Feminism isfor everyone.

a celebration of feminism at UVA.

feminism is for everyone is the feminist organization at the university of virginia. this is our blog, filled with information about our events, and reflections on feminism at uva and in our lives. want more info about FIFE or want to be on our email list? send a message to uvafife@gmail.com

http://feministing.com/ http://www.now.org/ http://www.feministcampus.org/default.asp

become a fan on facebook!

well, shit.

I can't even pick which part of the article is the most upsetting, so just read the whole thing.

GUH!
Today an op-ed (shudder) in the Cav Daily breached the issue of under-reporting of sexual assault on Grounds. Although it was similar to a recent article in the Daily Progress, I commend the author for bringing up the important issue. However...

There's not ONE mention of Take Back the Night in the ENTIRE THING. Seriously, CD. Can you be any more out of touch with grassroots organizing?

What. The. Hell.

"Promiscuity and hype have created a phony epidemic at colleges."

Thanks, Rebecca, for the tip. Letters to the editor, anyone?

Check it--a record number of 4 women are nominated for a screenwriting Oscar this year!

"Women are the story in screenwriting category"

• global feminism- "Europe needs more women in top positions"

• music- study shows that rap brings out sexism (even when the lyrics aren't sexist)

Small Study Concludes Some Women Do Not Have G-Spots

here's a little keychain I photoshopped for FIFE's [co-ed] sorority alter-ego, Phi Phi Sigma. yay!!

TODAY'S TRIVIA

What famous suffragette was told by her father than he wished she had been born a boy?


Trivia Directions: First person to email the right answer to uvafife@gmail.com gets 50 points. Second person, 40 points, third person, 30 points, etc. Person with the most points at Tuesday's dessert party gets a prize!
Are you artsy? Are you un-artsy but love to design logos nonetheless? TBTN 2008 is looking for its logo and we want submissions from YOU!! Please send your design, in a high-res JPG format, to tbtnuva@gmail.com by Friday at 10pm. For examples, use Google Images (search for "TBTN" or "Take Back the Night") and see what comes up.
This female golfing pro rules. She was banned from playing in a tournament at a public Cape Cod course because she's a woman... but is taking matters into her own hands.

She wants to play at a more competitive level with men and compares her denial from the tournament to the separate but NOT equal rights African Americans had during the Jim Crow days.

She says, "Excluding women is as illegal as having whites-only drinking fountains."
and...
"If someone says you can't play because you're black, that's a problem, but if you throw in the word 'woman,' it really seems to be still acceptable to exclude you, and it shouldn't be like that."

Thoughts?
Here's a little story about women's surfing and bikinis.
She was awesome in Juno, but Ms. Page is also really awesome in real life. In an interview with the Washington Post, she says about feminism:

I call myself a feminist when people ask me if I am, and of course I am 'cause it's about equality, so I hope everyone is.

Read all of it here.


<3<3<3<3
if ecofeminism isn't enough for you, then this should be.
"A feminist is a person who answers 'yes' to the question, 'Are women human?' Feminism is not about whether women are better than, worse than or identical with men. And it's certainly not about trading personal liberty- abortion, divorce, sexual self-expression- for social protection as wives and mothers, as pro-life feminists propose. It's about justice, fairness, and access to the broad range of human experiance. It's about women consulting their own well-being and being judged as individuals rather than as members of a class with one personality, one social function, one road to happiness. It's about women having intrinsic value as persons rather than contingent value as a means to an end for others: fetuses, children, the 'family,' men."

-Katha Pollitt



Cristina
I hope everyone got a chance to go to the Vagina Monologues this weekend- and if you missed it, or if you want more, the play "A Memory, A Monologue, A Rant, and A Prayer" will be tonight at 8pm in the Chem Auditorium.

Here's an interview with Eve Ensler and Jane Fonda from the Today Show. It's a really interesting interview and the first 30 seconds or so are a really cool overview of the Vagina Monologues.

