Clueless

 

Here's what we've been reading on this lovely Wednesday morning.

• With only 38 days left to go and a little more than $20,000 left to raise, this Kickstarter campaign to fund a feature-length documentary called Gaming in Color about queer and LGBTQ presence in gaming needs your support! [Kickstarter]
• Unsure of how to raise your child in a feminst way?  Here's a 21-step how-to guide for starters.  [Natural Parents Network]
• Woo!  A popular slur was deemed homophobic and thus hate speech in a Mexican supreme court this week during a case of moral damage/defamation.  Read up on its implications at Racialicious. [Racialicious]
• I don't know about you, but I definitely rewatch Clueless at least once per year.  Here's a celebration of the Amy Heckerling film and all things way existential.  [Bitch Flicks]
• In light of the recent injustice against Henry Enuta, this is article is in defense of him and of intersex individuals around the world. [Crunk Feminist Collective]
• With all this talk about climate change, poor people of color are being left out of the conversation even though the affects of global warming disproportionately change their lives.  [Colorlines]
• This past Sunday was Easter.  It was also the birthday of César Chávez.  So when Google honored Chávez on his birthday instead of Easter, religious conservatives flipped out despite his own religiousness.  [Racialicious]
• Any progress is good, no matter how "small."  Here are just a few ways Saudi Arabia is on its way towards women's rights. [Ms. Magazine]

 

The first time we see Bill Sanford in Coyote Ugly, his daughter Violet is cooking him egg whites and urging him to stick to his diet. The first time we see Mel Horowitz in Clueless, his daughter Cher is telling him to drink his orange juice and reminding him about his doctor's appointment that afternoon. At different times, both of these men act like overprotective fathers uncomfortable with their daughters’ sexuality, but that isn’t the primary dynamic in either of these stories.

No, these young women are daughter-wives, or maybe daughter-moms. Each young woman's relationship with her father is based around the idea that (releatively healthy, able-bodied) men need looking after by their daughters. Sure, Clueless is satirical, but so are 10 Things I Hate About You and Suburgatory, both of which feature girls of around the same age, and fathers who act like an actual parents.

Gratuitously girly writing implements, knee-highs paired with chunky Mary Janes, faux Oxford collars, Coolio's "Rollin' with My Homies", and Paul Rudd's career—Thanks, Clueless! Fifteen years ago, the bubbly feature launched the success of these trends--for better or worse—and a television show with a theme song almost as sticky as Cher's situation with Christian. But, this post isn't about the gang. It's about That Dog, the surprisingly overlooked 90s pop punk quartet who have stolen my heart.