Dudley, all pooped out after a long walk last weekend.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
Daily Dose of Cute
Dudley, all pooped out after a long walk last weekend.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
The Monday Thursday Blogaround
Um, I apparently no longer have any idea what day it is, lol. Anyway...
This blogaround brought to you by electricity. Literally!
Recommended Reading:
Ari: Federal Judge Strikes Down Kentucky's Marriage Discrimination Law
BYP: [Content Note: Racism] After Amazing Performance at World Cup, USMNT Goalkeeper Tim Howard 'Randomly' Drug Tested
Kristen: [CN: Transmisogyny; carcerality; abuse; sexual violence; human rights violations] Penned In: Letters Reveal the Lives of Transgender Women in Prison
crunktastic: [CN: Misogynoir; racism; appropriation; disablist language] My Brother's Keeper & the Co-Optation of Intersectionality
Monica: [CN: Transmisogyny; violence; death] Tired of My Sisters Getting Killed
Kari: Imagining a New Way to Read, One 3D-Printed Book at a Time
Veronica: #365FeministSeflie Day 182 = Half Way Point!
Julianne: [CN: Images at link challenging misogyny; fat bias; racism; sexual violence; ageism; homophobia; biphobia; transphobia; disablism; body policing] 18 Empowering Illustrations to Remind Everyone Who's Really in Charge of Women's Bodies
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Quote of the Day
[Content Note: Misogyny; harassment; abuse.]
"The difference in visibility between me and other individuals is itself something that is exploited to hurt me. These gaps are exploited both by people with vastly more visibility than me and those with no discernable visibility at all—anonymous harassers and stalkers. ...They go at you from the top—people with vastly more visibility than you—and from the bottom—people with absolutely no visibility—squeezing you in the space in between until there is very little space for you at all."—Shanley Kane, in a must-read essay entitled "'Internet Famous': Visibility as Violence on Social Media." Which, aside from the bits specific to tech culture, feels perfectly and terribly familiar to me.
I really urge you to read the whole thing, because it is a crucial entry in the ongoing conversation about what the real cost is to visible and/or activist women.
Related Reading: We Need to Talk About This and "How did this become your normal?"
[H/T to Amanda Levitt.]
In the News
Here is some stuff in the news today...
[Content Note: War on agency] Two new restrictive abortion laws went into effect this week in Mississippi and Florida: "Mississippi law now bans abortion 20 weeks after a [pregnant person]'s last menstrual period, about 18 weeks gestation -beforefetal viability. ...The Mississippi law makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and includes only a narrow exception for medical emergencies or fatal fetal abnormalities." And in Florida, a new law bans abortion "at any point in the pregnancy once a fetus is deemed viable unless two doctors certify in writing that it is necessary to protect the health and life of the [pregnant person]. ...The law also further limits abortions after 24 weeks—allowed if the pregnant person's life or health is threatened—by removing mental health conditions as a reason to allow a late abortion." FUCK.
[CN: War on agency] In better news: Democratic Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that would have enacted a 72-hour abortion waiting period, calling it "insulting to women." Right on.
[CN: Extreme weather] And thus begins hurricane season in this part of the world: "The first hurricane of the Atlantic season gained strength on Thursday as its outer bands reached North Carolina, where thousands of vacationers scrubbed their July Fourth holiday beach plans and evacuated low-lying barrier islands in the storm's path. ...Tourists and some residents packed ferries and crowded the only highway off Ocracoke and Hatteras islands, where voluntary and mandatory evacuations were in effect in anticipation of worsening weather conditions." I hope everyone will be safe, and there won't be significant damage to property or infrastructure. Damn.
[CN: Class warfare] More Americans Are Stuck in Part-Time Work: "The number of people in part-time jobs jumped by more than 1 million in June to 27 million, according to the government's data, making it one of the corners of the labor market that has been slowest to heal. That has led to worries that the workforce may be becoming permanently polarized, with part-timers stuck on one side and full-time workers on the other." Many companies are taking full advantage of the law allowing them to employ people for 35 hours a week without providing them the benefits, i.e. healthcare coverage, that many full-time positions require. Also: No overtime pay if you hire two people to work a combined 70 hours.
Welp: "The Vatican has formally recognised the International Association of Exorcists, a group of 250 priests in 30 countries who liberate the faithful from demons."
