Titania With Her Fairies Arthur Rackham

Over at The Pursuit of Harpyness we’ve been winding up for the summer months (can you believe summer doesn’t officially start until Tuesday?). During the passed two weeks, I’ve posted the following:

• The first two installments of my series live-blogging Jessica Yee’s anthology Feminism For Real (2011). I’m blogging a chapter per week for the next 22 weeks — or nearly six months! I’m hoping I don’t run out of things to say … but so far the variety of the contributions is keeping me going. You can read Part One: Invite & Introduction and Part Two: Resistance to Indigenous Feminism thus far.
• There was a Friday Fun Thread asking folks to name their favorite summer movies. The comment thread’s still open if you care to leave suggestions!
• A book review of the anthology Best Sex Writing 2010 appeared last week (I swear I’m not turning into an all-books-all-the-time blogger, but recently I’ve been doing lots of off-line reading!)
• My first contribution to our Poetry Saturdays series, with a Billy Collins poem brought to my attention by my friend Lola @  Oh no, my sainted aunt!

As a bonus, let me direct you also to a recipe for vegan Chocolate-Almond-Hazlenut Thumbprint Cookies Hanna and I posted over at our friend Lyn’s recipe-and-food blog. Trust me. For. The. Win.

As always, check out what the rest of the Harpies have to say by browsing through the archive of The Pursuit of Harpyness.

Sandra (Rachel Griffiths) in Blow Dry (2001)

It’s been more than a fortnight since I last did a round-up of posts from Harpyness, but I gave myself permission not to post there during our vacation, so there isn’t actually that much of a backlog!

Incidentally, if you haven’t seen Blow Dry (2001) it’s totally time you did. Stop reading this post right now and go order it on Netflix. Then come back and start again.

So, what have I been writing about over at Harpyness?

• Most recently, I published a post in response to sex columnist Jeannie Greeley’s admission that she and her family are keeping her same-sex relationships a secret from her grandparents and her siblings’ children. In Full Disclosure I talk a little bit about my own decisions vis a vis being open about my relationship with Hanna, and why I think hiding loving relationships from kids (or elders!) for fear that they “won’t understand” is belittling for all concerned.
• On Taking My Partner Home is a meditation on what it was like to bring Hanna back to my childhood home for the first time, after being with her for three years — and living in Boston for going on four. While she and my parents have met previously, it was a whole new level of satisfaction to introduce her to the people and places where I grew up.
• On May 19, I hosted a two-part “virtual tour” for the book  Hey Shorty! A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Public Schools and On The Streets (New York: Feminist Press, 2010), authored by staff and youth interns from the organization Girls for Gender Equality, based in Brooklyn, New York. Part One was a review of the book. Part Two was an interview with two of the authors.
• I offered a Friday Fun Thread asking “who are your automatic buys?” as in: which authors, musicians, film-makers do you trust so wholly that you will purchase their latest sight-unseen? There were a delightful variety of responses in comments.
• Earlier in May, the MBTA (Boston’s local mass transit network) featured ads by FamilyRadio, the religious organization that predicted the Rapture would fall on May 21. Some folks protested the willingness of the MBTA to sell ad space to people who bigoted against queer folks. I wrote a post about why it’s important to treat all advertisers equally, even if you disagree with what they are selling. There was a lively debate in comments about what constituted hate speech and protected speech in this context.
• And just in case any of you missed it, I re-posted the wonderful short film Validation. Even if you’ve already seen it, it’s never to early to watch it again!

Obviously I’m not the only one who’s been blogging at Harpyness. Other writers have contributed posts on the topic of Mother’s Day,  the movie Bridesmaids, Madame Ophelia DeVore-Mitchell, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, on the latest publicized case of parents trying to raise a child without assigning the child’s gender, the anniversary of Dr. Tiller’s murder, the threat of romance novels, and  we featured a guest post by writer Oh Hells Nah on sex work.

Hop on over to The Pursuit of Harpyness for all this and more!

A PATINATED METAL FIGURE OF A HARPY,  LATE 20TH CENTURY

Hi folks! It’s time again for the round-up of Harpy links. I’m prepping my colloquium presentation for Monday, organizing my bookshelves (finally!) and the piles of paper on my desk, and cuddling my sick girlfriend while we watch crap science fiction movies (Tremors 2 anyone?) together … so I’m not going to make the links list all that fancy. Please forgive!

The beginning of this past week saw a flurry of activity from the Harpies, including two posts from me:

• While buying medicine at CVS for aforementioned sick girlfriend, I happened to notice a royal wedding-related headline that seemed a bit … incomplete. 
• I had the pleasure of reading Jill’s now-(in)famous Filling the Gap post on Monday and cross-linked it here and over at Harpyness. While the Harpy link has less than a dozen comments (versus Feministe’s 452 and counting), still worth checking it out if you’ve been following the conversation across the blogosphere to any extent.
• On Monday, I posted a web video from Susie Bright discussing her stint as an editor for On Our Backs, the lesbian erotica magazine. 

And the week before that saw another three posts:

•  A post about teens and sexting that turned into a thread that was half about teens texting and half about Sherlock slash … and to round things of, the person whose interview I was critiquing stopped by to speak up. If you want to see how all these things came about, do stop on by to check out the comments! 
• I posted the trailer for a new documentary from American Experience about Stonewall. 
• And way back when, in the midst of thesis revising, a web video of a baby penguin being tickled. I made no claims for a substantive feminist critique on that one.

The other Harpies have been busy as well, writing about Canadian politics, the royal wedding, friendship etiquette, reproductive rights, and other tasty and timely topics. Head on over to Harpyness to check them out.

Hope all of you are having a good weekend and best wishes to ya as you head out into the week.

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.