I am incredibly proud to announce that Praying with Lior, a beautiful documentary by my beloved friend Ilana Trachtman, was the top grossing independent film opening in the country last weekend. You can read one of the many rave reviews here. Thank you to all those who came out to see it last weekend, and attended the party! I had fun playing the bouncer. If you missed it, you can still catch it. The NYC run has been extended. Tickets here.
I’m becoming quickly obsessed with the topic of young people and the election. Last night I was watching (ugh) Cooper Anderson 360 and Keli Goff was on with Anderson talking about “Generation O.” You can read her blog post on it here. Keli has a book coming out next month, called Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence. Keli began her career in politics as an intern on Hillary Clinton’s 2000 Senate campaign. Check out Keli’s blog, Pimp My Vote and her website to find out more.
And here’s from the book’s description:
For the last forty years the label “black voter” has been virtually synonymous with “Democrat” but a new generation of voters is changing that. In her provocative new book Party Crashing, political commentator Keli Goff introduces America’s newest swing voter. Like soccer moms and Nascar dads before them, young, black voters born after the Civil Rights Movement are becoming increasingly up for grabs, politically speaking.
While the politics of their parents and grandparents were shaped by the Civil Rights Movement, Goff notes that the politics of her peers, members of the post-Civil Rights generation, have been shaped by a number of cultural influencers that transcend race; from “The Cosby Show,” to icons such as Oprah Winfrey, and the tragedy of 9/11. Civil rights has long been the defining political issue for black Americans but for this emerging generation of black voters, civil rights is now one issue among many that define their politics. As a result, they are challenging the idea that one’s skin color should color one’s political identity, and they are also challenging the idea that they should be Democrats.
Since the support of black Americans has been crucial to the success of democratic candidates–from Presidents Kennedy to Clinton–this shift could be one of the most important developments in modern politics, arguably as important as the Civil Rights movement itself. Along with the political shift occurring, Goff also examines the cultural shift that is taking place on a wide range of issues including: gay marriage, hip-hop, and the emergence of what Goff calls “Generation Obama.”
Through in-depth interviews with young, black voters, groundbreaking survey research, and conversations with a range of high profile Americans–from Colin Powell to Russell Simmons–Party Crashing explores the issues and people who have helped shape the politics of the post-Civil Rights Generation, and how this generation is reshaping America.
Can’t wait to get my hands on this book.
Oh boy oh boy I just can’t seem to stop yapping on this one.
But first, I’d like to frame this post with a note that I by no means believe that all opposition to Sen. Clinton is sexist in nature. And, as blogger Amanda Marcotte smartly notes, opposing sexist pandering against Sen. Clinton isn’t the same thing as endorsing her. (Even though I, in this case, did.)
That said, here are two pieces to share today in which I’m quoted yapping about Hillary, sexism, and media: The Guardian, Pavement Pieces.
As it turns out, I am SheSource’s “Expert of the Week.” I am always happy to speak about Hillary, but I am NOT into putting people down who support Obama. Especially women. And I hope other women speaking out publicly this week aren’t either. We got more important things to talk about. ‘Nuf said.
(Thank you, Gwen, for the heads up!)
Yesterday may have been Super Tuesday, but a week from tomorrow is Hallmark Thursday. And there’s some really interesting stuff out there right now on the love front.
Are you a twentysomething woman having trouble finding a twentysomething adult guy? Clearly, you’re not alone. Kay Hymowitz takes a look at “The Child-Man” in The Dallas Morning News, offering a nice roundup on how the average mid-twentysomething guy “lingers – happily – in a new hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance,” leaving younger women who are already adults wanting.
Over at the WSJ, Sue Shellenbarger asks where’s the love and reports on college students who eschew romance. College life has become so competitive, and students so focused on careers, that many aren’t looking for spouses anymore, she says. Replacing college as the top marital hunting ground is the office. Which circles back to Helaine Olen’s new book, Office Mate: The Employee Handbook for Finding–and Managing–Romance on the Job–a timely title if ever there was one.
