Instead the dame has acquired the younger generation’s wonder about her rich experience. But despite her recent achievements, an album and Irina Palm, many males think she is still what she was in the ’60s: raw, easy, a muse and whore (in a sense of the word).

Irina Palm, nominated for the Golden Bear for the best movie in Berlin in 2007, is simple, and witty - yet also tragic. It features Faithfull as a doting grandmother who will do anything for her loved ones. Her grandson, Olly, is suffering from an acute disease that needs prompt treatment and that’s where the problem begins. It means he has to be treated outside of Great Britain where specialists are waiting to cure him. No one in Olly’s family is rich and his grandmother Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) cannot afford the flight and lodging to Australia. They live in a modest house close to London. Overall, the relationship between Maggie and her daughter-in-law, Sarah, is strained.

Until Maggie decides to take the matter in her hands. Looking naively at the placard “Wanted Hostess,” a euphemism for whore, hanging in front of a sex shop window in Soho, she goes in and a new world unfolds for her.

She meets Miki, the wily owner of the sex shop. The moment he holds her hands she feels strange while he explains to her the “job” that she is about to do. He tells her that her hands are soft and precious and will make men longing. Until she finds out the real deal. She finds herself working in a room with a small hole, a “glory box” where the men can insert their penis. An Asian woman, who becomes her friend and later a rival, teaches her how to “touch” the men the right way. Appearance is not extremely important, the Asian woman says, rather the way one does the hand job on the clients. It is not long till Maggie earns the name and the reputation as Irina Palm, her eventual stage name.

Her son is wary when one day she hands them loads of money to help Olly’s treatment abroad. As soon as they find out the truth, Sarah changes her opinion towards her in-law and appreciates the sacrifice Maggie has made.

This might be an allegory of the life of the former muse of Rolling Stone. The difference between Faithfull and Maggie is that the former has lived a life of spotlights and bad press. Maggie is a simple widower who doesn’t have any inkling of the outside world yet has experienced that not everyone is nice and proper including her dead husband, who had an affair with her best friend. It is a crazy world out there and Faithfull has seen it all. To all the men out there who still believe she is a whore, oh, well, they haven’t grown up yet.

They fanned the flames by throwing 40,000 copies of “Shanghai Baby” on fire. Thus, that lone act increased Wei’s popularity, catapulting her to the status of cult figure. In her country, one can buy her novel under the counter. In some cases, others use her name to sell more racy sex. In other parts of the world, especially the West, where Asian women are still classified under certain stereotypes—a Japanese geisha, an exotic prostitute Suzy Wong, or even a docile mail-order bride—“Shanghai Baby” landed swiftly on the bestsellers’ list. Western critics praised the author’s bravery to defy China’s powers-that-be and the book’s unadulterated sexual liberation, written by an Asian female living in Asia. This entranced the West and designated her, along with another newcomer, Mian Mian, as the new voices of China. (more…)

Bi characters have thankfully been gaining a bit of visibility on television lately. On the latest episode of ABC’s medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” a bi woman named Callie exchanges flirtation with Arizona, a woman who kissed her out of the blue in a previous episode. This female-female kiss was nothing new for “Grey’s” as Callie only recently divorced her husband and then dated a woman for the first time in her life. Amidst the rest of the current network hits, “Grey’s” is one of the most sexually progressive series.

Not only is “Grey’s” depicting a woman who is bi, but one who is still trying out her wings, portraying to young or recently out bi’s–and to the rest of the world, for that matter–that questioning one’s orientation, being uncertain and making mistakes along the way, is acceptable and doesn’t always lead to venereal disease. As in real life, biphobia rears its ugly head more than once, and Callie, like many bi’s, is without support or context for her identity, and knows no way of handling it well. (more…)

Apparently Ms.’ justification for this cover pick is that Obama told Feminist Majority Foundation chair Peg Yorkin in a meeting, “I am a feminist.”

Only time will tell what Obama will do for women as president, and this bold cover based on 3 words seems premature.

Not to mention that using the classic image of Superman  is quite demeaning - it implies that Obama will swoop in a one-man feminist to change women’s lives for all time. This is not how change happens, as grassroots feminists have always known.

