Thursday, September 3, 2009
BFB is featured in the BITCH Magazine "Page Turner" Blog!
We are pleased to announce that a really interesting, meaty interview with BFB editor, Shannon O'Leary, conducted by Ellen Papazian, appears today at BITCH Magazine's Page Turner blog!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Co-Contributors Sari Wilson & Josh Neufeld Answer the "BFB Big Three"
Sari Wilson is a creative writer working in comics and prose. Her work has been published in SMITH Magazine, Girls to Grrrlz: A History of Women’s Comics, literary journals such as Slice and Agni, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She and her husband cartoonist Josh Neufeld, as a separate-and-together team, create motion comics for television, film, and the Internet, for clients such as ABC and Lifetime.
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
Yes, I consider myself a feminist! I’ll say it again: I consider myself a feminist! I am glad we can still use this word. I find it useful and I was sad when, it seemed for some years to retreat from popular use, and was even vilified. Even “progressive” women, assertive women, confident women, ambitious women wouldn’t get caught using the “f” word. It was like admitting that you wore high briefs or elastic on your underwear was stretched out.
Why do I consider myself a feminist? For me, feminism is the word for the gap between what women can do and what they are allowed /allow themselves to do. It was crucial to my coming of age to realize that women—even for a somewhat privileged m-c girl—had to fight for what they wanted. Feminism is the reminder to me that my life and my choices are not just floating in an a priori world, that I am the member of a group in a society that had had certain history—and biology—and in this way my life is both a personal creation and part of a social and political continuum. Sometimes, when I read an interview with Toni Morrison about her years as a single mom writing The Bluest Eye, or Tillie Olson’s blistering essay collection Silences, I get all verklempt-y about it…
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
Let’s see…when I was in college, I “discovered” feminism along with every other woman living in Third World House at Oberlin College and it changed my view of myself, my ambitions, my challenges, my insecurities. I read MacKinnon, Dworkin, Bell Hooks. I didn’t get it all and my attempts at feminist-inspired lesbianism largely failed; but my reading and the “womyn” groups I participated in all gave me a critical language for thinking about myself outside of myself. I’m every grateful to late 1980s-style feminism for that. But I also have to say that I imbibed a good dose of social guilt along with this heady brew. Not sure where that came from—this hierarchizing of suffering, this defensiveness toward men and quickness to apply the label “patriarchal”—and if this is just a necessary step in the consciousness-raising process. It did leave some scars that took some time to undo. Though academia may still be stuck in some of these dialectics, the larger culture moved on. Women have been experimenting with all types of feminism. Now after years of working in journalism and publishing, feminism has a broader meaning for me. It’s come to mean the act of conversing about, and experimenting with, modes of empowerment for women. I have found, for example, becoming a mother surprisingly powerful from a feminist perspective (and have blogged about it my blog Muttering —with some lively responses).
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Yes. I think so. I am sure so. We see it all around us. Women still don’t make what men make comparably and generally have to sacrifice much, much more to get there. Every so often a new study pops up that says “Women still only make so-and-so for men’s so-and-so.” But more than that, and what those studies don’t show, is that the personal sacrifices women have to make to compete with men at those levels. And here I fault our culture and our social systems for, on the one hand, mythologizing motherhood and, other the other hand, not supporting women trying to find a way to work and be present in family life. This is like beating a dead horse—what a yucky metaphor—and people are always yammering on about it but at the same time daycare is so expensive and mostly privatized, maternity leave in this country is largely a joke, health insurance is still a disaster for those who don’t have corporate jobs, etc. All these things have a direct impact on what women who chose to have children can work for, can hope for, and, realistically, can achieve.
Josh Neufeld has been working in the "alternative comics" field for a while now, as an illustrator of Harvey Pekar's stories, as an autobiographer of his own backpacking adventures, and most recently as a chronicler of Hurricane Katrina, as seen from the perspective of seven real-life New Orleanians who survived the storm. A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is coming out next month from Pantheon Graphic Novels. He'll be going on tour to support the book, and may be coming to a city near you: stops include Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; Portland, OR; Miami, FL; and of course New Orleans and his hometown of New York City. (You can see all the details here...)
