Slutwalk and "Schlampenmarsch"
Slutwalks everywhere; here in Boston there was one back in May, and on August 13, with typical German thoroughness, they’re occurring all over the Federal Republic in Hamburg, Cologne, Hannover, Berlin, Leipzig, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Munich, Passau und in the Ruhr region. More information here. And in greater detail here for all the Slutwalks in Germany on August 13.
I am thrilled that we women are once again “in movement,” that we’re getting out in the fresh air and making lots of vitamin D for the winter – all the more of it the less we have on! Terrific that we’re finally marching…
The Computa - reloaded
German insiders in the field of information technology call their computers “Rechner” (calculators, computers). “You have to shut down your “Rechner” and reboot” – that’s how the initiated talk. Although I’ve owned a computer since 1983 (by now I’m on my 10th at least), it’s only recently, since I’ve read Julie des Jardins’ book on the ”Hidden History of Women in Science,” that I realize that computer originally referred to a profession: A writer writes, a computer computes, a worker works.
Frauenbild
As I’ve learned from des Jardins’ book, professional calculating in the days before…
Massacrament
The “Norwegian Massacre”: the media seem to have agreed on this term. Not a “rampage” such as occurred in Winnenden – the Norwegian killer proceeded with far too much premeditation and lengthy planning for that; through his diversionary tactic of the bomb near the seat of government he focused the attention of the entire police force on the center of Oslo – so that he could then, completely undisturbed for 90 minutes, gun down 68 young people on the holiday island.
I’m not aware of any massacre in which men were not the perpetrators (a virtually endless list of them can be found here).…
Demi-cracy Movement: In Egypt young men revolt against old men
Preliminary Note: Six hours after I had put this text online Sarah Horsley called my attention to a 2-hour video broadcast about Egypt on the “Democracy Now” web site. Approximately 90 minutes into the broadcast we are shown an extraordinary video made by the young Egyptian woman Asmaa Mahfouz and first circulated on Facebook on January 18. She calls on all Egyptian women and men to congregate in Tahrir Square on January 25 and demonstrate for their rights. Amy Goodman of “Democracy Now” comments that this video, which spread virally through all the media, is generally regarded as the…
"The Kids Are All Right" - but the film isn’t
Last night we went to the movies with two girlfriends and saw “The Kids Are All Right.” The film is all the rage right now in the U.S. and is the subject of lively discussion; after all, director Lisa Cholodenko has tackled the previously taboo subject of “lesbian mothers with children from the sperm bank” for the first time. In the media you hear nothing but praise, and the opening take is impressive: with 1.8 million dollars the film ranks in 12th place. It garnered the Teddy Award in February at the Berlin Film Festival and is said to have been the most discussed contribution to the…
