Critical Feminist Studies

So I watched The Undefeated and The Game Change, which I thought were veryopposite of each other, almost like two extremes.

In The Undefeated, there was very much of that traditional "documentary film" feel to it. It felt too clean and organized, maybe a bit unsincere to what truely happened. When it got the the part where the narrators discussed the downfall of Palin in US opinions, the reasoned that it was because she was conservative. She got so much flack because she's conservative.

The Game Change, on the other hand, was a bit to gritty and far fetched. Not to say that I don't believe Palin had a easy time during campain, but The Game Change really made her out to be completly--dare I say-- hysteric. In this movie, one of the characters (maybe it was the Woody Harrelson) addresses Palin's antagonists as throwing out "totally sexist attacks", pointing to Palin's gender as the "problem" than people are seeing with her.

Honestly, I can't say that I disagree with The Game Change in pointing out that Gender was part of the reason she got a lot of hate from the Americans. I do think it was a factor, but I think The Game Change addressed it to an extreme. I sort of doubt that the campaign manager was surfing youtube to find a hot female politician to run with McCain to win. Both stories, though, seem very unrealistic to me.

Tumblr discussion about congratulating men for being feminist, and the problems/possibilities in that. 

Original post HERE

Some Responses HERE

Irony of reblogging HERE

I found this article on feminist.com called "The Politics of Motherhood" that I found relevant to our discussions of Sarah Palin: http://www.feminist.com/news/womensleadership.html (The whole thread of columns in "Advancing Women's Leadership is pretty interesting)

Marie Wilson makes a good point about "female impersonators," something I think we discussed in relation to Sarah Palin, and I think she brings in some good points about the need for a kind of mother-like care for others in politics. I wonder if politics could be an exception to bell hooks' adversity to power feminism. If women are in positions where they can actually make policy, is that any more helpful than women who reach high levels in other areas? Is it even relevant to think about because women who run on a platform of motherhood wouldn't get elected?

dchin, sekang, and I wrote this Mantrafesto from bell hooks's statement and with Sara Palin in mind.

Mantrafesto:

The voices of “power feminism” tend to be highlighted in mass media. (42)

Media rewards those who reinforce structures that are already in place.

Structures in place put Sara Palin in the McCain campaign.

The campaign exists within a structure that bell hooks wants to break free from.

Break free from reform, engage in revolution.

Revolution and presidential campaigns do not coincide (?) cannot coexist (?) one does not lend itself to the other (?). 

feminist Politics is necessarily radical 
feminists Are made not born
Language is limiting 
statements are oppressIve 
just say No

dear.abby, rayj and aybala50

During our question-writing session in class last week most of my questions focused on the politics of a career choice. 

"What are the politics of selecting a job?

Of starting a career or learning a trade?

What are the differences between learning a trade and having a career in our social dictionary? What are the consequences of these differences?

Is anything "just" a job?"

A lot of my feminist reading as of late has been on the debate of the political vs private, and how the private more often than not, and whether we want it to be or not, is political. It's rather overwhelming to think that every decision I make is impacted by the political environment I move through, but it makes sense. It makes me hyper-aware of what and how I consume and speak, as well as the consumption of others. As a feminist (specifically aware that I am a white, upper-middle class, female-identifying, non-religious feminist) is there any decision I make that could be considered free of political thought?