The following has been posted all over the internet, from websites to blogs, this has been all over the web.
10 Simple Ideas To Empower Women
As a woman, here are some simple tips and how men can help.
Value yourself, and relationships where you are an equal.
In any relationship, there is going to be give-and-take as situations and circumstances change, but you should also feel that, overall, your value in the partnership is equal to that of your partner's.
Learn how to own your voice and assert your opinions.
Pay attention to how women have been socialized to defer to men in conversations. For all you men, avoid interrupting, talking over, discrediting or dismissing a woman's opinion. Studies show that women are more frequently interrupted than men. Over the course of many conversations, they get the message that what they have to say is not necessarily as compelling or valued as what men have to say.
Identify words and language that communicate gender bias.
Make an effort to consciously change the language so it draws attention to areas where bias is apparent. Two places to look for gender bias include position titles that infer gender and school/employer policies that infer gender.
Speak up about sexist jokes or sexist images.
Promote sexual harassment policies in your workplace.
Focus on the person instead appearance.
To foster a healthier self-image, compliment yourself or other woman for achievements, thoughts, and actions.
Call attention to media deception.
Expose and understand unrealistic media images for what they are: retouched, computer-manipulated photos of models-a group that makes up only a tiny subset of the population.
Learn how to ask and negotiate for wages and raises.
Know the worth of your job. Education is your best defense. Research everything you can think of to find the competitive salary for your job in your region -- employment surveys, libraries, professional organizations, peers. For a raise, you need evidence to show your boss that you deserve it. One way to document your contribution to your company is to keep a job diary. Every week, or even every day, write down what you did and how it helped meet the company's objectives. Keep lists or spreadsheets, because managers like to count things. Remember that attributes such as positive attitude, willingness to put in overtime, and quality of work, are essential. Include a few good stories about your work in the diary to illustrate what you added.
Think about, plan and prepare for career advancement.
Mentors are a great asset. If your company doesn't offer clear career ladders, research or find a seminar to help you understand your industry and opportunities.
Encourage risk taking.
People develop self-reliance when they're given the space to solve problems and make mistakes in the process.
Know and be able to manage your finances.
Start saving for retirement immediately in a career - it will grow to much more than the same amount if you wait 10 years to start saving. And keep saving - Social Security doesn't provide the equivalent of a "living wage" for retirement years. Women statistically live about six years longer than men, and run a higher risk of living in poverty as they get older.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
31 Ways To Get Involved In Pro-Choice
This was taken from: http://www.prochoice.org/get_involved/31_ways.html
31 WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Celebrate more than three decades of the right to choose with our Activist Checklist. There is something for everyone - get involved in your community, school, or place of worship to make an important difference in the lives of women.
In Everyday Life
-Ask your ob-gyn and family practice physician if they are pro-choice and/or provide abortion as a part of the continuum of reproductive health care
-Make sure your insurance carrier covers abortion
-Write a letter of support to an official who supports policies that improve access to abortion care
-Tell your story
-Join the Patient Partnership
-Speak positively and with confidence about being pro-choice
-Donate to the NAF Patient Assistance Fund
-Put a pro-choice bumper sticker on your car
-Write to a woman's magazine about why you are pro-choice
At Your School
-Tell your friends and student health services about the NAF Hotline 1-800-772-9100
-Write an article for the student paper
-Join or start your own chapter of Students for Choice
-Make sure student health services provides Emergency Contraception
In Your Community
-Write an op-ed for your local newspaper
-Contact your elected representatives (state and federal)
-Submit a positive resolution regarding Roe v. Wade to your city council
-Join your school board and support comprehensive sex education
-Contact your Yellow Pages about accurately advertising Crisis Pregnancy Centers, i.e. they should not be listed under abortion
In Your Faith
-Join a pro-choice religious group
-Find out if your religion has an official position on choice
-Learn more about the morality of choice
-Bring pro-choice materials to your religious community
-Write something for your religious newsletter
-Support comprehensive sex education
Support the Providers and Clinics
-Raise money for low-income women to obtain abortions
-Send a thank you note to a local clinic
-Escort women at a local clinic
-Volunteer at the clinic
-Sponsor an advertisement
-Organize a party for the staff
-Send a letter to the editor supporting the clinic
31 WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Celebrate more than three decades of the right to choose with our Activist Checklist. There is something for everyone - get involved in your community, school, or place of worship to make an important difference in the lives of women.
In Everyday Life
-Ask your ob-gyn and family practice physician if they are pro-choice and/or provide abortion as a part of the continuum of reproductive health care
-Make sure your insurance carrier covers abortion
-Write a letter of support to an official who supports policies that improve access to abortion care
-Tell your story
-Join the Patient Partnership
-Speak positively and with confidence about being pro-choice
-Donate to the NAF Patient Assistance Fund
-Put a pro-choice bumper sticker on your car
-Write to a woman's magazine about why you are pro-choice
At Your School
-Tell your friends and student health services about the NAF Hotline 1-800-772-9100
-Write an article for the student paper
-Join or start your own chapter of Students for Choice
-Make sure student health services provides Emergency Contraception
In Your Community
-Write an op-ed for your local newspaper
-Contact your elected representatives (state and federal)
-Submit a positive resolution regarding Roe v. Wade to your city council
-Join your school board and support comprehensive sex education
-Contact your Yellow Pages about accurately advertising Crisis Pregnancy Centers, i.e. they should not be listed under abortion
In Your Faith
-Join a pro-choice religious group
-Find out if your religion has an official position on choice
-Learn more about the morality of choice
-Bring pro-choice materials to your religious community
-Write something for your religious newsletter
-Support comprehensive sex education
Support the Providers and Clinics
-Raise money for low-income women to obtain abortions
-Send a thank you note to a local clinic
-Escort women at a local clinic
-Volunteer at the clinic
-Sponsor an advertisement
-Organize a party for the staff
-Send a letter to the editor supporting the clinic
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Happy Earth Day
Earth Day-April 22, 2009
Go here for more information on Earth Day.
