Rainsinger writes at the new Liberation Collective:  Radfem 2012 – Trans acting like a Lynch Mob

Davina Squirrel writes at Radfem Groundhog Day:  Radfem2012 and Conway Hall’s ‘ethics’

Radfem-ological Images writes: MRAs and MTFs sitting in a tree

FCM writes at femonade: Moron Surveillance

CBL writes at Cherryblossomlife Time to Go Underground

Conway Hall, the venue that canceled the booking, issued a statement on its website justifying its decision, and can be reached via its Facebook page.

Reblogged from GenderTrender:

In a stunning announcement by UK’s Conway Hall, once a bastion of free speech, intellectual diversity and controversial views (hell, they even rented space to the fricken National Front for many years) Conway Hall has announced that all female-only gatherings are henceforth banned from the venue:

Statement Regarding RadFem 2012

In consultation with the organisers of RadFem 2012 and our legal advisors, Conway Hall has decided not to allow the booking in July 2012 to proceed.

Read more… 250 more words

The last thing Females want to be called is “Feminist” – because that might mean “Man Hating.” That’s bad for Straight Ladies, because then someone might think them Lesbian.  Even though Lesbians don’t want to couple with Males, Lesbians are “supposed” to be socially available to them and not “Man Haters.” (I know I‘ve been called “Man Hater” before!) So heaven forfend if you’re Feminist!

Patriarchy socializes Females to distrust other Females. And we do. Females fall into other Identity Communities – away from – and often at odds with – each other. Goddess forbid Females actually used Feminism to advance rights for Females. What about the Males?

Because of our socialization, Females resist coming together, or even identifying, as a class.  Accordingly, Females are the most dissolved, invisible ingredient in the Great American Melting Pot. We hear of White, Gay, Black, or Poor People.  When discussing Poor People, nobody asks whether they are Male or Females (even though – as a class – the Poor are Female and the Rich are Male). Only when discussing Females do concern trolls come calling to ensure you discuss Poor Females, Brown Females, Vegan Females, Gay Females, (Fill In The Blank) Females. That’s no coincidence. Patriarchy places these filters in front of Females to prevent us from perceiving each other as members of the same oppressed class.  These obstacles destroy the need for further derails by Patriarchy because Females don’t talk to each other as members of the same class.  It divides Females.

Baltimore has no “Women’s Community.” We have the Choice Community, Domestic Violence Community, White Lesbian Community, Black Lesbian Community, and Peace Community, to name a few – but Females inhabiting these worlds don’t generally mix.  What would happen if Females talked to each other about what connects us – our Female-ness.

As a Lesbian, here’s a truth anathema to the Gay Community and one that does not reflect “the law.” Sexual orientation discrimination doesn’t exist. That’s right. Sexual orientation doesn’t exist anymore than “gender identity” discrimination exists. When I am treated badly because I “look Butch,” that’s sex discrimination. Heterosexual women lose promotions to less-qualified men because of sex discrimination.

Sex discrimination impacts Females.  All Females.  We might suffer in degrees, but the root is the same.  The root is our sex, and how society used and grooms Females.

Call it sexism or misogyny – sex discrimination is the air we breathe and the water we drink. It is so pervasive that Females (and Males) don’t see it. When we do see it, when all the filters are lifted, you might feel crazy. Your 20/20 vision will earn you contempt from the majority of Females (and Males) who ignore how much “being  Female” hurts.

Think about EVERY way in which “society” disadvantages Females. Laws dictate what we can do with our bodies.  We are sold a bill of goods on Femininity that makes us hate ourselves.  We must be Porn Sexy and Slutty. “Traditionally” Female occupations are low wage.

Once you’ve taken inventory, know, Females, that I love you. I don’t like to get mushy with you, but I feel like you need to know. Focus on Females. Yes, other forms of oppression exist. No doubt.

But what would happen if Females started to organize based on our Female-ness?  What if we organized around those agenda items that benefit Females?

We’d need to identify our agenda. Before we did that, we’d have to let go of whatever Identity to which we cling, as these Identities are obstacles to organizing as Females.  After that work, ask “what do Females need”?  Females have concerns related to pregnancy, childbirth and abortion because of biology.  Controlling our bodies is a key element of Female Liberation.  Females that have control over fertility have greater education, employment and political participation than Females who lack that control. Females must dictate our sexuality because sexuality has dire consequences for us. Remember the Cotton Ceiling? Yeah, the Cotton Ceiling is about Female autonomy – it is that fucking important.

I understand why Females do Identity Politics. It’s “easier” to localize the “problem” in a smaller Identity Group (wherein I might become a White Butch Dyke). But it does nothing for Females. Your little Identity Group might be safe for you, but it’s not enough.

Females need each other. Females should prioritize the good of Females. Feminism provides a new lens through which to analyze What Females Need.  What would happen if all Females were Feminist?

Maybe we could end rape and sexual abuse, or maybe we could at least get the New York Times to say “males rape females.”  Maybe we’d have an Equal Rights Amendment – “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.” The Equal Rights Amendment still hasn’t been adopted. The U.S. Constitution does not explicitly protect and extend rights equally without regard to sex (except the Right to Vote).  Really.

