Rape does not equal sex.

Correspondingly, a “rape scene” does not equal a “sex scene.”

Thus, your profile of actress Summer Bishil in the August/September Bust is disappointingly misogynistic. And anti-feminist. Yes, I understand that you’re about as feminist as Planet Green is, well, green, but still. Even for a superfluffyfunfeminism magazine, this is beyond the pale.

You’re better than this:

The first question I want to ask Summer Bishil, star of Alan Ball’s new film, Towelhead, is what it was like to do a sex scene with Aaron Eckhart. “I thought he was attractive prior to meeting him,” she replies, laughing, “so I was pretty nervous.” The response catches me off-guard, because the scene in question is a harrowing one in which Bishil’s character, 13-year-old Jasira, is raped.

Wow, Jasira is raped and raped while underage. Where does the “sex scene” come in, exactly?

Seriously, I’ve come to expect this sort of woman-hating, rape-denying/-minimizing bullshit from the mainstream media; the mental gymnastics they sometimes perform in order to avoid using the word “rape” in a news story about rape truly are Olympian in nature:

‘World’s greatest dad’ charged in online child-sex sting (USA Today)

Child rape sting! ‘World’s greatest dad’ charged in online child-rape sting!

Mental Health Expert, 78, Charged In Internet Child Sex Sting (Tampa Bay Online)

Child rape sting! Mental Health Expert, 78, Charged In Internet Child Rape Sting!

Police: Men had sex with teen runaways (The News & Observer)

Raped! Police: Men raped teen runaways!

Guilty Verdict In Videotaped Sex Slay Case (CBS News)

ZOMFG! Rape slay case! Guilty Verdict In Videotaped Rape Slay Case!

Richard D. Davis and Dena Riley raped, tortured and killed a woman! While videotaping it! Where the mofo was this “sex” of which you speak!?!

Former Coroner Employee Had Sex With Body (WKRC TV Cincinnati)

Raped! Former Coroner Employee Raped Body!

Seriously, I am this close to losing my shit now. How on earth does a corpse consent to anything? That’s not a rhetorical question, I really would like an answer. I’m talking to you, anonymous WKRC TV Cincinnati headline writer!

Rape is not sex:

“The word ‘sex’ implies consent,” she said. “I never once would describe (what happened) as sex. He’s making me commit perjury.”

“Sex” implies mutual consent, while terms such as “had sex with,” “engaged in sex,” etc., say as much; after all, you can’t mutually engage in an act or perform an act with someone unless your partner is doing it, too. Rape victims aren’t “having sex” with their assailants, they are being raped.

So, Ms. Priya Jain & Bust mag editors, I am extremely disappointed, disgusted and appalled to find you, of all peoples, regurgitating the language of the patriarchy. The language which implies that a rape did not, in fact, take place (no matter what that self-hating whore says the morning after); the language which denies and minimizes rape (what are you talking about, I didn’t rape her; we had sex); the language which allows all of society to turn a blind eye to the realities of rape. After all, if the word “rape” never graces the headlines, where’s the problem?

Call me naive, but I expected more from an indie/feminist media outlet.

Signed,

- A soon-to-be-ex-subscriber. (But not because of your unfortunate choice of words to describe rape. I’d already made the decision not to renew when I leafed through your latest issue. I just totally like Bitch better.)

Oh, and P.S.: Decorating your Twin Peaks fashion spread with a decapitated deer head? Totally uncool. Really, would it have killed you and your grand artistic vision to just substitute in some wrought iron doohickey instead? Random acts of violence are so 1942, dontchaknow.

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Tagged: bust msm rape sex misogyny feminism language speciesism fashion

This is part three in a nine-part series on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. A full TOC, complete with links for easy navigation, is included at the bottom of each post.

Spoiler alert: Danger ahead, oh the horra! Plot spoilers abound! If you haven’t yet read the book, consider yourself warned. In fact, back away from this blog asap, go borrow The Handmaid’s Tale from your local library, and come back when you’re done. We’ll still be on the internets, promise.

Race, Ethnicity and Sexual Orientation: Gilead is a Society of Isms

In addition to being a misogynistic society, Gilead is also a racist and homophobic society. Unlike misogyny, however, The Handmaid’s Tale is notable for what it does not say about race and homosexuality.

