Pop-Culture | Posted by Sarah F on 07/31/2009

The Fatal Generalizations in the Teen Movie

 

at least they're up front about the stereotypes in this one

Teen movies very obviously base themselves on harmless stereotypes: the jock, the bitch, the nerd, etc.– stereotypes so deeply rooted into our expectations of the genre that we can’t be bothered to think about other possibilities. However, after re-watching the awesomely awful Whatever It Takes for the first time in at least four years, I started to see something recognizably offensive that I had not yet noticed before: it seems that the typical teen movie’s female characters are, more often than not, projections of the archetypal male’s virgin/whore complex. Characters can only be one or the other, and there is no inbetween.

While teen movies are generally oversexed as a selling point, there’s an underlying tone of moral retribution that has been used…

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Awareness, Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 07/30/2009

Assiya Rafiq is my hero

Assiya Rafiq of Pakistan was sold at 16 by a female family friend to two criminals who were related to prominent politicians. The men beat and raped her for the next year, until they handed Assiya along with $625 over to police as a bribe. Assiya’s kidnappers had earlier been implicated in a gold robbery and decided Assiya would be a good candidate to blame the crime on. 

Assiya was then beaten and raped by the four police officers, including a police chief, over the next two weeks. Reportedly, a female constable would leave in order to give the men continue their abuse in private.

Assiya’s family learned of Assiya’s whereabouts and attempted to get her back by bribing the bailiff, who was also…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/30/2009

The Books I’ll Never Forget

Judy Blume: the mother of teen fiction

Over at Salon, they’re talking about Lizzie Skurnick’s new book “Shelf Discovery: The Teen Classics We Never Stopped Reading.” And it really got me thinking about the books I read as a kid (relatively speaking as I am 16) and how they really stick with you.  I know Judy Blume is basically the goddess of my Mom’s generation and whenever her name comes up they all share a knowing smile. All I ever read was Blubber, which I personally kind of found upsetting, but apparently Judy Bloome introduced millions of girls to their period, which in a way is cute that millions of women have this shared experience.

this book stole my innocence

I found out a much less fun way – a family friend gave me the…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/29/2009

Teens get in on The Secret

you see, The Secret is legit because it's very, very old. Note the parchment and wax seal and cursive font. None of this new-age crap – this HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME.

Remember that self-help phenomenon The Secret? Well, it looks like the people who brought you the original are back to capitalize on the ever-enticing teen market.

That’s right, “The Secret to Teen Power” will soon be availble so that teens “can transform their own lives and live their dreams, by understanding and using the power they have in their hands.” I’m sorry, but I don’t actually know any teens that are in a place where they need a self help guide. Of course there are plenty of us that are seriously unhappy (high school can be hell on wheels for…

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Awareness, Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 07/28/2009

NCRW Real Deal Blog and Non-traditional Families

"Children are too precious to be wasted." Too precious to be wasted on non-traditional families, right? Wrong.

Over at the National Council for Research on Women’s blog, The Real Deal, there is a really interesting forum of blog posts on non-traditional families, in honor of the 15th annual National Parent’s Day, which was on Sunday.

Generally, this holiday is used to promote the image of two-parent, “traditional” families. The National Parent’s Day website describes the day:

“Since the creation of this annual day of commemoration, local faith communities, elected officials and activists throughout the nation have creatively launched many activities around the theme of Parents’ Day designed to celebrate and strengthen the traditional, two-parent family. The National Parents’ Day Council does not envision Parents’ Day to be yet “another” day to honor parents, but rather…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/28/2009

Twitter and gendered language

Of all the things to spark a debate over the lack of gender neutrality in language, I really hadn’t expected Twitter.

Twitter seems to get a lot of flack. Upon telling people that I have a twitter, they usually roll their eyes or laugh in my face.

They tell me it’s Twitter promotes the death of language and creative thought.

They tell me that it’s weird to update people on everything you do (nobody cares) [OH BUT THEY DO] and it only promotes stalking.

But Facebook, which not only has a status update feature, but allows users to take stalking to a truly comprehensive level, by letting them read your conversations with others, view photos of you, and learn about your “interests and activities” — no that’s fine. Because it’s facebook, duh.

They make fun…

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Awareness | Posted by Julie Z on 07/27/2009

Carol Smith: Women are Better Managers

Carol Smith

The New York Times has an interview with Carol Smith, the senior vice president and chief brand officer at the media company the Elle Group. And she makes some pretty admirable statements.

I think it’s always nice to hear from women in business who hold leadership positions. It’s really disappointing when powerful women don’t really care about gender roles in the work place or don’t hold feminist views, considering that they do have so much power and could be such great role models.

Smith has some really interesting comments about her role as leader, saying:
“I feel I’m a leader without ever really thinking I’m a leader, which is to say that I know when I walk into a room of employees, I command a presence, but I’m always feeling like I’m…

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Feminism | Posted by Paul S on 07/27/2009

Gender Equality and Religion: Using the Burqa Ban as a Jumping-Off Point

France: one woman wearing a niqab (burqa) and the other dressed in typical Western clothing walking together

A little over a month ago, The Huffington Post put up an Associated Press article entitled “Sarkozy: Burqas Are ‘Not Welcome’ In France.” The gist of the article was that French President Nicolas Sarkozy used “some of the strongest language against burqas from a European leader at a time when some Western officials have been seeking to ease tensions with the Muslim world.” Burqas, for those unaware, are a type of Islamic religious garb for women that cover the entire body. Burqas have a nasty reputation for being a hindrance to female equality in the Muslim world, and also apparently in France. Thus, some in that country would like to see them banned from being worn.

I…

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