feminist critique

Have you been keeping up with the Olympics? If you have, then this has surely been an exciting week. Other things have been exciting too though. Here's what we've been reading/watching.

• Smile, it makes you seem less threatening. Racially biased commentary in the Olympics is a thing, but if you just shrug it off and smile real big, it's okay, right? Ummm, no. But look, Gabby Douglas led the U.S. Gymnastics team to gold victory, so basically, skeptical (read: racist) commentators should back the heck up. [The Crunk Feminist Collective]
• Send Dear White People to the Tribeca Film Institute! They're well ahead of everyone, but just in case something happens, get your vote in by 5pm tonight! [IndieWire]
• Recession Art at CULTUREfix presents Still Figuring it Out: a feminist coming-of-age, an exhibition and event curated by Ana Cecelia Alvarez running from August 9th-12th in New York City! [Recession Art]
• Orientalism still runs rampant—check out this critique of Orientalist fantasies in contemporary travel narratives. [Racialicious]
• In case you need more reasons to despise Arizona's state legislation, their new abortion ban (with the earliest gestational age restriction in the nation) just went into effect. Great. [Ms. Blog]
• After some much merited cringing, Bitch contributor, Audra Schroeder shows you how NOT to write about female musicians. [Dallas Observer]
• Gore Vidal passed away this week. Here are some important thoughts about his life and his questionable values that you might not have been previously aware of. [Tiger Beatdown]
• Nicki Minaj is so close to being the perfect feminist–what's holding her back? [AlterNet]
• Check out this conversation with queer, feminist, Texas Rep. Mary Gonzalez–she's changing the face of politics, and she's also the sweetest! [Autostraddle]
• Kai Davis and Safi Niara of Philly Youth Poetry Movement absolutely KILLED it (as usual) at Brave New Voices, 2012 last week. I actually shouted "yes" at my screen multiple times while watching this. Perfection. Seriously, watch this immediately. The after you watch it once, watch it again. In fact, I will leave it here for you just to make it easier. [YouthSpeaks]

What have you been reading, musing, raging, or raving about this week? Share your thoughts in the comments!

This has been another week! Here's what we've been reading.

• s.e. smith weighs in on the tragic shooting in Colorado this morning, asking why we blame "crazy" people for acts of violence. [xoJane]
• Check out this awesome and super insightful dialogue on the intersections of race and feminism and more! [Tiger Beatdown]
• Oh, I'm cringing right now. Longtime Google executive, and new CEO of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, believes in equal rights, and that women are just as capable, if not more capable than men in many dimensions, but doesn't identify as a feminist because she doesn't have "militant drive" and a chip on her shoulder??? Get with it, Marissa! Where the heck would you even be right now without feminism? These "opportunities" for women you speak of weren't just handed to us. [Feministing]
• Mike Le discusses frustrations with the lack of Asian and Asian American characters in Joss Whedon's shows. [Racebending]
• This week in Olympic athlete discrimination: Highest ranked Olympic weightlifter Sarah Robles can't get sponsored because she doesn't fit the model athlete image? Well, she's got one sponsor, but still, come on! [Slate]
• Megan Dietz tackles issues around weight obsession, diet culture, and all sorts of things that plague societal standards of beauty and body image. And BBC's global weight calculator is certainly not helping the matter. [The Hairpin/BBC]
• Uh oh, Slate's advice columnist, Emily Yoffe (Dear Prudence) isn't giving very sound advice, and frankly, just comes off as totally rude and condescending. "Stop acting like a parody of a gender-studies course catalog and start acting like a loving wife." Seriously? Drunk sex is not always consensual sex, and nonconsensual sex is rape. Point blank. [In These Times]
• Hooray! VIDA – Women in Literary Arts recently launched their blog! [HER KIND]
• Healthy San Francisco, the city's health insurance program for uninsured residents, to remove its trans exclusions. One step closer to trans inclusive healthcare everywhere! [Bay Area Reporter]
• And just because I'm a little obsessed, you should look at this side by side comparison of this young fan's shot-by-shot recreation of Beyoncé's "Countdown." It is actually perfect. [Videogum]
• Portland update: The Portland Queer Music Festival is this weekend! Come for the music, stay for the queers!

What have you been reading, musing, raging, or raving about? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Riled up yet? Here are more things that might make you angry, but also some things that should make you excited! Take this as your cue to go out and get some sun this weekend. I think we all need it.