In her narration, Kate very rarely mentions race. When describing people, skin color is almost never explicitly referenced. Through subtle clues, we can discern that many of the main characters in The Handmaid’s Tale are white: Kate describes her brown hair, the Commander’s silver hair, Serena Joy’s blond hair, Nick’s angular French facial features, Ofglen’s pink, plump face, Janine’s pink nose. Nameless Guardians have peach-colored mustaches and pale faces. Gilead is overwhelmingly white - except for its laborers. Rita and Cora, Commander Fred’s Marthas, are women of color. We know this of Rita because Kate describes her “brown arm”, but can only assume this of Cora.

Kate describes Marthas as women whose previous work in the domestic sphere has instilled in them a compliant, subservient nature. Wiki defines Marthas as “infertile women whose compliant nature and domestic skills recommend them to a life of domestic servitude.” (I’m paraphrasing Kate’s description, as I was unable to locate the exact quote.) While there’s some speculation as to whether Marthas are African Americans - thus conjuring America’s history of slavery - it’s unclear whether all the Marthas share the same race and ethnicity, or if any women of color who are appropriately subservient and compliant are given the option of working as Marthas as opposed to dying in The Colonies. It is my impression that Rita and Cora are Latinas, based on Rita’s “brown arms” and their first names. Additionally, while I was unable to locate the demographics of domestic workers in the U.S., Diana Vellos claims that “Latinas today constitute the largest category of women entering the domestic labor force in the United States. Many of these women are undocumented workers.”

Whatever their heritage, it seems as though Marthas are the only people of color living in Gilead. Most likely, any other non-white Americans were killed or sent to The Colonies as manual laborers.

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This is how Anthony Pagor, Dale Meyer, Brandon Meyer and Justin Williams of Eldorado, Wisconsin like to spend their weekends:

That’s right, torturing pigs. Fucking awesome, isn’t it, the way her eyes bulge out of her sockets and her tongue lolls out of her mouth as you squeeze every last bit of air out of her porcine lungs, isn’t it? What can be cooler than inflicting some unnecessary hurt on a “lower” life form, eh? Bet it makes y’all feel like quite the menz. Tomorrow you can haul her off to the slaughterhouse and come back with a freezer full of pork chops. You know, a MANLY MEAT!!!!! “Real food for real guys,” indeed.

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…but I already have a Ralphie, a Peedee, a Rennie, a Kaylee & a Jayne!

If you live in the Kansas City area and love dogs, Pups Without Partners Greyhound Adoption and Retired Greyhounds as Pets (REGAP) can use your help. The Woodlands Greyhound Race Track is set to close it doors on August 23. While this is most certainly a Good Thing (dog and horse racing is evil, yo*), the 600+ greyhounds currently “employed” at the track will lose their “jobs” - and possibly their lives as well, if homes cannot be found for all these former “working” animals.

Since I don’t watch much local news, I first learned of the Woodlands’ impending closure via Kinship Circle. Over at the Kansas City Freecycle blog, I write a weekly column where we feature a local adoptable animal every Wednesday.** Today I chose to focus on Saffron, one of REGAP’s rescued greyhounds. I also excerpted the Kinship Circle alert about the Woodland greyhounds’ plight, and highlighted REGAP’s work as well.

So if you live nearby, check us out. There are thousands of wonderful animals looking for forever homes - across Kansas City, across the United States, and across the world. Everything from dogs and cats to rabbits and rats and pigs and goats.

In the meantime, read up on the Woodlands situation and consider donating your home, your time, your car or your cash to the cause. Even if you don’t live in KCMO/KS, chances are that you live close to an animal shelter or rescue group…and I bet they could use a helping hand, too.

REGAP and Saffron are under the jump!

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I’m hooked on the Near East CousCous - the Roasted Garlic flavor, to be exact.* But it’s not really widely available on local grocery store shelves; doubly so since we moved from 45 minutes south of Kansas City to 45 minutes north. The only store ’round these parts that seems to carry the Near East Line is Whole Foods, and it’s uber-expensive there. I was ordering it by the case from Amazon, but alas! - it’s currently out of stock.

Finding myself with a craving for couscous and couscous-free cupboard (o what a quandary!), I decided to improvise and make my own couscous concoction. After my initial plate of FAIL!, I came up with a totally easy, totally veg*n, totally yummy recipe. And only on my second try. Yay me!

DIY Sundried Tomato CousCous

Ingredients

Plain Couscous
Water
Sundried tomatoes (the semi-dried stuff that comes in a bag or bulk; not the stuff pickled with oil in a jar)
A little dab o’ olive oil
A few dashes each of garlic and onion powder

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FYI: The top vid is a recent McCain campaign ad, while the bottom is a rebuttal from Media Matters. Check ‘em both before reading further.

