"feminist" guilt: how demonizing sexist expression is an intellectual no-carb diet

I begin this post with a qualifier: there is no single type of "feminism" or "feminist ideology". For the purposes of my discussion, I am referring to a particular feminist narrative that has drastically shaped and continues to shape my life, and in no way seek to cast feminism as one-size-fits-all. Further, my analysis does not speak to all--but to young girls and women who may identify with my lifestyle and experiences.

Back to the point.

The feminist narrative I speak of has certainly changed and developed over time, but in the aggregate, it is crudely summarized as follows: (1) because I am a woman, I am viewed as a sexual object; (2) because I have been raised a woman with a feminine gender performance, I have internalized sexist norms, intertwined them with my own concept of self-esteem, and have become my own oppressor; (3) because I have been raised a woman with a feminine gender performance, I have been indoctrinated with aspirations of reproducing in a nuclear-family setting; and (4) because I have been raised a woman with a feminine gender performance, all expressions of sexuality and aging devalue me.

You can imagine the impact these new-found beliefs had on a former cheerleader who enjoyed all-pink ensembles and celebrity gossip--my world turned upside down.

Disgusted with myself and the material possessions I idolized, I embarked on a new journey during my college years. With a shaved head and unshaven legs, I was determined to transcend the misogynist and oppressive cultural norms that had me constantly vying for hetero male attention as a vehicle for self-worth. I'm a smart, ambitious girl; how did I ever fall for such an anti-intellectual and de-humanizng arrangement?

I can't recall the exact order of what happened next, but as my hair began to grow out, and my reclusive obsession with self-discovery faded into my return and re-claiming of the party scene, I had to come to grips with an undeniable reality: I love high heals, short dresses, and dancing.

Now, feel free to psychoanalyze that all you want; trust me, I do it all of the time. But the bottom line is, however arguably "sexist" or "degrading" these behaviors are, one way or the other, they have become a part of my expression; whether I am a willing participant or simply brainwashed, I love me some top 40 and a good dance floor.

Throughout the past few years of feminist guilt weighing in the back of my mind as I picked out stilettos, LBDs, and crop tops, I found justification with the fact that as long as I am thinking about and questioning my own desires and their implications, I can be intellectually comfortable with crossing the boundary between intelligent feminist and unrestrained fun-seeker. Although I have struggled with whether I am serving as a true role model to younger girls, I have taken comfort in encouraging ambition, confidence, self-discovery, higher education, career-orientation, and open communication.

All of this being said, lately, I have been thinking a lot about this "guilt" and what it means. And then it occurred to me. How can a feminist voice reach young girls when that voice, while motivated by ideals of liberty and humanism, effectively demonizes most forms of expression with which (many) heteronormative girls identify? As a general matter, you are simply asking girls to fail and hate (a part of) themselves. This method is as flawed as a no-carb diet.

In most cases, people on no-carb diets demonize "bad foods", typically cheat, punish themselves, rinse, and repeat. If you are self-regulating and self-destructive enough to stick to life of restriction, I suspect you will not fully experience or enjoy your life. I think the same applies with demonizing all forms of expression that (my) feminist narrative considers oppressive.

As with food, a relationship with any type of feminism should be mindful, nourishing, and fulfilling. If it isn't--something isn't working for you. Not to say you should give up without a fight, but I cannot ask young girls to jump on a bandwagon that may (in some cases) have them feeling unreasonably left out for not participating in subject activity, or "cheating" and feeling "guilty". That's not my brand of feminism. (note: sometimes it's better to be left out...trust.)

Throughout the past 6 years of my self-discovery, my world view has developed, changed, become un-complicated, and become more complicated in lots of really interesting, challenging, and exciting ways. The more I grow, the more I identify with one of my favorite quotes from Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins: "there are no group solutions."

Where I am right now in my ever-evolving journey works for me--and I no longer feel guilty about it. Not that I am so old, or so wise, or so accomplished, but my message to young girls is to challenge, but also to love, all parts of you.