Today is Earth Day and Earth Day is April 22nd of every year. Happy Earth Day everyone! Here are some ways that you can celebrate Earth Day. These can be found here: http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Earth-Day
1.) Plant trees. As the date also roughly coincides with US Arbor Day, over time Earth Day has taken on the role of tree-planting. Planting trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provide homes for a lot of biodiversity.
2.) Make nature crafts at school or home. Get together with your family and build a birdhouse or make a bird feeder to encourage the local bird population, which plays an important role in every ecosystem. Use objects that would’ve otherwise been thrown away to create beautiful works of art…Here, the possibilities are endless:
*Turn used guitar strings into a centerpiece,
*make a basket from an old orange juice carton,
*convert an old floppy disk into a Starship Enterprise,
*or wear a skirt made out of old umbrellas
3.) Learn more about the environment. Earth Day is a good time to make a commitment to learning more about the environment and how you can help to protect it. Borrow some library books and read up on an issue such as pollution, endangered species, water shortages, recycling, and climate change. Or, learn about a region you’ve never considered before, like the Arctic, the deserts, or the rainforests. Think about the issues that concern you the most and if you haven’t done so already, join a local group that undertakes activities to help protect the environment in your area.
4.) Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long. Buy as little as possible and avoid items that come in lots of packaging. Support local growers and producers of food and products - these don’t have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Take your drink container with you, and don’t use any disposable plates or cutlery. Recycle all the things you do use for the day or find other uses for things that you no longer use. Carry a cloth bag for carrying things in and recycle your plastic bags.
5.) Get children to recycle their old toys and games. By giving their old toys and games to younger children who could make use of them, older children learn two lessons: One is about giving to others and the second is about reusing and recycling instead of throwing things away. Adults can also do this with clothes, electrical items, books and more. Learn about product exchange communities like Freecycle and other alternatives.
6.) Rid Litter. Rid litter from our roadways. Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets of litter that has accumulated since the last clean-up day. Many companies donate gloves and bags for clean-up groups and villages organize bag pick ups. Once the group has collected the trash and placed the recycled bags along the road, get the village public works department to pick the bags up. It’s a wonderful community project. Great for scout troops, rotary clubs and the like.
7.) Sing or listen to “Earth” songs. There are many Earth Day song lyrics available on the Internet. Many follow well-known tunes. These make a fantastic classroom activity and help younger children to become interested in environmental topics. For listening, even iTunes has songs about the Earth for downloading: try searching for words such as “planet”, “Earth”, “endangered”, “pollution” etc.
8.) Hold an Earth Day fair. Maybe your school, your street, your local neighborhood is interested in getting together to have an environmental fair. Things to have at the fair include demonstrations of environmentally-friendly products, children’s artwork, healthy/locally grown foods to eat, animal care demonstrations (including wildlife rescue), games for the children made of recycled products, musicians and actors performing environmental music and skits, stalls which are recycling unwanted treasures and books, local environmental organisations presenting their issues and wares. Money raised can go towards a local environmental restoration project or to an environmental group agreed upon by all the participants running the fair.
9.) Teach others about the environment. Teachers, professionals, students, in fact anyone who cares about the environment and is willing to teach others, can all provide environmental lessons for others. Most schools already celebrate Earth Day in the classrooms with activities but there are many other ways you can teach about the environment. For example, give a speech at your local library on how to compost with worms; take a group of children down to the recycling center to show them how things are recycled; recite nature poems in the park; offer to teach your office colleagues how to make environmentally-friendly choices at work during one lunch hour. Everyone has environmental knowledge they can share with others.
10.) Wear green and/or brown. Dress in environmental colors for the day; think “tree”! Wear badges if you have them that carry pithy summaries of your environmental views.
11.) Engage others in conversations about your environmental concerns. Don’t be bossy or pushy, just tell people some facts and then explain your feelings about them. Encourage them to respond and if they have no opinions or they seem to not know much, help them learn some more by imparting your environmental knowledge in a friendly and helpful manner.
12.) Cook a special Earth Day meal. Plan a menu that uses locally produced foods, is healthy and has minimal impact on the environment. Favour vegetable and bean products, as these use less resources to grow than mass-farmed meat. If you still would like meat, look for locally produced, organic meat. Try and have organic food completely. Decorate the table with recycled decorations made by you and your friends.
13.) Consider buying a carbon offset to make up for the greenhouse gas emissions you create on the other 364 days of the year. Carbon offsets fund reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through projects such as wind farms, that displaces energy from fossil fuels.
14.) Ride your bike. Use your bicycle or other forms of human powered transportation to commute to work or school and to run errands.
15.) Remember: Every day is Earth Day. Anything to help our environment is a perfect thing to do on Earth Day and every day. Don’t restrict yourself to just one day a year; learn about how you can make a difference to environmental protection all the time. And put it into practice - every day!
Go here for more information on Earth Day.
Today is Earth Day and Earth Day is April 22nd of every year. Happy Earth Day everyone! Here are some ways that you can celebrate Earth Day. These can be found here: http://www.wikihow.com/Celebrate-Earth-Day
1.) Plant trees. As the date also roughly coincides with US Arbor Day, over time Earth Day has taken on the role of tree-planting. Planting trees helps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean pollution, secure soil in place to prevent erosion, and provide homes for a lot of biodiversity.
2.) Make nature crafts at school or home. Get together with your family and build a birdhouse or make a bird feeder to encourage the local bird population, which plays an important role in every ecosystem. Use objects that would’ve otherwise been thrown away to create beautiful works of art…Here, the possibilities are endless:
*Turn used guitar strings into a centerpiece,
*make a basket from an old orange juice carton,
*convert an old floppy disk into a Starship Enterprise,
*or wear a skirt made out of old umbrellas
3.) Learn more about the environment. Earth Day is a good time to make a commitment to learning more about the environment and how you can help to protect it. Borrow some library books and read up on an issue such as pollution, endangered species, water shortages, recycling, and climate change. Or, learn about a region you’ve never considered before, like the Arctic, the deserts, or the rainforests. Think about the issues that concern you the most and if you haven’t done so already, join a local group that undertakes activities to help protect the environment in your area.
