OMG, still another timesink

By way of supergee and Geek Feminism, a new hero of mine subverts a dominant paradigm with her little brother.

I bow humbly in admiration at her mad feminist skillz, and say to her little brother, "we accept you, we accept you, one of us!"

Ok, I couldn't resist clicking on the link on sfgate.com that said "Oh daring, oh fiery wenches of God!" because I knew I was in for a bit of tasty fun from Mark Morford.

Sister John Marie of blessed memory is probably up there chuckling.

linkspam for me to come back to time and again when I need to get my anger properly directed at targets

Sinfest nails it when it comes to the ubiquity of patriarchy. (thanks to @nkjemisin on twitter)

also: We are the 99 Percent

And Elizabeth Warren tells it like it is.

Also thanks to pegkerr who is posting lots of good stuff about the #occupy(insert $CAPITALISTSTRONGHOLD of choice) movement.

Sady Doyle of Tiger Beatdown has some sage words about bravery and St. Joan of Arc.

Not that my homegrrl Clare of Assisi fails to rock, she truly does (patroness of my university (which came in handy during finals for sure), the Valley where I thrive, television), but there's something to be said for Jehanne d'Arc, who Doyle says is the unofficial patron saint of "victims of gender policing, people and especially women who come out of nowhere to exercise political voice and/or get violently assaulted or killed for their political action, ..., lapsed Catholic women, women who have huge-ass troubles with the sexism of Catholics, and feminism."

Sounds like a good one to have around for backup. Jehanne, keep Gabrielle Giffords in your prayers.

ETA to thank wired for the link via twitter.

I'm interested in exploring spiritual practices that aren't steeped in patriarchy. Want to be on the filter? Comments screened.

Yesterday's post about my issues with Facebook/Google Buzz got me thinking yet again about the use of pseudonymous usernames and compartmentalizing segments of my life. This started last year as a outgrowth of one of the #racefail'09 discussions and a panel at WisCon 33, and continued on with the recent LJ controversy about making people work within a binary concept of gender.

Now, Mary at Geek Feminism points us to a triggery yet vital discussion about how Google Buzz impacts a blogger who is dealing with the aftermath of rape and intimate partner violence. whump told me about this over dinner yesterday evening, but the post makes it more starkly clear. Keeping things compartmentalized and locked down is more than just data management and the ability to balance various aspects of our lives, it can be a way to survive.

We don't live in Brin's transparent society. Transparency only works when there's no disparity in power or privilege. As long as there's an imbalance in power based on gender, sexual orientation, class, race, etc. ad infinitum, complete transparency can allow persons with power to inflict all sorts of negative consequences on those who don't have it.

The ability to control access to personal identification on social networks also operates within a broad spectrum. When I'm on Ravelry, I don't mind seeing various ads for yarn and fiber, and sometimes I'll even follow the ads to possible new lovely fibery goodness. Ravelry exercises a lot of control over what kind of ads are allowed. Contrast this with what's going on within Facebook/Google Buzz/LJ advertising. Say you're female on most networks, and you'll get barraged with all sorts of craptastic ads about looking younger and losing weight, just to name a few of them.

Don't forget, people want access to our personal information on social networks so they can make money selling us stuff. Responsible social networks take care to collect only the most useful information, as Sarah Dopp points out in her recent post about use of drop down menus for information on gender. They also allow their users to exercise control on the amount of information that can be shared. The post from Geek Feminism shows us what can happen when there's a lack of discretion or controls. Put people in harm's way just so you can sell more ads, DO NOT WANT!

It's also salutary to investigate the hidden and not so hidden assumptions in what is the unmarked state for the types of personal information collected. Is there a default of male/white/middle class/heterosexual/cisgendered/American? Going back to Ravelry for some less triggery examples (which is one of the networks that seems to be doing many things right), what's their unmarked state for gender/class/national origin and how does it affect the advertising they allow?

Today is Ursula Kroeber LeGuin's eightieth birthday, and also the fortieth anniversary of the publication of Left Hand of Darkness.

I came across the Earthsea books at least thirty-five years ago (the actual date is rusty) at my local library and was never quite the same after that. Besides Left Hand and the Earthsea books, the LeGuin books that continue to rock my world with every re-read are The Dispossessed and Always Coming Home.

It was very important to me that Potlatch 18 (in Sunnyvale, CA earlier this year) honored Always Coming Home as one of its books of honor this year, because that book captures the physical reality and spirit of Northern California. Having Ursula there as part of the con made it even more special to me, because it was an opportunity to honor and thank somebody who created a special book while she is still here to hear it.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Ursula. May we have the blessing of your presence for years to come.

I just sent this to Women Against Sarah Palin:

If it was imperative for McCain to choose a woman as his running mate, there are certainly many more qualified Republican women available. I knew enough already about Palin’s record in Alaska when the announcement was made to know that she is a extremely bad choice for Vice President. As I learn more about her, that feeling just gets reinforced. Learning that rape victims were charged for the evidence kits needed to prosecute their attackers while she was mayor of Wasilla enrages me. Because the Alaskan legislature had to take action to outlaw this travesty of justice, I cannot believe that she was unaware of this policy while she was mayor. For McCain to assert that she is his best choice sends two messages, the first that justice is contingent on your ability to pay for it, and the second is that his own judgment is seriously lacking.

When I was much younger, I was groped by a strange man while riding on a BART train. Out of a combination of youth, fear, cluelessness and ignorance, I did nothing. Most of the time, I don't even think about that incident, and I don't think that it has substantially damaged me in my current life.

However, this Open Source Boob Project is bringing that incident back to life. Would it have been less sleazy and invasive if that creep back then had thought to ask? Not really. He might have felt better, but I would have still been left open to invasion.

I am not anti-hug for greetings, I love hugs. I am anti-grope in public spaces, and frankly, I think most people are, regardless of gender. Why not save that behavior for more private places with people who are willing to join you?