So, yes, of course…sexism in America/North America is definitely normal, and feminists see this and that’s why feminism remains as a movement. However, according to Barbara Berg, a historian and new author of Sexism in America: Alive, Well, and Ruining our Future, says that it’s becoming too normal and that the condition that America is in right now in terms of women’s rights could very well be worse than ever before. Berg surveyed over 200 women, and interviewed 200 more for her recent findings.

The Toronto Star was able to have an interview with her, and I just wanted to point out a few excerpts:

Many of the ways that women go about their lives and men go about their lives are based on premises such as we had seen in the 1950s. A sense of difference over who had power.

Numerous women told me that would not challenge the authority of a male boss, that they were happy to have their jobs, that they felt that they had to accept – and this is very disturbing – a certain amount of sexual harassment, that they did not expect the same kind of promotions, that they were accepting the 70 cents to the dollar gender wage gap. (emphasis mine)

This information is quite disturbing, but not necessarily surprising to someone who really knows what’s happening within the realm of gender relations and gender inequality. Berg goes onto state that this has happened because “there has been a tremendous sense of acceptance of a hierarchical and patriarchal society again” (emphasis mine). And of course, this is utterly disappointing. Because we live in an apparent “post-feminist” society, people are so damn blinded to what is really going on.

Berg ends off the interview with some positivity, by saying that there are so many things that women can do to change this kind of attitude. She states,

Women also have tremendous power as consumers. Don’t buy Bratz Dolls. Don’t buy hypersexualized Halloween costumes. Don’t go to movies that brutalize or demean women. Choose women authors. Make sure that women’s history in the curriculum of your daughter’s school. Lobby your government. Run for office.

It’s a great, great interview. I didn’t even really cover even just a bit of it, so please head on over to the Toronto Star and read this amazing interview! She talks about everything from pop culture, to reproductive rights. Berg really has some great insights on what’s going on in our culture today and why it’s going on.

Go, Houston! Annise Parker is going to be the new mayor of Houston as of January 1st, and is an out lesbian.

Parker has never made her sexuality to be a secret, and “it became the focus of the election race after anti-gay activists and conservative religious groups endorsed Locke and sent out mailers condemning Parker’s “homosexual behavior.” Ick. Luckily, these efforts didn’t change the ultimate support that Parker had.

This is one great win for the LGBTQ community in Houston, but also the rest of the country. Awesome!

Hey Being Feminist readers! I just want to give a big apology for not updating as much as usually do! This past week I was sick and had two exams…so you can imagine the lack of time I had!

I’m now done all my school for the holidays, so I will get back to normal posting on Monday!

I cannot even express in words how much shock and anger came upon me when I heard about this extremely disgusting, homophobic bill proposal. RH Reality Check explains,

The bill proposes a seven-year jail term for anyone who “attempts to commit the offence” or who “aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage in acts of homosexuality.” Under the proposed law, “promotion of homosexuality,” including publishing information or providing funds, premises for activities, or other resources, is also punishable by a seven-year sentence or a fine of US$50,000. The bill seeks to apply the death penalty handed down for the crime of “aggravated homosexuality,” defined as a sexual assault committed against a member of the same sex who is under 18 or disabled. An HIV test would be forced upon anyone found guilt of the offense of “homosexuality.”

No one in their right mind would think this would pass, correct? Well, many gay rights activists in Uganda are saying that this is something that most likely will pass. David Cato, a gay rights activist in Uganda, says that there has been more of a gay rights movement in Uganda lately, which means that these laws are being put into place.

“It’s a question of visibility,” said David Cato, who became an activist after he was beaten up four times, arrested twice, fired from his teaching job and outed in the press because he is gay. “When we come out and ask for our rights, they pass laws against us.”

I for one sincerely hope that this bill does not get passed. There is a lot of international pressure on Uganda right now because of this bill, but only time will tell if this pressure will influence Uganda in any way.

I have been so busy, and will remain busy all weekend until Monday, which means I can’t post! So instead, I’m putting up lots of interesting links for you to go to and mull over! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Can women learn something from the gay rights movement?

Hm. Surprise, surprise. Rush Limbaugh thinks that people in poverty “don’t deserve healthcare”. You make me sick, Rush. Sick.

One story about a family’s difficult decision to have an abortion, while being a part of the Catholic Church. (They went to Dr. Tiller’s, by the way – there are some great things said about him.)

The Women’s Health Amendment was passed!

Operation Rescue (“pro-life” activist group) have a new target in Dr. Leroy Carhart.

Rosie the Riveter High, in Long Beach, CA is making some serious efforts to teach their female students the trades.

Finally, this Sunday, December 6th, marks the 20th anniversary of the Montreal Massacre, where the men were told to leave the room, while 14 women were murdered, just because they were women. Read the basic facts here.

This came to be rather shocking for me. I guess I always figured that New York would be one of those states that would legalize same-sex marriage. I was, however, wrong.

Today, the Senate voted down a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage, with the vote of 38-24. Eek. We can’t forget that there are 30 Republicans and 32 Democrats in the New York State Senate, so that could have something to with it as well. But clearly, some of those Dems voted against this bill to be passed.

