So much for weekly updates huh?

I try, I fail. Whaddya want, I'm human :(

"(...) At the end of the war, Japanese women couldn't just stay behind as housewives, looking after their children anymore. They felt they had to work to raise the country back up, and have an equal stake in maintaining their families."
-Riyoko Ikeda, manga artist and musician, author of The Rose of Versailles (aka Lady Oscar).

Honor your Radical Ancestors (@ The Portly Dyke) - In this personal account, Portlydyke presents why it's important to give credit where credit's due for second wave feminism.

"Real dads not lesbo dads" Says New Fathers 4 Justice (@ The F Word blog) - Milly reports on New Fathers 4 Justice protesting the rights of lesbian parents. Apparently, NF4J is an offshoot of people who were banned from the original group.

Framing Reproductive Rights (@ RH Reality Check thru Vimeo) - Amanda Marcotte dissects how the anti-choice movement utilise language to distribute disinformation about reproductive rights. See the rest of the series here.

Oh, not the Carnival for Sexual Freedom and Autonomy (@ Questioning Transphobia) - Lisa reports how another Feminist carnival gets bogged down in transphobia.

Whose feminism is it? (@ The F Word features) - Annika poses an important question: does Feminism reach women from ethnic minorities, teenagers and those who haven't attended university?

Trans-homosexuality (@ Black Looks) - A guest blogger for Black Looks tells her story about being a trans lesbian in Africa.

Nepal Formally Recognizes "Third Gender" (@ The F Word Blog) - Laura reports on an interesting development in the fight for recognition of alternative genders.

Target Women series (@ Current) - I know I'm late to the party, but here it is... This fantastic video series presents how ridiculous and blatantly sexist advertisement of 'female' products is. Nothing from Chick Flicks to Contraception, escapes host Sarah Haskins.

Genocide and Julie Bindel (@ Taking Up Too Much Space) - Cedar discusses Stonewall UK's nomination of Julie Bindel for journalist of the year, and how this is extremely damaging to the trans community.

Femilinks, We're Not Dead Edition!

"Whoops, I am a lady on the Internet. My bad."

-Kate Beaton, Cartoonist, Troublemaker

If you're reading this, there's a good chance we didn't die when they activated the Large Hadron Collider. Presumably, as I write this a large rift in time and space is not opening, thus preventing a host of alien creatures from propagating in Earth's soil. If that were not the case, I pray for a few MIT-trained physicists with crowbars to save us.

Also, Femilinking isn't dead! Don't be silly, o readers. All five of you. I've just been away for a while. Onwards!

Radical Masculinity - A feminist-informed blog about re-evaluating masculinity. It's trans-friendly, sex positive and anti-oppression. A great resource and I hope it keeps going for a long time!

Femmes of Power Review (@ The F Word reviews) - Milly reviews Femmes of Power: Exploding Queer Femininities. In this book, Lagrace Volcano and Ulrika Dahl mix photographs of femme queer people with third-wave discussions of gender and queerness.

Ewww! You got your other issues in my Feminism! (@ Feministe) - Latoya fields the common complaint "How is this a feminist issue?", with examples from her experience. She lays out why this is very silencing and disempowering to people whose oppression isn't just gender-based, but rather, works on an intersectional basis.

So, we all talk about "feminism" an awful lot... (@ I Shame the Matriarchy) - Antiprincess humorously tackles the quest for that elusive, 'pure' feminism.

Non-gendered recognition (@ The F Word blog) - Helen highlights Christie Elan-Cane's fight for the legal recognition of people who identify as neither gender. It's a call to action, so please read!

Shall we talk about Privilege? (@ Feministe) - Renee writes an insightful article on how to fruitfully acknowledge and challenge one's privilege, how it's not about guilt and shame but about hard work.

Cis Privilege Checklist (@ Taking Up Too Much Space) - Cedar presents a Cisgender/Cissexual privilege checklist. This follows the same format as the better-known White Privilege Checklist and Male Privilege Checklist, both of which are also worth a read. Incidentally, Cedar has written a stupendous essay called Beyond Inclusion, which is available for a small donation of 5 USD plus shipping. It deals with the debate about the inclusion of trans women in women-only spaces, and deconstructs it very skilfully. I thoroughly recommend it.

Transphobia and Medical Care (@ Questioning Transphobia) - Queen Emily talks about transphobia she received when going for medical treatment, a frequent occurrence for trans people everywhere.

Stealth was a Mistake (@ TransGriot) - Monica debates the history of 'stealth' being pushed on trans people, and how this has not been beneficial to the community.

Friday Femilinking, I'm off to Leeds for three days 25th of July edition

"I do wish your lot had the decency to shoot me."
-Countess Markievicz, Irish revolutionnary.

(I'm going to go back and add a quote and a description to each of the persons I've put up here. Also, apologies for delays in posting, stuff's been hectic).

Why film schools teach screenwriters not to pass the Bechdel Test (@ The Hathor Legacy) - A woman who studied screenwriting tells the story of why Hollywood is fighting tooth, nail and claw to keep film scripts as white, male and straight as possible.

