminist whinings of entitlement-junkies tends to get my blood boiling, but there are a few things that are just too funny to get mad about. Like, say, talking about men who are misandrist - and using Joss Whedon as your example. Because, y'know, if ever there was a man who loathed his own gender, and relegated male characters to the same sort of trivializing and degrading roles that misogynist creators use for female characters, it's Joss. All those well-rounded male characters with unique forms of internal strength and ingenuity, damn him.

He must be a misandrist in the same way Jackson Katz is. Or the same way that Tim Wise hates white people. God forbid someone call out their own group on their privileged bullshit.

(Does that make me self-hating, too, when I examine straight privilege or classism? Oh, but wait, clearly I hate men and white people too, right? So I guess I'm limited in my social circle to lesbians of color. Who better not be wealthy, damn them.)

Or maybe, just maybe, this is another case of the normalization of oppression, in which abuses of members of disadvantaged groups are ho-hum, but the slightest infraction against the privileged group is ZOMG! SUCH A CRIME. If members of a group are not "allowed" to do something, it's that much more of an offense when they do. Criticizing a dude's privilege? That's surely as grievous as belittling misogyny or commodifying rape!

That's why, you see, white kids who beat up a black kid are charged with battery, but black kids who beat up a white kid in relatiation are charged with attempted murder. Oh, and those nooses? Just a joke, you oversensitive PC-nazis!

*sigh* Sometimes there's too much ignorance in the world to comprehend.

Oh, well - I guess I can just go spit in a white man's coffee and make up for the history of colonialism or something.

[This is part of my series on Women and Violence, which I am writing as a project for a Women Studies course I'm taking. For an explanation and information on my intentions with this series, please see the introduction.]

Yesterday some of my classmates gave a presentation about female genital cutting (though the terminology they used, and which is probably more familiar to people, is "female genital mutilation" - a difference which I'll address later on). It's an important, worthwhile issue, and I'm glad our class is addressing it.

Still, every time the topic comes up in conversation I cringe inwardly.

( Here's why )

x-posted to Shrub.com

[This is part of my series on Women and Violence, which I am writing as a project for a Women Studies course I'm taking. For an explanation and information on my intentions with this series, please see the introduction.]

Next week I'm giving a presentation in class on cosmetic surgery in regards to women of color. Now, cosmetic surgery does not readily fall under most common definitions of 'violence,' and I find myself hesitant to categorically label it as such.

On the one hand, while cosmetic surgery does involve bloody alterations on a person's body, so does surgery in general, and we generally don't label that as violent - especially when voluntarily consented to by the patient. The fact that cosmetic surgery is often (though not always) agreed to by an autonomous individual does mitigate the physical damage it brings.

Of course, we are all aware that 'consent' is a sticky issue, and that we can't ignore the pressures that can constrain a person's ability to make a choice - particularly in the case of women facing pressures to be 'beautiful' in a certain way.

Furthermore, the same level of physical damage can be construed as 'violent' or 'non-violent' depending on the context. Full-contact sports can be performed just as ferociously as a street brawl, yet not be uncontrolled and violent. What's more, a session of safe, sane, and consensual BDSM can be non-violent, while the quietest rape perpetrated under clearly communicated threat is clearly not.

( Where else violence lurks )

x-posted to Shrub.com

Starting next week!

The Privilege Game
Monday, May 7
11:15-11:30 a.m. and 12:15-12:30 p.m.
HUB Lawn

Racism and Anti-racism: A UW Student and Faculty Dialogue
Wednesday, May 9
6:00-8:00 p.m.
ECC Black Room

"Anti-racist Organizing: How Does White Culture Become Activist Culture?"
Friday, May 11
6:00-8:00 p.m.
ECC Chicano Room

[This is part of my series on Women and Violence, which I am writing as a project for a Women Studies course I'm taking. For an explanation and information on my intentions with this series, please see the introduction.]