Seems like Ms. is reaching pretty low to jump on the Obama bandwagon. If Ms. wants to celebrate Obama’s work for women, perhaps a more fitting cover subject would be a woman in his life who has inspired his feminism - his mother, wife, or daughters would be obvious examples.

Bellis’ comprehensive introduction gives helpful explanations of some of the richness in contemporary Biblical interpretation. Most interesting to me, she shares an overview of the variety of feminist understandings of biblical authority. My kneejerk reaction is to consider this a contradiction in terms, (more…)

Though the movement behind Charlie’s involvement in Afghanistan is Joanne Herring, the movie does nothing to explain her own background or motivations regarding Afghanistan. Instead her presence in the film is almost exclusively as a sexual partner for Charlie, or otherwise defined by her sexuality (whether or not she’ll be offensively dressed in Afghanistan, her comment to Charlie’s staff, etc.).

Charlie’s involvement with many women, his choice of staff (he can learn to type, but can’t grow tits, so he hires women he’s attracted to) is not explored at all by the film. It’s simply used to bring excitement to the story and add something “fun” to an otherwise depressing movie. While this was certainly part of his life (and probably still is), it shouldn’t just be tossed into the mix of a movie for thrills without any reflection on its deeper meaning or impact.

I’ve grown highly critical of musicians proclaiming to mix feminism and music into one through their art, abilities, and passion.  And although a person can always do more, DiFranco has repeatedly found a way to mix it up and make us think.  This particular album spans the spectrum including the upbeat (and nearly too sappy for this pessimist) Smiling Underneath - “long as I’m with you/I’ve got a good attitude/long as I’m with you.”  My personal favorite track, Alla This, brings me back to the late 1990’s DiFranco - “I won’t rent you my time/I won’t sell you my brain/I won’t pray to a male god/Cuz that would be insane.”

Without listing quotes from each and every song on the album,  I’ll sum up by saying that the passionate DiFranco has done it again; only this time, with the wisdom that comes from being a new mom.  A great album, even if it takes me months to get used to the occasional sappy lyric.

We are appropriately determined to achieve equality and wholeness for queer folks within the church, but cannot skip over straight women in the process. Our full inclusion will come together (if it comes at all) since the reasons we are denied access are the same. Allowing all genders and sexualities into full leadership would demand looking into gender and sexuality in our own lives. What if we find out something we don’t want to know about ourselves? What if we realize that we can’t keep living the way we’ve live? What if we can no longer depend on a powerful, righteous Father God to be in charge and make meaning in our confused and aching world? (more…)

Krista Tippett’s weekly radio show (available in podcast) Speaking of Faith integrates a wide variety of perspectives on religion, spirituality, mystery, hope and culture. I often appreciate Krista Tippett’s interviews, and was particularly moved by the words of Rabbi Sharon Brous on Thursday’s show Days of Awe. Here is a clip of one of my favorite parts, and one that is particularly insightful for any woman wrestling with patriarchal religion:

Rabbi Sharon Brous, speaking about her relationship with Jewish texts krista-tippett-sharon-brous1.mp3

Of course, the relationship metaphor works so well in this context because (generally speaking) husbands have been able to inflict such pain upon their wives and wives have not had options for resistance. It is dangerous to romanticize being in love with a damaging tradition or person.

How do women (and men) in these patriarchal religious traditions resist powerfully and constructively?

How is the metaphor of tradition as husband or partner helpful and harmful?

Ralph made many insightful, right-on comments during this show, but I want to thank him in particular for calling Bill Maher out for making sexist comments about Sarah Palin. Sure, Sarah Palin isn’t a good vice presidential candidate, but does that make her a bimbo?

Bill responded to Ralph’s schooling by saying that George Bush is a “bimbo with a penis.” Even “liberal” Bill Maher doesn’t seem to understand the power that prejudice gives to words, and that words like bimbo carry specific and damaging weight because they are part of a patriarchal tool kit.

In the comments section for this clip on YouTube, one commenter called Ralph “arrogant.” Another wrote “that fat woman lisa - she seemed extremely nervous…” (more…)