Anna Holmes, proprietress of ladysite Jezebel, goes balls out (can we say that?) against the recent spate of self-promoting, fact-averse detractors. Here's a small sample.
If I'm starting to sound pissed, it's because I'm starting to GET pissed. These adventures in unhelpful, self-righteous semi-hysteria (yes, I went there) completely overlook the dozens of thoughtful, passionate, courageous and engaging women on self-described feminist blogs who actually deserve to be featured in fancy Sunday newspaper editions and on the pages of ambitious new websites, women who are grappling with and debating issues of a whole host of issues, including the wage gap, women of color, the ongoing epidemic of violence against women, the continued attacks on abortion rights...I could go on.And she does. Do read it.
She's got balls - I'll have to borrow them sometime.
That "catfight" tag is appropriate. Feminists are as bad as gays when it comes to beating yourselves up for no apparent gain by anyone.
As a Gawker writer, when she asks "If they were interested in the debut of a new, high-profile, female-focused website, why didn't they write about that?" she has to already know, out of familiarity with, the page-view answer, right?
This still seems like a lot of live by the sword die by the sword stuff (especially with regard to the "long-over public appearance by two of its writers," publishing circus stunts with date rapists and "manufacturing brouhaha" and stuff like taking ad dollars from American Apparel while at the same time, well, you know.)
I don't know who to oppress anymore.
I agree with Anna. The piece in Double X was based on something that happened a year ago, and the Guardian piece rehashed a re-hash. Believe me, I've had my disputes with Jezebel and have gone back and forth between reading it and avoiding it. But I think Linda Hirshman is wasting her time on stale news.
No kidding. Is the Moe/Tracie incident the only thing that supports their argument? If so, why even bother?
Am I the only one who sees the word "Feministing" and reads "Fisting"? Am I also the only one who believes this is deliberate?
you, Kataphraktos, are depraved.
(me too, or at the very least I thought the allusion to violent insertion (of beliefs?) was there)
If they renamed the site to ThisIsWhyYouAreGay, they'd be spot on, except they'd need lots more on assfuckery.
And this just pisses me off: http://thisiswhyyouregay.tumblr.com/
Why? Because it sucks.
And because I buy domain names like you buy, um, that crap you buy.
you could make it thisiswhyyoureaghey.com
and then just link every post to jezebel.
I like like http://www.bust.com/ for my femifisting source of femifism. But I am old school.
Their detractors are not wrong about their judgemental attitudes, though. For example, just last week, there was a post about Playboy, and the writer called the centerfolds "pneumatic." How that is not "bodysnarking," which the editors decry? I'm still waiting for an answer.
If you're going to demand respect for women, you have to demand respect for ALL women, even those whose choices and appearances you don't agree with. Until then, I reserve the right to point out your hypocrisy.
p.s. My old Jez username got banned for making a joke about the Moe and Slut Machine Make Rape Jokes Onstage kerfuffle. The masthead would do well to take the old adage about how tragedy + time = comedy to heart.
I tired to play with the Jezzies but when you call them on any of the hyperbolic rhetoric they post they refuse to back up any of their arguments with stuff like facts and things of that ilk and call you names.
It does seem to be this very narrow slice of feminism crossed with the airing of how society has beaten each commentator down because she doesn't fit the "accepted" standard of Western beauty.
I was pretty much done with Jez after that poorly timed and harmful publicity stunt last year. (Anyone questioning why it happened so temporally close to the NYT article anymore?)
They tend to expect much more out of their commenters than they do of their own writing and editorializing. They snipe viciously with great frequency. Commenters that don't fall in line with the nutbar policy are banned before any other trodden and unhappy nuevo-fems can start asking questions.
And they will call you names.