Back in the day, infants of all genders wore white frocks—white, because it could be bleached of any infant spewage, and frocks, because it's easier to wriggle a baby into a dress than into britches. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1884 toddler photo depicts our dignified to-be president sitting primly in a white skirt and patent leather shoes.
Eventually, parents began dressing their infants in "the colors of springtime," but it wasn't until World War I that those colors became gender signifiers. In June 1918, the Earshaw Infants' Department instructed parents, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”
When a rape victim went public with her story earlier this year, Jim Foley, Vice President of the University of Montana, sent an email asking if she could be punished under the Student Code of Conduct.
Be friends with the other women (unless they really suck), learn some sports, avoid businesses that promote boys clubby tendencies, and other ways to deal if you can't play golf (I am awful at it, not that I was invited) and you don't smoke cigars.
If the Supreme Court signs off on Obamacare next month, queer and transgender people will take another step towards affordably and comfortably getting the plumbing checked.
But in order to reap the benefits of healthcare reform, we have to buck up and go to the doctor first.
At the height of attending my friends' baby showers, more than one feminist writer urged me to forego having children. Remaining childless is tempting in a world where the costs of raising kids and taking time off to help raise them are getting higher and higher.
When the Washington Post featured a story about a transgender five-year-old last week, online commenters accused the parents of overreacting to harmless "tomboyishness." But parents who listen to their kids, allow their kids to live as their preferred gender, and guide them through consensual medical decisions are choosing life for their children when the alternative could be far more serious than a temper tantrum.
A study published last week by Loyola professor Kendall J. Eskine in Social Psychological and Personality Science reports that people who eat organic food are self-righteous assholes. My main question is: What in the ridiculous research hell kind of study is this?
The Pew Research Center offers startling, groundbreaking numbers on "Today's Woman" who "often balances her career with her husband and children." (Yes, this is a study from 2012, not 1975.) It is called "A Gender Reversal on Career Aspirations: Young Women Now Top Young Men in Valuing A High Paying Career." Hide your kids, people.
There's been a lot of discussion about the gender pay gap. But there are some jobs that pay women many more pennies than 77 cents to the dollar. Among them: Shoe Shiner, Butler, Secretary, and Computer Repair Technician.
I've been watching your miniseries, Weight of the Nation, and though you have some good information, I am largely disappointed. Not that I’m all that surprised—the title alone employs the same old fat-shaming rhetoric. "Look at these fat people!" your show says. Yeah yeah, health problems, diabetes, etc., blah blah. LOOK THEY’RE FAT.
I am an organic farmer and co-owner of Radical Root Farm near the lovely, blustery city of Chicago. I am also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Here at Bitch I will be mainly discussing issues surrounding ecofeminism, or green feminism, or the role of environmentalism as it pertains to feminism. Other things I am include: a medicine-making herbalist, tree-hugging health nut, insatiable bookworm, bicycle enthusiast and mama to a baby boy named Huckleberry.
What I'm watching:
Downton Abbey, Daily Show, Frontline documentaries, Dirt! The Movie, Ken Burns' Prohibition, Revenge
What I'm reading:
I read too many books at one time. Right now they are: Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions (yes, it's a cookbook, but it provides endless reading material. It's huge and you always go back to it!), Kristin Kimball's The Dirty Life, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth
What I'm listening to:
Balkan Beat Box, Voltio, M.I.A., Micheal Franti, Andrew Bird, Billie Holiday, Jill Scott, Austra, NPR podcasts like The Splendid Table and This American Life
I read too many books at one time. Right now they are: Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions (yes, it's a cookbook, but it provides endless reading material. It's huge and you always go back to it!), Kristin Kimball's The Dirty Life, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth
What I'm listening to:
Balkan Beat Box, Voltio, M.I.A., Micheal Franti, Andrew Bird, Billie Holiday, Jill Scott, Austra, NPR podcasts like The Splendid Table and This American Life
What I'm watching:
Downton Abbey, Daily Show, Frontline documentaries, Dirt! The Movie, Ken Burns' Prohibition, Revenge
Heylo. I have a few names across the interwebes. Mostly, I get called battameez — in many languages and contexts.
