Hot feminist date? You betcha

Happy Friday!

Every so often, a feminist may find herself in a committed relationship, which may then necessitate the occasional date. And Valentine's Day is fast approaching, for better or worse.

As a particularly humorless feminist, I take to heart the motto that the personal is political. So I thought I would submit for your reading pleasure some ways to add feminist overtones to your love life. DC, watch out.

You are what you eat

Look up woman-owned restaurants in your area. If they serve organic/local/vegan fare, even better. I recently went to Johnny's Half Shell, a seafood joint in DC started by Ann Cashion. Cashion, who won a James Beard award for Best Chef in the MidAtlantic in 2004, regularly receives critical praise and is a self-described feminist. The oysters and shrimp were good, the atmosphere and live music fun. My only quibble was I felt rushed by the wait-staff, which was off-putting.

Observe the Bechdel test

I am constantly searching for feminist films to round out my weekends, but want something that won't totally bore BF. He's feminist but likes ye olde action thriller as much as the next guy. What's a feminist breeder to do? After much hair pulling and stomping around my video store, I was relieved to rediscover the Bechdel test, which eased my moviegoing anxiety.

This rule originated in the comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For, written by Alison Bechdel. In the 1985 strip The Rule, one of the characters selects films to watch based on three criteria: 1) At least two women are in it, who 2) talk to each other, about 3) something other than a man. Remarkably few films pass this criteria. Poke around your local indie video store, ask the staff for recommendations, or visit your small local theater (See also: FMF staff reviews of Whip It!, 500 Days of Summer, and Vera Drake).

I recently watched Revolutionary Road, which stars Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as a stifled fifties couple who plot their escape to Paris. This film narrowly passes The Rule, though Kate Winslet and Kathy Bates don't discuss much of substance. Still, the film does portray abortion as a viable option for women in the pre-Roe era facing unintended pregnancies. This is a far sight better than the way abortion has been dismissed in Juno, Knocked Up, and other pregnancy-related comedies.

Sing it, sister!

Live performances are a good solution for most things, particularly feminist dates. I'm pretty pumped for the Girls Rock! DC benefit show this Saturday afternoon at Comet Ping Pong. Woman-fronted local bands and artists are raising money and promoting this feminist rock camp, so what's not to love? Bonus points: Comet and its fancier neighbor Buck's Fishing & Camping are run by Chef Carole Greenwood, who draws on local ingredients.

Nothing say erudite like a trip to the theatre, and this can appeal whether you are bourgie or broke. If you love Russia, try the Constellation Theatre Company's production of Chekhov's Three Sisters, directed by the company's founding artistic director Allison Arkell Stockman. DC theatergoers should also be sure to catch one of Molly Smith's Arena Stage plays. I have yet to be disappointed by the feminist-friendly fare they offer.

So there you are. I'm sure you, fellow feminist, have no shortage of weekend plans too. Would love to hear what feminist recreational (legal) activities you get up to! Comment below with your recommendations and reviews, and have a fab Friday!

A Serious Wake-up Call: Child Farm Workers in the U.S.

After reading Patrice's blog post (below) on U.S. agricultural systems and making healthy, socially conscious decisions about food, I thought I'd add to the discussion with this post.

Several weeks ago I was astonished and horrified to learn that there are 400,000 - 500,000 child farm laborers, age 5 - 16, working in U.S. fields, picking the very food we eat. Nearly 2/3 of these children drop out of school permanently. These children lack federal labor protections that all other children in the U.S. enjoy and often fear that they, or their families will be deported.

I was previously aware and very concerned about the terrible working and living conditions migrant farm workers in the U.S. endure, but had no idea that children, too, were often working alongside their parents. This is a major wake up call that child labor (along with sweatshop labor, sex slavery, and more), happens at home, not just in "third-world" countries.

Shine Global has investigated this issue and produced a film called "The Harvest". The film features stories from actual child farm workers. I haven't been able to see it yet, but have been told by another FMF colleague that it is very powerful and gives you a real awakening. I encourage you to check out the site and look for screenings near you.

So, indeed, there are many, many reasons to buy local, know where your food comes from and appreciate each and every bite!

New Years Resolution - Go Local and Organic!

I usually don't participate in New Year's resolutions because I know I most likely won't keep up with it. But after watching the film, Food Inc., I decided to make an exception.

I generally think of myself as someone who has a relatively good diet. I try to stay away from red meat and pork, and increase my consumption of fruits and vegetables. I try my very best to limit my fast food intake. From there, I thought I was doing a pretty good job. Then, I watched Robert Kinner's film and totally had a change of heart.

If you haven't seen this documentary yet, it is a must see!!! Thanks to campus organizer, T. Stewart, I am now a believer.

Filmmaker, Kinner, does a phenomenal job of revealing the secrets behind our national food industry. In this film, you will learn about the monopoly only a few corporations have over the so-called variety of food products we look for at our local grocery stores. What's really sad is the debilitating impacts they have on local farmers and immigrant workers who are, in most cases, recruited from Latin American countries illegally to work in very inhumane conditions. In addition, bacteria that was once considered foreign and rare, has infiltrated our food supply. Even the foods that we generally think about as the healthiest are often contaminated (remember the E. coli found in spinach leaves and salmonella in peanut butter?).

You would think the federal government would not allow this to happen. Think again! In fact, government agencies such as the USFDA employed top representatives who are or once were executives at these companies, leaving very little room for objective governance when it comes to our most sacred resource.

Today, Huffington Post had a very interesting article about most food purchased in the US are packaged and come from factory farms, the breeding grounds for deadly pathogens that are making their way to our dinner tables.

Well, with all of this in mind, I thought to myself, what could I do to reduce my health becoming impaired by what I eat and not participating in how these companies treat their workers and contracted farmers. Luckily, at the end of the film, there's a listing of recommendations of how every day citizens can make a difference:

• Buy locally grown foods
• Support farmers markets and ask them to accept food assistance programs such as EBT or food stamps
• Go organic (though costly, the higher the demand, the likelihood of prices to drop - your buying power is your vote!)
• Start a community garden

These simple actions also got me to think about how our current administration is approaching health care reform. I'm all for uninsured Americans to be covered under this possible new law (hell, I'm looking forward to the day when we'll have universal coverage. I'm still crossing my fingers). But I would really like to see our country take a huge leap forward and not only reform health care insurance, but also our very health and well-being, which is completely tied to what we eat and often our lifestyles. Though I don't expect nor want our government to legislate our lifestyles, more can certainly be done to give us healthier choices and incentives in both providing and making those choices.

In order to achieve true health care reform, we can not leave out the need to do a serious overhaul of our food industry. Because what's the point of promoting preventive care (though we should definitely continue to do so) if the veggies or eggs most Americans buy are covered with deadly bacteria?

Well, until we get it all figured out, I've made a commitment. I will try my very best to go local and organic! Wish me luck!