Browse

People often think about vegetarianism or veganism as an ethical framework or intentional life choice, but in her new book, Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism, Dr. Melanie Joy posits that eating meat comes from the same type of belief system. Dr. Joy, a professor and psychologist who works to promote empowering relationships between humans, animals, and the earth, spoke with me at length last week, and our talk is split into two parts here this week.

Before I started writing about women's reproductive health, I'd pretty much resigned myself to being a film journalist for life. All the free movies, premieres and parties were a lot of fun, but I was beginning to think that my choice to give a film five stars or one star was being unfairly swayed by whether the complimentary pastry was stale or if the air conditioning was turned up too high.

If you are among the record numbers of people who tuned in to yesterday's Super Bowl, then you had the chance to see the controversial Focus on the Family ad starring Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam. And if the ad shocked you at all, it was probably due to how tame it turned out to be.

If you’ve yet to read Ishamel Reed’s editorial “Fade to White” in the New York Times about Precious, get to it post-haste! In the piece, Reed makes some excellent points about portrayals of black men in popular culture and why the film has received such a favorable reception from whites but been met with resistance in the black community.

Claire Danes is starring in a new HBO movie premiering tonight based on the life’s work of animal scientist, livestock consultant, inventor, and writer Dr. Temple Grandin. In the past, I’ve said that Grandin’s work might bring people closer to understanding animals as sentient beings, deserving of our compassion and protection. But maybe I was wrong.

Here's a sampling of tracks from most of the bands we've mentioned on the B-Sides blog in the past couple of weeks, plus some more new songs!

Blogging as Ink-Stained Amazon on the Bitch blogs, Jennifer Stuller took on Barbarella, Lois Lane, and Tura Satana with her blog Grrl on Film. With her new book, Ink-Stained Amazons and Cinematic Warriors: Superwomen in Modern Mythology, released a few days ago, you can find even more on kick-ass women in popular culture. Read on for my interview with Jennifer about her new book, the cyclical nature of representation in pop culture, the women behind the superwomen, and future plans.

The latest Bitch podcast is up, and corresponds to our Art/See issue. You'll hear from Ann Fox and Jessica Cooley, who have curated two art shows addressing disability, an interview with a young artist who sculpts sound, an interview with gay marriage advocate and author Audrey Bilger, an excerpt from our art and activist round-up, and then some! Plus, music by Emily Lacy. You can stream the audio below, or subscribe to all of Bitch Radio via iTunes. Extended interviews can be found atbitchmedia.org/audio.
Transcript available for download Podcast script after the jump.

"Swim 2" from "16 Portraits" by Chris Rush Professor Ann M. Fox and Jessica Cooley have now curated two art shows addressing disability. The first, Re/Formations featured five women artists exploring the intersections of female identity and disability through sculpture. More recently, they wrapped up STARING, which was based off of the book Staring: How We Look by Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, one of the leading scholars in disability studies. The works in STARING address issues of representation, visibility, and empowerment....not unlike feminism. It featured artwork from Doug Auld and Chris Rush, among others. Transcript available for download

Audrey Bilger's article "Wife Support" appeared in the Art/See issue of Bitch and discussed how the word "wife" was evolving with the gay marriage movement. The article caught the eye of Seatte talk show the Menage, who intereviewed Audrey in December 2009. Here's the full rambunctious interview with hosts Julie Mains and Jennifer Austin. You can listen to the Menage online and read more on gay marriage by Audrey Bilger at the Huffington Post ("Why Straight People Should Be Following the Prop. 8 Federal Trial"). Transcript available for download