Jo B. Paoletti (American Studies, Maryland) tells the history in Pink and Blue: Telling the Boys from the Girls in America, published last month by Indiana University Press.  The book’s webpage has a slide show of greeting cards from 1960, when pink and blue were less gender-specific, Dr. Paoletti suggests.

Slideshow source here.

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

The Barnard College Library has a large collection of feminist ‘zines.  The Barnard Zine Library has its own webpage (here), with finding guides (see here), bibliographies (see here) and teaching resources (here).  The teaching guides could be adapted easily for a Feminist Legal Theory course, especially for a unit on third-wave feminism.

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

Over at Rhymes and Reasons: The Stories of Hip-Hop, Chicago-based community organizer Jasson Perez talks about one song’s influence on his intellectual and emotional development:

I picked Tupac, “Keep Ya Head Up,” mainly because, well,  it’s a great song, and its probably one of the first songs that brought me to the level of consciousness that I have today, and like why I care about movement-building, why I care about social, racial and economic justice as I do and why I care about, like, women’s rights as much as I do, and it also had a huge impact on me raising my own daughter.

Listen to the podcast here.

Jasson Perez also references Outkast, LL Cool J, Little Brother, among others.

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

Franchesca Ramsey is the creator and featured performer in the short video “Sh*t White Girls Say…to Black Girls” (itself a spoof on the viral”Sh*it Girls Say…” video).  Ms. Ramsey has her own blog (here) and a You Tube channel (here).  In an interview with the Village Voice, Ms. Ramsey describes the reaction to the video:

Some people are upset, but the people who are upset don’t really get it and don’t understand what I do. You need to know who I am to understand the video, and if they don’t watch my other videos, they might not get me. I’ve had a few people saying “You hate white people!” But my fiancé is white, most of my closest friends are white. I was literally hopping on a meme and trying to make it relevant to me. A lot of people relate to it, but some people don’t. That’s what happens when you’re a black girl on the internet. I’ve done this for long enough that I’m used to it.

Feminist Philosophers has a round-up (here) of links responding to the video:

• BET: here
• Colorlines: here
• MSNBC: here
• HuffPo: here
• MTV ACT: here

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

A San Diego judge has told an ex-wife  to pay her ex-husband’s legal fees and be ready to pay him alimony should he make the request once he leaves prison. Judge Geoffrey Pollack noted that he had discretion in the matter of what spousal support to award Shawn Pollack, sentenced to 6 years by another judge after his conviction for forced oral copulation on Crystal Harris. Thus Judge Pollack decided to lower the award from $3000 to $1000 per month once Mr. Pollack is released. The judge agreed that Ms. Harris does not have to pay support while Mr. Harris is incarcerated, and approved an agreement between the two parties that Ms. Harris pay Mr. Harris’ legal fees. However, Mr. Harris must pay his ex-wife restitution.

The judge justified the spousal award by saying that he compared the financial situations of the parties. Ms. Harris makes over $11,000 per month and her ex-husband was making about $400 per month. “”I can’t look at a 12-year marriage where one side is making $400 a month, the other side is making over $11,000 and say no spousal support….That would be an abuse of discretion.”  California legal experts note that under the law the judge could have refused to award support only if one party had been convicted of attempted murder.

Ms. Harris is understandably upset. She told the press, ““You don’t pay a dime to somebody that rapes you…That’s sick.” She also said she feared challenging the award because the judge might award her ex-husband more money.

The district attorney’s office, however, has taken up Ms. Harris’ cause and has lined up a state representative to introduce a bill to make changes in the law by increasing the range of crimes that would disqualify an ex-spouse from receiving alimony.

The story has already made headlines around the U.S. and across the pond.

Feminist Law Professors

The Media Education Foundation has released a new documentary film, “The Purity Myth: The Virginity Movement’s War Against Women.”  Here is a clip:

The movie is based on Jessica Valenti’s book The Purity Myth. She shares writing credit on the film with Jeremy Earp.  More info available here.

