Strong alone, fearless together

Anyone who insists on using archaic old gender roles or sentiments such as "weaker sex" has obviously never met me or any of the women I associate with. (*Note to my boys, this article is about female activists, but I like y'all too.*)

And anyone who thinks feminism is dead will have a lot to learn.

Meet the feminists of today. We're alpha females, and we are about as weak and fragile as steel. Strong alone, fearless together, we know what we want and stop at nothing to get it. Just take a look at any of the Fem Maj events of this year. Or take a gander at a Take Back The Night march (read my post "Let me Empower You" for a full account). Weaker sex, my ass. With all this evidence to the contrary, it's still a wonder that anyone would cling to those outdated gender norms. And why? Cause we happen to be the owners of two X chromosomes or ovaries? Give me a break!

Miss Landmine

Things just keep getting stranger and stranger.

Fast on the heels of my twin fashion blogs comes another one about standards of beauty and the like. Only this one isn't about what someone is wearing but rather about empowerment versus exploitation.

I learned about this website and project in my Gender/Women's Studies class, and I'm really bamboozled by it. I don't know if it is empowering or just plain exploitative. It's called Miss Landmine (http://www.miss-landmine.org), and it's a beauty pageant for women in war-torn countries who have had their limbs blown off by landmines. The goal, as stated on its website, is to raise awareness about landmines and their dangers and to celebrate different kinds of beauty. The women get to make themselves all gussied up, and the winner gets a golden prosthetic as a prize.

While I am totally for promoting different kinds of beauty (including of bodies that are considered "incomplete" or "damaged" by society), I'm not sure I can entirely support the idea of a beauty contest. In all fairness, I will say that I do like the slogan, "Everyone has a right to be beautiful," and that helping the amputee women to feel more confident in what they look like and do is a good thing. The confidence reflected in the smiles and poise of these women is really stunning. However, I'm still not entirely sold on the idea. The symbol for the landmine ladies is a "female" bathroom sign that is missing a leg, and the website has a theme song and opens with either a cartoon sunrise or explosion (can't tell which it is).

The prize is totally off the mark too. As members of a more privileged society (I believe the contest is originally from European folks), they should be focusing on ways to help all the women, as opposed to giving a gold prosthetic as a prize to the most attractive of the bunch. What about regular prosthetics for all the women who need them? Or rehabilitation? Or physical/occupational therapy so they can find jobs and live with fewer limitations? I mean, sure, bringing attention to disability awareness is certainly a good thing, but this seems to make a spectacle of a condition that's already unfortunate enough on its own. It sensationalizes it by using societally attractive women to be the "faces" of the effects of mines. What about the elderly indivduals who've had this happen? Or the men? Or the kids? Or (shock*gasp) the average-looking folks who've stepped on a landmine? I can assure you that they are also affected by mines.

It's a cause that's laudable, and maybe they need any means necessary to bring about awareness of mines and disability. I'm just not sure a beauty pageant is the way to do it.

Good Eats in Chambana!

Here is a shameless revelstyle promotion, but here goes:

Check out the Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant!

All entrees are $5 max, and they have un-freakin'-believable coffee for a dollar. They also have good hot treats for cold days coming up.

Also...for the regulars, the Herring is in danger of closing if they don't get more business. So don't let this fish go belly-up and try it out sometime. I've been there a ton of times, and they never disappoint. I'm not vegetarian or vegan, but it's good stuff (makes me consider going veg at times!). It's in the Channing Murray Foundation on Oregon Street in Urbana. And they have really funky painted walls and bathrooms too. So check it out!

Shirts, shoes, and the shield laws

And now ANOTHER ridiculous fashion article for you!

Apparently that love-a-ly (note my sarcasm) rag Men's Health has an article called "You Might be Dressed for Sex and Not even Know it." Hmmm....I could've sworn people knew when they wanted someone, as opposed to a hookup just happening all out of the blue and all. When someone tells you, "It just happened," well, it sounds just as pathetic no matter who says it. That article's title is pretty dumb, as it sounds like a really creepy rape myth or something like that (ever hear of the shield laws, that said that what you wear is not a reason for people to attack you? If I could hug the shield laws, I so would).

But take a gander at these examples of what women could be wearing and the messages they "are sending:" (This is not their exact wording but rather my interpretation of it.)

A belted dress or skirt
I'm totally old-fashioned and ladylike, and I don't mind having you make all the decisions for me or support what you think I should do. I'd be more than happy to do your bidding as long as you wore the pants and won the bread and brought home the bacon in this relationship.

A soft, snug sweater
I'm cute and cuddly and am totally up for you talking to me like I'm two years old. After all, I need a big strong man to put me in my place, and hopefully you're up for the job.

High heels
Hey you! Yes, you! Over there! I'm totally screaming for attention without saying a word. And of course, my shoes have to do the talking for me because I am in so much blistering pain that I can't possibly walk over to talk to you myself.

Something red
I'm a dirty little girl who just wants attention. It doesn't matter who it's from. After all, aren't guys like bulls, attracted to the color red?

Revealing v-neck
Don't blame me, blame my skanky ovaries. When it's that time of the month, I'm supposed to show off some more. Lucky you, huh?