The Catholic Church is of course rejoicing, and I am continuing to find more reasons to dislike this institution so much. However, it is so refreshing to hear what Senator Eric Adams, a Brooklyn Democrat, who considers himself to be a man of faith, said: “When I walk through these doors, my Bible stays out,”. That is music to my ears. Absolute music to my ears. He gets it. So many religious people think that they need to bring their personal religious beliefs into government and law, but in fact, it’s the other way around. As a pastor’s kid and person who is still practicing my faith, this is something that I have discovered slowly, but surely. Now, if only more people of faith (or here, I could probably use the more staunch “religious” term) could see this, understand this and demonstrate it in their own lives.

The 62 year old Meredith Baxter revealed this morning on Today, that she is a lesbian. She said that this is a later in life realization, which she only truly recognized when she started dating a woman seven years ago.

“I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was that kind of awakening,” she said. “I never fought it because it was like, oh, I understand why I had the issues I had early in life. I had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships.”

She has now been with her partner, Nancy Locke, for four years. She decided to come out, even though she said that she lives a very private life, because she didn’t want her partner to be pushed “back into secrecy”. She said they live their lives out daily in a comfortable way in Los Angeles.

Click here to read more.

I really couldn’t resist putting that picture up instead of the movie poster…I think it just makes my point come across better!

So anyway, by now, if you watch any TV, you have probably seen the advertisements for The Blind Side. I rarely watch TV and I have seen it a million times over. At first, I thought it looked like this wonderful, heartwarming, based on a true story type movie. However, the more I saw the previews for it, the more worried I got about this movie. I haven’t seen this movie, so I can’t speak on everything…but it just kind of irks me the wrong way.

I definitely have racial issues with this movie. I know it’s based on a true story, but I don’t really care. The fact remains that someone thought that this particular story was compelling enough to re-tell. But why was it compelling to re-tell? I absolutely have no doubt that this reason has to do with the fact that a white family is “saving” an African-American teenage boy. People think that this kind of shit is great. They eat this up. Because, “Ohhhh…that poor Black child! We need to help them! They can’t do anything themselves! There’s no hope for them! Our white privilege and resources is the only thing that will help all the Black babies and youth in the world!”

Of course, some white people, like the family in The Blind Side, feel sorry for minorities when they really just seem down on their luck. But a lot of these white people feel like this to make themselves feel better. I do not want to get down on white people for realizing that minorities are oppressed in many ways, but in so many of these cases, white people victimize the minorities without even considering how that person feels. That in and of itself is oppression. And what happens in this movie, is that this family takes in this African-American teenager and he just becomes soooooo great. All because of this white family.

The other thing that worries me is how this movie is being promoted. Generally, from what I’ve heard, it’s all about how the white family take him in. And how the white family helps him accomplish these football dreams. It seems to be focusing on what this white family is doing more than anything. I haven’t heard about his choices, his capabilities, his initiative, his determination, etc. It’s all about these white saviours.

If you aren’t one to believe that this movie brings up racial issues in the White-Saviour department, I want to ask you this question. Would the film studios ever make a movie where another African-American family “saves” another African-American child or teenager? Think about it, and get back to me!

Also, just want to point you to a much more articulate discussion about this White-Saviourness at Black Youth Project. It’s an awesome read.

Truth be told, I discovered the wondrous Lykke Li months ago, but she deserves the spotlight! When I discovered her months ago, I realized I had found one of my favourite new artists. The first thing I noticed about Lykke Li was that she uses music in an extremely interesting way. The first song of hers that I had heard was Dance, Dance, Dance, which is pretty much all beat, and it wasn’t the music we’re used to in the traditional sense. It brought around these new, interesting sounds I hadn’t heard much of before.

Alright, I’ll end my tangent. Lykke Li. She’s an indie artist from Sweden, who just released her first album Youth Novels, in 2008. Her album made it to #3 in Sweden and to #8 on the US Heatseekers. As well, her song Possibility is on Twilight’s New Moon soundtrack. She’s definitely been making people take notice of her in the music scene.

Please take a listen to her. She is a breath of fresh air, with her music being compelling and peaking your senses a bit more! Check Lykke Li out at her website or MySpace!

Because I love her so much, I am posting two of her songs! Enjoy!

Dance, Dance, Dance

Acoustic version of I’m Good, I’m Gone featuring Robyn

This morning, all 6 Richmond, CA gang rape suspects appeared in court. They all pleaded not guilty (eye roll) to their multiple sex related felony charges. Just a reminder, they are all being tried as adults, even though three suspects are 15, 16, and 17.

Here’s a beauty from a friend of one of the defendants:

“As far as with the girl, I’m not saying she is a bad person, but I feel that there had to be something that attracted them if they did it — I don’t know,” said a friend of a defendant Shyan Mason.

Suuuuuure. It had to be HER that attracted them to do it. It of course has to be ALL HER FAULT. Honestly, I’m just going to flat out say that some people are stupid. There, I said it. Anyway, even if she HAD started something with them, the fact that she said NO multiple times means that it’s RAPE. This WAS NOT consensual sex. What don’t people get? Why do people think that even if it’s “the girl’s fault”, that once s he says no, and the sex moves into rape territory, that the perpetrators are any less guilty? Idiots. Sorry, I’m just so sick and tired of people not understanding what the hell rape is.

Click here to read the full news article.