Feminism | Posted by Jamie N on 03/19/2010

A Call to Arms

Kathryn Bigelow

If women are going to continue to break down barriers and keep the fight of feminism alive, we have got to lay off the girl on girl crime. This is something that affects women of all ages. Several weeks ago in Salon Magazine I read an article by  Martha P. Nochimson, an established former NYU professor and author, take down Katheryn Bigelow simply because she didn’t like her movie. Okay, The Hurt Locker wasn’t her cup of tea, but Ms. Nochimson took it to an extremely unacceptable and unprofessional place by not just criticizing Kathryn Bigelow’s work but Kathryn Bigelow herself. Sadly, the go-to put down of name calling was present, but for me, she also employed a much more…

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Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Laura H on 03/17/2010

Ladette to Lady: How to be an Acceptable Human Being

A while ago I was off school ill and, in the grips of extreme and irreversible boredom, I started browsing through 4OD (for those who don’t know, that’s the website of the UK Channel 4 which allows you to watch recently aired programmes online). I came across the latest series of Ladette to Lady and started watch. To put it mildly: what the hell!

As the name suggests the main aim of Ladette to Lady, is to take a bunch of the “most wayward and shameless girls” they can find, who have previously been involved in such shocking activities as drinking and – brace yourselves, girls – having s-e-x! They then load these girls onto a minibus and ship them to Eggleston…

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Feminism | Posted by Amy CT on 03/15/2010

Why I’m Still a Girl Guide at 18

Girl Guides

While researching for an essay on feminism among young people a while back I came across an article by Kira Cochrane, Women’s Editor of The Guardian (I want her job. Please.), talking about the attitudes of young members of the Guide Association towards feminism. Apparently, only 1/3 of Guides aged 14 to 26 (Senior Girl Scouts, I think, are the equivalent) would be willing to label themselves as “feminists”. This, though, didn’t seem to worry Cochrane. What seemed to concern her most was that girls might still want to be Guides at this age.

I was shocked to read that. I’ll be 18 next week, and therefore a legal adult, but I would not even consider leaving Guiding. When researching…

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Feminism | Posted by Paul S on 03/12/2010

Proclaiming Oneself as a Male Teenage Feminist

As far as I can remember, I’ve always considered myself a feminist.  It was simple—anyone who strove for equal rights for women was a feminist.

But not many males, at least teenage males, would be quick to point themselves out as feminists.  The word has a negative connotation in the young adult world.  Besides being viewed as an outdated term, being a feminist brings along the baggage of people assuming that you wish to achieve equality by subjugating men with one hand and burning bras with the other.  Dullards like Rush Limbaugh call empowered women “feminazis” and “ugly” and says that women like “male chauvinist pigs.”

There’s a few problems though.  I’m a male feminist who doesn’t want to be subjugated, I…

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Feminism | Posted by Ashley P on 03/10/2010

Owning Up to My “Number”

the issue of the metaphorical little black book

A few days ago, I took a huge step in the self-confidence department. I was reading Jessica Valenti’s Full-Frontal Feminism (a particular favorite of mine) for the fifth time, and her chapter about women’s sexuality made me put down the damn book and go to my desk. Feeling extremely inspired, I sat down with a pen and paper and compiled my list, my “little black book”, so to speak. To some young women, this may not appear to be such a big deal. However, for me personally, writing each person’s name down and totaling the number was my defiant act of courage.

Since my senior year of high school, I have been considerably sexually active. The…

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