Something to Ponder

So I received my regular Adbusters email and thought that this portion of it was something worth passing along. I think the questions their suggestions are missing are "Will they rally to end asymmetrical gender relations and for sexual freedom?" and "Will they recognize that Third Wave Feminism is the ticket?" and "Will all these new feminists all work to bridge gaps between the discursive and the political?" Think about it. If you don't feel like actually sending something in, I think it at least raises both optimistic and creative questions for us to discuss as we enter this new political climate. What will/ can we do? I say, "Lots!" WhaddYOU say?

"Meme warriors, cultural creatives and Generation O:

The outpouring of euphoria around the globe following Barack Obama’s victory has raised expectations. Like the president-elect, we (and you) have been calling for change for eight long years. On November 4th we got it, a genuine, bloodless revolution. The question now is: will it amount to anything?

Obama’s campaign benefited hugely from enlisting young voters in the cause. Obama told them that the post-baby boomer era had begun. He challenged their cynicism and spoke to them through their own media: through Facebook, through Twitter. They overwhelmingly gave him their support at the polls. And they won. They won big. Maybe now Generation O will finally drop the hipster pose and become a force to change the world.

For the next issue of Adbusters we want your thoughts and opinions on whether you think Generation O has revolutionary potential. What are the specific ways that Generation O could change the world? Will they create a green economy? Will they figure out how to deal with climate change? Will they rethink capitalism and the corporation? Send your stories, ideas and epiphanies to: editor@adbusters.org"

-- Andrea

Women's Studies classes in serious floundering territory.

Some of the Women's Studies classes are in danger of being canceled because not enough people have enrolled. I'm mainly talking about SWST 301: Feminist Theory and Methods, SWST 355: U.S. Women's Movement and SWST 398: Special Topic (the topic will be Queer Theory).

Here is a list of the Women's Studies courses being offered next Spring: http://registrar.sc.edu/html/Course_Listings/Upstate/200911/SWST200911.htm

If you can register for these, please do. I don't want to see any of these classes canceled because they're going to be awesome.

-Sarah

Need Your Input

So as we're beginning to hammer out the details of iFuk, we'd really like to have your input in even the beginning of this process? What would you like to see out of a sex-positive campaign? How would you like to see sexual diversity promoted? Comment and let us know!!!

-- Andrea

Just a reminder...

For those of you who haven't heard, the Halloween installment has been canceled. However, if you're a member of PRIDE (and there is a bit of an overlap, here), you're more than welcome to wear your costume to the PRIDE meeting today! It's at 2:00 PM, in room 122 of the old nursing building.

-Sarah

A busy week and lots of info.

This week is going to be busy for Upstate Feminists, and it's going to be good. Today, Monday, October 27, 2008, UF is hosting a discussion for Daphne Gottlieb's book Kissing Dead Girls at the Center For Women's and Gender Studies (aka room 122 of the old nursing building).

Tomorrow on the 28th Daphne Gottlieb will be reading selections from Kissing Dead Girls at the Hub-Bub in downtown Spartanburg. Here's a link to information about the event and the poet on Hub-Bub's website: http://www.hub-bub.com/index.php?option=com_thyme&calendar=1&category=0&d=27&m=10&y=2008&vcat=&Itemid=&event=508&instance=2008-10-28

If you'd like to get a copy of Kissing Dead Girls, stop by the center; just note that if you get one, you kind of have to come to the reading tomorrow. For more information, call the center at 503-5926.

Also, be on the lookout for some interesting things happening on campus this Halloween Friday....

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In other news, flyers with the list of women's studies courses being offered in the Spring are now posted in various places around campus. Keep that in mind when you sign up for classes this week!

Have a good week, everyone!

-Sarah

Like It or Not, You Just Can't Take the Sex out of (Sex)uality...

