From Ms. Lanny-yap's FB Feed

Via Beth Woolsey

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A Day Without Women

Women's March On Washington | Sister March | 5000 Attend Baltimore Vigil

Baltimore Sun photo | Click to enlarge

Ms. Lanny-yap is circled in red.

The Baltimore Sun estimates that 5,000 people attended a demonstration in Charles Village today as part of the Women's March on Washington. Organizers say they originally "envisioned a small vigil for Baltimore ... thinking [it] might attract 20 to 40 people who would stand on the sidewalk."

And, from the Women's March in Washington:

You said it, Jennifer.

What To Wear To A Protest March | Women's March on Washington 2017

Christabel, Emmeline,& Sylvia Pankhurst lead a suffragette parade through London in 1911.

Source

From Wardrobe Oxygen:

Thousands are expected to come to Washington DC on January 21st to march on the first day of incoming President Donald Trump’s administration. As someone who lives in the area and attended rallies and inaugurations at this time of year I can tell you it’s going to be cold, you’re going to be on your feet for a long while, and basic necessities like bathrooms and bottled water are few and far between. What’s a woman to wear when sending a message to the government that women’s rights are human rights?

Update: After many questions, I have more details about the march and the content of this piece at the bottom of this post. I have also updated the tips thanks to many of you who have written in.

Second Update: I have added some information about transportation from rally buses to the march starting point. Also please note any links below may be affiliate links. At the bottom of the post I share more information about this.

Click on the link above for comprehensive information about what to wear and what to bring (and what not to bring) on Saturday.

Click here for the official Facebook page for the Women's March on Washington.

Click here for the official Facebook page for the sister marches around the country.

Via The Middle Eastern Feminist and One Million Vaginas

FB

Pay Inequity By State

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The states with the largest pay gaps between men and women.

Via Think Progress

I Always Wanted A Jamaican Dance Hall Ass

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Via FB

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh | Stop Telling Women To Smile

For many women, just walking down the street can mean being subject to harassment by men—from subtle comments to overtly hostile remarks. Back in 2012, fed up with such treatment, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, an oil painter by trade, decided to speak out: She produced an illustrated self-portrait with a caption—"Stop Telling Women To Smile"—and plastered copies all around her Brooklyn neighborhood. Since then, Fazlalizadeh has created countless posters, literally taking to the street to combat sexist harassment. Each piece features a different woman, with a caption that reflects her own experiences with public harassment. With $35,000 raised on Kickstarter, Fazlalizadeh has now taken her project, named after that first caption, on the road. In January, after traveling to Chicago and Boston to interview women there about how they experience public space, she'll be heading to the West Coast.

Read more at Mother Jones

Thanks, Ellen

The Power Of Photoshop In 37 Seconds

YouTube

Whoa. The deck is stacked.

Via Upworthy

'Chicks On The Right' Discuss 'Real' Feminism

"Daisy" and "Mockarena"

From their debut blog post in the Indianapolis Star:

... Real feminism is defined by women who can, and do, take care of themselves. Real feminists don’t look for a Prince Charming to rescue them, and they don’t look for a handout. That sort of entitlement mentality hurls women back several decades, when it was expected that someone else (a man) would pay their way. Liberal feminism has morphed into a laughable movement filled with harpies who hold up signs saying, “Hoes before embryos” while defining themselves entirely by their “lady parts.” We, on the other hand, define ourselves by our character, our passions, our loves, our strengths, our abilities and our successes.

Today’s Democratic platform has centered its messaging on a manufactured “War on Women,” which is simply a flimsy facade for the entitlement machine that feeds women a false sense of security. Well, NOTHING is free. And relying on taxpayers to pay for your “reproductive choices” isn’t strength. If you think that government should and will take care of you from cradle to grave, you’re no different than the chick who hopes to land an old, rich dude with a weak heart and flexible will. 

In other words, you’re not a feminist — you’re just pathetic. Rather than fall for the manufactured war-on-women nonsense that helped hand President Obama a second term, women need to know the truth — that they’ll fare far better in life by taking responsibility for themselves. 

