Lets Limp Along

I’m trying to find something, some piece of resistance that I can do consistently without going crazy. Because feeling like I’m accomplishing something makes me feel good, but feeling like I’m clawing my way uphill certainly does not.

I donate monthly to the organizations listed here. That helped when I signed up for them. And it helps me sleep on days where I feel like I contributed nothing to society. I was sick and drank tea all day, I didn’t go to any meetings, call any senators or even go exercise.

I bought a stack of postcards to send to my congressmen. It actually made me feel better. I ignored the scripts I found online and spoke from the heart, using my best guilting-jewish-grandmother tone.

Senator, I was really disappointed to hear that you voted yes on that bill. I hope that you can be more representative of your constituents in the future so that I can be proud to vote for you next time around.

Affixing a superwoman stamp to each one.

But reading the updates, what’s coming up for a vote, what’s on the chopping block, what I should be reacting to and writing about, it’s more than I can do once a week. And the phone calls, I’m not sure I can do the phone calls.

It’s a disheartening time to be young and passionate in America. It makes me long to be young and passionate somewhere else. It’s a tough time for values that wouldn’t be classified as “religious right.” Or alt-right.

Dust Yourself Off And Try Again

I’m not feeling so well lately, emotionally, when I look at the world outside myself.

I’m trying to do more self-care, more yoga, more cooking, more making beautiful things for my friends, donating.

The Planned Parenthood tumblr page is really helping keep my head straight.

My initial reaction in November was automatic self-care. I cried in public when I needed it, I shrunk from situations that felt daunting. Since then I’ve taken to reading articles and beautiful words about it.

But now it feels like it’s time to brush ourselves off and get back up.

See you there friends!

Where Do We Go From Here?

This week’s episode of John Oliver was the cure for exactly what ails me.

I’ve been feeling really helpless since the election and the best remedy I’ve found so far is supporting organizations that are in line with my beliefs.

I’ve been a monthly supporter of Planned Parenthood for a while now but on Wednesday I signed up for a monthly donation to the ACLU.

John recommends:

Planned Parenthood

Center for Reproductive Rights

Natural Resources Defense Council

The International Refugee Assistance Project

NAACP Legal Defense Fund

The Trevor Project

Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund

Pick one, pick a few, pick all of them. Send $5/month if that’s all you can afford.

Yes, it did take this drastic moment in our history to make me realize how important it is to donate. But here we are. I can’t wait for my umbrella stand to be as full of full of emblems as the one I grew up with.

What Hasn’t Killed You Yet

So this whole Trump, sexual assault thing:

The problem isn’t that a crazy, entitled, abusive shit bag is running for president.

I mean, that’s a true statement. He is.

But I’m sure other shitty people have run for office before.

Surely at least one of them abused someone down the line. Life is long and just because a job is respected doesn’t mean that the people who take it are perfect. They cheat on their spouses, they sneak cigarettes, they own slaves. They’re humans and impacted by their time and place and society just like the rest of us.

The problem (but also maybe the opportunity) in the fact that a crazy, entitled, abusive shit bag is running for president is that we get to see people do the mental aerobics of re-defining sexual assault to suit their needs.

RUSH LIMBAUGH: You know what the magic word, the only thing that matters in American sexual mores today is? One thing. You can do anything, the left will promote and understand and tolerate anything, as long as there is one element. Do you know what it is? Consent. If there is consent on both or all three or all four, however many are involved in the sex act, it’s perfectly fine. Whatever it is. But if the left ever senses and smells that there’s no consent in part of the equation then here come the rape police. But consent is the magic key to the left.

[x]

I loathe Donald Trump but I’m not really worried he’s going to grab me by the genitals. This is due largely to proximity, and the fact that I’ve never had a problem with the fact that a penis can suffer a lot of pain without irreparable damage.

TWS: But beyond the language, would you characterize the behavior described in that as sexual assault if that behavior actually took place?

JEFF SESSIONS: I don’t characterize that as sexual assault. I think that’s a stretch.

[x]

What does scare me is that a significant portion of the population agrees with him.

I’m not worried that DJ Trump himself is going to grope me on the train. I’m worried that he’s broadcasting the inner monologue of someone I’m on a date with, or getting a ride from, or working an overnight with.

