Don't have too much time to blog, but I just wanted to pop in and wish everyone a
For those of you who don't know, August 26th was picked by U.S. Congress as Women's Equality Day because it was the day the 19th amendment was passed, giving women (though women of color were widely left out) the right to vote. Today marks 90 years.

If you're a reader of this blog, most likely you know the seemingly endless list of reasons as to why feminism is still necessary... the simple reason being, "WE STILL AIN'T EQUAL!" And let me try to make up for a fraction of the exclusion faced by most women by the mainstream feminist movement of the first and second "waves" by saying that equality is not fully achieved until it is achieved for ALL women: women of color, women with disabilities, immigrant women (including undocumented), LBTQ women, etc etc etc.

I realize many modern feminists have issues with the suffrage movement because women of color were largely left out, but instead of dismissing this day altogether, let's shape and reclaim Women's Equality Day to be a day of positivity in which we honor the sacrifices our foremothers* made, while looking ahead to the future and thinking about what we can improve.

What's everyone doing to celebrate Equality Day? I'll be here.

*My computer is telling me this word is misspelled, but "forefathers" is correct. Nice.

What does everyone think about the USA network's new campaign, called "Characters Unite"? It urges people to "take the pledge" to combat prejudice and discrimination. I saw an ad for it while watching USA, and it features all different people, including people of color, people with disabilities, and even a same-sex couple speaking out against hatred. I think it's a pretty bold move on USA's part, especially the bit that promotes same-sex marriage. It's also a very well-done commercial.

Visit charactersunite.com to watch the "take the pledge" video and also, if you want, take the pledge yourself.

At 77 years-old, the "liberal lion of the Senate" has lost his battle with brain cancer. Ted Kennedy represented the state of Massachusetts, and was the second most senior member of the Senate. His death is an incredible shame, but Sen. Kennedy lived a long life of activism and making the world a better place through politics.

During his lifetime, Kennedy was an advocate for the rights of women, GLBT people, immigrants, minorities, and people with disabilities. As a believer of reproductive justice, he received a 100% pro-choice record from NARAL, and he was key to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, and many others. In August, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the nation's highest civilian honor) by President Obama.

At the 2008 Democratic National Convention, Senator Kennedy made a surprise appearance (not too long after undergoing surgery for a brain tumor) and delivered a speech to a teary-eyed and welcoming audience.


His seat in the Senate will certainly be an enormous one to fill, and I hope we can properly honor his many achievements.

I've been reading so many great posts in my favorite feminist blogs recently. I wanted to share them with you all so you could get your tuchuses over to these links and enjoy them like I did.

• Renee of Womanist Musings wrote an eye-opening piece about the discrimination she faces as a woman with diabilities.


• File this under: better late than never. Venice has just gotten its first female gondolier, writes Courtney of Feministing. (Special thanks to Tiffany for the story suggestion).


• Michael at The New Gay discusses "going green" and criticizes the gay community for doing anything but.


• Has anyone watched "16 and Pregnant" on MTV? Chen at Choice Words commends MTV's noble attempts to provide sex education, but criticizes the lack of shows and discussions that highlight a young pregnant woman who chooses abortion or adoption.


• Bryan of Gay Rights Watch rightfully calls out Senator John Ensign for opposing same-sex marriage with the "marriage is sacred" bullshit... and then proceeding to cheat on his wife.


• As much as I admittedly love the Transformers movie, Laura at Adventures of a Young Feminist points out what irrevocably annoys me about this movie: the fact that Megan Fox's character exists solely as a sex symbol.


• Gwen at Sociological Images wrote an important post on sexism in women's sports by calling out the fact that only "attractive" tennis players are put on the Center Court.

Comment with what you've been writing about in your own blogs!

This is horribly disturbing, so don't read on if you're sensitive about these issues.

Lately, every major news website has been littered with stories about the woman who recruited dozens of female suicide bombers - of course, it's necessary to mention they're female, whereas if they were male, the headline would simply say "suicide bombers." She is now under the custody of Iraqi police, and has been revealing her plot to recruit so many women.

Get this. According to her, she would target certain women, get a man to rape them, and then have them sent to her for "comfort" and "advice." Of course, they would be in a very vulnerable state, and therefore more susceptible to brainwashing and more easily persuaded to kill themselves. She told the women who came to her that becoming a suicide bomber was the only way to escape shame and reclaim their honor. It's horrifying. Using rape as a way to break women's souls, coaxing them into a place of "comfort," and convincing them to strap bombs to themselves.

Becoming a suicide bomber is not an excusable act, but the recruiters are the ones to go after. The suicide bombers don't necessarily believe in the "cause" they're told they're fighting for - many of them simply are brainwashed, or in some cases, don't know any better (as seen when it was revealed that people with disorders like Down's Syndrome were being "recruited").

Horrifying.

SNL recently poked fun at New York governor David Paterson, and he is not amused. Predominantly, his beef is over the fact that they blatantly made fun of his blindness. I can't say I'm surprised that he found it distasteful. His exact comment was: "I can take a joke. But only 37% of disabled people are working and I'm afraid that that kind of third-grade humor certainly adds to this atmosphere. Let's just say I don't think it helped."

Furthermore, why can't SNL pick an actual African-American actor to play an African-American character? Fred Armisen plays Governor Paterson, and he was also the one who played Barack Obama. It seems to me that just because Armisen's skin is a tiny bit darker than the average White person, he's the go-to guy when you need to portray a person of color. It just doesn't seem right.

Oh, and please enjoy this very classy headline put forth by the New York Post: