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Jezebel: The Kate Hudson Debacle, or Why Feminism is for White Women Again
Lately, the definition of the word “feminist” has become somewhat vague. With so many women fleeing from the term, whether because they don’t feel represented by it or because they fear its perceived negative connotations, the relevance of referring to yourself as such is in dispute. Perhaps because the meaning of feminist — and in [...]
Racialicious: Where My Sistas At? The Underrepresentation of Black Plus Size Models in Mainstream Fashion
Something is lacking in the current push to include plus-size models in mainstream fashion publications (or “separate-but-equal” media outlets such as Vogue Italia’s “Vogue Curvy”). What’s lacking, specifically in the fashion establishment but less so in the satellite world of “fatshion” blogging, is representation of models/women of color. I want to speak specifically about black [...]
Feministe: The Impermanence of Light
Tonight I did something I do less and less of these days — I came home and didn’t jump on the Internet. Didn’t rush through my meal to hurry up and check my e-mail only to be inundated with the day’s nauseating blog comments. Didn’t skip reading the book I’m almost finished with to see [...]
Feministe: Outlaw Clothing: Burqas, Islamophobia and Women's Rights
The ongoing quest of the French government to preserve their country’s “secular traditions” came to the fore once again Tuesday when the lower house of France’s parliament voted to ban women from wearing any face-covering veil, such as the infamous burqa or the less “extreme” niqab — a move obviously targeting French Muslim women, of [...]
Feministe: Is White Really the Combination of All Colors?
This “family feud” has been mentioned in blog post after blog post, so I’ll keep the history short. Big “feminist” site Jezebel posts about female comedy writers not being represented in the staffing of The Daily Show. Big “feminist” site XX Factor posts about how hypocritical it is for Jezebel to post something controversial to [...]
Red Vinyl Shoes: That Not-So-Fresh Feeling
As Tertullian stated long ago, and Summer’s Eve reinforces today: “Woman is a temple built over a sewer”. Thank god there’s a dizzying array of “feminine hygiene” products marketed toward female-identified folk to help conceal that awful raw sewage smell naturally emanating from our crotchal region. We’ve got several kinds of special wipes, from Monistat [...]
Red Vinyl Shoes: Suspected Terrorist Wins Miss USA Pageant
On Monday, May 17, 2010 at the 2010 Miss USA pageant, Rima Fakih, a 24-year-old Lebanese-American immigrant from Michigan, was awarded the crown. Not surprisingly, this has caused a major backlash among the “Keep America White” set. First they attempted to smear her by uncovering pictures of her — fully clothed — in a radio [...]
Red Vinyl Shoes: Feminist Does Not Mean "Strong Woman"
Since Sarah Palin redefined the word “feminist” to include women who actively work against women’s rights, female Republican candidates in the upcoming primaries have been rallying behind the cause and riding the wave of faux-feminist populism to hopeful victories. In California in particular, two conservative women who have reached that apex of self-determination afforded by [...]
FWD/Forward: A Matter of Strength? Meds vs. No Meds
Among those who are diagnosed with mental illness, there is a continuing debate over whether or not taking medication is acceptable. For groups such as The Icarus Project, mental illness is something not to medicate but to celebrate, a “mad gift” we should cherish and cultivate. For many others, however, mental illness is far from [...]