Females, we could do this.  What if we got together in 2012 and realized how much Power we have?

Females – we’re worth it.

A version of this post was previously published on bugbrennan’s blog.

-Jan Brewer, Handmaiden of the Patriarchy-

US  residents may have noticed the recent War on Women being perpetrated in this country using the excuse of “religious freedom” to justify this rollback of women’s rights.

For the most recent installment of this assault on our rights, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer recently signed House Bill 2625, which authorizes employers with religious affiliations to refuse to cover contraception on their employees’ health insurance plans.

States Brewer about the bill:

In its final form, this bill is about nothing more than preserving the religious freedom to which we are all Constitutionally-entitled.  Mandating that a religious institution provide a service in direct contradiction with its faith would represent an obvious encroachment upon the 1st Amendment.

read more>>

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Hey sisters!

You are all invited to attend Rad Fem Reboot: 2012 Conference happening in July from the 27th till the 29th in Portland, Oregon. Three days of women only space and rad fem utopia.

Topics include:
Activist strategies for overthrowing male supremacy
Anti-sex industry activism
Creating stronger feminist communities
Advancing woman-centred sexuality and lesbianism

Speakers include:
Kathleen Barry
Susan Hawthorne
Renate Klein
Samantha Berg
Lierre Keith
Workshop with women from Vancouver Rape Relief & Women’s Shelter

Seriously, what more could a rad fem want?

To find out more contact us at: sistersunderground@gmail.com

Or visit our blog or facebook page.

Okay. so here’s the thing. why is it that when I say “women in prostitution” people (especially ‘do-gooders’, liberals, men and trannys) hear “sex worker”? I don’t use that kinda demeaning, oppressive language. even if women in prostitution use it to refer to themselves. There is no such fuckin’ thing as a “sex worker” fer crying out loud. All women in prostitution are rape victims. And if they’re not calling themselves that it’s not because they’re not victims, it’s because they’re trying to not go fucking crazy. No one likes to say, “i was/am victimized”, but let’s face it, men have done some terrible things to women, and these women in particular, and they continue to do it, and for some of these women the only way they can manage to lurch from one moment to the next is to claim that ‘yes, this is my job and i’m gonna do the best job i can’. even though she would fight and kick and holler and lay her body down to prevent her little sister or her mom or her auntie or her friend from taking that kinda job.

but i digress.

I am taking a class, and on the first day, i said i was doing research about the harms perpetrated by harm reduction on women in prostitution in Vancouver. someone said, “sex work” and I said, I would never use that terminology, because it de-genders prostitution and offers pimping some legitimation. I just gave a real short response. But people keep using that ridiculous, damaging, misleading term–and then the other day, this one classmate sent me a link to some ‘research’ that’s being done in new york about and with GIRLS in the sex industry–aka, CHILDREN. Said classmate said in the e-mail to my advisor to send me the info, “i think she is working on sex work”. GAAAAAHHHH!

Now, i know i am easily riled. but it galls me that all these people who are bending over backwards to ‘use the most respectful terms’ can’t even HEAR when some of us say what we freakin’ mean, and explain why we use the words we use, and even go so far as to say, “I find that terminology offensive and damaging”. They claim to want to use ‘respectful’ language, and when we explain six different ways to sunday why that language is NOT respectful, they don’t have the argument, or engage with you in any respectful way, they just carry on as if they hadn’t HEARD in the first place. christonacracker…

But how do you gain access to girls in the sex industry (aka sexually exploited children) without calling them what they claim to want to be called (“young sex workers”, i guess). You do what every fucking researcher does, you give them $5 and some pizza.

then you introduce yourself and get their names and then you call them by their names.  then you get to know them, and you start telling them, “you deserve better, you know”. and you tell them, “the men who are doing this to you are wrong”. and you say to them, “here’s a place you can go”, and you say, “you’re strong and capable and look at all the things you did to stay alive and keep safe and protect your friends–let’s talk about how to get out of this life, so you can have a life that doesn’t include paid rape” .

Research. there’s enough flippin’ research already. Can we just get on with the work of freedom now?

sweet sufferin’ mother of jesus.

A version of this post was previously published on Easilyriled’s Blog.

from the “About” page:

Radfem-ological Images is a public, radical feminist group blog dedicated to dissecting and discussing media images through a radical feminist lens.  We recognize that the media, including print, digital and television commercial advertising, is a powerful tool of the patriarchy and that it is used to disseminate political pro-patriarchy, anti-woman propaganda.  The situation is, in a word,Orwellian.  We observe that to the casual or even the dedicated observer, it is often unobvious what is happening or how these images are supportive of patriarchal institutions and male power.

We notice that there are similarities between the messages in all patriarchal media — including advertising — and the mechanisms of real-life oppressions suffered by women at men’s hands.  And that the sheer volume and pervasiveness of these images and messages serve to normalize and invisiblize real things that women experience every day, namely, the realities of living under a totalitarian patriarchal rule which, by definition, harms women and supports male power.

We recognize that commercial advertising is not generally analyzed from this radical feminist perspective, and we seek to remedy that here.

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