Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/10/2009

GR!C: Day 3

designing a logo. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

Our band finally has a name and a logo, which will be screened onto shirts, so each band has merch. Sweet!  It had been down to Electric Field Trip or On The Fritz, but fate…took another course…(dun dun daahhh!).  We hadn’t been able to decide, so we asked some counselors and campers which they liked better.  Electric Field Trip emerged as favorite, but there was a problem: we already had artwork for On The Fritz that we were really happy with.  So yesterday at lunch we decided to come up with a completely new name and insert it into the old logo I’d drawn.  We struggled to think of something.  “Wayward something might be good.  Like ‘wayward’ and then some sort of textile…Velvet? Linen?  Something…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/9/2009

GR!C: Day 2

instrument lessons. photo cred: Amanda Barbato

I’ve been moved to a new bass class, which is awesome because now I have Allison as my teacher! Allison was my drum teacher last year, and has been with the camp since the beginning, so we’re old pals.  She moved to Boston a couple of years ago, but comes back every summer to participate.  She’s a great musician and a really fun person to be around.  Her passion for music and sharing knowledge is sincere, not over the top or grating.  I’ve never met anyone who is so enthusiastic and so laid back at the same time, which creates the perfect learning environment.  Playing drums is fun, but playing drums with Allison is brilliant!  Learning bass just got a lot more interesting.

My band is made…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/8/2009

GR!C: Day 1

I woke up at 5:40 am, raring to go. My sister, Xenia, who has been pretty low-key in expressing her enthusiasm, literally danced into the bathroom singing “Good morning, good morning, good morning to yoooooooouuuu!” in mock opera. She’s ready. We have to travel across town to get there, but boy is it worth it. Ninety minutes and three modes of public transport later, we arrive. Girls Rock! Chicago 2009 is on!

We check in and are assigned our instruments. I get drums, but Xenia gets bass. When she’s told, her face visibly falls. She’s been talking about playing drums all year, and has even worked on some beats to try out. We later learn that forty of the eighty girls picked drums as their first-choice instrument. For the first two…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Shelan O on 09/7/2009

Are You Ready to Rock?? GR!C 2009

Julie: Hey FBombers. This week, I’m handing the fbomb over to the super rad Shélan O. She participated in this year’s Girls Rock! Chicago – a week-long summer camp program for girls ages 9-16 that motivates girls through: instrument instruction, music composition coaching, recording workshops, song-writing workshops, hands-on activities, technical equipment workshops, guest speakers, team-building activities and band performances. They aim to: provide positive and supportive role models for campers though interaction and participation by volunteers who will share their experiences as women involved in some form of making music. 

Every day this week, Shélan is going to be chronicling her experience at camp for us, letting us into the world of girls who aren’t afraid to rock. And now…Shélan! 

Shélan: 
It’s finally happening. You’re onstage, rocking out in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Becka W on 09/5/2009

Forget Those Toolkits, Ladies: He’s Broken

I’m hangin’ out, watching TV, and as I flip channels I just happened to come across the season premiere of the TV Show Tool Academy.

I’ve always had issues respecting the people who go on these kinds of shows. I mean, if you’re going to go on TV, why not go through the trouble of trying to improve yourself or to break up with the person of your own volition?

The premise of Tool Academy? VH1 describes the show:

Earlier this year, VH1 struck a blow for frustrated girlfriends everywhere by taking nine of America’s most arrogant, dishonest, selfish and unfaithful boyfriends and enrolling them in the one place that could reform them from their horrible ways, and potentially even turn them into husband material — The Tool Academy! A 30 day program designed…

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Feminism | Posted by Nellie B on 09/4/2009

Dealing with Terms of “Endearment”

"Hey, Hon, you're doing really well on that assignment! SMILEY FACE FOR YOU!" …Perhaps not.

As I began my senior year of high school yesterday, I was reminded of how frustrating it is to be young and female at the mercy of  patronizing teachers.

Now, many of my teachers are fine people who are good at their job.  Unfortunately, some, usually male teachers, take the liberty of assuming that my peers, because we are young and female, are named “Sweetie,” “Babe” and “Hon.”  These uncomfortable “terms of endearment,” as I suppose these patronizing monikers qualify as, are not meant to be degrading and uncomfortable. I’m sure the intent is that us gals should be flattered that we are called pet names.  However, as I’d like to remind them, I am not…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 09/3/2009

I Love My Pole Dancing Doll!

MOMMY I WANNA BE A POLE DANCER TOO!

Oh lawd. There is some debate over whether or not this product is real, according to ParentDish. I really hope it’s not, and yet I can sort of believe that it is, considering that British store Tesco released a similar product in 2006, (although it was about 10 times more offensive) — the Peekaboo Pole Dancing Kit. It included a chrome pole, a ’sexy dance garter’ and an instructional DVD. It was condemned as “extremely dangerous” and even capable of “destroy(ing) children’s lives.”

Well, maybe a pole dancing kit won’t destroy lives. I don’t actually think every kid who would buy this would become a stripper. Why would we assume that little kids are SO STUPID that a doll they played with as little…

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Creative | Posted by Amanda M on 09/2/2009

Pretty Girl

You know the kind.

She takes her panties off but you’re scrubbing at the pie tin, the aluminum pie tin, because you don’t want to be wasteful. You’re scrubbing at the pie tin with steel wool, and she’s yelling at you about scratching up the pie tin, because she doesn’t want to be wasteful either, even though she told you the steel wool would do the trick best. She’s yelling at you, but she’s still dropping her panties.

You can’t afford to be wasteful, you get it. All you have in the house is soybeans and Frito-lays and niether of you can afford to buy another pie tin. If you should need one.

The glamour is all gone, even when she’s taking off her panties.
Especially when she’s taking off her panties.

So she’s letting…

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