Sexual geopolitics

An intereseting observation from Rasha Moumneh, in a speech from Outgames:

A recent article in the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that the Israeli Foreign Ministry has decided to change tactics when dealing with the problem of Iran and its nuclear program, since it became apparent to them that in the wake of Iraq, the world is less likely to support yet another war in the name of preserving the peace. So they sat there in their fancy Foreign Ministry offices and had a stroky-beard meeting and started thinking: “Who? Who can we harness for this? Who is going to lead this campaign against Iran for us so that we don’t end up looking like the bad guys?” And they had their A-ha! moment. According to Haaretz, “The new campaign, to be overseen by the Foreign Ministry, aims to appeal to people who are less concerned with Iran's nuclear aspirations and more fearful of its human rights abuses and mistreatment of minorities, including the gay and lesbian community.

The full talk is posted at Menassat.

Kulturkamp, biologi og feminisme

I den norske sommerdebatten har biologi, kjønn og feminisme vært et kjernetema, sammen med med uspesifiserte beskyldninger om hva "feminister og kjønnsforskere" uten videre referanser står for. I artikkelen under, som ble trykt i European Journal of Women's Studies 1/2008, går kulturviteren Sara Ahmed i rette med både beskyldningene om at feministisk forskning ikke tar høyde for kroppen, og med debattpraksisen der "feminister" har sagt mye rart, men der ingen refererer til hvem som har sagt det.

Artikkelen kan lastes ned her.