VISUALIZING OBJECT

While we obJECT to being OBjects, I'm finding answers through the conversation. I think it's because this is how we are making it more personal. It sucks to be objectified because it means we are then treated impersonally. While we crawl deeper into this object circle and attempt to figure it all out, why not paint on the walls along the way. What images are evoked for you? Maybe we can then collectively make our group more personal to others through our imagery.

I love those Seonna Hong pictures we've used in the past. They stir emotion in a gentle but very full way and I get excited when I see them on our fliers.

Below are two images or ideas I had in mind. I was trying to think up images that might force others to stop and look; images that would make it more personal for them. Thoughts? How do you visualize OBJECT?

-galeit

Recovering from Lady Party 911

We've finally recovered enough to sort through the photos. Check out a slideshow and a recap from Lady Party 911.

We're already planning the next Lady Party so let us know what you liked about this one and what you want to see next time.

Pictures from Lady Party 911

Jessi Klein and Jessica Chaffin host a debate with Nina Hartley, Jen Sincero, and Tracy McMillan on "Punishing the Princesses: The Media’s Obsession With Condemning Paris, Lindsay and Britney."


San Francisco dance-punk queens Von Iva perform.



Yo Majesty gets ready to raise the roof.


Object founders Lindsey and Jill.

I Heart U.S. Americans

Okay, I'm obsessed with Miss Teen USA. At first I couldn't stop laughing. But now, I'm pissed.

If you're reading this, you have a computer, which means you have surely, by now, seen - or at least heard about - the clip of Caitlin Upton, Miss South Carolina or wherever, answering the question posed to her during the "interview" portion of the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Miss Upton is asked why one-fifth of all Americans can't locate the U.S. on a world map. Her answer, in what is possibly the purest instances of schadenfraude I have ever seen, is incomprehensible. Watch it again, just for fun.



I laughed at the watercooler with all the rest of the U.S. Americans I work with, until I saw clip of Miss Upton on the Today Show the following day, pleading that she just "made a mistake". At the end, when Ann Curry gives Miss Upton a high-five for "having the courage" to show up on the Today Show to regurgitate some more coached answers (I personally believe... I'm an idiot.), I got angry!

Why?

Because Miss Upton placed third in the Miss Teen USA pageant. Third! Like she's an example of bright young womanhood. As if.

Because our cultural response to her (and what is the Today Show and its ilk, but a cultural barometer?), is a laugh and a high-five.

Because I don't believe her answer is a mistake. (U.S. Americans? The Iraq? These are not evidence of a mistake, or even a misheard question. They are evidence of a deep, deep misunderstanding.)

Because she was obviously coached, and even though she may have been nervous (which is forgiveable), she didn't forget her coaching (which is a little less forgiveable)... which is why she "personally believes" gobbledygook. I would rather her BE REAL and just say, "Um, Mario, I didn't hear the question..."

But what makes me maddest?

Is that I know there were undoubtedly some really rad girls in that contest who maybe didn't have Miss Upton's perfect Nancy O'Dell demeanor, her killer bathing suit body, her blonde helmet hair or perfect white teeth who probably could have answered the question with intelligence and grace... qualities that would reflect the young womanhood I'd want my own daughter to go for.

I think my 10-year-old son said it best. "She only cares about being hot."

And so did the judges.

THE CONVERSATION for Tuesday, September 11th...

At our event on September 11^th, we’re going to get some great women talking LIVE AND IN PERSON about the current divide between feminism and femininity, by questioning how we’re supposed to feel about the media’s obsession with Paris, Lindsey and Britney. Below are some of the questions I’m giving to the speakers and hosts to get them thinking. If you have any other thoughts, add them in to the comments section. Can’t wait to see everyone there….

Twenty years ago, People and Us were filled with tributes to women triumphing over adversity—good girls with stories that enhanced their glow—Marie Osmond, Olivia Newton John, Cheryl Ladd. Now, the tabloids tell stories of bad girls getting their punishment. What has changed in our culture that makes this the story that now sells magazines?

