My Feminist 2010 Resolutions

So I've come up some new year goals for myself in relation to the FBC.
Here's what I've decided upon!

1. Read something by Bell Hooks.
2. Post more on this blog and facebook group.
3. Consistently photograph our FBC events/gatherings.
4. Seek out other local Feminist groups/causes.
5. Bake goodies all the time.

Wish me luck!

Hey PETA, what about Women's Rights?

I picked up an issue of Metro yesterday as I was taking the c-train downtown. Folded, torn at the edges, the Wednesday edition featured an image of PETA bunnies posing for a photograph, covering their breasts with the slogan, “Only Animals Should Wear Fur.” As the front-page central image, the Metro newspaper grabbed attention, as did PETA, an international animal rights group who’s been around since 1980.

Although I agree with and understand the ethics behind animal rights, I do not agree with PETA’s promotional strategy at all. To get across their ethical message of animal abuse, PETA disregards all ethics behind women rights. Sure, sex sells, but it’s selling the wrong message here. Dressing down young women in bunny ears and lingerie speaks more about the sexualization of female bodies than it does animal rights. Women should not have to degrade themselves in promotion of animal rights.



This isn’t the first time I’ve come across PETA sexualizing women for their cause. Search “PETA” on the BITCH website and you’ll find numerous posts about the skewed ethics of this internationally acclaimed animal rights group. Here's another example similar to what went on in Calgary. One of the most shocking animal rights advertisement ploys by animal rights group, Wakker Dier, was the 2009 summer video campaign that featured an infamous Dutch stripper, Ancilla Tilia getting clubbed and gutted on stage. Watch it here.

It’s really disappointing to find that an internationally embraced animal rights organization such as PETA can completely ignore the rights of women and get away with it. As I see it, those PETA bunnies have accomplished nothing for animal rights, and nothing for the rights of women.

I <3 Yoko Ono

Found this very intresting article about Yoko Ono on the bitch website. Its fantastic, read it now.

FBC Button Design!

To coincide with the upcoming Zine deadline, the FBC also asks for your participation in button designing! In promotion of the club we’re going to sell buttons along with our zines. We ask that your design fit the template available through the Uppercase website, (although I’ve recently discovered that the link for the template has been broken and will contact them shortly about it.)

Your design should reflect the FBC, feminist thought, or may depict your own feminist artwork. In the meantime, start thinking about your button design and I’ll let you know when access to the link is working again. Ultimately, designs will be due on January 10th along with the zine!

Love Kelly

XX issue 2: Girlhood, Call for Submissions!

That's right, we are already starting to think about our second issue of the Feminist Book Clubs official zine, XX. 'Girlhood' is the theme, and the wonderful and amazing Kelly Smith has agreed to make the artwork for the cover!! The drill is the same as last time, anything goes! we want features in any form you want to make them, as long as they relate to the theme of girlhood through a feminist perspective. Minimum half a page, maximum 1 to 1 1/2 to 2 pages. We want to keep the giant best of list going as a feature so pretty please send us your girlhood list of best of's. The deadline for submissions is January 10, 2010. Send your submissions and inquires to xx.zine@gmail.com. Contributors get a free copy of the zine.