As mentioned in the interview, on April 11 & 12 there will be a huge productoin of the Vagina Monologues in New Orleans at the Superdome that will be called "Super Love." For more information- go to vday.org

To see the interview go to http://video.msn.com/dw.aspx?mkt=en-us&from=truveo&vid=452baddb-86f3-4117-a840-3ab821fb033a
or you can just go to dogpile.com and search "vagina monologues" under video

-Cristina
ok, so i'm taking tibetan buddhism this semester and my TA just briefly mentioned this in discussion on monday so i had to research it:

o god. so this is what a lot of people think

"Sexism of the nature Hillary Clinton is experiencing has been around as kind of an acceptable joke for years."
just digging up some old cav daily articles, for you to peruse.

point

counterpoint

i was so happy to see all of you at the party tonight!! let's hang out again soon.

xoxo

In case there's ever any doubt that questioning traditional gender roles is totally sexy, this article (Gals make passes at guys who wash glasses) offers proof. And check out this line:

"Among other things, she found that men with feminist partners reported both more stable relationships and greater sexual satisfaction."

So there--feminism is so romantic!!!

Happy V-Day, y'all!
take back THE DATE? uhhhhh
A high school in Kansas wouldn't let a female referee work a boy's basketball game, and here's why:

"Campbell, as a woman, could not be put in a position of authority over boys because of the academy's beliefs."

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?? Prepare to be horrified.

Hey FIFE,

Hope you all like the new look of the blog! I just wanted to let you know about an amazing opportunity to travel abroad through the Women's Center WHILE earning three credits!

Women's Leadership in Spain:
Resistance to Violence in International Perspective
(EDLF 589/SPTR 428; 3 credits)

The 10th International Interdisciplinary Congress on Women, also called Women's Worlds 2008, will bring over a thousand women's studies scholars, activists, and policy-makers from over 200 countries to Madrid from July 3-9, 2008. The conference is hosted by the Complutense University of Madrid, and all conference proceedings will be bilingual for the first time in the thirty years that the Congress has met.

For more info, click here.
i saw this video on feministing and i was quite annoyed at kc. stop asking stupid questions!
"When Women Rule"
As a member group of the Minority Rights Coalition (MRC), FIFE exec had a part in the decision of who the MRC will endorse for several upcoming student government elections. After a round of interviews, here are our picks!! Please note that order of names does not indicate levels of preference!

Student Council
* President: Isaac Wood
* Vice President for Administration: Ethan Jorgensen-Earp
* Vice President for Organizations: Nobody

UJC -- CLAS
* Merriam Mikhail

Honor -- CLAS
* Jessica Huang
* Blaire Hawkins
* Sophie Staples

To join the related facebook group, see here.
The ever-watchful Harrison linked me to this, well...interesting article about Michelle Obama and her role in the election. Most of you know which candidate I support, but let's just say I would be happy with either Bill or Michelle as first ladies. Especially because it sounds like Mrs. Obama is one tough cookie:

"With the Democratic presidential race wide open, Mrs. Obama, a 44-year-old Princeton- and Harvard Law-educated hospital executive, is assuming the same dominant role in Sen. Obama's public life that she has in his private life. At home, she expects a lot of every family member, from having her 6- and 9-year-old daughters set their own alarm clocks to insisting her husband pick up his dirty socks." (emphasis mine)

Um, excuse me? Since when is it considered "a lot" for a grown man--who may in fact run this country soon--to pick up his dirty socks? UGH!!

read the rest here.

HEY FIFERS!!

I thought it would be nice to give you a Sunday-afternoon calendar of the upcoming FIFE week. Here you go!

TUESDAY:
• FIFE Bake Sale for TBTN = all day on the Lawn.
  • Sign up to table at http://fife.student.virginia.edu/signup.php.
• The "Feminist" Vote = 9pm in Newcomb Board Room.
  • An open body meeting led by Catherine Worrell of the UDems, investigating the myths of a monolithic feminist vote and discussing candidates' positions on important issues. *see flier at the bottom of this post!*

WEDNESDAY:
• Project Runway Watching Party = 10pm in the Scope (3rd floor Newcomb)

THURSDAY:
• THE MOST FUCKING ROMANTIC VALENTINE'S DAY EVERRRRRRR = meet at Carly and Jen's place at 7pm. Wear your costumes!!
  

flier for tuesday's meeting:

also, there will be snacks.