4.) Reduce, reuse and recycle all day long. Buy as little as possible and avoid items that come in lots of packaging. Support local growers and producers of food and products - these don’t have to travel as far and so reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Take your drink container with you, and don’t use any disposable plates or cutlery. Recycle all the things you do use for the day or find other uses for things that you no longer use. Carry a cloth bag for carrying things in and recycle your plastic bags.
5.) Get children to recycle their old toys and games. By giving their old toys and games to younger children who could make use of them, older children learn two lessons: One is about giving to others and the second is about reusing and recycling instead of throwing things away. Adults can also do this with clothes, electrical items, books and more. Learn about product exchange communities like Freecycle and other alternatives.
6.) Rid Litter. Rid litter from our roadways. Many groups use the weekend of Earth Day to clear roadways, highways and neighborhood streets of litter that has accumulated since the last clean-up day. Many companies donate gloves and bags for clean-up groups and villages organize bag pick ups. Once the group has collected the trash and placed the recycled bags along the road, get the village public works department to pick the bags up. It’s a wonderful community project. Great for scout troops, rotary clubs and the like.
7.) Sing or listen to “Earth” songs. There are many Earth Day song lyrics available on the Internet. Many follow well-known tunes. These make a fantastic classroom activity and help younger children to become interested in environmental topics. For listening, even iTunes has songs about the Earth for downloading: try searching for words such as “planet”, “Earth”, “endangered”, “pollution” etc.
8.) Hold an Earth Day fair. Maybe your school, your street, your local neighborhood is interested in getting together to have an environmental fair. Things to have at the fair include demonstrations of environmentally-friendly products, children’s artwork, healthy/locally grown foods to eat, animal care demonstrations (including wildlife rescue), games for the children made of recycled products, musicians and actors performing environmental music and skits, stalls which are recycling unwanted treasures and books, local environmental organisations presenting their issues and wares. Money raised can go towards a local environmental restoration project or to an environmental group agreed upon by all the participants running the fair.
9.) Teach others about the environment. Teachers, professionals, students, in fact anyone who cares about the environment and is willing to teach others, can all provide environmental lessons for others. Most schools already celebrate Earth Day in the classrooms with activities but there are many other ways you can teach about the environment. For example, give a speech at your local library on how to compost with worms; take a group of children down to the recycling center to show them how things are recycled; recite nature poems in the park; offer to teach your office colleagues how to make environmentally-friendly choices at work during one lunch hour. Everyone has environmental knowledge they can share with others.
10.) Wear green and/or brown. Dress in environmental colors for the day; think “tree”! Wear badges if you have them that carry pithy summaries of your environmental views.
11.) Engage others in conversations about your environmental concerns. Don’t be bossy or pushy, just tell people some facts and then explain your feelings about them. Encourage them to respond and if they have no opinions or they seem to not know much, help them learn some more by imparting your environmental knowledge in a friendly and helpful manner.
12.) Cook a special Earth Day meal. Plan a menu that uses locally produced foods, is healthy and has minimal impact on the environment. Favour vegetable and bean products, as these use less resources to grow than mass-farmed meat. If you still would like meat, look for locally produced, organic meat. Try and have organic food completely. Decorate the table with recycled decorations made by you and your friends.
13.) Consider buying a carbon offset to make up for the greenhouse gas emissions you create on the other 364 days of the year. Carbon offsets fund reductions in greenhouse gas emissions through projects such as wind farms, that displaces energy from fossil fuels.
14.) Ride your bike. Use your bicycle or other forms of human powered transportation to commute to work or school and to run errands.
15.) Remember: Every day is Earth Day. Anything to help our environment is a perfect thing to do on Earth Day and every day. Don’t restrict yourself to just one day a year; learn about how you can make a difference to environmental protection all the time. And put it into practice - every day!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Burn Down The Walls That Say You Can't
The article below was written by Kathleen Hanna for one of her riot grrrl zines in the early 1990’s.
Burn Down The Walls That Say You Can't
Be a dork, tell your friends you love them
Resist the temptation to view those around you as objects & use them.
Recognize empathy and vulnerability as positive forms of strength.
Resist the internalization of capitalism, the reducing of people & oneself to commodities, meant to be consumed.
Resist psychic death.
Don't allow the world to make you into a bitter abusive asshole
Cry in public.
Don't judge other people. Learn to be yourself
Acknowledge emotional violence as real.
Figure out how the idea of competition fits into your intimate relationships
Decide that you'd rather learn stuff than prove you're right all the time.
Believe people when they tell you they are hurting or are in pain.
Recognize you are not the center of the universe.
Recognize your connection to other people and species.
Make additions to this list and/or think about why you don't agree w/some of what i've written.
Don't assume people invent pain in order to mainpulate you or make you feel bad.
Close your mind to the propaganda of the status quo by examining its effects on you, cell by artificial cell.
Trust
Burn Down The Walls That Say You Can't
Be a dork, tell your friends you love them
Resist the temptation to view those around you as objects & use them.
Recognize empathy and vulnerability as positive forms of strength.
Resist the internalization of capitalism, the reducing of people & oneself to commodities, meant to be consumed.
Resist psychic death.
Don't allow the world to make you into a bitter abusive asshole
Cry in public.
Don't judge other people. Learn to be yourself
Acknowledge emotional violence as real.
Figure out how the idea of competition fits into your intimate relationships
Decide that you'd rather learn stuff than prove you're right all the time.
Believe people when they tell you they are hurting or are in pain.
Recognize you are not the center of the universe.
Recognize your connection to other people and species.
Make additions to this list and/or think about why you don't agree w/some of what i've written.
Don't assume people invent pain in order to mainpulate you or make you feel bad.
Close your mind to the propaganda of the status quo by examining its effects on you, cell by artificial cell.
