Shame on Steinem

To be honest, since my recent relocation to the Charm, I haven't been up on the news. We don't have cable and only recently got an antennae for the TV, but that's no excuse, really--it's been years since I considered any television program (besides Colbert and Stewart--and not even them, really) reliable news sources. It's funny because living in NYC and before that, in DC, I seemed to absorb the news effortlessly, as if by osmosis. Here, it's going to take some effort.

Anyway, so it was that I only saw Gloria Steinem's NY Times op-ed when I ran across it on Shark-fu's brilliantly thoughtful reaction to it on her blog, Angry Black Bitch.

First, let me note that I link to ABB on my (too short) blogroll to the right, because I've admired her since I discovered her blog a year or two ago. Last week she dropped a comment here and I nearly pissed myself, I was so excited--though excitement gave way to a short-lived embarrassment (there's not really any shame in my game) when I realized she'd checked in the day I gave a shout out--kind of--to the disgusting 2 Girls, 1 Cup.

Anyway, Shark-fu's got the bases covered, so I won't get too far into it. But I will say this:

As a white woman (I mention my white-ness because too many don't--unless we whiteys, be we women or not, acknowledge our privilege, we unwittingly promote the status quo and the idea that it goes w/o saying that we are white, white being the "norm") who grew up in a very white part of the world, to later live in several under-served, predominantly black neighborhoods, I understand how easy it is for even educated women to not realize exactly how fucking privileged they are. But for Gloria Steinem, a woman who has been around long enough to realize that not all women are white, this op-ed was fucking ridiculous.

Pardon the F-bombs. They're only words, people. Only words.

I hate the way that the media is covering Hillary's bid--in ways that they would never cover a man's. But I also hate what they've done to Obama. Come to think of it, I hate the ridiculous shit that she's doing to Obama. I shudder to think what the Republican hate-machine will have in store for either one.

In a perfect world, Kucinich would not only be a contender, but he'd be a black trans man and a contender. And the media would be talking about the candidates' stance on (gasp!) the issues.

Coincidence?

Mr. Man and I bought a TV antennae today, ordered a mediocre pizza and set up camp on the couch between a neurotic dog and grouchy cat to watch the New Hampshire debates, which gave rise to the following questions.

Was the title (One Night, Two Parties) of the debate, sponsored by Facebook (techy!) inspired by the web phenomenon Two Girls, One Cup? Now, I didn't link to Facebook because I don't think they need any more free advertising, and I didn't link to 2G1C because it's totally fucking disgusting, and if you must, you can Google it yourself. Lest those of you who know what I'm talking about think I'm a total perv, I ran across the video through a blind link on Perez Hilton a month or two ago. I will admit to being pretty pervy, and while I'm not into scat, it doesn't freak me out that much that other people might be, but this video is not only insanely gross, but it is impossible for me to believe that the women involved were not on drugs, being blackmailed, or at the very least, being taken advantage of in a severely abusive way. Please believe me when I tell you that YOU DO NOT NEED TO SEE THIS SHIT (pun unavoidable).

Which probably could also have been said about the debates.

Also, has anybody noticed that Hillary's initials are HRC? Hmm..."liberal" politics that flip-flop, pander to the right and fail miserably to represent the people they claim to...coincidence? I wanted so bad to want to vote for Hillary. But like the HRC, she leans too far to the "right."