Welcome to new subscribers—thank you for caring about women, LGBTQ rights and the South! One of my favorite things about the newsletter is hosting guest writers—next week we’ll have a piece on crisis pregnancy centers in Virginia by professor Molly O’Donnell and the week following on why it’s a problem that white men own the Internet by technology scholar Hannah Steinhauer. I’m able to pay guest writers thanks to paid subscribers (thank you!), so consider upgrading today so you don’t hear from just me!
Do you remember back in March when Marilyn Lands campaigned for a state House seat on abortion rights in a heavily Republican district in Alabama and won? I’m thinking of her as I celebrate the launch of Democrat Kathryn Harvey’s campaign for U.S. House District Four.
For those of you outside the Upstate, or even those of you living here, you might be forgiven for forgetting that William Timmons is our current representative. He’s a classic nepo baby, and word on the street is he was no fun to be around even back in the day before he used his family’s connections and wealth to become our Trump-loving congressman (and now divorced after cheating on his wife, barf). He and Adam Morgan, the leader of the SC Freedom Caucus everyone loves to hate, are duking it out for who can be the most sycophantic fascist. They had a debate this week and while Timmons is really just the worst, Morgan is a zealot who wants to punish women for having abortions. Timmons is trying to have his cake and eat it too, pretending to be moderate with his position on a 15 week abortion ban, while Morgan sees it as the central role of government to “protect all life” i.e. weaponize the state to police women’s bodies.
There might be some Dems behind the graphics scene here—actual image from the Fox Carolina site, lol.
So it was an absolute breath of fresh air to hear from Harvey, when Fox Carolina hosted her the day after the debate to offer her responses (also, local media, is Fox Carolina the only one who cares about democracy? Where is the local coverage of Harvey?!!!). When the reporter asked her about her stance on abortion, Harvey both refused to cave to arguing for a limit and instead stuck to her guns: “I think we come back to the core—we have to believe a woman knows what’s right for her body and for her family.” I’m loving the genuine commitment to reproductive rights. Highly recommend watching the whole clip—seeing all the candidates together gives off some real “most qualified girl runs for class president against total dweebs” vibes. Be sure to donate to the campaign and/or sign up to volunteer.
This week I wandered down to the Village of West Greenville, our arts district, to check out a new bar, the Driftwood (it’s lovely, you should go). On the way I popped into the Page & Post, an absolute gem of a stationary and gift shop that not only centers local women and queer artists but also has fabulous merchandise to celebrate Pride, Father’s Day, birthdays etc. They also have these amazing boob potholders that you just can’t find anywhere else in town. One of our classic Southern thunderstorms popped up, and to avoid the drenching rain and also because she was delightful, I had a long chat with one of the two women (sisters) who own the shop. It was such a fun afternoon, and it was one of those moments that made me feel like Greenville might finally be home. If you’re in town, head down to Page & Post posthaste (amazing wrapping paper too), and if you’re out of town, order from their website. Yay for women-owned businesses!
Seriously, this is amazing.
To end, I’m excited to tell you we’re going to try our hand at a Hot Feminism book club. We’ll start in June with Sara Ahmed’s The Feminist Killjoy Handbook: The Radical Potential of Getting in the Way (we even have a copy in our Greenville County Library system!).
From the publisher: “A renowned feminist thinker argues we need to get in the way of happiness, our own and other people’s, to build a more just world
Do you refuse to laugh at offensive jokes? Have you ever been accused of ruining dinner by pointing out your companion’s sexist comment? Are you often told to stop being so “woke”? If so, you might be a feminist killjoy—and this handbook is for you. In this book, feminist theorist Sara Ahmed shows how killing joy can be a radical world-making project.
Presenting sharp analysis of literature, film, and influential feminist works, and drawing on her own experiences as a queer feminist scholar-activist of color, Ahmed reveals the invaluable lessons of the feminist killjoy, from the importance of asking questions to the power of the eye roll. The Feminist Killjoy Handbook offers an outstretched hand to feminist killjoys everywhere and an essential intellectual guide to the transformative power of getting in the way.”
I’ll send out some thoughts on the book next month, and if you’re local, we’ll have a in-person gathering on June 20th at 5:00 in Greenville to discuss. If you’d like to join us, please RSVP here, and I’ll send you exact location. There’s a spot on the form to suggest future books, please let me know what others you might want to read together. Really looking forward, and many thanks to new friend (and WGST scholar) Rebecca for the idea and helping organize.
Sunday I’m off to USC in Columbia for our inaugural, SC Women’s and Gender Studies Undergraduate Summer Institute. I’ll be (surprise surprise) leading a workshop on writing feminist media and how to start a newsletter. If you’re an instructor in SC, be on the lookout for the institute next summer and please spread the word to your students. I’m excited to see it grow, and grateful to be here at its beginning. Huge shoutout to USC WGST faculty and staff for their organizing.
Perhaps the most important cultural moment of last week was Maya Rudolph’s monologue performance on SNL (the Beyoncé references are hilarious—the rocking horse!). She is Mother—this will be my summer anthem. Enjoy!
You’re not just a mom. You’re Mother.
Hi! Would love to come to Hot Feminism book club but the Google form is not letting me register.
Hi all! The link to RSVP for the book club should work for everyone now. If not, you can always reply to the newsletter email and it'll go to me. Thanks, looking forward!