Trust
Monday, April 20, 2009
Feminism In Many Languages
Below are some translations of the word “feminism” in other languages. If you have a translation to add, feel free to this post with the language and the translation. The translations below were taken from here. I found this interesting and thought I would share it. If the translations are incorrect, reply to this post with the language and the correct translation.
Arabic: فمينيزم, النسوية
Chinese (Simplified): 女性主义
Chinese (Traditional): 女性主義
Czech: feminismus
Danish: feminisme
Dutch: feminisme
English: feminism
Estonian: feminism
Finnish: feminismi
French: féminisme
German: der Feminismus
Greek: φεμινισμός
Hungarian: feminizmus
Icelandic: femínismi; kvenfrelsisstefna
Indonesian: feminisme
Italian: femminismo
Japanese: 男女同権主義
Korean: 남녀 동권주의
Latvian: feminisms
Lithuanian: feminizmas
Norwegian: kvinne(saks)bevegelse, feminisme
Polish: feminizm
Portuguese (Brazil): feminismo
Portuguese (Portugal): feminismo
Romanian: feminism
Russian: феминизм
Slovak: feminizmus
Slovenian: feminizem
Spanish: feminismo
Swedish: feminism
Turkish: feminizm, kadın hakları savunuculuğu
Arabic: فمينيزم, النسوية
Chinese (Simplified): 女性主义
Chinese (Traditional): 女性主義
Czech: feminismus
Danish: feminisme
Dutch: feminisme
English: feminism
Estonian: feminism
Finnish: feminismi
French: féminisme
German: der Feminismus
Greek: φεμινισμός
Hungarian: feminizmus
Icelandic: femínismi; kvenfrelsisstefna
Indonesian: feminisme
Italian: femminismo
Japanese: 男女同権主義
Korean: 남녀 동권주의
Latvian: feminisms
Lithuanian: feminizmas
Norwegian: kvinne(saks)bevegelse, feminisme
Polish: feminizm
Portuguese (Brazil): feminismo
Portuguese (Portugal): feminismo
Romanian: feminism
Russian: феминизм
Slovak: feminizmus
Slovenian: feminizem
Spanish: feminismo
Swedish: feminism
Turkish: feminizm, kadın hakları savunuculuğu
Sunday, April 19, 2009
I Fight Like A Girl Poem
The author of this is anonymous. This poem is also posted on a t-shirt.
I Fight Like A Girl
I fight like a girl who refuses to be a victim.
I fight like a girl who is tired of being
IGNORED and HUMORED and BEATEN and RAPED.
I fight like a girl who's sick
of not being taken seriously.
I fight like a girl who's been pushed too far.
I fight like a girl who OFFERS and
DEMANDS RESPECT.
I fight like a girl who has a lifetime of
ANGER and STRENGTH and PRIDE
pent up in her girly body.
I fight like a girl who doesn't believe in
FEAR and SUBMISSION.
I fight like a girl who knows that
THIS BODY and THIS MIND are mine.
I fight like a girl who knows that
YOU ONLY HAVE AS MUCH POWER
AS I GRANT YOU.
I fight like a girl who will never allow you
to take more than I offer.
I fight like a girl who FIGHTS BACK.
So next time you think you can distract
yourself
from your insecurities by victimizing a girl,
THINK AGAIN.
She may be ME and
I FIGHT LIKE A GIRL.
I Fight Like A Girl
I fight like a girl who refuses to be a victim.
I fight like a girl who is tired of being
IGNORED and HUMORED and BEATEN and RAPED.
I fight like a girl who's sick
of not being taken seriously.
I fight like a girl who's been pushed too far.
I fight like a girl who OFFERS and
DEMANDS RESPECT.
I fight like a girl who has a lifetime of
ANGER and STRENGTH and PRIDE
pent up in her girly body.
I fight like a girl who doesn't believe in
FEAR and SUBMISSION.
I fight like a girl who knows that
THIS BODY and THIS MIND are mine.
I fight like a girl who knows that
YOU ONLY HAVE AS MUCH POWER
AS I GRANT YOU.
I fight like a girl who will never allow you
to take more than I offer.
I fight like a girl who FIGHTS BACK.
So next time you think you can distract
yourself
from your insecurities by victimizing a girl,
THINK AGAIN.
She may be ME and
I FIGHT LIKE A GIRL.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Riot Grrrl Manifesto
Riot Grrrl Manifesto Written By: Kathleen Hanna
BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.
BECAUSE we wanna make it easier for girls to see/hear each other's work so that we can share strategies and criticize-applaud each other.
BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own moanings.
BECAUSE viewing our work as being connected to our girlfriends-politics-real lives is essential if we are gonna figure out how we are doing impacts,
reflects, perpetuates, or DISRUPTS the status quo.
BECAUSE we recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming our dreams AND THUS seek to create revolution in our own lives every single day by envisioning and creating alternatives to the bullshit christian capitalist way of doing things.
BECAUSE we want and need to encourage and be encouraged in the face of all our own insecurities, in the face of beergutboyrock that tells us we can't play our instruments, in the face of "authorities" who say our bands/zines/etc are the worst in the US and....
BECAUSE we don't wanna assimilate to someone else's (boy) standards of what is or isn't
BECAUSE we are unwilling to falter under claims that we are reactionary "reverse sexists" AND NOT THE TRUEPUNKROCKSOULCRUSADERS THAT WE KNOW we really are
BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock "you can do anything" idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic and cultural lives of girls and women everywhere, according to their own terms, not ours.
BECAUSE we are interested in creating non-heirarchical ways of being AND making music, friends, and scenes based on communication + understanding, instead of competition + good/bad categorizations
BECAUSE doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism, able-bodieism, ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-semitism and heterosexism figures in our own lives.
BECAUSE we see fostering and supporting girl scenes and girl artists of all kinds as integral to this process.
BECAUSE we hate capitalism in all its forms and see our main goal as sharing
information and staying alive, instead of making profits of being cool according to traditional standards.
BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl=Dumb, Girl=Bad, Girl=Weak
BECAUSE we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or
turned against us via the internalization of sexism as witnessed in girl/girl jealousism and self defeating girltype behaviors
BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will change the world for real.
