The Cool Table

Awhile ago, I was involved in a great but challenging debate with some of my intellectual superiors on the issue of ‘White feminism’. The initial discussions revolved around feminist imperialism (or imperialist feminism). A discussant equated this with ‘White feminism.’ This assertion, made in passing, was problematized by a White Muslim female revert, who found the term, in fact, ‘racist’. It immediately triggered an impassioned debate about the use of Whiteness as a socio-political category and a descriptively pejorative classification for a [large] brand of feminism. Most of the arguments struck against the point that to refer to a brand of feminism under the auspices of Whiteness was racist. If we could accept Women of Color feminism or Black feminism, then could we not accept White feminism as a feminism that is entrenched not in skin color  but a history of privilege and imperialism? After all, the Third Wave of…

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theradicalidea

“Rape culture is a culture in which survivors of a violent crime are expected to laugh about it because others think it’s funny”–the author of Go Forth and Agitate on tumblr

 

We hear the words all the time.  “Rape culture”.  It’s a term devised to describe the social norms that seemingly permit and perpetuate the prominence of rape and sexual assault today.  When I tell people that 1 in 5 women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime in the US, I get looks of shock.  “That can’t be,”, will be the response, or “I’m sure it’s not that high”.

Ladies and gentlemen and other genders not specified here…it is that high.

1 in 5 during her life.

1 in 4 during college.

Why is this happening in the United States?  And what does the Patriarchy have to do with it?

I swear…

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Sociology In Your Career

Once you have a grasp of the Sociological Imagination, you won’t, as I know very well, want to let it go

via Sociology In Your Career.

Diary of a mad reader

All the single mothers, black and nonblack, who raise healthy sons who later become mature, responsible men capable of giving and receiving love know that it is a lie that only men can raise sons. Patriarchal culture currently seeks to devalue single mothers by insisting they cannot raise healthy sons, even though there is no documentation to show this truth. All the data we have available  documents the fact that loving single mothers can and do parent sons who are as healthy as those in two-parent households. Dysfunctional households rarely produce psychologically healthy boys whether they are single- or two-parent households. When the focus is on black life and the parenting of boys, mainstream culture likes to insist that only black men can raise healthy boys. Underlying this insistence is the assumption that these boys need coercive discipline which only a black male authority figure can give. All these assumptions…

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Tom Nixon

Here are 10 ideas that take the principles of organisational democracy to the extreme. In the context of mainstream business today they seem far-fetched but there are organisations in the world who are pushing the boundaries of democracy every year. If you think that these ideas are just too radical for your business, imagine how you will attract and retain the very best employees if you have a competitor who is bold enough to do these things. Will you be able to stand out and remain relevant when someone in your market is doing this? Welcome to the world of extreme organisational democracy.

1 Purpose and Vision

The radically democratic company has a vision and mission that transcends itself and its people. It describes a world that is richer not just for its shareholders but for all of humanity, and the planet. How about a soft drinks company that…

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Black Feminists

April 21, 2012

We the undersigned women of African /African descent and  our supporters, which include anti-racist activists, scholars community leaders and Faith leaders wish to address the Swedish  Venus Hottentot Cake Incident.  First, we commend our Swedish friends and colleagues, and those from the African-Swedish Diaspora for their substantial contribution to anti-racist  mobilization and education through their various Policy Institutes and Research Programs, which have worked diligently to promote the interests of African Diaspora communities in Europe and Internationally.

The Issue At Hand

“Contemporary forms of oppression do not routinely force people to submit. Instead, they manufacture consent for domination so that we lose our ability to question and thus collude in our own subordination.”

-Patricia Hill-Collins, Black Feminist Scholar.

On Sunday, April 15th, at the  Moderna Museet the Swedish Artists Organisation celebrated World Art Day, as well as celebrating its own 75th birthday.  Lena Adelsohn-Liljeroth, the culture Minister…

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Dented Blue Mercedes

This is part of a 3-part series on LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying education, centering around the Day of Silence, which encourages students to take a vow of silence for the day, to bring attention to anti-LGBT bullying and harassment.  It occurs on April 20th.

Part 1: When even silence offends: on the 2012 push from the North American far-right to subvert and antagonize Day of Silence participants.
and: When even silence “persecutes:” on the ongoing conflicts in Canada, and a new game of declaring “homophobia” a hate word.

Part 2: When even silence can be exploited: on how the far right’s “No Pro Homo” policy has been tried before.
and: When even silence “indoctrinates:” on why the failure of “No Pro Homo” doesn’t register as a failure in the mind of the far right.

Part 3: When even silence fails: on the need for affirmation.

Every year, the…

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