What Does Tyler Perry Really Want?

I enjoy his plays and movies but I’ve always felt the same as Nichole here about his portrayal of women, which is not all that great:

There is little to dispute that [Tyler Perry’s] target audience is Black women, so let’s look at the message we’ve received so far from the play. A beautiful, ambitious driven woman is a promiscuous, shrill bitch and a danger to the home. A good woman doesn’t turn heads with her beauty, is soft-spoken, religious, and will wait- sexually and emotionally- for the right man to come along. We see this play out as well in the movie version of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?

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Poetic Propaganda

Crip Chick blogs:

I had the honor of joining radical women of color (many of who are your favorite bloggers, BrownFemiPower, Black Amazon, Little Light, Mamita Mala, Sudy, Nadia, and sooo many more) in putting together an amazing album that chronicles experiences around struggle, love, motherhood, redemption, healing and community. You can cop the CD in January, along with a zine and listening party curriculum, so be prepared! More details to come soon but stay on this— there are only 200 copies currently available.

[Hat Tip: brownfemipower]

Gentrification and Community Organizing

Jack blogs:

This Friday I’m heading to Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn for the premiere screening of Some Place Like Home: The Fight Against Gentrification in Downtown Brooklyn, a documentary by Families United for Racial and Economic Equality. FUREE, a community organization lead by and comprised primarily of low-income women of color, has been rallying the community in a fight against the rampant development that’s going down in Downtown Brooklyn and the surrounding area. While developers, big business, and politicians alike claim they are only trying to improve the community, the development is being conducted with little care or concern for the residents and small business owners who are already there. Some Place Like Home documents the struggle of FUREE, the neighborhoods’ residents, and small businesses against the forces that are trying to push and bulldoze them out. Check out the trailer below.

BFP on feminisms

Brownfemipower:

one of the big tricks that i discovered had been pulled on me was the trick of getting me to believe that there was such a thing as a “Feminist Movement.” there’s not. but i thought there was. and being a believer and student of ‘movements’–what are they, how are they made, where they come from–i sit back now, and am sort of amused by my naivete. i actually believed that just because people *called* themselves feminists, that must mean there *is* a Feminist Movement of some sort.

…

never belonged to a Feminist Movement, i belonged to a movement led and created and owned by *radicalized* women of color. Those women of color are, were and will always *remain* accountable to other women of color, whether those women are radicalized or not. I belong to a movement started by Gloria Anzaldua, Cherrie Moraga, Audre Lorde, and sustained by Incite! Women of Color Against Violence, Sista II Sista, the Zapatistas, UBUNTU, SPEAK, the AMC and so so so so many others. There is a melding of action with theory–a connection between the streets and academia.

Another Poor Excuse

Ms. Krish blogs:

It wasn’t always like this. From 1998 to 2003, female rappers such as Lauryn Hill, Eve, and Missy Elliott were among the genre’s most bankable artists. But nearly all of their successors — including Lil Mama, Kid Sister, Ms Dynamite, and Jean Grae — have struggled to connect with listeners. And it’s harder than ever to launch new talent. ‘‘Hair and makeup is killing female hip-hop,” says a source. ”The grooming cost to break a female rapper versus a male rapper is 10 times as much per appearance. That tends to have an adverse effect on a record company’s willingness to even entertain a female rapper.”

So let me get this straight: there aren’t any women MCs out there because they don’t want to foot the bill for a glam squad? But, somehow, Hollywood tends to make a killing suiting and booting these white girls while their careers, talented or not, skyrocket?

Carnival of Feminists #65

Maria Brumm hosts the latest Carnival of Feminists:

Welcome to the 65th biweekly showcase of the feminist blogosphere! Here’s just a taste of what’s inside:

1. Owning privilege is not about feeling ashamed, it is about acknowledging the benefits that one receives without having to work for them.
2. And now today an excited colleague announced that he had just discovered this totally new concept on the internet: white privilege! Even though I’ve been teaching the idea for over a decade, and it’s even discussed in our textbook, it was news to him.
3. Not a lesbian, not homosexual, but ‘gay’ with such venom I swear her eyes turned red, smoke came charging out of her ears and she was probably trying to get god to strike me down to hell where I stood.

Given that, one would have to wonder, what would a chimp do with human breasts?