There has been a bit of a buzz about the iFuk campaign. Largely a really great buzz. But some notsomuch. SO I thought that I'd go ahead and post a response to a comment to that particular blog thread in which I think I cover most of the bases of concern. Also, I've noticed that the few people who have expressed that they find the sticker campaign both offensive and disturbing have eschewed calm discussion of the matter in favor of some pretty biting attacks, which I find to be interestingly demonstrative of a high level of personal discomfort surrounding the topic. The fact that people react so virulently against opening the discourse surrounding sexuality I think speaks to exactly why we need to open up the discourse surrounding sexuality. And if you have any questions regarding the choices we've made to take such an in-your-face approach to this campaign, I invite you to contact me by email and I will be happy to discuss the matter further. This was not something that was decided haphazardly or without considering its implications, so I would be more than happy, I promise, to discuss that.

-- Andrea

p.s. May I just add in further response to this individual's post that though sex is a personal choice, it does not exist outside of the political arena. It is not "half-politicized;" it is inherently and wholly political.

Cheers, folks! And here's the comment:

"Even Better..."

October 20, 2008 7:21 PM
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Blogger mediocritease said...

Culture jamming is really kind of dubious. What difference exactly are these stickers going to make? Sexuality is a personal choice, not some kind of half-politicized, mildly offensive, self-indulgent graffiti. Throwing something in someone's face doesn't make them want to respect you anymore than they did before. Have you thought about whether or not flaunting it really helps your cause? And just out of curiosity, do you think the free love movement did anything truly positive for human relations? Am I for gay marriage? Absolutely. Equal rights for all walks of life? Most definitely. Are there better ways to get there? Probably.

October 20, 2008 7:24 PM
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Blogger Upstarts said...

The logo is one component of a much broader campaign. The stickers are just one element that is 1) a catchy and provocative image that plays not only on a largely unpopular word (apparently... eh hemmm...) but 2) also reappropriates a brand of consumer culture that connotes a whole other element of capitalist critique and inquiry. Controversy breeds interest and reactions (apparently again...)demonstrate discomfort. For instance, some people's skins crawl when they see the word "fuck," (eh-hemmm...) which might lead them to disavow an entire campaign because they can't stomach the implications of one of the dirtiest of words. All this before they even decide to do their homework on what the campaign entails. I would invite you, mediocritease, not only to reconsider such a reductive stance before engaging in discourse surrounding a subject, but also to do a little more research about the terms sex-positive and sex-radical, which engender a lot more than simply fucking. Sex-positive and sex-radical are not synonymous with the free love movement, either. Nor is the free love movement just about having lots of sex. I'll even provide you with the wikipedia pages to get you started:

Sex-positive

Free love

Also, there are many elements of Upstate Feminists that seek to be inclusive, take a less offensive approach to sort of placate people's discomforts. However, providing people with an innocent, feel-good sort of movement that they can feel entirely at ease with is not the aim of this campaign -- it is to draw attention to sexual stigmatizing that occurs on a constant basis in American society and the media and to bring awareness to sexual diversity (which includes but is not limited to the LGBTQ community, alternative forms of heterosexuality, and even asexuality). We want to make people uneasy. So, in-your-face is kinda the goal with this one. AND there is a body of evidence suggesting that short-term strategies such as toning down radical rhetoric to increase general interest are not always effective in the long-run, that they may even serve to compound and reinforce existing conservatism.

So yes, in short -- the stickers are at least (and thank you for demonstrating this) opening up discourse surrounding the subject. They also speak to the larger issues of sex in the media and consumer culture, and they reinforce in a very poignant and simple way that personal choice involved in sexuality.

Thanks for askin'...

-- Andrea

This is just beautiful...

As we discuss the seeming retreat from activism in feminism, or at least its ebb and flow, I offer this photograph from an Obama rally in St. Louis on Saturday. If this doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will. I stole it from another friend's blog EYEROLL and you can read the full story on the Wall Street Journal's "Washington Wire."

-- Andrea