Year 27 & 28

I went to a 30th birthday party tonight and asked the birthday girl if she felt any wiser. I personally think that as Aaliyah once sang, "age ain't nothin but a number." But I was curious to see what the birthday girl thought. She said it was no biggie and that she didn't feel any older or wiser. She said 27 and 28 are the years that are the toughest where you grow a stomach pouch and your bootie grows. After that you get comfortable with your body and learn to exercise to stay in shape. I said, "Great! This is my year! for growth" So, as I anticipate my butt and my bellie to grow this year, I will continue eating as much as I want. Might as well enjoy while I can! So, I celebrated the rest of the evening by eating 2 cupcakes. Damn they were good.

the origins of "feminazi"

it appears that the source of this word's popularity is RUSH LIMBAUGH!!! (yuck!)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminazi

lately he's also been going around calling mixed folks of african descent, like me, halle berry, and barack obama HALFRICANS. what an ass! he certainly seems to enjoy trying to define other people's identities. he uses stupid labels in a lame attempt to dismiss and discredit important ideas and experiences. gee, he sure must feel threatened! how sad. ;)

but seriously, words like "feminazi" continue to perpetuate harmful stereotypes about feminists and assertive women in general. that's why i felt it was important to find out more about its origins and usage and am posting this info here!

on ownership of the term

i'm often disappointed by the hesitancy of many women to embrace the term "feminist." sometimes it's almost as if the term is as powerful as a scarlet letter, in effect labeling an individual undesirable in our society.

why is this the case?
why do so many strong and intelligent women shy away from this term?

having been born and bred in the US, i feel that feminism is still very misunderstood among the (north) american public-at-large. i myself will admit to only relatively recently growing into the term, due mostly to my reluctance to prematurely identify with a movement i knew so little about. (i'm still in the learning process and most of my current knowledge comes from books and friends.) i always knew that i was curious about it and wanted to learn more, and the more bell hooks i read, the more i see how clearly my personal values are naturally aligned with feminist thought.

i love that feminism is still a controversial topic today because this forces people to adopt a "come strong or not at all" attitude. i've never seen/known a half-assed feminist. the term conjures up images of radicalism, non-conformity, activism, pride, fierce independence, and of course women's historic struggles for equality, all of which i embrace whole-heartedly. what i don't embrace is the pervasive misconception that feminism is all about man-hating. (what a sexist and completely male-centered notion!) as one of the wwm contributors (da) mentioned in her intro, there are many flavors of feminism. the one constant thread is that it's a movement centered around opposing sexism in all its forms. this means recognizing and challenging the gendered conceptions and systems we've been conditioned to buy into, as well as understanding and opposing the sexism perpetuated by both males and females that we encounter on a daily basis.

i think we should compile a list of the biggest misconceptions about feminists/feminism...anyone have suggestions for this?

one of the top misconceptions has got to be that feminist women in heterosexual relationships cannot/should not enjoy being treated by men on dates. my response: as two equals, i feel that my date and myself should both demonstrate a certain level of respect and enjoy mutual admiration, which sometimes results in being treated on dates. what, are feminists supposed to avoid fun at all costs? c'mon! gimme a damn break.

ode to denim

O! fave jeans, you have passed
gone to that place where denim goes to die
leaving me aghast
for I killed you with my humungo thigh
I tried to hold on; I sewed you, I stitched
you couldn't contain me, you ripped and I bitched
but not to worry, for my very concerned mom
saved my day, with zafu.com !!!


seriouly though, good jeans are sooooooooo hard to come by! i'm short/chubby, so i can never find my right size! sorry to make the following statement, but oprah was right...she suggested that when you find a good pair of jeans, buy @ least 2 pair! o oprah, that Stedman is one lucky mofo to have the infinitely wise you...

2 Things I Hate

There are 2 things I really hate 1) SUV's 2) Men that drive SUV's. I was on the 10 driving to Alhambra when I merged into a lane just at the same time as another guy. Now, most people would probably recognize that it was bad timing on behalf of both people but this asshole thought it was my fault and decided he would ride my ass in his brand new truck. When he got the opportunity he cut over two lanes and then cut back to get in front of me and of course he slammed on his breaks. How predictable! So after getting very close to rear ending him I decided to not play that game and stayed way back just to further piss him off. Ahhh it put me in such a crappy mood that yet another SUV with some dude in his big truck and his masculinity (or lack of) went out of his way to be an ass. Why is this shit necessary? And at the end of the day do assholes like him feel better about themselves?

"a girl like me"

hey, CONTRIBUTORS!

hey ladies, we've switched over to the new version of blogger which unfortunately means that in order to post, you will have to switch over to the new blogger too. (if you look to your left, you'll see that some contributor names have disappeared for this reason.)

it's quick and easy to switch, but just kind of annoying.
1) log into your "old blogger" account at blogger.com/start
2) under the heading "Your new version of Blogger is ready!" click on "Switch to the new version" and follow the instructions.
3) once you switch, you'll start signing in using the "new blogger" link (at blogger.com/start)

we apologize for these technical difficulties...please email us at womenswrites@gmail.com if you have any questions or problems relating to this whole stinky process!

(this is an enhanced re-post for anyone who missed it the first time)

gloria steinem article

it's about presidential candidates, and it's here.

frustration

the only thing worse than having some big truck block the crosswalk (and obstruct your view of the pedestrian signal!) when you're hungrily trying to make your way to the restaurants across the street is having the mofo who's driving the truck loudly catcalling and waving at you NON-STOP while you're madly attempting to see if it's ok to cross.

i so badly wanted to egg that jackass right in the face.

food for thought

I was sitting in the lunchroom today and noticed that for every 1 guy happily enjoying his huge hungryman-esque entrée, there were at least 2 women (including me) nuking their minuscule-portioned lean cuisine/weight watcher rations. And I say rations because when you’re a woman, who is constantly reminded by society to watch her figure, every calorie counts. I hate that women aren’t supposed to enjoy food, and I hate that although I occasionally indulge in rich fares, I’m a calorie counter too.

I’ve never, ever, ever, ever seen a guy who refused a food item because it was “too fattening,” or because he was “watching his weight.” It’s not right.

Maybe I’m just being biased and limiting my thoughts to personal experience, but this is what I see and, this is what I feel needs to change.              

chones

sorry to be all things wedding all of the time, but I just have to say that before you go shopping for a wedding dress, remember to wear nice chones! The shop attendant is going to see you in your underwear more than anyone else you've ever known...alls I'm sayin'!