Hi, I fed you already.
I don't know why you need to demand my time and attention constantly, forever, always.
So I am going--Stewart. Stop.
[CLAP] So I am going--Stewart. Stop.
So I am going--Stewart. Stop.
Goddamn.
This bee keeps trying to get in and it's going to.
I don't know why so many airplanes are just blasting off right now but they are.
[BEEP SWOOSH SWISH CRUNCH]
Hey friends.
Welcome to this week's episode of Feminist Fridays.
Before you ask, this shirt says "The Future is Accessible"
and it was made by my Internet pal Annie Elainey.
I believe at this point in time it's still available
so I'm gonna link it below in case you wanna buy one
and if you want to support disabled creators
because why the fuck not?
There's a lot that's been going on in the news this week
and instead of focusing on one specific news story, like I did last week
I decided to just sum it all up but in a feminist way.
'Cause I'm a feminist.
So let's talk about all the shitty stuff that's happening in the world.
"Betsy DeVos Slashed 72 Rules Protecting Students With Disabilities Because They’re 'Unnecessary' "
According to this article, which will be linked below
I'm gonna link all the articles I'm referencing below.
"Rescission of these documents appear to be part of a larger administrative pattern
developed under Trump's presidency.
In February, the president signed an executive order meant to 'alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens'
to supposedly help Americans."
[SIGH]
The point that has been driven home repeatedly by the Trump administration
is that they care about "Americans"
but their definition of Americans seems to differ from my own
and probably most people's definitions of American
because it tends to leave out most marginalized people.
Women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, immigrants, Muslims
and now disabled people all seem to fit outside of their definition of what a true American is.
What has been made abundantly clear since day one
is that Trump and all of the other conservatives in Congress who support Trump
seem to only really think of Americans as people who were exactly like them.
Which in this case vast majority cis, white, straight, men.
You can argue with that but statistically that is the reality and it shows in their public policy.
My favorite quote from this article though is
"But it is worth remembering that DeVos herself doesn't seem to be the most well-versed on the subject
of the main disability rules and the documents contained within the legislation."
It continues with a quote from DeVos', uh, Senate confirmation hearing back in January.
Maggie Hassan: So, were you unaware when I just asked you about the IDEA that it was a federal law?
Betsy DeVos: I may have confused it.
Great. Just the most qualified person for her job, ever.
Earlier this week there was a ton of press about singer Sam Smith coming out as gender non-binary.
However Sam Smith never actually called himself non-binary.
He's quoted saying I am "just as much woman as I am man."
and then he goes on to describe his gender expression more in depth
and talks about how he enjoys wearing women's clothes.
A lot of the pushback against these articles labeling Smith with specific gender identifiers
is the fact that in the interview he specifically says he's not quite ready to label his gender yet
and he doesn't really know what label feels most comfortable for him.
The issue of language here I think it's a little bit tricky
because I know some people do use non-binary as an umbrella term
to describe anyone who doesn't strictly identify as a binary man or a binary woman.
However other people use non-binary in a very specific, individual way.
Some people might identify as gender fluid
but then feel like non-binary doesn't really ring true to their experience.
I think the main message here is that language is very personal and individual
and you should always ask people
if they feel comfortable with certain terminology being applied to them.
And when they say they don't have a label yet and they're trying to figure it out
kind of give them the space to do that without forcing labels onto them.
Speaking of being put in a box
Stewart's gonna jump in a box.
But then language is really fuckin tricky
because you might wanna describe the experience of someone's gender not being binary
but then find that non-binary is a label that they're not necessarily comfortable with.
This is, like, not a statement. I just have questions, basically.
So my question to you all is
do you consider non-binary to be kind of a catch-all umbrella term that describes anyone who isn't binary
or do you think there's a better term for it for people who might not use a label yet
but they're not necessarily cis and their gender isn't necessarily conforming?
You could use trans but I'm wary of applying that label to people who might not feel that way
'cause I know there are also gender non-conforming people who don't consider themselves trans
so it's very subjective.
For some happy related news
California just passed a law legally recognizing non-binary as a third gender option
which is fuckin awesome!
My boy Jerry Brown killing it again with his legislation
Also this is not me cosigning everything that Jerry Brown has ever done, by the way
because I'm not that clued in to everything Jerry Brown does, to be honest.
But he has passed some really great laws such as the Yes Means Yes law
and also the law rece--semi recently to make California a sanctuary state so I'm for it.
I'm very pro a lot of the shit that Jerry Brown does.
Since last week, when I made my video on it
there have been exponentially more reports about harassment and sexual assault in Hollywood.
This, unfortunately, is not surprising.
I talked about this in my last video so I'm not gonna go into too much detail here
but maybe in the future I'll talk about it more in depth with the new information that is coming out
and some of the nuances of it.
Three days ago there was a bomb hoax at a Planned Parenthood in Whittier, California.
A bomb squad was deployed to destroy a suspicious-looking pipe with wires sticking out of it
which turned out to not be a bomb, thankfully.
I do wanna point out that this is not an irregular occurrence at Planned Parenthoods
or just any health clinic that offers abortion services.
According to the National Abortion Federation
violence towards clinics that offer abortion is ongoing
and in 2016 vandalism, picketing, obstruction, invasion, trespassing, burglary
stalking, assault and battery, and bomb threats have increased.
They also report that
"the percentage of clinics reporting the most severe types of anti-abortion violence and threats of violence
has dramatically increased" between 2014 and 2016.
Even when bomb threats like this turn out to be a hoax
it still contributes to anxiety and fear over safety for folks who need to access these services.
And that's kind of the point.
It's already incredibly difficult to make the decision to get an abortion
when there's still so much shame and stigma placed on it.
Not only that, abortion is already really inaccessible to a lot of people in certain states.
I talk about this more in depth in my choice feminism video that will be coming out soon, at some point.
So on top of that having to deal with protesters harassing, stalking, and threatening you
because you're making a decision about your own body is incredibly demoralizing.
Like, the decision to get an abortion is already incredibly difficult for a lot of cis women, as well as trans people
and not a decision that most people take lightly.
Anyway, that was me summin up the news for this week.
I've been thinking about playing around with the format of Feminist Fridays
so let me know what your thoughts are on this.
Do you prefer a video like last week
where I only talk about one news story and tie it into larger feminist issues and discourse
or did you prefer this week's video where I talked about things more briefly but I was able to cover more topics?
Lemme know.
Anyway, thank you for watching this video.
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