pull up the people pull up the poor...

So what is it about lesbians that makes them subvert the dominant paradigm and defy mainstream standards of beauty if not for their feminist leanings??? Come on straight feminists why do (some of you) still buy into the shave your body, diet, and wear makeup beauty ideal???

Psychology of Women Quarterly
Volume 30 Page 252 - September 2006
doi:10.1111/j.1471-6402.2006.00293.x
Volume 30 Issue 3


THE INFLUENCE OF BODY MASS INDEX ON THE PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS PREFERENCES OF FEMINIST AND NONFEMINIST HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN AND LESBIANS
Viren Swami1
Martin J. Tovée2

The present study examined associations between lesbian and feminist identity and predictors of female physical attractiveness. Seventy-two nonfeminist heterosexuals, 38 feminist heterosexuals, 75 nonfeminist lesbians, and 33 feminist lesbians were asked to rate according to physical attractiveness a set of images of real women with known body mass indexes (BMIs). The results showed that regardless of sexual orientation and feminist ascription, BMI was a dominant predictor of physical attractiveness. The results also showed that there were significant differences between lesbians and heterosexual women in BMIs of images found to be most attractive, with lesbians preferring images of women with significantly higher BMIs than heterosexual women. Self-identification as a feminist did not appear to be associated with a preference for larger BMIs. The findings are discussed in terms of sociocultural theory, which suggests that different communities may have different ideals of beauty.

There was a ridiculous article in Lesley College's The Riveter, which is a publication put out by Student's for Social Justice (Formerly women for social justice before...much to my chagrin Lesley went co-ed in Jan. 2005). Anyway the article basically listed with boldfaced headings myths about feminists so folks wouldn't worry...we weren't too radical. Now granted the young woman writing the article did not identify herself as a radical feminist, nor would I presume she is one. But I wrote a letter/article to the Riveter which will hopefully be published in retaliation to her poorly executed claims about what feminism is and isn't. SUCH AS: many feminists are pro-life and "I can honestly say I have NEVER met a female feminist who didn't shave" and Lesley is not a feminist school because not that many people come to Third Wave Meetings (the feminist group on campus)...anyway this is the article I wrote in response...I was mad ( A Radical Feminist's Perspective )

Hey check this out, Global Policy in 30 seconds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59TeDyQz4_U&mode=related&search=

So Alison and I just got these tickets to go to a two day conference on race relations on college campuses over at Northeastern University. It is so sweet because we got them for free and were the first two to apply for it so we got it. Alison already had her "interview" with the guys in the community service office who gave us the tickets and she says that she thinks they are disappointed that we are white, to which I responded how do they know i'm white, and then I remembered my name. and it doesn't get much whiter than that. but anyway it will be so sweeeeeeeeeet. and we ran into Nancy one of the best teachers ever and we told her we are getting to go to the conference and the whole thing about being white and she said "what race relations?" because we only have tokens, but no real diversity. My program in the grad school is sooooooo white and we have all this stuff about multicultural counseling and diversity but its a big joke, incidentally all my classes this semester are all women. what are the chances??? I guess the field of counseling and human services is dominated by women....just a BIT!!!!!!!!! wow. anyway i doubt that anyone else even offered to go to this conference on race relations even though they are saying they want to make sure we are serious about it because other people have applied to go since us...um sorry but Lesley campus is appallingly inactive, apathetic and unmotivated...in my undergrad experience there at least.... I will admit  I didn't even go to PRISM the gay club after a while because it was so blah......and there are a lot of dykes on campus I will tell you that. ANYWAY i am very excited to go to this conference i am gonna learn learn learn and stir up some shit on campus...woo hoo!
P.S. The Hidden Facets of Gender Inequality: Beyond the Haveli with Bina Agarwal at Kennedy School of Government Radcliffe Building on October 16th at 4pm!!!!!!!!! I have a very exciting life!!! and Indigo girls concert that same night!!!

Spike Lee's Malcolm X is sofuckinggood. I wish that when people pick a cause and kick ass at it and are really progressive that they wouldn't do it at others expense cause that's just damn hypocrisy *cough* *misogynists* BUT despite that, what a charismatic leader! I wish we had damngoodpublic speakers nowadays that could really rile up the young folks. I wish that person could be me. Speaking of kick ass stuff by and for young folks, the documentary "Live Nude Girls Unite" about sex workers rights and labor union organizing is really inspirational and my favorite line is when the stripper who made the documentary says something to the effect of "I love stripping, I have never worked with so many college educated women. Particularly feminist studies and philosophy...It's like they figured out how to get back at the patriarchy...take their money" HA HA that is awesome. Men should have to pay to look at women.

http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/ohenry/0900/litmags.html
why can't I just be famous or at least cannonized in some obscure literary magazine that my distant relatives will find years after my death and read my shit and read into my shit, and analyze my past and try and pretend they knew me?