Oof: This portrait of Prince William is pretty awful.
And finally! No one is willing to claim credit for the "Draft Mitt" campaign. I don't know why not, since it's obvious a very smart and terrific campaign! I for one would love to see Mitt Romney run again. One, it would save me SO MUCH Photoshopping time, as I have a vast file of existing imagery, and, two, I'd love to see him lose one more time.
SORRY, MITT, BUT IT'S TRUE! Nice flag, though. Aces!
Um.
[Content Note: Antifeminism; dehumanization; disablism.]
So, earlier this week, David Finch, one of the people tapped to take on the Wonder Woman franchise, along with his collaborator (and wife) Meredith Finch, gave an interview to Comic Book Resources, which ended with this rather incredible quote:
David: And for my part, I'm excited to be drawing Meredith's story and to be drawing such an icon. That's something — since I've been at DC, it's been an incredible privilege to be able to draw characters like Batman, and to the limited degree I've had, to draw Superman, and now to get into Wonder Woman. I think she's a beautiful, strong character. Really, from where I come from, and we've talked about this a lot, we want to make sure it's a book that treats her as a human being first and foremost, but is also respectful of the fact that she represents something more. We want her to be a strong — I don't want to say feminist, but a strong character. Beautiful, but strong.Which, frankly, was bad enough. But then he took to Twitter to clarify, and posted this gem:
To be abundantly clear, Finch just treated "feminist" and "human being" as mutually exclusive categories.
I would say that I can't imagine what would cause a man to casually set "feminist" in opposition to "human being, fallible and real," except that I know exactly why.
Whether it's treating feminist women as extreme, hysterical, mentally ill outliers or treating feminist women as impenetrably strong and impervious to harm, or any one of a number of stereotypes in between, feminist women are routinely dehumanized, because dehumanizing us is what allows people to harm us without piquing their consciences, and because dehumanization provides the necessary justification for the people who ignore the harm done to us.
We are othered, in order that we might be harmed without pushback.
It's easier to harm someone, or ignore harm done to someone, whom you see as something other than a human being, other than real.
Depressing that a man tasked with taking on a fictional female hero who fights harm done to others would be promulgating the very narratives that allow harm done to real women.
Hobby Lobby: Follow-Up
[Content Note: War on agency; homophobia and transphobia.]
On Monday, the US Supreme Court made its supremely garbage decision in the Hobby Lobby "religious freedom" case. I want to note a couple of things that have happened since then.
1. President Barack Obama, via his Press Secretary, criticized the ruling:
At the top of today's press briefing, Press Secretary Josh Earnest delivered a statement about where the President stands on this ruling, noting: "President Obama believes that women should make personal health care decisions for themselves, rather than their bosses deciding for them."Succinct and firm. I am thankful the President took the time to make sure his position on this decision was known. That matters.
He went on to state that "today's decision jeopardizes the health of women who are employed by these companies."
(It also matters, to me, that I take the time to communicate it matters when there is an administration and/or personal statement, as much as when there isn't one.)
2. After the ruling, people who observed that SCOTUS had opened a door to all kinds of religiously-justified bigotry against employees were accused of hyperbole and alarmism. Welp, not so much: "Post-Hobby Lobby, Religious Orgs Want Exemption from LGBT Hiring Order."
The day after the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, a group of religious leaders sent a letter to President Barack Obama asking that he exempt them from a forthcoming executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT people.And we're the ones who get accused of hyperbole.
The letter, first reported by The Atlantic, was sent on Tuesday by 14 representatives, including the president of Gordon College, an Erie County, Pa., executive and the national faith vote director for Obama for America 2012, of the faith community.
"Without a robust religious exemption," they wrote, "this expansion of hiring rights will come at an unreasonable cost to the common good, national unity, and religious freedom."
Now, you might quite reasonably be thinking: Well, there's no justification for believing that hiring LGBT people will undermine the common good, national unity, and religious freedom.
And factually you are right! But legally, here's the problem: The Hobby Lobby decision stipulated that the company's beliefs about contraception being abortifacients didn't have to have any justification other than believing it.
