Feminism | Posted by Julia O on 04/9/2012
Nujood Ali: A Real Life Heroine
The quote I have taped to the lower right hand corner of my bathroom mirror is “I no longer think about marriage.” Nujood Ali spoke those words after successfully gaining her divorce at the age of 10. She became the youngest divorcee ever, and sparked a worldwide awakening about the horrors child brides face and the injustice they experience.
Nujood’s father arranged a marriage for her when she was ten years old. The man she married was over 20 years older than her. Her husband and mother-in-law physically and mentally abused her. In Yemen, it’s legal for girls to wed at any age, but they cannot have sexual relations until the court deems them old enough. Nujood’s husband raped her repeatedly even though the court had never “given him …
More >
Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 12/18/2011
Support Women Artists Sunday: Joan Mitchell
Joan Mitchell (February 12, 1925 – October 30, 1992) was a “second generation” abstract expressionist painter. She was an essential member of the American Abstract expressionist movement, even though much of her career took place in France. Along with Lee Krasner, Grace Hartigan, and Helen Frankenthaler she was one of her era’s few female painters to gain critical and public acclaim. Her paintings and editioned prints can be seen in major museums and collections across America and Europe.
Mitchell was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of James Herbert and Marion Strobel Mitchell. She studied at Smith College, in Massachusetts, and The Art Institute of Chicago. After moving to Manhattan in 1947, she wanted to study at Hans Hofmann’s school in New York but, according to Jane Livingston in her …
More >
Pop-Culture | Posted by Lauren M on 12/2/2011
My New Hermione: Miranda Lambert
Ever since the beginning, Hermione Granger has been praised as being the first female character who showed girls that it is ok to be the hero of the story, to be smart, to stick up for yourself and to not take a back seat to the boys. Now that the series is over, who will us girls look to for inspiration? I think I may have found our answer in the music world.
You may know her as an outlaw of country music. Or you may know her as Blake Shelton’s “honey bee.” Or you may have no idea who she is. Her name is Miranda Lambert and she is my heroine: she’s my new Hermione. Bet she’s never gotten that comparison before.
Miranda first came to the scene with a …
More >
Pop-Culture | Posted by Phaydra on 11/11/2011
Who Says Pageant Queens Can’t Be Feminists?
I was recently given the opportunity to interview Miss USA. Since I don’t really keep up on the pageant world I had to do some research. Alyssa Campanella seemed like a fine person – I was mostly curious to ask her about feminism.
Alyssa currently lives in New York City with Miss Universe. She is hardly ever there because of all the fabulous places she “has” to travel to such as Chicago, Miami, the Bahamas, Los Angeles, Cannes and others. Once her reign as Miss USA is over she wants to attend culinary school and has been doing some work with the Food Network to prepare.
Now for the interview:
Pageants receive criticism because they are seen as negative to young women because the focus is on appearance. How do …
More >
Feminism | Posted by Brenna McCaffrey on 10/24/2011
Five Reasons To Keep An Eye On Senator Gillibrand
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand was appointed to the US Senate by Governor David Paterson in 2009 to fill the vacancy left by Hillary Clinton when she was selected by President Obama to serve as Secretary of State. Previously, Gillibrand spent two terms representing New York’s 20th Congressional District in the House of Representatives. Many were surprised by Paterson’s appointment of a relatively unknown Democrat from the mostly rural district that represents the Catskill, Adirondack, and Hudson Valley areas of upstate New York. New Yorkers outside of her district may not have been familiar with Senator Gillibrand before her Senate appointment, but for the past two years she has been turning the heads of those who might be looking for an alternative to Hillary for next woman President.
Senator Gillibrand will be …
More >
Feminism, Pop-Culture | Posted by Emma E on 08/24/2011
Reversing Gender Roles With A Little Help From Ke$ha
When most people think of Ke$ha, feminism is not the first word that comes to mind. But I think her music does have some vaguely feminist merits.
I remember some time before I even discovered the FBomb (my life must have been so meaningless…) I was thinking about sexism in music. I remember thinking, “I wonder why most music by women is all about how much they love their guys, and men’s music is all about hooking up with random, personality-less girls at parties? Women almost never treat men like meaningless objects in music, but men do all the time.”
I tried to think of a song where women treat men like men treat them. The only one I could come up with was a little-known song from Ke$ha’s debut album, …
More >
Pop-Culture | Posted by Amanda C on 08/22/2011
Teardrops On My Car – or, Why Taylor Swift Doesn’t Seem To Drive Much
There is no shortage of coverage on Taylor Swift. In the music industry, in teen magazines, on TV, or even (yes) feminist circles – she’s a cultural icon; how could we not talk about her? I think of her as a guilty pleasure. I think her songs are catchy and cute and though her obsession with boyfriends and her slut shaming are certainly far from feminist, I don’t think that listening to Taylor Swift songs spells doom for the feminist movement. It’s impossible to cover all the feminist/antifeminist implications of Taylor’s music in a single post. I just want to point out a pattern I have noticed over the course of her three albums: she mentions driving a lot. This is not a phenomenon unique to Taylor or even music …
More >
Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/14/2011
Snooki: An Emblem of Female Polarization
There is probably nothing that depresses me more than walking into a bookstore – to me, a sacred institution – and coming face to face with the most recent attempt of a starlet to write a book (because apparently literacy is now the only requirement for authorship). First there was Nicole Richie with The Truth About Diamonds, who, even though she wrote a “novel,” couldn’t help but put her own image on the cover. Then Lauren Conrad (who I still don’t get. Like…as a person) wrote L.A. Candy. After those two made their way to shelves across America, my eyes would always travel in bookstores from Twilight to these winners and a sob would inevitably rise in my chest. I considered wearing black and prostrating myself on the ground …
More >
