In the new Hunger Games film, Katniss is the kind of rebel who still makes a great Barbie branding opportunity.
I have a soft spot in my heart for Katniss Everdeen. I mean who doesn’t? She’s the cornerstone of her family, she is a total slayer with her bow and arrow, she’s got a sweet braid in her hair, and she’s committed to overthrowing the despotic ruling class.
• Injustice at the intersection: Suburban roads are designed dangerously for anyone who's a pedestrian—who usually are people who can't afford cars. [Dissent]
I don't believe in "good" or "bad" years when it comes to feminist music.
Someone, somewhere is always making good, smart, emotive, political music that promotes respect, education, and equality (or the out-and-out misandrist revolution, which is a record I will always, always buy). It's never a bad year to be a feminst. Some years are harder WORK than others, and this year has certainly been THAT, but here we are at the end of it, and I had the easiest time I've ever had putting together this list of great female and/or feminist music from the last 365 days. (And one from the tippy end of 2013, because SOME OF US had already written up our lists by the time it came out, thanks a lot, Beyonce.) There's sex, death, breakups, solidarity, and poetry on here. There's songs that are happy and sad, lustful and rageful, quiet and as loud as it gets. Hope you like it.
Amy Adams and Christoph Waltz star as Margaret and Walter Keane in the new film Big Eyes.
Director Tim Burton is best known and most beloved for his stories of odd, outcast men, from Edward Scissorhands to Ed Wood to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The stranger-than-fiction biopic Big Eyes is only the second of his non-animated pictures to have a woman at its center, and, perhaps not surprisingly, it's one of the richest portraits he's brought to the screen yet.
• The FDA will finally lift its ban on accepting blood donations from men who have had sex with men—but only after the donor has been abstinent for a year. [Salon]
This month, we’ve put together a series of feminist gift guides. They're a way to highlight fun stuff we love and creators we're excited to support. Today's list, though, is different.
It’s time to talk about hostile gifts.
A hostile gift is not merely a bad gift or an insulting gift. Rather, a hostile gift is meant to intentionally inspire perplexity, confusion, and apoplexy in the recipient. This second annual hostile gift guide should help you not only to select a hostile gift, but also to determine whether you have received one.
You may have received some hostile gifts this year already—if so, please tell us about them in the comments!
Dreamsicles
Everyone knows Precious Moments. But for the truly hostile gift, these creepy Dreamsicles are your answer!
While the figurine style is more common, you can also find plush versions They are available for all occasions, for every hobby lover (Dreamsicle with soccer ball!), every profession (no kidding—search for “Dreamsicle” and “fireman”).
Historical dramas often stick to a tried-and-true formula: Important figures face struggles, then they triumph, becoming the great people we know today. We can usually count on a scene from their conflicted childhood, scenes showing their romantic troubles, any issues with drugs or alcohol, and how they persevered through it all to deliver whatever divine message or artistic gift they possessed.
Ava DuVernay’s new Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, Selma, avoids this formula—much to its benefit.
On July 26th 2014, Maya Sherpa, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa, and Pasang Lhamu Sherpa became the first all-female team to summit K2, widely regarded as one of the world’s most dangerous peaks. “For us, it was our dream come true,” Pasang Lhamu told National Geographic.
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