Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/7/2010

Taylor Momsen Surprises Me

So, usually I don’t read Seventeen Magazine, because frankly I feel like they recycle the same article every single issue – you know the one: how you need to fake a certain personality to get guys to like you. This time it’s called “The best advice from the hottest guys!” Oh boy, oh boy. Plus I can only take their fashion suggestions for “every body type” so seriously when the page facing it shows a picture of an alarmingly thin model. And so does the next page. And the page after that. Guh.

But recently I was really bored in an airport and caved in and bought an issue. This time, Taylor Momsen is on the cover (Jenny from Gossip Girl). But this time she wasn’t promoting Gossip Girl, but …

More >

Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 07/22/2009

sex is power is alive

Lindsay Horvath at Huffington wrote about seeing Jenny Humphrey (sorry…Taylor Momsen) in concert with her band the Pretty Reckless, the openers for the Veronicas. 

Her thoughts? 

I was horrified at my realization that our culture not only encouraged this package but also sold it as young feminism personified. The ‘empowered’ 15-year old female can belt risque lyrics, flaunt racy lingerie, and flirt with suicide to be sexy and appealing. While I had read Ariel Levy’s Feminist Chauvinist Pigs, it was altogether different to consciously witness teenagers buy into this ‘sex-is-power’ model.

But this is not my feminism.

The feminist movement seeks to advance and empower women. While we strive for equality, we recognize that focusing on sexuality as a means to empowerment misses the mark entirely, reducing women to our body …

More >