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[Previous entry: "Highlights of recent blog-reading: Women in Pakistan. Body politics. Public atheism."] [Next entry: "socialists and libertarians on eminent domain"]
What I've been reading lately: A lot of feminist blogs. Especially Bitch, Ph.D.. There's a lot of links here from her, because most of what she writes has me jumping up and down and shouting "yes, yes!"
Katha Pollitt writes about reframing the abortion debate in The Nation. Reading that insiprired me to re-read what Bitch, Ph.D. wrote about trusting women to make moral judgements.
"Reproductive freedom" means just that. How are we free to build families when women are punished for raising children by reduced wages -- why is paid parental leave so rare? When so many places are toxic to children -- why are there so many schools and homes near factories and power plants? When breastfeeding women are societally pressured to cloister themselves in order to not bother prudes -- why are there only fifteen states which exempt breastfeeding from indecency laws? And so on, and so on.
Bitch, Ph.D. writes, regarding the culture of rape: "Telling rape victims--including drunk 18yos in Aruba--that they ought not to be flashing the goodies reduces women to, well, to goodies to be flashed. Dude, if I get drunk off my ass and stumble down the street, I'm not flaunting "goods" to be "stolen." I'm getting drunk and stumbling down the street. If you see it as anything else then bingo, baby: that's what we call rape culture."
Be careful -- according to the Supreme Court, it's okay for local governments to confiscate your home in the name of econonomic growth. This sort of things makes me think seriously about heading back to my socialist days -- because regardless of how I feel about other uses of eminent domain, corporate greed is *never* in the public good.
If you or someone you love has hips, discover or rediscover the poetry of Lucille Clifton. You'll be glad.
Posted by sev @ 11:39 AM PST |