“I was trying to figure out why, in 2009, we were still being treated the same way, if not worse, then when I was 14 and listening to Bikini Kill.”–Tom Tom founder Mindy Abovitz on why there are “so few female drummers.”
Tag Archives: Oscars
Rah! Rah! Roundup
Gigantic news: The FCC approved net neutrality rules this week, reclassifying the internet as a public utility—a HUGE victory for a free, open internet, and essential for the future of feminist online media.
“If among feminists, black women are always asked to do the uncompensated labor of educating white women about how they have effed up, is this also not a form of wage inequality?” — Read Brittney Cooper’s awesome, incredibly important response to Patricia Arquette’s Oscars speech.
In literary news, Jenn Marie Nunes talks about her forthcoming first book, AND/OR, the winner of Switchback Books‘ inaugural Queer Voices contest, in this great interview with Room 220.
A public service announcement on how not to write misogynist literature.
Image via Sundress Publications
“We believe that poetry (& any art form, for that matter) is at its most electric, irreverent, & intimate when it exists outside institutions.” Check out the Indiegogo campaign for POETRY JAWNS, a poetry podcast from Emma Sanders & Alina Pleskova.
The last episode of Parks & Recreation aired this week (though some of us are in denial and still haven’t watched it.). Look back on some of Leslie Knope’s greatest feminist moments on the Ms. blog.
Image via Ms.
Speaking of Ms., HBO is making a mini-series about the creation of Ms. Magazine—omg. And we of 90s childhood (and the name Marisa with one ‘s’) could not be more delighted that Marisa Tomei is playing Gloria Steinem.
Oh Joy Sex Toy looks at the BDSM practices of 50 Shades of Grey alongside those of Secretary.
And last but defs not least, check out Women, Action & the Media’s first-ever WAM! Entertainment Guide for feminist movie, book, and other media recommendations.
What did we miss this week? Let us know in the comments! <3
Filed under Rah! Rah! Roundup
Why I Won’t Be Watching the Oscars This Year
Let me start by saying that I love the Oscars. I love them more than the Olympics. More than watching the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Only slightly more than the Golden Globes. I’ve hosted countless Oscar viewing parties. Participated in, and won, multiple betting pools. Spent hours watching red carpet coverage and cried at every “In Memoriam” tribute. It is the one live television event that I truly care about. The only thing that kept me from watching last year’s live broadcast was the fact that I spent the night in the hospital with my husband because he had fractured his jaw. And when we returned to our apartment the next evening—even though I already knew who had won and which of Ellen DeGeneres’s jokes had flopped—I still watched the whole damn thing on Hulu.
Ever since I was a little girl, Oscar night held a glamour and excitement that I can only compare to Christmas Eve. In my family, we didn’t watch the Superbowl; we went out to our favorite pizza place because it would be empty and my parents hate waiting to be seated. But staying up late to watch the Oscars was tradition. Billy Crystal was like a God to us and we still talk about his big opening numbers. Like that time Billy arrived on horseback! The time when he was wheeled onstage Hannibal Lector-style! Even today I could watch his various “It’s a wonderful night for Oscar! Oscar, Oscar! Who will win?” medleys on YouTube for hours. My mother and I played a game during every thematic movie montage to see who could name as many of the films as possible. I even loved the ridiculous choreographed dance numbers. After the last award was given, I would return to my bedroom and practice my own heartfelt acceptance speech while standing on my bed in my nightgown. Continue reading
Filed under Everything Else, Movies + TV
Rah! Rah! Roundup
In exciting literary news this week, Bloof Books announced their 2015 chapbook series, which includes the brillz Khadijah Queen, Ginger Ko, Nikki Wallschlaeger, and more.
Becca Klaver talked about her book LA Liminal, 90s nostalgia and more as Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, and Jennifer Tamayo’s YOU DA ONE was reviewed in Publisher’s Weekly. JT’s piece from and in response to the Poetry Project event “My Kind of Happening: Short Texts on the Future Nature of the Reading” continues to raise important questions about community and accountability. And Morgan Parker knocks our socks off with her virtual reading for Bruce Covey’s What’s New in Poetry video series on Real Pants.
Thanks in part to hostesses with the mostesses Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, the Golden Globes had no shortage of feminist moments this year. We’ve been following all the discussion this week about Margaret Cho’s performance, and thinking about women comedians and rape jokes in relation to Amy and Tina’s Bill Cosby joke as well as this week’s Broad City Season 2 premiere. And speaking of Broad City, we adore Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer. Continue reading
Filed under Rah! Rah! Roundup