Check this out from the Urban Dictionary:

V-Day:

1. Short for vagina day, is conveniently celebrated on February 14th, and is enjoyed by all. Many are unaware that when they yell "Happy V day", (intending to mean Happy Valentines day), they are really wishing the other person's vagina has a happy day.

2. V Day or Vagina Day is a day established by Eve Ensler, author of the Vagina Monologues, to end domestic violence and sexual abuse of women. It is celebrated on Valentine's day and many communities put on plays from parts of the Vagina Monologues or additional stories related to orgasms, menarche, first sexual experiences, sexuality, molestation, rape, etc. They express what a vagina would say if it could talk. Proceeds from the plays go towards centers for domestic violence and rape preventions.

(http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=V+Day)

The VAGINA MONOLOGUES will be Friday February 15 & Saturday February 16 at 8pm in the Chemistry Auditorium.
Tickets are $5, all proceeds will be donated to organizations working to end violence against women and girls.
You can buy tickets in advance on the Lawn or at Newcomb, starting Monday.

Also, SEXUAL HEALTH CARNIVAL will be at the Chemistry building at 6:30pm before each show!!

-Cristina
This is the kind of thing that anti-choicers do NOT want people reading about:

http://www.skirt.com/node/1150
I would always prefer to post a story about a strong fighter for gender equality who faces tough challenges and comes out victorious than a story written by a stupid guy who doesn't understand gender issues at all. However, there comes a time in a woman's life--usually when there are papers and cover letters to be written, but also old episodes of House to watch and peppermint tea to consume--when it's just as inspiring and purpose-reaffirming to read an op-ed written by some idiotic a-hole who "questions the validity of gender scholarship." And who thinks that receiving an email advertisement for a course in his inbox should count as "aggression."

enjoy!
WTF??!?!? Moment:

Lauren Summa, a Hofstra University grad student, was the athletic manager of the university's football team. She was repeatedly sexually harassed by the players during team bus trips in 2006. One time, the players repeatedly shouted obscenities while viewing a sexually explicit movie provided by the assistant coach! Another time, she was locked in the bus bathroom.

Summa reported the incidents to the head coach, Dave Cohen, who said that the incidents were not serious and that reporting them to the school "would only draw unnecessary attention to the football program." Summa was eventually dropped from the staff.

Summa is now filing a lawsuit against the school.


Idea: Let's write to Lauren telling her that we support her! I'll do some research to see how we can get in contact w/ her.

-Cristina

In case you didn't read about the "Yale Sluts" incident last week (or the week before), go here for a summary. But better yet, check this article out, which was written by a female student analyzing the response to the incident. But even better than THAT, read the comments. And the comments about all the related stories you'll find if you Google "Yale Slut." What you'll find is a torrent of women-hating, "boys will be boys" excuse-making, and PC-pushing whiners claiming that insulting women is just "free speech" and that women need to "get over it." Any ideas for some action we can take? It seems like some support for Yale's feminist club might be in order?
Here ye, here ye! The votes are in (ie. the tea has been drunk and conversations had, involving spreadsheets, and lots of papers) regarding the executive board of Take Back the Night 2008 and I'm pleased to report that there are many FIFErs among those chosen. Please join me in congratulating them for being so damn awesome!!!

Rachel Massey (Rally/Festival Chair)
Katrin Schulz (Rally/Festival Co-Chair)
Christina Gadala-Maria (Rally/Festival Co-Chair)
Meghan Tertocha (March Co-Chair)
Jesse Little (Vigil Chair)
Erin Conroy (Vigil Logistics Co-Chair)
Nora Eakin (Publicity Co-Chair)
Erin Rickard (Lightcatchers Chair)
Jen Siomacco (Kickoff Concert Chair)
Kate Ringo (Kickoff Concert Co-Chair)
Margaret Long (Merch Chair)
Chris Dawson (Merch Co-Chair)
Abbie Legge (Tabling Chair)

Congratulations!!!
...if McCain wins the Republican primary. WHAAAAT?!

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