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

This image creeps me out.  Luckily, it’s an artistic creation a la Photoshop (not an actual foot!) by Richard Darell at Bit Rebels.  Lots of interesting art/social commentary at that site; definitely worth a look.

-Bridget Crawford

image source: Richard Darell, Bit Rebels

Feminist Law Professors

From the FLP mailbox comes a notice of a new book by Robin L. Murray (English, Eastern Illinois University) and Joseph K. Heumann (Emeritus, Eastern Illinois University).  Here‘s the publisher’s description of That’s All Folks? (Univ. Nebraska Press 2011):

Although some credit the environmental movement of the 1970s, with its profound impact on children’s television programs and movies, for paving the way for later eco-films, the history of environmental expression in animated film reaches much further back in American history, as That’s All Folks? makes clear.

Countering the view that the contemporary environmental movement—and the cartoons it influenced—came to life in the 1960s, Robin L. Murray and Joseph K. Heumann reveal how environmentalism was already a growing concern in animated films of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. From Felix the Cat cartoons to Disney’s beloved Bambi to Pixar’s Wall-E and James Cameron’s Avatar, this volume shows how animated features with environmental themes are moneymakers on multiple levels—particularly as broad-based family entertainment and conveyors of consumer products. Only Ralph Bakshi’s X-rated Fritz the Cat and R-rated Heavy Traffic and Coonskin, with their violent, dystopic representation of urban environments, avoid this total immersion in an anti-environmental consumer market.

Showing us enviro-toons in their cultural and historical contexts, this book offers fresh insights into the changing perceptions of the relationship between humans and the environment and a new understanding of environmental and animated cinema.

For someone interested in environmental law and culture, an add-on legal analysis would make an interesting law review article.

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

One of the hits of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival takes to the small screen tonight.  The Oprah Winfrey Network will show the documentary film Miss Representation at 9:00 p.m. (eastern).  Here is a description of the film:

Like drawing back a curtain to let bright light stream in, Miss Representation (TV-14 DL) uncovers a glaring reality we live with every day but fail to see. Written and directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the film exposes how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America. The film challenges the media’s limited and often disparaging portrayals of women and girls, which make it difficult for women to achieve leadership positions and for the average woman to feel powerful herself.

In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms, the collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman’s value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality, and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made great strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States is still 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, women hold only 3% of clout positions in mainstream media, and 65% of women and girls have disordered eating behaviors.

Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, entertainers, activists and academics, like Condoleezza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.

Here’s the trailer:

There is a curriculum to accompany the film here.  Has anyone seen the film and considered its uses in law schools?

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors

First we had the “wave” wars.  Now it’s feminists who were there (read: politically aware) at the time of the Clarence Thomas hearings versus everyone else.  That’s how I read Vivia Chen’s reflections over at the Careerist (here) about last weekend’s “Sex, Power and Speaking Truth: Anita Hill 20 Years Later” conference at Hunter College.  Here’s Chen’s take on younger women at the conference:

Which brings us back to the Generation Ys and Zs at the conference. I don’t mean to sound so down on them, but I had a hard time identifying with aspects of their fight. Some were quite good speakers (but what’s with that “up,” Valley-girl intonation?), but they lost me from time to time. One spoke about defeating racism, sexism, and heterosexualism–and I had to stop and ask, “Heterosexualism?”

Another young woman was lauded for starting the group Hollaback!–an organization whose goal is to stop street harassment, such as those annoying catcalls some men make at women.

All worthy goals, I’m sure. But somehow after the high drama and high stakes of the Clarence Thomas hearings, I found myself asking, is this where women’s rights are now?

Were the Thomas hearings “more important” because they involved allegations of workplace sexual harassment, not street harassment?  Harassment by a prominent man, instead of the man on the street?  Harassment by a man about to be appointed to the Supreme Court?  Does Chen really believe that street harassment is merely “annoying catcalls”?

Feminism is strengthened through critique from within and without.  But is the best Chen has a comment about young women’s “up-speak”?  Is that where feminism’s at right now?  I hope not.

H/T Marie Newman

-Bridget Crawford

Feminist Law Professors