Miss Navajo: Reconceptualizing Native American Beauty

Renee blogs:

Yolanda Charley, recently won the title of Miss. Navajo Nation.  I am normally against beauty contests, as I see them as nothing more than the performance of femininity for the male gaze.  The Miss Navajo Nation is like no other pageant I have ever come across.

…

What I love about this contest is that it is more than women parading around with fake smiles, with their bathing suits taped to their skin, to avoid being swallowed by their asses.  Miss Navajo is about celebration, and the perpetuation of  culture.

64th Carnival of Feminists

The 64th Carnival of Feminists is up:

Come one, come all, to the 64th Carnival of Feminists!  I’m your host, Earlgreyrooibos, and I’m thrilled to be presenting this cross-section of the feminist blogosphere to you!  Happy reading!

The F-Word Blog First Women of Colour & Beauty Carnival kicks off…

Soaring blogs:

This Carnival is intended to focus on beauty and what it means to and about women of color. In particular, I would like to see discussion go beyond a focus on the ways in which women of color can internalize self hatred to the ways in which women and communities of color recognize and celebrate beauty.

Submissions from women and men of color are welcome, focusing on these areas:

[Hat Tip: Jess]

The Porn Industry and Exploitation

Renee blogs:

Normally I am in agreement with most things that Noam Chomsky has theorized but in this case I must respectfully disagree.  The idea that the decision to work in the porn industry is simply a result of womens exploitation ignores the degree to which womens agency can make this an active choice.  While all paid labour in a capitalist economy is defiantly exploitation, working in the porn industry is not more exploitative because what is being produced is sex, or rather the imitation of  reciprocal sex.

Why is sex work necessarily more degrading than working at McDonalds, or a  Dunkin Donuts for that matter? Both involve the sale of ones body, and labour power to a certain degree. Both involve not being adequately compensated vis a vis profits versus wage, yet pornography is deemed horribly degrading. I submit that this because women’s sexuality is only culturally acceptable when it is virginal in nature.

BrownFemiPower: Fighting through the Confusion of Anger

BrownFemiPower blogs:

I’ve seen with my own two eyes right on this blog exactly how productive conversations with white women can be. I’ve seen incredible love and support and questions and challenges and answers and gotten insane amounts of help from white women.

I’ve also seen right on this blog (and in blog land in general) exactly how unproductive conversations with white women can be. I mean, how many times will radical women of color organizers be called “intersectionalists” before somebody finally figures it out?

Carnival of Feminists No. 59

The latest Carnival of Feminists is up at Philobiblon:

Welcome to the Carnival of Feminists, which begins with an apology, for the hiatus since the last, which was due to my disappearing under a deluge of work, from which I’m slowly extracting myself.

So there’s more than a month of nominations here, and I decided the best thing to do was to collect them, to allow a new host a managable run.

And the next host will be Unmana’s words, on July 9. She kindly came asking if I needed hosts. You can use the nomination form to send links to her, or email her at unmana AT gmail DOT com.

A Woman’s Work (is never done)

Krish blogs:

Is this what feminism looks like, or what capitalism can only accommodate for the educated woman in new millenium? Sandra Tsing Loh writes a compelling rebuttal to Linda Hirshman’s “marvelously cranky ‘Get to Work … And Get a Life, Before It’s Too Late’ ” book that asserts the workplace as a highly-fulfilling, nonstop thrill ride to becoming a complete human being; an almost revist to bell hook’s critique of the Feminine Mystique: what job do you have and why the hell isn’t mine as fulfilling and pleasurable as yours?!

14th & 15th Carnival of Radical Feminists

The 14th Carnival of Radical Feminists is being hosted by Meta Watershed:

Welcome, good folk, to the 14th Carnival of Radical Feminists! I am very honored to be your host for this month’s excellent spread of feminist thought. I’ve selected a bumper crop of 28 submissions for your perusal — one for each day of our lunar cycle. I earnestly hope you will use this opportunity to not just read some choice posts, but to also discover new blogs, add them to your links and blogroll, and continue to grow our community in all its diversity. It’s been a tremendous experience this month. Pass it on! — Maggie Jochild

And the 15th is up at Rage Against the Man-chine:

Hello, my fine-feathered friends, and welcome to the Fifteenth Carnival of Radical Feminists. I’m Nine Deuce, and I’ll be your guide through this round-up of some of the best current radical feminist writing on the internet. I am, quite simply, stoked to be hosting this installment of the Carnival, and I’d like to thank all of the women who submitted these excellent posts, as well as Heart at Women’s Space for putting the whole thing together. I won’t bore you too much with corny platitudes, but I do want to say that I am thrilled that this Carnival exists to provide women around the world with a means to share their experiences, thoughts, and feelings in a free and supportive environment, and to allow us the opportunity to learn from and collaborate with each other in our efforts to make the world a safer and better place to be a woman. That’ll be enough from me. On to the posts…

Feminism and Whites

Ashley blogs on Linda Hirshman’s article in the Washington Post:

Part of what we do, when we struggle to take an intersectional approach, is try to challenge the automatic “normalcy” that our culture has given those in dominant groups. By locating middle-class white women at the center of her vision of what constitutes “women,” Hirshman is utterly missing the point of intersectionality. Including (or making central) people who are not white, middle-class women in our vision of what constitutes an end to patriarchy is not the same as excluding white, middle-class women from our vision. It is simply moving them from the place of automatic privilege and centrality our culture has given them in relation to other groups of women, which allows us to understand oppression in a more realistic way. Even if we’re willing to grant Hirshman the point that feminism should only worry about those women who constitute a “majority” of women, white, middle-class women are NOT THE MAJORITY OF WOMEN.

Clinton and Misogyny

Brownfemipower blogs about the recent lose of Hilary Clinton (we’ll, technically not a lose yet):

I feel your loss, I understand why it hurts to see a woman lose, probably (I disagree, but I am willing to see your point) because of sexism.

But some of us who care about institutional misogyny don’t feel a loss at Clinton not being elected. There would have been no barrier broken if she were elected. I personally don’t look at Clinton and think–geez, look at all she accomplished–now I can do the same thing–I think–geez–she supported the militarization of the Mexican/U.S. border. There are women now being raped, arrested, imprisoned, and ripped from their children because she actively supports increased militarization at the border.

A New Paradigm for Thinking About Prostitution

Louise Livesey blogs:

Over at Genderberg is this piece on a new paradigm for thinking about prostitution. And it’s fabulous!

To cut to the core, it argues new moves in Sweden and Scotland are part of a move from a Build-A-Better-Whore paradigm to a Build-More-Sexually-Responsible-Men paradigm

58th Carnival of Feminists

The 58th Carnival of Feminists is up at Be a Good Human:

Welcome to the 58th edition of the Carnival of Feminists! I’m seriously, seriously thrilled to have you here. If you missed the 57th edition, go check it out at Pandemian.

(And while I have your attention, please take a quick sec and vote for my new blog name over to the right. Thanks!)

So I’m going to break down these excellent submissions based on things my 13 year old sister has said to me. (Translations in parentheses.)

Seal Press, Feminism, and Racism

Karnythia states:

I also see people talking about the need to give Amanda Marcotte a safe space from which to respond. Maybe it’s just me, but why exactly is it that WOC aren’t entitled to the same calls for safe space? If we’re supposed to be sisters then shouldn’t safety for us be a priority? AFAIK there is exactly one community devoted to safe space for WOC on the internet and I created it. My co-mod and I work very hard to keep the voyeurs, trolls, and bigots out and the community members guard the space jealously from anyone that might slip past us. And I wish we didn’t have to do that, but I look at this book and the responses to it and the original Seal Press fiasco and I think that we are operating in very hostile territory and the only choice WOC have is to pull back and operate our own spaces in our own ways because we can’t expect anyone to fight for us. And yes, I know many of the people reading this are truly allies and I’m not saying this to hurt you. But we’re going to need you to commence cleaning up your house before you can help us clean up the world.

BrownFemiPower’s Final (?) Words

BrownFemiPower says:

I wrote what I wrote to say that there either is a feminist movement or there isn’t—and if feminists can’t even be called on to point to the work that other feminists are doing—if simply pointing to a whole sphere of pro-immigration bloggers (because, to be clear, I stated pro-immigration bloggers and men and women bloggers of color NOT brownfemipower) who have been blogging incessantly about this is too much work for feminism—well, then there’s no fucking feminist movement.

…

I never said that it’s important to recognize that I had the idea first. I don’t give a shit who came up with the idea first—even if it WAS me. I don’t give a shit who thought of what first. I don’t fucking want credit for anything outside of existing. (For those who care, what I really said: There’s a lot of women of color (and men of color!) who have talked about immigration. There’s a lot of women of color and men of color who have examined how sexualized violence has been the foremost result of the “strengthening” of borders. There’s been a lot of us who have insisted for a long time now that immigration is a feminist issue, goddamn it, get your head out of your ass.

