Chances are, if you are reading this, you are, like me, a white, well-educated woman.

I identify the majority of my readers because considering your audience is one of the most important lessons I learned in activism. So, here’s lesson one: Know your audience. I’m speaking to you, white, well-educated women.

Like many others, my first dip into activism came about recently and unexpectedly: after the 2016 presidential election. I arranged a gathering for peace for hundreds of people after Trump stole the White House because I couldn’t sleep from the horror and anxiety. I didn’t know what else to do.

Like so many other white, well-educated women, I also invested in an IUD  (grab that, Drumpf). Like so many others, I didn’t talk to my father for the first month after the election, because I felt betrayed by him for supporting you-guessed-who.

As an amateur organizer – “activist” as people started to call me – I made the mistake of planning my gathering for peace at a local park. Hugh MacRae Park is one of the largest, most beautiful parks in Wilmington, North Carolina. It also just happened to be named after a white supremacist who promoted the lynching of black people.

I didn’t know the history of Hugh MacRae. I quickly learned it when I received a stream of public and private messages berating me for planning to have the event at a racist park. Four out of five angry messages were from white, well-educated women. I felt terrible and quickly changed the event location.

I had an idealistic aim, but I am, deep-down, an idealist. The news emphasized the story that we weren’t having an #ImWithHer party, but it wasn’t a Drumpf-themed gathering by any means, either. We welcomed everyone. Mostly, progressives came. They also started a new organization to pull together disparate leftist groups called the Wilmington Progressive Coalition. And this is what I love about progressives in my area: They are legitimately welcoming, they listen to their audiences, and they act accordingly. They know activism.

Lesson one: Know your audience.

My audience was the entire community – everyone needed to feel welcome.

Your audience is one you have either been ignoring, openly detesting as a whole, or at the very least, keeping at a comfortable distance: other white people who aren’t as well-educated.

I’m talking about the guy who is buff and gorgeous but also, as you learned the hard way, a Trump supporter. The guy you may have unfriended after an unsuccessful conversation that turned into a rant. I’m talking about the neighbor you got along with so well – until you saw them put the Make America Great Again sign out on their front lawn.

Our country is fractured, and hatred breeds best in cracks between different people and points of view. Realize this: the people you don’t really want to talk to are the people you probably need to talk to more than anyone else.

Lesson two: Listen to your audience.

I carefully listened to my community’s concerns about the event location. And this translates in all activist pursuits. Ask yourself: Is it my goal to be well-educated and correct about politics and to educate other people on how correct I am, or is it my goal to make lasting, positive social change?

Lesson three: Take what you’ve learned, and act accordingly.

I changed the event location. Simple, right?

Use your resources to forge connections rather than create divisions. Make sacrifices when it makes sense. And above all, make every effort to act for the greater good.

Lesson four: Invite your detractors (or challengers) to work with you.

I didn’t want people protesting a peace gathering. So, after I changed the location, I also reached out to those who had (rightly) called me out. Unfortunately, the majority of the detractors who said they’d work with me if I moved the location mysteriously disappeared when I asked them to join me.

Nothing shuts down an angry, armchair activist more than inviting them to pick up a shovel and start digging ditches for peace. But it also makes your life much easier (less work, more networking, more outreach). Armchair activism is easy. Actually doing something isn’t. Sometimes, though, you can convince people to become involved. And when you do that, everyone wins.

Activism: How You Can Actually Do Something

As an apprehensive activist, what interests me most is creating lasting, positive social change. In my research, I discovered intergroup conflict theory (ICT). Put simply, ICT is placing people who disagree in the same room and making them hold a conversation (you can read a great primer on ICT here). Since first tested out, numerous groups have self-reported reduced prejudices as a result of ICT. Activists, policymakers, and peacemakers around the world use ICT.

For an extreme example of ICT, consider Daryl Davis, a black man who befriended numerous KKK members with one simple question in mind: “How can you hate me if you don’t even know me?” Davis successfully convinced Roger Kelly, the former Imperial Wizard of the KKK, to quit the hate group entirely. He’s also converted at least 12 other KKK members.