GF/V REVIEW: Planet Raw is OUT OF THIS WORLD

Last night, GFVFBF and I headed down to Santa Monica to check out Planet Raw--a casual joint that boasts a menu of exclusively raw, gluten-free, and vegan food (except certain items contain honey). In short, my mind was blown. GFVFBF agrees.

Some background. The raw food movement is a dietary belief that uncooked food is healthiest (although food can be heated to 104-118 degrees Fahrenheit, depending on the raw foodie you ask).

Appetizer. To start with we had spring rolls sans avocado (I'm allergic). Honestly, it was INCREDIBLE. The sauce is something to the tune of blended cashews, lemon, ginger, and garlic. As you can tell by the picture, it's really creamy and tasted so good that GFBFVF and I were eating it plain when we finished the spring rolls. GFBFVF, who generally doesn't like cabbage, loved the shredded cabbage with the spring roll sauce.

Entree #1. GFBFVF had the good sense to order the cheesy

kelp pasta. Again, words can't describe how creamy and amazing the raw cheese was. This dish was so delicious that I have been fantasizing about eating it all day today. This dish contained cauliflower, and, like the cabbage, GFVFBF was all over it even though he normally doesn't like cauliflower.

Entree #2. Despite the perfection of the spring rolls and cheesy kelp pasta, I could not stand the pad thai--for the sole reason that it contained a lot of rosemary. First, I hate rosemary and all things rosemary-flavored with a fiery passion; it sickens me. Second, who in their right mind would think that

pad thai would come with rosemary? Barf. GFVFBF, on the other hand, enjoys rosemary and thought it was a fine dish (although I think he was lying to make me feel less guilty about scarfing down his cheesy kelp pasta...what a lovely partner I have).

Although I LOVE LOVE LOVE Planet Raw and will be a devoted patron for as long as I live, there are a few things that I didn't like. First, it tries to be a restaurant and a raw food quickie mart at the same time in a very small space. I find it rather disjointed and would prefer it to be less casual. Second, GFBFVF and I had an early dinner (around 6), but ingredients had run out for 3 of the dishes we originally wanted (this is how I ended up with the nasty rosemary wannabe pad thai).

Complaints aside, Planet Raw is now on my favorite list and I cannot wait to go back again.

"Health Care Reform Starts in Your Mouth"

Garrett Mize really hit the nail on the head in his piece "Health Care Reform Starts in Your Mouth."

As a progressive political activist, I attend a lot of political get-togethers and events. But if you take a look at the food offered at any one of these events, you’d think I was at a Republican fund-raising dinner for Sarah Palin. At fancy dinners steak, pork tenderloin, and lobster is on the menu. At activist events and phone-banks cheese pizza with pepperoni and extra sausage is the preferred choice. At morning grassroots planning meetings breakfast tacos filled with egg, cheese and sausage and bagels with flavored cream cheese are the expected progressive staples...It doesn’t make a lot of sense to chow down on pizza while phone-banking for health care reform, or to have a BBQ party to celebrate a successful legislative session that included the expansion of health care...

Obviously it's extreme to say one must eat 100% healthy food 100% of the time. I read this in terms of general lifestyle trends, and not as a call to police every bite of food.

The article continues with a great clip of BC. Really hoping the plant-based message can at least resonate with people vulnerable to or struggling with heart disease.

GF/V Review: Rice Divine's Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Ice Cream

Despite the rumors that us vegans only eat vegetables, many of us (me included) love to get down with some ice cream. Celiac Disease impacts my love of ice cream, particularly when it comes to coconut, rice, almond, or soy milk ice creams that have cookie chunks in them (sad panda).

Now that I'm living at home in LA for the summer (woot woot), Mama Bear brings home lots of goodies for me from Whole Foods. Today's goodie: Good Karma Organic Rice Divine Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge.

I totally dig this flavor. While the chocolate-flavored ice cream isn't anything out of the ordinary, the magic lies in the fact that it's filled with chunks of GF/V cookies and random spots of organic, creamy peanut butter.