Does this mean women can’t choose to be stay-at-home moms as their husbands serve as the primary breadwinners? Of course not. That’s a family’s personal choice to make. We’re simply saying that before a woman relies on a man to “win the bread” she should have a way of providing for herself should that man cease to be in her life for whatever reason. Life can be unpredictable, and women would do well to be prepared for any possibility. 

Ironically, conservative “feminists” like us are accused of being the ones trying to set women back. But we know any government (or man) powerful enough to give us something is powerful enough to take it away. Just remember that as you make your demands on taxpayers, liberal feminists. You’re the ones handing over women’s power. Not conservative women like us. 

Now if someone would please pass us our stilettos. We’ve got to get back to work.

Lost Ms. Lanny-yap at "Chicks."

Link via Jezebel

Digitized By Google | The School Of Venus

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The School of Venus, or the Ladies Delight Reduced into Rules of Practice, a surprisingly modern exploration of sexuality written in the form of a dialogue between a teenage girl and her more experienced cousin, was originally written in French and published in English in 1680.

The 166-page text, which has been digitized by Google Books, opens with a pseudo-dedication to one “Madam S—- W—-,” which lauds “with what eagerness you perform your Fucking excercises” and imagines “a Pyramide of those standing Tarses [penises]" to rival "that Monument of Sculls erected, by the Persian Sophy in Spahaune” ...

The main narrative then begins, introducing its two principle characters: Katherine, “a Virgin of admirable beauty” and “a Kins-Woman of hers named Frances.” Frances “come[s] to chat” with Katherine one morning, finding her alone and working “as if it were a Nunnery.” Frances reproaches her cousin for being “such a Fool [as] to believe you can't enjoy a mans company without being Married.” Katherine naively explains that she enjoys the companionship of many men (“my two Unkles, my Cousins, Mr. Richards and many others”) but Frances explains that she means something altogether different (note that the early modern 's' can sometimes look like an 'f')

Frank, explicit language and illustrations, just a click away on Google Books.

Via Jezebel

How To Get A Date For Your Cousin's Wedding

My brother and I are looking for wedding dates for our cousin's wedding in majestic Saratoga, New York on March 23rd, 2013.

We've been told by the bride that bringing dates is "mandatory" so we "won't harass all of my friends all night" and "stay under control." Rather than ask some fringe women in our lives to go and face the inevitable 'does this mean he wants to take it to the next level!?' questions, we'd rather bring complete strangers and just figure it out. Still reading? In anticipation of your questions we've developed an FAQ section below.

Dave, Mike ... What's in it for me?

• An excuse to get dressed up 
• Open bar & food all night Eccentric/downright dangerous bro-2-bro dance moves (may need to sign a waiver)
• Adventure 
• Mystery 
• Suspense 
• True Love 
• Royalties once our night's story is developed into a romantic comedy. If this happens (we estimate the chances at 85%) we refuse the right to let Ashton Kutcher play either of our characters, however, we will consider him for a supporting role.

SO - What are you fellas like, anyway?

Oh us? We're both in our 20s, single, dashingly tall, Anglo-Saxon, respectfully athletic, love to party, completely house trained, relaxed, passionate, smell great, have cool hair, clean up nice, boast great tie collections, will promise to shave, love our mother, have seen Love Actually several times, controversial, provocative, short-sighted (with a big picture mentality), raw, emotional, sensitive but still bad boys.

What should us ladies be like?

You should respond in pairs as you'll want to know at least 1 person at this wedding. Sisters (twins?!) are preferable, but we'll take friends, or even enemies. You should be attractive or our aunts will judge you, but not TOO attractive or one of our uncles might grope you. You should be relaxed and easy going as we'll probably make up flattering lies about you on the spot. You should own a dress, or be able to acquire one because we don't have any. If (when) you respond you should send some pictures of yourself so we know you've met the above requirements. Feel free to include a resume; this is a classy wedding and we're looking for well-rounded women. Interesting/unique pairings are encouraged; don't be afraid to make yourself stand out!

