Miss Representation (Documentary Trailer)

How do you feel about NY's same-sex marriage ruling? Submit your opinion to the online zine Grrrl Beat!

I'm guessing you've already heard the fantastic news: "[New York] lawmakers voted late Friday to legalize same-sex marriage, making New York the largest state where gay and lesbian couples will be able to wed and giving the national gay-rights movement new momentum from the state where it was born."

Sophie, the creator of the online magazine Grrrl Beat, is seeking submissions from teens about their views on this momentous ruling. If this issue is at all important to you, I highly suggest whipping up a response and sending it to grrrlbeat@gmail.com as soon as possible!

This was my response: 

Before finding feminism and identifying wholly with the movement, I wasn't too familiar with the LGBTAQ (lesbian, gay, bi, transgender, asexual, queer) community or its struggles. I certainly didn't have a problem with people who fit under the acronym's umbrella, but I knew as much about their varying lifestyles as I knew about theoretical physics (which wasn't much).

Considering I can literally count my family members on two hands (and the number of non-Christians on about three fingers), I didn't experience much diversity growing up. My parents were cool about most things and taught us to be honest, hard-working, etc., but homosexuality was something we just didn't talk about at the dinner table. (We rarely ate at the table, anyway. Most of the time we had our butts planted to watch Seinfeld. Bonding at its finest.)

Feminism introduced me to a litany of human rights issues. I'm still not as well-versed in the LGBTAQ movement as I would like to be, but I do have a child-like passion for equality. "Should two people of the same sex be allowed to get married?" seems like such a stupid question. If two people love each other, why shouldn't they be inclined to do whatever the hell they want? Love is love. It doesn't matter what form that takes.

When Sophie (from Grrrl Beat) emailed me the news — that same-sex couples can now get marriage licenses in New York — I was ecstatic. It was one of those fist-pumping "Hell yeah, equality strikes again!" sort of feelings. This may only be a small win in the grand scope of things, but this win will inspire another, and that win will inspire two more.

People are going to fight us every step of the way, but activists and feminists and allies are rising up in mighty hordes. Imagine if we (those of us who want to) go on to have kids of our own, passing on ideas like "equality" and "acceptance." Our kids will teach their kids, their kids will teach their own kids, and then those kids will go on to teach their kids (the only difference is they'll have robot butlers by then).

This world is changing for the better, and I am so damn excited.

Women From Around the World, Who've Changed the World

Susan B. Anthony reeks of awesome.

My friend Catelyn, owner of a 60's-themed blog called Throw Back Rag and a Facebook addict, suggested that I share an article called Women Who Changed the World, which was originally posted on an online biography website. If you've got a spare minute (or two!), you should check it out — it covers spectacular women from present day all the way back to 570 BC.

If you're really into this sort of thing, you can also check out a database I stumbled across called 300 Women Who Changed the World. It covers all the major names that glorify the pages of history books (i.e. Eleanor Roosevelt, Catherine the Great, Joan of Arc), plus plenty more that I guarantee you've never heard of!

While I was sifting through the site, it was extremely exciting to come across names I've never seen before or otherwise couldn't pronounce (i.e. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Sofya Kovalevskaya, and Oodgeroo Noonuccal, to name a few). I feel like we — Americans, anyway — have been programmed to associate "women in history" with American suffragettes or English queens, and fail to give women of color and other nationalities proper attention and credit. So for this post, let's check out some women from around the globe who've made an impact! 

Go ahead, click on a picture:

                  

                  

                  

                  

                  

                  

A Video that Summarizes My Views on Gay Marriage

This video perfectly — and I mean perfectly — summarizes my feelings on gay marriage. Watch it (the actual thing starts at 0:28), and I'm pretty sure you'll figure out where I stand. 
If you like Nineteenpercent, check out her other video Beyonce - Run the World (LIES)!

Protecting the Women Who Protect Us (By Emily M.)

Major Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell is the first
female African-American fighter pilot in
the U.S. Air Force. How cool is that?

This year, the U.S. Air Force saluted Women’s History Month by making history of its own. On March 30th, the first all-female Air Force unit completed a combat mission in Afghanistan.

Although the mission has symbolic importance, its purpose was anything but – the women soared in to give much-needed aid to the ground troops who were engaged in heavy fighting in the Kunar Valley (for more on the mission, check out this link).

Women pilots have been flying combat missions for the Air Force for 18 years; however, it is gravely concerning to find out that they might not be as well protected as their male counterparts.

The Air Force is preparing to buy a new fleet aircraft to conduct light attack and armed reconnaissance (LAAR) and light air support (LAS) missions, and competition is fierce between the American company Hawker Beechcraft and the Brazilian company Embraer. Although people are talking about issues that surround outsourcing our defense contracts and the free market implications of foreign and domestic companies competing, what people are not talking about is the safety threat that will be posed to female pilots if Embraer is awarded the contract.

The planes that Hawker Beechcraft and Embraer have proposed for the contract are very similar, and cost roughly the same. However, the ejection seat in the Embraer aircraft yields an extremely high impact, whereas the Hawker Beechcraft model does not. This high-impact seat poses significant safety concerns for pilots of lower height and weight. This disproportionately threatens the safety of female pilots, as they are typically of smaller stature than male pilots.

The idea that the USAF would even consider an aircraft that posed such a safety threat should outrage Americans. And that outrage needs to be heard – we must not stand idly by while crucial safety concerns are passed over by the Pentagon. We need women (and men!) to speak up on this issue and make it clear that they will not tolerate the women who serve to be any less protected than the men.

Please consider writing to your representatives, or expanding the online conversation by taking this issue to new forums. The brave women in our Air Force take to the skies to protect us; don’t we owe it to them to make sure they are protected?