Welcome aboard Katie!

Hi, everyone! My name is Katie. I am pursuing a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology (with a minor in Women's and Gender Studies) at Ramapo College of New Jersey.

I do A LOT of things. I am a Peer Career Advisor at Ramapo's Career Services Center, Transcendent Alpha Theta Chapter Founder of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Inc., Vice President of Feminists United, Treasurer of Ramapo Pride, and Peer Facilitator for the First Year Seminar Program.

I'm actually fairly new to this whole feminism thing, and I'm learning more and more every day. I'm passionate about social justice, equality, and multiculturalism. I love diversity, but not just diversity of "race." When I talk about diversity, I mean a diversity of ideas, backgrounds, ages, perspectives, religions, classes and more. There is value in learning about all of our differences, and there is beauty in coming together as ONE for the good of humankind.

Family wait to see if mother, accused of blasphemy, will be HANGED!!!

In Itan Wali, Pakistan, 45-year-old Asia Bibi is being sentenced to death by the Pakistani church. Not because she had killed, injured, or stole from someone, but due to something she said. Prosecutors say Bibi, who is a Christian, broke Pakistan's strict blasphemy law by insulting Islam and the prophet Muhammad, a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment according to Pakistan's penal code. As stated in what we would call a constitution they have a distinct code 295-C, which states whoever defiles the sacred name of the Hole Prophet Muhammad shall be punished by death.

The alleged incident happened in June 2009 when Bibi, a field worker, was picking fruit in a village two hours west of Lahore. Prosecutors say when Bibi dipped her cup into a bucket of drinking water during a lunch break; her co-workers complained the water had been contaminated by a non-Muslim. They were not going to accept her ways and were definitely not willing to assimilate her into the community. In spite of her outrage, according to CNN "She said your Muhammad had worms in his mouth before he died," Satar told CNN, a crude way of saying Muhammad was no prophet. The town cleric, Qari Muhammad Salim, reported the incident to police who arrested Bibi. After nearly 15 months in prison came her conviction to the death sentence. Bibi, has appealed her conviction but it can take months before they receive a decision.

Asia, a loving mother and wife, is being sentenced due to her belief in another god and for disrespecting the Muslim religion. But, was she wrong for the statements she had said. Pakistan has never executed someone convicted of blasphemy but in Bibi's village public opinion was unanimous. Human rights groups have long blamed Pakistan's blasphemy laws for persecution and violence against religious minorities. There is no unity or acceptance for anything other. The town cleric, who made the initial complaint against Bibi, called her death sentence one of the happiest moments of his life. This is unnecessary and outraging, this reminds me of stony in Nigeria, as well as honor killings. Countries outside of America do things differently and we can respect that but when does it become too far? At what point do people say we need to do something about this? This is a story of discrimination and social alienation.

Meet Paul!!!!!

My name is Paul James and I am currently living in the Jersey Shore.

The scariest thing in the world is when a person thinks that his or her perspective is the only one. That’s why I try to constantly grow and learn through experience. If people took the time to read about and participate in different group’s way of life then things would be much better than today. The real secret is not the variety of life but the variety of us. I hope to see all of our variety.

Oh, and I graduated from Ramapo College of New Jersey with a BA in International Studies and minors in Latino Studies, Spanish Language, Political Science and Anthropology. Graduate school is on the horizon- in Public Policy for now. I have worked for LGBTQ rights, Women’s rights, immigrant rights, the rights of the poor, religious freedom and the Democratic Party in various capacities. I am never bored because I am never being boring.

"The whole point of liberation is that you get out. Restructure your life. Act by yourself." --Jane Fonda

"Curing" Feminists

aka...how to seduce women who think for themselves and make their own decisions without regards to the pressures of patriarchy. Oh yes, these tips in MAXIM will totally help:



1. WIN HER OVER
A feminist is just like any other woman: She won't give you the time of day if you don't know how to approach her. To prove you're not part of the dreaded penisocracy, pretend to share her beliefs. But hide your lack of actual knowledge of feminist issues and show her how much you value her opinion by asking intelligent questions: "What must women do to earn equal pay for equal work?" or "Has Gloria Steinem's marriage hurt the feminist agenda?" or "Did you see Cagney & Lacey on Lifetime last night?"

2. OPEN HER EYES
Don't just wait for her to think differently--give her some options. Begin by discussing "lipstick" feminism, which is far more moderate than the combat-boot variety. "She can be a girly-girl and still be a feminist," explains Jennifer Baumgardner, coauthor of Manifesta: Young Women, Feminism, and the Future. "There's no need to eschew things like shopping, makeup, or boyfriends." Don't think she's ready for a Maxim subscription just yet? Sign her up for Bust, a feminist-lite mag that says women can be independent, strong, and relatively hairless.

3. TREAT HER RIGHT
Once a relationship is established, you should treat a feminist just like you'd treat any other girl you're interested in, Baumgardner advises. As long as you're not overbearing, she won't object to your opening the occasional door or picking up a check. Next, unlock her repressed Malibu Barbie fantasies and buy her a tight tank top with FEMINIST printed on the chest from outspokenclothing.com. Tell her she looks great--but try to avoid phrases like "bodacious ta-tas."

