Angel in Black

Over the past two weeks, I’ve written a handful of posts over at Harpyness and of course my colleagues haven’t been slackers either. To recap:

• Fluidity of Desire: Unfinished Thoughts on How We Measure Libido (2011-04-13). In which I rant about poor science, poor science reporting, and data that makes us feel like crap about our bodies and our sexuality.
• Paying Taxes [Money Matters] (2011-04-13). In which I ask readers to report back from the field concerning what they are glad their taxes are paying for (hint: top nominations include libraries, schools, and public parks).
• Marathon Monday: Remembering 1967’s Historic First (2011-04-18). In which I share the story of Kathrine Switzer, first woman to register and run in the Boston Marathon … five years before women were officially allowed to enter the race.
• Why We Make It Personal: More Thoughts About Talking Sex (2011-04-21). In which I return to the topic of sex and muse on why it’s so hard for us to read and reflect on cultural narratives about sex without feeling our personal experience is being invalidated by others who hold differing opinions.

Other Harpies shared thoughts on bidets, Canadian politics, finishing their PhD thesis (congrats PhDork!) and Italian art. Click on through to join the conversation.

KK isn’t technically a harpy but we’re running with it anyway. FreakAngels (Vol 5)

Another two-week round-up here.

The past two weeks have seen the following posts up at The Pursuit of Harpyness:

• A Friday Fun Thread highlighting Freak Angels and asking folks to post links to their favorite web comics. The comments thread is a goldmine of new reading suggestions! I highly recommend browsing and link-hopping.
• A review of data from the Califonia Health Interview Surveys that highlights the health issues for ageing queer folks. Some thoughtful reflections in comments about how we could provide better support for all elders.
• A response to an advice column letter posted at the Guardian by a mother concerned that her teenage son was viewing internet pornography. There was a long, engaged discussion in the comment thread over the limits of young adult autonomy and the extent to which parents have the right (or ability) to restrict their children’s exploration of sexuality in this way.
• For a Thursday Night Trivia I requested readers favorite childhood picture books. (Again, have fun in comments!)
• And I praised the women’s health movement for encouraging women to become familiar with their own anatomy and become used to touching themselves in a way that can only help inform more pleasurable sexual experiences.

Other contributors offered blog posts on Canadian politics, wedding rings, shopping for bras, and being newly-single. All this and more over at The Pursuit of Harpyness! Come join us.

Rainbow Harpy

Harpy Week is back, folks, after a hiatus due to being in Maine with zero internet connectivity visiting my in-laws (not strictly legal yet, but what else do you call them, really?).

Over the past two weeks I’ve written a handful of posts over at The Pursuit of Harpyness and my colleagues have posted a handful as well.

Working backwards this time, just for the sake of novelty

• On Friday, I asked folks to share their favorite signs of spring. My favorite response as of this writing was from Es, who responded: “The big white patches of horsehair in the drying mud in the fields, where my girl has had her winter blankets off and is rolling her fluff out! Like pony-snow-angels.”
• On Wednesday I threw up an open thread which developed several interesting conversations in comments about shitty experiences in academia, life changes, and wacky-yet-wonderful experiences in readers’ lives.
• Last Monday, following the trip to Maine, I wrote a rant about size-based segregation and stigma in clothing stores. While comments got off to a relatively slow start, by the end of the week we’d accumulated quite a long thread in which folks described their various frustrations in finding clothing that matches their body type and aesthetic preferences.
• During the previous week, I wrote a Harpy Hall of Fame post about Sylvia Pankhurst, the middle daughter of the famous family of British suffrage activists. Click through to find out why she’s buried in Addis Abiba, Ethiopia!
• I highlighted a new report on bisexual invisibility published and made available online by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission LGBT Advisory Committee. There was some discussion in comments about what bisexual invisibility actually entailed, and how bisexual folks are (or are not) marginalized within the wider queer community.
• And finally, nearly two weeks ago now I shared one of the wackiest pieces of solicitation junk mail I have ever had the (mis)fortune to receive. Click through for the tale of a Jesus prayer “rug” and the most egregious overuse of underlining in the history of the U.S. postal service.

Others have written posts on Wilma Mankiller, Geraldine Ferarro, and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire (one hundred years ago March 25). We’ve discussed the ten commandments, prison rape, and stereotypes about mothers-in-law. We’ve talked about depression and job loss and what it takes some days to keep moving forward. Click on over to read the rest.

Hope you all have a day of rest this Sunday and that the week ahead is a little bit brighter for you than the one we’re leaving behind.

Two posts by yours truly this week, and a few by other Harpies.

• On Monday, I blogged about the pleasures of driving — and how I miss being behind the wheel now that I live in the city and don’t own a car. In the comment thread, readers wrote about their own driving experiences and what they miss (or don’t miss) about previous places they have lived and worked.
• Thursday was the inaugural Thursday Night Trivia thread in which I posed the question “work or food?” to our readers (click through to find out why!)
• On Friday, I contributed to the series we Harpies are doing on women in history (in honor of Women’s History Month). My first contribution was Dorothy Day (1897-1980), journalist, social justice activists, and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement.

Other Harpies wrote posts about Vera Wang ad campaigns, the politics of terrorism, International Women’s Day (March 8th if you missed it) and Dolores Huerta.

Next week, I have posts lined up about Sylvia Pankhurst, a new report on bisexual invisibility, and (if you’re lucky) a report from the graduate conference on gender, sexuality and urban spaces that my friend Minerva and I attended this weekend at MIT’s Stata Center.