This feels kinda creepy, are you guys Craigslist killers?

No. Well, if you want to be techni... nevermind. No, we aren't. We just genuinely want to do something different and we don't see any other way to approach it. What would verify our normalness? Facebook? Instagram? We can have a pre-date screening (interview) prior to the wedding and play 20 questions over a coupla cocktails if you'd like?

We're IN! What now?

First off -- smart thinking. Email us, send along some pictures, information, high school athletic stats, questions, etc. We'll take it from there.

Location: Saratoga, NY

craigslist via Gawker

Jessica Valenti | A Letter To Her Male Relatives

Dear cousin/nephew/second-cousin,

It’s generally a real pleasure to have you as a friend on Facebook. I appreciate that I can keep up on what the kids are listening to these days on Spotify and I thoroughly enjoy eyeing pictures of high school ragers. But I’ve noticed that lately your taste in “likes” has changed. It’s out with Bieber, in with Tosh.0. 

You’ve indicated that you will be attending “Booty Slap Day” and have started to share videos of young men running up to women they don’t know in order to grope their behinds, run away and laugh -- videotaping it all for hilarious posterity.

Now, I hate to get all Aunt Feminist Killjoy on you -- but I love you and it’s my job. And I imagine you care about me too, at least enough to read on.

Here’s the thing: those guys running up to women just to grab their ass? Stuff like that happens to women all the time. It’s happened to me. When I was your age, guys -- from boys in school to men on the subway -- used to grope and touch me against my will too. I don’t know if any of them videotaped it or if they did it as a “joke” -- all I know was that it was really scary.

Once it happened on my way to school on the train. I was wearing a dress because it was my seventeenth birthday. The subway was crowded and a man -- I never saw his face -- put his hand up my skirt and grabbed my ass right over my underwear. The memory of it still makes me feel like vomiting. This was just one incident -- it’s happened to me at least a dozen times. The girls you know at school -- girls you’re friends with? -- I’m betting it’s happened to them, too.

Being touched against your will has become a twisted rite of passage for American females. It’s a reminder that you’re never safe anywhere. That your body is not really yours -- but instead public property, there to be rubbed against by an old man or pinched and videotaped by a young one.

I know that a quick click on the “like” button may not seem like a big deal to you -- but it scares me to think about the larger implications. I think about the high school kid in Steubenville, Ohio, joking and laughing about the unconscious teen girl in the next room who had just been raped by two of his classmates. That may seem a million miles away from “liking” a video -- but it’s all part of the same world, the same culture that devalues women. Even laughing at a joke about rape supports the idea that women are less than and makes rapists think that you are like them. And the more you laugh at this stuff, the easier it becomes to take the ideas you’re laughing at more and more seriously.

Listen, I don’t think you’re an asshole who thinks it’s funny to do something that women find scary. You’ve been raised to think that this sort of stuff is all in good fun. Not by your parents necessarily, but by culture. You’ve grown up in a country where a Super Bowl commercial for Audi suggests that girls your age actually like it when a guy they don’t really know grabs and forces a kiss on them. (Seriously -- they won’t like this.) You’ve been raised in a culture that positions women as existing just for sex, for humiliation, for objectification.

So please understand that I don’t blame you for partaking in the only kind of culture you’ve ever known. At least, I don’t blame you yet. Because here’s the thing -- if you didn’t realize before that this kind of stuff is harmful and hurtful to women, now you do. So think of this as a chance to make a decision about what kind of man you’re going to be.

As you continue to grow up, you’re going to have plenty of opportunities (too many) to laugh at women’s pain, embarrassment or the sexual harassment and assault we face. These moments will define you. Will you laugh along? Share a video, like a status, laugh at a joke? Or will you say “no,” tell a friend that’s a fucked-up thing to say, and walk away?

