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Cheering On Project Runway's Native Designer Patricia Michaels

TV post by Georgia Perry on April 25, 2013 - 4:35pm; tagged cultural appropriation, fashion, Native Americans.

patricia michaels holding fabric

This season Project Runway welcomed its first-ever Native American designer, textile artist Patricia Michaels. The show raps up tonight and the Taos, New Mexico designer is one of the final three competitors.

But whether Michaels wins or loses tonight, having her viewpoint and hand-crafted talents highlighted on one of the most popular shows on TV has been, quite honestly, a welcome change from several recent factory-made fashion appropriations of Native American culture.

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Help Fund a Documentary on the New Jersey Four

Movies post by Kjerstin Johnson on April 25, 2013 - 1:21pm;

A still from the movie Out in the Night, which features two young black women standing on a street corner. The name of the film is written in white

On August 16, 2006, a group of young, gay black women were hanging out in New York City's West Village when a man approached and started harassing them. The man, Dwayne Buckle, followed the women, saying things like "I'll fuck you straight." They tried to ignore him and walk away, but he pursued, grabbing at his crotch and continuing to hurl insults. Finally they confronted him and a fight broke out. One of the women had hair pulled out, another was choked by Buckle on the ground. Two passerbys came over to stop Buckle, who ended up being stabbed and spent five days in the hospital.

Buckle was never charged. The women were.

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RuPaul's Drag Race Comic Recap: The Six Best Moments from Episode Twelve

TV post by Carolyn Main on April 25, 2013 - 12:37pm; tagged comics, recaps, RuPaul's Drag Race..

DRAG RACE COMIC

We're down to the final three competitors in this season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Each of the trio has the crown and cash directly in their crosshairs, yet this week had to compete in challenges as rigorous as they were random. Will the winner be Alaska the all-around pro, Jinkx the jester, or Roxxxy the... um... hair choreographer? Read my illustrated recap of the show's best moments below!

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Oh, the Irony of the Fight over the Immigration Reform Bill

Politics post by Anand Balasubra... on April 25, 2013 - 11:38am; tagged immigration, Race, undocumented immigrants.

people at a candlelit protest for immigration reform

Are you a criminal? Let me be specific: have you committed the civil offense of working in the United States without papers? Have you thwarted our nation of laws through heinous acts of unauthorized fruit picking? How about using your degree from UC Berkeley to perform renegade statistical analysis? Are you one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States?

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Fire, Wolves, Vaginas: Filmmaker Vanessa Renwick Releases 30 Years of Work

Movies post by Sarah Mirk on April 25, 2013 - 8:43am; tagged female directors, women in film.

Vanessa Renwick

Things are shaky and spooky in Vanessa Renwick’s short films. Watching her films, I’m never really sure where I am or why I’m there or what will happen, but I’m compelled to go along for the ride. Renwick, now 51, shot many of her tiny films on hand-held film cameras in late eighties and early nineties, drawing on her own wildly varied life experiences for subject matter.

Check out our interview below the jump.

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On Our Radar: Today's Feminist News Roundup

News post by Hannah Siobhan ... on April 25, 2013 - 8:25am; tagged China, Gender Gap, Idaho, leftover women, Neuroplasticity, Orgasm.

Goodmorning and happy almost weekend! Here's the news we've been reading at the Bitch HQ:

Neuroplasticity is kind of amazing. And this story about a quadriplegic man who learns to orgasm through his thumb is one example of how sex can be so much more than what we think it can if we just open our minds. [Huffington Post]
Progress! New driver ID policy in Idaho allows trans people to correct the gender marker on their IDs without having to show proof of surgery. [Advocate]
Ugh. According to The Globe and Mail it will take 228 YEARS to close the gender gap in pay in Canada at the pace it’s going. [The Globe and Mail]
"Leftover" women? In China, attitudes are shifting around the status of unmarried women. [NY Times]
Another reminder that as an ally one of the most important things we can do is listen. [Everyday Feminism]
No human is illegal. Drop the ‘I’ word and sign the pledge today. [Colorlines]
Sign the petition to boycott MWMF, a women’s music festival that is openly excluding trans women from participating. [Change.org]

Stay tuned!

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Steubenville's Football Coach is Rehired for Two More Years

News post by Sarah Mirk on April 24, 2013 - 2:28pm; tagged rape, Steubenville.

protesters holding "resign coach saccoccia" signs

Personally, I was shocked when the Steubenville rapists were found guilty. I've gotten cynical about prosecution of rape—so few cases lead to punishment that I was excited and surprised to learn that, this time, the legal system worked.

But yesterday another aspect of creating justice in the case fell short: The football team's coach, Reno Saccoccia, has been rehired for another two years at Steubenville High.

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