[Donald Trump Jr.] went on to say that if women feel harassed by the comments men want to make, they should just leave their jobs. “I’m of the mindset, and I’ll get in trouble… If you can’t handle some of the basic stuff that’s become a problem in the workforce today, you don’t belong in the workforce,” he said. “You should go maybe teach Kindergarten. I think it’s a respectable position. You can’t be negotiating billion-dollar deals if you can’t handle, like you know.” He didn’t elaborate on what he meant by “like you know.”

[x]

Someone who now feels additionally justified in their sense of entitlement to my body.

And that’s a valid fear.

It’s something that could actually kill me. Unlike moths.

Makeup Tutorials For All Your Needs

I love this trend of political statement ‘makeup tutorials.’

Megan MacKay has a few really good ones like this one about cultural appropriator extraordinaire Urban Outfitters.

This one about the slut shaming Hobby Lobby decision.

I want to be her friend.

Michelle Fan has also been doing great ones for a while, like this one about religious insanitist Michele Bachmann.

And this one about abuse ignoring Joe Paterno.

And of course, one of my favorites, Anna Akana’s ‘daily’ routine.

Rock The Vote

Happy election day everyone!  Happy voting!

They Found Us Out!

Anyone want to hide me?  I’ll teach you how to fly on a broomstick.

“Visionary feminism is a wise and loving politics. It is rooted in the love of male and female being, refusing to privilege one over the other. The soul of feminist politics is the commitment to ending patriarchal domination of women and men, girls and boys. Love cannot exist in any relationship that is based on domination and coercion. Males cannot love themselves in patriarchal culture if their very self-definition relies on submission to patriarchal rules. When men embrace feminist thinking and preactice, which emphasizes the value of mutual growth and self-actualization in all relationships, their emotional well-being will be enhanced. A genuine feminist politics always brings us from bondage to freedom, from lovelessness to loving.”

– bell hooks (via thechocolatebrigade) [x]

Naked Honesty

The latest new blog on my radar is hunterrileysexeducation.com which just ran a fantastic post about the coming election in November.

Delightfully honest porn star political opinions

The morals to be garnered here are that

1. Porn stars aren’t running for office so they have no reason to coat their opinions in diplomacy lies.
2. Porn stars are smarter than most people give them credit for.
3. Maybe we should just elect a porn star?

Jenna Jameson (probably not my first pick for office but at least she’s got the honesty thing.  That’s already better than Romney):

Jameson was a democrat earlier in her porn career, but said now that she has more money, her political attitudes have changed.

“When you’re rich, you want a Republican in office,” she told a reporter from a CBS affiliate, according to a report from The Daily Beast.

The New Yorker reported on the press conference she held to further explain her endorsement. After researching Romney’s career at Bain Capital, she said,“There’s nothing more American, I think, than screwing people you don’t know for money.”

The innuendos continued with Jameson saying, “I respect someone who opens their mouth without thinking.” [x]

Kayden Kross (who even A Dude and I think are nifty):

“I’m voting for Obama because he inhales when he smokes, he supports gay marriage, because he follows me on Twitter, because he has managed to push a lot through despite being mostly hogtied by partisan bullshit, because his agendas are good for the majority of people and not just the majority of a voting base—which is also being hogtied—and because when I voted for him the first time I didn’t expect him to wave a magic wand and fix everything overnight. We all know that is impossible, like Republican empathy and Romney’s tax records.” [x]

Kimberly Kane (who wins the paying-attention-to-women’s-issues award):

“I am a supporter of Obama all the way. His views on women’s issues, health care, and gay rights are totally in line with mine. Not to mention he killed Osama bin Laden!” [x]

Jessica Drake (easily my favorite.  Maybe she should have this scrolling at the bottom of all her videos.  That’s one way to exact change):

“I don’t often volunteer my political opinion, but in the past few days I’ve been asked many times, so I’ll say this—there are many reasons to support President Obama’s campaign for reelection. When he first took office, one of his first acts as commander in chief was to sign the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law. This important bill has served to break down wage-discrimination barriers for women and eradicate workplace inequality on many levels. Economically, he has pushed for New Deal-style initiatives geared to create jobs and get Americans working. He has eliminated “don’t ask, don’t tell,” defended LGBT rights and officially supported the rights of same-sex couples to marry. I am pleased with what he has done so far, and I think it’s important to remember that our nation did not arrive at its current condition overnight—it will take some time to truly mend and heal, and I am proud to endorse Obama as the best person to facilitate the necessary changes.” [x]

