Team BadRep Do Christmas!

So, we don’t like the His ‘n’ Hers propaganda.

But what do we want for Christmas?

Left to right: I thought Fornarina's hyper-feminine snowlady was sort of cute, but Jen was severely unnerved; the xmas card I'm trying to avoid; M&S pops cooking on the right, and socks and Top Gear merch on the left.

Following on from Sarah’s post, I conducted a team survey.  The result? The following peek into our own wishlists, plus our gift ideas for the friendly feminist in your life. It might be too late to order some items, but maybe we’ll spark an idea or two.

There’s a range of tastes in force at BR Towers, so in a way, conversely, this post stands as proof that categorising anyone by labels when it comes to predicting what they’ll like – even ‘feminist’ – is often a fool’s game. But what the hell. S’better than yer average “For Him! For Her!” Superdrug sleighbell slew, eh?

Turn up your recordings of Christmas Wrapping please, for…

TEAM BADREP’S FIRST EVER CHRISTMAS WISHLIST

JENNI says…

“This Hated By The Daily Mail T-shirt ‘s going right on my wishlist.” Wear with pride!

BPAL: mini sample bottles. They call 'em "imps' ears".

In the realm of  traditional-lady-gifts, Jen recommends perfume… with a difference. Check out the eldritch alterna-goth world of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Refreshingly not taking an exclusively “for her” angle, their unisex scents are oil-based, concentrated and long-lasting, doubling as room-oils. You’ll not find descriptors like “polished metallic notes, glossy leather, and frankincense” down your local Boots! (Downsides? The site’s an arse to navigate – but persevere, it’s worth it – and you’ll need to email them and state you’re ordering from outside the US.)

HODGE says…

Where did she get that Greek Alphabet tea towel? Alas, the Cure-listening queen of the Alphabet of Femininism is keeping that one secret, but says of Women Who Read Are Dangerous, edited by Stefan Bollen, “This is a lovely book; got it for Christmas last year myself.” It’s a coffee-table compendium of art depicting women reading, accompanied by (says Amazon) “politely fiery text which serves to remind one that, in the not too dim and distant past, for a woman to be seen absorbed in a book was considered at best a selfish act and at worst a subversive one.”

What else? “For the parent, I’d say Noel Streatfeild’s Ballet Shoes (in its non-pink and sparkly format) is a wonderfully feminist work for kids – the men in it mostly just leave the women to become highly successful on their own, through education and hard work (don’t forget the shurely-lesbian Dr Jakes and Dr Smith). The fact that Petrova shuns the girly stuff and becomes a pilot is particularly pleasing.”

SARAH C says…

After initially considering the perfume-pants-and-shoes ladypresent tropes for a moment,

SHINY.

Sarah will happily accept the shoes, as long as they’re a shiny, stompy set of Doc Martens. Pants? Well, if you must, what about Who Made Your Pants, a women’s collective who make sexy underwear ethically from offcuts? Or if there’s gotta be a romance novel, let’s make it an interesting one, like The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

SARAH J says…

“Anne Taintor magnets! Examples here, here, and [fave: make your own damn dinner] here. Or there’s this ‘‘Reading is Sexy’ T-shirt …”

Anything else? “Sticker Sisters do lots of cool things.” Agreed – try these ‘Action Not Glamor’ shoelaces for size. Or the corresponding tee! (US spelling; universal sentiment.) Or this ‘Brave Girl’ tee!

Finally, Sarah reckons you could do worse than pop one of the Alanna books by Tamora Pierce in someone’s Christmas stocking – “They’re for children/teens, but I don’t think they hold up too badly for adults who want a right-on but undemanding fantasy read. There’s a magic cat, a lot of sword fighting and a surprisingly healthy and sensible attitude to sex. Here’s the first one (of four) on Amazon.”

STEPHEN B says…

“I want to buy everyone the Avatar: The Last Airbender TV series boxset. (And I mean everyone: boys, girls, geeks, non-geeks, everyone else, it’s good for all.) Not the movie, no.”

Anything else? “Membership to the UK Wolf Conservation Trust. You can go for walks in the forest with wolves. Yes, really.”

MARKGRAF says…

“Picture books!  I love picture books.  Didn’t you love them as a child?  Who didn’t!  What’s going on with us stopping reading them, then?  It’s nonsense.  Picture books are the greatest, and there’s a whole world of completely fabulous queer-friendly picture books out there that I just wish I’d had as a kid.  But now we’re adults and we get to spend how we like… and one of those ways can be picture books.  Because we can.  Here’s a little selection of my favourites…”

And Tango Makes Three: “You’ll have heard of this one, presumably.  It was banned in some schools in America.  It’s a book about penguins who love each other – also, it’s based on a true story.  And it was banned because the penguins who love each other are boys!  What an amazing world we live in.”

King And King: “I bought this straight out before I read it because it sounded so perfect.  It is indeed perfect.  I cried all over it and I’m not even ashamed to say so.  It’s one of the reasons I’m not allowed in childrens’ book sections any more.”

10,000 Dresses: “I want this so badly I don’t even know what to do with myself.  I can’t give you a full précis of it because I haven’t read it yet!  But it came to me highly recommended, and frankly, we need trans visibility that isn’t risible or offensive. Yeah!”

RHIAN says…

I task Rhian, fresh from her recent post on punk, and now the latest addition to our team (YEAH) with providing a music recommendation. I’m not disappointed.

“Hmm. How about the Indelicates album, Songs for Swinging Lovers? Based not only on Julia Indelicate being one of the most incisively outspoken radical feminists currently hammering a keyboard, but also on the band’s method of DIY distribution which means you can officially pay what you like, including zero, to download their stuff. The album is available here.”

I say…

What about a vintage poster? Casual misogyny may be rife in wartime propaganda, but you can’t beat Rosie the Riveter, co-opted for years as a feminist icon, for a bit of wallspiration. We can do it! Here’s a page of posters featuring Rosie-related imagery. Or you could boldly brave the Imperial War Museum shop, bypassing the more patronising end of the poster archive (I’m looking at you, Keep Mum, she’s not so dumb), for this mighty number, which is up on the wall at BR Towers.

Readables? I dig Alison Bechdel‘s autobiographical Fun Home (Jen also attests to this, as I threw it her way in November for her birthday). Or how about recent Booker-scooper Hilary Mantel’s haunting novel Beyond Black, which features a complex pair of women at its centre, one of whom is psychic? Or the book which reminded us to get off our arses and start this site, Reclaiming the F-Word?

NOTHING NOT TO LOVE.

Or check out the Museum of London shop in person for this badass suffragette sketchbook ‘n’ tote bag, pictured above. Warning, I’m not sure if they still have it; I’ve looked online, but I can’t find it.  Hopefully they’ve not run out…

Whatever you’re up to, have a good one!

– Team BadRep