Recently in Events Category
They also have a few special guests (like Bill Clinton, ahem). It's a pretty amazing program and best of all it's free. Check out the agenda here to see the great line up of speakers and panels.
In DC next week? Apply for the conference now!
PS I will be there :)
Check out some pics I took from this past weekend's amazing NYC Pride Parade. And be sure to share your stories and experiences of Pride in comments!
This is what success looks like-my teacher orientation bag, was a condom bag and yes, that is a condom with my name on it.
Yesterday was the first day of my summer class at the National Sexuality Resource Center's Summer Institute and it was awesome. If you don't know what NSRC is or what they do, check them out here, there work is truly amazing. My class is full of superstars, activists, organizers, academics, direct service professionals, writers and hip-hop heads. It is a dynamic group and I am so excited to teach the class. I will post updates on the things we discuss and hopefully get some of the students blogging on the community site as well.
The name of the course I am teaching is called, "I Am Not Who You Think I Am: Identity Politics, Activism and the Internet." I have put together a series of readings on feminism and the internet, technology and identity, racial identifications online and a lot of studies about who is actually online. It is rare I get to totally geek out on internet theory so I am pretty psyched about that.
Some key questions I am asking that I feel you as readers of mine might find interesting include:
- What is the difference between using your own identity online verses being anonymous?
- Do race, class, gender and sexuality differences reproduce themselves online or is the internet a free-space?
- What does privacy mean on the internet?
People have divergent and detailed answers about all those questions, but I think for me the one that always resonates is how do race, class, gender and sexuality difference reproduce online? Many internet theorist talk extensively about how the internet is a free and democratic space, but as feminist bloggers we realize that it is a highly mediated space of privilege that is deeply influenced by market forces. The question is how does that affect what we write about and is it even possible to create social change using tools that are so complicated?
Anywhoo, I am really excited about the class and hopefully all my live-blogging won't bore you!
At long last, our five year anniversary party pictures! Thanks to Nik for the bad ass shots.
(Just as cool - the one and only Jay Smooth took video of the party as well. We're working on putting that together and getting it uploaded to the site soon!)
If you're in the Brooklyn area, don't miss our intergenerational conversation in honor of Father's Day where we'll be exploring questions like:
- How were your ideas about men and masculinity formed while growing up?
- How did men shape your thinking about your own identity as a woman?
- What is the role for men in the contemporary and future feminist movement?
It's really meant to be a dialogue, so the more folks we can pack in for their perspective, the richer the learning. Best of all, it's basically free (voluntary donation on the way in).
Deets:
Brooklyn Museum of Art
Saturday, June 20th, 2-4pm
Courtney Martin, Gloria Feldt, Deborah Siegel, and Kristal Brent Zook
And for those of you who liked Spy vs. Spy, the DJs that started the anniversary bash out right, consider ending the day lovely at Underwater Lounge in D.U.M.B.O. Brooklyn (no cover). They claim that if you show up in summer gear, they'll buy you a drink?!
Vanessa and I had the opportunity yesterday to meet with Former President Bill Clinton along with a group of fabulous bloggers to discuss his work around the Clinton Foundation including his work with his many global initiatives that deal with climate change, HIV/AIDs, health care, agriculture and education. He answered a series of questions from us on a variety of topics including health care, education, reproductive rights and even a bit on identity politics. Scott has a good post on Clinton's suggestions to push for health care reform and Chris Bowers on the climate change bill being held up currently.
Emily Douglas at RH Reality Check has a nice recap of everything he talked about including his response to her questions about reproductive rights and women.
When I asked what the Clinton Foundation does to promote women's rights and reproductive rights as a cornerstone of global economic development, Clinton observed that the "practice that has worked uniformly across all cultures and religions" to depress the birth rate, the rate of unintended pregnancies, and of abortions, is "universal access to education and universal access to the labor market for women.""Part of the world's instability is rooted in inequality," Clinton observed.
To add to that, his consistent message was for us to push in the places we can actually affect change including on the issue of women's rights. It would have been interesting to hear what he has to say about access to reproductive health care in the United States where pushing where we will be most successful is not always an option.
Finally, it was so interesting to hear him talk about what he feels is the role of identity in politics and what I would call theories of nation building. He asked the question, "how do we build our own identity without making others look or feel bad?" in response to Armando from Talk Left asking, how do we continue to talk about diversity in the current historical moment. He said that the shift in power from oppressed to oppressor to a more interdependent form of state control allows disenfranchised greater access to the means to overthrow regimes, but is difficult to do if the tools are consistently hijacked by what he called "evil." I don't have his direct quotes, but this is what I took from what he was saying.
It was a very interesting experience and I felt honored to be alongside such amazing bloggers.
UPDATE: Another post from Eve at Daily Kos on the obstacles ahead for passing the health care bill and some other observations from the meeting.
In New York and looking for something feminist to do tonight? The Barnard Center for Research on Women is having an awesome event, Women and Work: Building Solidarity with America's Vulnerable Workers. (It's in conjunction with the National Domestic Workers Alliance Conference.)
Last year, BCRW hosted the first National Domestic Workers Alliance conference, bringing together domestic workers from across the country to develop a national agenda, and to discuss how best to educate the public and strategize to achieve fair labor standards for domestic workers, including a living wage, basic benefits, and health care. This year, we will once again host the National Domestic Workers Alliance for a conference that will discuss issues that are of particular importance to domestic workers on the East Coast. A largely invisible but supremely vital segment of the economy, domestic workers care for children and the elderly and perform domestic and housekeeping work, often making less than minimum wage and working long hours without paid sick days, vacation time, or other basic protections that most other workers in the U.S. enjoy, all the while making it possible for their employers to balance work and family. Support for domestic workers not only makes our society and economy more just, but also benefits employers who rely on the labor of others for childcare, elder care, and housekeeping in order to meet their work and family obligations. Please join BCRW and the National Domestic Workers Alliance to raise awareness on how to extend basic protections to all working women.
Monday, June 15, 7:00 pm
Held Auditorium
Barnard Hall, 3rd Floor
Barnard College
3009 Broadway (at 117th Street)
We're getting ready for our big five year bash tonight with performers, special guests, raffle prizes and all-around revelry, so posting may be cut a bit early today as we're all be traveling and preparing for the festivities.
A big warning for those who haven't bought tickets - we will be closing off online sales at noon today. After then, all tickets will be sold at the door for $5 extra each.
We can't wait to see all of you coming and will have pictures and video for folks who can't make it after the weekend! Happy 5 Year Anniversary, Us!
UPDATE: We're extending online sales to 12:30.
A note to those who are buying tickets online for our big five year bash tomorrow: you don't need a receipt or to print anything out for verification. Your name will be on a list, so just bring your bad self! (And if you bought multiple tickets, just tell your guests to mention your name at our check-in table.)
Looking forward to tomorrow!
