Why "Classy" is Classist...

How often do we hear/use the phrase “show some class?”

Before I identified as a feminist, I never really thought about the meaning of this statement. Dictionary.com defines classy as “of high class, rank, or grade; stylish; admirably smart; elegant.” Personally, I wasn’t aware that people of a lower socioeconomic status, or class if you will, couldn’t be stylish, admirably smart, or elegant.

We attempt to raise awareness of inequalities and the distribution of wealth in a capitalist system. At the same time, we constantly preach about loving who you are and where you come from, yet in the back of our minds we know that there is a default group. A group we consider to be “correct.” So when we tell someone to “show a little class” we are actually telling them to emulate people with more privilege and resources. Because who we are and what we’ve grown up around just aren’t good enough, even for ourselves.

How do we show that we can emulate people of a higher class? Material status symbols like high-end hand bags, luxury cars, over-sized houses, and expensive name-brand clothes. When you buy a coach purse, are you really paying for a better made bag or just that coach label? And yet we wonder why debt is such an issue in this country? The counterfeit market, which very often uses virtual slave labor, is booming because people crave these status symbols. How can we actually expect people to save money? Especially families of a very low socioeconomic status with youth feeling especially pressured to match the class of those around them.

We can certainly teach ourselves and our children to put a priority on respectful behavior and schooling, but we need to be more careful about being content with what we’re able to own. We also need to raise awareness about the poor distribution of wealth. Some people are happy to survive day-to-day. Who are we to say that’s not good enough? Achievement is self-defined and, unfortunately, often limited to the circumstances we were born into.

So think about what you’re really saying the next time you tell someone to “show some class.”

We Need a Fucking Revolution,

~Zaneta

4 Boys Assault 8-year-old girl

Cnn reported today that an 8-year-old girl was lured into a storage shed by for boys, ages 9, 10, 13, 14, where she was held down and sexually assaulted.

Here is the full story:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/07/22/arizona.juvenile.sexual.assault/index.html

At age 9, I was outside from dusk till dawn playing soccer, manhunt, ghost in the graveyard (fun game btw), with the neighborhood kids. I had no concept of these things.

Ya know, it really makes me wonder: When young kids are sexually assaulting other children, what are we as a society doing wrong? Something's not right. These children either are clueless and have no true concept of what they are doing or they have been desensitized and been told by our culture that this is acceptable. I'm going to offer forward the latter for consideration.

Peace and Love,
Mich

Hell Yeah Bianca Wisniewski

The New York Daily News reported this story last night:

"Hardhat Bianca Wisniewski says she broke through the construction industry's glass ceiling, only to hit the concrete wall of sexual harassment - and she's suing for $20 million.

Wisniewski says elevator operator Steve Greco groped and propositioned her while her bosses brushed off her claims.

Greco harassed Wisniewski with lewd come-ons that repulsed the widowed mother of two teenage daughters, the suit charged.

'I just want to take you to dinner, no f------,' she says Greco told her while grabbing her around the waist.

'Everybody kisses engineer Steve,' the suit quotes Greco as boasting. 'This is a man's world, not a place for women to work.'"

Story excerpt from New York Daily News, to read the full story visit: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/07/20/2009-07-20_bianca_wisniewski_.html

It's really very sad that women still have to deal with situations like this in the workplace. While it is unfortunate that Wisniewski had to endure such comments, it is important that the media reported on this story to show us that this abuse does take place. And it just doesn't happen in construction or stereotypical male-professions. It can happen anywhere and to anyone.

There is NO tolerance for sexual harassment. And according to Wisniewski, her superiors did nothing to stop it, gave her job to someone else when she complained, and then fired her after a period of disability.

Personally, I hope she's awarded the entire $20 million. PAY-UP.

Peace and Love,
Mich

Surf and Sexism...bottoms up?

I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed but some surfing magazines are truly appalling. I found this advertisement, if you would even call it that, in Transworld Surf Magazine.

It’s for the Reed Surf Sandals Company and their Miss Reef Bikini Contest. (These are the online versions but the magazine featured these on a double sided pull-out poster) Their motto: “Celebration 25 years of Taking the Focus off our Team Riders.” Yeah…but only by objectifying women in one the most overtly dehumanizing campaigns I’ve ever seen. One side features males with their faces showing, their names in each box, or in some amazing surfing stunt. On the other side is a series of faceless women doing, well you know, what they do best, wearing thong bikinis while playing in the sand. The magazine wants its audience to judge women solely on their “bottoms.”

It’s not just this ad either. How often do surf videos feature the surfing parties? They usually consist of “dudes” catching some waves during the day and then catching some “chicks” later that night. Very rarely, with the exception of the end of the movie Blue Crush, do you see female surfers being taken seriously. Because women could never hope to rise to the ranks of men, right? So just stand their so those men have something to look at after a long, hard day of surfing. Great message.

What Can You Do?

Send your thoughts or concerns to the magazine's advertisement manager or contact the Reef Company directly.

cross-posted at http://community.feministing.com/2009/07/surf-and-sexismbottoms-up.html

We Need a Fucking Revolution,

~Zaneta

What would MLK say?

Reverend Eric Lee, leader of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, has been a vocal supporter of marriage equality. During the Prop 8 campaigns in California, he attended numerous No on 8 rallies while working especially close with the Courage Campaign.

During an interview with the the New York Times, he reported being apart of the minority at a convention of the SCLC'sleaders even though the organization has a publically neutral stance on the issue.