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
Hell, yeah! At its heart, feminism is the simple belief that women are -- and should be treated as -- equal to men. That's just basic fairness. And since women have been treated as unequal for so long, it's only right that feminism as a movement came about to right those wrongs. I was raised by a single mom, a proud feminist (as well as a political activist for all kinds of social justice), so I was taught to the principles of feminism from a tender age. So much so that I don't ever remember learning them -- they were just part of who I was.
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
When I was in college, I studied art history with a contemporary bent under the tutelage of an outspoken feminist professor. And this was at Oberlin College in the late 1980s, so I was smack-dab in the middle of the culture/identity wars. I admit to some confusion during that period, trying to reconcile my status as a straight, white male, a "product of the partriarchy," with my romantic relationships with women, but I muddled through okay in the end. As usually happens when one emerges from the ivory tower into the prosaic realities of "normal life" -- e.g., getting a job, living on your own, entering into a relationship -- my beliefs changed a bit. I soon found that you could be a good feminist man and still buy a woman dinner, or hold the door open for her, etc., etc. That being a feminist didn't mean denying your gender identity. It's a constant, shifting field, constantly open to negotiation between the respective parties. Just like every other transaction in life.
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Um, hell, yeah. As has always been the case, it's not so much a matter of women "overcoming" as the rest of society finally accepting reality. It's obviously vital for feminists to constantly push for change -- whether it be in the boardroom, the kitchen, the schoolhouse, the museum, the halls of government, or the sports arena -- but what I've seen over the years is that change happens... slowly. Generally for the good -- for justice, for acceptance, for equality -- but slowly.
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
Yes, I consider myself a feminist! I’ll say it again: I consider myself a feminist! I am glad we can still use this word. I find it useful and I was sad when, it seemed for some years to retreat from popular use, and was even vilified. Even “progressive” women, assertive women, confident women, ambitious women wouldn’t get caught using the “f” word. It was like admitting that you wore high briefs or elastic on your underwear was stretched out.
Why do I consider myself a feminist? For me, feminism is the word for the gap between what women can do and what they are allowed /allow themselves to do. It was crucial to my coming of age to realize that women—even for a somewhat privileged m-c girl—had to fight for what they wanted. Feminism is the reminder to me that my life and my choices are not just floating in an a priori world, that I am the member of a group in a society that had had certain history—and biology—and in this way my life is both a personal creation and part of a social and political continuum. Sometimes, when I read an interview with Toni Morrison about her years as a single mom writing The Bluest Eye, or Tillie Olson’s blistering essay collection Silences, I get all verklempt-y about it…
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
Let’s see…when I was in college, I “discovered” feminism along with every other woman living in Third World House at Oberlin College and it changed my view of myself, my ambitions, my challenges, my insecurities. I read MacKinnon, Dworkin, Bell Hooks. I didn’t get it all and my attempts at feminist-inspired lesbianism largely failed; but my reading and the “womyn” groups I participated in all gave me a critical language for thinking about myself outside of myself. I’m every grateful to late 1980s-style feminism for that. But I also have to say that I imbibed a good dose of social guilt along with this heady brew. Not sure where that came from—this hierarchizing of suffering, this defensiveness toward men and quickness to apply the label “patriarchal”—and if this is just a necessary step in the consciousness-raising process. It did leave some scars that took some time to undo. Though academia may still be stuck in some of these dialectics, the larger culture moved on. Women have been experimenting with all types of feminism. Now after years of working in journalism and publishing, feminism has a broader meaning for me. It’s come to mean the act of conversing about, and experimenting with, modes of empowerment for women. I have found, for example, becoming a mother surprisingly powerful from a feminist perspective (and have blogged about it my blog Muttering —with some lively responses).
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Yes. I think so. I am sure so. We see it all around us. Women still don’t make what men make comparably and generally have to sacrifice much, much more to get there. Every so often a new study pops up that says “Women still only make so-and-so for men’s so-and-so.” But more than that, and what those studies don’t show, is that the personal sacrifices women have to make to compete with men at those levels. And here I fault our culture and our social systems for, on the one hand, mythologizing motherhood and, other the other hand, not supporting women trying to find a way to work and be present in family life. This is like beating a dead horse—what a yucky metaphor—and people are always yammering on about it but at the same time daycare is so expensive and mostly privatized, maternity leave in this country is largely a joke, health insurance is still a disaster for those who don’t have corporate jobs, etc. All these things have a direct impact on what women who chose to have children can work for, can hope for, and, realistically, can achieve.
