Category Archives: Feminism and Culture

Word Clouds: Gender and the Vocabulary of Advertisements for Toys

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Ann Bartow

From here, where the author of the linked post did all the work, and explains the data!

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Masculinity, Sociolinguistics | Comments Off

The New Wonder Woman?

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

There is a NBC pilot in the works for a new “Wonder Woman” television series.  Judging by the costume preview (here, at EW.com), I predict the show never gets picked up. Apparently, the costume designer did not use the lasso … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture | 1 Comment

Catchy Tune, Disgusting Lyrics

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Ann Bartow

See also this.

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Black on “Stalled: Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards”

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

Barbara Black, the Charles Hartsock Professor of Law and Director of the Corporate Law Center at the University of Cincinnati College of Law has posted to SSRN her essay, Stalled: Gender Diversity on Corporate Boards.  Here is the abstract: In … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Law, Feminist Legal Scholarship, The Underrepresentation of Women | Comments Off

When Will Equality Be “Sexy”?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

Kanye West’s “Monster” video has been banned from MTV “for its violence and explicit content toward women,” according to Essence magazine (here).  That’s a rather glossy description of the video.  According to the petition signed by over 5,000 people: “The … Continue reading →

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Fatal Charmers

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Christine Corcos

Kevin Nance investigates the disappearance of the femme fatale from our screens. “For all her lying,” he says, “the femme fatale was a truth-teller, a bad woman whose real crime was to introduce a man to his own innate badness. … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and the Arts | Comments Off

Janell Hobson on Hip-Hop Feminism

Posted on February 24, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

Over at the Ms. Magazine blog, Janell Hobson (Women’s Studies, SUNY) writes Can’t Stop the Women of Hip-Hop: [N]ow that mainstream hip-hop has become corporate, such women have been mostly silenced (most infamously when Sarah Jones was fined in 2001 by the FCC … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Race and Racism | 1 Comment

Where are the Women? Not Too Often Among Magazine Authors, Either

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

VIDA: Women in Literary Arts has published The Count 2010, its annual tally of authors whose work appeared (or was reviewed) in magazines like the Atlantic, Granta, Harpers, London Review of Books, the New Yorker, the NY Times Book Review, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, The Underrepresentation of Women | Comments Off

The Value of a Name

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Nancy Leong

Names are important.  They reflect our identity, and so the ability to keep or change them implicates our autonomy.  A recent lawsuit in Japan brings this importance into sharp relief.  There, a group of women filed suit yesterday, challenging a … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Law | 3 Comments

Oedipus, Kay Jewelry Style

Posted on February 6, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWFhn-mq4K4[/youtube] Kay Jewelers is running a commercial showing a male uniformed soldier (presumably) overseas, speaking by video phone with his wife.  As the wife opens a jewelry box, the husband says proudly that he had help from his “wingman” — … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture | 1 Comment

What’s in a name? For married women, a lifetime of effort.

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Nancy Leong

A woman who decides to marry a man sets herself up for a lot of time spent thinking and talking about her name.  If she decides to change her name, she opts in to a lengthy bureaucratic name-changing process so … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Sexism in the Media | 4 Comments

Karlyn on “Unruly Girls, Unrepentant Mothers”

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

This new book announcement from the University of Texas Press caught my eye: Unruly Girls, Unrepentent Mothers, a companion to Kathleen Rowe Karlyn’s groundbreaking work, The Unruly Woman, studies the ways popular culture and current debates within and about feminism inform … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and the Arts | 1 Comment

CFP: Women and New Media in the Mediterranean Region

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Bridget Crawford

From the FLP mailbox, this call for abstracts from the Isis Center for Women and Development: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE WOMEN & NEW MEDIA IN THE MEDITERRANEAN REGION ISIS CENTER FOR WOMEN & DEVELOPMENT June 24, 25, 26, 2011 – Fez, Morocco … Continue reading →

Posted in Call for Papers or Participation, Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Technology, Sisters In Other Nations | 3 Comments

