Icon and Regional Icon Spell It Out

Posted: November 4, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Random Cool Things | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

There’s a War On Women?

Posted: October 24, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Punk | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Well, yeah. Pretty much. And that’s just one more reason to love and support your local feminist bookstore – because they host events like the show I’m going to tomorrow night. That’s Thursday, Oct. 25th at Charis Books in ATL, where Atlanta Hollaback!  is  re-launching it’s efforts to end street harassment in ATL. I’ve talked about how much I like this grassroots movement before. The idea is genius, that individuals on the street can be empowered through ubiquitous social media to immediately report harassers.

 

 

The benefit includes a show by Baltimore-based feminist punk band War on Women.

All signs point to YES for this to be a good night.

 

 

 

 

Stand Up To Bullies

Posted: October 19, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Fierce Kids, Southern and gay | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment »

Today is Spirit Day. I’ve written about the origins of this event before, and I hope you’ll find some outrageous purple attire to mark the occasion. Let all the kids in your community know that you stand with them and against bullies. No child deserves to spend their school hours terrified, ridiculed, alone or worse.

I found this great graphic from Fenway Health, which gives you a few reasons to care.

 

Get To Know: AMY ANDREWS

Posted: September 18, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Books, Brilliant Folks I've Interviewed!, Feminism in Action, Humane Organizations, Music, Random Cool Things, Southern Musicians - Georgia, Veg Restaurants I love, Vegetarianism | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Amy Andrews is a Baltimore-born, Decatur GA-transplanted, fierce feminist singer-songwriter. She is about to embark on a Feminist Bookstore Tour of North America to raise funds for the few indie feminist bookstores and community centers still in operation.  She wants you to know about her many furry friends, and her encyclopedic knowledge of musicals, but MOSTLY about the Kickstarter campaign she just launched to get herself on the road to do good.

Name:

Amy Andrews

Occupation:

singer-songwriter

My companion animals (names and personality traits):

Lillian A. Cookie – “Lillian A. for ‘Angelic’ Cookie”

Freckles – “The Loveable Curmudgeon”

Hazel(le) – “The Maniac”

Lexi – “The Skittish Hedonist”

Louise – “The Big Ol’ Baby”

Magnolia – “The Misunderstood Misanthrope”

Ripley – “The Senior Stateswoman”

The movie that best represents me right now:

Tommy Boy – life on the road is just one adventure after another.

Obviously, my favorite musical of all time is:

As a kid I would sing “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” Mary Magdalene’s piece from JCS, “Aldonza” from Man of La Mancha, or “As If We Never Said Goodbye” from Sunset Boulevard for auditions. Auditions for kid roles.  Totally age inappropriate audition material, but it was what I felt most natural performing. I think I’ve always been a bit on the mature side. And intense.

And with that I say, favorite musical? Maybe a tie between RAGTIME, TITANIC, & GYPSY? I could also throw in The Last 5 Years, Songs for A New World, Jesus Christ Superstar, Mame, Chicago, Cabaret, Evita, …

Bucket list item that would surprise my friends:

I don’t think I have a bucket list item that would surprise anyone, and I can’t really think of anything that would.

I’m an introvert, but I’m a performer (I think that’s a lot more common than people imagine), so I suspect people would assume that I have a desire to do something wild or ostentatious, but… I would just love to travel the world, live in many places, experience different cultures, but… probably just spend a lot of time alone in beautiful, natural landscapes.

Well, I would also love to sing Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy alongside Bette Midler, but I don’t think that would surprise anyone either. I grew up with a, well documented, desire to become Bette Midler.

Here’s another, and maybe I’ve never said it aloud:  I would love to host SNL. (Gosh, I hope Lorne Michaels is reading this.)

My favorite road trip so far in my life:

The last one always seems the greatest, doesn’t it?