Like so many others, Davis showed that it works. While shallow conversations help make a dent in prejudice, it’s deeper connections – like the friendships Davis goes out of his way to forge – that research has shown make the most lasting change.

A Difficult But Necessary Call to Action

After putting together my own Gathering for Peace, reading up on intergroup conflict theory, and attending my own local YWCA’s Potlucks for Peace, I have a difficult but necessary call to action for you: try to connect to other people in the hopes that this connection will reduce prejudice and hatred.

Using the lessons above:

1. Invite someone you disagree with to a neutral and safe place, like a coffee shop or Potluck for Peace.
2. Listen to them: Before you meet this person, check in with yourself. Then, listen to how they feel, what they value, and where they’re coming from.
3. Find what you have in common with this person.
4. Invite collaboration: Invite this person to volunteer with you for a cause you both care about. Ignore the impulse to lecture or educate. Show what you value by example first. Try to connect. In time, the tough conversations will come.

In your new life as an activist, remember to also take care of yourself. Know when to walk away (at least, for a while). Activism is tough work, and real change takes time to create. But keep coming back. Peace and love are worth trying for. What other choice do we have?

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Erika Lust candidly discusses ethical, female-friendly porn, creative project XConfessions, and the impact mainstream porn is having on our children.

There’s a movement happening in the erotic film industry, and women are at the helm. Contrary to mainstream porn’s depiction of extreme violence, degradation, utilization of human trafficking, and a myriad of other transgressions, this variety of ethically-made, female-friendly porn is changing the way viewers experience on-screen sex. Erika Lust, founder of the Barcelona-based, award-winning indie film and production company Erika Lust Films, and creator of crowdsourced cinematic film site XConfessions, burst onto the adult scene in 2004 with indie short film “The Good Girl” and hasn’t looked back since.

After studying political science and gender studies at University of Lund in Sweden, Lust read “Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the ‘Frenzy of the Visible’” and had an epiphany, of sorts. Similar to others, Lust says “I was exposed to porn at a young age, like many people, and my first reaction was disappointment. When I was older, I decided to give it another try, but the same woman in heels was still giving a blowjob to a police officer to get rid of a fine.” Upon reading the book, however, her eyes were opened to a new way of thinking.

“It was the first book to look at pornography as a genre with a history, as a specific cinematic trend, and as a part of contemporary discourse on sexuality,” says Lust. “Beside being such a theoretical work…it made me realize porn was not only porn. I realized that mainstream porn is not something that really reflects any truths about sex — but it makes a statement, an idea; it expresses ideologies and values and also opinions about sex and gender.”

The more she learned about the discourse of pornography, the more she says that she wanted to try her hand at creating a film that represented her own ideas and values, while also being something that would appeal to women and men seeking sensual and ethical erotic content.

Today, she oversees XConfessions and Eroticfilms.com. The first is a crowdsourced site where Lust gathers anonymous confessions from her viewers and brings them to life in a high-quality cinematic film experience. Lust pointed out that the desires and kinks are vast and have exposed her to what she claims is “how amazingly creative and diverse female fantasies are,” noting that they’re “often far kinkier than men’s fantasies.” The latter is an adult site comprised of ethically-sourced porn by a variety of directors and features categories like Trans, BDSM/Fetish, Gay, Lesbian, Women Directors, and Sex Education. Depicting a variety of body types, races, and sexual orientations, the site coincides with her commitment to diversity.

When reflecting on mainstream porn, Lust says it “shows sex as a thing that men do to women, or that women do for men, which means misogynistic porn that objectifies women and places unrealistic expectations on both sexes. The representation of male pleasure is the ultimate goal, the scene typically unfolds through the male gaze, and the cumshot seems to be mandatory to end the scene. The female character is being used to satisfy others, but not themselves.”

In comparison, Lust says her films show women and men “as sexual collaborators, not as objects or machines,” and places a strong emphasis on representing female sexuality and desires, including taking into account the female perspective. “The most important message is that female pleasure matters. Not because male pleasure doesn’t matter, it does too,” but because, for decades, women’s pleasure has been ignored in mainstream porn, Lust says she wants to represent women “who assert sexual agency” and, in turn, offer women an empowering and positive experience after watching her films.

