Fatema Mernissi follows the harem into Western literature, art and psyche, sharing fascinating insights on misogyny in Middle Eastern and Western culture along the way.

During her book tour for Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood, she was surprised by Western male journalists’ gleeful attitudes toward harems and decided to investigate. She found that these Western men, aided by Matisse, Kant and Ingres, understood women in harems to be silent, obedient and always sexually desirous. But Arab men have feared the women in their harems who might revolt at any time.

(more…)

Does Wicked promote feminism? I would love to ask author Gregory Maguire that very question!

In this society, women have fewer vocational and public opportunities than men, and seem to be bound by family obligations more than men are. That sounds familiar…so what does the novel say about this inequality?

The main character Elphaba is a very strong and non-traditional women - I think it’s safe to call her a feminist, and she is hated and even filled for it. Many of the powerful in the story are women, but all are still constantly judged by their looks, charm, kindness, and other traditionally feminine traits.

The Wizard is a really nasty person, for example, but is not criticized for this – it is simply accepted, as is the entire population’s deep fear of him. But Elphaba’s harsh personality is of primary concern throughout the book. (more…)

Thanks to Melissa for this fabulous lolcat!

Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love is disarming and insightful. Her vulnerability is engaging, and was affirming to me, as a reader. This dynamic is part of servant leadership, and also a traditionally “feminine” trait. How do we encourage all people to begin with vulnerability?

Anyone who is able to share honestly (not just 7th grade humor) about masturbation is dismantling patriarchy. Women, especially, have been taught that masturbation is unhealthy and dirty, and I’m really impressed that Gilbert included a few (very relevant) paragraphs on her own experience. Her down-to-earth approach is a wonderful way to normalize masturbation for women.

(more…)

A woman wrapped in cling film to resemble cuts of meat in a supermarket.

Mel B gets her “tits out for trafficking.”

Most of us have come to expect the exploitation of women’s bodies to sell everything from cars to cleaning products - but for charity?

Julie Bindel takes PETA and other charities on in Prostituting for Charity, published on truthout.org.

As a young and idealistic vegan, I was shocked when Pamela Anderson posed naked for PETA. But I was too embarrassed to complain. I figured I would sound prudish, square, or worst - jealous of her “sexy” body and ashamed of my own.

(more…)

This post is not about the content of Brown’s talk, though it was quite good. Instead, it’s about at least one reaction to the announcement of the event, and what it might tell us about how much work is yet to be done in finding equity and justice for women in our culture.

(more…)

The Geena Davis Institute on Media held a conference recently that discussed the potrayal of women on TV and in movies. They found all sorts of frustrating things:

• the ratio of men:women on screen is 1:3 (apparently up from 1:5 twenty years ago)
• females are over 5 times more likely than males to be shown in sexually revealing clothing (about 4 times more likely in TV and movies aimed at children)
• in animated material for children, females are far more likely to have unrealistic (and hypersexualized) body shapes - 22.7% vs. 1.2%

Lynn Ziegler has a great article about the conference on truthout.org, On-Screen Sex Ratios Add Up to One Big Minus.

Reuters also offers an overview of statistical findings from the conference.

It’s a good thing Geena Davis is the figure head for this work - doesn’t she look great?!

Hari reminisces about Bette Davis’ bad-ass characters on-screen, and her boldness off-screen. I’ve never seen a Bette Davis movie, but I’m going to rent one this weekend. But, Hari wonders, “Who are our female icons now? Nicole Kidman, whose career is epitomized by her role in ‘Moulin Rouge’, where she plays a limp, passive prostitute, waiting to be saved. Julia Roberts, whose only iconic role is as a screwed-up prostitute, waiting to be saved. The women of ‘Desperate Housewives’ - chaotic ditzes, who are either jobless, or have jobs where they merely spread chaos. The women of ‘Sex and the City’, who are obsessed with shoes and - in the end - have to compromise their careers for men. (more…)

The article points to some important concepts for anyone attempting to work, act, love or create with another gender. My favorite quote: “Intimacy just isn’t possible under patriarchy.”

This approach to patriarchy is wonderfully simple and inviting - we all want intimacy, and we want it across gender lines, so let’s take patriarchy on!

Catwoman’s “feminine power” includes her independence, ruthlessness, but always (and often first and foremost) her sex appeal. The fact that a story can claim to discuss empowerment of women and not raise a single concern about this focus on sex appeal is disconcerting.

(more…)