Pop Culture: Wedding Shows!

So, I think this Target: Women series is hilariously funny. BUT this edition illustrates one of the reasons I (more often than not) feel disillusioned by marriage: weddings. Aren't they getting a little ridiculous? In Wood County, Ohio (of which my recent home, Bowling Green, is the hub) the average wedding costs twenty-seven thousand dollars. Not to get too personal, but that is more than I currently owe in student loans. Is this extravagance really necessary to demonstrate the quality of our love? With the economy and the country in the state they are in, I personally could not justify spending so much money on party, especially a party that is so often seeped in religious and misogynistic traditions- but that's a whole other post.

Here's another hilarious Target: Women video!

WEEDS- the best show currently on television, or the only good one?

Okay. I realize that I have been neglectful of the ol' blog lately, but it's been a hectic time. Graduation is just around the corner, which means that finals week is slowly descending over Bowling Green. AND I am moving out of state two days after graduation. AND I had three papers due this week (two down, one to go), including one really long one. AND I want to spend time with my friends before I leave. In other words, I've been really, really busy. But I do have some interesting topics lined up, as well as some good news!

Here's something I've been thinking about lately: I wrote a term paper for Society and the Environment (which I may or may not link to) about media representation of environmentalists. Yeah, I'm that dorky. Anyways, it included a media analysis of one of my all-time favorite shows: Weeds. I don't watch a lot of television- we only have movies at my house (which is different; film and television are very different mediums, in my opinion). But Weeds is *as good as* Arrested Development. And that is the highest praise I can give a situation comedy.

A brief summary: Nancy Botwin is a widowed mother of two teen boys who starts selling marijuana after her husband dies unexpectedly. She does fairly well, and soon begins growing her own strand with the help of her partner (and possible new love interest!), Conrad. She is helped by a quirky band of middle-aged male professionals who, coincidentally, all hit the ganj (including a brilliantly cast Kevin Nealon as her shady accountant/ city councilman!).

Not only is Weeds brilliantly done, I think it is a totally progressive show as well. First off, Agrestic is an eco-friendly community. Nancy drives a Prius, as does the gangsta U-Turn. She is also the head of the healthy children committee for the Agrestic PTA, where we see her arguing in favor of organic foods and juices.

Second point, the show features diverse characters. I am fairly certain that they feature the youngest openly gay character in television history; Nancy's rival, the evil Celia, has a twelve year old lesbian daughter. Isabelle is also the spokesmodel for "Huskeroo," a line of plus-sized clothes for prepubescent girls with a very fat-positive marketing campaign. (Side note: in the third season, Isabelle develops a friendship with Shane, Nancy's younger son. The relationship that ensues is probably the best writing for children I've ever seen). Silas, Nancy's elder son, has a deaf girlfriend for nearly two seasons as well. I think Andy, the wacky uncle, also loses some toes, now that I think about it (which becomes his ticket into the porn industry). Additionally, Shane, the younger son, is super liberal and expresses his anti-American sentiments during uber-religious summer school classes.

Third point, Nancy is a successful female in a male dominated industry. And she's totally bad-ass. I could keep poorly re-enacting stories and sub-plots, but you should just watch the show.

*Here's the good news: I am going to start blogging over at Choice USA's blog, Choice Words! I'm totally excited for the opportunity to join Choice's blog team (which, coincidentally, includes my good friend and fellow BG feminist Hannah). I'll be blogging primarily about sexual health and I'd really like to do a sex advice column eventually, so if you have any related questions be sure to send them my way.

SAGA Awards (Finally, a happy post!)

So I'm a little late in reporting this, but gimme a break. It's been a busy week what with the anti-feminist bake sale (which I'm sure I'll continue to post about) and, ya know, graduating in two weeks.Plus, the highly anticipated Women's Studies/Center Reunion Gala is starting tomorrow! Indeed, it is a good time to be a feminist at BGSU.

Anyways, on Monday night, BGSU's Transcendence hosted the second annual Sexuality and Gender Activism (SAGA) Awards. The awards honor individuals or groups in the community who work to promote sexuality and gender rights, as the name suggests. I was fortunate to be honored, along with some great women. One of the other honorees was Andrea Adams-Miller, aka "The Sexuality Tutor." She co-hosts "Sex Talk," a sexuality talk show on our campus station, 88.1fm.

Confession time: Sex Talk shows happen to be one of my biggest weaknesses. Human sexuality is my focus within Women's Studies, and it is also in the shortlist of "Things in Which I Would Consider Getting A Graduate Degree." Consequently, I'm interested in how fellow sexologists (and I do like to consider myself a budding sexologist, as well as political pundit) tackle the issues, and I've been listening to Sex Talk sporadically since it started over a year ago. I enjoyed the chance to talk to Ms. Adams-Miller, and I couldn't help snapping a photo with her (which I would post if I could figure out how to rotate it; it's on Facebook though).

Keynote speaker was Chris Beam, professor at Columbia and author of Transparent, a book about raising transgender teens. What an interesting woman! Ms. beam was both funny and insightful, and I totally want to read her book.

All things considered, it was a lovely evening. Big thanks to Transcendence for sponsoring the event. I think it is wonderful that someone within the community is taking the initiative to recognize the work of other activists.

Like I said before, exciting things are happening at BGSU right now! Look for posts on the 10/30/100 Reunion Gala, celebrating ten years of BGSU's Women's Center, thirty years of the Women's Studies program (represent!), and one hundred years (give or take) of BGSU; AND the continuing coverage of the campus' response to the anti-feminist bake sale.