And that she does. Because of Lust’s openness to fans, keen artistic eye, and ability to diversify while still creating quality female-friendly porn, she says of the positive feedback she gets a lot of Facebook messages and e-mails thanking her for her work. “In fact…due to the release of ‘Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On,’ I have been overwhelmed by how many people have discovered me and sent me e-mails,” she says.

With a casting process that is “long and thorough” and an unconventional directing method that abides by her rule of not actually directing the sex at all, Lust ensures that the actors are excited and enthusiastic about participating and lets the performers “do what feels natural and pleasurable.”  

In addition to being a pioneer in the female-friendly porn industry, Lust is also a mother to two young girls with her partner and co-founder of Erika Lust films, Pablo Dobner, and the couple are conscious of the type of impact her work can have on them. “We’ve always asserted that educating our children and teens about pornography and sex is far more useful than attempting to try and stop them watching it. But it has come to our attention that children of far younger ages than we expected are being exposed to porn — children as young as 8 or 9.” That’s the age of her daughters, and Lust says add to that her unique voice in the dialogue around pornography and its influence on young people “Sparked something within me. So my husband and I have launched a non-profit project, ThePornConversation.org,” which is designed as a free tool for parents to help with instigating conversations about porn at home.

Labeling “porn as the new sex-ed,” Lust is equally as passionate about protecting children from misinterpreting the unrealistic expectations set forth by the mainstream porn industry.

“We are giving our children zero framework for contextualizing porn — for discussing it or balancing its potent images against everyday adult relationships,” she says. “But online porn is there. It can be improved, ethical adult cinema is on the rise, but mainstream online porn is going nowhere…the sooner we talk to them and educate them the better.”

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Kick the abusive and misogynistic mainstream porn to the curb, and choose sex-positive, female-friendly porn made especially with women in mind.

While there is still much debate over whether or not any porn is actually good for you, there seems to be a space carved out in erotic cinema that’s more conducive to not just the viewers, but also to the women in the films. Often deemed sex-positive, feminist-friendly, or female-friendly porn, when you compare these legitimate sites to mainstream porn, the difference is like night and day.

Female-friendly porn is different in that it varies the body type, represents more “conventional” women, makes female pleasure a priority, leans toward artistic and erotic direction, infuses more sensuality, focuses on quality production, and treats the performers with respect and dignity, including regard for their sexual health. The films may or may not be directed by women, but they defy the mainstream porn gaze, and focus on storylines that are usually more appealing to women. This doesn’t mean that your favorite kink can’t still be found, but you can feel reassured in that the performers are treated better, with many production companies utilizing real-life couples as the basis for their films.

Erika Lust, founder of the Barcelona-based, female-centric and sex-positive indie film and production company Erika Lust Films, was like many women when venturing out into the wide world of internet pornography. When asked what prompted her to begin writing and directing erotic films she replied, “I was exposed to porn at a young age like many people, and my first reaction was disappointment. When I was older, I decided to give it another try, but the same woman in heels was still giving a blowjob to a police officer to get rid of a fine.”

During her time studying political science and gender studies at the University of Lund in Sweden, Lust’s view of porn was drastically changed by Linda Williams’s book “Hard Core: Power, Pleasure, and the ‘Frenzy of the Visible.’” She says of her self-described lightbulb moment after reading the text, “I realised that mainstream porn is not something that really reflects any truths about sex — but it makes a statement, an idea, it expresses ideologies and values, and also opinions about sex and gender,” pointing out a line from Williams’s book that reads, “Pornography as a genre wants to be about sex. On close inspection, however, it always proves to be more about gender.”

Thanks to female-friendly porn pioneers like Lust, the development of sensual, erotic films has begun to change the way we look at sex. They are more accessible and are becoming more widely recognized by the day, and in addition to the award-winning films produced by the companies we are about to explore, many of these producers focus on representing the realistic side of sex. It’s funny, intimate, passionate, and very different that what’s often represented in mainstream porn.  

