When Ragen Chastain learned that Michelle Obama was appearing on The Biggest Loser to promote the show's contestants as role models, she felt she had to do something. " I e-mailed my friend Darryl Roberts, filmmaker of America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments. We wrote a well-researched article pointing out the problems with Mrs. Obama endorsing the contestants as role models," she says on her blog, Dances With Fat. She continues:
It wasn’t meant for this blog, but it’s now been turned down by three major media outlets. Not because they disagreed with us, in fact all three said that they agreed with the article. It was denied in all three cases because the White House wouldn’t like it, they were worried about damaging their working relationship with the White House, and it it made the First Lady look bad and out of touch.
Studies on hard-wired sex differences suggest that even Barbie, whose careers have ranged from astronaut to computer engineer, struggles in the science. Why? Because she's a woman.
Yet according to a recent CBC radio story on the "man brain/ woman brain" debate, some psychologists believe that these "studies" lead to unhealthy stereotyping and self-fulfilling prophesies.
Though it may seem like old news now, Ann Romney’s positioning by the GOP as the epitome of womanly motherhood is important here. It is no secret that the Romney family is out-of-this-world wealthy. Ann Romney’s stayed-at-home child-rearing therefore brings up many issues, including nutrition access for the less-than-wealthy and what it is to be a mother raising children in poverty today. If “all mothers are working mothers,” as Mitt Romney would have us believe, does that include ones who are much poorer, and ones who are of in need of government assistance and better nutrition?
Swedes are tossing out their "His n' Hers" bath towels in favor of language that's a little more inclusive.
Earlier this month Sweden's online National Encyclopedia adopted the gender-neutral pronoun "hen" in addition to "he" [han] and "she" [hon]. Post-media explosion, the controversy extends beyond the Swedish-speaking world.
Slate reports that Sweden's linguists caught their first whiff of gender neutral language in the mid-1960s. In 1994, linguist Hans Karlgren proposed using hen as a personal pronoun to replace the awkward "he or she" that clutters formal writing.
But Karlgren's strictly practical view of having a word that “enables us to speak of a person without specifying their gender" has been taken up by a political movement.
Chloë Sevigny of Boys Don't Cry stars in the upcoming miniseries Hit and Miss as a transgender contract assassin.
For years the "transsexual killer" trope has haunted the trans community with a bad reputation. And while transgender people are being portrayed as killers, we're the ones getting killed.
Within the last several years, some great eco-themed movies have swirled about in theaters and Netflix queues. Both scripted and documentary, these films have been effective at conscious-raising and spreading the word to take action to heal our wilting planet. They cover some of the bases of our eco-crisis, but this is in no way a comprehensive list. It is only a sampler platter of the fine films out there! All of these films can be viewed through an ecofeminist lens, bridging the gap between environmental issues and feminist ones. There are layers of oppression in everything from food justice to gentrification, and there is much ground to tap into and discussion to be had.
Nearly a decade after the "metrosexual" invaded the mainstream, men are taking grooming to the land down under.
While men give he-waxing glowing reviews, Cosmopolitan writers say they're "not so sure" about men "having zero hair where there should be at least a little." After all, body hair is (or was) considered manly. Some women worry that the "boyzilian wax" means that men are becoming, well, more like women.
In an effort to avoid as many chemicals as I can in our toxic world, I do my best to not put anything on my face that I couldn’t put in my mouth. For many people, though, mainstream beauty products are standard items. According to a Bloomberg report, the average American woman uses about twelve health and beauty products on her face every morning. From formaldehyde in shampoo to lead in lipstick, that’s a lot of toxins to be absorbing.
Social Commentary
Too Hot For White House TV: Michelle Obama's "Biggest" Mistake
WTF Files: Samsung's "Too Smart For Amy" Camera Ad
Too smart for Amy. Too obnoxious for the general public.
End of Gender: "Hard-Wired" Debate is Hard to Swallow
Studies on hard-wired sex differences suggest that even Barbie, whose careers have ranged from astronaut to computer engineer, struggles in the science. Why? Because she's a woman.
Yet according to a recent CBC radio story on the "man brain/ woman brain" debate, some psychologists believe that these "studies" lead to unhealthy stereotyping and self-fulfilling prophesies.
Fertile Ground: Food Banks, Nutrition, and the Romney Delusion
Though it may seem like old news now, Ann Romney’s positioning by the GOP as the epitome of womanly motherhood is important here. It is no secret that the Romney family is out-of-this-world wealthy. Ann Romney’s stayed-at-home child-rearing therefore brings up many issues, including nutrition access for the less-than-wealthy and what it is to be a mother raising children in poverty today. If “all mothers are working mothers,” as Mitt Romney would have us believe, does that include ones who are much poorer, and ones who are of in need of government assistance and better nutrition?End of Gender: His n' Hers n' Hens
Swedes are tossing out their "His n' Hers" bath towels in favor of language that's a little more inclusive.
Earlier this month Sweden's online National Encyclopedia adopted the gender-neutral pronoun "hen" in addition to "he" [han] and "she" [hon]. Post-media explosion, the controversy extends beyond the Swedish-speaking world.
Slate reports that Sweden's linguists caught their first whiff of gender neutral language in the mid-1960s. In 1994, linguist Hans Karlgren proposed using hen as a personal pronoun to replace the awkward "he or she" that clutters formal writing.
But Karlgren's strictly practical view of having a word that “enables us to speak of a person without specifying their gender" has been taken up by a political movement.
Gawker Calls Out Hipster Racism, Is Called Out for Hipster Racism
One dude definitely didn't read the post though.
End of Gender: "Transsexual Killer" Strikes Again
Chloë Sevigny of Boys Don't Cry stars in the upcoming miniseries Hit and Miss as a transgender contract assassin.
For years the "transsexual killer" trope has haunted the trans community with a bad reputation. And while transgender people are being portrayed as killers, we're the ones getting killed.
Fertile Ground: Five Films For the Ecofeminist in You
Film list after the jump!
End of Gender: "He-Wax," She Wax, We All Wax?
While men give he-waxing glowing reviews, Cosmopolitan writers say they're "not so sure" about men "having zero hair where there should be at least a little." After all, body hair is (or was) considered manly. Some women worry that the "boyzilian wax" means that men are becoming, well, more like women.
Fertile Ground: Beauty Products and the Beast
In an effort to avoid as many chemicals as I can in our toxic world, I do my best to not put anything on my face that I couldn’t put in my mouth. For many people, though, mainstream beauty products are standard items. According to a Bloomberg report, the average American woman uses about twelve health and beauty products on her face every morning. From formaldehyde in shampoo to lead in lipstick, that’s a lot of toxins to be absorbing.
Audio Smut