Alison Bechdel Interview at Gender Across Borders

One of the submissions to the privilege carnival that I couldn’t use was an interview with Alison Bechdel, who you probably know from Dykes to Watch Out For. Though the interview didn’t fit in with the privilege carnival, I wanted to make you all aware of it anyway, because it’s a nice long interview and really interesting.  Get the Alison Bechdel interview here.

Advent Calendar Day #9: Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich is one of my favorite contemporary poets, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one poet in this list. She’s brilliant, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s queer to boot.

Advent Calendar Day #8: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

You don’t get much more badass than Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who stood up for women’s rights from early on in her career as an attorney and has been doing so ever since her nomination to the Supreme Court. She may not be in very good company most of the time, but hey, at least we’ve got one voice up there.

Advent Calendar Day #7: Hillary Clinton

I know it’s kind of obvious to include Hillary Clinton on this list, but come on. She’s so badass, and really I like her better as Secretary of State than President, though I was rooting for her in that race, too. She’s doing so much for women, and she really speaks her mind in this position.

Advent Calendar Day #6: bell hooks

Pretty much at the top of my badass feminists list is bell hooks. If you haven’t read her books, you need to. She’s got quite a lot to say, and the way she says it gets you right in the gut.

Advent Calendar Day #5: Melissa Harris Lacewell

Melissa Harris Lacewell is just the ultimate in cool. She’s smart, funny, beautiful, and very much in demand these days as a commentator on race issues. Plus, she’s a badass professor, and I just love badass professors.

Advent Calendar Day #4: Ursula K. LeGuin

I may not love everything she writes, but it seems like half the time I’m reading an interesting and/or intelligent essay or response to something in a magazine, it’s by Ursula K. Leguin. She’s not only a very talented science fiction author, but she’s a woman who speaks up about seemingly anything and everything. More power to that.

Advent Calendar Day #2: Rachel Maddow

Yes, yes, it’s Rachel Maddow. Get ready to say thank you, Captain Obvious. But it’s true, I love her and I love that she not only brings liberalism and a bit of lesbian snark to cable news, but also isn’t afraid to indulge her own interests. She has her geek out moments, her focus on the military (retained from her Air America radio program), and as a consequence she’s not only smart, funny, and fabulously gay, but real. Rock on.

Advent Calendar Day #1: Christiane Amanpour

This year, I’ll be featuring an advent calendar of women I admire: strong, sexy, smart, talented, and on top of their game.  Hope you enjoy!

I grew up on Christiane Amanpour because my mom had a serious CNN kick in the 90s, and Christiane was her favorite reporter.  She’s badass, she’s not afraid to jump into the war zones with the boys, and she also has a grace and an intelligence about her that you can’t help but pick up on.  I hear she has her own show now, so if unlike me you have a television, you should check that out.

My dream dinner party

So a couple of months ago, I was thinking about who I would invite to a dinner party, if I could choose anyone I wanted.  I started with women-only, but then decided not to sex discriminate after all.  The sad part is, when my to-do list program (aka, my brain) crashed unexpectedly one day (as if there is such a thing as expected crashing), I lost everything.  That includes the list of invitees.  But nevertheless, I’ve thought about it all over again, and now I have for you the magic list, as I chomp on my mock sesame chicken and listen to the lovely Miss #6 on Air America.

1. Adrienne Rich 
2. Greg Mortensen
3. Viggo Mortensen (not related)
4. Ian McKellen
5. Christiane Amanpour
6. Rachel Maddow
7. Sarah Haskins
8. Kofi Annan
9. Howard Zinn
10. Bridget McManus
11. Jenni Ferrari-Adler
12. Claudia Roden
13. Azar Nafisi
14. Jessica Valenti
15. Clotilde Dusoulier