1. XConfessions

Created by European producer Erika Lust, XConfessions and EroticFilms.com have been her answer to the mainstream porn industry problem. When asked about what her company does differently when it comes to casting, she replied, “The most important thing to me are the performers. Our casting process is long and thorough. We always make sure our performers are sex-positive and one hundred percent happy and enthusiastic to be involved.”

When it comes to direction, Lust had this to say, “I have a rule that I don’t direct the sex at all. I let the performers do what feels natural and pleasurable. I don’t tell them put your leg here or your arm there! They talk before and decide what they want to do, this makes for the best results on screen and they have a better time!”

2. Crash Pad Series

Brought to you by Pink and White Productions, Shine Louise Houston “recognized an underserved demand for an alternative to mainstream pornography, and began to create well-crafted queer made porn.” The Crash Pad Series is based on the premise of a secret apartment where a key is passed on to the next person after having used it seven times. Lots of queer sex takes place in the apartment where the users’ wildest fantasies come true.

The stars in Houston’s films vary widely. Queer women, trans men, cis men, genderqueer, and gender-variant people are all included. The variation of body type, age, race, gender expression, and body modification are all taken into account, representing a wide range. On the topic of performer agency and consent, the website had this to say: “We collaborate with performers to shoot based on how they’d like to be presented. Performers come up with the episode plot (to ad-lib a script, or skip straight to the sex), and negotiate boundaries to decide on mutually consensual actions prior to filming, informing the crew of what they would like to do.”

3. Pure Cunnilingus

The largest and oldest site dedicated to male-female cunnilingus, this is the ultimate destination for muff diving. Often neglected in pornography, and overshadowed by female-male blow jobs, this site is the answer to representing more heterosexual cunnilingus in the adult world. The site stands by the claim of producing sex-positive, ethical porn.

4. Bright Desire

Described as “the embodiment of a sex-positive philosophy, aiming to offer a different kind of porn, one that is joyful and inclusive, with more intimacy, laughter, passion and connection,” Bright Desire takes pride in its female-friendly porn approach. The videos feature real-life couples and solo men and women, and claims that “the sex looks more like the sex people have at home – and that includes things like lube and vibrators.” The performers are active participants, and the films show real female orgasms.

5. For the Girls

One of the oldest and largest erotics-for-women sites, For the Girls provides adult entertainment from the hetero female gaze. Focusing on female fantasies and pleasure, this site contains lots of male nudity and appendages, “because we love cock!” In addition to the photos, there is also an archive of couples porn, featuring hard-core, romantic plot-based movies, real-life couples, and a women’s magazine featuring erotic stories that claim they transcend “Fifty Shades of Grey.” Not that that’s a difficult task, but I digress. What’s important is that For the Girls puts women first, and that’s a real turn-on.

Still looking for more? These female-friendly porn guides, found here and here, will lead you in the right direction.

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ColumnModern witchcraft is gaining popularity among women of all ages. And while modern witches still practice magic—in a sense—the rise of the modern witch is more about reclaiming power and embracing feminism. 

That new, old-fashioned witchcraft

Many women who were pre-teens and teens in the 1990s were well acquainted with witchcraft from watching “The Craft” on repeat at slumber parties.

That film—along with “Hocus Pocus,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” etc.—lead to innocent dabbling with Ouija boards, and games, such as Light As a Feather, Stiff As a Board. Then came the horoscopes and tarot cards.

While many girls ceased playing these games once they went to college, many young women began to take up the craft seriously in early adulthood.

No, these women don’t think they can fly on brooms, or bring back the dead, but they do think that their energy—their natural, feminine energy—can be put to good use.

Basic witch

Salon calls this recent resurgence of witchcraft “Mysticore.” The news site’s term is meant to represent mysticism, obviously, and the fact that mysticism—at least the type of mysticism that’s gaining the attention of modern women—isn’t subversive. In fact, it could be described as downright normal.

