Advent Calendar Day #9: Adrienne Rich

Adrienne Rich is one of my favorite contemporary poets, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include at least one poet in this list. She’s brilliant, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s queer to boot.

Advent Calendar Day #8: Ruth Bader Ginsburg

You don’t get much more badass than Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who stood up for women’s rights from early on in her career as an attorney and has been doing so ever since her nomination to the Supreme Court. She may not be in very good company most of the time, but hey, at least we’ve got one voice up there.

Possibly the coolest auction ever.

If only I had money, there are two things I would be all over this Christmas season. One is the Menu for Hope auction, which I almost always donate to, but the other is new, the WAM Feminist Auction. You have really got to get on this if you have any money this year. Some examples of items and their current bids:

• Katha Pollitt will edit your fifteen-page manuscript for $201
• Margaret Cho will take a day’s worth of pictures for you for $30
• Alison Bechdel will create a comic strip just for you at $85
• Melissa Harris Lacewell is giving away the black blazer she wears on the Rachel Maddow show for $100, plus a signed copy of her book
• Kate Bornstein will pornographize a fairytale for you for $200
• Lisa Jervis of Bitch Magazine will customize a recipe for $55
• Sarah Haskins will record your outgoing voicemail message for $185
• Ani di Franco autographed and custom airbrushed electric guitar, only $250

And other shiny stuff as well.  I have to admit, the MHL blazer would be very tempting if I weren’t broke.

Advent Calendar Day #7: Hillary Clinton

I know it’s kind of obvious to include Hillary Clinton on this list, but come on. She’s so badass, and really I like her better as Secretary of State than President, though I was rooting for her in that race, too. She’s doing so much for women, and she really speaks her mind in this position.

Advent Calendar Day #6: bell hooks

Pretty much at the top of my badass feminists list is bell hooks. If you haven’t read her books, you need to. She’s got quite a lot to say, and the way she says it gets you right in the gut.

Advent Calendar Day #5: Melissa Harris Lacewell

Melissa Harris Lacewell is just the ultimate in cool. She’s smart, funny, beautiful, and very much in demand these days as a commentator on race issues. Plus, she’s a badass professor, and I just love badass professors.

Advent Calendar Day #4: Ursula K. LeGuin

I may not love everything she writes, but it seems like half the time I’m reading an interesting and/or intelligent essay or response to something in a magazine, it’s by Ursula K. Leguin. She’s not only a very talented science fiction author, but she’s a woman who speaks up about seemingly anything and everything. More power to that.

Advent Calendar Day #3: Joy the Baker

Yes, the third awesome woman I’m featuring is none other than Joy the Baker. A foodblogger. This may be surprising, but hey, blogger’s license! I’m featuring Joy because I think the power of narrative is great in this tech-driven society, and Joy is a master at it. She’s the cheerful, cookie-baking, California sun-loving friend you never had on the other end of your computer screen, and reading her blog posts always brighten my day (as does trying out her recipes!) You can visit her blog here.

Advent Calendar Day #2: Rachel Maddow

Yes, yes, it’s Rachel Maddow. Get ready to say thank you, Captain Obvious. But it’s true, I love her and I love that she not only brings liberalism and a bit of lesbian snark to cable news, but also isn’t afraid to indulge her own interests. She has her geek out moments, her focus on the military (retained from her Air America radio program), and as a consequence she’s not only smart, funny, and fabulously gay, but real. Rock on.

Advent Calendar Day #1: Christiane Amanpour

This year, I’ll be featuring an advent calendar of women I admire: strong, sexy, smart, talented, and on top of their game.  Hope you enjoy!

I grew up on Christiane Amanpour because my mom had a serious CNN kick in the 90s, and Christiane was her favorite reporter.  She’s badass, she’s not afraid to jump into the war zones with the boys, and she also has a grace and an intelligence about her that you can’t help but pick up on.  I hear she has her own show now, so if unlike me you have a television, you should check that out.