But, don't take my word for it. After all, I have the warped taste buds of 3.5 years of vegan living and don't even remember what ice cream made from cow lactation is even like any more. For a more objective assessment, I put this flavor to The Dylan Test. In case you don't remember, Dylan is a grubby 7th-grader who lives off of hamburgers, french fries, pizza, and Coke.

Turns out, this flavor passes. As Dylan salivated and back-washed melted ice cream all over my spoon, he described the flavor as "awesome."

(Although, I will admit that I didn't want to give Dylan a bite with cookie or PB chunks, so his reaction is based solely on the plain chocolate ice cream. Whoops.)

If you're leaving veganism, be honest about it.

Perusing Ecorazzi, I was quite peeved to read about Ginnifer Goodwin's cowardly bow out of veganism.

If you no longer desire to be a vegan, just be honest that you wanted to stuff your face with animal flesh, lactation, or embryos. No one can knock you for sharing your sincere feelings.

But if, instead, you take the Goodwin route--scapegoating on "health" issues--you only reaffirm the damaging myth that vegans are necessarily weak or somehow nutritionally lacking. And let's be real, her feeble attempt at saving face didn't work. This interview is obnoxious.

Candy Tree's Gluten-Free/Vegan Licorice

Dear readers,

I have been keeping something from you--my new fav treat!

After my diagnosis with Celiac Disease, I was devastated to learn that my fav candy, licorice, is conventionally made with gluten products.

Hearing my sorrow, my very gluten-free/vegan friendly partner--let's call him my GFVFBF--sent me a box of Candy Tree licorice, which are both gluten-free and vegan.

I love them. I will admit, they do taste "healthy" and therefore, not just anyone will appreciate them (not sure that they would pass the Dylan Test). I, on the the other hand, am happy to turn in Red Vines for these organic, naturally-sweetened, naturally-colored delights. Also, they are a bit chewy, but well worth the extra jaw work.

In fact, they are so delish that, upon hearing I finished a boxful, GFVFBF sent in re-enforcements just in time for finals.

Ingredients: organic corn syrup, organic rice flour, organic rice starch, organic concentrated fruit juice (raspberry and apple), organic raspberry flavor.

"meat reducers"--so hot right now

Cheers to a new wave of meat eaters: meat reducers!

Vegetarian Star and Ecorazzi recently covered Chipotle founder Steve Ell's identification as a meat reducer:

“I used to think of meat in the center of the plate. Today, I am a meat reducer. This means I eat less meat and make sure that the limited meat I do eat is of the highest quality. My plate is comprised of seasonal and local vegetables with meat as an accompaniment. While this is a healthier diet, the main reason I now eat this way is because it tastes better and I feel better.” Read more

Love it.

Perhaps in time, Steve Ell's will join Steve Wynn and Bill Clinton in the "rise of the power vegans."

PETA gets under my skin. again.

Dear PETA,

I thought we were getting along a little better. After all, I haven't been enraged with you since your bout with transphobia in 2009 (although this probably just means I just haven't paying any attention to the media).

But we're back to square one. I saw this ad featuring NBA scout Bonnie-Jil Lafflin on Ecorazzi and nearly hit the roof. I simply cannot stand when veganism or vegetarianism are pitched as weight loss plans.

Being veg is not a magic weight loss pill. And frankly, this ad is just riding the

wave of hate your body/fat phobia/loathe yourself/diet diet diet insanity that creates more insecurity than confidence.

Furthermore, being veg doesn't make a person healthy; there are plenty of unhealthy vegans/vegetarians that do not eat well-balanced meals, do not exercise, or go to town on highly-processed, high-sodium mock meats.

Health is not about weight. If you are healthy, an appropriate weight will follow. This ad is just about weight, and frankly, it undermines the ethical, environmental, and food safety implications underpinning a healthy veg lifestyle.

Hey PETA, stick with throwing paint, hosting demonstrations, and releasing undercover footage. Your posters and commercials are an embarrassment to vegans who support you--myself included.

"Journalism" or Transphobia?

"A jury found a transgender individual guilty of killing her roommate with a pickax Thursday...French, a transgender individual who identifies herself as a woman, was found guilty of killing Frank Johnson in 2007." Source.