If feminism supports the connection between all women and sex workers, why don’t we support Paris, Britney and Lindsey? Are they not simply the world’s highest paid sex workers?

In her new book, The Female Thing, Laura Kipnis writes of the chasm between feminism and feminity. She posits that women can’t really take hold of their power until they recognize the conflicted female psyche and it’s propensity toward the rape fantasy, which she calls a a sub-textual acknowledgement of women's propensity to masochism. In other words, if privately, women don’t really (or always) want to “be on top,” does this ultimately put us at odds with trying to build a strong power base as activists?

Is Paris Hilton a child of porn?

What part of women’s fulfillment of their sexual wholeness involves enjoying being looked at? Being seen? Being an object? What is the difference between those three?

Is pornography by definition filmed? Is it possible for two people to have sex that is neither filmed nor distributed that is still pornographic?

Do women have much more influence over men than they realize? Do most women have more or less power over their men than they want?

Is it possible that the problem with porn is that, as a performance distributed to many different people, its end use is uncertain, in both sexual and spiritual ways? Could this be said of any media, including a horror movie or High School Musical? Does the involvement of sex behoove its producers to consider the relationship between sex and love? Should sex be sacred? Is it painful for people to engage in sex that’s not sacred?

Is Paris being punished ultimately for her sex tape or her life?

Yo Majesty

really cool pix of Yo Majesty, who will be headlining at our event, Lady Party 911, on Tuesday, September 11th at the Echoplex in Los Angeles. We can't wait to see you...

The Romantic Comedy Trend

Don't know if you happened to see this - GREAT article
in the New Yorker from a few weeks back. It's about the
current "romantic comedy" trend and where it is going,
where it's been and where it's at. Very validating. What do you think?

WORLD'S HIGHEST PAID SEX WORKER?

Modern feminism has evolved to a place where we understand that we must align with ALL women, including working women and stay-at-home-moms and strippers and sex workers-- with the understanding that inside our still-patriarchal culture, our choices are often limited by the very lack of them.

But do we only love sex workers who make less than 25k before taxes a year? If Britney were a single mom who stripped every night and had a hard time getting childcare for her babies, would we have a lot more sympathy for her? Is it only the ginormous amount of money she makes that instead causes us to point to her and her ilk as the DOWNFALL of modern lady power?

Paris NOT an influence on girls?

Or at least not as strong an influence as we've assumed? Saw this post on another women's forum I subscribe to. Could we be overstating the influence Paris, Lindsey et. al. have on young women?

"Paris. Can we please unofficially put a ban on mentioning that name or anything to do with that name unless it is in reference to the French City. I've been asking young teens and tweens their opinion and none of them like her. Seems to me that it is the adults perpetuating the image. DON'T buy the gossip mags. I can truly say that I have bought only one of these magazines in the past 10 years."

Can we go AROUND Paris or do we have to go through her?

my friend Becky's theory

My good friend Becky Thyre emailed me this weekend a little epiphany she had and I thought it would make a cool blog topic....

Becky said:

"I just had an idea that explains the whole
male/female sexual thing. Didn't I read somewhere
that clitorises are just like penises, but they're
wound into the body (which explains the G-spot, it's
stimulating a part of the penis/clitoris that is near
the inside of the vaginal wall)?

So, the whole penis-envy thing is really us knowing
what it's like to have a penis, but ours is a little
harder to get to, just like adults reminisce about
childhood and how direct and simple it was.

And THAT'S why I think women can know what turns men
on and focus on it because we're really turning on our
own original penises that are now a little numbed by
their distance from the air so that we have more
motivation to think about things."

thoughts, ya'll? I have my own theories about why arousing and satisfying male sexual pleasure seems to take a precedence in our culture... would love to hear yours...

LANGUAGE, language!

Tracy McMillain is so brilliant I'm cutting and pasting her words here so maybe we can get some chicks a'talking....

A few of the Object-starting ladies have been having conversations in emails... if we were to rebrand feminism, what would it look like? I think the reason OBJECT happened upon the idea of a somewhat sexuality-focussed conversation is because that's always where feminism seems to slow down-- this side-choosing business about the young n the old, the Paris n the not, the 20 vs. 40, the OBJECT vs. NOW...

