scrisoare deschisa catre clubul fire

Scrisoare deschisa trimisa de catre o fata…

Stimati administratori si nu in ultimul rand, oameni. Obisnuiam sa-mi beau cu placere cafeaua sau berea in cadrul clubului Fire, pana nu demult. Pana in seara asta (joi, 30 octombrie), cand am aflat ca va avea loc un concert a unor persoane de care nu as fi vrut sa aud vreodata.
Niste oameni (daca pot fi numiti asa) care isi vand muzica prin umilirea altor oameni, mai precis, prin umilirea femeilor.Astfel de persoane, care promoveaza violenta intr-un mod atat de evident … si brutal, nu fac decat sa ma raneasca, sa ma umileasca si sa-mi afecteze stima de sine, ca femeie, ca OM.

restul scrisorii se poate citi aici

against violence: “How do “we” Keep a Social Movement Alive?”

women of color organizing in the u.s.:

Document the Silence

In October 2007 people all over the United States gathered physically and in spirit to speak out against violence against women of color. Some of us wore red all day and explained that we were reclaiming and reframing our bodies as a challenge to the widespread acceptance of violence against women of color. Some of us wrote powerful essays about why we were wearing red and posted them on the internet. Some of us gathered with bold and like-minded folks and took pictures, shared poetry and expressed solidarity.

This year, on the first anniversary of the Be Bold Be Red Campaign, we invite you to make your bold stance against the violence enacted on women and girls of color in our society visible. In D.C., Chicago, Durham, Atlanta and Detroit women of color will be gathering to renew our commitment to creating a world free from racialized and gendered violence, and this time, we’ll be using a new technology called CyberQuilting to connect all of these gatherings in real time. To learn more about CyberQuilting, which is a women of color led project to stitch movements together using new web technologies and old traditions of love and nurturing, visit

The Cyber-Quilting Experiment – stitching movement together

news and links from make/shift

  • The new issue of Utne Reader recognizes “50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World”—and three of them are regular contributors to make/shift! Coeditor/copublisher Jessica Hoffmann, writer brownfemipower, and columnist/reviews editor Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore all made the list.
  • EVENT: MAYRA SIRIAS: LEARNING FROM NICARAGUA, Saturday, November 1, 2008, 2 p.m, Southern California Library

    Mayra Sirias of La Red de Mujeres Contra Violencia is in Southern California for just a few events. In her only L.A. event, she will speak about Nicaraguan women’s work to end violence, reproductive justice, grassroots feminisms, and more. This is a bilingual (Spanish/English) … FREE event … cosponsored by make/shift and INCITE! LA.

  • The latest issue of make/shift magazine features “Without You Who Understand: Letters from Radical Women of Color” (a special section guest-edited by Alexis Pauline Gumbs); a multi-article spread on feminist/cooperative economics; an excerpt from Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s new novel, So Many Ways to Sleep Badly; notes on solidarity among queers and feminists in the U.S. and Nicaragua; report-backs from the WOC Lockdown at the University of Michigan and the gender-justice convening in Oakland; and much, much more. Continue reading
  • ARGENTINA: Non-Sexist Language for Reporters

    BUENOS AIRES, Oct 21 (IPS) – An organisation of over 100 journalists in Argentina has drawn up ten “commandments” for news coverage of gender-based crimes, which include avoiding expressions like “crime of passion” and incorporating terms like “femicide.”

    The document, by the Argentine Network of Journalists for Non-Sexist Communication (PAR), has already been debated in forums and delivered to social and cultural associations and editorial offices. It will be publicly launched on Nov. 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

    Its aim is to combat “invisible discrimination, which is often unintentional, but occurs because it has become natural in daily life,” Liliana Hendel, a psychologist and journalist for the subscription television news channel Todo Noticias, and one of the authors of the ten commandments, or decalogue, told IPS. …

    1. The following terms are correct usage: violence against women, gender-based violence and sexist violence.

    2. Gender-based violence is a crime insofar as it is illegal behaviour that must be prevented and punished, a social problem, an assault on the right to life, dignity, and physical and psychological integrity of women, and an issue that concerns the defence of human rights.

    3. We will uproot from our work the term “crime of passion” to refer to murders of women who are victims of gender violence. Crimes of passion do not exist.

    4. It is of the utmost importance to protect the identity of the victim, rather than that of the aggressor. Make it clear who is the aggressor and who is the victim, and indicate what attitudes and situations may put women in violent relationships at risk, to help raise their awareness about their situation.

    5. Some information can harm the victims and their families. It is not always a good idea to identify the victim. It is offensive to refer to victims by diminutives, short forms of proper names, nicknames, and so on.

    6. We will never look for justifications or “motives” (alcohol, drugs, arguments, jealousy, a couple’s separation, infidelity, and so on) that only distract attention from the central issue: violence. The cause of gender-based violence is the control and domination that certain men exercise over women.

    7. It is essential to check the facts, especially from official sources.

    8. Keep the subject on the agenda by denouncing violence in all its forms: psychological, economic, and emotional, without waiting for women to be killed. Tell the story taking into account the uniqueness of each event, but also the elements that each has in common with other cases. This will help us avoid the use of expressions like “once again” or “yet another case of,” and prevent a dulling of sensitivities.