If a person's gender identification does not bear a relationship to the crime that person committed, why is gender orientation relevant to the media coverage?

It isn't.

Imagine reading an article that said, "Bob Smith, a biological male with a heterosexual orientation, robbed a store." It's absurd.

Where gender identification is unrelated to the crime alleged, the only purpose in repeatedly mentioning that identity is for shock value--manifesting the writer's transphobia and/or playing on the transphobia of readers.

Perhaps the transphobia exhibited in this piece isn't blatant--perhaps it's simply implied. By calling out the "non-conforming" gender identities of trans people where their identities are unrelated to the issue at hand, the speaker reinforces an us-versus-them binary that, while more "courteous" than explicit hate speech, is equally as damaging. Frankly, the ease with which such back-handed transphobia slips into everyday "civil" discourse is much more alarming to me (think Simone de Beauvoir's The Second Sex).

conservation just got a little easier

In my humble opinion, "going green" doesn't happen in the flip of a solar-powered light switch; it's a process. But sometimes, one's "greening" seems to plateau. If you need some inspiration, here are some goodies I just pulled from Ecorazzi.

The Staple-Free Stapler.

I try and use paper clips as often as possible since they are re-usable--but this is so much cooler! You can get it on Amazon.

Biodegradable Shoes.

When I read about biodegradable shoes, I assumed said wonder shoe would be fugly. But I was wrong. Oat rocks the eco-shoe rather well, and I am eagerly awaiting a release in the United States.

"Born This Way" and LGBTQ Discourse

I'd like to start off this post by saying that I am a huge Gaga fan, and that this blog post only applies to Born This Way in terms of the song's application to LGBTQ identity. The aim of Born This Way in affirming and empowering queer identity is not implied; lyrics include:

"No matter gay, straight or bi

lesbian, transgendered life..."

While I love Gaga's passion for equality, the assertion one is "born" queer has negative implications for LGBTQ equality. The narrative "it's not your fault, you didn't choose this, and therefore we will accept you" is the same as saying "queerness is [insert pejorative here], but because you didn't choose it--and what sane person would?--we will tolerate you."

To me, that is not equality. To me, that is not acceptance. There is nothing wrong with being queer--whether you were born "that way" or whether you chose "that way."

I am not trying to argue that a person cannot be "born" LGBTQ--I am not trying to take any one's experience or re-cast their own sexual/gendered history. Reasonable minds, however, do vary as to the nature of sexual desires and orientations, particularly more fluid orientations.

That being said, this post is purely political. In a world of equality, it would not matter whether you were forced by some sort of innate inclination or freely chose to love someone of your own sex. But, in a world rampant with homophobia, the argument "accept me because I can't help that I'm queer" continues to posit queerness as less than heterosexuality.

I will say, I don't hear many members of the LGBTQ community pitching that argument--but that is the rationale I have heard time and time again from numerous "allies." I think it's about time we set the record straight: it's okay to choose.

after pressure from Greenpeace, Costco improves seafood policy

Some people say that in a romance, passion eventually dies. To all those people, I would just like to say that Greenpeace still makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside--especially this huge Costco victory.

Thanks to pressure from Greenpeace and over 100,000 Greenpeace grassroots activists, Costco has publicly announced that it will:

- Eliminate 12 red list species, unless the company can find an MSC-certified option, including:

- Atlantic cod
- Atlantic halibut
- Chilean sea bass
- Greenland halibut
- Grouper
- Monkfish
- Orange roughy
- Redfish
- Shark
- Skates and rays
- Swordfish
- Bluefin tuna

-- Pledge to play more of a leadership role within aquaculture;

-- Partner with World Wildlife Fund to examine its remaining wild-caught species and determine how to best transition to the most sustainable alternative; and

-- Acknowledge the role that the canned tuna industry plays within the global sustainable seafood movement and is in the process of shifting to more sustainable tuna sources in all sectors (fresh, frozen, and canned).

Gotta love the power of consumer pressure.