Happy International Women’s Day!

As a keen-eyed, sharp-witted String Revolution reader, you may just have spotted that I’m a feminist. Gender politics is one of the things that really makes my little heart go pit-a-pat, and so I post here from time to time about how it relates to crafts – Women’s Work (aka “that book I’m not obsessed with”), textile work and coercion, slogans on kids’ clothes, and so on.

Today, on International Women’s Day 2010, I want to do something different: I’m going to share links to some of my favourite gender-related articles.

These links don’t seem to have much to do with needlecrafts. But as I’ve said before, we live in a political soup. Our actions and decisions are informed and constrained by the social paradigms in which we operate. In other words, it’s all connected, man. (Or rather, woman.)

A few things I’d like to make clear before launching into the links section:

I am a white, western, terminally middle-class, temporarily-able-bodied, cisgender woman in a mixed-sex, monogamous marriage (I’m queer, as it happens, but you wouldn’t know it to look at me). I try to be aware of the privileges this affords me. I assume I fail in this attempt more often than I notice. I aim to be an ally to people who lack the privileges I benefit from, and if you ever felt moved to call me out for abuse of privilege, I would welcome the opportunity to learn.
This selection of links isn’t systematic in any way. I just rummaged through my bookmarks and threw together some stuff I’ve found interesting, inspiring, distressing, amusing, and so on, over the past few years. These links reflect my biases. I’m slightly uncomfortable with that, but I’m sharing them anyway.
I’d love – love, love! – if you joined in and shared some of your favourite gender-politics links in the comments.

Right, then. On we go!

Basics

If you’ve done any reading around the feminist space, you won’t find much new in these links – but I still find them galvanising.

Defining kyriarchy: Accepting Kyriarchy, Not Apologies, by Lisa of My Ecdysis.
Male Privilege 101: The Male Privilege Checklist from Alas, a Blog. (I can think of several people who really need to see this list. But I doubt if they read my blog. Ah well.)
Male Privilege from the female perspective: Think Women have Achieved Equality? Think Again (By Andrea Rubenstein, linked from the Male Privilege Checklist.)

Silencing

A key kyriarchal tool.

Men silencing women: Men Who Explain Things (This one is pretty funny.)
A more complex case: The F Word: On Feminism, Being an Ally & Social Justice (Plus, a great photo of Bill Bailey at the top!)
Silencing of the vulnerable by those in power: De Profundis (This one is really, really not funny – it’s little light’s account of trans/queer bashing by police after an anti-war protest. I first read it years ago, and I come back to it again and again.)

Breasts

Are they the most hotly contested area of the human anatomy? I suspect so.

How the patriarchy (apparently) feels about breasts: For the Discerning Gentleman: You, Too, Can Decorate Your Life With Disembodied Boobs (By Melissa McEwan. Be sure to read the rant at the end. For the avoidance of doubt, this link is staggeringly unsafe for work!)
Breastfeeding, the ultimate in personal/political fusion: Breastfeeding: radical, feminist and good for you (Kate Joester’s breastfeeding story.)
Why breastfeeding shouldn’t be used as yet another stick to beat mothers with: Mothers, and how they hurt each other (Ailbhe on why it’s inappropriate to judge people over how they choose to feed their infants.)

Rape

I find it hard to think about gender politics without thinking about rape. Could just be me (yes, in case you’re wondering, I have been raped – though not, so far, in this millennium). These pieces range from the hilarious to the horrifying. I urge you to read every one, if you haven’t before.

Romance novels and the rape plot: Pleasure Town Is Invite Only (This is the hilarious one. Really. Belly-laughs.)
Defining rape culture: Rape Culture 101 (Melissa McEwan again, with dozens of illustrative links. I recommend getting yourself a cup of hot and sitting down with this one for an hour or two.)
Rapists: Meet the Predators (Recent research on men who rape and get away with it.)
How not to be mistaken for a rapist: Schrödinger’s Rapist: or a guy’s guide to approaching strange women without being maced (Title says it all, really.)
Catch-22: Another Post about Rape (Women, men, social rules, and why it’s always the woman’s fault.)

And on that cheery note…