Well, that was bound to happen (@ Feministe) - Holly dissects upcoming videogame Fat Princess, as well as taking on entitled misogyny and size-ism from the worst parts of the gaming community.

Time Magazine surveys women's rights and declares them a failure (@ Pandagon) - Wherein the fact that Time magazine glorifies sexual puritanism is discussed. And it gives me a headache. Sigh.

Tools for white guys who are working for social change and other people socialized in a society based on domination (@ Colours of Resistance) - This is an oldie but I dug it up this week looking for male feminist ally links. I first read it in the RAG gathering booklet. It's a great read for activists to be aware of class, gender, race and sexuality privileges.

Ashley Crawford: Post-Gender (@ BMEZINE.com) - An interview with tattoo and body modification artist Ashley Crawford, talking about her take on gender-based modifications and transcending social concepts of gender.

Transphobic tropes series (@ Questioning Transphobia) - A great series of articles about typical transphobic tropes from all ends of the spectrum. Emily analyses a number of issues:

"Really" a Man/Woman - About the trope of deception, and the idea that someone can never escape their biology. This tackles both the misogynist and essentialist-feminist perspectives.

Patriarchal privilege - Emily discusses how trans people are accused of having patriarchal privilege, ignoring the great lack of privilege that trans people must face in a great number of areas such as employment and housing.

Reifying gender - Here, Emily discusses the accusation from many theorists that transsexuals are simply sticking to the gender binary when we should all be defying it.

Friday Femilinking, Eleventh of July, Two-Thousand and Eight.

"I taught our women how to speak, but don't know how to make them silent."
Anna Akhmatova, Russian poet.

Stephanie Toumi - an indictment of our immigration system (@ The F Word blog) - The story of Stephanie Toumi's deportation from the UK back to Cameroon, over the course of which she was assaulted and badly injured.

When Fanny Rocked (@ AfterEllen) - Jamie Anderson tells the story of Fanny, a trailblazing all-female rock band from the 1970s. The article includes quotes from the members and tells of their troubles with the male-dominated rock scene of their time.

Activism embodied (@ Clamor Magazine) - A roundtable discussion between Leslie Feinberg Geleni Fontaine, and Shira Hassan, facilitated by Nomy Lamm. The article discusses the issue of personal embodiment's relationship with activism, and how it can be embraced to gather movements together.

Not a happy birthday (@ The F Word) - Amity Reed presents on the issue of childbirth rape, and how it seems to be a rather troubling, prevalent and power-laden form of abuse in society.

Choice Ireland Month of Action against the WRC (@ Indymedia Ireland) - Choice Ireland, the organisation I am part of, calls for a month of action against the anti-choice, anti-women agency WRC. This agency gives false medical information and bullies vulnerable women with a variety of tactics to discourage them from having an abortion.

Kyle Payne: There is no debate, this is wrong (@ Renegade Evolution) - Ren exposes Kyle Payne, an avowed radical feminist male who has pledged guilty to the charge of, while being an assistant in a student hall, breaking into a woman's room and taking pictures of her breasts. Ren links to a blogroll that is exposing this creep on the internet.

On a personal note, Kyle Payne, you're the embodiment of everything you hypocritically claim to hate. And if that weren't enough, you have done nothing but a disservice to all the feminist allies out there that have done so much to help the movement become stronger and more diverse.

Finally, on a lighter note, Alison Bechdel ponders the idea of the compulsory reading of literary classics, in her own, inimitable style as a comic-book artist.

Tuesday femilinking, 01/07/08

"You rarely have [male superheroes] killed in ways that thrust their crotches forward and expose their asses through strategic rips in their super-undies."
Gail Simone, Comic Book Writer, Critic

(I should clarify, the people I highlight up here are going to be both historically relevant feminists as well as contemporary activists, writers and artists whom I deeply respect and have, at the very least, feminist elements in their work. With that in mind, let's get rolling.)

Now, the backlash (@ The Guardian's Gender section) - Kira Cochrane examines the growing backlash against feminism and its achievements for justice and equality. Cochrane explores the origins of the current backlash and why it's spreading, yet points out that hope for feminism is still quite high due to the many organisations active and public interest in it.

Why this queer isn't celebrating (@ Feministe) - Jack analyses the legalisation of same-sex marriage in California. The article focuses on how the current legislation marginalises relationships that are not deemed as 'acceptable', and ponders why some people seem to always get the last wagon in the equality train.

Countering defenses for offensive language (@ Girl-Wonder.org forums) - An interesting discussion on the rationalisations some people use to defend their use of offensive language.

Fourteen year-old girl in HSE care asks court for leave to have abortion (@ the Sunday Tribune, Ireland) - Closely mirroring last year's lamentable D case, yet another teenager in government care is forced to justify herself before a court to exercise her right to choose.

Black transwoman got beaten by cops and no-one cared (@ The Bilerico Project) - Report on the beating of a black transwoman in a police station in the States. Alex follows up with information on the aftermath.

Girlfriends, boyfriends and feminism (@ Hugo Schwyzer's blog) - Schwyzer looks at a reader's concern about introducing her male partner to feminism, and how in the end, actions, palpable everyday actions, are more important than words when confronting sexism as a man.