BECAUSE us girls crave records and books and fanzines that speak to US that WE feel included in and can understand in our own ways.
BECAUSE we wanna make it easier for girls to see/hear each other's work so that we can share strategies and criticize-applaud each other.
BECAUSE we must take over the means of production in order to create our own moanings.
BECAUSE viewing our work as being connected to our girlfriends-politics-real lives is essential if we are gonna figure out how we are doing impacts,
reflects, perpetuates, or DISRUPTS the status quo.
BECAUSE we recognize fantasies of Instant Macho Gun Revolution as impractical lies meant to keep us simply dreaming instead of becoming our dreams AND THUS seek to create revolution in our own lives every single day by envisioning and creating alternatives to the bullshit christian capitalist way of doing things.
BECAUSE we want and need to encourage and be encouraged in the face of all our own insecurities, in the face of beergutboyrock that tells us we can't play our instruments, in the face of "authorities" who say our bands/zines/etc are the worst in the US and....
BECAUSE we don't wanna assimilate to someone else's (boy) standards of what is or isn't
BECAUSE we are unwilling to falter under claims that we are reactionary "reverse sexists" AND NOT THE TRUEPUNKROCKSOULCRUSADERS THAT WE KNOW we really are
BECAUSE we know that life is much more than physical survival and are patently aware that the punk rock "you can do anything" idea is crucial to the coming angry grrrl rock revolution which seeks to save the psychic and cultural lives of girls and women everywhere, according to their own terms, not ours.
BECAUSE we are interested in creating non-heirarchical ways of being AND making music, friends, and scenes based on communication + understanding, instead of competition + good/bad categorizations
BECAUSE doing/reading/seeing/hearing cool things that validate and challenge us can help us gain the strength and sense of community that we need in order to figure out how bullshit like racism, able-bodieism, ageism, speciesism, classism, thinism, sexism, anti-semitism and heterosexism figures in our own lives.
BECAUSE we see fostering and supporting girl scenes and girl artists of all kinds as integral to this process.
BECAUSE we hate capitalism in all its forms and see our main goal as sharing
information and staying alive, instead of making profits of being cool according to traditional standards.
BECAUSE we are angry at a society that tells us Girl=Dumb, Girl=Bad, Girl=Weak
BECAUSE we are unwilling to let our real and valid anger be diffused and/or
turned against us via the internalization of sexism as witnessed in girl/girl jealousism and self defeating girltype behaviors
BECAUSE I believe with my wholeheartmindbody that girls constitute a revolutionary soul force that can, and will change the world for real.
Friday, April 17, 2009
My Herstory
This is my "herstory" of how I got into feminism and riot grrrl. This herstory also tells my story behind the Riot Grrrl Online website. Here goes my herstory:
The Story Behind The Riot Grrrl Online Website And How I Got Into Riot Grrrl (My Herstory)
How I Got Into Feminism and Riot Grrrl I became interested in riot grrrl and feminism in 1997. (12 years ago as of 2009) My interest started when I found out, through the internet, about feminism and riot grrrl. I had also heard a little bit on MTV back in 1997 about the riot grrrl movement. (I used to watch MTV, but not anymore.) I also heard about it by doing some internet searches on the band “Hole”. I found all kinds of Hole websites. I had already started listening to hole and nirvana, since 1994, through MTV. I done some research on Nirvana as well. After surfing hole and nirvana websites, I started hearing about Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna. I also started hearing about Tobi Vail and her past relationship with Kurt Cobain. I began listening to bikini kill and I liked their sound. The first bikini kill song I heard was “Rebel Girl”. I began going to some Bikini Kill websites. Most of the bikini kill websites were riot grrrl websites. After finding this out, I started going to a bunch of riot grrrl and feminist sites. I wanted to find more riot grrrl bands to listen to. That’s when I found out about Bratmobile and other Kill Rock Stars records musical artists. Most of those riot grrrl/feminist websites are no longer around, but some of them can still be found on Archive.org. After visiting the riot grrrl websites, I realized that riot grrrl was an underground, punk, and feminist movement. That sparked my interest in feminism, so I started discovering feminist websites.
In 2000, I realized a shortage of riot grrrl sites and most of the sites I enjoyed were gone. I guess alot of people figured that when the riot grrrl bands broke up, that riot grrrl was gone. I guess some people thought that the riot grrrl movement died. I read and researched more about riot grrrl through Yahoo! Yahoo had a lot of “grrrl” websites in their directory and I researched riot grrrl through Yahoo as well. I don’t believe in labels, but I really believed in the riot grrrl movement. After the riot grrrl websites had died, I realized that I still believed in the philosophy of riot grrrl and feminism.
In 2001, I decided I should make a riot grrrl website. I wanted to make a riot grrrl resource and information site, with some information about feminism. I wanted a website where I could add lots of pages and have an active website. I didn’t care if anyone liked my website or not, but it was something I wanted to do for myself and for fun. In a way, I wanted to connect other riot grrrls (and riot boys, feminists, and male feminists) to each other by making the website and that’s when I decided to start ‘Riot Grrrl Online’. I hoped that there were still people out there that felt the same way I did about riot grrrl.
The website was made in 2001, at angelfire. While the website was on angelfire, My online friend Shawnee (aka Deshawn) from Pennsylvania, United States made the purple Tobi Vail layout and helped me out with the website. (I still keep in touch with him.) He knew how to make layouts, but I didn't know how to make them. When the website was on angelfire, I had other pages as part of Riot Grrrl Online, but I deleted a few of those pages, once Riot Grrrl Online got hosted. I had a “female icons” page, and a few other pages that are no longer on the current RGO website. I made the website as a start to revive riot grrrl. The website can still be viewed on angelfire because I never deleted it from angelfire. Just do a search for "angelfire riot grrrl online" or "riot grrrl revolution girl style now" and you'll probably find the website.
