Everyday Sexism and The Handmaid's Tale

Jessica Valenti has a great piece on the horrors of everyday sexism in The Handmaid's Tale.

She argues that while there are certainly horrific and big deal changes in the world of Gilead, it is the demonstrations of everyday sexism throughout the show (and book) that are the most identifiable and scary. The show (and book) hold a mirror up to society and show us at our worst, and then of course how that worst can actually be worse. She writes:

And that’s what makes the series – and sexism – so scary. It’s not just that we live in a country where politicians call pregnant women ‘hosts’ and the vice-president refuses to dine alone with women. It isn’t just that we can’t trust the government to treat us as full human beings – it’s that oftentimes we don’t know if we can trust the men in our lives, either.

Because as much as The Handmaid’s Tale is about what happens when some men’s disdain for women boils over, it’s also about the danger of “good” men’s apathy and attachment to the privileges sexism affords them. Both are horrors women know well.

For reals????

Apparently there is a campaign to end mancrimination. Yes, you read that correctly... MAN-crimination. Don't ya know, men are repressed and discriminated against now that women have all the power. Read about it here. Barf!

Here's something lighter and fun...

The Handmaid's Tale Humanist, not Feminist???

This story is making me angry right now.

According to the story from Bust, the cast of The Handmaid's Tale (2 days away!!!!) was adamant in a recent press conference that the book and show aren't feminist, they are humanist.

We discussed this in class and discussed this in relation to Adichie's writing and others. There's nothing wrong with humanist, but it does ignore the specific struggles of women that the term feminist covers. It should be clear from our two days of discussion of the book that The Handmaid's Tale is extremely feminist. The ideas of freedom to and freedom from highlight the feminism in the book.

The book is not a feminist bible and it isn't the most feminist book out there. By the struggles of Offred and the Handmaid's, the trapped existence of the wives and Marthas, and the society of Gilead in general, we see what happens when women lose all of their freedoms to and are only given the freedom from. We see Valenti's Purity Myth come to life.

The Handmaid's Tale is feminist. There is no doubt about that.

Menstrual Products for Inmates

Check out this recent article in the NY Times on the availability of menstrual products for female prisoners.

It is quite sad and upsetting that these products are not available easily and readily, that they are used as bargaining chips, and that they are used as a means of power and control. Just because individuals are incarcerated doesn't mean that we stop treating them with dignity and humanity.

Anti-abortion advocates can spy on your phone

I'm not sure why this isn't a bigger news story. Back in May 2016, Rewire reported on an advertising firm that used geofencing technology to spy on the phones of women in abortion clinics (or just Planned Parenthood) and then send them anti-choice advertising.

Last year, an enterprising advertising executive based in Boston, Massachusetts, had an idea: Instead of using his sophisticated mobile surveillance techniques to figure out which consumers might be interested in buying shoes, cars, or any of the other products typically advertised online, what if he used the same technology to figure out which women were potentially contemplating abortion, and send them ads on behalf of anti-choice organizations?

Here is the really scary part:

Flynn’s targeting of women seeking abortion presents a serious threat to the privacy and safety of women exercising their right to choose, as well as to abortion providers and their staff, a Rewire investigation has found. But due to weak and patchwork laws governing privacy and data collection in the United States, the conduct appears to be perfectly legal. 

Read the full article at Rewire.

Women living in Massachusetts won't have to worry, but women in the rest of the country are still fair game in this.

Bathroom Bill Paradox summed up in one comic

Check out this great comic on the Bathroom Bill Paradox from Everyday Feminism.

Courtney Cox for Tampax 1985

This was the first advertisement to use the word "period." Thanks, Courtney!

Humor and Truth

The Onion often speaks truth through its humor. Check out the brief American Voices piece on the temporary stay on the closing of Kentucky's only abortion clinic.

As one of the voices says:

“It’s so unfair that Governor Bevin is being forced to keep something alive just because the law gives him no other option.”

Learn more about what's happening in Kentucky: Here,  here, and here.

Down the Canal The Game of Birth by Birth in the Know

This game is available on Amazon. The product description states:

Down the Canal is a unique, revolutionary game designed to easily connect the learner to accurate information about childbirth. Explore choices and models of care, while engaging in play. Created by a career postpartum doula trainer, whose mission is to transform the fear-based culture of birth.

The game has decent reviews (maybe I should purchase this to play with future psychology of women classes?!). But the part that I found to be most interesting was the video.

I have so many questions about this video. Primarily, why are there three men playing this game with one pregnant woman????

Recent TED Talk

Check out this TED talk about Terri Vescio of Penn State.

Her works focuses on how men sexualize women as a means of demeaning them and pushing them back in their place, especially when men feel threatened by a woman's success.