Viva la Feminista

He left evidence along the way like pieces of bread crumbs. Angel's curse, that Wonder Woman script, and Black Widow as a Hulk pacifier. I saw it. I acknowledged it, but I still saw Joss Whedon as a feminist. "My feminism is not perfect. No one's is!" I would cry. But over the weekend I cried for yet another loss in the battle for men to be included in feminism . Buffy arrived in my life at the tail end of my college years. She took the baton from Xena to fulfill my need for feminist television. As a pop culture junkie I was desperate to watch something that not just validated my world view but also most importantly did not make me feel bad for being overweight, for liking to hang out in a library, and yes even just wanting to have fun despite the weight of the world on my shoulders. The series finale will always be the best finale ever. It depicted what I feel is the true spirit of feminism - that we are in this together. That together we kick the patriarchy...

Kevin Carroll/a digital cure Photography Kevin Spacey is not the first name to pop in one's head when you think of who could give women advice on mentoring and risk taking, but Levo certain did! In this entertaining and enlightening video you learn a lot about Spacey and how he became the actor he is today. There is a point where he uses a visit to the Middle East as evidence of how the arts can empower women and it is problematic as he positions the repression of women in that region of the globe. But overall the video is fun and just might stick in your memory the next time you are faced with a career risk. And maybe, just maybe will help you recognize when a dark and scary place ends up being where your dreams have been waiting for you.

Warning...Feministas, grab a tissue before you watch this amazing and beautiful video. Welcome to my new Laughing Liberally friends. This is the video Matt & I talked about last night. From Planned Parenthood: Matt asked me what dudes can do to help in the fight and I said, be aware and then I talked about this video. Men, be aware of how your actions impact our lives. Of your privilege that allows you to not worry about being raped when you walk around a corner to get to your car after a fun night with friends. How you have to decide if you'll ask for a friend to talk with you, if you'll go it alone or if you will call your partner who is waiting for you and he virtually walks you to your car. How ads like the Focus on the Family one is really telling women around the country that "Why, we don't trust you to make your own decision, oh no." Just be aware. I'll add in that you need to stand up next to us, stand up against the hate, stand with ...

Disclaimer: Shira & I write for Girl w/Pen but we're not great friends. We just write for the same blog. That said, that's how she came to know me to pass my name to her publicist who offered me a free copy of the book to review. Which I replied with a YES! in record time. And now our review... First off, when you see the cover of the book you'll notice that this book is part of the Seal Press Studies series. But DO NOT FREAK OUT! While this book can easily be in a Gender & Women's Studies course syllabus, I also believe this is an excellent book for anyone to pick up in order to know more about how men have fit into the feminist movement. What's that? You don't think that men have been a part of the feminist movement? Oh how mistaken you are! But it's not your fault that you believe that, first of all, our history classes don't teach women's history and when we take it upon ourselves we do focus on the accomplishments of kick ass women like ...