Rhythem and Resistance

I've been digging music lately. If my iTunes was a person, it would have died of exhaustion by now; gotta love the 21st century and our wonderful robots. I'm actually looking for a god way to download legal (wink-wink) music. What does everyone use out there? I have a friend who has a freind who was just fined nearly 5 grand for downloading music he didn't pay for. So if you have a suggestion of a method, or your favorite artists i should check out, holler.

Tomorrow I have a quiz in my Woman and Revolution in the Middle East class. Thus, I've spent all day intermittenly absorbing my fatty course reader loaded with badass Arab-feminist articles, a memoir of said badass Arab feminist, and napping. Today has been mind-expanding. While re-reading my class disscussion notes, I came across a scribbled side note I didn't realize the significance of when I originally wrote it...but I got to thinking...and that's where I am now. Thinking.Not studying. Blogging like the (proud)geek that I am. Listening to Cat Stevens to carry on my theme of Thourghly Islamic Thursday. Here is what's stopped me in my tracks:

Women often participate in the reproduction of partiarchy.

How would this idea be expanded to encapsulate the West, America,Los Angeles, USC, Me, My mental processes and beliefs? How am i reinforcing patriarchical institutions? Is an active or passive approach to resistance more powerful?

Here is a concrete example of my concious resistance: I do not purchase woman's magazines, like Cosmopolitan. I don't understand how the fuckers get off telling women how insufficient they are as people to sell their shit. And honestly, I don't see why women buy a magazine who content and advertisments are demeaning.Demeaning and backhanded--the Ads and articles are written like it's a dialouge between close friends, leading the reader to assume all the bullshit is friendly advice from a source who knows and cares about them. It's very tricky. For amusement, here's a list of things the magazine usually has and promotes and their accompanying connotations:
1)anti-aging cream: youth is beauty--> beauty is your physicaly appearance-->look young
2)Hair product that makes your hair shiney: Your hair is not healthy if it is not shiny-->be healthy-->be shiney
3)10 things he wants you to do in bed and 4 ways to change your personality to make him smile:you are presently insufficient/not fulfilling him in bed and are an annoying whore

You get the point. So I Cosmo is a womens reproduction of patriarchy, emphasizing the place of woman in the division of gender roles in society.Then, repackaged under the faux-guise of 'female empowerment.' Huh.

For clairification, I AM NOT A MAN-HATING FEMINIST WHO REJECTS FEMININITY, RESENTS GIRLS IN HEELS AND RED LIPSTICK, AND BELIEVES MEN ARE THE DEVIL REINCARNATE AND OR/RAPISTS. Men are great, and women are free to ornament themselves however makes them happy. I just believe in gender equality, and wish we wouldn't categorize personality traits/activities/emotions/space in accordance with one gender or the other...and that it seems strickingly obvious to me that woman got shafted with the lesser qualities of the above. That's it--can you blame me?