Yes, if you choose the latter -- the undoubtedly more difficult path -- your friends may give you a hard time. They could laugh, call you a “pussy” or accuse you of not being able to take a joke. I’m sure that will be a pain. But it’s still the right thing to do. And you can be secure in your decision to stand with women -- to stand with me -- because you’ll know that you’re better than all that. Media, sexism, misogyny -- all of these structures are depending on the idea that you won’t think deeply about the messages that are sent to you, that you’ll just accept them without consideration or critical thinking. But you’re better than the culture says you are. You’re smarter than that and you’re kinder than that. I know you are.

So please, the next time you’re considering sharing a video or laughing at a joke or saying something unsavory about a female peer -- take the action seriously, think about what it really means. And consider your Auntie Feminist who loves you very much.

The Nation

January 22-28, 2013 | Trust Women Week

Forty years ago today, the Supreme Court ruled on Roe v Wade and legalized abortion in the U.S. The fight for reproductive rights and to allow women to make decisions concerning their own bodies continues.

Women won historic numbers of seats in Congress in the November election. Voters across the political spectrum supported women's reproductive health, rights, and justice, and defeated candidates who trivialized women's safety. Florida rejected a ballot measure that would outlaw public funding for abortions.

But many state legislatures and members of Congress continue to attack access to birth control and abortion care, and cut funds for health care providers like Planned Parenthood. In Mississippi, state regulators are working to force the last clinic that provided abortions to close. These restrictions most severely affect low-income women and women of color, and women in certain geographic areas.

Threats continue to women's long-term economic and social security and safety.

Trust Women Week partner organizations are joining together to express the powerful voices of the majority of women, men, children, families and communities who uphold traditional American values of democracy, independence, fairness, progress, innovation and pragmatism.

Sign the Trust Women Week petition.

Rape Culture | The Enliven Project

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The fear of getting falsely accused of rape just doesn’t compare to the fear of an actual rapist getting away with his or her crime. Statistics from Justice Department, National Crime Victimization Survey: 2006-2010 and FBI reports.

Link via The Nation

Implicit Bias And Sexism Is Alive And Well In Academia

Study after study finds that many women feel unwelcome in laboratories and science departments, even after considerable progress in encouraging women to study science and technology fields. As these studies come out, there are almost always skeptics who say that whatever gender imbalance exists could well reflect different choices made, on average, by men and women, or who say that individual men are rising on their merits, not sexism.

But a new study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers evidence of bias among scientists -- male and female scientists alike -- against female students. The study was based on evaluations by scientists of hypothetical student applications for a lab manager position, with the application materials identical in every way, except that half of the pool received applications with a male name and the other half received applications with a female name. The faculty members surveyed -- 127 professors in biology, chemistry or physics -- were told that their analyses of the applications would be used to help the students. And they were asked to evaluate the students' competence and "hireability" and to consider how large a salary they would recommend and how much mentoring they would offer the student if hired.

The scientists evaluating these applications (which were identical in every way except the gender of the "submitter") rated the male student more competent, more likely to be hired, deserving of a better salary, and worth spending more time mentoring. The gaps were significant. Female scientists were as likely as male scientists to evaluate the students this way. For instance, the scientists were asked to rate the students' competence on a 5-point scale. Male faculty rated the male student 4.01 and the female student 3.33.

Female scientists rated the male student 4.10 and the female student 3.32. On salary, the gaps were also notable. The average salary suggested by male scientists for the male student was $30,520; for the female student, it was $27,111. Female scientists recommended, on average, a salary of $29,333 for the male student and $25,000 for the female student.

Read more at Inside Higher Ed. Find an article on implicit bias here.

Via Gawker

Laurent Seroussi | Insectes

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Photographer and graphic designer Laurent Seroussi combines the beauty of the human female form with fascinating, symmetrical, and leggy bug bodies in this project entitled Insectes. The fantasy creations incorporate sleek female figures blending with the bodies of insects in extremely realistic and well-photoshopped depictions.

