Happy Wednesday, everyone! First of all, in excellent news for all of us, internationalcupcakebandit linked to the news that Rick Santorum has bowed out of the presidential campaign. Those of us who shuddered in fear and disgust at the phrase “President Santorum” can all breathe a little bit easier now. But just because (one of) the worst contenders is out, doesn’t mean we should get complacent in this presidential race.
Eszenyme thinks “this blog is amazing! This post is one of many that discuss what it’s like to be a woman in grad school, specifically a woman in philosophy. As a philosophy major, it is super refreshing to hear about someone else’s experiences in the field.”
Femistorian was “thrilled that the New York Times did a profile of Chilean activist Camilla Vallejo, but I’m extremely disappointed (though not surprised) that they chose to focus on her looks. The title describes her as ‘The World’s Most Glamorous Revolutionary’ and within the first 2 paragraphs, she’s described as ‘hot’ and a ‘Boticelli beauty.’ Personally, I’d rather hear her activism described as the most attractive thing about her.”
FemOnFire really enjoyed this article, which reminds us that even though many popular figures are laying claim to feminism, being a feminist simply but unequivocally requires one basic belief. Merle Hoffman explains it wonderfully.
Katie O. learned more about African-American women’s hair in this piece, All Locked Up, by Jamia Wilson. She chronicles her journey from loving her hair to hating it, and from chemically straightening to transitioning to dreads. It’s a fascinating read about how our culture constructs beauty (the whiter looking the better) and about African-American women’s hair, a topic many white people are ignorant about.
Kaycorbs444 found this article from blogger Jason Stanford at the Huffington Post about the war on women in relation to the prospects for Obama and prospective Republican candidates for the 2012 election. Stanford provides a sense of humor as he analyzes the necessary measures Republicans will have to take to win the battle, paying particular attention to Obamacare and birth control.
Parklena discovered a blog article about how men’s reassurances to women insecure about their bodies does not help. It, in fact, makes things worse because they are still seeing women’s bodies as something to be judged and saying things like, “I prefer small boobs” objectifies us, reducing us to our body parts. We also shouldn’t care whether men love our bodies but whetherwe love our bodies.
And, to close, I’d like to include Hillary Rodham Clinton’s great contribution to the blog textsfromhillary.tumblr.com. Apparently the Secretary of State found out about the blog (which is hilarious) and loved it.
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ShoutOut! James Madison University 