Professor J's Place

An hour or so ago, a man I do not know went on a short Facebook rant about how #MeToo destroys creativity and victimizes men. Here’s my take on that: Guurl, it’s come to Jesus time. Let’s look at Al Franken, shall we? Many liberals think he was done wrong by the #MeToo movement.   He defends himself by first ignoring or dismissing some of the complaints and then arguing that the most detailed and original complaint was by a conservative plant. Okay, but why did you do it? What made you think it was okay to use your power to cross boundaries and treat someone in a way that made her feel uncomfortable? And do I want a senator who willingly abuses his power? It’s the same for Joe Biden. I don’t care if you’ve always been a toucher and a hugger. You should get consent first. I hear people say, “should he ask permission to hug people?” YES. When my pastor first came to my church, he asked me if I was a hugger. It’s what normal people do! What makes Joe Biden exempt from...

"The Democrats underestimate Palin at great risk." --Michele Norris (NPR) We need to focus here, folks! The stupid commentators (are you listening Bill Maher?) who joke about Palin's inability to lead because of her gender are working against us. Focus on the record. --Palin is against abortion even in the case of rape, incest, or the health of the mother. (Though perhaps it is acceptable to save the life of the mother.) --Palin is for drilling for oil in delicate ecosystems. --Palin said we "should not be afraid" of going to war with Russia over Georgia. --Palin does not believe in evolution. --Palin believes in "abstinence only" sex education. --Palin says we should not ban assault rifles. Is that not enough? We can also look at the serious allegations that face Palin about abuse of power, nepotism, and book banning. And we can look at the truth (or lack there of) in some of her claims. The fact that she took the money for the "bridge to nowhere...

Heidi and her granddog Heidi is the kind of woman who makes you love women. We met when we were both undergraduate English majors in the 1990's--we were both "returning students." Heidi is one of those people who collect strays. All the strange little people in the English and Political Science departments buzzed around her like flies on a hot day. It was a little off-putting,to tell the truth. Heidi was one of the three smartest students in the department. We were all returning students--all odd ducks. And we weren't friends. Finally, one spring semester we were all in the same class. Fiction. Heidi and I were assigned to do a presentation and lead the class discussion on The Damnation of Theron Ware . Our professor later admitted that she thought we would both hate the novel and the process of working together. It was quite the opposite. We met one Saturday morning at 8:00 am at the IHop near the campus. We both loved the novel! We sat and talked until 2:00 about th...

Mrs. G has a small tribute to Ingmar Bergman's comedy genius on her recent post about Ikea . It reminded me of a parody by one of my favorite British comedy teams-- French and Saunders. I couldn't figure out how to imbed this video, so just click here .

You all know that I am a die-hard Senator Clinton fan . I have loved her and supported her through campaign misteps and misstatements in large part because she offered us the first (and possibly only) opportunity to vote for a good person who was also a woman. But now that is over. I keep hearing that there are many women who are sad and angry and ready to vote for Senator McCain. I keep hearing that women need a reason (besides the war and healthcare and Roe) to vote for Obama. Okay, my feminist friends, here it is. Carol McCain. Carol McCain is Senator McCain's first wife. She is the woman who waited for him while he was in Vietnam. She is the woman who had a tragic automobile accident while John was a prisoner of war and had to undergo losing much of her mobility, four inches of her height, and much of her "classic" beauty without his help. And then McCain returned from Vietnam and opted for the life of a playboy and a star without his faithful, and still beautiful wi...

I'm about mid-way through that pile of papers (okay, more like a server full of documents), but I had to share this with you. Jozet sent it to me, and you know how I heart her. I was lecturing the other day and I said, "I am not endorsing any political candidate," and one of my students said, "Oh yeah? I've read your blog!" Busted.

When I was an undergraduate, there was a young man in the English department, another student, who was a bit of a jerk. I remember one March day when he was complaining about the women’s history activities on campus, and he said, “We have black history month, and we have women’s history month. When are we going to have White Men’s History Month?” I reacted to this query in much the same way that I reacted to everything Andy had to say—with a sneer and a snort. “Every month is white men’s history month. Have you ever taken a history or literature class?” He didn’t like me very much. A couple of weeks ago—after the Texas primaries— Julie asked me to write about why I had decided to support Hillary Clinton and become a delegate for her. Obviously, I haven’t done so yet. Indeed, I find it difficult to continue my support in the face of so much negative campaigning. Of course, I have obligated myself to be a delegate and to support Senator Clinton, so clarifying my reasons for supporting ...

It is not Stormy Weather, but dang.

I stole this idea from the Irish Goddess . She has a couple of wonderful posts about women who have influenced her--you should check it out! Mama tells me that from the age of four until I was six or so, I used to stand on the picnic table in our back yard and enact a specific scene. "Ladies and Gentlemen," I would holler , "MISS JUDY GAARRLANDDD !" I would then applaud wildly while I took my stand in front of the imaginary microphone to sing "Stormy Weather," or "Happiness is Just a Thing Called Joe," or any one of my many other favorite songs. I do remember that my first purchase of a record album was a Judy Garland disk (I still have it), and I was inconsolable when she died. And I can still do a mean "Stormy Weather." Am I saying that Garland was a feminist icon? No, of course not. But Judy Garland was my introduction to a powerful woman who allowed her power to destroy her. It was her passion and her vulnerability that made her a g...