It was a subdued sort of week over at Harpyness, at least for me. Busy week at work meant lighter, less time-consuming posts to write.

• Monday, 28 February, was my grandmother’s birthday and I took the opportunity to muse about things I hope to do during my elder years and asking Harpy readers to do the same.
• On Thursday I posted a Harpy Seminar I coordinated last week on voting as a civic responsibility (or not).
• And on Friday, a fluffy rant (no, the two are not mutually exclusive) about the cover art for Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson urban fantasy series — specifically the way the artist chooses to depict the main character across the seven installments’ covers.

Other Harpies wrote about Charlie Sheen, the SCOTUS ruling on Westboro Baptist Church’s first amendment rights, and solicited names for a series of posts on historical figures for women’s history month. First up in the series was Shirley Chisholm; watch for future installments through the month. Next week, I’ll be posting one about radical peace and labor activist Dorothy Day.

Finally, we were most pleased to offer a guest post by a friend of one of the Harpies who has recently gone through a divorce and reflected on his desire to establish a family, have children, and how those plans had been interrupted by the end of his relationship. We were pleased to have him and hope to feature more Harpy readers as guest posters as time goes on.

This week over at our illustrious blog of Harpyness:

• On Monday I responded to commenter Skada’s request for “women-empowering porn” with a post on where I go, on the internet and elsewhere, looking for erotic material. Decidedly not safe for work, but would love it if you hopped on over to share your own resources and thoughts in comments.
• Wednesday saw a book review of From Disgust to Humanity by Martha Nussbaum which I’m honored to say was included in my friend Danika’s round-up of queer reviews over at The Lesbrary.
• And on Thursday, I threw together a link round-up / “first thoughts” post on the Department of Justice decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act. Haven’t had a lot of time to read up on this one, what with one thing or another, but I thought folks might like to know what Jeffrey Toobin, Dahlia Lithwick, and Nancy Polikoff have to say about the short- and long-term ramifications of the new policy.

Marie Anelle wrote a post about her personal relationship with the Tumblr blog STFU, Parents; foureleven posted her thoughts about the public ridicule that follower a television anchor’s on-air migraine symptoms; and BeckySharper offered thoughts (on behalf of all of us who blog at Harpyness) on what it means for us to identify as a “feminist” blog.

from Fiendish

Hi folks. So the last couple of weeks have been a bit exhausting here around the feminist librarian household, as Hanna and I have both been struggling with bad winter colds (hers worse than mine; fingers crossed I don’t relapse!). And we have a friend coming in from out of town to visit for the long weekend. So I may or may not get around to posting as usual next week. Just so’s you aren’t alarmed if nothing comes across your RSS feeds.

Meanwhile, here’s the usual round-up from over at Harpyness from the passed seven days.

On Monday, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I put up a post critiquing Dan Savage’s “stick to your own” advice when it comes to dating and relationships. The post generated some heated discussion in comments concerning whether or not my interpretation of Dan’s advice was acccurate, and whether or not said advice was actually prejudiced (as I suggest it is). So whether or not you agree with me, I’d suggest checking out the comment thread to see what folks have to say on the subject.

On Wednesday, I managed to get up a booknote on Judith Warner’s 2005 polemic, Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety.  I read the book in tandem with Stephanie Coontz’ history of The Feminine Mystique (reviewed two weeks ago) and was struck by how far we haven’t come in terms of re-evaluating the demands of motherhood over the past half century. Nonetheless, I also felt frustrated by the author’s narrow focus (upper-middle-class, heteronormative parenting) and the way she blamed feminist for the failure of society to change. By coincidence, this post went up in tandem with a guest post by regular reader/commenter Wingstaff, writing about work, family, and life as a military wife.

Marie Anelle wrote a post on Wednesday about sexism in our culture’s response to illness, which I followed up on Thursday with a post about ageism and access to over-the-counter cold medications. There was a lively debate in the comment thread on cold medications about the acceptibility of society regulating teen access to over-the-counter drugs, particularly those which have the potential to be used in abusive, self-harming ways.

As always, wander on over to The Pursuit of Harpyness to check out the full range of posts that went up during the passed week.

Continued due to popular demand: The weekly round-up of posts I wrote at The Pursuit of Harpyness. This week I put up three posts on relationships.

• On Monday, I wrote a post ruminating on the sister relationships in Masterpiece Theater’s recently-aired “Downton Abbey.” I asked readers to share some of their favorite examples of sibling relationships in books, movies, and television series. Check out the comments for thoughtful reflections on sister- and siblinghood.
• Midweek, I put up a book review of Stephanie Coontz’ A Strange Stirring, an account of Betty Freidan’s famous feminist polemic The Feminine Mystique. Coontz documents readers’ reactions to the work when it was first published and places the book within historical context. Even if Mystique is a book you love to hate, I highly recommend checking out Coontz’ analysis. Stay tuned next week for the Wednesday review of Judith Warner’s Perfect Madness which is, in many ways, a follow-up to Mystique for the 21st century.
• And for the Friday Fun Thread, I shared some of my favorite literary love stories and threw open the floor for readers to share some of their own favorite titles. Feel free, on this Valentine’s Day eve, to go add your own suggestions to the list.

In addition, SarahMC prompted a lively discussion about pornography in contemporary culture with a post on teenagers’ and young men’s relationship to pornography; PhDork ruminated on competitiveness in the classroom; and Marie Anelle described her parenting style (flying by the seat of her pants). We discussed pop culture’s obsession with polygamy and on Thursday decided to establish Bradshaw’s Law (invoke Sex and the City in a discussion about women these days: you automatically lose the argument).

Have fun!