• Daniel Tosh may have taken the cake for being the scum of the week, but Domino's Pizza is riding in the same douchebaggy boat with their new "no is the new yes" campaign. Really, Domino's? Must we shout it from the top of our lungs? "NO" MEANS "NO." [Feministing]
• Janet Mock explores why "trapped in the wrong body" is a convenient and lazy explanation that victimizes trans individuals. [Fish Food For Thought]
• An exploration of the fetishization of race, and how your assumptions based on ethnic background aren't gonna get you any dates with people of color. [Feministe]
• LPAC–the first ever Lesbian Political Action Committee–launched this Wednesday! Jane Lynch approves. [Autostraddle]
• As if we weren't already psyched by the new Smart Girls at the Party show Meow Meow Music, the channel launched a new web series this week, Ask Amy, where Amy Poehler gives advice to girls. Can someone ask Amy if she'll be our BFF?
• The racial dynamics of street harrassment, and how catcalling has reached an all-time high. [Oshun Returns]
• As a follow up to Julia Bluhm's petition against using photoshop to alter bodies in Seventeen magazine, a group of young women petitioned for Teen Vogue to feature more diverse and relatable bodies, but had their concerns dismissed by the the editor-in-chief. Put down your Teen Vogue, there are quality magazines out there–with friendly staff who will actually listen to you! We promise. [Ms. Blog/Jezebel]
• A town in Germany has designated certain tricky parking spaces "Men Only." Um, what? [AP]
• Mitt Romney responded to being booed at the NAACP conference. Not such a people pleaser, but he's still under the assumption that he'll get the black vote. Dude, seriously? [Colorlines]
• Are you in the New York Metropolitan area? Have you been under a box for the last few weeks and need some excitement, i.e., a weekend full of queer and feminist bands and workshops? Well, here's a reminder that C.L.I.T. Fest is tonight, tomorrow, and the next day. Seriously though. Get your butt on NJ Transit. I know you hate it, but it'll be worth it. Go. For me.
• Portland update: In Other Words is hosting its last Dirty Queer X-rated open mic event of the summer TONIGHT at 6:30pm. Come down and celebrate Friday the 13th with some dirty Portland queer cuties. After that, head up to The Know to see Forever, Swearin', and Waxahatchee. Yeah, that's right, Katie Crutchfield from P.S. Eliot has some new heartbreaking tunes for you. 

What have you been reading, musing, raging, or raving about? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Here's what we've been thinking about this week that isn't the TomKat divorce announcement.

• A fourth edition of Gloria Anzaldua's Borderlands/La Frontera is to be published, but it can't happen without your help! [Kickstarter]
• Jay Smooth tells us why "don't feed the trolls" is a stupid piece of internet advice. Feed them or relinquish your position on the internet forever! [Ill Doctrine]
• We all know (or at least we all should know) that the myth of the "model minority" is super problematic! Here are some solid reasons why it hurts not only the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, but why it hurts everyone. [Colorlines/Feministing]
• Sexual harassment isn't a joke. This mall in New Jersey doesn't seem to agree. [TDN]
• Speaking of things that aren't jokes, abuse against women, and abuse IN GENERAL is not something to make a "funny" t-shirt design out of. It's not funny. Stop that. [Open File]
• Jos Truitt explores cissexism, the undermining of trans identities, and unexamined privilege and oppression within queer communities. [Feministing]
• Remember the Bechdel Test? Well here's the Roberts Test for trans people of color in film and television. [Transgriot]
• Flavia Dzodan responds to the Anne-Marie Slaughter piece on feminism's "failures." [Tiger Beatdown]
• Wanna be a "reverse racist" and learn how to oppress white people? Check out this step by step guide. Wait, you don't think I'm serious, right? That's not how oppression works. But get a kick out of this hilarious racial satire. [Black Girl Dangerous]
• The Allied Media Conference is this weekend in Detroit! Browse the schedule here, and follow #AMC2012 on Twitter. [AMP]
• Anne Helen Peterson discusses the female gaze, desire, and Magic Mike! Stay tuned for our review (via Popaganda–back by popular demand!) of Channing Tatum's fantastic acting skills naked bod later today! [Anne Helen Peterson]
• Check out this piece on Nora Ephron's early years when she was a feminist New Journalism pioneer. [Salon]
• Portland update: For Bitch Media's second installment of CineBitch, we'll be screening 9 to 5 at Mississippi Studios on Monday, July 2nd at 7pm!