Bloggy friends, Are you sitting down? Oh, right. Anyway, I have big news! Last night I got a call from my cousin Butch (hereafter known as the best cousin a girl could have or BC). Well, BC had donated 250.00 to the Clinton campaign in order to attend a breakfast with the candidate. AND HE COULDN'T GO! So, would I mind filling in for him? Well, OK. I'm all about the family. So, I went to the Hyatt Regency this morning, and who is introducing Senator Clinton? That's right. . . Gloria Steinem. Yes, my friends, The . Gloria. Steinem. Of course, the 250.00 tickets were the cheap seats (read, no seats at all--we just stood in the back), so most of my pictures of Senator Clinton ended up looking like this. And this. And this. Yes, that is a man with thinning hair in front of the senator. Before the speeches, I heard a rumor that Gloria Steinem was going to be speaking at Justin's Ice Cream Parlor later in the day. So I high-tailed it down there and I met Gloria Steinem. ...

Remember Elizabeth Dole's comment about Hillary Clinton when both of their husbands were running for president? "I can't say what she is, but it rhymes with 'witch'." This question is as old as feminism. Why is it that strong, assertive, and most importantly, successful women are called bitches? Why is it that there is no masculine equivalent to that word? Because a strong, assertive, successful man is just a man! I think Tina Fey may have been taking part in a time-honored tradition: reclaiming an insulting word. Back in the 1980's, lesbians decided that the word lesbian was not an insult, but a neutral descriptor. And dyke? A Dyke is a strong, assertive, political lesbian. If I take that word, you can't hurt me with it. At least that's the idea. So, for me, Tina Fey was claiming a word that has been used and used and used against women and saying, yes. Yes, I am a bitch. I am a strong, assertive, political woman. Me too. Oh, yeah, and ...

"Women have come so far as feminists that they don't feel obligated to vote for a candidate just because she's a woman. Women today feel perfectly free to make whatever choice Oprah tells them to."

Head on over to Minnesota Matron for some of that Old Time Feminism . She reminds me that we've work to be done on many fronts.

Excerpt from student paper today: Being politically correct is a way that we speak here in America so that we don’t offend any whining babies. Only pathetically weak people that don’t have the balls to say what they feel and mean are politically correct [idiots]. Society and the media have made it to where people are now afraid to say what they actually mean. Comedians are now the only people who actually speak the truth about society. Except now even Saturday Night Live wont put anything that is not politically correct for fear that some left wing idiot will throw a fit a make NBC apologize. At this point in her reading of this cogent argument, my boss said, "does he realize you will be reading this paper?" Oh yes. And it gets better! Today’s society has become way to obsessed with how things need to be right and to make people feel better. The correct term these days for garbage man is a sanitation engineer. No, a garbage man is no kind of engineer he has no college degree...

Germaine Greer, the author of The Female Eunuch , turned 69 today. While Ms. Greer is often the object of ridicule and hatred for her sometimes outrageous statements, she was an important feminist voice and continues to think and read and write about women's sexuality. I don't often agree with Greer, but she influenced my early feminism, and for that, I am grateful. besides, I have to love an aging feminist who likes her wine. There are too few of us. Here's a nice (but rather old) article on Greer in Salon .

mama milton: restless hair syndrome I start this post with a nod to Mama Milton, who got me thinking. Hair is one of the principle means of self expression for women (and, to a lesser degree, men) in our society. We color, cut, tease, perm, straighten, process, glue, and spray it into submission. We adorn ourselves with hair. When it changes color or texture or it thins or we lose it, we begin to panic. When we want to change our lives or make a statement, the first thing we change is our hair. Hairdressers even have a name for it. "Post Break-up hair." I have had me some hair dos. 1990 2003 2005 I like to think of myself as a simple woman with simple tastes, but I have been known to go crazy on my hair. Thankfully, I don't have any pictures on my computer of me with a perm , but I once even had poodle hair. Hey! It was the eighties and everyone was doing it! I would have had big glasses, too, if I wore glasses in those days. I even shaved my head in the nineties. What ...

In an effort to comfort me, both Mrs. T and Melanie mentioned some Texans who have made the world a better place. I can only say, amen, sisters. Here's one who makes me prouder than I can say. "Who then will speak for America? Who then will speak for the common good?" Barbara Jordon (1936-1996) was born in Houston Texas' West End. She became a state legislator in 1966, served as president of the "ledge," became a congresswoman, gained some notoriety during the Watergate hearings, and gave the key note address at the Democratic National Convention in 1976. I was a junior in High School at the time. I remember her voice. I remember her words. I remember that we hoped that Jimmy Carter would choose Jordon as his running mate. I remember people talking about how it might someday be possible for a woman to become president. I remember thinking that it might one day be possible for an African American to be president. She served until 1979, when multiple sclerosi...

Women and people who love women should read this blog entry , by one of my favorite bloggers--Mrs. G.