Whoo-hoo, it's the weekend! I know, I know, the 40-hour work-week is a patriarchal construct, so celebrating weekends is merely playing into the system—but tell that to my bar tab...
The Netherlands may be known throughout the world for their quaint wooden shoes and their progressive drug and prostitution laws, but soon they might be known for something else: forced sterilization of women. You read me right, a draft bill currently before the Dutch parliament will, if passed, force women deemed to be "unfit mothers" to take oral contraception for a period of two years.
As Jonanna and Ray have pointed out below, although it's effing incredible Obama's our new president, local elections across the country left a lot to be desired.
One instance was Michele Bachmann, who just achieved a close victory over Democratic-endorsed, adorably-named Elwyn Tinklenberg in Minnesota’s Congressional election, and is the first official recipient of the Bitch blog’s Douchebag Decree, our new public service informing readers of douchebaggery near and far. Read on for this week's installment on Bachmann, proudly doing her part to set back feminism.
Well, yay, Obama won, setting off more nationwide tears than that Yeah Yeah Yeahs song "Maps." I'll admit, I cried too (Barack, they don't love you like I love you). An African-American president—it's pretty amazing, and it's a good thing, and we all have reason to be psyched. It's a huge step forward, in so many ways.
Before I go any farther, let me say I'm glad Obama won. I feel like if queer folks don't say that first, there will be a backlash against our community that will be painfully unprecedented. So, again I say: I am glad Obama won.
I don’t know how many of you sharp feminists out there watch the CW’s Gossip Girl, but those of you who don’t missed out on a rarely televised occurrence last night: female masturbation.
Bitch had a great turnout out our Sm{art} Auction! Guests sauntered through the WorkSound space in southeast Portland, bidding on original art, entering a raffle for a "bitchin" (get it?) commuter bike, or stopping by the Crafty Wonderland table to make tiny flowers out of wire and discarded nylon stockings.
Something just occurred to me, on this, the holiest of political days. You know how Barack Obama bought, like, I dunno, a gazillion dollars worth of TV time to run his infomercial a few days before the election?
I've been wondering how I and other women can together turn our national narrative around to one of peaceful cooperation, economic creativity and healing our environment so we can thrive. ... I think so many of us are tired of living in fear, tired of having our creative hopes marginalized, tired of war talk and war plans. We're ready to brainstorm together and build.
.gif)
.gif)
