overease

So, the blogosphere has convulsed again with the "why are there no women political bloggers" discussion.

Sigh. The worst thing about this discussion is the creeps it brings out of the woodwork. The ones who respond "why is this a problem," or better yet "and it's a good thing, too!" or "because women are stupid," or "men and women are different, let's all play to our strengths" (translation: women should stay home, make babies).

I don't even know what to say about this. Did I already mention the college sophomore who said to me last week "I used to think I was interested in feminism, but then I learned that it's not relevant anymore"?

But let me just say that I have been really happy with my students this quarter: I thought they might be freaked out by a whole two weeks on gender & sexuality (in a class not explicitly about that) but they have been very smart and thoughtful.

In my other class, two of my students want to do a project on gender stereotypes propagated by the very bizarre American Girl Place, where parents spend hundreds of dollars so that girls can dress like their dolls.

Hm. Maybe feminism still has something to say...