Comic Journalism’s “Brenda Starr” Retires

Posted on January 2, 2011 by Christine Corcos

Mary Schmich is retiring the comic strip “Brenda Starr” tomorrow after writing her adventures for twenty-five years. Ms. Schmich took over duties for “Brenda Starr” in 1985 after the originator, Dale Messick, retired. Brenda was a trailblazer, a woman who … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture | Tagged | 1 Comment

Isabelle Caro, Model, Anti-Anorexia Campaigner, Dies

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Christine Corcos

Daniele Gouzard-Dubreuil Prevot, model Isabelle Caro’s acting teacher, announced that Ms. Caro died (Los Angeles Times obit) last month and was buried November 24. Ms. Caro, who suffered from anorexia, posed for the famous anti-anorexia ad labelled “No Anorexia” in … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and the Arts, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Documentary on Black Masculinities in Comic Books, “From Shaft to Sidney Poitier”

Posted on December 25, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Readers may be interested in the film Shaft or Sidney Poitier, “a documentary film examining the representation of Black masculinity in comic books” produced by Jonathan Gayles. Academics writing on comics, popular culture and gender include Mark Anthony Neal (Duke, … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Masculinity | 1 Comment

Grabbing a Woman’s Backside: Does the Gender of the Grabber Matter?

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Hypothetical:  Person A grabs/touches/pinches Person B’s backside without Person B’s consent. Does one’s assessment of the situation change based on the sex or gender identity of Person A and/or Person B? Does it matter if Person A and/or Person B … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Sexual Harassment | 2 Comments

Are the Media’s Representations of Supreme Court Nominees Gendered?

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Christine Corcos

Renee Newman Knake and Hannah Brenner, both of Michigan State University College of Law, have published Rethinking Gender Equality in the Legal Profession: What the Media’s Depiction of Supreme Court Nominees Reveals About the Pipeline to Power as an MSU Legal … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Law, Legal Profession, The Underrepresentation of Women | 1 Comment

Nothing Says ‘Thanksgiving’ Like ’99 männliche Luftballons’

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Healthy Girls Healthy Women reports here on its on-line petition requesting that Macy’s add an equal number of female-character balloons to its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade. In the 84-year history of the parade, only 8% of all the balloons were of … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, The Underrepresentation of Women | 2 Comments

CFP: “Precarious Spaces: (Dis-) Locating Gender,” U Rochester March 24, 2011

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

From the FLP mailbox, this call for papers: Precarious Spaces:  (Dis-) Locating Gender The 18th Annual Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender and Women’s Studies Interdisciplinary Graduate Conference at the University of Rochester March 24th & 25th, 2011 Keynote Speaker: *Laura … Continue reading →

Posted in Call for Papers or Participation, Feminism and Culture | Comments Off

Guest Blogger Amanda Gonzalez: Can Acting Like a Man Really Work Against Patriarchy?

Posted on November 4, 2010 by admin

I have a confession to make: I truly love trashy television and radio. I’m not above any of it. Not 16 and Pregnant, not Justin Bieber, not Real Housewives. I love it all. As I was singing along to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Guest Blogger | 2 Comments

Can you picture an ad for prostate cancer featuring a delicate, manicured hand squishing a dude’s junk?

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Ann Bartow

That is the question posed at IBTP in a post excerpted below: It’s breast cancer awareness month! Awesome! There is much patriarchy to blame when it comes to breast cancer awareness month. Such as Komen. Komen, as I have declaimed … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminist Blogs Of Interest, Sexism in the Media, The Overrepresentation of Women, Women's Health | 1 Comment

Manliness, Part III: Paradox

Posted on October 19, 2010 by John Kang

Thanks to Bridget for calling our attention to this curious story involving female political candidates challenging the manliness of their male adversaries; the story also includes male candidates ascribing feminine vices to their female candidates.  Both phenomena are interesting, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Masculinity | 1 Comment

Calling All Bloggers

Posted on October 14, 2010 by Christine Corcos

The blog Girl With Pen is seeking assistance. See the job posting below. It’s been a little quite round here this summer.  But we’re coming back in blazes come fall.  And speaking of: Author and Founding Partner of She Writes Deborah … Continue reading →

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New Book Announcement: ‘Girls to the Front’ by Sara Marcus

