A Little F'd Up: Why Feminism Is Not A Dirty Word by Julie Zeilinger now available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Feminism | Posted by Talia on 04/22/2013
My name is not Baby. I have not been an infant for about 17 years. I am not an immobile, helpless being incapable of taking care of myself, dependent on others to ensure that my basic needs are met. I am, if not a grown woman, getting to be a young adult. Certainly not a baby.
My name is not Shorty. Yes, I am a mere 4”11, and I have always been happy to be a short person. However, my height or the pride I take in it does not determine what nickname I go by. Even if it did, you are a stranger, and have no right to be so familiar with me.
My name is not Bitch. The last time I checked, I was human, not canine. And …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/21/2013
AlunaGeorge, featuring chanteuse Aluna Francis, is quickly becoming one of the breakout bands of 2013. Consisting of Francis and producer George Reid, the electronica group combines intimate vocals with synthesized pop, house, R&B, and dub-step. Though already pretty big in the UK—the duo nabbed second in BBC’s Sound of 2013 contest—Francis’ voice will likely get way more air time in the US in the coming year.
Francis, who is half Indian and half Jamaican, worked as a reflexologist and previously sang for the band My Toys Like Me. She first met Reid when he remixed one of My Toys’ songs, and they paired up and released their first commercial single (“Your Drums, Your Love,” above) late last year. Though minimalist and futuristic, AlunaGeorge’s songs are made human by Francis’ …
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Feminism | Posted by Michayla Owens on 04/19/2013
My name is Michayla Owens. I’m sixteen years old, and I attend Columbia High School in Mississippi. I was fifteen when I was sexually assaulted by two boys at my high school.
The sexual assault took place on November 11th, 2012 after a positive incentive trip for good students at Columbia High School. It happened right on school grounds, in one of the school bathrooms. After the field trip, the bus returned us to the school. After getting off the bus, I entered the building. I was forced into a bathroom stall. My pants were removed, and I was sexually assaulted. One of the boys is a football player and one used to play football. Three boys were arrested that night, but only two are being charged. A rape kit …
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Feminism | Posted by Jenny P on 04/15/2013
*Trigger warning: This blog post is about intimate partner violence*
Over fall break, my mom made an unexpected visit from California to New York City, where I go to school. She had been called the night before, told that her daughter was expressing suicidal thoughts, and asked to please come pick her up from the Metropolitan Hospital emergency psych ward as soon as possible.
“You know,” Mom began, “you didn’t really look scared or angry or anything when you were in there.”
A good observation. I wasn’t scared or angry. I was mostly just tired.
“You looked like you were thinking, ‘One day, I’m going to write a book about this,’ and like you were already writing it in your mind,” she said.
In a way, I was. That night, …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/14/2013
Hailing from such disparate locales as Tennessee (Price), Iowa (Kearney), Minneapolis (Olson), and Philadelphia (Calabrese), Lake Street Dive first gathered in a room together when they were students at Boston’s New England Conservatory. “Mr. McDuck assembled the four of us, said we were now Lake Street Dive, and we were a ‘free country’ band,” Bridget Kearney remembers. “He wrote this on a chalkboard in the ensemble room that we had our first rehearsal in. We intended to play country music in an improvised, avant-garde style – like Loretta Lynn meets Ornette Coleman. It sounded terrible! But the combination of people and personalities actually made a lot of sense and we had a great time being around each other and making music together.”
Lake Street Dive makes the most of pop …
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 04/13/2013
I recently got an email from Dylan Lambi-Raine, who wrote: “I’m a feminista, Genders Studies and Social Work student. I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and am interested in sharing a video that a group (Kayla Hatzel and Sarah Zelinski) and myself made. We were hoping to show the ridiculousness of gender stereotypes and tropes in advertising through switching gender roles in the images.”
I think their idea to reverse roles in sexist and sometimes violent ads is really thought-provoking. Check it out and share your thoughts! And for more on sexism in the media, check out one of my favorite organizations Miss Representation.
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Pop-Culture | Posted by Jasmine W on 04/12/2013
Sometimes I look at the pieces of my chemically-straightened hair that are scattered around my bathroom floor, and I wonder what it would be like if things were different. What if relaxers were never invented? What if having afro-kinky hair was okay?
I’ve been getting my hair chemically straightened since I was around eight, and before then, I got my hair pressed with a straightening comb each week. I have no idea what my natural texture looks like besides from what I can guess from childhood pictures and the tiny bit of roots that grow out before I straighten them again. My hair is at my shoulders and will not grow past them because of breakage.
The answer to my dilemma may seem simple: just go natural! But here’s the …
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Feminism | Posted by Becka W on 04/10/2013
There are so many awesome depictions of professionally ambitious ladies on TV right now. But after thinking about Equal Pay Day yesterday, and acknowledging that women still earn an average of only 77 cents to every dollar men earn, I had to wonder: what’s Liz Lemon’s wage gap? Are ALL of my favorite working women on TV underpaid? After looking into it, I came up with a depressing answer: yes. Here are my top five favorite underpaid female heroines. Who are your TV working heroines? Who did I leave off the list? Let me know!
1) Liz Lemon of 30 Rock
The very first person I thought of when I thought about hard-working women on TV was OBVIOUSLY Liz Lemon. Girlfriend works HARD. She works extremely late, keeps crazy …
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