Dreams for Women – On Hiatus…

Update: If you haven’t figured it out yet… my mom’s scanner doesn’t work. Which means Dreams for Women is on hiatus until I return to Vancouver and to my lovely scanner on July 12th! We will have some great stuff for you then! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying your summer!

Sexual Assault Bingo and other fun games

I have mixed feelings about one of my random internet finds: ‘Sexual Assault Bingo’. Each square represents a different example of blaming the victim or justifying rape. Hypothetically, next time rape is mentioned and Mr. or Miss. Patriarchy throws out “It was two in the morning. What were you doing out?” or “This is going to destroy his [the perp’s] family, you understand” pull out your bingo card and go to town.

I could never see anyone who has had to go through the excruciating process of dealing with their sexual assault or that of a loved one pulling out a game (though it would definitely make a wonderful visual cue to the unenlightened that what they’re saying is trite and predictable). It seems like a subject that is too serious to mock with a game associated with Church halls and blue-tinted hair. However, as someone who has played ‘Hipster Bingo’ when at local concerts I know first hand how something so silly can call one’s attention to the predictability of stereotypes in the media and subcultures. Isn’t it sad when common threads emerge in worn-out conversations?

For instance, Andrea Rubenstein over at Official Shrub.com has a fun ‘Geek Girl Stereotype Bingo’. She explains her game like this:

Basically the rules are that when you see a media article, blog post, or anything else talking about women in relation to a geeky hobby (gaming, technology, science, etc) you pull out this scorecard and mark down which points the article touches on.

The squares cover everything from “The colour choice(s) being attractive to women” and “Talks about weight loss”. It definitely focuses your attention to the way women are portrayed and/or marketed to in the technological industry. Although I rarely read blogs or magazines about gaming or technology I do read such literary gems like People.com and US Weekly. And I’m sure some of you out there have your own niche subgenres that has some repetitive anti-feminist touches. So, Antigone Feminists, do you have any Bingos that you would like to share? Perhaps ‘Weight Loss Surgery Article Bingo’ or ‘Young Starlette Interview Bingo’ (which would definitely have the squares “she’s so down to Earth!” and “fame hasn’t changed her”).

Dreams for Women

I just wanted to apologize that there will be no Dreams for Women this Saturday. I am just back in Windsor, ON visiting family. I will be posting the next Dreams for Women next Saturday so long as my mother’s scanner works! Take care and thanks for your support and submissions!