In 2004, I got hosted on girlsvomitcandy.com, by Jilly that lives in the United Kingdom. A year later, the girlsvomitcandy.com site died. (which I knew it was going to) Jilly told me she was getting rid of the domain, but that she’d email me when my site left from there. (which she never did) The website is on archive.org now. The website started on angelfire, then moved to girlsvomitcandy.com, and is currently on hot-topic.org. After finding out that girlsvomitcandy.com was no more, I was offered the riotgrrl.co.uk domain, by Rhiannon that lives in the UK. It was her domain and is now a dead link. (Note: No, I am not talking about the current riotgrrrl.co.uk email domain that Nam also owns.) Shortly after, I was offered some space on hot-topic.org and I made plans to be hosted on hot-topic.org, but I thanked Rhiannon for offerering riotgrrl.co.uk to me. I was always a fan of her riotgrrl.co.uk domain.
In 2005, I got hosted on hot-topic.org by Nam. He lives in the United Kingdom. I met him through his now defunct Le Tigre forum on hot-topic.org. He noticed that I was in a dilemma from girlsvomitcandy.com and decided to host me. He also wanted to do something for me since I was active on his Le Tigre forum and helped spread the word about his Le Tigre forum. That’s how I wound up on hot-topic.org, not to be mistaken for the clothing company, "Hot Topic". hot-topic.org was named after the Le Tigre song “Hot Topic”. Nam helps me out with my website if it acts up, goes offline, has errors, or if I have an idea for the website. He answers my questions and gives me ideas. Nam is always there for me and for that I really appreciate him. I have him to thank for my website and for hosting me. He’s a great host and he's helped me add on to the website since it was on angelfire. Nam is a great person and he is very much appreciated. I admire his kindness and helpfulness. He knows alot about websites and computers. At first, the website was in its original purple layout here on hot-topic.org. Then, A couple of months later, Nam started using siteman (a CMS) for my website. He owns the hot-topic.org domain. The siteman version of my website was hacked twice in 2007 and was an annoyance. That’s why I decided not to use siteman anymore. In December 2007, I started using Drupal instead of siteman. Drupal has lots more features than siteman.
In 2007, I found out that alot of people were viewing my Riot Grrrl Online website and that they liked it. Nam told me that RGO was #2 on google searches for "riot grrrl". I realized that I had fans and people that liked the website. People started linking to the website and emailing me about how much they enjoy Riot Grrrl Online. I was shocked that people liked my website and that people actually viewed the website. I got lots of members on the siteman version, but now I am still getting more members with the Drupal version. In 2005, I wanted to do more riot grrrl reviving. I wanted to meet more riot grrrls and people that felt the same way I did. So, I decided to make the Riot Grrrl Online Message Board in November 2005 on proboards as part of the ‘Riot Grrrl Online’ site. In 2007, I decided I wanted more features on the proboards message board. So, I made a new Riot Grrrl Online forum on freeforums.org. In April 2008, The freeforums Riot Grrrl Online forum was hacked, but it went back to running properly and hasn't been bothered since. The freeforums forum isn’t as active as it was because the website is now using Drupal.
In February 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online social network on ning. The RGO website was down at the time, so I decided to create a social network for people that still wanted to participate in the Riot Grrrl Online website and forums. In March 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online blog on wordpress. The website was still down at the time and I decided to create a blog specifically about feminism and riot grrrl. The blog didn’t have updates about the website posted on it, but it does have articles, news, and other stuff on the blog. A couple months later, I decided to end the blog. It is no longer around and here I am writing a new blog called "Forwrrrd", which is what your reading right now. For the past couple of years, I have done a few riot grrrl/feminist online interviews for class projects and zines.
In December 2008, I realized that RGO was down too much. It seemed to be x10hosting's fault. Nam decided to change hosts and the website hasn't been down since. Also, In December 2008, I found out that my name and the website were mentioned in a UK riot grrrl book called "Revolution Girl Style Now". The book was published by Black Dog Publishing in 2007. I was interviewed for the book by one of the writers in 2007, Red Chidgey. Bryan (a user on the Riot Grrrl Online website) that lives in the US, told me on my riot grrrl ning website about RGO being mentioned and my name being mentioned. I didn't actually think my name or website would be mentioned in the book. I was sure that she probably interviewed alot more people besides me. RGO and myself are mentioned on page 134 in the book. The very last paragraph on that page mentions me and RGO. Bryan highlighted the part of the page that I'm listed on. He done that by making a bold rectangle around the text. Here is the page from that book:
The Story Behind The Riot Grrrl Online Website And How I Got Into Riot Grrrl (My Herstory)
How I Got Into Feminism and Riot Grrrl I became interested in riot grrrl and feminism in 1997. (12 years ago as of 2009) My interest started when I found out, through the internet, about feminism and riot grrrl. I had also heard a little bit on MTV back in 1997 about the riot grrrl movement. (I used to watch MTV, but not anymore.) I also heard about it by doing some internet searches on the band “Hole”. I found all kinds of Hole websites. I had already started listening to hole and nirvana, since 1994, through MTV. I done some research on Nirvana as well. After surfing hole and nirvana websites, I started hearing about Bikini Kill and Kathleen Hanna. I also started hearing about Tobi Vail and her past relationship with Kurt Cobain. I began listening to bikini kill and I liked their sound. The first bikini kill song I heard was “Rebel Girl”. I began going to some Bikini Kill websites. Most of the bikini kill websites were riot grrrl websites. After finding this out, I started going to a bunch of riot grrrl and feminist sites. I wanted to find more riot grrrl bands to listen to. That’s when I found out about Bratmobile and other Kill Rock Stars records musical artists. Most of those riot grrrl/feminist websites are no longer around, but some of them can still be found on Archive.org. After visiting the riot grrrl websites, I realized that riot grrrl was an underground, punk, and feminist movement. That sparked my interest in feminism, so I started discovering feminist websites.
