Comments on: Experts Agree: ‘Life & Style”s Shiloh Jolie-Pitt Gender-Panic is OFFENSIVE

By: taylurk

taylurk — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 13:30:05 +0000

no, but they aren’t mutually exclusive are they.

By: gena

gena — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 09:32:25 +0000

The divide between Liberal politics and Conservative politics is not great enough for me to think the short term risks outweigh the long term benefit in increasing Green party vote percentages in every election we can, even if it is just a point or two at a time. But I have to admit my bias in saying that, as I have a lot of Liberal friends who would disagree and who aren’t nearly as hard on the party as I am. It simply is just difficult to get anyway with anything too Conservative in Canada on a national level. We don’t run the risk of George Bush politics and so I do feel safe throwing support behind the Green party because of that.

I’ve sent some emails out, to see who has what going on right now. I sill email you some names as soon as I hear back. The tar sands are bringing the apocalypse. It’s good people are paying attention.

By: dot

dot — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:02:03 +0000

hmm, yes, can we chat a bit about these contacts? I am mostly reaching out to people in the movement to get their perceptions on the political opportunity structure and how it has impacted their strategies (namely to take a fair chunk of the movement to the US and Europe). But it might be good to talk to some political science academics re: their views on the POS (read: political opportunity structure or piece of shit, alternatively POSPOS). Email me valida at gmail. Thanks!

RE: Green Party. Yea, makes sense what you’re saying. I guess I’m just more short-term risk averse. Glad that Instant Run-Off Voting is growing from my city to my county to my state… another option, I guess to push through voting reform.

By: gena

gena — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:55:09 +0000

Though gender identity and sexuality are not the same thing.

By: taylurk

taylurk — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 12:30:33 +0000

regarding Shiloh: one point that doesn’t seem to have been brought up, or mmmmaybe it has, is the uncomfortable fact that by beating into this gender stereotype thing and especially by referring to Shiloh as a “cross-dresser,” is that you are, by proxy, implying that a 3-year-old has a sexuality. This then somewhat weakens the argument against sexualizing children, which segues into a whole other, highly unsettling ballgame.

Of course L&S’s whole angle is for shock value/Look-At-Angelina-and-Brad’s-Weird-Little-Kid scenario; it’s just fucked up that no one on the production team saw the obvious boundary they were charging across when they chose to emphasize a gender issue. IN A TODDLER.

As humans, little boys and little girls have minimal discernible difference in their appearance. Sexual differences don’t really show up until adolescence slash puberty.

Let the toddler be!

By: gena

gena — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 05:08:26 +0000

Of course you’re correct in that the Green Party has no chance of winning a majority or minority government, however we have gained momentum in a number of electoral districts and I believe we’re only one or two elections away from elected Green Party MPs.

The First Past the Post electoral system does present a challenge, and certainly an argument for voting Liberal over Green or NDP (I need to throw a little support the NDPs way or I will have to give back my Socialism Wins t-shirt and that would suck), but because of the growing support in Canada for electoral reform, I do think it is extremely important to vote FOR parties that very actively support electoral reform. Unless there is pressure from the voters, the Conservative and Liberal governments aren’t going to have any reason to aggressively reevaluate the system, and we HAVE to aggressively reevaluate the system.

The main reason I have for you though to vote Green instead of settling for the Liberals, is that as long as the party receives over 2% of the national vote (last election we had almost 7%), they receives $1.75 per vote (in 2008 that added up to 1 million dollars!). Also, depending on how the party does in different electoral districts (if they achieve over 10% of the vote) they can get reimbursed for part of their local campaign funding. Regardless of anything else going on, a vote for the Green party is a direct financial contribution to the party. And b/c we need the $$$ to increase influence, gain support, and raise awareness, the votes are not wasted votes by any means.

I wrote a piece for the Edmonton Journal a few years ago on this sort of thing that I am going to try to find. Simply b/c I am a little hung over and probably aren’t making nearly as much sense as my younger, more idealistic, less alcoholic, self did three years ago.

Do you need more contacts re: tar sands? I have a few contacts that are quite involved (mostly academic types, political scientists etc.) that I could put you in touch with.

By: Kristina

Kristina — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 03:10:30 +0000

I’m all for changing Oh Canada back to the original gender neutral lyrics too. But the point is that Harper’s gov’t isn’t doing it because they really care. It’s for show.

Do you think it’s a coincidence that this proposition was approved and made public only a few days after the Conservative bashing began over Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney? I tend not to.
For more info on that see this article from the Toronto Globe and Mail http://bit.ly/d8O0Hy

By: Drina

Drina — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:05:30 +0000

Word, again.

By: Drina

Drina — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:03:39 +0000

WORD!

By: yo yo

yo yo — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:02:27 +0000

Um, Jezebel’s post has now been updated. Turns out the stylist who claims she was misquoted was lying. Life & Style has her email in which she said exactly what they said she said.

By: via

via — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 22:02:19 +0000

How about the next issue of Life & Style being about the damaging psychological effects in children who are harassed by the tabloids. Clearly these peoples’ hearts are in the right place.

I’m just waiting for the day when Shiloh turns out to be a well adjusted human and there’s a photo of Suri snorting coke off the back of a toilet with the head line “What went wrong??” on the cover.

And besides, I refused to wear anything but pink and dresses as a kid and I turned out to be a total lez.

By: DemiArianna

DemiArianna — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 20:37:53 +0000

I took my gf to prom, she wore a tux. And now I feel like one of the Little Rock 9 who got to experience something a lot of people wouldn’t be allowed to. I feel like I need to be even more grateful for having that experience. And that school is bloody evil for not letting her bring her gf.

And wow, American, just wow.