Radical Radiance: Sarah Haskins

It’s a day late but I had an epiphany (aka I stumbled upon the Target: Women Super Special, watched it, and realized I hadn’t written about Sarah Haskins yet) so Radical Radiance will go on this week!

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Today I’d like to turn the spotlight on to Sarah Haskins, the absolutely fantastic feminist comedian whose segment (Target: Women) is aired weekly within Infomania, a show that is viewable both on the Current TV channels and online. The show satirically and hilariously picks apart the stereotyping aimed at women in the media. In weekly installments Sarah has taken on advertisements about cleaning supplies, yogurts, jewelry, and even laxatives; not to mention Sarah Palin, chick flicks, and the view.

Sarah comes from Chicago, where she worked with a series of improv troupes and gained her background in comedy; she also graduated from Harvard with a degree in American History and Literature. Aside from writing and performing comedy, Sarah also enjoys directing. Each episode of Target: Women is written and performed by Sarah, with input from her producers and help from other supporting actors.

Sarah is an awesome example of a strong, intelligent woman who is using her talents to break into a largely male-dominated industry. Sarah’s writing and acting provide a role more important than comedy however, they serve to make people more aware of the messages the media is trying to send them. Not only this but Sarah’s segments on Infomania also help to break down negative stereotypes about feminists, like that feminists are ugly, bitter, and un-humorous; since Sarah is none of these things, but she is a feminist, she subverts this stereotype more and more with every episode she produces.

I also likes the way Sarah defines feminism in her life…

To me it means that as women we are individuals before we are gendered people and that we’re not defined by our gender except in the ways we chose to appropriate that definition.

We’re in a weird generation, right? Our Moms were forced to grapple with that definition more immediately, and I think it’s changed as we’ve grown up. The core issue “how do I fight bias against me because of my gender” is still there but has gotten more complicated and wrapped into all kinds of identity issues about how you present yourself as a woman and I pretty much think it’s your choice and fuck pantyhose.

In short, go watch Sarah Haskins and see how cool feminism can be is!

(This one seemed appropriate considering Valentines day is impending!)