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PETA is in some hot water (again) for using first lady Michelle Obama's image in one of their ads without her permission. PETA pres Ingrid Newkirk says they didn't get Obama's permission because, well, they knew she would have said no. Since this is the same rationale I used when I "borrowed" my mom's car before I had a driver's license, I happen to know firsthand that the I-didn't-ask-because-you'd-say-no excuse doesn't work too well. Here's the ad:

Way back when I was but a young feminist in a WGS 101 class, my professor asked the class to describe our Thanksgiving traditions as a way of further explaining the notion of gender norms. As more and more students told tales of men sitting on the couch watching television while women basted turkeys and mashed potatoes, light bulbs turned on around the room. Aha! Gender norms! Men and women are both expected to play certain roles, even during such great American holidays as Thanksgiving!

Holidays can bring out the best and worst in all of us (especially when you've got an uncle that likes to play "bartender" by pouring shots for everyone the way I do). So what are your Thanksgiving traditions? How do you negotiate gender norms when you get together with your friends and families in the kitchen? What about the racism inherent in Thanksgiving? What are you going to cook/eat this year? Oh, and do you remember THIS?



Read on for more Thanksgiving!

Friend of Bitch (and Beaker Bitch blogger) Sarah Mirk posted a great piece over at Blogtown PDX yesterday on the new (and oh-so-unfortunate) PETA billboard in Florida, and the subsequent protest of PETA President Ingrid Newkirk's book signing at Powell's Books here in Portland. The offending billboard:

Seriously, PETA? I think I've lost enough weight already barfing at your ad campaigns

On Tuesday evening, the Portland Feminist Action League stood inside (and then outside once they were kicked out) of Powell's and gave Ingrid Newkirk (and her fans) a piece of their minds.

Video by Sarah Mirk after the jump!

Check out this video from the The Onion News Network (you may have to click through or choose "fullscreen" to see the whole picture):


Advocacy Group Decries PETA's Inhumane Treatment Of Women

Good thing Carol Adams' The Sexual Politics of Meat is being re-released this year. Twenty years after its original publication and still PETA thinks objectifying women is an effective strategy to end animal cruelty.