Feminism | Posted by Steph L on 07/12/2010
Frape
I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who’s disturbed by the number of people who casually use the term “facebook rape” or “frape.” For those of you not familiar with facebook (if such a rare species exists any longer) or this term in particular, it means hacking someone else’s account (usually your friend’s) and posting as them as a joke.
And while posing as somebody is a crappy thing to do, this seems to justify being named after one of the worst crimes of humanity. This usage cheapens a word that should not be used so lightly, and the fact that we live in a society where rape not only exists, but can be turned into a joke is disgusting. As such, I have decided to start calling …
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Uncategorized | Posted by Julie Z on 07/12/2010
Gone for the week…
Hey Everybody,
I’m off this week to attend Barnard’s Young Women’s Leadership Institute. I can’t wait to return with stories of the feminist awesomeness that will undoubtedly occur there, and not to fear, there will still be new posts by lovely contributors every day! Some comments may go unapproved until Saturday, for which I am very sorry, and yet, despite the fact that I figured out how to run this blog, I’m technically challenged beyond basic blogging functions and can’t think of an alternative. So. Yeah.
I can’t think of a greater present to return to than a bunch of new submissions from you guys! Seriously though, the FBomb could always use submissions (email to juliez@thefbomb.org)
Have a happy week of July 13th!
…
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/11/2010
Support Women Artists Sunday: Vanessa Paradis
Born in St. Maur, France on December 22, 1972, Vanessa enjoyed singing from an early age. Her career began to develop after she was discovered on a popular TV show entitled L’Ecole Des Fans; a French TV program that provides little children with the opportunity to demonstrate their talents.
Years later, when Vanessa turned thirteen, she recorded her first single called La Magie Des Surprises-Parties (the magic of surprise parties). Her career really skyrocketed when her record-producing uncle, Didier Pain, was working with a singer on a song entitled Joe le Taxi in which Vanessa was invited to sing. The outcome was instant success.
In 1988, her very first album was M & J, and she later released Variations Sur Le Même T’aime. Her second album, the self-titled Joe was …
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Feminism | Posted by Ashley P on 07/9/2010
Female Bodies and Female Genital Mutilation: There is No Room for Compromise
Apparently, parental request for altering their young daughters’ genitalia had reached the magnitude to which the American Academy of Pediatrics issued their policy statement in April condoning and introducing the implementation of a “mild” procedure where a girl’s clitoris could be “nicked” in order to satisfy a certain element of “cultural sensitivity.” Recently, however, the AAP has withdrawn the policy statement made in April and have since reverted back to the their initial stance as deeming any altering of the female genitals “unnecessary”. However, the fact remains our AAP felt compelled to compromise in the realm of Female Genital Mutilation.
Female Genital Mutilation is not an issue of cultural differences, nor should it be observed as one. In reality, FGM is an inhumane, cruel, and botched exertion of forcible female subservience. There …
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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/8/2010
Circle Contact Lenses: The Terrifying Future of Beauty as We Know It
As Joan Jacobs, in her great book The Body Project illuminated, the idea of teen girls working to improve their bodies in a detached way – as if it were a project with perfection as its goal, rather than relating those alterations to ourselves – is not a new one. Girls have been focused on the pursuit of changing our appearances for at least a century, probably longer. At first it was “slimming,” or reducing what we ate, and wearing specific clothes (thank god the girdle is gone; I take pride in my food babies). And now we’ll do just about anything; whether it’s a diet of dexatrim max and laxatives or a $500 facial, all so that our waistlines, our skin, our [insert body part here] will be more …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Anna S on 07/7/2010
Pretty Little Liars and Teen Sexuality
Pretty Little Liars– yes, that Pretty Little Liars, the one on ABC Family with the ads that looked like it was a show about undead prom queens– is, at least kinda, doing teen sexuality right.
I’m just as surprised as you are. This is a show that looked dumb, sounded dumb, and, honestly, is pretty dumb. But I like how they’re handling teen girls’ sexuality on the show, even though I still can’t quite openly admit that I watch it.
First off, lemme lay down the nitty-gritty of the show: queen bee Allison mysteriously disappears, leaving her four BFFs like “WTF?” Flash-forward a year later, and the BFFs are, respectively: 1.) returning from Iceland, 2.) athletic, 3.) the new (klepto) queen bee, and 4.) the smart one who wears …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/6/2010
Teen Girls and Twilight: Why Do We Buy It?
After reading Dodai at Jezebel’s minute-by-minute blog of Eclipse, I thought that I could finally pass on an opportunity to fund Twilight mania. Alas, I was wrong: the dark cyclone of doom that is Stephanie Meyer’s brainchild sucked me in with the masses…in the form of trying to bond with my 15 year old cousin who I see once a year.
I read Twilight, I was grossed out, and I moved on. I’m not going to go on about the sexist and abusive messages being portrayed in this series, and I’m not going to insult the quality of the movies or the books because frankly I just don’t give a shit anymore; it’s been done (here, for example). No, I don’t want to focus on the messages the …
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Feminism | Posted by Danielle B on 07/5/2010
Shh, Don’t Say the F-Word
I’m a feminist. Man, that feels good.
I’ve been a feminist all my life but didn’t realize it until a few weeks ago when I checked out a twenty-pound stack of books from the library (everything from Jessica Valenti’s Full Frontal Feminism to Ariel Levy’s Female Chauvinist Pigs). Somewhere along the line something clicked; maybe it wasn’t as glamorous as the whole light-bulb-over-the-head charade, but it was pretty dang life-changing.
My name’s Danielle and I’m your typical high school student. Even though I suffer from over-achiever-itis my friends still know me as the nice, funny one. I believe in honesty, compassion (all of that philosophical mumbo-jumbo) and really try to be someone my parents and friends can be proud of. But sometimes even that feels like a revolutionary act …
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