Well, nothing exotic here, but, I recently went on a drive just through north GA for the day – passing small-town churches, withering buildings, seemingly long-forgotten cemeteries. Stopping at roadside antique shops, leisurely taking in historical markers, dropping in a small diner tucked away just off the road, taking an impromptu hike through the woods. It was unexpected, and beautiful.

My biggest fan:

The aforementioned Lillian A. Cookie, and my mom, of course.

My most favorite veg food or restaurant:

The Grit, in Athens. I’m going there this weekend, and I intend to get some delicious nutritional yeast goodness, sweet potatoes, and strong coffee. Read the rest of this entry »

Do YOU Hollaback?

Posted: March 23, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Fierce Kids, Love | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

I’m not exactly a wallflower. I stand out for a variety of reasons, mostly due to other people’s gender confusion, but hey, we are all a little different in our own way, right? Regardless, there are people in this world who just can’t stand for anyone to be themselves, or to hold hands with the person they love, or to be, uh walking down the street? being happy? going for a cup of coffee? whatever?

That’s when those sad, bored people take it out on us by saying something rude, or raunchy, or mean  (or sexist, homophobic, etc., you get the picture). I’ve been listening to it for years and years and years, and giving it right back to them on many angry occasions. I’m so sick of it. It was a happy day for me then, when I discovered an awesome organization that is actually trying to stop it!

Hollaback! is a group that’s doing something revolutionary. They organized a movement to end street harassment powered by local activists in 45 cities, 16 countries, and in 9 different languages around the world. In so doing, they are attempting to elevate all of our experiences of walking down the street by creating a mechanism for people to holler back at their harassers, literally, metaphorically and technologically. We all know street harassment is just a gateway to way more serious acts of violence. Please check them out and get involved in your local community. Atlanta hollers back!   Connect with Hollaback on Facebook or Twitter, and find out how you can help end street harassment in your town.

Bullies Bum Me Out

Posted: October 19, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Fierce Kids, Southern and gay | Tags: , | 1 Comment »

I listen to GLAAD a lot.  They tell me that tomorrow, Thursday, Oct 20th, is Spirit Day and we should all wear purple as a sign of support for GLBT youth and to speak out against bullying.  Naturally, this awesome idea was started by a teenager:

Spirit Day was started in 2010 by teenager Brittany McMillan as a response to the young people who had taken their own lives. Observed annually on October 20, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, media professionals and celebrities wear purple, which symbolizes spirit on the rainbow flag. Getting involved is easy — participants are asked to simply “go purple” on October 20 as we work to create a world in which LGBT teens are celebrated and accepted for who they are.  Haz clic aquí para ver información en español.

So go dig in your closet and find something that sends the right message to all the kids in your neighborhood.

Geena Davis Stands Up for Girls

Posted: August 17, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Feminism in Action, Fierce Kids | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

I’m going to straight up link to this Ms. Magazine blogpost because it is so good.  Several years ago, actor Geena Davis, having experienced with her own young daughter the gross gender disparity present in television programming, decided to do something about it. She started the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in the Media. We all know how bad mainstream media is overall. Feminist parents are even more acutely aware of the effect on our kids. Some of her findings so far include these gems: 

  • The aspirations of female characters are limited almost exclusively to finding romance; male characters almost never have “finding romance” as their ultimate goal. 
  • The number one occupation of girls and women is royalty. 
  • Female characters in G-rated movies, from 1990-2010, wear the same amount of sexually revealing clothing as female characters in R-rated movies.
  • The more hours of TV a girl watches, the fewer options she thinks she has in life; the more hours a boy watches the more sexist his views become.
  • If female characters are added to media programming at the current rate, gender balance won’t occur for 700 years. 

Don’t get me started on the lack of strong, smart and capable mothers in mainstream movies for kids, because, oh yeah, they don’t exist. They are either dead before the movie starts or evil or meet a tragic end.  So,  do something with your anger and make your own video in support of her “I Want to See Jane” initiative. It requires you to think back to female tv characters of your youth and submit a short video about it.  Bionic Woman (with Bionic Dog), anyone?