Anti-Feminist Bake Sale

This morning, I was shocked at something so disgusting and perverse , I could not understand its place at an institution of higher learning. On the steps of the education building sat three girls at a card table, with a sign that said “Anti-Feminist Bake Sale.” No joke.

Certain that these girls who happened to be attending college were secretly feminists at heart, I decided to engage them in a conversation about how feminism has, in fact, enriched their lives.

The girls agreed that, were they married, they should have legal control over their own money (as opposed to their husbands). They were all registered to vote, and did vote regularly. We agreed that women should be able to serve on juries, and the right of a woman to divorce an abusive husband and press charges. After finding so much common ground, I pointed out that we all have the feminist movement to thank for these basic rights.At this point in our conversation, a few fellow activists joined the talk. We unanimously decided that, in spite of the offensive sign, the girls were actually big proponents of feminist ideals! In spite of their affiliation with the College Republicans (that’s right- the same group who brought you “Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day” and speakers like Ted Nugent and Dinesh D’Souza) these girls clearly believed in liberal feminist ideas. We suggested that they change their sign to something more tolerant, like “Exploring Differing Feminist Ideas,” Why? Because they were protesting the radical feminist agenda, which aims to destroy family values by encouraging women to enter the workforce. I was then handed a flyer with six different quotes, featuring “feminazis” from Betty Friedan to Margaret Sanger.

Unable to deal with the random assortment of outdated, out-of-context quotes, I allowed the f-bomb to distract me from the issue at hand. “You know, feminazi is a term coined by Rush Limbaugh to put down assertive women, smack us back into place. It is a misnomer, and does not accurately describe contemporary feminisms.” At this point, one girl admitted that she liked Rush Limbaugh, and only watched Fox News- never CNN. Personally, I feel that if you want to wallow in the lies and propaganda championed by Rush Limbaugh and Rupert Murdoch, you are too indoctrinated already; I am not going to waste my time arguing. Plus, I had to get to Environmental Soc. After my afternoon classes were finished, I wouldn't help visiting the bake sale again. However, this time I saw surprised and delighted by what I saw there. Dozens of people spontaneously arrived to protest the College Republicans tasteless stunt. In addition to members of Amnesty International, College Democrats, the Organization for Women's Issues, Transcendence, and Vision had arrived, as well as many people I had never seen at progressive events. Some held homemade posters bearing catchy slogans like "Anti-Feminism is Half-Baked" and "Not all Feminists are Women." Others gave out free candy to feminists and allies (unsurprisingly, the pro-feminists had a much wider variety of sweets to choose from), in a stroke of PR brilliance that quite peacefully divested potential funds from the bigoted bake sale. It was truly inspiring to see so many people from all different backgrounds come together in support of feminism.

The College Republicans need to do some research next time. As a Women’s Studies major, I have met many wonderful feminists in my day, and I have read the work of many more. I have never heard of a feminist who wanted to force all women into the workplace. Feminists do not want to “destroy the family” or devalue motherhood. Contrary to popular belief, we do not even hope to replace the patriarchy with a matriarchy. And no matter what Ann Coulter says, we do not hate men. The goal of contemporary feminism (and I really should say “feminisms,” because there are many schools of feminist thought, from liberal or socialist to radical or even lesbian) is simply to ensure that all people have a voice in society, regardless of their gender, race, class, ability, and so forth. We want to make sure all people- women and men- are able to make their own decisions based on what is best for them. A true feminist would never restrict another person’s ability to choose for him or herself.

Power Down BG (or the more obvious "Be Green")

During my visit to the infamous THE Ohio State University (I don't know why they insist on having the "the" included; I also attend a state university in Ohio) for the Get Out Her Vote Conference, I was struck by something. After lunch, I stood up to throw away my trash and properly recycle my empty Diet Coke can. But to my dismay, there were no recycling bins to be found! None in the classroom where were were eating lunch, none in the hallway near the entrance. Not wanting to carry an empty pop can around with me for the rest of the day, I was forced to throw it away- which made me feel like a heathen (and not in a good way).

Why was this so unusual? At Bowling Green State University (my very soon to be alma mater), we recycle. There are bins for plastic, glass, and aluminum (and usually news and mixed office paper) in EVERY classroom. There are similar recycling bins near building entrances, and outside near trashcans. In the dorms, EVERY FLOOR has a recycling area. The absence of recycling facilities at OSU made me realize the success of Bowling Green's program. And for one bright and shiny moment, I was truly proud of my university. In all fairness, BG is a pretty green place to be (and not just because of our name). We have a wind farm outside of town, that supplies a large portion of our energy. We are the first (if not only) college to offer a major in Environmental Policy and Analysis. Even though I am a Women's Studies major, I've had the opportunity to take many great classes focusing on environmentalism in several different departments: Environmental Bio, Environmental Ethics, Ecofeminism, and currently, Society and the Environment (shout out to Professor Shope!)

Now that green is the new sexy, I am sure more universities will follow BGSU's lead. And when they realize the importance of a campus-wide recycling program, they can look to our program for advice. I think that the university's focus on all things Green is one of it's biggest successes. Hell, I'd much rather brag about our great environmental practices than being the birthplace of Scott Hamilton, or hosting the National Tractor Pulling Championships.