Eyes Wide Open: From the letter "C" to the letter "Q" and everything in between

(originally posted 4/09 at wordpress.com)


by Talia Jae Potter

As an active student leader on my campus at PCC I have noticed quite a few interesting responses to our activities and use of words. Our director told us this job wasn't going to be easy. In fact, she straight out said it would be hard and there would be name-calling, stereotypes, and general repercussions for working at a Women's Center.

People like to take what they think they know and fill in the blanks. A center full of girls that promotes women and has clubs such as Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) and United Sexualities? They must be a bunch of crazy lesbians who burn bras and hate men. The Vagina Monologues?? Or more likely they would say, "The uh... the .... those monologues?? What is it called??" Is the play just talking vaginas? Is it women dressed as vaginas? Are men allowed? I have actually been asked all these questions.

Guest Contributor: "Bromance"

(originally posted 04/09 at wordpress)


by Alicia Katopodis

"Bromance"
I have recently noticed a new way of thinking about intimate relationships among young men. This new idea of "bromance" has revolutionized what is acceptable for men in our society. Now men can have relationships with men that involve feelings and emotions with out being labeled as homosexual. Now there is even a television show that airs on MTV that highlights this recent development. It is a competitive reality show that follows nine men as they compete for the friendship of one man, Brody Jenner. This concept has never been made into a public spectacle and so well received. This show and this concept has changed the opinions about male relationships. Yet it has also blurred the lines between male intimacy and male homosexuality.

Snapshot: 4GrrlzEyezOnlies (Or, Wow- That's Really Sexist Branding on that Candy Bar!)

(originally posted 03/09 at wordpress)


by mae stephenson

Excuse the sarcastic title this week, folks; the item in this week's image deserves a title no more mature than the item itself.



I saw this for the first time in my life last weekend. It's a UK-based chocolate bar from our pals at Nestle (just google 'Nestle Boycott' for more reasons women shouldn't adore them). Yes, that is an extra-feminine woman symbol with the circle-slash "no" in place of an 'O' and reads "it's not for girls!" on the side. And yes, it's really just chocolate (I checked the ingredients just in case it was one of those specially formulated vitamin bars posing as candy). This bar can be found at your local SE 33rd and Belmont Zupan's where I snapped this picture. Not with the girly chocolate at the front of the store; in a more discrete location-- across from the baking supplies.

Hey... its 2009... Playboy... really???

(originally posted 01/09 at wordpress)

by Blythe Pavlik Why is Playboy okay?I don’t get it. I don’t get why Playboy is still considered the “gentlemen’s” magazine or why it is exempt, in some groups, from critical critique. I don’t get it. I grew up in a house with Playboy magazines.

The Glass Crack: Painfully Palin

(originally posted 10/08 at wordpress)


by Gwen Davis

The Glass Crack is a new weekly column from PSU Grad Student Gwen Davis that revisits the previous week’s news stories and looks at them through a feminist eye. Granted, personal opinions, bias, rhetorical questions, and perhaps even a few logical fallacies will appear. At times it may seem like the author is confused, and that assumption is totally correct because many ways of the world—especially people—do not make sense. Comments, suggestions and guest columns are welcome and encouraged. Let this be an honest place to discuss the unfair, the beautiful, the perplexing, the wrong, and the right.

The title of the column is a reference to those 18 million cracks in the ceiling Hillary Clinton spoke of in her concession speech:

Although we weren’t able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it’s got about 18 million cracks in it. And the light is shining through like never before, filling us all with the hope and sure knowledge that the path will be a little easier next time. That has always been the history of progress in America.

- Hillary Clinton

With the presidential election mere weeks away, I have become increasingly interested in the Sarah Palin debacle. One news organization postulated that the initial excitement that surrounded the Republican Vice Presidential nominee was a result of voters considering her to be an answer to a non-existent Hillary Clinton Democratic ticket. Unfortunately for Republicans, hopeful women, and many swing voters Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton — to the relief of Democrats.

I recently received an email from a very good, liberal friend of mine from Colorado. The email contained an article written by Eve Ensler, playwright best known for The Vagina Monologues. The article expressed Ensler’s disgust over the McCain/Palin ticket. “I am a Feminist and have spent my life trying to build community, help empower women and stop violence against them,” she writes. “It is hard to write about Sarah Palin. This is why the Sarah Palin choice was all the more insidious and cynical.”

And Then There’s Maude

(originally posted 08/08 at wordpress)


by Kelsey Mason

Maude is a television show staring Beatrice Arthur that aired on CBS from September 12, 1972 to April 22, 1978. The show was a spin off of All in the Family.

Beatrice Arthur plays Maude, an outspoken liberal, who considers herself a feminist. Maude is in her early fifties, but has the spunk of a twenty-two year old. She is a modern day New Yorker, who refuses to back down when something appears unjust. Maude spends her days advocating for civil rights, such as gender and racial equality. This strong, assertive woman stands on behalf of women’s liberation and abortion rights.

Feminism Isn’t a Four-Letter Word, Part III

(originally posted 08/08 at wordpress)


by Blythe Pavlik

I am finding my voice thanks to feminism. I’m sure this is much of the reason why feminism and its participants get such a bad wrap. It is as if feminism is the can opener – and the can, of course is institutionalize, traditionalized, socialized… patriarchy.

Just some fun little things.

