Monday, November 28, 2011

History-New Zealand Suffrage 1893

1893 Woman‘s Suffrage Petition. Christchurch, Sheet No. 1, [Archives New Zealand LE 1 1893/7a]

On November 28, 1893 the women of New Zealand gained the right to vote. New Zealand was the first governed nation where women won this right. Between 1890 and 1893, numerous petitions wer)e sent to the Houses of Parliament. That's right petitions-the same effective tool we use today to bring about change. The last petition in 1893 had more than 30,000 signatures. The image above is the first sheet of that petition. The campaign was led by Kate Sheppard. She was later honored on the $10 note. I thought this description of her particularly apt: "Most importantly she had the skill of inspiring other women round the country to join the cause and to take action - and to remain loyal and continue taking action." (http://www.nzine.co.nz/features/suffrage2.html)


Another interesting and striking move were the red and white camellias sent to Parliament members. White ones were given to members that supported the Suffrage Bill while red were given to those who had not supported the Bill. The Bill was signed.



Friday, November 18, 2011

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Get Involved-Facebook Pro Rape and Pro Violence Pages

Follow-up to the post about Facebook's Pro-Rape pages. It turns out that Facebook simply removed pages that contained the word rape. There are still a lot of pages out there that talk about violence to women. For example "Kick the bitch, why? coz' she's a slut" and many others.

Take action:

  • Click the 'Report' button
  • Sign the petition on change.org
  • Tweet about pro-rape and pro-violence pages with hashtag #notfunnyfacebook
  • Report via snail mail to Facebook Corporate Office Headquarters, 1601 S. California Ave., Palo Alto CA 94304 or call (650)543-4800

Friday, November 11, 2011

Blogger Intro- Jen

Welcome to Integrated Feminism, a new voice in the struggle for gender equality. As Whitney explained in her introductory post, this blog is borne from the frustration that a group of young feminists felt when seeking a place in the feminist movement. With the fissures that are evident between the Second and Third Waves of our movement (and make no mistake...it is OUR movement), it becomes progressively more difficult for many women to identify with and find their own voice within a movement that should serve to unite rather than to divide. It is our aim to help build that unified front. The bloggers who contribute to IF may not always share the same viewpoint, but we do share a common goal: to advance the cause of feminism and gender equality.

As this is my first contribution to the blog, it stands to reason that I should tell our readers a little bit about who I am. I'm Jen, and my background is in Sociology and Women's Studies. My research interests are representations of women in popular culture, social movements, and sex and sexuality, and my current research focuses on sexual assault on college campuses.

I'm sure you'll learn more about all of us as we build this blog, so keep coming back. Add your perspective to the mix. Use your voice. Find your place in this movement, and together we'll fight for gender equality.

In Solidarity -

Jen

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Monday, November 7, 2011

Opinion- The Jokes Just Aren't Funny . . .

The Jokes Just Aren't Funny . . . The Use of Comedy and Language Today

Several pro-rape and rape joke Facebook pages were created in August 2011 and people were immediately offended. It became painfully obvious that Facebook would not be monitoring the content of these pages. People began protesting the pro-rape pages and Lizzy Davies of the Guardian published a news article on Facebook's refusal to remove the offensive content. Ms. Magazine encouraged a tweet campaign and change.org also got involved.

Bloggers noticed on November 6, 2011 that many of these pages have been removed. There was no official PR or news release from Facebook and the only evidence is in the absence of the pages. A success for sure, but an apology or official statement would have been even better.

How could this have happened and why was it considered funny to so many people? A little further investigation reveals that this is not the first pro-rape page that Facebook has allowed. An article by Hortense Smith on Jezebel.com from November 8, 2009 discusses a pro-rape Facebook page. TWO. YEARS. AGO. It just illustrates that we can not turn a blind eye to inappropriate and unjust behavior regardless of how few it seems to hurt.