“While social media and feminism have brought witchcraft to the fore, the new kaleidoscopic array of spell casting, ritual observing (from pagan holidays to full moons) and crystal charging draws from traditional mysticism, magic and paganism,” Slate reports.

“Served buffet style to an eager audience of open-minded converts, it’s shining a white light on everything from fashion and health to politics.”

And that makes sense.

There’s a portion of the public that’s always going to jump onto a trend because it’s new, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m sure we’ve all tried something new—a beauty product, health product, practice—because it sounded inspiring or fun. If that makes a practice normal, great! Because the other portion of this population—and we’re not talking people who are casting spells to make a boy like them—may be on to something more meaningful.

It’s the feminism, stupid


The roots of this trend are planted in women’s historical individualism—a.k.a, women misbehaving.

Although women have come a long way since getting burned at the stake during the Salem Witch Trials, females still face persecution for merely existing.

In some countries, it’s considered acceptable to stone women who have, supposedly, dishonored their families. And although this practice is certainly not tolerated in America, there are still plenty of women who, every year, are forced to fight for their independence and rights.

America still doesn’t take rape culture seriously. America tolerates a society that would rather suspend football players than banning them for beating their partners. And American politicians breathlessly posit that powerful women, such as Hillary Clinton, are inherently weak and sick.

“Laura Briggs, a historian who specializes in reproductive politics at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, draws a straight line between the Clinton claims and hysteria, an amorphous, catchall medical diagnosis given to women—typically white women—in the 1800s and early 1900s,” The Atlantic reports.

“…the thing that’s so striking about this random collection of symptoms [that Hillary Clinton supposedly is burdened with] is that they actually really are all hysteria symptoms,” Briggs explains.

“She coughs, she has fits, she falls down, she has memory lapses—it’s really extraordinary. It’s like they’re working off of some very 19th, early 20th century script. And what’s even more striking is how much they actually echo the 18th century stuff about witchcraft: Women possessed often had fits, fell down, didn’t remember what they had said later. It’s a way of discrediting women as women.”

Reclaim the power

It’s no surprise that more women are choosing to set up crystal grids, meditate on the changing seasons, and celebrate the waxing and waning of the moon; or that women and girls are forming “covens” to meet with other like-minded females to talk about inherent feminine power. Modern mysticism is merely an extension of feminism.

Sure, all this may not read like conventional feminism, but that’s a good thing. Modern feminism needs to accept new avenues of female thought—ahem, step aside, white feminism… cough, cough…

This change allows inclusion of women from all walks of life and demands females listen to and empower each other.

So, if that’s what the rising wave of Mysticore is ushering in, we all should welcome it.

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The post Modern Witchcraft and Feminism: #NowWhat appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnThe New York Times recently published an article about how female empowerment is basically meaningless. Why? Because companies have figured out how to monetize it and turn it into a “feeling” women can buy.

Jia Tolentino penned the piece that’s quickly gaining momentum on social media because she gets it — and that it is the reality that big brands have latched onto modern feminism and women’s desire to claim their individuality.

The article points out that empowerment, at its heart, is truly amazing. It was used to describe how the oppressed could overtake their oppressors, “In 1968, the Brazilian academic Paulo Freire coined the word conscientization, empowerment’s precursor, as the process by which an oppressed person perceives the structural conditions of his oppression and is subsequently able to take action against his oppressors,” Tolentino writes. “Eight years later, the educator Barbara Bryant Solomon, writing about American black communities, gave this notion a new name, empowerment.”

And in 1981 the term evolved again. “Julian Rappaport, a psychologist, broadened the concept into a political theory of power that viewed personal competency as fundamentally limitless; it placed faith in the individual and laid at her feet a corresponding amount of responsibility too.”

So, what does empowerment mean now? Tolentino bitingly describes it as a theory that is “applied to the needy while describing a process more realistically applicable to the rich.”

And she’s right — empowerment is now a product that’s sold to the less-than-wealthy female masses. That’s why companies sell pink-washed products and think that using hashtags like #StrongIsTheNewSkinny is totally okay.