    9. Be particularly careful with the photographs and images illustrating the article. Respect the victims and their families, and avoid sexism, sensationalism and obscenity. Never steal images or audio material from a victim. When using a musical background, do not select motifs that inspire terror, or lyrics that talk about “love-sickness” or jealousy.

    10. Our articles will always include a free telephone helpline number for victims, and any other information that may be useful for them.

    via s., source

    Anarchism 101: Anarchafeminism

    by Andrew Louks (taken from Anarchist journal Linchpin #6)

    As with anarchism, there are many ways to think of anarchafeminism. It can be thought of as a way to promote anarchist ideas within the feminist movement or vice versa – to promote feminist ideas within the anarchist movement. But anarchafeminism is not simply spun together by people involved in both. Anarchism and feminism share deep connections. —- Both combine values of
    individual autonomy with collective good and collective action. An anarchafeminist women’s health clinic, for instance, would necessarily include abortion in its services or referrals because women should control their own bodies. It would value equitable service for all, which means it could never be a privatized, never charge fees or institute practices that would exclude lower-income, immigrant or marginalized women from its service. And it would be organized by women, for women in a non-hierarchical fashion.
    Continue reading

    Conference “Post-socialism, neo-liberalism – old and new gendered societies and policies”

    IGU Commission on gender and geography Conference
    “Post-socialism, neo-liberalism – old and new gendered societies and policies”
    *22^nd –24^th May 2009*
    *Szeged–Timisoara*
    *Hungary–Romania*

    This conference will be held in the year marking the 20th anniversary of the East Central European political changes of 1989. In the past two decades the region has hosted international conferences on the post-socialist transition that were organised by and for feminist scholars of different disciplines. Reflecting the marginal position of gender studies within human geography in the post-socialist countries, Eastern and Central European feminist geographers had very low visibility in these discussions. For them (us) the most helpful supporters are feminist sociologists, anthropologists, political scientists etc. and feminist geographers living outside of post-socialist Europe. The former groups of social scientists are dealing already with the question whether post-socialism is still a relevant category for research, partly because of the strengthening process of neo-liberalisation that is also attracting the interest of geographers. Thus, it is time to put on the agenda comparing the similarities and differences in the systems of post-socialism and neo-liberalism through the prism of ‘gender’.

    The primary *_aim_* of this interdisciplinary conference is

    i) to provide a platform for critical evaluation of post-socialism and neo-liberalism from feminist perspectives;
    ii) understanding women’s and men’s everyday experiences;
    iii) revealing the particular geographies of the gender dimensions of these ‘models’.

    Papers are invited on the following basic *_themes_*: Continue reading

    blog de rasfoit

    Însemnǎrile cârtiţei ceacâre
    …feminism, gen social, frumusete, complexe, automutilare, hartuire, societate, prejudecati, clisee, ecologie, biciclete, animale, zootehnie, vegetarian, vegan, ubuntu…

    exemplu de postare: “Cea mai frumoasa” (si citeva altele de citit)

    … Un gest simplu, bǎrbǎtesc
    Din buletinul informativ al unei asociaţii pro-biciclete citire (majuscule în original):

    Asociatia BATE SAUA SA PRICEAPA IAPA invita OAMENII din organizatiile, institutiile si corporatiile din Bucuresti (si nu numai) sa faca un GEST SIMPLU, BARBATESC: sa renunte luni, 22 septembrie 2008, la masina personala sau de serviciu si sa se deplaseze pe jos sau cu bicicleta.

    Un gest simplu, bǎrbǎtesc adicǎ viril, curajos, îndrǎzneţ, calitǎţi de care muierea e lipsitǎ prin însǎşi natura ei. Deh, Zoe, fii bǎrbatǎ şi pedaleazǎ smeritǎ. N-ai ce cǎuta printre noi dar te tolerǎm.

    bike_pin_up_girl.jpg
    Şi daca tot mergi pe bicicletǎ te rog eu frumos fii şi tu sexi, vrem sǎ vedem nişte craci mişto.

    lectura placuta!

    ps: apropos de mesajul asociatiei b.s.s.p.i. cu gestul barbatesc de a merge pe bicicleta, cit de ironic (sau nu?) ca imaginea si comentariul la misto ale danei de la cartita ceacara anticipeaza un fluturas real al campaniei lor intitulate “velorutia”:

    fluturas_v1_fata_mare.jpg
    (mai multe @ siemprecontra)

    pulafashion se intoarce?

    adaugat 16.10.2008: dana comenteaza afisul velorutia

    fwd: III International Congress on Islamic Feminism

    Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism
    Barcelona 24th-27th October 2008

    The Third International Congress on Islamic Feminism has been announced by Junta Islàmica Catalana (Catalonian Islamic Board) and will take place in Barcelona, 24th-27th October 2008.

    The conference will be focused on the problems of Muslim women in the Global era. Many Muslim women today are facing a double oppression: economic (neo-liberalism) and political (religious fundamentalism). The Congress will consider the responses given by Islamic feminists to this situation, and their contribution towards the construction of a new civil society worldwide, based on a culture of human rights and Qur’anic values such as democracy, social justice, freedom of conscience and gender equality.

    Distinguished Muslim personalities will be attending, such as Bouthaina Shaaban, Syria’s Minister for Refugees and candidate for Nobel Peace Prize; and Baroness Uddin, the first Muslim woman becoming member of the House of Lords in Britain.

    more