Spencer,
I’ve always respected Feministing. As I’ve said before, times are rough for anything calling itself “feminist” these days. From images of the "[un]shaved girl burning her bra, standing on campus screaming at everybody" to invocations of the women’s movement as “bras, aprons and constitutional amendments,” we’ve got an image problem on our hands that’s manifesting in all sorts of backlash-heavy ways. Pop culture reflects a longing for the “manliness” that we modern, career-obsessed, testosterone-leeching succubi have robbed from our male counterparts. Ad campaigns shell everything from beer to deodorant by appealing to that blissful (and virtually nonexistent) era when men could be men without feminine interference. Meanwhile, getting naked in front of cameras has become a co-ed right of passage, breast enhancement surgeries have multiplied to the point of raising the average bra size, and adolescent girls are still absorbing the message that being pretty is just as, if not more, important than being smart. And to top it off, breast feeding is now repulsive enough to get you kicked off a plane.
So when a twenty-something self-labeled feminist like Jessica Valenti starts a blog dedicated to picking up the PR-scarred pieces of the old school women’s rights movement, she earns my instant respect. For starters, she’s automatically signing up for a pummeling from all the tired, humorless antagonists, male and female alike, who see the word “feminist” and start twitching in their eagerness to tear down the source. Let’s see, how can we trivialize and smother this site. A ha! They have pictures of trucker girls in their heading. Degradation! Hypocrisy! And wait, hold on, the founding editor is… hot! Plus she has BOOBS! Photographed in the same room with Clinton, no less. Clearly the whole operation’s a fraud. Light the torches! To the stake!
As for the site’s content, they follow the primary rule of successful blogs (post as often as humanly possible) and show a unique ability to sniff out those invidious little hypocrisies in the mainstream media, all while sparing us the righteous sermonizing that helped land feminism its current bad rep. It’s not the first place I go for in-depth analysis or discussion, but no other women’s sight beats their range of material, covering everything from boob wine racks to interviews with Former U.S. Congresswoman and member of the Nixon Impeachment Panel Elizabeth Holtzman. Plus they’re not afraid to drop the armor, take a deep breath and have some fun with it. Because honestly, where is it written that being a die-hard feminist means you can’t also love Buffy.
[Movable Snipe is a Daily Shvitz feature wherein two writers spend a reading a handful of blogs and offering constructive (or savage) criticism in epistolary form. This week's Snipers: Spencer Ackerman and Melissa Lafsky.]
I’m really loving the theme/design of your web site. Do you ever run into any browser compatibility problems? A few of my blog audience have complained about my website not operating correctly in Explorer but looks great in Safari. Do you have any ideas to help fix this problem?
Appreciating the time and energy you put into your website and in depth information you provide. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed information. Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.