On John Boehner's Crusade to End Abortion

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Earlier this week (at March for Life, an anti-abortion protest), House Speaker John Boehner announced his intention to ban abortion permanently.

Here is the first part of his plan: make the Hyde Amendment permanent.

The Hyde Amendment prevents certain federal funding from paying for abortions, with exceptions for incest and rape. It passed in 1976 in response to Roe v. Wade.

First of all, the government has no right to tell a woman what she can and can not do with her body. Her choice in what to do with a pregnancy is exactly that. Her. Choice.

Second, even if legislation is put in place outlawing abortions, do anti-choicers really believe that abortions will disappear? If anything, anti-choice legislation creates an even more dangerous situation for women. If there is no safe space to turn to for an abortion, she will either take matters into her own hands or seek help in an unsafe way.

Please, John Boehner. Come to your senses and back away from women's bodies. They are not yours to legislate.

Feminism in Film: Cinderella

For the rest of my Feminism in Film Posts, go here.

Initial Thoughts
The is my other sister's favorite movie! We're going through them all in order.

The Critique
Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella hate on Cinderella. Why? Because Cinderella is kind, sweet, classy, and beautiful. Lady Tremaine allows her daughters to sabotage Cinderella's dress and then locks her in the tower. There's some Queen/Snow White dynamics going on here. Granted, Lady Tremaine isn't as brutal as The Queen. But still. Cinderella is cast into non-existence because she is a good person.

However, I don't really understand why Anastasia and Drizella need to be unattractive physically. Over and over again, we are given examples of how unattractive their personalities are. So Cinderella is the only one who is allowed to be beautiful? Why can't these women be solely evaluated based on their character?

The only female friendship is between the Fairy Godmother and Cinderella. All the other women gang up on her. I really wish the princesses had friends who weren't animals. It's just not very practical.

Whitewashing, again. No people of color here!

In this movie, the prince actually gets to talk to Cinderella. Which is a vast improvement from Snow White's prince. But still. He wants to marry her after a few hours! Not exactly realistic.

Cinderella doesn't save herself. She relies on two male mice to retrieve the key to her locked tower bedroom. And then she is safe from her wicked stepmother by marrying the king.

The Bechdel Test
*two named women? YES (Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella)
*who talk to each other? YES
*about something other than men? YES (usually chores, also Cinderella's presence at the ball)
I don't really know why these women are so bitter towards the princesses.

Final Rating
Two Stars

Debunking the Feminist Nazi Meme

You've probably seen the 'Feminist Nazi' meme floating around the internet. 

Yes, it's offensive. But it's also full of incorrect statements. 

Below are some debunked "notable examples". 

Actually, women used to be diagnosed with hysteria by doctors in the 19th century. It was sort of a catch-all diagnosis for any problem a woman might have. Often, however, it was used for "troubled" women. So does calling attention to a stereotype make me hysterical? Apparently it does, according to this meme. Google image search 'hysterical men'. Pictures of Steve Carell and Zack Galifianakis pops up. Google image search 'hysterical women' and suddenly you've got pictures of women screaming and being violent. That's a problem. Oh, by the way: the cure for female hysteria? Orgasms. 

Ok, so here we get into slut-shaming and rape culture. Men and women can wear whatever they damn well want. Both genders should be able to leave the house in whatever makes them feel comfortable and not be judged, harassed, or violated. Unfortunately, we live in a patriarchal society where the opposite takes place. If a woman puts on a bikini, then she's "asking for it". Right? WRONG. SO WRONG. It is incredibly humiliating to be ogled and examined like a cow at a country fair. 

Actually, that's wrong. 

Women have been pushing to join the front lines for decades. 

It's the government that doesn't want to allow it. See here.

The word 'pussy', when used as an insult, is most often 

used by men to describe other men. 

It is a way of criticizing another man's masculinity. 

See this incredibly well written (cue eye roll) article by a man for a mens blog.

Fashion vs. Feminism

Yesterday, my family had a few family friends over to watch some football game. We somehow ended up on the topic of bad TV, and Mr. K (the husband of this other family) began to mock such shows as Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, 90210, etc. Mrs. K turned and said that her daughter has begun to watch Gossip Girl and she's so embarrassed. Now, I watch Gossip Girl and I said as much. But then I went on...

"The storyline is horrible. The writing is abysmal. The acting is even worse. The only reason I watch it is for the pretty clothes."

My 18-year-old sister quickly turned and said, "What? Ms. Feminist watches a show for the clothes? Shame!"

The conversation continued without anyone realizing what my sister had said. But I was a little upset. Which leads me to a few thoughts:

1. No one can tell you which shows you should or should not like.

Everyone has their guilty pleasure shows. Be it Dance Moms, Gossip Girl, or Dr. Who, everyone has one. But no one has the right to mock you for your choice of enjoyment. I truly enjoy the beautiful outfits on Gossip Girl. So what?

2. I can be a feminist and someone who enjoys fashion.

The two are not mutually exclusive. This sort of perpetuates the stereotype of man-hating feminazis who burn their bras and don't wear makeup. Which isn't true. I can be a feminist who loves nice lingerie and quality makeup. I love beautiful clothing. This does not make me any less of a feminist.

I have not said anything to my sister, and I'm not sure if I will. It's pretty after the fact and I don't want to cause a scene. But I do want her to understand that feminism does not exclude traditionally feminine qualities.

Why I Love Feminism

What I love about feminism is that it gives women the go ahead to be whomever they want to be. If I want to marry young and be a stay-at-home-mom, that's acceptable. If I want to hold off on having kids because I would rather pursue a career, that's acceptable. If I want to juggle kids and a career, that's acceptable. If I want to dress like Sandy in Grease, power to me. If I prefer the more demure styles of the 1950s housewife, power to me. I can dress, speak, move, and act however I want. But only if it's what I want.

When I put on a low-cut top, tight jeans, and killer heels, it's because I know I look hot and I like looking hot. It makes me feel confident. I'm not choosing that outfit in the hopes of attracting some boy's eye. I'm not going to the gym to meet some buff gym rat, I'm there to become healthier. When I pick out a Halloween costume, I don't go for the traditional "slutty" costume. This year I was Leslie Winkle from The Big Bang Theory. Obviously sexy? Nope. She's wicked smart, has the same curly hair as me, and isn't afraid to speak her mind. Bonus-the costume is ridiculously easy to put together (jeans, t-shirt, hoodie).

My cousin is a sophomore in college. We lead very different lifestyles. This year for Halloween, she chose to dress as a "slutty Snow White". Now, I don't think I'm going out on a limb here when I say that she was not making a political statement about our oppressive patriarchal society and the pressure it puts on women to be sexy and available. She was just trying to look hot and get a guy's attention.

Like I said, feminism is about being who you want to be. But you have to dress, speak, move, and act that way because it's your choice. This is not about another man or another girl.

Who do you want to be?