Cross-posted everywhere
Disclaimer: A former Hillary supporter, I have been working my heart out for Obama online and locally from the day of Clinton's concession speech. I have totally avoided PUMA blogs; all I know about them, I know from their attackers. Responding to this post by talking about PUMAs will strike me as the equivalent of "the dog ate my homework."
Every time a poster or commenter mocks and excoriates the PUMAs as batshit crazy or uses dogwhistle language reserved for denigrating women, it brutally rips open all the wounds of rabid misogyny inflicted on women during the primary campaign by the media, progressive blogs, and Obama supporters. You are guaranteeing that another PUMA will never come around and vote for Obama; you might as well openly support McCain.
At 63, I am a lifelong feminist, the older sister of 5 brothers, the mother of 4 grown daughters, the grandma of a toddler grandson with 2 granddaughters on the way, the oldest of 45 first cousins, the 24/7 caregiver of my mom for 4 years. I birthed 4 babies without drugs including 2 at home (9 lbs and 10 lbs).
I have a BA in political science, an MLS in Library Science, a MSW in Social Work. For 50 years I have read most books on feminism, motherhood, work and parenting. I am old enough, smart enough, well-read enough, experienced enough to assign daily homework. I also assign semester and academic year homework upon request:, but don't impose deadlines. I am fiercely proud of being a public librarian who never hoards knowledge, whose concept of a job well done is empty shelves. Librarians call homework reading lists:)
My favorite article of clothing is a redsweatshirt made up in 1987 that proclaims, "Never love a man who doesn't love Jane Austen, Doris Lessing, and Margaret Drabble." Talk about abstinence education. Only my two husbands have done the homework:) My adventures with that shirt would require a novel to do justice to. I have been asked if it was a public proclamation of lesbianism. I have been asked which of these 3 women I am. I have been asked if Austen is a movie star. My brother claims that my shirt singlehandedly started the Austen revival. The shirt worked slowly; it took 14 years to win me an English husband:)
Every day read Shakesville, a brilliant, gutsy, often hilariously funny, collective feminist blog. Its guiding spirit is Melissa McEvan, who didn't support either Clinton or Obama. She was an Edwards supporter; Edwards hired her to supervise his netroots outreach and then pressured her to resign after he found out exactly how colorfully she writes.
I apologize for quoting so extensively from Shakesville's description, but this is a recruiting drive. In a lifetime, I could not approach Melissa's as a writer. What's Shakesville all about, anyway?
Shakesville is a feminist blog, and a feminist's blog. It is a progressive blog. It is a safe space. It is a community. It is a blog whose contributors are resolved to endeavor always to be aware of our privilege, and, in moments of failure, remain open to criticisms and suggestions, think twice before responding defensively, and apologize when we fuck up. We expect the same of those who want membership in the community. No one is expected to be perfect; everyone is expected to be willing to self-examine and learn. Forward movement, progress, on cultural, political, and individual levels is woven into the fabric of Shakesville.
Shakesville's key objectives are equality, momentum, growth, community, empathy, and laughter.
We blog about domestic politics, foreign policy, high culture, pop culture, books, film, telly, food, the patriarchy, oppression, repression, religion, philosophy, parenting, not parenting, marriage, cats, why women's trousers have so many buttons, and anything else that we feel like discussing. With photos. Many of them doctored for maximum hilarity.
All are invited. Whether you are welcome is up to you.
What's your commenting policy?
Comments are open to anyone as long as they don't traffic in racist, sexist, homophobic, or otherwise overtly objectionable commentary. Differences of opinion are welcome; no one has ever been nor will ever be banned on a difference of opinion alone. Threats, trolling, pointless belligerence, and hate speech will get you banned. Or get your comments redacted and/or replaced with an incredibly sophomoric paraphrase, like an announcement that you're a huge douche. If some of that sounds rather arbitrary, well, it is. Ultimately, whether you can comment at Shakesville is at my discretion—and plaintive, angry, or accusatory wailing about free speech will fall on deaf ears. This isn't a public square. This is a safe space.
Make sure you read Feminism 101. Don't miss today's post by Portly Dyke-Because You Have A Navel. Immediately share it with your mom. If she isn't online, call her and read it aloud. (Why don't you love her enough to get her online, ungrateful child?) Then share it with all your friends and enemies. Portly Dyke concludes:
Since each of us owes our very existence to such a coupling -- an egg from a woman and a sperm from a man -- it means that attaining true equality of the sexes affects each of us -- that the cultural and societal problems arising from the oppression called sexism reside smack dab in the middle of every home in the world....Every single human being on this planet has a billboard on their abdomen that says this:
"I was once so connected with a female human body that we shared the same blood, the same oxygen, the same food. If it weren’t for that woman, I would not exist. Look – here is the evidence."
So, if you think Feminism is not your issue:
Contemplate your fucking navel.