A top that reveals a bra strap
I'm such a clever little girl that I'm putting subliminal messages into your head. You can see my bra? Good, now try and imagine what I look like in it...and with it off.

Now, how ri-damn-diculous is this? What about the real reasons why women wear these?

A belted dress or skirt
If I don't wear a belt with the skirt, it will fall down, and frankly, you didn't pay to see that show. Plus, this is a formal occaision and wearing anything else will look totally out of place.

A soft, snug sweater
It's, like, a million degrees below zero and if I don't wear a sweater, I will freeze to death.

High heels
I'm wearing the heels to go with that belted dress or skirt I mentioned earlier. It's more formal and looks more professional than if I had on athletic shoes or flip flops.

Something red
It's my favorite color, and it came in my size. Deal with it.

Revealing v-neck
The tank top I usually wear with it is in the wash right now. And I like the way it looks.

A top that reveals a bra strap
When I found this top in the clearance rack, I didn't know how badly it fit until I put it on. I'm burning it when I get home. No, actually, I'm spraying you with my pepper spray first because you're ogling me. Then I will take it home and burn it.

And what about men's clothes? Let's try and make a men's variation of it. After all, women have hormones and desires too. Are the men unknowingly dressed for a woman to have her way with them?

A polo shirt and khakis
I'm incredibly traditional and preppy and will make all the money and decisions for this family. You don't have to worry your pretty little head about voting or working or going outside the home. I've got that all taken care of.

Jeans so low that they reveal boxers
I'm such a clever little boy that I'm putting subliminal messages into your head. You can see my boxers? Good, now try and imagine what I look like in them...and with them off.

A tailored suit
I'm really hot. And damn it, I know I'm so hot that you've just got to look at me. And come over to me in your high heels. And come home with me...

Now doesn't this sound dumb....it does, as much as the women's one sounds! Seriously, are we as women considered to have so little agency or ability to express ourselves that apparantly have our clothes do the talking? And did you notice that up until my little post about the menfolk, that no one ever thinks a guy is sending a message that he might not be intending to. Heck, I'm pretty sure most guys don't even think this way or feel they have to justify what they have on.

That's sooo last century!

I was looking through a magazine to find some more jewelry ideas so I could make some new designs when I went home (need to bring some to 40 North to see if they'll include me in the Boneyard). And what did I find? Not too much in the way of jewelry (sadly!), but I did find a ridiculous fashion spread. Yes, I'm a fashionista, but this is beyond silly. It featured a ton of ladies in sweaters and softer clothes, but it also included these archaic quotes in there...

"It is assumed that the woman must wait motionless until she is wooed. That is how the spider waits for the fly." --George Bernard Shaw

"A woman can say more in a sigh than a man can say in a sermon." --Arnold Haultain

"I have a feeling that the phrase 'weaker sex' was created by some woman to disarm a man she was preparing to overwhelm." --Ogden Nash

Maybe I'm a little biased because about half my wardrobe is secondhand or revel stuff, and I could probably never afford the duds in the magazine. I don't know about you, though, but all of these quotes would more likely make me not want to buy these clothes. The thought of being motionless and sighing (as opposed to talking) kind of scares me. And did you notice that they're all by men?? It's so obvious that they're about how an idealized woman would act as opposed to how she actually does. Hmmmm.....

And if your policies aren't good enough, whip up a batch of cookies!

(Hey, I'm sorry if I'm boring you readers with tons of rantings in one night. The thing is, I'm writing a thirty-page paper about a rather disconcerting subject, and if I don't take little breaks from it, I may just be in serious need of Prozac tonight.)

With all the strides we as women have made, why is the "Presidential Cookie Contest" (which pits the wives of Presidential candidates against each other in baking cookies) still around?

I think it originated during the middle of the 20th century. But really, most first ladies are intelligent and successful enough in their own right. They don't need to re-assert their "values" by playing the happy housewife heroine. Plus, you are voting for the presidential candidate, not their spouses. If a woman were the nominee, would her husband have to make cookies? I don't know, but something in me tells me not.

I remember in fourth grade when Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Dole were in that contest, and I remember feeling really put off by it. Both women, regardless of which side you're on, are very strong and intelligent and wildly successful (they're both Senators and have had long careers in government, regardless of their famous husbands). While I have nothing against knowing how to cook, I remember thinking that I would never want to bake anything to placate a bunch of sexist pigs (unless it was their dead brain matter). Sounds harsh, but I am not here for proving my womanhood in outdated ways. Plus, knowing me, I'd more likely be the candidate myself and my partner would have to make the cookies. Or the two of us would skip 'em all together, and once I won the election, we'd whip up a batch to celebrate (and NOT share them with any sexist pigs and have 'em all to ourselves!).

Three cheers for self-promotion!

She's a revel
She's a saint
She's the salt of the earth
AND SHE'S DANGEROUS.

She's a revel
Don't you know it?
Activistic feministic
In your face and rockin' widdit.

She lives the revolution,
The dawning of our lives.
She is so liberated.
I just can't deny it.
No I just can't deny.

She's a revel
She's a revel
She's a revel
And she's dangerous!