Note to self: cool websites: http://www.indybay.org/ , http://www.killercoke.org/ , http://www.ifamericansknew.org/

So a couple nights ago on the Colbert Report the guest was a woman who wrote a book all about how feminism ruined women's lifes and forced them out of the private sphere and devalued their domestic role/duty. It was really heinous. The woman was saying that society is better off when women rely entirely, financially, emotionally, etc. on her husband and that the husband should have complete sexual control over her at all times and if she didn't want to "give it up to him" then she was crazy and he should be allowed to take her to the doctor to get a lobotomy. wow. thats f*cked up sh*t.

Did anyone watch the O'Reilly Factor last night...not that you should watch that heinous show but it does suck you in, like Jerry Springer...the shock value is ummm...ridiculous. ANyway he had three guest the [former?] president of Planned Parenthood, a woman from "Concerned Women in American" or something like that and a "women's rights activist" to discuss the new commercial for condoms put on by Planned Parenthood. Which is supposed to be portraying the woman as having the power in the situation...it is cute, about power tools and having the right equipment and the women from the concerned citizens said "they are trying to portray sex as a recreational activity..." I was thinking, "duh?" what is the problem with that...and it was really just a ridiculous argument because the women were on completely different channels/planes of existence and while one was arguing abstinence only the other was advocating women's sexual empowerment and then the other was throwing around supposed facts about how condoms don't protect against most STIs! It was quite a circus and so frustrating! P.S. incidentally O'reilly factor advertises that it is a no-spin zone....WOW>>>>

What americans should know about the Israel/Palestine and the role of the U.S. and Policy. 
http://www.ifamericansknew.org/us_ints/policy.html and http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/mideast/palestine/2457.html and http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/uscampaign/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=2536

Interested in south africa, feminism, global women's movements, international relations? maybe you should visit this article.... 
Globalisation, Marginalisation and New Social Movements in post-apartheid South Africa...

http://www.nu.ac.za/ccs/files/Hassim%20Womens%20Movement%20RR.pdf#search='inclusionary%20feminism'

The contemporary iconoclast only attacks such things as ideas and institutions. It is intolerable and ethnocentric to destroy religious symbols even if you don't believe in religion...please don't proselytize anti-religion, in much the same way that you wouldn't like religious zealots to proselytize to you.

The Price of Renewal
Produced, Directed and Written by Paul Espinosa.

Synopsis
What are the challenges of crafting a vibrant urban village from an
ethnically, culturally, and economically diverse population? This
perceptive documentary examines issues of community development, philanthropy
and civic engagement by chronicling the long-term redevelopment of the
once-deteriorating neighborhood of City Heights, often referred to as
the Ellis Island of San Diego. Here we find patterns of immigration,
migration, and gentrification common to many American cities. Using character-based
stories, we explore the extraordinary efforts of many individuals and
organizations struggling to revitalize an inner city neighborhood through
a partnership between public and private entities.

The Price of Renewal will air nationally on PBS as part of
California and the American Dream
Thursday April 20, 2006 @ 10:00 pm
(Check local listings)

1. Yourself: motivated
2. Your Lover: brilliant
3. Your Hair: unkempt
4. Your Mother: highstrung
5. Your Father: fulloftrivialfacts
6. Your Favorite Item: pen
7. Your Dream Last Night: layered
8. Your Favorite Drink: sweeticedtea
9. Your Dream Home: secretpassages
10. The Room You Are In: school
11. Your Pet: scooterboy
12. Who You Are Now: loved
13. Who You Want to be in Ten Years: activist
14. What You Want to be in Ten Years: influential
15. What You're Not: perfect
16. Your Best Friend: mature
17. One of Your Wishlist Items: time
18. Your Gender: proud
19. The Last Thing You Did: vaccinated
20. What You Are Wearing: comfies
21. Your Favorite Weather: cloudy
22. Your Favorite Book: easy
23. The Last Thing You Ate: soy
24. Your Life: onthego
25. Your Mood: withdrawn

so i am going to uganda this summer to work on a chimpanzee sanctuary for a woman who works for the Jane Goodall Institute. and that is really awesome and I am really excited. BUT i want to raise money for her because Uganda has state imposed energy saving blackouts in which the country arbitrarily turns of all power nearly every other day and sometimes leaves it off for long periods of time especially out in the rural areas which is where the sanctuary is. It is really important that they get a new generator soon because the one they have is on its last leg and may give out any day now. The new generator costs $15,000 US dollars and it is important not just for reliable communication (phone and internet) to the mainland (because the sanctuary is on an island in lake victoria) but also because they have expensive medications that need to be refrigerated. also they have to keep lots of food because it is difficult to get into town on a regular basis. Can anyone help me by pointing me in the direction of organizations which might donate money to this cause? I am going to be writing letters with a proposal for $ for the specific purchase of this very expensive generator.
thank you for your activism.

by the time you are reading this i will probably be dead.
ok thats not true but it is a really dramatic way to start a letter.
I am in so much pain. I cannot lift my arm, this vaccine is coursing through my body/veins and is slowly consuming all my endorphins and pain killing entities. I feel like someone slammed be with a sledge hammer which had jelly fish stingers attached to it. and upon impact with my arm the jelly stingers attached their little suction cups of poison death to my upper arm and now i am slowly dying.