From his opinion: "The owners of the businesses have religious objections to abortion, and according to their religious beliefs the four contraceptive methods at issue are abortifacients. If the owners comply with the HHS mandate, they believe they will be facilitating abortions. ...[I]t is not for us to say that their religious beliefs are mistaken or insubstantial."
So, it doesn't matter if there's no factual basis for a religion-based claim. See how that works?
There is now absolutely legal precedent for the writers of this letter to claim that they believe complying with the executive order will be undermining the common good blah blah etc.
Here is the thing about all those arguments re: Hobby Lobby being a limited decision: The Supreme Court's whole job is to write precedent. People need to stop pretending it isn't.
And this, right here, in addition to the fact that people other than cis women need access to birth control and abortion, is why I don't use the "war on women" phrasing and instead call it a War on Agency: Because it's not like these oppressive shitlords are going to stop with cis women's control of our lives and bodies. They will use their encroachment on women's et al's healthcare to launch an assault on any law that guarantees rights around choice, sexuality, gender, and bodily autonomy. (Many of these legal assaults are already ongoing.) We thought Roe was settled law once, too.
This is why we all have to care about each other's issues. Because tomorrow, the people coming after me will come after you, and the people coming after you will come for me. We have to have each other's backs. Always.
3. The Supreme Court also clarified Tuesday that "its decision a day earlier extending religious rights to closely held corporations applies broadly to the contraceptive coverage requirement in the new health care law, not just the handful of methods the justices considered in their ruling."
So all those people arguing this was only about emergency birth control and IUDs so what's the big deal? Were wrong.
The justices did not comment in leaving in place lower court rulings in favor of businesses that object to covering all 20 methods of government-approved contraception.They're not just chipping away at Roe; they're chipping away at Griswold.
...Tuesday's orders apply to companies owned by Catholics who oppose all contraception. Cases involving Colorado-based Hercules Industries Inc., Illinois-based Korte & Luitjohan Contractors Inc., and Indiana-based Grote Industries Inc. were awaiting action pending resolution of the Hobby Lobby case.
They are among roughly 50 lawsuits from profit-seeking corporations that object to the contraceptive coverage requirement in their health plans for employees.
Woot!
Late yesterday evening, our power was finally restored! And it was FULLY SPECTACULAR! Iain immediately put on a remix of "All of the Lights" at full volume and started dancing. He kept the music rolling, and we had a dance party right in our living room to celebrate. During a remix of "Only Girl (in the World)," we totally Night at the Roxburyed Dudley (much to his delight, given BUMP!). It was FULL-TILT SILLY at Shakes Manor last night.
We are super grateful to have power back, and wildly grateful to have so many friends who offered any kind of help we needed. (Although we were prepared, given the regularity with which we lose power, though generally not for this long.) I'm also so thankful we had unseasonably cool weather, so the lack of AC wasn't as bad as it could have been.
Ten percent of our entire town lost power, as a result of the double derecho, and tens of thousands more elsewhere in Indiana and Illinois. I know the emergency crews were working 'round the clock to make the repairs, and I'm grateful for that, too.
Thanks to everyone who checked in on us. And let's all please say thank you to the Contributors & Moderators, who are champions and kept the OTs open while I wasn't able to be around at all. Which is to say nothing of their general supportiveness behind the scenes. They are great people, and good friends.
Hallelujah_Hippo, SKM, Aphra_Behn, aforalpha, Scott Madin, Eastsidekate, Deeky, Spudsy, Ana Mardoll, Misty, Elle, Portly Dyke, Space Cowboy, Mustang Bobby.
THANK YOU, TEAM SHAKESVILLE. ♥ ♥ ♥
More Welp
Still no power.
Still no ETA on when we might have power back. Right now, they're just telling us a few days at the longest. Obviously I'm hoping it will be faster than that.
I was thinking of going to a cafe to work today, but, apart from publicly broadcasting that my house is empty, at the address which has been published frequently by people who want to harm me, the house is turning into a hotbox without AC, even though it's thankfully pretty cool. So I'm reluctant to close everything up to go out and leave the animals sweltering.
Basically, I'm still offline for the time being. I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
In other news, Iain looks very adorable carrying a candle up the stairs at bedtime. Perhaps I will purchase him some longjohns and we will cosplay Little House on the Prairie tonight. I always did have a crush on Almonzo.
Welp
We had another major storm last night, and we are without power and internet again. I'm using the last bit of battery on my mobile to post this note.
