Notes from Feministing 2/9 at Haverford College

Hey all, these are the notes I took at the Feministing talk at Haverford College last night. I hope they are useful, or at least amusing.

1st speaker:

• Australian
• "stealth feminism"
• feminism that doesn't call itself feminism
• BAGGAGE --> some is completely deserved
• Doesn't deserve baggage by those who want to see it fail, who don't want to see women have equal pay, etc (right of who to have sex with/how often, right to have children, etc)
• Poverty, democratic representation, sexual assault
• STEP ONE: Pop culture
• The Ugly Truth: "No one wants to fuck comfort and efficiency" (re: clothes that feminists wear"
• View with a critical eye
• Meeting people where they are and using language they understand (re: stealth feminism/how to explain feminism)
• If you need proof that sexism is "alive and well" in America, look at pop culture
• "You take [pop culture] too seriously"
• Pop culture is a gateway drug to feminism
• Start with: Dancing with the Stars, rap songs, romantic comedies (romcoms) --> very clear to see faults
• Then move to: politics, literature, own relationships
• Feminism is alive and well and it needs you

2nd speaker:

• Cuban
• "You think we'd be over this by now" --> Body hatred (losing weight, dieting)
• Queer and genderqueer --> let go of a lot of the norms around female presentation
• Men's clothing as more comfortable/covering for own body
• Mom -->hated her own body. Peers too
• Dad expressed fear that ze would be like hir aunt. Aunt is large, but no health problems. Successful, happy (but dieting)
• The weight always comes back, and then some
• Dieting [almost] always makes people fatter
• This view (anti-dieting, pro-body image) is unsupported by medical references, the media, mom
• We need feminism and social justice
• [Body hatred] keeps marginalized groups more marginalized
• Skin lightening
• Plastic surgery
• Hair straightening
• Internalized view --> always hated body
• "When justice has a body"
• Do you ever find it difficult to live the things you espouse?
• Major step --> getting to see what real bodies look like (sometimes hard if you aren't naked all the time or having sex all the time)
• The power of simply being seen

3rd speaker:

• Indian/South Asian
• "And through my journey I ended up writing about loooove and shit"
• Idea of arranged marriage --> Someone's going to go to jail and someone to the hospital
• Madonna --> first intro to feminism
• RIOT GRRL
• Kathleen Hanna
• "When you're an outspoken woman, people respond to you in really weird ways" --> yearbook comments, "I know I'm a lowly white guy..."
• "I was like the feminist mean girl, but all my friends were queer so it was ok, I was defending them" (laughter)
• Hip-hop as entry into racial politics (when hip-hop was good)
• "Am I affiliated with my race or my gender?
• Bell Hooks, Angela Davis, Kimberle Crenshaw
• Re: race: "If there are no stories about you, do you exist?"
• "How do you create a space [to exist in]?"
• Feminist publishing houses [?! --> look into]
• Consistent, similar themes of dating books for women.
• Sexist dating myths:
• Women are fragile, passive flowers
• All dating situations should lead to marriage/is a step towards finding a dude to marry (even casual sex)
• Don't be a pushover, but don't be a bitch
• Men are simple, women are complicated
• Men are vagina-hungry manbeasts: pizza, beer, vagina
• "I don't know what's worse in dating books--the caricatures of women or the caricatures of men"
• "I don't want to be an anti-romantic but...is this serious?"
• Media hinges itself on antiquated ideas of gender, sexuality, etc.
• The most radical thing you can do for yourself is not take any advice
• Tumblr --> Occupy Valentine's Day
• Truly make it about love
• Push ourselves out of this idea of heteronormative romance

Q&A

• There needs to be accountability for men as well
• Crisis in masculinity is that we can't let go of antiquated notions of masculinity
• Identity representation in internet-based activism
• More recently, people are being pushed to be themselves online (not just an avatar)
• Multiple shortcomings of identity politics
• Even if you identify with a community, it doesn't mean you get to represent one (implications for us?)
• Paralyzes people with privilege from talking about certain issues --> you can't talk about race if you're white, etc.
• Just acknowledge your privilege!