(originally posted 08/08 at wordpress)



I found the above image today, and the following quote last week. I liked them and thought I'd share. What fun or serious feminist quotes or images are your favorite? "There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody. " Florynce Kennedy

Sexual Assault Capstone: Finding Voice

(originally posted 07/08 at wordpress)


by Kristyn Stolze

I didn’t think enough about acquaintance rape until it happened to someone close to me. Then one of the women I love was raped by her housemate and the light bulb went on.

I grew up learning that sexual violence happened too much and needed to stop, but never went further than knowing, wishing it were different but feeling totally helpless. It took an act of violence against a friend to light a fire under my ass, and I only regret that it took this long for me to really freak out and get busy. I see the fierce, brilliant pack of people answering back to interpersonal violence with action and wish I had joined sooner. I thought I needed to be someone different to do something about sexual violence, someone more educated, more trained, more informed. But I see now that as long as individuals feel powerless, we give our real power as a group away. Fortunately, a lot of people figured this out a lot faster than I did…and they have been busy. For decades. As I learn more about the realities of sexual violence I find some grim statistics, and I used to make the mistake of only seeing the darkness and missing the hope. After my friend’s rape, I felt crazy and powerless, but driven like never before to find out how to get involved somewhere, with something. I decided to take the Sexual Assault Capstone at PSU to connect with the PSU Women’s Resource Center and get more information, and that connection brought me to the shesheet.

I would like to know who is out there reading and what your thoughts, experiences and reactions are to the topic/issue/reality of sexual violence. Because it’s so pervasive in our culture we all live with it in some way every day; this means we all have a story to tell. I want to know what other people are doing to create change. If you aren’t usually comfortable posting responses and comments to blogs, please consider responding to the things you read on the shesheet and to this blog you are reading now. It’s a great space to interact with people who are shaking things up to make much-needed change.

I personally have never blogged until today, but I think it’s an amazing way to connect to a huge community of incredible folks. I want to take part in a bigger conversation about sexual violence with the readers on the shesheet…please join me with some of your thoughts so we can learn from each other!

Reflections on the Faculty Favorite Lecture Series

(originally posted 06/08 at wordpress)


by Emily Hutsell

This term I took the IST 499 engagement credit, which required my attendance at 6 PSU sponsored events. Because of the interesting subject matter, I chose to attend many of the Faculty Favorite Lecture Series, for which a faculty member is chosen to present their current work. The topics of the lectures covered sustainability, White Studies, interrupting oppression and why America isn’t ready for a female president. Each of these events was extremely thought provoking, and whether or not there was an opportunity for discussion, it has been part of my discussion with others.

Interrupting Oppression // Discussion Post

(originally posted 05/08 at wordpress)



by mae stephenson

A few weeks ago, Sally Eck gave an inspiring lecture on interrupting oppression as part of the Faculty Favorite Lecture Series that happens every Thursday. An interruption is something you do when you notice someone making an oppressive statement or action. It could be any action you take from stating something like, "That's sexist" and walking away to sitting down and having an in-depth conversation with someone about the effects of oppression in our society. The lecture made me think of my father, whom I've always had a tumultuous relationship with, but of course, love dearly. Despite our frequent disagreements, he tries really hard to maintain a relationship with me and truly listen when I call him out on an action I disagree with (even if he doesn't always understand my point of view).

I'm not the best "interrupter," especially when it comes to my father. I often get upset and show frustration instead of calmly explaining how his statement is oppressive. But recently, when I interrupted him after making a racist joke, he actually apologized and said that he hadn't said a particular racist phrase since I had called him out on it several months ago. He explained that it's hard to "unlearn" all the racist jokes he's heard since he was child. It was definitely inspiring. But it was nothing compared to the way he made me feel this past weekend.

On Rape Culture

(originally posted 05/08 at wordpress)

 

 

by Katie Johncock

 

 

 

“Rape culture” is a scary phrase. At least I think so. The first time I heard it I was taking the basic advocacy training at Portland Women’s Crisis Hotline and I remember thinking: “Whoa, that sounds really intense…does our culture really support rape?” What I found out was that rape culture is so normalized that it’s easy to miss it. What exactly is rape culture?

Herstory: bell hooks

(originally posted 05/08 at wordpress)



by mae stephenson

bell hooks Born Gloria Jean Watkins on September 25, 1952 in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. bell hooks uses lowercase letters for her name to shift focus from the author to the ideas within her writing.

bell hooks is arguably one of the most important authors of our time. A self-described "Black woman intellectual, revolutionary activist," "cultural critic," and "advocate of feminism," hooks has authored over thirty books and dozens of articles focusing on the interconnectedness of race, class, and gender oppression and domination. She coined the phrase "white supremacist capitalist patriarchy" to describe these intersections. She also writes with an important and somewhat unique emphasis on self-love. In her dedication to ending class oppression she uses a writing style accessible for people outside of Academia and makes appearances on television and radio programs. Some of her titles include Ain’t I a Woman?: Black Women and Feminism, Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center, Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics, Where We Stand: Class Matters, Teaching to Transgress: Education As the Practice of Freedom, and The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love. In addition, she's written a handful of children's books including Be Boy Buzz and Happy to be Nappy after having a difficult time finding children's books that didn't enforce patriarchal notions of boyhood and books that taught young black girls to be self-loving, respectively.