December 1, 2009

Feminism as an identity politics has enjoyed real victories. It matters that women serve on the Supreme Court, that they make decisions in business, government, academia, and the media. But a preoccupation with representation suggests that feminism has lost its larger ambitions. We’ve come a long way in the past forty years; there’s no “maybe” about it. The trouble is that the journey hasn’t always been in the intended direction. These days, we can only dream about a federal program insuring that women with school-age children have affordable child care. If such a thing seems beyond the realm of possibility, though, that’s another sign of our false-memory syndrome. In the early seventies, we very nearly got it.

In 1971, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Walter Mondale, came up with legislation that would have established both early-education programs and after-school care across the country. Tuition would be on a sliding scale based on a family’s income bracket, and the program would be available to everyone but participation was required of no one. Both houses of Congress passed the bill. Nobody remembers this, because, later that year, President Nixon vetoed the Comprehensive Child Development Act, declaring that it “would commit the vast moral authority of the National Government to the side of communal approaches to child rearing” and undermine “the family-centered approach.” He meant “the traditional-family-centered approach,” which requires women to forsake every ambition apart from motherhood.

So close. And now so far. The amazing journey of American women is easier to take pride in if you banish thoughts about the roads not taken. When you consider all those women struggling to earn a paycheck while rearing their children, and start to imagine what might have been, it’s enough to make you want to burn something.

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kellydeal:

davislove:

Let’s Go - The Cars

She’s laughing inside ‘cause they can’t refuse
She’s so beautiful now, she doesn’t wear her shoes
She never likes to choose

Handclaps!

ARB for The Cars. Always and forever

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  • Dennis: Look at this ski jumping idiot Bode Miller. What kind of a fruity name is Bode?
  • Liz: That cereal has the Olympics on it? It must be, like, eight months old.
  • Dennis: When you and me have kids we're going to give them good names like "Shannon" or "Rick."
  • Liz: When we what?
  • Dennis: When we have kids, dummy.
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November 30, 2009
While it’s thrilling that there is also a movement of young men all who want to tear down the patriarchy right alongside women, it’s dangerous that they don’t have a clear picture of what they want to build in its place. At the conference, one young man spoke up against the notion of a new “feminist masculinity,” explaining that he feared it would be one more box that young men felt they had to fit into. There’s a lot of validity to his argument, but I fear that the old adage is true: We can’t be what we can’t see. Models help us try on various identities and find one that is truly authentic. The more publicly feminist-aligned men we have, the more opportunities the next generation has to find a positive, masculine gender identity that actually fits.
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November 29, 2009
notthatkindagay:

rosasparks:

sparkleneelysparkle:

gamesockson:

misterjt:

apsies:

Joe Biden - Second-Most Powerful Vice President in History? - NYTimes.com

Why is our Vice President a G? — misterjt


omg. rosasparks are you GETTING THIS??

Um, look at my boyfriend! LOOK. AT. HIM!
Ain’t nuthin’ but a g thang, bishes.

mine. mine.

notthatkindagay:

rosasparks:

sparkleneelysparkle:

gamesockson:

misterjt:

apsies:

Joe Biden - Second-Most Powerful Vice President in History? - NYTimes.com

Why is our Vice President a G? — misterjt

omg. rosasparks are you GETTING THIS??

Um, look at my boyfriend! LOOK. AT. HIM!

Ain’t nuthin’ but a g thang, bishes.

mine. mine.

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November 27, 2009

Sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Don’t you love it when things turn out even better than you expected?

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poeks:

art-documents:

Berbara Kruger / Thinking of You

C’est n’est pas une Barbara Kruger for Kat.

Auto reblog for any Barbara Kruger. I loooove this one.

poeks:

art-documents:

Berbara Kruger / Thinking of You

C’est n’est pas une Barbara Kruger for Kat.

Auto reblog for any Barbara Kruger. I loooove this one.

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13 notes
November 26, 2009
Today I am thankful for this FLY-ASS Joan Holloway dress. It’s hard to see in this lighting, but the plaid is made with metallic thread.

Today I am thankful for this FLY-ASS Joan Holloway dress. It’s hard to see in this lighting, but the plaid is made with metallic thread.

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madmenfootnotes:

Let us all be thankful for restorative weekends in Palm Springs.

madmenfootnotes:

Let us all be thankful for restorative weekends in Palm Springs.

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November 25, 2009
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