Ten Random Things About Me:
10. I often wear two different socks
9. I took my mother's maiden name and now I do not have the same last name as either of my parents because my mom got remarried and took her husbands last name.
8. 37 is my favorite number
7. I have a random piece of metal behind my bottom teeth that has been in my mouth for 12 years left over from when I had braces, I never got it removed and now my insurance does not cover orthodontist work.
6. I have never seen survivor, the OC, or American Idol
5. I have never donated blood
4. When I stopped being a vegetarian it was really hard to come out as a meat eater and I was in the closet for several months
3. I like spicy food of all kinds
2. My favorite part of the human body is undoubtable a woman's stomach
1. I have never given a blow job

Nine Ways To Win My Heart:
9. offer me the last bite of food
8. hold my hand in public
7. be really smart and offer me tid bits of random information often
6. be enthused about learning new things and sharing information
5. be interested in grassroots organizing and radical politics
4. browse quitely in bookstores with me
3. share a healthy balance of silence and conversation on long car rides and reach out and touch my leg, hand, or neck often while I am driving.
2. have a positive body image, good self esteem, and a confident voice
1. rub my back

Eight Of My Favorite Movies:
8. Boys on the Side
7. Fried Green Tomatoes
6. The Client
5. Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
4. Connie and Carla
3. Thelma and Louise
2. Rocky Horror Picture Show
1. 9 to 5

Seven Things That Annoy Me:
7. yeast infections
6. chapped lips
5. hunger pangs
4. dirty and long fingernails
3. people who "open up" in class and share personal stories as if they are somehow complementary to the curriculum
2. When my nose hairs freeze from the cold, or my glasses fog up from trying to cover my face
1. criticism, being patronized, condescesion

Six Things I Want To Do Before I Die:
6. write a book
5. live communally
4. have a horse
3. have 10 orgasms in a row each one better than the one before
2. have enough money so that I can relax and read for pleasure and also so that i can redistribute it how I see fit
1. create art

Five Things I Am Afraid Of:
5. I have an irrational thought of my girlfriend leaving me and then dating a boy (although its not really a fear, just something i think about and it makes me queesy)
4. that there is conciousness after death
3. jaws breaking
2. everyone I know dying and me being left to figure out the little things like how to work the circuit breaker or put together a futon
1. being completely in love and having the other person not love me back...

Four Of My Favorite Items In My Room:
4. my bed
3. bookshelf with books especially dykes to watch out for comic series
2. art supplies and random things that can be stuck on a 3D collage
1. journal

Three Things I Do Everyday:
3. kiss
2. eat
1. think of gender politics, globalization and socio-economic disparities in the global community, not to mention racism, rape, genocide, and domestic violence.

Two Things I Want To Do Right Now:
2. have sex...
1. get a massage

One Person I Want To See Right Now:
1. alison

Two Names You Go By
1. Pro-Kat
2. Kitty

Two Parts of Your Heritage
1. Irish
2. Creek

Two Things That Scare You
1. nothing
2. breaking your jaw

Two of Your Everyday Essentials
1. hot tea
2. a kiss

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now
1. fuzzy green cardigan
2. two different socks

Two of Your Favorite Bands or Musical Artists (at the moment)
1. bright eyes
2. catie curtis

Two Things You Want in a Relationship (other than Real Love)
1. Passionate Sex
2. Intellectual conversation

Two Truths
1. religion is the opiate of the masses
2. The Ottoman Empire was great

Two Physical Things that Appeal to You About the Opposite Sex.
1. hmmmm.....
2. hands (w/ clean nails)

Two Physical Things that Appeal to you About the Same Sex.
1. soft skin, breasts
2. pretty lips (attached to a good kisser)and eyes, fingers that know what they are doing

Two of Your Favorite Hobbies
1. Arts and Crafts, collage, painting, etc.
2. eating out

Two Things You Want Really Badly
1. Stability
2. Family

Two Places You Want to go on Vacation
1. London
2. Central America

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die
1. Write a book that gets published
2. Have my work be recognized publicly

Two Ways That You are Stereotyped
1. lesbian (everyone can tell for some reason and I am not butch)
2. everyone assumes I am a vegetarian

Two Things You Are Thinking About Now
1. I can't wait to see Alison
2. My break is almost over and I am hungry

Two Stores You Shop At
1. Goodwill
2. Salvation Army

Two favorite web sites
1. used to be romp.com but I don't think it exists anymore
2. dictionary.com

Two cars you owned
1. 2000 Mercury Sable Wagon
2. Thats the only one (I still own it)

Two pets you have
1. Coosa- yellow lab O+
2. Scooter Boy- Tabby Cat O->

Two Sports
1. Softball
2. Gymnastics

Two People who will fill this out
1. sweet_dichotomy
2. dragana

Two things you did last nite
1. snuggled etc.
2. Went to class for 6 hours straight

Two shows you like to watch
1. X-Files
2. CSI: Las Vegas

Two places you like to go "out" to
1. Veggie Planet
2. Coolidge Corner, Kendall, Arlington Capital or Sommerville Theatre