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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10 women making positive strides worldwide.

It is clear that the more power women have, the more positive change we will see on a global level.

“If you empower women, you can change the world,” said actress-activist Meg Ryan while trekking across northern India on a third world humanitarian mission with representatives from the international aid organization CARE. The goal is to break through barriers keeping so many women in poverty and without rights.  Like Ryan, the women on our list tap their armories to confront, protest and articulate what it takes to improve lives and the planet at large.

1. Kavita Ramdas

Leader of The Global Fund for Women, Ramdas has garnered unprecedented support for international human rights for her sisters by tripling grant assets during her tenure from $6 million to $21 million. Fluent in Hindi/Urdu, English, German and conversational Tamil, Spanish and French, she speaks the language most activists care about today: The wide ranging exportation of good will. The Fund’s grants have ranged from several hundred to kick start a business to $800,000 to halt human trafficking of females and sexual  abuse. In an interview with journalist Lynn Sherr, Ramdas says this is the moment for women in making a difference and an impact on poverty, ongoing war and militarization, which perpetuates a culture of violence against women: “Violence against women continues to be condoned on some level,” she shared. “Why is it that you have statistics like a woman being raped every six minutes in this country, in the United States?”

 2. Hillary Clinton

“Obviously, we and many other nations are quite hopeful that these ‘flickers of progress’ as President Obama called them will be ignited into a movement for change that will benefit the people of the country,” the 67th Secretary of State Clinton articulated upon arriving in reform-ready Burma as the first senior American diplomat to visit in 50 years. Taking the high road in standing by her man-boss, Clinton’s brilliance and measurable experience makes many wonder what if she had been elected president? Hillary-speak ranges from talking gay rights at the UN to gauging parliamentary elections in Russia and passionately seeking an end to the horrendous treatment of women in post-revolution Egypt. The always eloquent and former first lady proves resourcefulness and resiliency are DNA advantages which allow women like her to lead, shine and earn their very own spots in history.

3. Rachel Maddow

Demonstrating the growing popularity of the MSNBC talk show host was her edging out Michael Moore in an Alternet poll of the Most Influential Progressive Media Figures of the year. A charismatic, somewhat androgynous counterpart to the neo-conservative women of Fox News, Maddow clearly holds her own sans the biting wit and sarcasm of John Stewart or shameless flirtatious fluttering of a Piers Morgan. She’s real – the Christiane Amanpour of her time who doesn’t need to risk life and limb in wartime to gain worldwide attention. The Rachel Maddow Show is the second highest-rated program in its time slot ahead of Larry King Live, behind only Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity Show. Whether or not they dig the liberal pundit, viewers who tune in certainly are enlightened on why crucial change in jobs, healthcare, housing and hunger are occurring so slowly – with a mirror held up to the GOP.

4. Asmaa Mahfouz

Call it the vlog that sparked a revolution – and it was delivered by one Egyptian woman who had had enough. Thousands fled to Tahrir Square, the Egyptian government tried to block Facebook and you know the rest. One of  five recipients awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2011, Asmaa Mahfouz went from relative obscurity to overnight becoming a hero, credited with spurring on that mass uprising. So many who watched her on YouTube were moved by her bravery. As one wrote: “Asmaa, you have inspired the whole world with your strength of spirit and courage. As you know, governments don’t speak for the people; Governments usually speak only for the rich and powerful. ” Hopefully, she can lend the same courage to combating the systematic violence against women in post-revolution Egypt – where journalists and protesters are stripped and brutalized in the same streets where women risked their lives to effect change.

5. Maude Barlow

“Do not listen to those who say there is nothing you can do to the very real and large social and environmental issues of our time,” warns Maude Barlow, a charismatic Canadian who serves as national chairperson of the Council of Canadians and the Washington-based Food and Water Watch. She also founded the San Francisco-based International Forum on Globalization and a Councilor with the Hamburg-based World Future Council. Barlow practices what she preaches when it comes to water woes and climate change issues – earning 11 honorary doctorates and countless awards including the 2005 Right Livelihood Award (alternative Nobel) and the 2009 Earth Day Canada Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award. More recently, she was named the U.N Senior Advisor on Water Issues – the ideal person to convince governments that clean water is a fundamental legal human right that must be preserved through laws and immediate action.