4. SHIFT HER FOCUS
To preserve any chance of getting your chin buttered, you'll have to reshizzle her feminist-tinged interests so you can actually spend time with her. "Focus on the things you have in common," suggests Michele Weiner-Davis, author of The Sex-Starved Marriage. She likes pro softball? Take her to a major-league game. She's a staunch environmentalist? Go camping. She supports a woman's right to reject the outdated mores of our male-dominated society? Tell her to get closer to your mike.

REALLY????? The patriarchy is so afraid to lose control.

Women's Sexualities are Never their Own...

Have any of you heard about Purity Balls? Well if you haven't, check out this trailer for a new documentary:



After taking an ancient law class a few semesters ago, I've been drawing so many parallels to traditions and customs that are still practiced today. For instance, women were seen as property. Before they were married, they belonged to their fathers. After they were married, they belonged to their husbands. In their older age, they belonged to their sons.

A woman's ownership over her own sexuality is what's at stake with these purity balls. I don't know about you all, but I find it straight up creepy that young girls pledge their virginity to their fathers. Not only that, but there's totally a double standard for young men. Young men pledge to remain abstinent not because they have to maintain their purity, but because if they were to have sex before marriage, they would be "tainting" another man's daughter or future wife.

Sick, I know.

Magnificent Mondays

I don't know about you all, but Mondays general feel like daggers through my soul. I need to laugh at least once to cheer up! So every Monday, we will be posting something to uplift all you moody Mondayers too:

Female Friendly Funk!

Gender-bending bad-ass women. Enough said.

Choice meets Access meets Justice...thanks Tyler Perry

Say what you will about Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, but you've got to admit that he knows how to tug a heart string. It was a mixed bag for me. I absolutely hated his trite down-low/HIV storyline. Homophobia at its finest. There was TONS of victim blaming. The strengthening bonds of sisterhood were poorly developed. Ultimately, there was very little to leave the movie feeling good about. One scene that I did appreciate was the abortion scene. Think back to If These Walls Could Talk and Demi Moore's character. Perry's film features a very similar plot, except the character is an inner-city high school student whose mother is extremely religious and completely broke. She can not admit to her mother that she's been sexually active, but she can't afford the 300 dollar abortion either. She begs her sister for the money, but tells her it's for college applications. Her older sister suspects that she's pregnant, and indirectly tells her about a woman who performs abortions in her apartment. The character goes to the woman alone to get an abortion, but ends up almost dying from an infection.

What does all this mean?

While certainly the fight for the right for a person to choose what happens to their own body is important, but economic access has to be part of the conversation. Not only that, but society's one-sided obsession with women's sexual purity needs to be deconstructed. CHOICE IS NOT ENOUGH. It must be about reproductive justice for all, not just those with the privilege to afford to choose.

What does your Feminism look like?

You may have noticed that Not Your Average Feminist looks a bit different. Well, I've been thinking about creating a blogging team! And I desperately need your help. I want to create a cohesive medley of diverse voices and experiences. Whether or not you have your own blog and you would like to cross post, or your brand spanking new to the Feminist blog-o-sphere, comment on this post if your interested in contributing!!!!!

Perception vs. Reality

So I just got back from one of the coolest retreats I've ever been to, so I'm sort of in a euphoria of Higher Education & Social Justice! I've been struggling with putting some of my thoughts to words lately about gender and sexuality, but I have to say being at NYU around people who are unapologetic about both queer theory and identity, I've finally been able to experience a wee bit of clarity.

Sexuality first:

When I first came out I identified as bisexual(7th grade), lesbian(freshman year of college), and now queer(junior year of college). The main reason I began identifying as queer is because...(get ready for a GRAND epiphany)...it simply felt right. I knew that there were other genders out there aside from "man" and "woman" and while I can say that my track record is mostly lesbian women, who's to say that I can never be with a person who identifies outside of the gender binary? Queer just fits for me!

And now gender:

Through my feminism, I learned that the constricting roles of manhood and womanhood are the root of a lot of injustices, violence, and inequalities in this world. And certainly people can continue to redefine womanhood as they see fit, and that is great, but for me I'd rather not. I want to interrupt "woman" For a while now I've identified as queer to acknowledge the fact that I'm attracted to people outside the binary, while ignoring that I was struggling with the fact that I myself had the same inclinations. I'm not talking about transitioning. I am who I am. I dress how I dress. I don't shave my legs. I sometimes let my mustache grow thick. I look how I look. I am a female-bodied person, and that's fine. But I don't feel like I'll ever be a "woman"...and I never really have. Genderqueer just feels right!

But still I struggled. Most genderqueer people I've met are more androgynous. And once again that's fine for them, but I will always be perceived as a woman. How can I call myself genderqueer if I don't look the part. Well, none of this came about because I didn't like the way I looked. It was always about how I felt and what I was expected to be. I identify as queer, yet almost everyone I meet thinks I'm straight...and this doesn't strike me as odd. This doesn't keep me from being queer. So why should I stop myself from identifying as genderqueer just because everyone I meet would classify me as a woman?

Sexuality is fluid. Gender is fluid. And so am I...

I may navigate this world and experience privilege as a cisgendered, heterosexual woman (because that's what I look like)...but I'm a queer genderqueer. Just thought you may want to know...