Battameez (pronounced: buh. tuh. meez) is a Hindustani word for someone who has no manners -- pretty self-explanatory, no?
I had hoped to be "going somewhere" with my life until early last year, now I live in an apartment with a lot of plants, frames and studying to get my MA in women's studies. Hopefully, the plants will still be alive by the time I'm done.
As a young feminist growing up on the mean streets of Portland, Kelsey dreamed that one day a kickass, independent, feminist media organization would move its headquarters to her beloved home city. Well kids, Gabrielle was right: "Dreams can come true"! Bitch moved to Portland, and one MA in Media Studies from the University of Oregon later, Kelsey moved in as web editor. She hasn't looked back since.
When not editing the interwebs at the Bitch office, Kelsey can be found lecturing reluctant students, listening to podcasts, and hanging out with her French Bulldog, Edith. She also enjoys making things out of fabric and watching pretty much anything on television (preferably at the same time, and preferably with Edith). If you're looking for a new pal who loves both LOLcats and Linda Ronstadt records, she's your gal.
What I'm watching:
Arrested Development, The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation
What I'm reading:
Graduate school and the Internet have relegated Kelsey (and her attention span) to the land of short stories. It's a nice place to be, especially when Lorrie Moore and George Saunders are there.
What I'm listening to:
King Khan & BBQ Show, Girls in the Garage, The Blow, NPR
Graduate school and the Internet have relegated Kelsey (and her attention span) to the land of short stories. It's a nice place to be, especially when Lorrie Moore and George Saunders are there.
What I'm listening to:
King Khan & BBQ Show, Girls in the Garage, The Blow, NPR
What I'm watching:
Arrested Development, The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation
Social Commentary
End of Gender: Pink For Boys? Why "Sex-Appropriate" Colors Are Arbitrary
Back in the day, infants of all genders wore white frocks—white, because it could be bleached of any infant spewage, and frocks, because it's easier to wriggle a baby into a dress than into britches. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's 1884 toddler photo depicts our dignified to-be president sitting primly in a white skirt and patent leather shoes.
Eventually, parents began dressing their infants in "the colors of springtime," but it wasn't until World War I that those colors became gender signifiers. In June 1918, the Earshaw Infants' Department instructed parents, “The generally accepted rule is pink for the boys, and blue for the girls. The reason is that pink, being a more decided and stronger color, is more suitable for the boy, while blue, which is more delicate and dainty, is prettier for the girl.”
Douchebag Decree: Jim Foley, Vice President of Victim Blaming, the University of Montana
Lady Business: How Do You Navigate Boys Club Culture?
End of Gender: Buck Angel Wants to See Your Cervix
But in order to reap the benefits of healthcare reform, we have to buck up and go to the doctor first.
Lady Business: Motherhood and Debt
End of Gender: Not "Just A Tomboy"
Fertile Ground: Looking at Photos of Organic Food Makes You Jerk-y, Pointless Study Says
Lady Business: Breaking News! Women Like Marriage and Work
Lady Business: You'd Make as Much as Men If You Shined Shoes
Fertile Ground: Weight of the Nation, HBO? Let's Talk Industrial Agriculture First
Dear HBO,
I've been watching your miniseries, Weight of the Nation, and though you have some good information, I am largely disappointed. Not that I’m all that surprised—the title alone employs the same old fat-shaming rhetoric. "Look at these fat people!" your show says. Yeah yeah, health problems, diabetes, etc., blah blah. LOOK THEY’RE FAT.
Alison Parker
Fertile Ground Blogger
I am an organic farmer and co-owner of Radical Root Farm near the lovely, blustery city of Chicago. I am also a writer of both fiction and non-fiction. Here at Bitch I will be mainly discussing issues surrounding ecofeminism, or green feminism, or the role of environmentalism as it pertains to feminism. Other things I am include: a medicine-making herbalist, tree-hugging health nut, insatiable bookworm, bicycle enthusiast and mama to a baby boy named Huckleberry.
