There’s always more work to be done…

I need to expand on the violence against women on the blogs, and tie that into some of the DV literature we reviewed in class. I’d also like to expand upon the Feminist Blogger’s Manifesta at the end of my paper. I may also discuss Angela Harris’s notion of essentialism in FLT and feminist blogging. And of course, I need to FINISH it!

Feminist scholars, take note of my paper!

This paper is important to FLT because the internet is impacting all aspects of our culture, for better or worse, and feminists need to embrace this new form of activism. One of the goals of the Baumgardner/Richards Third-Wave Manifesta is:

“12. To acknowledge that, although feminists may have disparate values, we share the same goal of equality, and of supporting one another in our efforts to gain the power to make our own choices.” Feminist blogging allows those differing values and choice to take center stage in the latest stage of this exciting movement.

Just as Kristina Sheryl Wong has proven through BigBadChineseMama, the internet is a powerful place to practice FLT. As a new FLT method, theorist should take note of the ways in which this phenomenon is changing the way we feminists DO the law!

Partying Feminists

I went to a party last night for Full Frontal Feminism. I feel so grateful to have friends, in law school, and beyond who are willing to share something important with me. Every person that I truly respect and care for at school were there. Thanks to you. I love to see a dancing feminist or two as well...
Now, I'm back to outlining. Blah.
In interesting news, for anyone who knows how much I love Edith Wharton, a new biography just came out which sounds amazing. Add that to the summer reading list! Here's the NY Times review. The best Edith short story, The Fullness of Life, is mentioned in the article...a woman's life is like "a great house full of rooms," most of which remain unseen: "and in the innermost room, the holy of holies, the soul sits alone and waits for a footstep that never comes."

Yes, in fact, I am a feminist and I'm starting my own blog.

I read a lot of blogs...and by that I mean, probably 10-20 per day (sometimes more if I'm really procrastinating in the cold, quiet library). And those are just the regular haunts. I read about music, politics, law school, but most importantly and prevalently, feminism. Yes, can you believe it - I AM A FEMINIST and I LIKE OTHER FEMINISTS, EVEN OTHER PEOPLE TOO!
So, why did I create this blog? Lots of reasons, but here's one catalyst. I just started reading Jessica Valenti's Full Frontal Feminism and let's be honest here, if it weren't for discovering her (and friends') amazing blog, I would not be starting my own blog. Ms. Valenti has this great idea about how basically every woman is a feminist, even if she doesn't think she is (really, she's just not ready to see the light yet). I've been thinking about this possibility a lot these last couple days. Even though I was a woman's studies major in college and LOVE to talk about feminism with anyone who will listen, I still think that many women do not want the plethora of "good things" that feminism has added to the female existence. (Like how I threw Martha in there, as a perfect example of the struggle between the incredible opportunities given to women to succeed and the domestic institutions that keep us down?) This rejection of feminism really bothers me. This bothers me for professional reasons, political reasons, personal reasons, but mostly because it distracts me from law school. I spend (much more that I should) time agonizing over how to explain to people how important such a seemingly simple idea remains to be.
Don't all women want to be looked as colleagues, confidantes and leaders, in the same way men are assumed to be so? Well, I've come to the conclusion that maybe some women don't. It's too hard, right? It's futile, right? We'll never be equals. Feminists make too much out of the issue, we're already equal, right? I mean, Martha Stewart has turned an ultra-feminine, female-dominated domain into a hugely successful money-making machine. Why do you have to be SO angry? When will you be satisfied? All of the above are the "rational" justifications people, err...women, give themselves for giving up on the fight. Yeah, I said it. This is a fight, always has been...hopefully, won't always be, but...well, I'll get back to you on this part.
The bottomline is that there are a lot of unhappy women out there. We're opting out of financial security (if we're rich or our partner is), we're putting our heads down in shame when assholes are making jokes about us, we say nothing when men criticize our thoughts and pick apart our bodies like the Barbies whose heads we chopped off (probably because we knew we'd never look like her), we're letting famous men (Mel, Michael R., Alec) put down marginalized people and teach our children that violence isn't just physical but verbal as well, and the list goes on. Women are not happy because we always have to pick up the pieces...for ourselves and others.
I am ready for women to start taking ownership of their bodies, their words, their relationships, their families, their music (thank you Tori), and their FEMINISM. Define that word for yourself, just make sure it puts you on equal ground with everyone around you. Feminists are happy people. Befriend one. You'll see...they see a vision for the world that just makes sense. It feels good to be a feminist. Try it. Stop being so lazy and think about how to change your life for the better...I will bet feminism can and should be part of your evolution.