6. Meg Ryan

It would be cliche to describe this former “Sally” as the quintessential girl next door (since it has been done repeatedly) as now she is a full fledged woman, who seeks to empower the disadvantaged – exporting good will to the third world. Ryan’s four-day trip across northern India with CARE signaled she has entered another phase of stardom, getting comfortable in her own skin to “hold hands” with some of the world’s most disadvantaged women. Ryan, like other Hollywood do-gooders (Oprah, Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie, Christina Applegate, Isabella Rossellini) has the gift of visibility; wherever she goes the cameras follow and that leads to public awareness.

7. Michelle Goldberg
 

Former Senior writer for Salon and current author and Senior Contributing Writer for The Daily Beast and Newsweek, Goldberg counters the radical extremism of the Michelle Bachmann’s of the world in pushing for reproductive freedom for women and affordable healthcare for all – in addition to other progressive platforms. Her first book, Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism was a New York Times bestseller and a finalist for the 2007 New York Public Library Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism. More recently she made a solid platform in her Feminist Case for Flawed Reform – penning a manifesto of sorts  which puts forth the inequities of the health-insurance system and how legislation will further erode abortion coverage for women – a major step backward for reproductive rights. Yet feminists should support it anyway, she argues: “More than 17 million women are uninsured, and millions more are under-insured. Women are more likely to rely on their spouse’s insurance coverage leaving them vulnerable if they’re divorced or widowed, if their husband becomes old enough to qualify for Medicare or if their partner’s employer decides to drop dependent coverage, which is happening with increasing frequency.”

8. Kate Stohr

Grassroots design for the greater good is what Architecture For Humanity envisions. So with that, Stohr and co-founder, Cameron Sinclair, endeavored to direct $4 million in disaster relief and rebuilding in post-Katrina New Orleans and tsunami ravaged Southeast Asia. What started as a humanitarian non-profit has expanded into an international force with 40 chapters on five continents which networks with local partners to develop innovative models in sustainable and humanitarian design solutions. No wonder she was named one of the great green giants by Tree Hugger as well as being honored as the recipient of Wired magazine’s 2006 Rave Award for Architecture. A former journalist, she has tapped her background in project management, website development and deep understanding of urban planning issues as managing director of AFH. Smart urban planning might be the very thing that saves cities, as well as denizens who will be facing increasing shortages in resources as the U.S. continues to be late to the plate when it comes to taking action.

9. Anita Acevedo

Warm healing hands as insight into the body over western meds and cutting? Acevedo is booked months in advance as word has spread that this rolfer and former family therapist offers the integrated alternative approach to modern medicine with a track record of healing patients with herniated disks, pinched nerves, drop foot injuries, and all other debilitating neurological and physical impairments brought on by activity or age. She also has aided infants suffering from chronic earaches and colic and children with ADD, scoliosis and autism as well as teens dealing with anxiety and hormonal shifts. The fact the southerner practices in Marin County is further testament to her positioning herself in the hub of the naturopathic and homeopathic revolution in health care – teaming with psychotherapists and other well known practitioners like Dr. Todd Maderis to take away acute pain. It all was born of her own healing when she was an endurance athlete in Alaska competing in 100 mile adventure races that took a toll. “My body was compressed, achy, tight and off balance with chronic pain in my low back and my jaw was so tight I was experiencing migraines,” she recalls. “Through Dr. Rolf’s life study of manipulating and organizing connective tissue, I became taller, more flexible and graceful. Many of the unresolved childhood traumas I had been processing began to be uncovered as my body unfolded and opened.”