Downton Abbey, Daily Show, Frontline documentaries, Dirt! The Movie, Ken Burns' Prohibition, Revenge
I read too many books at one time. Right now they are: Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions (yes, it's a cookbook, but it provides endless reading material. It's huge and you always go back to it!), Kristin Kimball's The Dirty Life, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth
Balkan Beat Box, Voltio, M.I.A., Micheal Franti, Andrew Bird, Billie Holiday, Jill Scott, Austra, NPR podcasts like The Splendid Table and This American Life
I read too many books at one time. Right now they are: Jennifer Egan's A Visit from the Goon Squad, Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions (yes, it's a cookbook, but it provides endless reading material. It's huge and you always go back to it!), Kristin Kimball's The Dirty Life, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao, Vandana Shiva's Soil Not Oil, Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Richard Heinberg's The End of Growth
Balkan Beat Box, Voltio, M.I.A., Micheal Franti, Andrew Bird, Billie Holiday, Jill Scott, Austra, NPR podcasts like The Splendid Table and This American Life
Downton Abbey, Daily Show, Frontline documentaries, Dirt! The Movie, Ken Burns' Prohibition, Revenge
Offbeat Mama
Battameez
Blogger
Heylo. I have a few names across the interwebes. Mostly, I get called battameez — in many languages and contexts.
Battameez (pronounced: buh. tuh. meez) is a Hindustani word for someone who has no manners -- pretty self-explanatory, no?
I had hoped to be "going somewhere" with my life until early last year, now I live in an apartment with a lot of plants, frames and studying to get my MA in women's studies. Hopefully, the plants will still be alive by the time I'm done.
J. Victoria Sanders
Writer
Austin-based writer and bookworm.
Then We'll Sing A New Song: African Influences on America's Religious Landscape
Scandal, even though I kind of hate myself for loving it. I have seen Avengers twice now. It is fantastic.
Single & Happy
Kelsey Wallace
Web Editor
As a young feminist growing up on the mean streets of Portland, Kelsey dreamed that one day a kickass, independent, feminist media organization would move its headquarters to her beloved home city. Well kids, Gabrielle was right: "Dreams can come true"! Bitch moved to Portland, and one MA in Media Studies from the University of Oregon later, Kelsey moved in as web editor. She hasn't looked back since.
When not editing the interwebs at the Bitch office, Kelsey can be found lecturing reluctant students, listening to podcasts, and hanging out with her French Bulldog, Edith. She also enjoys making things out of fabric and watching pretty much anything on television (preferably at the same time, and preferably with Edith). If you're looking for a new pal who loves both LOLcats and Linda Ronstadt records, she's your gal.
Arrested Development, The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation
Graduate school and the Internet have relegated Kelsey (and her attention span) to the land of short stories. It's a nice place to be, especially when Lorrie Moore and George Saunders are there.
King Khan & BBQ Show, Girls in the Garage, The Blow, NPR
Graduate school and the Internet have relegated Kelsey (and her attention span) to the land of short stories. It's a nice place to be, especially when Lorrie Moore and George Saunders are there.
King Khan & BBQ Show, Girls in the Garage, The Blow, NPR
Arrested Development, The Twilight Zone, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation
The Pursuit of Harpyness
Malic White
Cabaret, Food Inc, Edge of Seventeen, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
bell hooks, Junot Diaz, Jon Krakauer, Dorothy Allison, Annie Dillard
David Bowie, Amanda Palmer, The Gossip
bell hooks, Junot Diaz, Jon Krakauer, Dorothy Allison, Annie Dillard
David Bowie, Amanda Palmer, The Gossip
Cabaret, Food Inc, Edge of Seventeen, Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Sara Reihani
Contributor, Bitch Media
MLP:FIM, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Sherlock
Reality is Broken (Jane McGonigal), Bumped (Megan McCafferty), Witch Craze (Lyndal Roper)
Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Das Racist, Anamanaguchi, Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Newsom
Reality is Broken (Jane McGonigal), Bumped (Megan McCafferty), Witch Craze (Lyndal Roper)
Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Das Racist, Anamanaguchi, Sleater-Kinney, Joanna Newsom
MLP:FIM, Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Sherlock