One of the most insidious ways of normalizing and justifying gendered violence is by tying it to tradition. By portraying perpetrators as if they were enacting the accepted practices of a culture, those in power position victims of violence not only against their victimizer, but also against the weight of a culture's history. Additionally, "tradition" is a popular buzzword that protects a practice from interrogation, hiding it behind a shield of maintaining history or honoring ancestors.

( Where that leaves women )

x-posted to Shrub.com

Next time you find yourself thinking, I swear I've heard this all before, whip out one of these handy bingo cards!

-Anti-Feminist Bingo by Lauredhel from Hoyden About Town
-Anti-Comics-Feminist Bingo by Karen and Betty at Girl-Wonder.org
-"Geek Girl" Stereotype Bingo by tekanji at Shrub.com
-White Liberal Bingo by i_dreamed_i_was

... In other news, I'm trying desperately to avoid falling into OMG-I-don't-know-what-I'm-DOING panic over the 10 page research paper I have due on Friday. And, um, haven't started. >_> Wish me luck.

Today, for the last meeting of my class on racism and white privilege, we had a panel of guest speakers who do anti-racist work from within the university. One was a white man, one a white woman, and one an African American man, so the issue was raised about allies. Allies, in the context of anti-oppression work, are members of a privileged group who work against that privilege: white people in anti-racism, men in feminism, etc.

Allies have a very different place in anti-oppression work than members of the non-privileged group. They don't have the firsthand experience of oppression, and so their knowledge of it is incomplete. They constantly risk perpetuating the oppression themselves - which, of course, all of us do, privileged or not - but with the added risk that, when they slip up, they hurt others rather than hurting themselves. However, allies are also powerful and helpful because of their very privilege, because they can use the social power that they have been arbitrarily and unfairly granted in order to work against the power structure.

Being an ally (and staying one) is also difficult and complicated. The panelists' discussions on what it means to be allies and to have allies (each of them was in a position to address both questions, due to their respective places in various social hierarchies) brought up several helpful points, which can help us as we think about creating and maintaining alliances in our work.

( On being an ally )

x-posted to Shrub.com

Unfortunately, I don't have the time or brainpower to make an entry about everything I want to say on Black History Month. In lieu of that, here's an article from The Nation that addresses a lot of the points I want to make: "White History 101" by Gary Younge.

One of my Christmas gifts from ratzeo was Body Outlaws, published by the woman-friendly Seal Press. It's a collection of essays by women attempting to rewrite body image outside of conventional beauty standards - and not just white, middle-class, straight women, but women who experience all forms of oppression, including racism.

The first essay is "My Brown Face," by Mira Jacob, an Indian-American woman who constantly finds herself fetishized by white men. Most women of color are familiar with this experience - the 'positive' counterpart of racist degradation - when men tell you how 'beautiful' and 'exotic' you are. This can be accomplished either through ebullient and chivalrous praise, or through crude and fetishistic verbal harassment; Jacob describes instances of both. These anecdotes are presented as contained sections of the essay, without direct commentary - and yet her indignation and disgust towards her 'suitors' is palpable.

I love this essay for the clarity and energy of the writing, the juxtaposition of caustic anger and humor, but also for the personal nuances that Jacobs provides, which are so gratifying to read because they echo my own experience. Very few voices from women of color are heard in the mainstream conversation on body image - one of the reasons I asked ratzeo for this book, in fact - and it was comforting to read things that were familiar to me, but so often overlooked by standard (white) analyses.

( more )

x-posted on Shrub.com

I have a ton of blog reading to catch up on, due to the fact that the last five days were jammed full with getting all of my Christmas shopping, writing all of my final papers, and doing all my winter-time celebrating (i.e., holiday party and my birthday). But here's the first thing to jump out at me:

Via Jenn at Reappropriate, Rosie O'Donnell makes a racist (anti-Chinese) joke. And surprise, surprise, no one does a goddamn thing about it.