10. Laura Kimpton

Her mammoth Burning Man installations  go beyond her highly collected montages and encaustic works to spread messages such as “MOM” and “LOVE” and “OINK.” Her book Who Gave Birth that came out in 2010 was described by the Northern California artist as “a celebration of all MOMS and the feminine energy that comprises the true understanding that the original MOM is the earth.” Kimpton salvages recycled objects for her mixed media – found objects, bird skulls, original photos, picture frames, books and resin to let her creativity take flight. If you consider art to be effective communication, then you can see how one persuasive Kimpton picture is worth a thousand words.

Image: Perfecto Insecto, Lilianwagdy, Laura Kimpton, CARE, Architect, Council of Canadians, Paulagordon, RolfingMarin, NYDailyNews

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With beliefs like these floating around, we have to remind ourselves that it’s 2011.

It’s hard to believe that this many years after Stieg Larsson ended sexism it’s still possible for public figures to issue dismissive, crude, and derogatory statements about women, but it would appear not everyone has gotten to Girl With a Dragon Tattoo in their book club yet. Until that day comes, here are the worst, most insulting, and simply bizarre quotes about women we heard this year outside of a YouTube comment thread.

Click here to read the new 2012 version. 

10. Trinidadian author V.S. Naipaul started the year out strong by claiming that “women writers are different, they are quite different. I read a piece of writing and within a paragraph or two I know whether it is by a woman or not. I think [it is] unequal to me…My publisher, who was so good as a taster and editor, when she became a writer, lo and behold, it was all this feminine tosh. I don’t mean this in any unkind way.” Sorry, ladies – he’s taken.

9. Referring the concern of some evangelical voters that Republican candidate/performance artist Michele Bachmann had usurped her husband’s biblically-mandated authority by running for president, Iowan pastor Brad Sherman had this to say: “She’s in a proper relationship with her husband spiritually. That’s a key point. And she’s asking people for permission to lead the country. That’s not usurping at all.” There’s no word yet on whether or not Michele has a signed permission slip or simply a verbal agreement from Mr. Bachmann, but that’s really a matter for the courts.

8. Tim Gunn on Hillary Clinton: “I think she’s confused about her gender – all these big, baggy, menswear tailored pantsuits…I have a great respect for her intellect and her tenacity and for what she does for our country in her governmental role. I just wish she could send a stronger message about American fashion.”

7. President Obama defended Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius’ decision to restrict sales of Plan B to girls under the age of 18 with this well-researched, grounded-in-scientific-evidence statement: “I will say this, as the father of two young daughters: I think it is important for us to make sure that, you know, we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.” Glass-half-empty point of view, President Obama thinks that young women can’t be trusted to make their own reproductive decisions (never mind that condoms are available without a prescription). Glass-half-full point of view – Barack Obama wants to be our dad!

6. An anonymous Egyptian general spoke to CNN about why female protestors arrested during anti-Mubarak demonstrations were strip-searched and forced to submit to virginity tests. “The girls who were detained were not like your daughter or mine. These were girls who had camped out in tents with male protesters in Tahrir Square, and we found in the tents Molotov cocktails and [drugs]…We didn’t want them to say we had sexually assaulted or raped them, so we wanted to prove that they weren’t virgins in the first place. None of them were.”

5. At a conference on atheism in Dublin earlier this year, skeptic writer Rebecca Watson registered discomfort at being propositioned by a stranger at 4 a.m. in an elevator after delivering her speech. Richard Dawkins’ response: “Stop whining, will you. Yes, yes, I know you had your genitals mutilated with a razor blade…For goodness sake grow up, or at least grow a thicker skin.” A thicker skin would probably help protect against genital discomfort, so the advice was doubly helpful.

4. “So there’s a deeper bond between men and women than St. Valentine would have suspected, and now we know there’s a better gift for that day than chocolates.” Dr. Lazar Springfield, in an op-ed piece for the American College of Surgeons referring to a study that suggested semen had a possible anti-depressive effect. This Valentine’s day, say it with semen.

