Apologies for the lack of DUFC logo – for some reason, I stick in the image and link, hit “update” – and WordPress disappears the whole thing!
Welcome to the 18th Down Under Feminists’ Carnival! (And apologies for the delay.)
This Carnival has an optional caring theme, thanks to Australian Carers’ Week (which was October 18 to October 24). The theme for this year was “Anyone, Anytime, Across Australia”, which I modified to “Anyone, Anytime” for the purposes of the DUFC.
There wasn’t much sent in on theme, so I’ve expanded the DUFC rules just a little.
First, though, the introductory posts I wrote may be of interest. Here’s my discussion of why caring is a feminist issue, and a discussion about intersectionality of two particular identities: being a carer and being a person with a disability. You can also check out a more advanced discussion about why there is more silence about the care of elders (compared to the many discussions about the care of children) over at Thus Spake Zuska – Zuska is not an Antipodean blogger, but I’ve included her for the sake of the theme and because I think that post is a really good discussion about the role of carers.
While we’re on the topic of expanding the DUFC guidelines a little, I’m going to squeeze in a post I wrote after the end of October, but which is on topic: it’s about the lack of support for parents who are caring for their children with disabilities, and the lack of choice that lack of support entails.
On the subject of parents who are caring for their children with disabilities, Miz Lippy tells us why it can be confronting to remember what has happened to a child “just like yours”, while in September, she had a good rampage about people who think it’s somehow more moral to be a parent of a child with a disability. Meanwhile, back in July, Penthe described the tension between her and her husband’s feminist parenting principles and protecting their child from possible teasing or bullying.
And now, it’s back to your usual Carnival schedule: feminist posts by Antipodeans, which could be about absolutely anything.
Of course, the issues faced by people with disabilities is a topic that always stimulates a lot of feminist blogosphere discussion, and this month has been no exception.
We’ve seen the creation of a new blog, FWD/Forward: FWD (feminists with disabilities) for a way forward. It is not a solely Antipodean blog, but you’ll find two of our own there: Lauredhel and Chally.
Meanwhile, Chally describes how the mythology of the “Aussie battler” creates ableism of a particularly Australian flavour. Lauredhel looks at the way doctors’ medicalisation of disability adds complication to the abortion debate and also reminds us how the issue of accessibility is so often completely forgotten by those who should be key providers of accessibility.
And not quite this month, but close enough, Joanna’s post comparing disability access to organic fruit has been published in a magazine – so while the post was originally published in August, it has only just been unlocked (and hence I feel comfortable including it in the carnival now).
Then there’s The Arts.
Richie leads off with an excellent take-down of the film Lesbian Vampire Killers. Richie also reminds us that Doctor Who owes its continued existence to people who are not het males, and has done since the beginning, even if there are some people who find it more convenient to forget that.
But it’s not all doom, gloom and misogyny. Stephiepenguin reviews “who’s that chik? a hip hop tale of a brown girl with big dreams” and
Women also participate in geekery. Brenda Wallace reviews the One Laptop Per Child project for potential women contributors while Mary recounts stories of harassment related to conference presentations being filmed, and suggests guidelines to conference organisers.
Racism is another favourite topic.
tor wonders why Western men are so obsessed with the hijab – but don’t seem to care about other atrocities against women, wherever they occur. In other news, racism is racism no matter where it occurs, as a shiny new coin explains. In fact, that topic received quite a lot of appropriately negative attention – including a bingo card.
Racism against Indigenous Australians is important enough that it deserves its own bold heading. Chally gives us some numbers that show that rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in care are skyrocketing in Queensland – and these kids are often not being placed with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander families, either. Can anyone say “are we creating another Stolen Generation?”
Elsewhere, religion is causing problems as Deborah tells us about a pharmacist in Griffith who thinks he has the right to impose his own version of morality on everyone else. While not strictly a post on religion, this is a post about impositions of morality: blue milk outlines the reasons why all Australian states should reform abortion laws NOW.
Sexual violence is something which features in every DUFC – as it should, because it is (unfortunately) always with us. Ludditejourno gives us some numbers which show that survivors of sexual violence are not receiving the funding support they deserve. a shiny new coin unpacks rape culture a little. And part of that rape culture is the sort of phenomenon described by newswithnipples – the phenomenon where a child is dressed like a little adult woman (ie sexy, since all women are sexy, dontchaknow), and then described as “a dominatrix”.
Violence generally also features, with Helen explaining why gender essentialism within families can be dangerous.
On a lighter note: since [stereotype alert!] women love to talk, conversation skills are a must for the modern feminist. Chally leads the way with some inspiring answers to common questions. Elsewhere, K8y explains to Crikey precisely where all the women might be. And I assume from the title that this will fit here: Chally submitted this post – I didn’t get to see it before Feministe went down, and I can’t access it at the moment, but I’m pretty confident in taking her word that it’s DUFC-appropriate, when it is available again.
One of the things we quite like talking about is sex – and sex ed is an important topic, as can be seen from Wildly Parenthetical’s thoughtful post on the problems with sex ed as it currently is in most places.
But - I hear you ask – what about the men?
Well, don’t worry! Because, as you would expect from a feminist blog carnival, there’s plenty to remind us that men are still the dominant gender. They are:
- the boss of your feelings, as tor explains;
- entitled to your objectified, mechanised servitude – a shiny new coin shows us how Lynx/Axe thinks it should be done;
- not being connected in any way with rape, as ludditejourno demonstrates; and
- not remembering how to spell their children’s names.
Finally, a bit of fun: some non-cute cakes over at Mim’s place (because what is feminism about if it’s not about subverting cutesy stereotypes?).
And that’s it for the DUFC this month! Apologies again for the slight delay. Number 19 will be on in December at The Professional Lap Cat (Optional Theme: Invisible sexism – the elephant in the room). More details about the carnival here – thanks, as always, to Lauredhel for her co-ordination.
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