Facebook is not the only place letting rape jokes slide. Several TV shows have aired rape jokes, including 30 Rock, and several comedians are using rape jokes in their routines. Some believe that comedy is actually a means to dealing with difficult topics. Psychological and sociological studies seem to vacillate back and forth on the actual effect of sexist jokes (Ford et al; Ford and Ferguson; Ryan and Kanjorski). Is there comedy that actually enlightens or brings new perception to the listeners? Many think that it can (particularly in politics) but a lot of this depends on the audience. A racist joke told to a racist person is unlikely to effect any change in perception and will likely reinforce existing prejudice. And there is plenty of existing prejudice against women.

I find it somewhat ironic that people have to explain why something isn't a joke. If it's not funny, it's not a joke. And hurting people just isn't funny.



I also have some concerns about how women describe and talk about themselves. Even feminists. A lot of websites and blogs from third wave feminists use derogatory terms in their titles or icons depicting sexy women (inadvertently suggesting that this is the normal way to look). This appears to be an attempt to reclaim these words and remove the negative connotation.
The "grrls" of the third wave have stepped onto the stage as strong and empowered, eschewing victimization and defining feminine beauty for themselves as subjects, not as objects of a sexist patriarchy. They have developed a rhetoric of mimicry, which reappropriates derogatory terms like "slut" and "bitch" in order subvert sexist culture and deprive it of verbal weapons. 
But I don't think it worked. At least not as well as intended. Does calling yourself a bitch change the meaning of the word? Is that how others take it, or do they suddenly think it's okay to treat you like a bitch because you refer to yourself as one? Or will some people think it's okay to joke about it? How do we change the meaning of words? I'm not sure, I'm still a little confused about the efficacy of reclaiming negative words.

For example, SlutWalks seem to be slightly contradictory. The protest against women being to blame for rape and sexual molestation because of the way they dress or act is an incredibly worthy cause. The blame for rape always rests on the perpetrator. But I'm not sure what calling ourselves sluts achieves when we could spend the effort getting rid of the word altogether. Calling someone a slut or treating someone like a slut is inappropriate and is part of abusive behavior. It also seems similar to rape jokes (i.e. Dave Chapelle's whore routine). Does normalizing or frequenting a word make it less harmful?

Where is feminism today? Can we be more effective? Can we apply techniques from the 60s and 70s with an understanding that feminists can enjoy their high heels and dresses? I certainly hope so! Can we reclaim the word "feminist"? Yes! But let's not compare it to the F word. Do we need to change the meaning of bitch or slut? How can we do so effectively?  How can we use an understanding of language and an understanding of our own history to continue to fight the many infringements on women's rights? How do we as a world, alter our language and adjust our values to no longer mock or belittle women?

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Integrated Feminism

There is a growing group of young feminists who don't seem to fit in with third wave feminism. As one of these young feminists, I find the titles, jokes, posts, and focus on sex appeal trite and self deprecating. This is not a feminism that works for me. Perhaps, I'm missing the point. I can understand the joy in being a woman and I can understand reclaiming our sexiness for ourselves. But to promote sexiness? Aren't there enough eating disorders dividing our gender already? Of course you can wear a push-up bra and have a brain, but bra less or bra full, I'm just not all that interested in your underwear.  


I would like to be involved with political issues in the United States and abroad, I would like to have real equality rather than lip service equality, and I would like to explore equality in religion, art, and culture. Are my goals really that different from any of the other waves of feminism? NO! The first wave, the second wave, the third wave all had the same goals and we will continue to have as many waves of feminism as it takes to bring down the walls of inequality.


"Any woman who chooses to behave like a full human being should be warned that the armies of the status quo will treat her as something of a dirty joke. That's their natural and first weapon. She will need her sisterhood" -Gloria Steinem


It is time to integrate styles and techniques, to put aside generational differences and become a sisterhood. Second wavers were treated as a 'dirty joke' for being bra burners while third wavers are treated as a 'dirty joke' for being bra exhibitionists. Feminism is not a joke and it's time to put a stop to creepy laughter. Feminists are mothers, daughters, church goers, lovers, executives, homemakers, voters, scholars, and quite often victims. Feminists are women and women who enjoy any hard earned rights for women are feminists. And we are a sisterhood. "Liberty, Egality, and Sisterhood!" ;)