Josh Neufeld has been working in the "alternative comics" field for a while now, as an illustrator of Harvey Pekar's stories, as an autobiographer of his own backpacking adventures, and most recently as a chronicler of Hurricane Katrina, as seen from the perspective of seven real-life New Orleanians who survived the storm. A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge is coming out next month from Pantheon Graphic Novels. He'll be going on tour to support the book, and may be coming to a city near you: stops include Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL; Washington, DC; Portland, OR; Miami, FL; and of course New Orleans and his hometown of New York City. (You can see all the details here...)
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
Hell, yeah! At its heart, feminism is the simple belief that women are -- and should be treated as -- equal to men. That's just basic fairness. And since women have been treated as unequal for so long, it's only right that feminism as a movement came about to right those wrongs. I was raised by a single mom, a proud feminist (as well as a political activist for all kinds of social justice), so I was taught to the principles of feminism from a tender age. So much so that I don't ever remember learning them -- they were just part of who I was.
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
When I was in college, I studied art history with a contemporary bent under the tutelage of an outspoken feminist professor. And this was at Oberlin College in the late 1980s, so I was smack-dab in the middle of the culture/identity wars. I admit to some confusion during that period, trying to reconcile my status as a straight, white male, a "product of the partriarchy," with my romantic relationships with women, but I muddled through okay in the end. As usually happens when one emerges from the ivory tower into the prosaic realities of "normal life" -- e.g., getting a job, living on your own, entering into a relationship -- my beliefs changed a bit. I soon found that you could be a good feminist man and still buy a woman dinner, or hold the door open for her, etc., etc. That being a feminist didn't mean denying your gender identity. It's a constant, shifting field, constantly open to negotiation between the respective parties. Just like every other transaction in life.
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Um, hell, yeah. As has always been the case, it's not so much a matter of women "overcoming" as the rest of society finally accepting reality. It's obviously vital for feminists to constantly push for change -- whether it be in the boardroom, the kitchen, the schoolhouse, the museum, the halls of government, or the sports arena -- but what I've seen over the years is that change happens... slowly. Generally for the good -- for justice, for acceptance, for equality -- but slowly.
Monday, June 29, 2009
BFB Q&A with Laura Lee Gulledge
Loyal readers of this blog are already familiar with Ms. Gulledge's work, from back when we announced that Act-i-vate was featuring her BFB contribution, "Sealed," as a sneak-preview of our anthology, but we thought a more personal follow-up interview with her was in order.
Laura Lee Gulledge is a former teacher from Virginia who has called New York home for a couple years now. She works as a scenic painter on projects such as the Macy's Christmas windows, hangs etchings under the street artist name Karat, and shows her drawings in Ad Hoc Gallery in Bushwick. She is currently writing and drawing a young adult graphic novel called Page by Paige which is based on her own use of art in self-discovery. It will be released in spring 2011 by Amulet Books, a division of Abrams. Find out more by visiting her website.
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
How could you not believe that women are equal to men? But I feel that the word "feminist" seems to have a stigma attached to it for a lot of people. A "brace yourself this woman is about to get uppity" sort of implication. Perhaps because the first wave of feminists had to be more aggressive in order to infiltrate (therefore somewhat adopting to) a male dominated system in order to change it.
But I feel that there is a breed of feminists out there like myself who are searching for a more uniquely feminine sort of power. Strength. We don't want to wear power suits with shoulder pads and be the same as men, because then we're denying the awesomeness that is woman. We might be equal, but it's silly to think that we're the same.
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
I never thought about feminism growing up because my parents raised me with heaping spoonfuls of confidence-building-leadership-training-independence-cultivating activities. I never felt less than equal to boys. (In fact, I tended to think that us girls were far superior to the silly smelly boys.) I would help my dad with building projects in the garage and my brother would help my mom in the kitchen.
