Saturday, January 25, 2014

The Death of the "Mom's Yearly Planner"

I was searching for my new 2014 Calendar a few days ago, and what was suppose to be a normal shopping goal triggered me into my feminist panic mode. Now you must all know that my yearly calendar is extremely important to me: it stands proud in the kitchen all year long, harboring our family's dates, important meetings, love notes, and so one. It is my second brain, and I enjoy filling days with sentences such as "Periods: buy tampax" or "Picking Daughter Up from Playdate 1 to bring her to Playdate 2". But I also write down other things, such as my work schedule, meetings, work lunches, names of books to buy, movies to watch, philosophical questions about life and death, and yes, non-children or reproductive health related information.

I found myself in the Calendar isle at a big bookstore, happy to notice what seemed to be a huge variety of calendars. Also, the big sign saying "Buy one, get second free" warmed my heart (even though there is only the ONE kitchen calendar in my life). Once i started looking, all i could find was calendars with puppies, cats, pinups or cars. Seriously. Puppies, cats, pinups and cars. Having spend 2013 with a Gender Activist Calendar, one can understand my disappointment. I then turned my attention to the organizers. Whereas my calendar is my second brain at home, my organizer is,well, my one and only brain the rest of time. I write everything in it. It is my bible (so much, that you can still find in my belongings organizers from the 20th century... yes). Once i started looking at those, all i could find was either PINK or... PINK. If you are a man in this time and age, you get a beautiful dark leather organizer (they were hidden on another isle, you know, the men isle), but all I had in front of me was pink. Then, my eyes fell on IT: MOM's PLANNER.

Now, don't get me wrong. Being a mom is HARD WORD. You need to be organized. Since I've had my kids, I have excelled the art of making lists. I write stuff down everywhere: kitchen roll, toilet paper, you name it. But the MOM's PLANNER isn't for real MOMs. It's for the FANTASY MOM whose existence' society still hopes it can protect and nurture. You know, the MOM who has 4 goals in life: household organizing, cooking (and by cooking i mean creating her own recipes and all), holiday planning and children ass-cleaning (they didn't put it quite that way but it's what it meant). In this organizer, there was room for only these 4 things. I looked through this book of evil and couldn't help but feel sad and defeated. Where was my PLANNER? The one that had blank pages where i could write whatever the F* I wanted, from recipes to car repair notes to the name of the newest japanese porn movie everybody is talking about? Why did my planner have to have big titles remembering me that all I had to do in my life was cook, clean, plan holidays and pick up my kids? Where is the PLANNER for amazing multi-tasking mums who work, cook, go out, volunteer, write blogs, plan holidays, plan drinking parties... or else, where was the SUPERDAD organizer without the pink themed pages?

I had a friend over today and we decided we would plan the perfect planner for next year. The one that allows you to not feel you are living in boxes. The one that doesn't simply define you by one aspect of your life.

In the end, I opted for a Victorian style kitchen calendar (to my 4 year old daughter's greatest delight) and well, yes.... my 2014 organizer is PINK.



The Happy Feminist

I must at least give official thanks to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, an amazing Nigerian feminist & novelist, for helping me find a good blog title...The Happy Feminist comes from her. In her country, where feminism is seen more as a disease than an actual political stand, she has had in the past to define herself as a "happy African Feminist who does not hate men and who wears high heels for herself and not for men".

In Nigeria, she was tagged as being corrupted by the West, Feminism being off course for african culture haters, or being simply unable to find a husband (the true definition of a feminist according to some in her home country).

Do not miss out her speech at TED. She is truely inspiring.


We should all be feminists: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at TEDxEuston

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc

When Fashion Glorifies Mental Illness and Eating Disorders

I think we can do better than this.
At least some organized and hit back and now these products are off the shelves!



A woman's body should be hers, even if she is dead...

A small victory today for Marlise Muñoz, her husband and her family. For those of you who aren't familiar with this story, Marlise has been brain dead for several weeks, but the hospital was refusing to unplug her, because she was pregnant, and despite recognizing that the fetus was not viable. This went against Marlise's wishes. This case "has raised an emotionally charged national debate over end-of-life care, abortion and a Texas law that prohibits medical officials from withdrawing life support from a pregnant patient". It also illustrated how women are still not considered owners of their own bodies, even when legally dead!

Judge Orders Hospital to Remove Pregnant Woman From Life Support

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/25/us/judge-orders-hospital-to-remove-life-support-from-pregnant-woman.html?hp&_r=0

Women in Power!

When Michelle Bachelet, ex-head of UNWomen gets elected for the second time as President of Chile, one gets a government with more women that never before. An example to follow!

Lorsque Michelle Bachelet, anciennement à la tête de l'ONU Femmes devient (pour la deuxième fois) présidente du Chili, cela donne :

Chili : nombre record de femmes dans le nouveau gouvernement

Le Monde.fr avec AFP |  • Mis à jour le  |
http://www.lemonde.fr/ameriques/article/2014/01/25/chili-michelle-bachelet-devoile-son-nouveau-gouvernement_4354265_3222.html

Poils pubiens, ben si, ils existent bel et bien!

Because yes, women do indeed have pubic hair between their legs(well maybe not that much...).


"In a New York window, models with pubic hair"
"Dans une Vitrine New Yorkaise, des mannequins avec des poils pubiens"

http://www.liberation.fr/depeches/2014/01/18/dans-une-vitrine-new-yorkaise-des-mannequins-avec-poils-pubiens_973787

Violence on the internet: why it is important

A good news at last in the new yet terribly important fight against gender based violence online....In a field where the law has yet to be adapted to new online threats in terms of GBV and sexual violence, a little win for i) the victim and ii) the activists working on the issue. Actually, a win for all of us in the end!
In France, a 23 year old man who had called on Twitter to rape a French anti-racist activist Rokhaya Diallo was condemned on Friday the 24th to pay 2000 EUR to the victim.
See below article in French (LeMonde newspaper onlin):

http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2014/01/24/une-amende-pour-avoir-appele-au-viol-de-la-militante-antiraciste-rokhaya-diallo_4354123_3224.html

The fact is, women and men have never been equal, and they are most certainly not equal on the internet. Whereas it is true that the internet offers the possibility to hide and lie or one's identity, it also makes it extremely easy to link one's identity with one's personal and/or public opinions. Women writers, bloggers, journalists are more likely to receive threats and or harrassment through the internet than their male colleagues.

To hear more about this fascinating topic, listen to this Radio Show with Amanda Hess, freelance writer. Author of “Why Women Aren’t Welcome On the Internet.” (@AmandaHess)
Anna Holmes,  founding editor of Jezebel.com, the online women’s news and culture magazine. Author of “The Book of Jezebel: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Lady Things” and “Hell Hath No Fury: Women’s Letters From The End of the Affair.” Columnist at the New York Times Book Review. (@AnnaHolmes)
Danielle Citron, professor of law the University of Maryland, Balitmore. Author of “Hate Crimes in Cyberspace.” (@DANIELLECITRON)

http://onpoint.wbur.org/2014/01/15/women-internet-harassment-safety