A Healthy Dose of Feminist Reading

I probably spend more time than is entirely healthy on the internet - a decent portion of which is spent on blogs. This can lead to all sorts of side effects. I can keep up with the lives of old friends and peek into the lives of complete strangers in a somewhat voyeuristic fashion. I see people posting pictures and descriptions of new shoes and other goodies that I want and have to talk myself out of overextending my budget to snatch up - not to mention learning how to control envy and be happy with how much I really do have. And on the political side of my internet meanderings I can become better informed - learning new facts and pondering new perspectives. Or I can just get really pissed off.

I could rant and rave on all sorts of issues raised by articles like those below; and someday when I feel like I have something original, insightful or at least coherent to say I probably will. For now I'll just say that I wish people could just treat people like people. Not sex objects, or any other kind of object. Not bags of cash. Not impersonal stereotypes. Not obstacles in the way of what we really want and really value. Just people.

In that light if you're in the mood for some feminist type thoughts (and more than a little ire) here are a few things that have caught my eye lately.

The Fourth Wave: Motherhood Feminism - The next phase for feminism is truly respecting and supporting motherhood. We've gotten better at (some) forms of gender equality, especially in the workplace, but this equality shatters as soon as motherhood is factored in. The #1 risk factor for poverty is motherhood. We need to fix this - or at least start talking about it.

Let's hear it for the boys and The standards for fathers - And speaking of motherhood, we've got to talk about fatherhood. I love all the examples in the first post and subsequent comments about the huge value of and service offered by so many men. And as for the second, I love seeing how much how we think about fathers and families is changing. I think one of the best things to come from feminism is the freedom given to men to engage more fully in some of the wonderful things that men of old have missed out on just because they were thought of as exclusively feminine. Families are wonderful, and the more all people, men and women, are able to really fully engage in all of that, the better things will be for everyone.

The Obama's Marriage - Speaking of families, here's a piece on how one very driven, very modern, but still very family focused couple has tried to make things work.

The Women's Crusade - I've heard a lot of wonderful things recently about how essential supporting women in developing nations is to bringing them out of crushing poverty. This article excelently outlines how simple and how essential supporting women is to supporting the world. But on the flip side, I share this article's concerns about treating the empowerment of women as a means to an end, rather than a worthwhile end in and of itself.

Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced - a practical look at some simple things that good guys can and should do to take rape culture down a peg or two (because really, rape prevention isn't about self defense classes for women - it's changing how we think about rape and people choosing not to rape or support rape)

Have you tried not being so sexy? - A sort of companion piece to Schrödinger's Rapist and a brief look at how we treat women as presumably available objects (some language that may offend people who aren't me)

And if your looking for something a little more entertaining but still with a bit of a thoughtful feminist flavor, may I recommend checking out Dollhouse? I'm a huge Joss Whedon geek fan, which would be enough for me to fall in love with this show. But the more I watch it, and the more the show has gotten into the swing of things, the more I find myself falling head over heels for the way this show deals with humanity, consumerism, objectification and all sorts of other things that shape our society (and that I am now convinced will lead to a horrifying dystopian future). Some of the most recent episodes are on hulu - although being a Joss Whedon show, knowing the mythology and everything else set forth in earlier episodes is probably helpful, so go wander over to SurftheChannel or someplace like that and enjoy your weekend.

In the spirit of recipricioty I'm always looking for new things to read and obsess over, so any suggestions or thoughts or anything really is always appreciated.