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Gibson recently released the Joan Jett Signature Melody Maker, their first and only signature electric guitar (ever!) for a female artist.

How fucking awesome is that?

On Joan’s end, anyway. Gibson, not so much. Seriously, guys, it took y’all this long to honor a female?

Bah, at least they didn’t release a pink version.

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Tagged: joan jett gibson electric guitar signature series melody maker women i love

Oh yays! It’s election time again. Missouri’s state-wide primaries will be held on August 5th this year. LD and I were finally able to pick up sample copies of the ballot this week, the late date probably owing to the fact that we live in Clinton County, i.e., “the sticks.”

Since Missouri has open elections, you need not register with a party to vote in the primary (hello! independence). However, according to MO rules, voters must choose one ballot - and one ballot only:

Since Missouri has open primaries, every eligible registered voter may select the party ballot of their choice.

However, primary voters may select only one party’s ballot. Voters who do not wish to give a political party preference may request an issues only ballot, if one is available in that particular jurisdiction.

This year, there are three ballots from which to choose: Democratic, Republican and Libertarian. I’ll reprint each of these (again, for Clinton County, Missouri), but since I’m going to go with the Democratic ballot, I won’t bother researching and reporting on the others.

Why the Democrats? I know, I know, I quit the party, vowed only to vote third party, etc. And I still will…in the general election. The primary, not so much. For starters, the only third party options are Libertarian, so meh. And the Libertarian Party ballot is looking pretty empty. As in, each candidate is running unopposed. So it would be kind of useless to choose the Libertarian ballot, when all the candidates are essentially already settled upon.

The Republican ticket, too, is slim pickens. Out of nine positions, only two (Governor and Lieutenant Governor) feature more than one Republican vying for the position. Plus…Republicans. Ew.

So Dems it is. Hopefully I’ll find at least one local politician worthy of my support.

Ballots and picks after the jump.

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They got Special Deals on Quality AK-47’s, yo.

I can’t even begin to describe what a mindfuck it is for a pacifist like moi to see her surname plastered across a gun shop storefront. And it’s doubly disconcerting when your last name is so uncommon that yours might very well be the only family in all of America to share it.

I mean, my uncle could just as easily have named the store “Phil’s Metallic Phallus Emporium,” but no.

At least, I’m assuming this is my uncle’s place. Website found via the Google, which is one clue as to the closeness of Garbato familial relationships.

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Tagged: gunz tucson arizona your featherhead pacifism

This is part two in a nine-part series on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. A full TOC, complete with links for easy navigation, is included at the bottom of each post.

Spoiler alert: Danger ahead, oh the horra! Plot spoilers abound! If you haven’t yet read the book, consider yourself warned. In fact, back away from this blog asap, go borrow The Handmaid’s Tale from your local library, and come back when you’re done. We’ll still be on the internets, promise.

Misogyny & the Oppression of Women

By far, the most pervasive theme in The Handmaid’s tale is misogyny and the oppression of women; in fact, female oppression The Republic of Gilead is so ubiquitous so as to suggest that the nation was founded for the sole purpose of reinstating a true theocratic patriarchy. Every facet of society works in concert to control Giliadean women; their subjugation is total.

Women are segregated into groups based on their social functions, as are men. However, unlike the men, women have no chance for upward mobility, only down. A man, for example, may move up in rank from a Guardian to an Angel. There is no such opportunity for women. Wives (and Econowives) may only become Widows; Handmaids, Marthas and Jezebels may be cast off as Unwomen should they fail to fulfill their roles. And Unwomen become laborers or are sent to die a gruesome death in the polluted Colonies. To add insult to injury, a woman’s status is largely determined by her birth, loyalty and reproductive function. In contrast, Gilead does not so much as acknowledge that a man’s reproductive function may be lacking, theoretically or in practice.

Women, with the exception of the Aunts, are not allowed to read or write. Women do not have access to books of any sort, including the Bible. Every household has a Bible, of course, but this is kept under lock and key. Nor do females have writing implements - neither pens nor paper - at their disposal. The no-reading edict is so strictly enforced that the neighborhood markets advertise their wares with graphic signs as opposed to written store names: Lilies of the Field, which sells habits, sports a golden lily on the sign out front; Milk and Honey has “three eggs, a bee, a cow”; and All Flesh “is marked by a large wooden pork chop hanging from two chains.” When the Handmaids are sent out on errands, they are given small cards (similar to tokens) with which to purchase groceries and other necessities. These, too, are decorated with pictures.

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