Feminism | Posted by Becka W on 03/31/2010

How Studying Abroad Taught Me to Become a More Well-Rounded Feminist

Barcelona

Guapas! Cena! My Señora calls out from the kitchen. The four of us pop up from our desks, surrounded by readings about Spanish History and travel guides and outlines for term papers, ready for a filling meal from our wonderful host family. I pause for a second in the hallway and take in the smells – fresh chicken, croquettas, pan con tomate, pasta, and, I’m fairly sure, a hint of broccoli – and realize a. how hungry I am and b. how much my time abroad in Barcelona has taught me about myself and about being a feminist.

Since I was in my early teens, I’ve considered myself a feminist. It didn’t come easily – at first, I struggled with it. It felt like a dirty word; one that was ancient and used…

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Feminism | Posted by Julie Z on 03/30/2010

The Conundrum of The Flirt

Flirting at its finest

I have a friend. Let’s call him Finneus. Finneus is a well known flirt at my school. The fact that he’s pretty much had a girlfriend consistently since the beginning of 6th grade does not disuade him in what can really only be called a flirtatious personality trait. He’s as consistent with his flirting as he is with dating – he will flirt with pretty much any female, and has been known at times to cross over and flirt with guys as well. Which is weirdly a way to show off his masculinity as long as it’s all in jest. This aspect of boy culture still eludes me.

Anyway, I used shrug off Finneus’s flirting, thinking, “Hey, he’s a teenage boy. It happens.” I couldn’t really get…

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Feminism | Posted by Vimbai D on 03/29/2010

A Sibling Comparison

"stupid" isn't a two way street

During a fairly casual History lesson, a few classmates, my teacher and I were talking about our families, in particular how our parents treat us in comparison to our siblings. All the expected things were said: the youngest is treated like a fragile baby and gets away with murder while the oldest has the burden of expectations. But what I found interesting was that one of my classmates was forbidden by her parents, especially her mother, from calling her brothers (who are all younger than her) stupid or any other variation of the word. Come rain or shine, anger or annoyance, laughter or tears she could not call her brothers stupid and if she did she would be punished. We all assumed it because it…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Jessie W on 03/28/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: Pixie Lott

Pixie Lott

Victoria Louise Lott, better known as Pixie Lott (a nickname given to her by her mother because she was an extremely little baby), is one of the new and upcoming pop singers of today. This young and charming singer, actress, and dancer was born on January 12, 1991 in London. From the young age of five, Lott found interest in the arts and attended the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts; as soon as she became a teenager she moved to Essex where she appeared in musicals such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chorus Line, and the Sound of Music. However, it was her soft natural jazzy voice, her many covers, like Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” and Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face,” and her debut single which caught people’s…

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Feminism | Posted by Zoe Y on 03/27/2010

National Young Feminist Leadership Conference

This past weekend, members from my campus’s chapter of FMLA (Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance) went to the National Young Feminist Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C. Despite the fact that it was a conference, which involves a lot of lectures and speakers and not much else, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed my experience there. When my group first walked into the conference area, I was immediately struck by how many awesome ladies there were in one lobby. Girls of all shapes and sizes, cool hair, piercings, sweet outfits and the exciting fact that we were all feminists and not afraid to claim that part of ourselves. I could barely contain my happiness. I wanted to be friends with all of them.

Our first assembly was on women’s reproductive rights. My favorite…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/26/2010

Josh Shipp on Prom

Hey everybody! So I’m doing the whole college visit thing this week so posting may be a little slow…also I don’t have that many submissions to draw from at the moment *cough cough submit stuff to juliez@thefbomb.org cough cough*

So I just thought I’d share teen advice guru Josh Shipp’s words of wisdom about prom, since that seems to be right around the corner.

If you’ve never heard of Josh Shipp, he’s actually this really awesome motivational speaker and teen advice dude. This is his deal:

He talks to teens as if they are equals and not naive morons as many adults tend to, and for that I’m thankful. This is his official site,  this is his teen advice site, and I hear he’s coming out with a book later this summer. I’ll definitely keep you guys…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 03/24/2010

Obvious Child

Obvious Child

So recently I got an email from Gillian Robespierre, a filmmaker, letting me know about her short film Obvious Child. I’ll let her take it from here, but before I do I have to say I really, really enjoyed this film. It’s so nice to see a new perspective on an issue that has been handled so singularly in pop culture.

I made a short film earlier this year called “Obvious Child” It stars Jenny Slate (the F bomb dropper on SNL). She plays Donna, a twenty-something living in Brooklyn. After getting dumped she has a spontaneous one-night-stand and finds that she is pregnant. She decides that an abortion is the only option for her. On her way to get the abortion, she happens to run into Peter, the one-night…

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Feminism | Posted by Kate S on 03/22/2010

Tea Party

tea parties: how lovely!

Yes, the boarding school girl is back. It is an annual tradition in my school for the senior girls to host a tea party for the female faculty in order to visually depict the girls’ gratitude before graduation. As a product of four years of private, boarding school education, I embrace the message behind the event since showing appreciation is a nice gesture.

But why the tea party? It is my impression that the school is enforcing senior girls to uphold the image of refined and educated ladies who have mastered the tea party manners. The girls are expected to send elaborate invitations to female faculty, dress nicely in sundresses, wait tables with big smiles, and pour teas with our dainty little hands. If this was the…

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