Tolentino writes about more than a few brands that have effortlessly co-opted this once “empowering” word:

Aerie: the American Eagle lingerie brand sold a lot of product because of its #AerieReal campaign. This campaign was known for its lack of Photoshop and use of slightly larger models.

Dove: The personal care brand is incredibly well-known for its #RealBeauty campaign featuring women of all shapes and sizes.

TEDWomen: this sub-sect of TED is all about the power of women.

Forbes Women’s Summit: its hashtag is #RedefinePower.

Now, no one is saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing that women are generally using the phrase empowerment more. But when any word is monetized its authenticity begins to diminish.

Getting women who may never have thought about what empowers them before to do so isn’t bad — even if those thoughts are sparked from watching a Dove ad. The real problem is that corporations that aren’t exactly ethical and don’t consider women when sourcing or producing their products are making these ads to spark a need for worthless stuff. (And let’s not forget all the men at the top of many of these companies, too.)

Luckily, there are plenty women from all walks of life who embody what female empowerment really means. And if authentic messages keep getting play, perhaps they can up-end all this corporate feel-good crap and create a new definition of women’s empowerment that can help a new generation.

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The post Everything Has Cash Value, Even Female Empowerment: #NowWhat appeared first on EcoSalon.

Feminism is difficult to define… even for feminists.

This week’s “Saturday Night Live” tackled the “how to define feminism” topic. In the bit below, you’ll see the SNL ladies along with the week’s host Ariana Grande sing about how they are not singing a feminist song because defining feminism is hard. It’s a hilarious and spot on piece of commentary.

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ColumnLove or hate Lena Dunham, you’ve got to admit that the young woman has a lot of interesting ideas. One of her better ideas that was recently released into the cyber world is the Lenny Letter.

Lena Dunham and Jenni Konner, Dunham’s recurrent creative partner in crime, created a newsletter called Lenny Letter. The newsletter is targeted to entertain 20-and-30-something women who are progressive, feminist, and diverse. In Letter No. 1, Dunham and Konner describe the letter as a place where “new voices” could feel comfortable speaking loudly about issues they care about. And, the duo hopes this medium can remain “a snark-free place for feminists to get information: on how to vote, eat, dress, fuck, and live better.” We hope so, too.

While Lenny only has one issue so far, it’s off to a solid start. The premiere issue is filled with great writing and diverse topics, but it’s the Lenny Letter interview with Hillary Clinton that really made this opening issue shine.

Hillary Clinton isn’t exactly known for giving kick-ass interviews. Clinton tends to come off as ridged and monotone whenever a reporter asks her about her impending presidential run. Honestly, though, who could blame her? All reporters ever ask Clinton about is her email scandal, her husband, and her likability — who wouldn’t respond to that line of questioning in an unenthusiastic manner?

Luckily, Lenny doesn’t have to follow the normal journalistic formula that other news outlets do because it is a niche publication. We’re wondering if it’s because of this newsletter’s relatively small reach that allowed Clinton to do what we consider to be one of the better interviews in her career.

Dunham had a great collection of questions she asked Clinton during the interview. She asked about police brutality, student loan debt, Clinton’s youth, and more. But it was Dunham’s question about feminism that got us most excited:

LD: I think the question on every Lenny reader’s lips is: Do you consider yourself a feminist?

HC: Yes. Absolutely. I’m always a little bit puzzled when any woman, of whatever age but particularly a young woman, says something like, ‘Well, I believe in equal rights, but I’m not a feminist.’ Well, a feminist is by definition someone who believes in equal rights! I’m hoping that people will not be afraid to say [it] — that doesn’t mean you hate men. It doesn’t mean that you want to separate out the world so that you’re not part of ordinary life. That’s not what it means at all! It just means that we believe women have the same rights as men, politically, culturally, socially, economically. That’s what it means. And if you don’t believe that about yourself as a woman, please, go ask yourself: Why? What is holding you back? And it’s not going to be good for you as a woman to be denying the fact that you are entitled to equal rights. And so, yes, I’m a feminist, and I say it whenever I’m asked.

LD: Hallelujah!