3. “The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently. It’s just easier this way for everyone. You don’t argue with a four-year old about why he shouldn’t eat candy for dinner. You don’t punch a mentally handicapped guy even if he punches you first. And you don’t argue when a women tells you she’s only making 80 cents to your dollar. It’s the path of least resistance. You save your energy for more important battles.” Scott Adams (you know, that guy who draws the cartoons about working in an office your HR manager has tacked up all over the door).

2. Fox News Vice President Joe Chillemi, on the merits of hiring a man versus a woman, says “Of course I’d pick the man. The woman would most likely get pregnant and leave.” I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t let even imminent childbirth tear me from his side.

1. Silvio Berlusconi, in response to allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct: “When asked if they would like to have sex with me, 30% of women said, ‘Yes’, while the other 70% replied, ‘What, again?'” Truly, he was the Prime Minister who got away.

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The post Most Ridiculous Quotes About Women: 2011 Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Film as a vehicle to get conscious messages to the masses? Ticket please.

We were so excited this week to get an EcoSalon exclusive with photographer Ben Canales on his “Finding Oregon” time lapse. In Finding Oregon: An Exclusive Look at A Stunning Nature Timelapse, we get respite from our everyday, overloaded, technology-dependent lives and a reminder of the natural rhythms to which we have almost become unaccustomed.

Truck Farm is a great film that hits on the themes that we so often discuss when it comes to food: thinking about where our food comes from, the importance of reconnecting to what we eat, building community and being part of an underground movement that feels empowered to make change. A garden growing in the back of a truck? Yup. it turned lots of heads.

Miss Representation is a documentary that explores the misrepresentation of women in culture and media and how that influences the under representation of women in other realms, like politics and business. We caught up with the film’s writer and producer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom to see what drove her to put this film together (and we were more than inspired).

We’ve covered Annie Leonard’s The Story of Stuff a few times but loved getting an interview with her recently. Why did Leonard feel the passion to do do what she does? The Staten Island dump, Pacific Northwestern clear cuts and planned obsolescence are three but in The Story of Stuff: A Conversation with Annie Leonard, we learn a few reasons more.

Want to see a good way to make a point? Maybe you should take heed and handle an uncomfortable situation like Michelle Pfeiffer’s Catwoman. Because really, when is kicking ass then back-flipping out of a situation not the best way to make an exit? Our weekly series of Women in Film takes a theatrical look at just how you do channel your alpha female (cat).

The post The Friday 5: Take Me to the Movies Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

A new feminism is raging in America and the modern woman is embracing it.

Marketing Manager Anna Brones and I were busy doing what we do at EcoSalon when I pinged her:

“Are we becoming in your face feminists?”

Anna shot me back: “What are we supposed to do? Not be feminists?”

It got me thinking, why does feminism have a bad name?

After a while Anna sent another message: “As women, we have to rally together because we have no choice and it’s not because we hate men. I also think it’s bullshit that as soon as we start talking about women and rallying together we quickly get attacked.”

Her comments stayed with me on Tuesday when a female neighbor talked feverishly about a female DPW worker who needed to “stop wearing her cutesie heels and skirt and be a man,” so she could get things done.

Her comments stayed with me on Thursday when a friend said “I don’t want to wear lipstick to the supermarket to call attention to myself.”

I could go on. I bet you could too. Here are five more stories that should clearly show you, in 2011, women are still not out of the woods as equal members of society.

Fact. In the U.S., women still hold only 14.4 percent of executive officer seats and 15.7 percent of board seats in Fortune 500 companies. Why is that? You could blame it on life, women having babies and leaving the work force but you also could blame it on “Good Girl” syndrome. In her story Women Learn How to Fail at Work in Grade School, Andrea Newell, Senior Editor at EcoSalon says “After spending their formative years of learning the ‘nice’ girl code of behavior, women discover that the workplace demands different behavior and has a new set of rules.”

