Music video: Why Feminism is still relevant.

Link to blog post and video about Mackenzie McCollom, whose Title IX rights were violated when she became pregnant

Pregnant high school athlete faces discrimination:

Pregnant high school athlete faces discrimination

If you missed class when the video was show, there's a link to the ESPN video on the blog.

Warning signs in bars are gendered.

I misspoke today in class when I referred to federal law that requires warnings on bottles of alcohol.

It's actually state laws (in ILlinois, for example,235 ILCS 5/6-24a. Sec. 6-24a.) that require that places that sale alcohol display birth defects warning signs. Many states have these laws. These laws usually require a sign posted in a bar, and single out women.

Unlike the bottle of alcohol, these laws don't require bars to post warnings about how alcohol can affect everyone.

To learn more about the gendered aspects of state legislative policy with regard to alcohol and pregnancy, this is a reliable source.

Required for 5/3: Degendering Dance

Watch this video, Tightrope, by Janelle Monae, featuring Big Boi:

Degendering Dance… and Some History » Sociological Images



How is this a great example of how dancing doesn’t have to be sexualized or gendered by movement or attire?

What choices does Janelle make that emphasize talent, skill, and high quality art?

Remember to sign your full name.

MomsRising.org | Take a Minute for Fair Pay!

MomsRising.org | Take a Minute for Fair Pay!

1 of 2 options required for 4/26: Healthy Media act for Youth

Sign full name.

Last month, Congresswomen Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced H.R. 4925, The Healthy Media for Youth Act. The bill, which draws on research by Girls, Inc. and the Girls Scouts Research Institute, among others, focuses on the most harmful aspects of media, including unrealistic representations of female beauty, sexualized images of young girls and teens, and violence against women as entertainment.

The bill, which has been referred to committee, proposes a three-pronged strategy to combat potentially dangerous media images: Media literacy, further research on the impact of consuming media that depicts women and girls in a less than positive light, and the formation of a national task force, run by the NIH, on girls and women in the media. You can read the whole bill here.

Is this bill legislating morality? Or, given the many studies confirming a link between self esteem and adds that show women only with idealized bodies and being both only sexual and innocent at the same time, is this bill really about supporting women's health?

Please comment, but support your opinion with facts from the blog post and from Killing Us Softly 3.

Also, consider that while the media tells women that they should be unrealistically skinny, the media also tells everyone that they should be eating more junk food, and that happy people eat junk food. When was the last time you saw an ad for just plain apples or carrots?

1 or 2 options required for 4/26: The pro-choice movement would fail without young women

The pro-choice movement would fail without young women

Answer these 2 questions: What is Jessica, who wrote this blog post, mad about? As a young woman, who do you think should be making the decisions about when you have children and how many you have?

As a young woman, are you capable of making moral decisions about your own body and your life plans?

Sign full name.

Love Your Body: 2010 Poster Contest Winners

Love Your Body: 2010 Poster Contest Winners

On the Love YOur body Website, there are also links to the latest offensive ads.

Nebraska to pass extreme, first-of-its-kind anti-choice bill

Nebraska to pass extreme, first-of-its-kind anti-choice bill

YouTube - guerrillagirlsontour's Channel

YouTube - guerrillagirlsontour's Channel

Awesomeness Alert: Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

Watch this video by the Guerilla Girls:

Awesomeness Alert: Guerrilla Girls On Tour!

Britney Spears highlights airbushing in latest ad campaign

This: Britney Spears highlights airbushing in latest ad campaign is an extremely productive protest against airbrushing women's bodies.

This is just too cool not to post

The first Black valedictorian of Notre Dame is a WOMAN.

http://www.feministing.com/archives/020733.html

A first step in a feminist direction: The Healthy Media for Youth Act

This is really cool!

A first step in a feminist direction: The Healthy Media for Youth Act

Paid internship for African American woman

RCRC - Programs

Required: 1 of 2 options for 4/19: (sign full name)

(Picture: Feministing.com founding editor Jessica Valenti at her wedding)

In Monday's class Katherine wanted to know how to draw the line between being a "gentleman" (doing things like opening a door for a woman, which is also called chivalry) and being sexist.

In order to explore the answer to this question, please think about where chivalry comes from (it didn't always exist) and why women and men often like playing roles in which the man is chivalrous and the woman is "pampered."

What are the intentions behind chivalry? Is it okay for feminists to enjoy chivalry?

Required: 1 of 2 options for 4/19: (sign full name) Creation of a Federal Holiday Recognizing the Struggle for Women's Rights Petition

Use this link to sign a petition for a national holiday honoring Alice Paul's suffrage efforts.

Creation of a Federal Holiday Recognizing the Struggle for Women's Rights Petition

Required for 4/12: What is woman? Sign your full name.

In A Mercy, Toni Morrison defines woman in relation to man. Is it possible to define woman without referencing man? If so, how? What is a woman and who decides?

How does society define woman? How do you define woman?

Can Animals Be Gay? - NYTimes.com

I couldn't resist posting this--and with the cute pics it's just in time for Easter.

Can Animals Be Gay? - NYTimes.com

WIUM: Shiva: Genetic Ag Fails to Yield Benefits (2010-03-31)

In this interview with Dr. Shiva she sites mentions the study "Failure to Yield" that found that GM (genetically modified) seeds that come from MOnsanto and other large companies, are not the cause of crop yields.

WIUM: Shiva: Genetic Ag Fails to Yield Benefits (2010-03-31)

If you have time listen to the audio.

Cheers,
Dr. Stovall