It was only in grad school that I delved into gender studies (Lots of Michel Foucault and Virginia Woolf...) because I was dealing with my own issues with sexual assault. After losing that sense of power and control it forced me to examine my preconceptions, and redefine myself as a woman both emotionally and sexually. Since then, the subjects of vulnerability, power, and the generally amusing differences between men and women have inspired LOTS of entertaining and gut-wrenching drawings.
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Feminism has definitely opened doors and cracked glass ceilings...we have the option to choose whatever profession or education we want. Hooray! BUT it seems like we can only do so as long as we also still remain sexy beasts and remain in charge of the domestic responsibilities. We're still trying to do it all and it's exhausting. (And I hate how many women feel judged if they do choose to be a stay-at-home mom rather than pursue a profession...)
But I'm optimistic, because progress IS being made. I just think it will take a while for these sort of deeply-embedded social roles to change. Change is slow. It's like a glacier, it feels like nothing is happening on the surface but deep down the landscape is being transformed.
Laura Lee Gulledge is a former teacher from Virginia who has called New York home for a couple years now. She works as a scenic painter on projects such as the Macy's Christmas windows, hangs etchings under the street artist name Karat, and shows her drawings in Ad Hoc Gallery in Bushwick. She is currently writing and drawing a young adult graphic novel called Page by Paige which is based on her own use of art in self-discovery. It will be released in spring 2011 by Amulet Books, a division of Abrams. Find out more by visiting her website.
1) Do you now or have you ever considered yourself a feminist? Why or why not?
How could you not believe that women are equal to men? But I feel that the word "feminist" seems to have a stigma attached to it for a lot of people. A "brace yourself this woman is about to get uppity" sort of implication. Perhaps because the first wave of feminists had to be more aggressive in order to infiltrate (therefore somewhat adopting to) a male dominated system in order to change it.
But I feel that there is a breed of feminists out there like myself who are searching for a more uniquely feminine sort of power. Strength. We don't want to wear power suits with shoulder pads and be the same as men, because then we're denying the awesomeness that is woman. We might be equal, but it's silly to think that we're the same.
2) If your attitude about feminism has changed over the years, what do you think precipitated those changes?
I never thought about feminism growing up because my parents raised me with heaping spoonfuls of confidence-building-leadership-training-independence-cultivating activities. I never felt less than equal to boys. (In fact, I tended to think that us girls were far superior to the silly smelly boys.) I would help my dad with building projects in the garage and my brother would help my mom in the kitchen.
It was only in grad school that I delved into gender studies (Lots of Michel Foucault and Virginia Woolf...) because I was dealing with my own issues with sexual assault. After losing that sense of power and control it forced me to examine my preconceptions, and redefine myself as a woman both emotionally and sexually. Since then, the subjects of vulnerability, power, and the generally amusing differences between men and women have inspired LOTS of entertaining and gut-wrenching drawings.
3) Are there, in your opinion, still some barriers to gender equality that women have yet to overcome?
Feminism has definitely opened doors and cracked glass ceilings...we have the option to choose whatever profession or education we want. Hooray! BUT it seems like we can only do so as long as we also still remain sexy beasts and remain in charge of the domestic responsibilities. We're still trying to do it all and it's exhausting. (And I hate how many women feel judged if they do choose to be a stay-at-home mom rather than pursue a profession...)
But I'm optimistic, because progress IS being made. I just think it will take a while for these sort of deeply-embedded social roles to change. Change is slow. It's like a glacier, it feels like nothing is happening on the surface but deep down the landscape is being transformed.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Bestselling Author & Performer Beth Lisick joins the Big Feminist BUT!
Beth Lisick is the author most recently of Helping Me Help Myself: One Skeptic, Ten Self-Help Gurus, and a Year on the Brink of the Comfort Zone. You can listen to her interview on NPR's Talk of the Nation here and watch a funny little video of her talking about the book here. Her previous book, Everybody Into the Pool, was a New York Times extended list bestseller and made Entertainment Weekly's list of Top 10 Nonfiction Books of 2005. Beth co-created, with writer/performer Tara Jepsen, the hilarious two-woman show, "Getting In On The Ground Floor and Staying There," and she co-organizes the Porchlight Storytelling Series, a monthly show for amateur storytellers in San Francisco.