She wrote so eloquently about some stuff we might wish to mix into the language of this site... we'd love your feedback, plus your feedbackof the language used anywhere else on tis siteor on myspace.... hence the title, FEEDBACK!

Tracy's brilliant lovely words:

"I'd like to see OBJECT and THE CONVERSATION as a place where we can come together as women - with any set of political beliefs, backgrounds, skin colors, etc. - and connect in a way that affirms the particular power of being female. To me that power is more internal
than external, it is non-competitive, non-hierarchical, cooperative, personal, intimate, truthful, heart-centered, and spiritual - based more on the unseen than the seen.

What the world needs now is women grounded in their own feminine wisdom and values. To me, if women couldn't be cajoled, seduced, talked out, lured out, or put out of their inner truth, you wouldn't HAVE 'Girls Gone Wild', the rape of planet, unwinnable wars or painfully-mothered boys turning into fearful and misogynistic men.

I'm less in interested in becoming a political group per se... than a personal group which supports women in becoming more of who they really are - without all the cultural, racial, economic, and political static. This will necessarily lead to political change.

There are many groups already that focus on specific political issues. And unless we all have exactly the same politics, (or nearly exactly), I think a political focus ultimately excludes more than it includes.

What I really want to be a part of is a community of women who gather for the purpose of transforming what it means to be feminist: From
(blank) to (blank). And each woman gets to fill in the blanks for
herself.

I'd hate to see Republican women, for instance, or women who don't
believe in abortion feel like OBJECT is "not for them", because we've
decided to take an official stand on this or that issue. Every town in
America would benefit from an OBJECT group!!

What would really blow people's minds and move this whole country
forward, is if we could start a movement dedicated to finding and
holding unity among all women. A loose, non-political organization of
this kind would foment all kinds of art, business, scholarship, media,
friendship, parenting, creativity, music... sky's the limit.

The "Captivity" Conversation Continues

One of our favorite feminist thinkers, Amelia G of BlueBlood.net, recently weighed in on the "Captivity" billboard controversy, and some of what she says suprised us (plus, Girl clearly did her research). Check it out and let us know what you think. http://www.blueblood.net/2007/07/captivitycontroversy/

20 vs. 40

No, not the Mark Phillipoussis reality catastrophe, but the question about the differences between women in their twenties and women in their forties regarding what feminism means to us. Is it just a question of Sexy, yes, but How Sexy?! Or is it about more? Why are so many women who benefited from the feminist movement of the 70's looking at the young women now and (sometimes) say WTF? So tell us... young chicks... what are we missing?

Lady Party Hangover

Quite the opposite of the traditional hangover that leaves of-age girls feeling not-so-hot, Lady Party Hangover consists of delving into diverse topics inspired by the evening's events.


I was so excited to see the turnout for the event - a diverse group of women and girls eager to hear and talk about issues most important to them through literature, comedy, and song. I met so many new people - women and girls I hope will participate in upcoming Conversations - which really gave me hope that we can all identify and celebrate our feminist values, even if we don't see ourselves necessarily as activists. Women all over the world may not have the ability - for whatever reason - to dedicate hours of their time to public displays of opinion, but we can all create lives that celebrate what we view as beautifully woman.


Anyone else feel that way?



Lindsey

Join us at The Echoplex on Tuesday, July 17 at 8 pm for LADY PARTY!!!


When all your friends are talking about it, you'll be in the know...

Join us on June 14th

SayObject.com Website is Up!

Say what?

That's right, our colorfully rad website, soon to be made all the more colorful by your participation, is up and ready to say it to an online community!

You can say it here, too, you know. Leave us your comments, on Paris Captured, for instance, and let us know how you are defining your world.

Object on Defamer

Although we barely started last week, and have but a temp page up at our freshly minted website, sayobject.com is already mentioned on Defamer.

Well, a parody of Paris Hilton on sayobject.com, to be precise.

First Meeting Announced