The occasions that constrain us the most to exhibit normative femininity are occasions of great ceremony and often solemnity e.g. weddings and funerals. –Sandra Lee Bartky
Hi there, my name is Michelle. I’m a second-year undergrad at McGill university, majoring in Women’s Studies and Anthropology: which is just a fancy, elitist way to introduce that I am interested in analyzing human culture and the ways that gender plays out into our daily life.
Today, I bring you this exciting blog on… marriage! Wait, no, come back! I’ll do my best to make this old topic exciting.
Those who know me well are familiar with my ambivalence towards marriage. I generally don’t like the idea of it for myself. For those of us who aren’t particularly religious, and who don’t particularly …
So, apparently in a collective effort, all of my teachers this week thought to themselves, “Wouldn’t it be great, considering these kids are about to have a few days off to celebrate a completely false notion of the founding of our country, if I piled them with homework? In fact, I’m going to make it an experiment of sorts, where I see how much homework I can assign before they start twitching in class, the Starbucks cup in their hands unintentionally being squeezed to a pulp from anxiety!”
I know, I should really shut up and stop complaining. But nevertheless that’s where my whiney ass is at.
So here are some links for you to peruse while I attempt to stay afloat.
I have never seen the Pianist or Chinatown, but I know that Roman Polanski is a lauded director of ingenuity. But I also know him as a dispicable rapist.
He is currently behind bars in Zurich, the decision of whether or not to allow him to go free on bail still hanging in the air for the next 2-3 weeks. What angers me even more, however, is not just his violation, but also Hollywood’s reaction. Many big-name celebrities such as Robert De Niro are avidly speaking out in support of him; in their eyes, his artistic talents apparently transcends his pedophile nature. By the time Natalie Portman announced her support, I had to accept that world has come to an end.
I often hear people say that rape is about power. While I believe this is true I feel as though my understanding and others understanding of this varies. I believe most people hear this and jump to that common, false, assumption that rape is something that happens in a n-n sexual situation. People falsely believe rape is something that most often happens between strangers and is very violent, when in reality it is most likely to happen between a man and a woman who already have some sort of relationship (romantically or platonically).
In North American culture men and women are bombarded with the message that in a sexual situation, when a women says it, no means yes. No is a playful term, for women, to throw around that perpetuates …
Usually, when I come down to the kitchen for a snack (also known as an excuse to take a study break) I can tell what mail my Mom is sorting through by the look on her face. The annoyed-pursed-lips-eye-roll is usually elicited by a Home and Garden magazine of some type (Martha Stewart is defiantly not listed amongst my Mom’s personal heroes). Glazed over, resigned boredom can usually be attributed to a water or electricity bill. But the truly depressed, pissed off face of injustice can only be caused by one thing.
My family has struggled with the issue of health care ever since I can remember. Because of a pre-existing condition my Mom has and the fact that my Dad is independently employed, the business of staying healthy has …
I told Julie I was meaning to write about this ever since I submitted my first post here, but I’ve been delaying it.
However, my friend Elena just sent me this article from a Jordanian magazine, “Jo”, and I thought it was about time for a little rant (or a big one). Official statistics are scant, but the chilling fact is that brothers and fathers and relatives are killing their sisters and mothers on a notion that the women are tainting the family honor, they are being treated sympathetically by courts, and bragging about their noble actions. The thought sickens me, but the bleak reality remains.
Here’s the link to the article, if you’d like to have a read.
So, the article begins with establishing the problem. Women are being …
Like the Norse warrior maiden Freya, 24-year-old Norwegian rocker Ida (eee-da) Maria is a force of nature, a goddess of love, fertility and sexual desire who led the Valkyries into battle, a fearless fighter who, paradoxically, has a passion for romantic music and flowers. Mirroring the weather in the tiny university town of Nesna in Norway, where she grew up, Ida Maria is a raging storm one moment, a blinding ray of sunshine the next.
That dichotomy is perfectly captured on Fortress Round My Heart, her debut album for Mercury Records, and a description of the armor she takes into war–the songs which form her defense against the world, but also reveal the raw, honest emotions that she put into creating them. It forms the kind of full-bodied attack Ida …
