Christmas gifts for feminists - 2011 edition

Wondering what to get your feisty lady-friend, awesome gal pal, ball-busting sister, or otherwise kick-ass woman? Well, here are some suggestions.

Feminist necklace

Handmade by "nappyhappy" in England, this charming little necklace is available to order through Etsy.

£10 ($16.22 CAD), plus shipping.

Awesome panties!

Knickerocker makes these awesome Wonder Woman panties in two different styles, plus a pretty awesome pair of uterus panties.

Only $4 each, plus shipping.

Beer cozies for the ladies

It has a fucking unicorn on it!

Order through the Bust Boobtique

$9 plus shipping

Subscription to a feminist magazine

There are three great feminist magazines I recommend, check em out:

Ms. - $42.00
BUST - $29.95
Bitch - $34.95

*all prices are for a one year Canadian subscription

Gift certificate to a second hand store

Feminists love consignment shopping. Well, at least every feminist I know does. Here are my favourite second hand stores in Calgary:

1. Trend - located in Kensington
2. Rewind Consignment - located downtown
3. Vespucci - located at Elbow & Heritage SW

Rosie the Riveter memorabilia

This Rosie the Riveter action figure is only $10, and she comes with a lunchbox and rivet gun! I've also seen these action figures at Paper Roots stores in Calgary.

Or, you could always go for a Rosie wall clock or lunchbox.

Feminist tote bag

Feminists always get a bad rap for being humourless killjoys. Buy this bag for the feminist in your life so that everyone knows she's a bright and happy feminist. Yes, we do exist.
£10 ($16.22 CAD), plus shipping.

P.S. This History vs. Herstory tote bag is pretty cute too.

1950's style feminist magnets

I love these retro magnets. They're usually around $6 each and available in stores like Twisted Goods and Paper Roots in Calgary.

Yummy bath and beauty products

LUSH bath bombs and other yummy products are great for ladies who want to use vegetarian, chemical-free, cruelty-free beauty products. There's lots of pre-made gift packs to choose from.

Feminist books

Two of my feminist friends, Juliet and Tamara, recommended these new books:

Big Big Love: A sex and relationships guide for people of size (and those who love them). This book is for people of every gender, size and sexual orientation.
$13.13 on Amazon.ca.

Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed Down World by Lisa Bloom. The author outlines the ways that we as a society, and particularly women, have fallen off the intellectual path, and points to how damaging this has been to us on many levels. $18.90 on Amazon.ca.

Virginia Woolf earrings

These are awesome and only $8 (+ shipping)!

I also found a pretty cool Virginia Woolf t-shirt for $21 (+ shipping).

The Great Wall of Vagina: Changing female body perception through art

British artist James McCartney spent five years plaster casting 400 women’s vulvas for his sculpture The Great Wall of Vagina. The project is an exploration of women’s relationships with their genitals.

James came up with the idea while he was working on a different sculpture for a sex museum. He discovered that many women have anxiety about the appearance of their genitals, incorrectly believing they are ugly or abnormal. “It appalled me that our society has created yet one more way to make women feel bad about themselves” he said. He decided to do something about it – so he created art that dispels misconceptions about what women look like “down there.”

The women who volunteered to participate ranged in age from 18 to 76. There is great variety in the vulvas, as you would expect given there are 400 of them. One has multiple piercings, two are from identical twins, there are mother and daughter castings and transgendered men and women. There are even casts from a woman pre and post natal, and another pre and post labiaplasty. 

The sculptures are fascinating to look at and people can view them without feeling shame or discomfort because the images are not pornographic. They allow women (and men) the opportunity to see the immense diversity in female genitalia. Each one is completely different and completely normal.

Check out the videos below to learn more about James and The Great Wall of Vagina (which should probably be called The Great Wall of Vulva, since the vagina is your birth canal, while the vulva is your sex organ. But I’ll forgive James that grammatical mishap, because his project is awesome!).