Finally, Harper Does Something We Agree With!

From CBC News:
Abortion Debate Will Not Be Reopened
The Prime Minister's Office has reaffirmed its position that the government has no intention of reopening the abortion debate following a Conservative MP's comments that the issue needs to be addressed.

"Throughout his political career, the prime minister has been clear on this issue," Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for the prime minister, told the National Post. "We will not introduce or support legislation on abortion."

Although the issue has come up during election campaigns, Harper has insisted that it will not part of a Conservative government agenda. While he has not been specific about his own views, Harper has said they fall somewhere "between the two extremes."

Click here to read the full article.

Two Anti-Feminist Peas in a Pod

From the blog Jezebel:
Ann Coulter Names Sarah Palin "Conservative of the Year"
Well lookie here! Two of your least favorite people in one post: Ann Coulter has named Sarah Palin as "Conservative of the Year," noting Palin's "genius at annoying all the right people." Ann would know!
Read the full article here.

And speaking of Sarah Palin, she's going to be on The Hour (the CBC show with George Stroumboulopoulos) on New Year's Eve. Should be a gooder'. That woman is like a train wreck - I don't want to watch cos she's so utterly horrible... but I can't help being sucked in by her!

Feminist Quotes for the Holidays

Happy Holidays to all you fine folks out there! Here is our Christmas present to you - a few of our favourite quotes by some feisty women.

I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat, or a prostitute.
- Rebecca West, 1913

A feminist is a woman who does not allow anyone to think in her place.
- Michele Le Doeuff

There are very few jobs that actually require a penis or vagina. All other jobs should be open to everybody.
- Florynce Kennedy

Mon Dec 22 - Can Men be Feminists?

Have you ever wondered if men can be feminists?
If so, be sure to tune in to our show on Monday Dec 22 from 8:30 to 9:00pm on CJSW 90.9 fm.
We'll be interviewing a male student at the University of Calgary who is majoring in Women's Studies.

Tip: You can listen to our radio program on-line - just follow this link.

Bush Stirs Shit Up in His Last Month

From the Wall Street Journal:

The Bush administration, in its final days, has issued a federal rule reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.

Critics of the rule say the protections are so broad that they limit a patient's right to get care and accurate information. For example, they fear the rule could make it possible for a pharmacy clerk to refuse to sell birth control pills and face no ramifications from an employer.

Mon Dec 15 - Interview with a young feminist authour

When we found out that a 17 year old high school student in Calgary recently wrote (and published!) a feminist-themed book, we knew she had to come on the show!

Join us on Monday December 15th for our interview with Megan Ryland, author of Beauty and the Beast: Ending the Love/Hate Relationship Between Girls and Their Bodies.

We think it's pretty rad that such a young author has written a book about a major issue facing young women in North America today. It's wonderful to see that the feminist movement is still relevant and exciting to young girls today!

To learn more about Megan and her book, visit her website: Beauty and the Beast.

This is what Christmas looks like at Playboy

Just in time for Christmas, the Mexican issue of Playboy features a nude "virgin Mary." I'm not even religious and I'm offended by this!

From an article in The Sun:

The December issue features model Maria Florencia Onori posing as the Virgin wearing nothing but an angelic white cloth.

The release was timed for the day before Mexico's traditional Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, a celebration of an apparition of the Virgin in the town.

Its headline reads in Spanish: "We adore you, Mary."

*Sigh* I hate our culture's obsession with female virginity.

The Real Housewives of Orange County - WTF?

So, last night I shamelessly watched The Real Housewives of Orange County. Wow. It's really hard to believe that such consumer driven, beauty-obsessed, self-involved, plastic-botox-peroxide princesses really exist. I felt a little ashamed to be a human being while watching it.

It seems that their biggest concern in life is "who is the hottest housewife?"

Anybody else seen this show? What do you think about it?

Dec 8 Show - Remembering December 6th

On the sixth of December every year there are services across Canada to remember what happened in Montreal in 1989.
Fourteen women (mostly engineering students) were shot and killed by a gunman who said he was "fighting feminism" because feminism ruined his life. It was an act of gender-based violence that shocked Canadians and the world.

Tonight we are going to discuss the events of December 6th, 1989, and share some information about violence against women in Canada.
We will also play a clip from a male University of Calgary Professor in the Faculty of Engineering who considers himself a feminist.

Pro-abortion is a dirty word!

This is a random post, and kind of late considering it was inspired by some comments John McCain said during the final presidential debate. During this debate, McCain kept using the word "pro-abortion" instead of pro-choice.

This really pissed me off because I hate the inference that being pro-choice means being pro-abortion. I think there are very few people out there that would actually fall under the category of "pro-abortion." I don't know anybody who actually WANTS to have an abortion and thinks they're fantastic. Nobody wants to go through that, but for many women, it's a necessary procedure.

Also, a lot of people don't understand that you can actually be against abortion for your own personal self, but be pro-choice when it comes to other women's lives. That's what being pro-choice is all about - it's about respecting the choices that other women make, and not judging them for it.

Fuck the term "pro-abortion." I hope pro-life folks will stop using it because its unfair and misleading.

Tonight: "Mr. Right" (Monday Dec 1, 2008 8:30pm MST)

On tonight's show we'll be airing a discussion between Jennie and I along with our guest volunteers, Casey and Morgan. The four of us sat down to talk about the idea of the alleged "Mr. Right".

Is the notion of finding one's "Mr. Right" a fictional, socially constructed figment of our imagination, or is it a valid basis on which to form our standards in terms of relationships? What kind of role has this image played in our past? In current pop-culture? We'll ask some of these questions and look at how this idea is presented in the media on shows like Sex and The City and in film; particularly, Disney' s Snow White.

This is the last of two contributions to the show by Casey and Morgan over the past few weeks, so a special thanks goes out to them for their hard work!

Tune in Monday Dec 1, 2008 at 8:30 PM (MST) on CJSW 90.9 FM or listen online @ www.cjsw.com

The worst airbrushing ever

From the Daily Mail in the UK comes this little gem...

Remember Mel B from the Spice Girls? Well, she posed for Ultimo's new line of undies, and there is some SERIOUS airbrushing going on. Look at her hips! They have been totally "scraped off."

I am totally against this type of airbrushing which sets up unrealistic beauty standards for women... but if you're going to air-brush, at least make it look somewhat realistic!

Click here for the full article.