According to his bio, "Laurent Seroussi’s multifaceted imagery brings together his background in both graphic design and moving imagery. His immediate work stretches the imagination with playful visual tricks and postproduction wizardry." Seroussi personifies the insects that crawl or fly around us by merging strong bodies, human faces, and the fine details of these segmented creatures. As the feminine faces glance over their shoulders or close their eyes with sleek and sensual expressions, Seroussi romanticizes the small creatures that we otherwise chase out of our lives and our homes.

Dangerous Minds and My Modern Met

One Million Vaginas

From the OMV FB page:

[Our mission is] to encourage and inspire women from all over America, all ages, all beliefs, all kinds of lives and experiences from all 50 states, and the friends and family that love and cherish them, to come together and stop allowing our most personal decisions to be fodder for the Neo-Con political hash mill. Our lives are not their moral crises, our choices are not their ethical lapses ... If you think you're too small to make an impact, remember how annoying it is to try and sleep with a mosquito in your bedroom. We took back the night, now it's time to take back control over our reproductive destiny: Take Back Your Vaginas from Conservative Politics!

Women In Media | Miss Representation

YouTube

Directed by Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Miss Representation explores how mainstream media contribute to the under-representation of women in influential positions in America and challenges the media's limiting and often disparaging portrayals of women, [making it] difficult for the average girl to see herself as powerful. In a society where media is the most persuasive force shaping cultural norms. The collective message that our young women and men overwhelmingly receive is that a woman's value and power lie in her youth, beauty, and sexuality -- and not in her capacity as a leader. While women have made strides in leadership over the past few decades, the United States still ranks 90th in the world for women in national legislatures, depression rates have doubled among teenage girls, and cosmetic surgery on minors has more than tripled in the last ten years.

Stories from teenage girls and provocative interviews with politicians, journalists, academics and activists like Condoleeza Rice, Nancy Pelosi, Katie Couric, Rachel Maddow, Margaret Cho, Rosario Dawson and Gloria Steinem build momentum as Miss Representation accumulates startling facts and statistics that will leave the audience shaken and armed with a new perspective.

Take the pledge [I pledge to use my voice to spread the message of Miss Representation and challenge the media’s limiting portrayal of women and girls.] and show your support at the Miss Representation website. The DVD is available at Amazon for about $15.

Thanks, Linda

Photoshop Of Awesome | Julia Bluhm Protests Retouching In Seventeen Magazine

Julia Bluhm (center)

It's easy to make an online petition. It's more challenging to gather up supporters, go out in the rain and make your point in person. But that's what Julia Bluhm, the 13-year-old behind the Change.org petition "Seventeen Magazine: Give Girls Images of Real Girls!", did this morning. Bluhm, her mother and several representatives of Spark Media gathered in front of the Hearst Tower, home to Seventeen, to protest the magazine's use of Photoshop and deliver her signatures to the magazine's executive editor.

"I've always just known how Photoshop can have a big effect on girls and their body image and how they feel about themselves," Bluhm told The Huffington Post. "You need to see something realistic -- you need to see a reflection of what truly represents a teenage girl nowadays."
Seventeen and the media in general, she said, fails to do that. So her petition, directed at Seventeen's editor-in-chief, asks that the magazine print one unaltered photo spread in each issue.

While the negative impact of Photoshop has been discussed by adults at length, it is clear that Bluhm's peers feel just as strongly. When she and a friend brought a magazine to school to show their friends, she said, it elicited the same reactions: "They agreed. A lot of them thought that the images were fake and they compared themselves to those images -- and it didn't make them feel good about their own bodies and their own skin."

The consequences extend beyond low self-esteem. Another Spark Media blogger on the scene, Crystal Ogar, explained that the negative health impacts, proven by the American Psychological Association, include "higher rates of depression, higher rates of self-harm and eating disorders."

And a skinny body, said Spark Media blogger Kaye Toal, is just one facet of the cookie-cutter image on the pages of teen magazines:"The media that we're fed says that girls are sex objects and they have to be thin, white, heterosexual and cisgender, and that's a very narrow portion of women. Even the women who do fit that, dont fit this amazing perfected ideal because it simply doesn't exist."

Or, as Julia told us, "Nobody's photoshopped in real life."

Source