We’ve got to second Dunham’s “hallelujah” response, too. It’s incredibly refreshing to hear a smart and successful woman shout out loud that she is, indeed, a feminist. It also was nice to read Clinton’s thoughts on how she feels about women who don’t consider themselves feminists. Her response was kind and thoughtful — women who think that feminism isn’t needed should be asked (in a kind manner): why?

And while Clinton’s thoughts on feminism were great, it also was enjoyable to read her reflections on her youth. Clinton was an incredibly talented young woman herself, but she was still confused about what she wanted to do with her life. It was quite surprising to read that Clinton wasn’t sure she wanted to get married and was scared she’d lose her identity. All women have these feelings and thoughts, and it was great to read how Clinton worked through that period of time.

Now, we’re not saying that this interview has put all of us at EcoSalon in the “Clinton For President” camp, but we’ve got to admit that we do like her a heck of a lot more now.

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Image of Lenny Letter from the newsletter’s Facebook page

The post Lena Dunham and Hillary Clinton Get Real About Feminism: #NowWhat appeared first on EcoSalon.

Not feeling quite like yourself? You could be lacking feminism…

In the below mock PSA, Connie Britton hocks a tried-and-true product that has served women well over the years. That product? Feminism. The video is part of the #AskHerMore campaign. According to Feministing, the campaign “pushes red carpet reporters to ask women celebrities about their actual accomplishments, not just their appearance.”

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The post Feminism… Just What the Dr. Ordered [Video] appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnDonald Trump is running for president. That read problematic when I first saw the news. But since Trump‘s garish announcement, it’s become his obvious disdain for women that has me really upset. His outward hate also makes me wonder why the hell any American women or men could support him. Really folks? Come on. #nowwhat.

The Republican Party has never been a warm, cuddly place for women. The majority of the candidates in the modern Republican party tend to dismiss and judge female birth control, and women’s health in general, and most especially Planned Parenthood (even though the organization provides valuable low-priced family planning services, not just abortions). But Donald Trump has taken the party’s strange need to micromanage women’s bodies to new lows. His vitriol is so unbelievable that some conservatives in the Republican party even think he’s going to far. The party’s  hemming and hawing has Trump considering an Independent run… goody.

Trump’s most recent well-known foray of disparaging women was when he came to blows with Fox New’s Megyn Kelly. During Fox News’ republican debate, Trump didn’t take kindly to Kelly’s questions. When the reporter questioned Trump about his proclivity to call women “fat pigs, slobs, and disgusting animals,” he got all bummed out. After the debate, he belittled her question by saying she had “blood coming out of her wherever.”

Then, Trump took things to a whole new level of ridiculousness. When Kelly recently returned from vacation (nearly three weeks after the debate), he took to Twitter like a drunken fool and started insulting the newswoman, calling her a “bimbo.”

While all the above Trump news is gross, I’m more disturbed that this guy is continuing to poll well. An August Reuters/Ipsos poll found that Republican women still chose him as their favorite presidential candidate.

According to TheWeek.com, the poll, which was conducted from August 7-11, showed that “Trump had the support of 20 percent of female respondents, down from 26 percent on Aug. 3. Overall, Trump polled at 23.3 percent, and Jeb Bush was in a distant second with 12.4 percent. (The poll has a confidence interval of about 7 percent).”

Barf.

I mean, what the hell does Trump have to do to be seen for what he really is–that is, a totally sexist bully. It seems he can continue to do and say whatever he wants because most people already know he holds incredibly sexist viewpoints.

According to Slate, Trump has equated women’s cunningness to their inherent feminine wiles. And it’s those mysteriously sexy ways that, apparently, help women get ahead in the business world. The article quotes a passage from Trump’s 1997 book, “The Art of the Comback”:

“Women have one of the great acts of all time. The smart ones act very feminine and needy, but inside they are real killers. The person who came up with the expression ‘the weaker sex’ was either very naive or had to be kidding. I have seen women manipulate men with just a twitch of their eye — or perhaps another body part.”)