In 2000, I realized a shortage of riot grrrl sites and most of the sites I enjoyed were gone. I guess alot of people figured that when the riot grrrl bands broke up, that riot grrrl was gone. I guess some people thought that the riot grrrl movement died. I read and researched more about riot grrrl through Yahoo! Yahoo had a lot of “grrrl” websites in their directory and I researched riot grrrl through Yahoo as well. I don’t believe in labels, but I really believed in the riot grrrl movement. After the riot grrrl websites had died, I realized that I still believed in the philosophy of riot grrrl and feminism.
In 2001, I decided I should make a riot grrrl website. I wanted to make a riot grrrl resource and information site, with some information about feminism. I wanted a website where I could add lots of pages and have an active website. I didn’t care if anyone liked my website or not, but it was something I wanted to do for myself and for fun. In a way, I wanted to connect other riot grrrls (and riot boys, feminists, and male feminists) to each other by making the website and that’s when I decided to start ‘Riot Grrrl Online’. I hoped that there were still people out there that felt the same way I did about riot grrrl.
The website was made in 2001, at angelfire. While the website was on angelfire, My online friend Shawnee (aka Deshawn) from Pennsylvania, United States made the purple Tobi Vail layout and helped me out with the website. (I still keep in touch with him.) He knew how to make layouts, but I didn't know how to make them. When the website was on angelfire, I had other pages as part of Riot Grrrl Online, but I deleted a few of those pages, once Riot Grrrl Online got hosted. I had a “female icons” page, and a few other pages that are no longer on the current RGO website. I made the website as a start to revive riot grrrl. The website can still be viewed on angelfire because I never deleted it from angelfire. Just do a search for "angelfire riot grrrl online" or "riot grrrl revolution girl style now" and you'll probably find the website.
In 2004, I got hosted on girlsvomitcandy.com, by Jilly that lives in the United Kingdom. A year later, the girlsvomitcandy.com site died. (which I knew it was going to) Jilly told me she was getting rid of the domain, but that she’d email me when my site left from there. (which she never did) The website is on archive.org now. The website started on angelfire, then moved to girlsvomitcandy.com, and is currently on hot-topic.org. After finding out that girlsvomitcandy.com was no more, I was offered the riotgrrl.co.uk domain, by Rhiannon that lives in the UK. It was her domain and is now a dead link. (Note: No, I am not talking about the current riotgrrrl.co.uk email domain that Nam also owns.) Shortly after, I was offered some space on hot-topic.org and I made plans to be hosted on hot-topic.org, but I thanked Rhiannon for offerering riotgrrl.co.uk to me. I was always a fan of her riotgrrl.co.uk domain.
In 2005, I got hosted on hot-topic.org by Nam. He lives in the United Kingdom. I met him through his now defunct Le Tigre forum on hot-topic.org. He noticed that I was in a dilemma from girlsvomitcandy.com and decided to host me. He also wanted to do something for me since I was active on his Le Tigre forum and helped spread the word about his Le Tigre forum. That’s how I wound up on hot-topic.org, not to be mistaken for the clothing company, "Hot Topic". hot-topic.org was named after the Le Tigre song “Hot Topic”. Nam helps me out with my website if it acts up, goes offline, has errors, or if I have an idea for the website. He answers my questions and gives me ideas. Nam is always there for me and for that I really appreciate him. I have him to thank for my website and for hosting me. He’s a great host and he's helped me add on to the website since it was on angelfire. Nam is a great person and he is very much appreciated. I admire his kindness and helpfulness. He knows alot about websites and computers. At first, the website was in its original purple layout here on hot-topic.org. Then, A couple of months later, Nam started using siteman (a CMS) for my website. He owns the hot-topic.org domain. The siteman version of my website was hacked twice in 2007 and was an annoyance. That’s why I decided not to use siteman anymore. In December 2007, I started using Drupal instead of siteman. Drupal has lots more features than siteman.
In 2007, I found out that alot of people were viewing my Riot Grrrl Online website and that they liked it. Nam told me that RGO was #2 on google searches for "riot grrrl". I realized that I had fans and people that liked the website. People started linking to the website and emailing me about how much they enjoy Riot Grrrl Online. I was shocked that people liked my website and that people actually viewed the website. I got lots of members on the siteman version, but now I am still getting more members with the Drupal version. In 2005, I wanted to do more riot grrrl reviving. I wanted to meet more riot grrrls and people that felt the same way I did. So, I decided to make the Riot Grrrl Online Message Board in November 2005 on proboards as part of the ‘Riot Grrrl Online’ site. In 2007, I decided I wanted more features on the proboards message board. So, I made a new Riot Grrrl Online forum on freeforums.org. In April 2008, The freeforums Riot Grrrl Online forum was hacked, but it went back to running properly and hasn't been bothered since. The freeforums forum isn’t as active as it was because the website is now using Drupal.
In February 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online social network on ning. The RGO website was down at the time, so I decided to create a social network for people that still wanted to participate in the Riot Grrrl Online website and forums. In March 2008, I decided to create a Riot Grrrl Online blog on wordpress. The website was still down at the time and I decided to create a blog specifically about feminism and riot grrrl. The blog didn’t have updates about the website posted on it, but it does have articles, news, and other stuff on the blog. A couple months later, I decided to end the blog. It is no longer around and here I am writing a new blog called "Forwrrrd", which is what your reading right now. For the past couple of years, I have done a few riot grrrl/feminist online interviews for class projects and zines.
In December 2008, I realized that RGO was down too much. It seemed to be x10hosting's fault. Nam decided to change hosts and the website hasn't been down since. Also, In December 2008, I found out that my name and the website were mentioned in a UK riot grrrl book called "Revolution Girl Style Now". The book was published by Black Dog Publishing in 2007. I was interviewed for the book by one of the writers in 2007, Red Chidgey. Bryan (a user on the Riot Grrrl Online website) that lives in the US, told me on my riot grrrl ning website about RGO being mentioned and my name being mentioned. I didn't actually think my name or website would be mentioned in the book. I was sure that she probably interviewed alot more people besides me. RGO and myself are mentioned on page 134 in the book. The very last paragraph on that page mentions me and RGO. Bryan highlighted the part of the page that I'm listed on. He done that by making a bold rectangle around the text. Here is the page from that book:
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Contributions
If you are interested in contributing something to this blog, email me: grrrlsvomitcandy@NOSPAMhotmail.com with the subject "blog" or "contribute". Just remove the words NOSPAM and you've got my email address. My contact information is also on the "Contact Me" page.