Still, even at the office, it’s just plain hard to find that match, as John Tierney reports in the New York Times. Tierney notes that while online matchmakers compete for customers using algorithms in the search for love, the battle has intrigued academic researchers who study the mating game.
And finally, for the latest on the sociology of hooking up, Kathleen A. Bogle, an assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice at LaSalle University, analyzes college sexual activity in a book called – guess what – Hooking Up: Sex, Dating, and Relationships on Campus.
Have at it folks!
(And thank you, CCF, for the summaries and links.)
Feminists seem to be joining up and issuing public statements everywhere this week. Kimberle Crenshaw and Eve Ensler have teamed up in a hot post over at HuffPo, called “Feminist Ultimatums: Not in Our Name.” I utterly dig what they have to say about young feminists, and I absolutely agree. They write:
Young feminists have been vocal and strong in critiquing the claim that a vote for Obama represents some form of youthful naiveté, a desire to win the approval of men, or a belief that sexism no longer factors into their lives. While paying respect to those women who carried the banner for so many years, these young women have reminded us that feminism is not static but evolutionary, changing in content, scope and tenor as new generations elevate their concerns and aspirations. And while we agree that this “either/or” brand of feminism fails to capture the imagination and hopes of countless numbers of women who refuse to entrust this capital into the hands of a candidate just because she is a woman, we think it important to add that this is not simply an intergenerational difference at work here. At issue is a profound difference in seeing feminism as intersectional and global rather than essentialist and insular. Women have grappled with these questions in every feminist wave, struggling to see feminism as something other than a “me too” bid for power whether it be in the family, the party, the race or the state.
Amen to all that.
For a, um, slightly different take on young women, see here. Younger women’s responses here.
(Thank you, Cathy, for the heads up.)
Just to continue with my “I’m really moved by the passion of this election!” blogging, I had to share my voting story this morning.
On my way out of my polling place (ya’ll know by now who I cast my vote for, so no more ’bout that I swear), I came upon a corner where Hillary supporters and “Women for Obama” supporters were hanging out campaigning, the established legal distance from the polls. I stopped to ask a Hillary women if she had a sticker or anything to give away. Nothing against her, but she didn’t. I thanked her for the work they were doing and walked away.
Then I circled back and went over to the Obama women to see if they had any specific literature on Obama and women. Nothing against them, but they didn’t. I chatted with them for a moment cheerfully, thanked them for the work they were doing, and walked away.
As I walked down the block, I turned to look over my shoulder back at the scene, feeling this crazy patriotic pang. I do love this country when it’s working right, I confess. Let’s just hope our votes make it to the right place and nothing ends up like Florida in 2000 ever again.
But I digress. When I looked over my shoulder from halfway down the block, I realized that the whole scene was being documented by a tv camera from one of the major stations over here, and that the camera was still trained on (gulp) me. Must have been my bright red coat. Anyway, if you’re watching the news and happen to see a girl in a red coat and braids chatting up representatives from both campaigns looking like she can’t quite make up her mind, it’s me. Only I had made up my mind. Even if only a few days ago.
Man, I can’t wait til all this is over and we can just get the heck behind one of these two amazing candidates and give it our collective all.
As they say in my hometown Chicago, vote early and vote often (though you didn’t hear it here!). Meanwhile, here’s some of what’s going on in my adopted hometown, NYC.
Stimulus plan doesn’t hold up against a female audit, according to Women’s eNews. And neither does 30 Ways of Looking at Hillary, argues smarty Susan Faludi over at the New York Observer. (I maintain: When I grow up, I still seriously want to be that woman.)
Ok, nuf about candidates. Let’s talk issues. Tomorrow is the 15th anniversary of signing into law of the Family and Medical Leave Act. Check out what’s still at stake, courtesy Ellen Bravo.
Our HuffPo piece is now up, here. Comments, there or here, most welcome, as always!
And to readers and friends who are fervent Obama supporters: I will fervently campaign for your man if he wins. On that, you’ve got my promise.