I've got a leaking skylight and water damage, and, again, we've got a fridge full of spoiled food, right after having done our shopping on Sunday. We've lost hundreds of dollars in food due to long power outages the past few months alone. This shit is getting real old.
I'll be back as soon as I can.
An Observation
[Content Note: War on agency; misogyny.]
We have gone, in one Supreme Court decision, from valuing fetuses more highly than the people who carry them to valuing even the potential of a fetus more highly than the person who would theoretically carry it.
TV Corner: The Leftovers
[Content Note: Spoilers for the premiere episode of The Leftovers. Violence; animal cruelty; cultism.]
Last night was the premiere of HBO's new series The Leftovers, based on Tom Perrotta's novel of the same name, which follows a group of people in a small town following a rapture-like event during which 2% of the world's population disappears without explanation.
I was pretty interested in this series, because it's co-produced with Perrotta by Damon Lindelof, one of the showrunners for Lost, and because it's got a couple of ladies in it I like very much: Liv Tyler, Ann Dowd, and Amy Brenneman.
So I watched the premiere, and immediately thereafter, I tweeted:
Which is probably all I need to say about how much I liked it, if you've ever read one of my Walking Dead recaps. So: To the recap!
* * *
The show opens with a harried young thin white mom on the phone with some heartless corporation while doing laundry at the laundromat as her baby cries. She goes to her car and puts the baby in his carseat and keeps talking on the phone, then realizes her son is gone. She gets out of the car and begins to scream, as a little white boy yells for his father, while an unmanned grocery cart drifts by. Empty cars crash.
Kicking in for the first time is the tinkly piano music, better befitting an emotionally manipulative inspirational YouTube video about a disadvantaged child overcoming adversity, which will become the weird, annoying, discordant soundtrack to this series.
Fade to black, and the sounds of a cacophony of emergency calls, then silence. Text onscreen: "Three years later."
We meet our white male hero, played by Justin Theroux, whom you might know from his starring role in the tabloids as Mr. Jennifer Aniston, as he is expositionally jogging past indicators that people are still struggling with the mass disappearance. He looks like a dimestore Rick Grimes from the Walking Dead, and I am laughing.
Daily Dose of Cute
Kitteh.
As always, please feel welcome and encouraged to share pix of the fuzzy, feathered, or scaled members of your family in comments.
The Monday Blogaround
This blogaround brought to you by embroidery.
Recommended Reading:
BYP: [Content Note: Racism; misogyny; police brutality] Arizona State University Professor Ersula Ore Thrown to Ground by Cops after Jaywalking
David: Petition Seeking Justice for Professor Ersula Ore
jess_stoner: [CN: Misogyny; objectification; rape culture] "Cold Beer and Titties": Sexism at Texas Boys State Conference
Jim: [CN: Homophobia] Mexico Fans Chant Homophobic Slurs at World Cup Match for the Third Time
stavvers: [CN: Sexual assault; rape apologia] On Rolf Harris' Conviction
Esmé: [CN: Descriptions of experiencing psychosis; references to self-harm] Perdition Days: On Experiencing Psychosis
Prison Culture: [CN: Racism; trauma; invisibilizing] Restorative Justice Is about "Being Seen"
Ragen: [CN: Fat bias; health policing] As Long As You're Healthy
Leave your links and recommendations in comments. Self-promotion welcome and encouraged!
Quote of the Day
"If I read one more liberal dude bro making this a morality lesson on the importance of voting (with or without the corollary that we should be sure to 'do something useful' with this outrage), I might fucking scream. Why don't you do something with your concern besides schooling me on how you're so much smarter than I am, motherfucker?"—Shakesville Moderator Hallelujah_Hippo, in an email. Published with her permission.
I can't say yes to this hard enough. Yes. Yessssssssssssss. YES.
Relatedly, I tweeted earlier today: "I could really do without the progressive dudes making sarcastic jokes about this decision as some sort of pathetic attempt at allyship. Do you guys understand that there are women who are again contemplating sterilizing themselves b/c of this decision? Be serious or STFU."
To dudes who have nothing to offer but "irony" at this point: Congratulations, assholes—you do indeed sound exactly like the conservatives filling up my TL with rank hatred. And here is why that is a problem.