Trump also has been quoted as saying some equally cringe-worthy things in the past, too. Here’s one quote to chew on, courtesy of Bustle: Trump has said that his daughter, Ivanka, has a “very nice figure,” and that “[if] Ivanka weren’t my daughter, perhaps I’d be dating her.”

So, why is it so easy for people to toss all this terrible PR aside? Probably because Trump seems like a rebel for “telling it like it is.”

“Part of what Trump is cashing in on is your standard umbrage fatigue,” reports Slate:

“The year of the woman in 2012 was totally bracing for a blowback. Michelle Letner, who donated $225 to Trump, told MSNBC’s Frumin, ‘I like that he’s not politically correct. … He’s saying it like it is. If you want to be treated like a lady, act like a lady.’ Or, as Amanda Marcotte explains here, trashing women and defending that as a refreshing tonic to political correctness is a way of life in some conservative circles.”

So, it looks like this guy is going to be on our screens and newspapers for months to come. All while being praised by some as a political “breath of fresh air.” But I am guessing that anyone who says Trump’s political incorrectness is refreshing also can’t see that Trump is just trolling all of us. He’s using his genuinely crass views about women to rally the very people who don’t think gender inequality exists. Well, good for him.

No, really — I’m happy he’s rallying the sexist masses.

Here’s the thing: every time a local or national news station interviews a Trump supporter who can so easily ignore the candidate’s open dislike of women, they magnify the very vocal section of the world who thinks feminism doesn’t need to exist. So, thanks for proving that we still need feminism, Trump.

And now that you’ve helped us make our point, can you kindly go away?

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Finally, Miss Piggy gets the feminist recognition she deserves.

Last week, Brooklyn’s Sackler Center for Feminist Art recognized the one and only Miss Piggy with an award that honors “extraordinary women who are first in their fields.” Longtime feminist Gloria Steinem presented the award to Miss Piggy. Previous winners include Toni Morrison, Connie Chung, Sandra Day O’Connor and Anita Hill.

“She has inspired children to be who you are and this squares very directly with feminism,” Elizabeth Sackler, the center’s founder said about Miss Piggy to USA Today.

Of course, everyone’s favorite Muppet(ess?) has never been humble about her feminist ways—always chasing Kermit and not being shy about her wants or needs, and using any means to achieve her goals. In a recent Time magazine interview (“Why I am a Feminist Pig”), she discussed a number of topics around her feminism, such as why she never burned her bra: “When one pays top dollar for intimate apparel like moi does, setting it ablaze is wasteful, improvident and highly incendiary.”

“I believe that any woman who refuses to accept society’s preconceived notions of who or what they can be is a feminist,” she said. “I believe any woman who is willing to struggle, strive—and if necessary learn karate—to make their mark in the world is a feminist. And, yes, I believe that any woman, who cares about her appearance, her star billing and most especially her percentage of the gross, is a feminist. Moi is all of these things.”

For as many fans as Miss Piggy has, there are critics as well—and to that, she had this to say:

“Another reason some refuse to consider moi a feminist is that I do not fit the popular image of a feminist. It’s true, I did not march in women’s-rights parades down Fifth Avenue in the early 1970s. (That was long before I was born.) However, today, in solidarity with my feminist foremothers, I go shopping on Fifth Avenue whenever possible… And yes, it is true that I am a Porcine American. How can a… ahem, pig… be a feminist? After all, the p word has long been associated with the very antithesis of feminists ‘male chauvinist.’

This, alas, is a vestige of latent ‘species-ism.’ Sure, there are male chauvinist pigs, but there are also male chauvinist humans and, on very rare occasions and at their own peril, male chauvinist amphibians. Let us not besmirch an entire species because of the sins of a few.”

And her final thoughts:

“Yet one last question remains: What is the future of feminism? The answer is obvious — feminism’s future must be proud, positive, powerful, perseverant, and, wherever possible, alliterative. It must believe in itself, share its triumphs, overcome its setbacks and inspire future generations. I must, in other words, be a lot like… moi.”

Miss Piggy, you’re the epitome of the perfect woman in our book! Feminine, feminist, foamy and always fun to watch. Congratulations.

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Image: anna p magistra

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