There's no good way to use 'fag' (@ Shakesville) - Melissa talks about how the word 'fag' is simply not acceptable as a pejorative term outside the queer community.

And finally, because I'm nothing but a comics geek, Cat and Girl talks about ideas and failure, in a comic which I think is relevant to us activists (as well as being cute and funny as per usual for C&G).

Wednesday Femilinks, 25/06/08

"Trans people can wreak havoc on such taken-for-granted concepts as feminine and masculine, homosexual and hetero-sexual, because these words are rendered virtually meaningless when a person’s biological sex and lived sex are not the same."
Julia Serano, Writer, Scientist and Trans Rights Activist

Apologies for the delay... I really wish I didn't have a full-time job. Dublin Pride '08 was awesome! This article in indymedia Ireland has photos and a video, in which I am in for three seconds.

'Wanted' review (@ The Guardian) - Peter Bradshaw breaks the film down and denounces its mysoginist presentation. Of particular note is the casual size-ism the film presents, as well as its convoluted, adolescent-het-male plot, according to Bradshaw.

Off-limits humour (@ Shakesville) - Melissa McEwan carefully analyses what humour counts as off-limits, from a general perspective. She presents why we should consider some aspects of humour off-limits, such as the big wave of oh-so-progressive racism and misogynist humour. On the other hand, she posits that 'fair game' topics may revolve around choices rather than intrinsic nature (which isn't unproblematic, of course).

Excuses why some people don't believe in male privilege (@ Screaming into the Void) - Does exactly what it says on the tin, and namechecks the awesome Male Privilege Checklist.

Sexy blue space women of Mass Effect (@ Girl in the Machine) - Bombergirl dissects the presentation of the Asari, the all-female race of hit sci-fi videogame Mass Effect. She analyses the pros and cons of their characterisation, as well as the fact that they are all eternally youthful and physically 'perfect'.

Transgender people and the prison system (@ Curvature) - Cara writes about the horrifying experience of trans people in U.S. prison, with all kinds of abuse are prevalent such as denial of hormone treatment despite being prescribed it, sexual assault from both inmates and guards, and murder.

Friday flickr (@ The F Word blog) - A collection of amazing feminist snaps from around the world.

Monday Femilinks, June 16th 2008

"Humanity cannot be made equal by declarations on paper. Unless the material conditions for equality exist, it is worse than mockery to pronounce men equal."
Voltairine De Clayre, Anarchist feminist Writer

Let's get the ball rolling, yeah?

"You feminists just want to tell women to do what you want..." (@ Feminism 101) - An interesting thread about a typical anti-feminist tactic: the idea that women "choose" to be oppressed. Read on for great comments and links.

"Being a Feminist Boyfriend" (@ Feministe) - A great comment thread where many contributors chime in about their experiences about relationships and feminism.

"Uh-oh" (@ The Bilerico Project) - Allen presents some facts about the people selected to contribute their expertise in transsexuality/transgender to the new DSM-V. She explains why the appointment of certain individuals could be detrimental not only for trans* folk, but also to the queer community at large. (via)

"Men! Feminism needs you! (Not your privilege)" (@ The F Word) - A fantastic, insightful article by Anne Onne which addresses men who are new to feminism. Anne explains, in a succinct manner, why men may feel out-of-sorts in feminist spaces on the internet, and how men can challenge their privilege to positively contribute in these spaces.

"Why are women so critical of each other?" (@ The F Word) - Rosjke Hasseldine expounds on the issue of internalised mysoginy, and how this hurts solidarity between women. Hasseldine explores the reasons for the internalisation of mysoginy among women, and why this area needs to be explored and challenged within a feminist framework.

Introducing...

Welcome to Femilinking!

The purpose of this blog is to highlight interesting feminist writings published on the internet, linking to them as they are presented. Indeed, there are so many writings and perspectives that it is hard to digest it all.

Femilinking will highlight feminist and feminist-informed articles which I find particularly interesting and well-written. Posts will include links to relevant articles, as well as informative blurbs to help you decide how to spend your reading time (which I know many of us are in short supply of). I will also link to the sources, which will frequently be bigger feminist blogs. It is not the purpose of this blog to publish articles (which I'm leaving for great sites like The F Word). Rather, I'd like this to be a helpful resource for feminist activists. I may, from time to time, translate spanish-language articles with permission from authors, as I feel these perspectives are sometimes lost on the anglophone sphere.

Update frequency will be of one or two posts a week, possibly more depending on the amount of articles and time at my disposal.

My perspective is that of an intersectionality-informed feminist queer. As such, I believe that there are many different 'vectors' of oppression that bear down on any one person at any one time, such as class, gender, sexuality, gender and sexual identity, ethnicity, race, able-ism, size-ism and more. I believe it is important to study the overlaps in the different situations presented to us in society. I believe only by deconstructing these varied experiences, can we hope to begin breaking down oppression.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you find this new resource useful for whatever you need it.

-Ariel


(Graphic from www.infoshop.org)