Items of interest found recently in my RSS feed. What did I miss? Please share what you've been reading (and writing!) in the comments.
- Radical Readers amp; Feminisms for Dummies
- Thoughts on rape reporting
- White Supremacy, Feminism and Off Our Backs
- Science Grrl: It’s been a busy month for science grrls!
- Scientiae Carnival @ Mad Chemist Chick
- PSA: MikeeUSA’s hate speech and harassment
- This Is Your Brain On Juggling
- Five NEW Feminist Books Not to Be Missed
- Quick hit: how are you ruining a perfectly good men-only geek interest today?
– Online reading club and book reviews – check it out
– “I know I sound awfully cynical here but to get to the point: is the reason the article is written so clearly due to the crime itself being so brutal and horrific?”
– “All illusions that women are better at working through issues like racism better than men have been very definitely shattered for me as I watch white ‘feminists’ trying to tear strips off Jennifer. Trying to paint her as mad and delusional. A few clues women. Black women have the right to be angry about racism. Black women have the right to be angry at white women who demonstrate racism, either politically or personally. Black women need to be supported in their truth-telling. Even when that truth hurts us. Even when that truth is directed at us. We have no credibility as feminists if we don’t. “
– Nobels and more
– Women in Science Carnival
– TRIGGER WARNINGS APPLY. Being harassed online? You’re probably not the only one. This is about one specific hater, but offers good general advice.
– interesting work on brain plasticity
– could be good for the looming Giftmas
– “So how long have you been sapping science of its energy, imagination and future, dear readers?”
Categories: linkfest
The 109th Down Under Feminists Carnival is up! 
The 105th Down Under Feminists Carnival is up! 
Hoyden About Town 
So, maybe this is just me, and maybe it’s coming from me not being aware of the Off Our Backs stuff myself, but it kinda feels weird that the link isn’t celie’s stuff, but a post by a white woman about celie’s stuff. It feels a bit like a prioritisation of white wom*n’s subjectivities, and I think it’s important that people actually read the original.
allecto does not self-describe as white, unless you know something that I don’t that contradicts her description of herself as a descendant of First Nations peoples.
Jennifer’s post that sparked allecto’s post is definitely worth reading, I agree. Not knowing much about the facts that led to it, I thought allecto’s response to the fallout was worth linking to as a standalone, especially as she links to Jennifer’s original post on Celie’s Revenge. I hoped that people would click through to it after reading allecto’s post for some background.
Yep, consider that my fail.
I clicked through to the original post, and read it all, and wondered whether we do any better here downunder. I would like to think that we do, but that might just be wishful thinking.
I’ve certainly been surprised and disappointed by some feminist responses to having intersectional oppression issues raised, Deborah. There seems to be some sort of idea that a professed commitment to feminism makes one magically immune to any expression of racism or classism, as if feminism auto-erases all the toxic bubbles of privilege that surround each of us due to our upbringings before we started the process of feminist self-examination.
One of the feminists who has disappointed me in the past has been myself, and although I like to think I won’t make exactly the same unthinking mistakes of privilege and insensitivity again, I have little doubt that there will be other avenues along which I will disappoint myself in the future too.
I was blown away by the unacceptability of the whole situation. I live near DC, and what is a feminist organization is doing in DC claiming to speak for all women without a *majority* WoC representation?! The issues that surround feminism for people of colour are so intricate, that I can’t *fathom* a bunch of white middle class women daring to speak as if they hold the truth without consulting anyone except themselves.
I’m starting (starting?) to have real problems with the radical feminist movement, especially in the US – the narrow hegemonic insistence on the white middle class view being the only “real” issue for feminism is embarrassing, and I’m a white middle class feminist. I support intersectionality, and the right of everyone to have a part in the feminist movement; I can’t see how anyone could think racist and transphobic attitudes belong in a movement that is supposed to benefit everyone.
I feel like I’m still in the 19th century sometimes. *sigh*
So I’m pretty sure most of the people reading what I wrote above will get exactly how fucked it was, but in case people are reading it and don’t, here are some links as to how my behaviour contributes to the silencing of people of colour on the internet.
Restructure
PoliticalSapphire
I want to apologise to all the people of colour my behaviour hurt, especially allecto. I’m going to go back to lurking for a bit, since not having the awareness to even read the about page on someone’s blog clearly means I don’t have the ability to ethically comment at the moment.
(also, I’m very, very bad at any kind of programming language, so hopefully the links actually work. I just stole the basic html code off google.)
Edit: Apparently they do.
And I also clearly don’t have the awareness to use consistent names. >_<
Li=me.
Ooh what a nest of vipers has been uncovered at off our backs. Nasty. What’s with the bitter “race trumps gender” quote from one of the main suspects at oob? What the hell!@!!