One of the reasons this pisses me off so much is that I recently heard about O'Donnell having a public spar with Kelly Ripa over Ripa's homophobic comment. Ripa insisted she didn't intend to be homophobic, and O'Donnell replied, "I'm just saying from where I sit as a gay person in the world that I have to tell you, that's how it came off to me." In other words, as the non-privileged person, she (rightly) has the broader perspective concerning what is privileged or bigoted. However, when O'Donnell says that her racist comment "was not meant to mock," and Asian-Americans try to assert their perspective, we're told that we just don't have a sense of humor.

Bigoted "humor" is one of the things I hate most. Because when you try to call someone on their privilege, they always use the chickenshit response, "hey, it was a joke, get over it." Instead of taking two seconds to see what's wrong with what they said, they just carry blithely on. And what ends up as a throwaway comment for them is usually the 600th repetition of the oppression I have to face every damn day.

So, Ms. O'Donnell, let me tell you - being a lesbian who knows a lot about queer issues doesn't give you a free pass concerning other forms of oppression. Yes, white women can be racist too - that's kind of what one of the giant schisms in Western feminism is all about.

You know what? Just like I'm tired of sexism in the anti-racist movement, it's also really fucking tiresome to have to deal with racism in the queer movement, feminism, and everything else.

And while we're at it, you know what's not okay? This whole "nobody's racist anymore, but sexism is all over the place" whining from white women who don't have a clue what it's like to deal with both. Or any other form of "my oppression is the only one still out there, so you shut up about yours." We're all stomped on in different ways, so stop trying to be the special snowflake whose hardship is the worst.

On another topic, go take a look at Hey Hetero!, a public art installation in Australia that highlights straight privilege. Which I've got in spades. (Because, you know, being yellow and female doesn't mean I get to forget that I'm a straight person who doesn't get harassed for the gender of my partner. Who'd've thunk?)

You know what's sexist? White guys who see Asian women as exotic sex objects, something they can use in their porn-based fantasies about "sideways" vaginas. Why? Because everything about me is obscured by my sexual utility for them - they are attempting to define MY identity through THEIR penis.

You know what's ALSO sexist? Asian guys who think that Asian women aren't "Asian" enough if they don't exclusively date Asian men. Why? Because ONCE AGAIN my identity is being defined by a man's penis.

Look. I don't hold with the fringe view that women can only be feminists if they're lesbians, as if having sex with other women was the only way to be in solidarity with them. This is because women can have meaningful and supportive relationships with people that aren't characterized by what goes into their vaginas. Get it? WHAT I do, WHO I am, and WHAT I believe are not determined by whom I choose to fuck.

Oh, wait - that would be who fucks me, because clearly these perspectives treat women as passive sexual receptacles that can only have sex happen to them.

Stop exerting male privilege over me to make yourselves feel more important. Just stop. I don't care if you've got layers of privilege coming out your ass and this is just one more way for you to oppress people; I don't care if you're disadvantaged because of your color or class or whatever, and penis-privilege is all you've got. You DO NOT have the right to lift yourself up by taking advantage of the power society gives you over me.

I have the right to define my identity in the way that I want. That means who I date, but that's just a tiny part of it. It also means: who my important relationships are with, how I spend my time, what I learn, how I challenge the power structures around me.

I also have the responsibility to be aware of how my choices about my romantic relationships - among all the millions of other important choices in my life - affect me. But that DOESN'T mean doling out my sexuality based on the color of a man's penis. Or lack of penis. Or anything else.

I am not defined based on which men do what to me. I am defined based on my mind, not random parts of my body. My body is not the important part of me and my activism. MY VAGINA DOES NOT CONTAIN A MAGIC WELLSPRING OF POLITICAL SOLIDARITY, THANK YOU.

This rant brought to you by the letter FUCKING MORONS WHO CAN'T SEPARATE A WOMAN'S VAGINA FROM HER PERSONHOOD.

I was reading ahead for my English class (trying to stay afloat above the workload) and got to an article that my professor assigned for next week. ( This is the 'not' part )

( This is the 'faith' part )