Sometimes you have to scratch your head and wonder what century we’re living in. Could it be possible that in 2011, women are still fighting for the right to choose? In her article Barely Legal, writer Libby Lowe talks about H.R.3, a bill known for finally defining rape as “forcible.” Lowe says the bill is now aimed at punishing women and private insurers who provide coverage for rape victim abortion. “And, as if your taxes aren’t complicated enough, if H.R.3 passes, the IRS will be looking to get in your pants. ‘Under standard audit procedure, a woman would have to provide evidence to corroborate facts about abortions, rapes, and cases of incest.'” Hello Big Brother.

In The Top 15 Feminist All Stars, we get a Hollywood breakdown of strong actresses who have played kick ass women in supporting and lead roles.

Miss Representation is a documentary that explores the misrepresentation of women in culture and media and how that influences the under representation of women in other realms, like politics and business. In an interview with the film’s writer and producer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom says “It’s sort of a chicken and the egg, both the media and our culture don’t value women enough,” she says. That leads to an image that, as Siebel Newsom puts it, is “disparaging and hyper-sexualized and ultimately relays to the culture that that’s what women are.” Miss Representation aired just this past week on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

So, today, at this very moment, if you were to go out in Tucson, Arizona, you couldn’t wear a pair of pants. Nope. Not kidding. A real law in the city. Who knows what happens to women who defy it, but in 7 Ridiculous Laws Against Women, we get a pretty traumatizing look at backwards places still holding true to women being the lesser sex.

And for these injustices we have to laugh and cry at the same time.

The post The Friday 5: The New Feminists Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Hollywood’s sirens of its most glamorous era sound off.

1920s Hollywood and onward boasted a bevy of women who exploded onto the silver screen, not only for their striking beauty, but because of their confidence, style and verve. They were dreamers, pioneers, and yes, feminists, women in the spotlight whose ballsy, modern and even ribald retorts still have us smiling. Here are some of our favorites.

A dame that knows the ropes isn’t likely to get tied up. 
- Mae West

I am just too much. – Bette Davis

Sex. In America an obsession. In other parts of the world a fact. -
 Marlene Dietrich

If you are blessed, you are blessed, whether you are married or single. 
- Greta Garbo

It [prejudice] is such a waste. It makes you logy and half-alive. It gives you nothing. It takes away. – Dorothy Dandridge

A 41-inch bust and a lot of perseverance will get you more than a cup of coffee – a lot more. – Jayne Mansfield

Enemies are so stimulating. – Katherine Hepburn

Egotism – usually just a case of mistaken nonentity. 
- Barbara Stanwyck

I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best. – Marilyn Monroe

I’ve been through it all, baby, I’m mother courage. 
- Elizabeth Taylor

I’m letting no man handle my bank account. 
– Hattie McDaniel

Look at me and tell me if I don’t have Brazil in every curve of my body. – Carmen Miranda

I’ve never really thought on myself as a sex goddess, more a comedienne who could dance. – Rita Hayworth

I am not a has-been. I am a will be. 
– Lauren Bacall

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others. 
- Audrey Hepburn

Every age can be enchanting, provided you live within it. 
- Brigitte Bardot

I’m not young. What’s wrong with that? – Vivien Leigh

I like to wake up each morning feeling a new man. – Jean Harlow

I was the shyest human ever invented, but I had a lion inside me that wouldn’t shut up. 
- Ingrid Bergman

Everything you see I owe to spaghetti. – Sophia Loren

I was never the girl next door. – Bettie Page

A gentleman is simply a patient wolf. – Lana Turner

I don’t fear death because I don’t fear anything I don’t understand. When I start to think about it, I order a massage and it goes away. – 
Hedy Lamarr

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.  – Judy Garland

From the moment I was six I felt sexy. And let me tell you it was hell, sheer hell, waiting to do something about it.  – Bette Davis

ALSO CHECK OUT:

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Most Ridiculous Quotes About Women: 2011 Edition

50 Quotes About Meditation And Yoga

Image: provocateuse

The post Classic Quotes from Hollywood’s Original Leading Ladies appeared first on EcoSalon.