An interesting article about the sex trade and the US’s “well-meaning” interference.

Well-meaning Interference

And for the link-phobic:

Someone choosing, of their own free will, to pose nude is supposed to bother me?

omg so my daughter poses nude on web sites and is bringing teh shame to my whole familee!1! omg porn is bad 4 wimminz right??

The only problem I have with the daughter’s decision is her signing that contract which allows the site owner to use her photos for whatever purpose. That sounds a little manipulative and dangerous. Other than that, if this were my child, I wouldn’t make a fuss if she were posing nude. I’d be more offended if my kid became a CEO.

HAY GUYFS

Hey, I took a short break from blogging/commenting, but I’m back now, and I love love love this new blog:
http://sm-feminist.blogspot.com/

I’ll have more to talk about soon, including:
–the concept of violence in media as catharsis ( I was actually inspired by Trinity and her posts on BDSM and violence in entertainment)
–Women and immigration
–exceprts from one of bell hooks’ books: Killing Rage: Ending Racism

I’ve been really rushed/stressed out with AP exams, getting ready for prom, getting ready for finals, figuring summer plans…etc, etc, so that’s why I took a break. Plus I needed to put aside some spiritual time for myself. Now that I’m back in the saddle, I plan to post a lot more, especially since the summer is coming up and I’ll have TIMMMEEEE, PRECIOUS TIME!

Greenadelphia! and All For the Taking

This is a really awesome organization I just found out about. Greenadelphia! is fighting for urban sustainability and making Philly’s environment better to live in for everyone. There is an Urban Sustainability Forum coming up on May 17 for anyone who’s interested.

Also, All For the Taking fights for affordable housing for everyone and preserving communities. They are currently fighting against plans for casinos to be built in certain neighborhoods. The casinos would break up the communities and cause more housing and poverty issues, and possibly cause gentrification of the areas, which leads to higher rents, pushing low-income families and individuals out and contributing to homelessness.

better late than never.

fuck the lapd. seriously. I am so pissed off.

ANNNNND ANOTHER:

Mainstream Feminist Organizations Say Nothing About Imus’ Comments

I’m going to write NOW about this. It’s awful how white feminists just ignore shit like this, or try to excuse it.

Boal, pt 2.

oh, here’s a quick link to a site that contains an overview of Boal’s philosophy:
Theatre of the Oppressed

It’s such a neat idea, really. The theatre geek inside me is giddy with possibility.

Mental Illness in POC and the Poor

   Besides being interested in feminism and anti-racism, I’ve been a psychology geek for several years now. The other day, i was thinking about how generally screwed-up the mental health system is in America, and how ignored I felt when I was in inpatient care. Then I started thinking about how the politics of race play into this, since I had noticed during my stay at Horsham Clinic how many POC (for future reference, People Of Color) teenagers were there, and more importantly, how many of them were repeat patients. Most of the middle-to-upper class white patients, unless they had severe drug abuse or self-injury issues, got out within a week or two, while everyone poor or POC got stuck in the awful loop of inpatient, outpatient, therapy, out of therapy, crisis, inpatient. I googled “mental illness in minorities” (since google doesn’t seem to recognize the term “POC”) and found several articles that I found of interest. They all confirm my earlier observations: that people of color with mental illness suffer not only from the illnesses, but from the racism, classism, and sexism present in society. According to this link, “Although minorities are just a likely as non-minorities to experience severe mental disorders such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, they are far less likely to receive treatment. For instance, the percentage of African Americans receiving needed care is only half that of whites, and 24% of Hispanics with depression and anxiety receive appropriate care compared to 34% of whites with the same diagnosis.” The article talks about how there is a profound lack of research concerning mental illness in POC–what a surprise, considering “white” is the default in American society. Also, if one is uninsured or has a lower income (as some POC do due to racism and lack of good medical infrastructure), they are distinctly less likely to receive the care they need.

Another issue is language barriers. Certain groups of POC are more likely to have learned English as a second language or to not have learned it at all, making it hard for them to go to a doctor and describe what’s wrong with them. Also, with the current anti-immigrant climate in this country, I’d be willing to bet that at least one doctor would harass patients over their English difficulties (hey, my own psychiatrist has been condescending towards me due to my being “overly emotional”).

I was also interested in the rate of mental illness in the homeless and the percentage of the homeless who were POC.  This link, which discusses homelessness in St. Louis, states that around 5 to 10 percent of the homeless population is schizophrenic, and that over the years, the number of homeless minorities has increased dramatically. So, the trifecta of poverty, mental illness, and racism strikes again.

I feel that part of the problem is that it seems as if the pharmaceutical and insurance industries are so tightly woven together, they’ve created the mental health industry, which makes providing care to the mentally ill all about profit. This bothers me deeply, as I feel everyone with a mental illness deserves the proper care and treatment, regardless of economic status. I’m not advocating that every therapist and psychiatrist give their services for free, but it wouldn’t kill anybody to establish a few low-cost mental health clinics in areas of poverty.

I don’t know how much I can do to help level the playing field, but perhaps an awareness campaign can help. Does anyone know of any books or articles about such campaigns?

i’m back!

ugh ugh ugh. I haven’t updated in such a long time. I’ve been busy dealng with college stuff,

mental health stuff, and ap economics, which should be renamed ”the glories of

capitalism 101″. I HATE that class. Our book is so ignorant of the intersections of

oppressions that make capitalism sucky for anyone who isn’t a rich white man.

In the following weeks, I plan to make posts about

–double consciousness and its role in female sexuality. also, acting. (trust me on this. )

–matriarchal societies in bronze-age greece.

–fat-phobia in the exercise industry

–mental illness in POC

Excerpt from “Grassroots”…

I’m currently reading Grassroots , a guide to
feminist activism in book form, and for the next
several posts, I think I’ll be taking some excerpts from it,
since the authors seem to say what I’m thinking, except
in a more articulate manner.

 ”The more profound reason to look closer to home is that everyone who is spurred to activism is really responding to a need inside himself or herself. It might be unacknowledged guilt over privilege. It might be empathy because you feel out of place and thus relate to other outcasts. It might be that sexism or racism damaged you, but you haven’t yet realized it. Looking close to home can be threatening (and thus critically important), because then you have to admit that you are possibly part of the problem and confront people whom you actually know. Telling your Catholic father about your abortion is more dangerous than wearing a keep your laws off my body T-shirt at a march. The consequence is greater – you could be ostracized in your family or community for acting up – but the revolutionary potential is much greater, too.

When you yourself embody your activist values, then every space that you inhabit – from the ice-cream shop to the dentist’s office to a seat on the subway – has the potential to become an activist space. After all, political realities intersect with every aspect of your life. Incorporating what you think and believe into what you do confirms that you are an activist. Doing this is challenging because you begin to question every decision, from the paper products you buy to the car you drive. When your activism is this instinctual, you stop asking “Am I good enough?” because you realize that you are doing something – you are always doing what you can.”

-From “The Revolutionary Next Door”, Grassroots
I really like this bit because it shows that anything you
do to try and make a difference counts as activism-an
important point to be made for many women, who may
feel that they have to be out on the front lines, marching
constantly and putting up posters everywhere,
making their presence known. This doesn’t have to be the
case, as Grassroots states. This is a necessary book
for any young activist who wants to make a difference,
however small.