We decided to introduce Beth to our readers by asking her to share a few of her thoughts on feminism, and here's what she had to say:
We are ants-in-our-pants excited to announce that Beth is writing a story exclusively for BFB, and allowing contributing editor Joan Reilly to illustrate it. We'll post special sneak-preview samples from the story just as soon as we can.
We decided to introduce Beth to our readers by asking her to share a few of her thoughts on feminism, and here's what she had to say:
I didn't get feminism for a long time. I grew up with two older brothers and there were never any special restrictions put on me because I was a girl. My gender was not an issue in any way, never anyone saying, "Hey, just because you're a girl don't let anyone tell you that you can't..." or "Girl power! Girls are awesome!" It just wasn't addressed. It was a non-issue. Or possibly, it was around me and I was oblivious. I think that's why when I went to college, I was a little mystified by all the teenage feminists. Without a very big worldview, my natural inclination was to think, "Crap, why do you have to keep going on about this stuff? It's embarrassing me."
I think it's weird how easily I can take for granted all the work that feminists have done, but as a human girl child, it was probably healthy for me to walk around assuming from the beginning that I had the same rights as everyone else. Does that make sense? Studying feminist literature and the history, yes, I took all those classes. But personally, I'd rather not walk around in the world feeling like I'm fighting for or against anything. It could be that I am a lazy, apathetic, privileged, entitled sloth, but my definition of feminism has always been closely linked to individualism.
We are ants-in-our-pants excited to announce that Beth is writing a story exclusively for BFB, and allowing contributing editor Joan Reilly to illustrate it. We'll post special sneak-preview samples from the story just as soon as we can.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
What's in a name
Thank you for all the encouragement and buzz we've been getting lately--it's pretty wild to come up with an idea with a few friends, get the word out, and then suddenly, Zoinks! You're mentioned on The Beat blog at Publisher's weekly. And then Shazam! on Daily Crosshatch as well. And we don't even have a publisher yet! But we will! Stay tuned to this space for upcoming news, contributor interviews, more sample pages, random musings on the topics of comics and feminism, and more.
Here's what we've been puzzling over lately: Our title. Now that "The Big Feminist BUT" has gained some traction, and BFB is such a good acronym, we are loath to change it. We have learned from P Diddy/Puff Daddy/Puffy/Sean Combs that changing one's name "mid career" is not always a good move. But I thought we'd share some of the other rejected title options we came up with, some good, some "meh", and some, uh... not so much.
I'm Not a Feminist, BUT...
Fish Ride Bikes! A Feminist Comics Anthology
But I'm a Feminist!
But Am I A Feminist?
And Ain't I A Feminist?
Are We Not Feminists?
Chicks Can Draw! Comics About Feminism
That's Not Funny!: The big book of feminist laffs
and Finally...drumroll...
The Fat Feminist Ass.
(Kidding. I made that last one up.)
But: if you're reading this, delurk: What do you think of the title, and what would you call it?
Here's what we've been puzzling over lately: Our title. Now that "The Big Feminist BUT" has gained some traction, and BFB is such a good acronym, we are loath to change it. We have learned from P Diddy/Puff Daddy/Puffy/Sean Combs that changing one's name "mid career" is not always a good move. But I thought we'd share some of the other rejected title options we came up with, some good, some "meh", and some, uh... not so much.
I'm Not a Feminist, BUT...
Fish Ride Bikes! A Feminist Comics Anthology
But I'm a Feminist!
But Am I A Feminist?
And Ain't I A Feminist?
Are We Not Feminists?
Chicks Can Draw! Comics About Feminism
That's Not Funny!: The big book of feminist laffs
and Finally...drumroll...
The Fat Feminist Ass.
(Kidding. I made that last one up.)
But: if you're reading this, delurk: What do you think of the title, and what would you call it?
Friday, May 1, 2009
Jeffrey Brown
The acclaimed auto-biographical cartoonist has contributed a clever and moving take on his and his partner, Jennifer’s, struggle to co-parent their son Oscar equally in the face of the every-day realities of being a mom vs. being a dad. You can read Jeffrey’s bio on the Top Shelf Website and see more of his work on his blog.
Here's a sample page from the 7-page story:
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