Now he is in danger of possibly losing his position.

Mr. Lee said, he was surprised to receive a call from the National Board of Directors summoning him immediately to Atlanta to explain why he had taken a position on same-sex marriage without the authority of the national board.

Explaining that he was unable to come to Atlanta on such short notice, Mr. Lee then received two letters from the organization’s lawyer, Dexter M. Wimbish, threatening him with suspension or removal as president of the Los Angeles chapter if he did not come soon to explain himself.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/11/us/11gay.html?_r=1

I think this is just sad, but I don't want this to become an issue of finger pointing. We all know that after Prop 8 passed the media did a really good job of making it seem like the black vote was the main reason. And while 70% of the black voting population did pass Prop 8, they don't even come close to representing the 52% of votes it took to pass the hateful legislation. The article really doesn't do much to combat this misconception either.

All of this just seems like dividing and conquering. The media likes to pit one oppressed group against the other based on stereotypes and over-generalizations. There is no one "enemy" to blame for the passing of Prop 8, and the sooner we realize that, the sooner the queer community and its allies can unite. Queer reaches across lines of race, religion, ethnicity, ability, age, class, gender, and expression. We can only succeed when we begin to realize that queer rights, or for that matter the rights of all oppressed people, are civil rights. They keep us divided because divided we fall.

This quote comes from Reverend Lee...

"...any time you deny one group of people the same right that other groups have, that is a clear violation of civil rights and I have to speak up on that.”

Amen.

cross-posted at http://community.feministing.com/2009/07/what-would-mlk-say.html
We need a fucking revolution
~Zaneta

Beyonce, A Beacon of Feminist Hope...

in an otherwise dark, patriarchal world!

.....uh, I think not.

Just listen to 10 seconds of her newest song, "Ego" featuring Kanye West. Matter of fact, here's a preview:

KAYNE:
"I got a big ego, (hahaha)I’m such a big ego, (hahaha)
I got a big, (hahaha), Ego, She love my big, (hahaha), Ego,
So stroke my big, (hahaha), Ego"
BEYONCE:
"It's too big, it's too wide,
It's too strong, it won't fit,
It's too much, it's too tough,
He talk like this 'cause he can back it up,
He got a big ego, such a huge ego,
I love his big ego, it's too much,
He walk like this 'cause he can back it up"

...You're kidding, right?

While far from a beacon, (maybe one of those mini flashlights you put on your keys?), Beyonce does infuse a decent amount of female empowerment into some of her songs. Then, there are songs like...."Ego" a.k.a "Male Empowerment" that completely lose me (enough already, geeze!).

Bottom-line: we need artists that stick to their so-called beliefs, help to empower women and make us feel proud of who we are. FYI, having our lifeless legs sticking out of the back of a trunk DOES NOT empower us ( Video of "Diva" by Beyonce).

Bottom-line: We need our egos stroked everynow and then too.

Peace and Love,
Mich

"Marley and Me"...Not Just a Shallow Disney Movie Afterall

Hey folks, hope everyone had a relaxing holiday weekend!

Amidst the barbeques, pool diving, and fireworks display this 4th of July weekend brought, I managed to find time to sit down and enjoy a movie with the family. Thanks to the current state of the economy, renting movies from Blockbuster or OnDemand at five bucks a piece has proven to be beyond our budget. Forget about the movie theatres (I don't think I've stepped foot in one for two years now). While I condone the corporate conglomerate that is Wal-Mart, a fairly new addition to the stores, Redbox, has me visiting on the weekends, head hung low in shame. You can have the whole family watch the movie for $1 (provided you return the movie in one day....but still, it's $1!!). I digress...

This particular night, we rented the movie "Marley and Me", with Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson (I wasn't expecting much). Turns out, the movie wasn't entirely a wash, but a serious comedy that displayed the frigteningly realistic (although somewhat understated) reality of marriage and family life.

For those of you who have not seen the movie, click the following link to read a brief synopsis:
www.fandango.com/marley26me_v413687/summary

At one point in the movie, Aniston becomes pregnant with the couple's second child shortly after the birth of their first child (Oops!). It is at this point, Aniston immediately decides to quit her job and stay home to raise the two children. She says something to the effect of, "When I'm at home, I'm thinking about work, and when I'm at work, I'm thinking about home. I feel like I'm doing both jobs half way." I casually laugh out loud because in my head I'm going through this all-too familiar thought process...

Why does SHE have to quit her job (which she seems to really care about)? Why was it so non-chalantly decided that SHE should give up her career? Why is SHE the only one who seems torn about the situation? Why is SHE the only one who is emotionally upset about the situation? Why does this seem to mostly only affect HER?

When I posed these questions to my family (a heated debate soon followed), they couldn't seem to really answer them:

"Well, she's the mother, so it affects her differently." Do fathers not love their children as much as mothers do? Is there a scientific reason a father can not raise his own children? Why couldn't they both work and raise children?

"She offered to stay home and watch the children." Did she really offer, or feel obligated to?

Now, I'm not trying to make sweeping generalizations about what ALL women want to do with regards to marriage and children. But it's simple, in my mind. You should be able to do what you want to do in life. And, what you do in life should not be based on if you can give birth or not. Period. Mature adults should be able to come to an agreement in which both partners are happy with the decision.

I hope this post will inspire some thoughtful conversation and reflection and, if on the off chance you happen to watch "Marley and Me", watch for these situations. There are quite a few!


Peace & Love,
-Mich