Pussy Riot

Pussy Riot! A Punk Prayer For Freedom is a collection of courtroom statements, letters, journal entries, songs, poems and tributes from artists and musicians collected from and during the guerrilla performance group’s internationally infamous trial last year. The book is relatively short (150 pages) yet speaks volumes on issues of government corruption, human rights, punk, art and feminism and is an intimate look at the trial and band members’ experiences.

The book is a tragic read, but a profound historical document. Together, the documents reveal a corrupt trial and a media that cares less about the message of the women’s protest but the place and manner in which they chose to protest.

Another week has gone by, and this one was my last (official) week at Bitch! Wanna be the (newest) new media intern? Check out the job description here!

• Seriously? I said it last week, and I'll say it again, racism is racism, whether casual or not. This matters. Stop it, Lena Dunham. [Feministing]
• Did you read that problematic piece on gender-fluid youth last week? I did, and I cringed the whole way through. Here's a spot on critique. [New York Times Magazine/Love Isn't Enough]
• Genderplay is also life play; it’s a chance to explore who you are and who you want to be. [This Ain't Livin']
• Check out this great piece on Asian students and the lack of visibility within the larger immigration movement. [Hyphen]
• Feminist Ryan Gosling has been released as a book a few days ago! Wait, can they release a feminist flashcard deck too? [Ms. Blog]
• The Pussy Riot story continues to unfold—the women were officially sentenced two two years in prison. [Slate]
• Femme Conference 2012 happened last weekend in Baltimore! Did you go? Did you watch the livestream?
• Speaking of conferences (and Baltimore), registration for Facing Race 2012 is open! Author and badass Junot Diaz is the keynote, and trust me, you don't want to miss him.
• In case you didn't catch this in our interview with Cristy C. Road, POC Zine Project is going on tour in the fall! Catch them when they roll through a city near you!

And now for something with a bit more gravity than usual here on RetroPop: Punk and Real World Politics and Prison and the Queen of Pop. Oh, and amazing Adrienne Rich poetry.

Pussy Riot is an anti-authoritarian feminist punk band. So why have they become the rallying cry of the international patriarchy?