Joanna Angel (who simply wins at life because she’s dating our beloved James Deen)(Also, who knew that wikiporno.org was a thing?):

“I always vote Democratic, regardless of whether I think the candidates suck or not. This doesn’t necessarily mean I’m endorsing anyone. This particular election is a little depressing. I don’t have much faith in either candidate at this point. I am going to vote Democratic regardless. It’s the lesser of two evils, and I can’t believe I am saying that because I used to hate when people said that!” [x]

Dana DeArmond (priorities):

“I voted for Barack last time. I still have a crush on Barack and on Michelle. I actually think I have romantic feelings for Michelle. I wish they wanted to take me on a date.” [x]

Penny Pax (I love smart people!  Can she replace Paul Ryan?):

“I’ll be voting for Obama again this election. I believe in national health care and he is the one guy to finally get that on track. I am also a firm believer that no one should have to pay for any preventive care, like mammograms or other cancer screening services. So many other countries are striving with the same healthcare system, so why not America, too?” [x]

 Through Porn? 

Knitted Uteri Also Make Great Stocking Stuffers

Some days just suck.  Lets fix today with some Ryan Gosling and doing something about it.

Click here to contribute to WOMEN VOTE! today so we can make sure women voters know which candidates are standing up for them. There’s no better way to help amazing candidates like Claire McCaskill and Tammy Baldwin win their critical races in November!

Can you help us by sharing your story about what Medicare means to you and what ending it would do to you or your loved ones?

Knit or crochet a uterus or vagina.

The best way you can make sure we’re there when we’re needed to fight back the attacks and work to protect and promote women’s health is to become a monthly Planned Parenthood Action Fund supporter.

Kony 2012 Part 2 – Criticism

In the few hours since I posted about Kony 2012 I’ve gotten responses from multiple people criticizing Invisible Children and after reading pro-, anti-, and ‘commentary’, my opinion is this:

The topics I talk about and which exist in this (very complicated) world are complicated and people can argue for and against a course of action and still not be wrong.

Kony should be brought to justice – Right

Spreading information – Right, as long as the information is right?

We should manipulate people to do so – Wrong ish?

Abducting and raping young children – Wrong

Trampling Ugandan agency – Wrong… unless it works…ish?  Maybe?

These lines are not clear and we won’t know the harm and hurt caused by Kony 2012 for a long time to come.

For now I know a few things.

The approach of Kony 2012 is not perfect.  The information is unclear, outdated and highly oversimplified.  Their moving video can be called manipulative and tells young white americans with 30 bucks to spare that they can solve major world problems without leaving their computer screens and also that this is the most pressing social issue on the planet right now.

On the other hand because Kony 2012 simplifies their message enough to reach the lowest common denominator, they reach… everybody.

Sometimes I plan a post about female characters in movies and get upset because I want to say that women shouldn’t be portrayed as wanting only money, but also that they should be portrayed as people with flaws and desires, and then I want to cap it all off with a complete history of the transformation of female characters in film from the complex Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca to the complete caricature of Katherine Heigl in The Ugly Truth while stopping along the way to pay heed to Feminist Frequency’s Tropes V. Women in other forms of media like graphic novels. But if I did all that I wouldn’t really make any points at all and you, dear reader, would probably be left more confused than enlightened.  It’s because of this that I understand why Kony 2012 would choose to oversimplify the situation in the hopes of reaching a wider audience.

And if their goal is to spark a conversation then spark a conversation they did.  Perhaps the best thing to come out of Kony 2012 will not be the capture of a man hiding in the woods with a dwindling army, perhaps it will be the the dialogue we’re starting right now, a dialogue that results in creative young minds who yesterday didn’t know such horrors existed in this world getting interested and involved and coming up with new and innovative ways to solve the world’s problems.

I guess my biggest problem with the people who criticize Invisible Children is that they don’t have any better suggestions.  Yes, Invisible Children has failed to bring Kony home today.  Yes, they can be called misleading, uninformed, manipulative and oversimplified.  But today you know who Joseph Kony is and yesterday you didn’t so the one thing they can’t be called is ineffective.