I even wrote a whole speech about it (link not available–BUT for those who DID see the speech, do you happen to recall that long list of LINKED work at the beginning of the speech?).

…

This was NEVER ABOUT FUCKING BROWNFEMIPOWER except in the sense that I BELONG to immigrant communities and I BELONG to pro-immigration blogger community and I BELONG to the women of color community and I THOUGHT I belonged to a feminist community.

This was about women of color constantly being written out of feminism, being written out of our own communities BY feminism—then being beaten up by feminists with JUST DO IT, JUST DO IT, JUST FUCKING DO IT YOU LAZY SPICS.

…

I know I’m brownfemipower and I want to end violence against women. And I wanted to do that with all the women who keep insisting to me that we are all in this together and we have common problems that we have to work against and we’re all sisters, and there is such thing as a commonality of experience between us all—as I said in my original post—I thought feminism was important because it brought women together (I had thought at one time that feminism was about justice for women. I had thought it was about centering the needs of women, and creating action in the name of, by and for women. I had thought that feminism has its problems but it’s worth fighting for, worth sacrificing and sweating and crying and breaking down for.)

…

I realize now that “feminism” and I stand in direct opposition to each other—that the feminists who aren’t actively working against me and my community are, like Seymour Hersch, few and far between.

This has caused a radical shifting in my thinking. A shifting that I have no desire to work through online—but that I need to think through before I can act. I am not giving up. I am just thinking. And resting. And reading my beloved books and soaking my tired dogs.

Cuz giiirls, my dogs are TIRED.

As I said in my last post—I will find you, and you will find me.

Carnival Against Sexual Violence 45

The 45th Carnival Against Sexual Violence is up at abyss2hope:

Welcome to the Apr. 15, 2008 edition of the carnival against sexual violence.

Thank you to everyone who nominated a post or who wrote a post against sexual violence whether it was nominated/selected or not. Nominations that came in after the nomination deadline will be considered for the next edition of the carnival.

If you support the purpose of the carnival, you can help get the word out about it and all of the posts included in the carnival.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Blog Against Sexual Violence Day which I coordinated for the second year in a row.

Women of Color Blogging, Feminism, and Brownfemipower

Holly, at Feministe, blogs about the recent news surrounding the shutdown of Brownfemipower’s blog and white feminists appropriating ideas from women of color:

What I care about is that when white feminists undertake to write about the issues of women of color — such as immigration, which is clearly a massively race-infused issue — they should do so in solidarity with women of color. In ways that give political voice to women of color, to immigrants, to those whose voice is generally not heard as loudly.

When any of us have a soapbox, an opportunity to get up and talk, we must continue to stand by those who aren’t called on. If you want to consider yourself an anti-racist or a white ally to people of color — if you want anyone else to consider you those things — then it behooves you to swim against the current. If everyone did, perhaps the tides would turn, even if it was just in our corner of the blogosphere. And sometimes all you have to do is simply call out the hard work of another woman who went before you, who has paved the path that you’re walking down with research and ideas and words and strong feelings. All you have to do is cover your bases, pay your respects, and make sure you can’t be read as trying to take sole credit.

[Hat Tip: Alas, a blog]

57th Carnival of Feminists

The latest edition of the Carnival of Feminists is up at pandemian:

Welcome to the 57th Carnival of the Feminists, Littlejohn Baiting Edition.

Radicalism and Women, Action, and the Media Conference

“Sudy” blogs about WAM and what radical feminism means to her:

Radical is not negative, folks. There seems to be a misunderstanding that when womyn of color are angry, it’s all negative. From the WOC I am in community with, there is anger. Lots of it. It’s in our blood from a life line of violence, rape, and racism. I think people hear what they want to hear and what they want to hear is the anger, it makes WOC easier to dismiss. But, the creative energy, the laughter and light is ten fold the anger. I’m angry, sure, but I’m much more than the anger and I believe in more positivity than I do in bitterness.

How does that relate to WAM?…

[Hat Tip: Zenobia of Mind the Gap]

12th Carnival of Radical Feminists

Debs hosts this months carnival over at The Burning Times:

Welcome to the 12th Carnival of Radical Feminists – a celebration of radical feminism! We are sisters, all of us, and with our hearts and minds and actions, we can change the world.