Contributions for this blog must be activism, DIY, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, and/or women's rights focused. Anything relating to those subjects are welcome. Your personal stories, essays, articles, opinions, etc. related is welcome to be contributed. I'm also interested in knowing about the riot grrrl scene in your country or about feminism in your country. Any and all contributions will be appreciated for this blog. I will give you credit for your contributions, when I post up your contribution.
Contributions for this blog must be activism, DIY, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, and/or women's rights focused. Anything relating to those subjects are welcome. Your personal stories, essays, articles, opinions, etc. related is welcome to be contributed. I'm also interested in knowing about the riot grrrl scene in your country or about feminism in your country. Any and all contributions will be appreciated for this blog. I will give you credit for your contributions, when I post up your contribution.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Contact Me
Contact The Author:
My email is listed on my Blogger Profile, which is again, on the right hand sidebar of this blog, under "About Me".
If your too lazy to look on my profile, here is my email address: grrrlsvomitcandy@NOSPAMhotmail.com is my email address. Just remove the words "NOSPAM" and you've got the email address.
When emailing me, DO NOT use subject lines like "Hi", "Hello", "Read this", "No Subject", or "Something for you"...they're too commonly used by spammers, increasing the likelihood that your message will wind up in my spam folder. Also, no blank subject lines. If you are emailing me about this blog or submitting/contributing something for this blog, please use subject lines like "Forwrrrd", "Your Blog", "Forwrrrd Blog", or something like that.
If you are emailing me regarding feminism, riot grrrl, or the Riot Grrrl Online website, please use subject lines like "Riot Grrrl Online", "RGO", "RGO User", "Riot Grrrl", "Feminism", "Feminist", "hot-topic website", "hot-topic", "hot-topic.org", or something of that sort.
You can also find me on the Riot Grrrl Online Forum located here.
My email is listed on my Blogger Profile, which is again, on the right hand sidebar of this blog, under "About Me".
If your too lazy to look on my profile, here is my email address: grrrlsvomitcandy@NOSPAMhotmail.com is my email address. Just remove the words "NOSPAM" and you've got the email address.
When emailing me, DO NOT use subject lines like "Hi", "Hello", "Read this", "No Subject", or "Something for you"...they're too commonly used by spammers, increasing the likelihood that your message will wind up in my spam folder. Also, no blank subject lines. If you are emailing me about this blog or submitting/contributing something for this blog, please use subject lines like "Forwrrrd", "Your Blog", "Forwrrrd Blog", or something like that.
If you are emailing me regarding feminism, riot grrrl, or the Riot Grrrl Online website, please use subject lines like "Riot Grrrl Online", "RGO", "RGO User", "Riot Grrrl", "Feminism", "Feminist", "hot-topic website", "hot-topic", "hot-topic.org", or something of that sort.
You can also find me on the Riot Grrrl Online Forum located here.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
About Forwrrrd
About The Blog:
The Forwrrrd Blog was created on April 14th, 2009. Forwrrrd is a blog about: activism, diy, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, women's rights, and other similar topics.
Forwrrrd also includes some of my online collections on the above subjects such as: online interviews I've done, emails, myspace messages, writings by me and other people, old website collections, and other online things I've received, regarding the above topics. Some stuff in this blog will be pertaining to my Riot Grrrl Online website. However, this blog is not part of the RGO website, but it does have the same concepts as RGO. Contributions to this blog are always welcome from anyone.
Purpose Of The Blog:
Forwrrrd exists to...
-teach others about activism, diy, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, women's rights, and similar topics.
-pull in people who don't identify themselves as "activists", "feminists", or "riot grrrls", but are interested in the topics discussed in this blog.
-be an online community where others can participate by commenting on entries and/or contributing articles/essays/etc.
-encourage others to be interested in some of the topics or all of the topics this blog is about.
About The Author:
My name is Greta and I run the "Forwrrrd" blog. I am also the creator of the Riot Grrrl Online website. I also administrate the Turpentine Forums. I also moderate a forum: Grunge Forum and I only moderate 2 boards on the Free Kurtney Nation: Sassy And Punk Forum. I created the Portal:Feminism on Wikipedia and the Feminism Task Force on Wikipedia. If you want to find out more about me, please visit my Blogger Profile, which is on the right hand sidebar of this blog under "About Me".
The Forwrrrd Blog was created on April 14th, 2009. Forwrrrd is a blog about: activism, diy, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, women's rights, and other similar topics.
Forwrrrd also includes some of my online collections on the above subjects such as: online interviews I've done, emails, myspace messages, writings by me and other people, old website collections, and other online things I've received, regarding the above topics. Some stuff in this blog will be pertaining to my Riot Grrrl Online website. However, this blog is not part of the RGO website, but it does have the same concepts as RGO. Contributions to this blog are always welcome from anyone.
Purpose Of The Blog:
Forwrrrd exists to...
-teach others about activism, diy, equal rights, feminism, human rights, riot grrrl, women's rights, and similar topics.
-pull in people who don't identify themselves as "activists", "feminists", or "riot grrrls", but are interested in the topics discussed in this blog.
-be an online community where others can participate by commenting on entries and/or contributing articles/essays/etc.
-encourage others to be interested in some of the topics or all of the topics this blog is about.
About The Author:
My name is Greta and I run the "Forwrrrd" blog. I am also the creator of the Riot Grrrl Online website. I also administrate the Turpentine Forums. I also moderate a forum: Grunge Forum and I only moderate 2 boards on the Free Kurtney Nation: Sassy And Punk Forum. I created the Portal:Feminism on Wikipedia and the Feminism Task Force on Wikipedia. If you want to find out more about me, please visit my Blogger Profile, which is on the right hand sidebar of this blog under "About Me".
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