Science fiction is not known for being entirely female-friendly. If you enter any video storeor search the genre on netflix, many movie covers show picture of skantly clad women clinging to brawny men for security. As a young woman, this has made calling myself a feminist and a sci-fi geek difficult. However, when I find myself disapointed by the lack of female representation in a Sci-Fi film or television series, there are two shows that I can revert back to in order to fufil my feminist and nerd void.
Battlestar Galactica:
In the original series, Starbuck, the hooligan star piolt, was played by a male. The directors of the latest series decided that they wanted to change that. They indroduced us to a new Starbuck, Kara Thrace. …
Are you interested in writing, creating, drawing, and DIY (“do it yourself”) ethics? Then you, my friend, should write a zine. A zine is a self published mini-magazine that can be about anything you want. Zines can be written, typed, drawn, xeroxed – it is all up to the creator. Zines have been a part of feminism to spread DIY punk feminism etc through local communities.
Zines can be traced back to riot grrrl bands, who created zines to spread their messages to their fans. Zines have recently been in decline because of blogs, but zines allow you to make a messy, imperfect, raw, funny, and inspiring piece of art that stands out in a world that obsesses over perfection and cleanliness.
Ah, the holidays. The time of year when houses are lit up, the streets are crowded with shoppers, and the whole family spends quality time together watching specials on television.
It’s all well and good, until little gems like these pop up.
I’m sure you’ve all seen this lovely commercial from Kay Jewelers. Where a couple is watching the storm outside, and suddenly the thunder scares the poor little girlfriend into her man’s arms. Then he gives her a sparkly necklace and everyone’s happy!
…Wait, what.
You know, I was actually thinking the last fifty-or-so years of the women’s movement actually had some impact on the way women were portrayed in the media. When I watched this commercial, my mouth literally dropped in shock.
11 for ’11: Eleven Ways to Fight for Human Rights and Social Justice in 2011
Human rights org Breakthrough has announced eleven ways that individuals can help fight for human rights in 2011, recommending eleven unique actions, many supported by activist and nonprofit organizations. The Breakthrough eleven for eleven range from encouraging acceptance and tolerance among children, to helping to end violence against women, to participating in Breakthrough’s video and Twitter contest, I AM THIS LAND, looking for new visions of a more tolerant and accepting America, going on now atwww.iamthisland.org.
The Breakthrough eleven for eleven are below:
1. Read for Good: Take a cue from Reading to End Racism of Colorado and talk to your local library about volunteering to host a reading group for kids. Choose books with a positive message of acceptance and encourage dialogue about their experiences.…
So I’m watching Glee on Hulu because homework is boring and the internet is slowly but surely taking over the world. And because I don’t like interruptions, I opt at the beginning of the clip to watch the two-minute NuvaRing spot, instead of watching the whole episode with commercials throughout.
The scene: there are a bunch of women (props to NuvaRing, they’re not all white) sitting around a pretty garden table, laughing together as they share their hilarious, completely relatable experiences with birth control pill mishaps. The woman in purple embarks on a gripping story about how she dropped a pill while on the subway, and started calling around to pharmacies to ask “if they had any extras.” One pharmacist tells her, “You could probably just use protection, like condoms…”…
Best Coast is an American indie pop trio based in Los Angeles, California. The band is recognizable for their fuzzy, low-fidelity sound in the vein of surf rock.The band was formed by songwriter and frontwoman Bethany Cosentino, formerly of Pocahaunted, and multi-instrumentalist Bobb Bruno.
The band’s first two drummers were Jennifer Clavin (of Mika Miko and Cold Cave) and then Adam Garcia. Ali Koehler had performed as the band’s live drummer, before she officially joined in July 2010 after leaving the Vivian Girls.
The band released several 7″ singles and EPs, including Make You Mine and Black Iris, and they released a music video for their single “When I’m With You.” Best Coast’s single “Boyfriend” was named by Pitchfork Media as a “best new track.”
Their first full-length album, Crazy …
Saturday Vids: Glamour Magazine and The Girl on Page 194
Over a year ago, Glamour Magazine printed a photo of model Lizzi Miller (known to many as the “girl on page 194″). Despite the fact that she is a “plus size” model, which seems to be something magazines don’t think the general public wants to see, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
Glamour then followed up with a group shot of plus-sized models, promising to continue to include more images of plus-sized models in their magazines. Here’s an interview Ellen DeGeneres did with the models last year:
I guess the point of bringing this up again is that I hope this wasn’t just a passing fad or media stunt. I want to remind everybody that this happened. In all honesty, I haven’t picked up a Glamour Magazine in a while and I’m wondering: has anybody noticed that Glamour made good on their promise? Do they employ plus sized models? Has anybody seen mainstream magazines that do?