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Music and politics writer Sara Marcus has published Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution (Harper Perennial, Paperback, 2010).  Here’s the description from the book’s website: Riot Grrrl roared into the spotlight in 1991: an … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminist Blogs Of Interest | 1 Comment

Festschrift 2.0: Ms. Magazine Blog Celebrates bell hooks

Posted on September 10, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

 The Ms. Magazine blog is in the middle of bell hooks week, “a series of essays celebrating the life and works of the extraordinary bell hooks. hooks has made a significant impact on feminism, race theory, education, class politics, the … Continue reading →

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Sizzle and Steak

Posted on September 7, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Lady Gaga is wearing a meat mini on the cover of Vogue Homme Japan: I have a feeling that this magazine cover will inspire “Is Lady Gaga a feminist icon?” debates in Women’s Studies classes all across the country (Madonna … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Animal Law, Feminism and Culture | 2 Comments

Vintage Clairol Ad

Posted on August 29, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

From 1952. I find it interesting that the “sleeping beauty” who is awakens is a redhead, not the blonde who went to sleep.  And those eyebrows would be no minor feat.  image source: Duke Library Digital Collections. -Bridget Crawford

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Is (Black) Beauty Still a Feminist Issue?

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

That’s the question that Feminist Law Prof Imani Perry (Princeton) asks in this piece over at HuffPo: Last night I read my friends’ tweets about the Miss Universe Pageant. But I didn’t watch it. I am an old fashioned feminist when … Continue reading →

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Middle Men’s Tax Angle

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

This week, I saw the movie “Middle Men” starring Luke Wilson and Giovanni Ribisi.  I won’t spoil the ending, but income tax considerations — and a collective desire to outwit the “tax man” — play a huge role in the … Continue reading →

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In the Library With the Man Your Grades Could Be

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

The video was produced by the library at Brigham Young University.  Hilarious! H/T Paul Caron (here). -Bridget Crawford

Posted in Academia, Feminism and Culture | 1 Comment

Strawberry Shortcake Gets a Makeover at 30

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

It looks like Rainbow Brite is not the only toy getting a makeover.  Strawberry Shortcake has a new look, too. Today’s New York Times reports (here) that the new Strawberry Shortcake will be introduced by Hasbro at this year’s Comic-Con … Continue reading →

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New Study Finds Women and Girls Underrepresented and Oversexualized in Media

Posted on May 21, 2010 by Ann Bartow

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media has recently issued a report of the results of studies conducted about gender in media. The results can be viewed here (PDF). Among them: Study 1: G-rated movies from 1990-Jan. 2005: Fewer … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminism and the Arts, The Overrepresentation of Men, The Underrepresentation of Women | 1 Comment

Ambivalent About the Boobquake

Posted on April 28, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

You’ve probably seen it by now. First, a Neanderthal Iranian cleric scolded women for wearing “immodest” Western clothing which of course leads to adultery, which of course causes earthquakes. In response, blogger Jen McCreight announced: On Monday, April 26th, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Sisters In Other Nations | 1 Comment

Please Don’t Put a Wig on Your Baby

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

I know some people find “baby wigs” funny and harmless, but I find them utterly disturbing.  In my view, putting a wig on a baby either (a) sexualizes the child; or (b) functions as a type of minstrelsy (coincidence that … Continue reading →

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The Regulation of Naming

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Christine Corcos

Yofi Tirosh, Faculty of Law, Tel Aviv University, has published A Name of One’s Own: Gender and Symbolic Legal Personhood in the European Court of Human Rights, in volume 33 of the Harvard Journal of Law and Gender (2010). Here … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Families, Feminism and Law, Feminist Legal History | Comments Off

Why did David Brooks feel the need to churn out another concern-trolling column urging women to choose marriage over career success?

Posted on April 2, 2010 by Ann Bartow

Historiann contemplated that question here. –Ann Bartow

Posted in Feminism and Culture, If you're a woman, Sexism in the Media | 2 Comments

Gender Construction Right Before Your Eyes

Posted on March 31, 2010 by Ann Bartow

Startling and moving. I have to give the dad props for posting this to YouTube, given how things roll. –Ann Bartow ETA: Video has been made “private.” What it showed was three children, two girls and a boy, in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Sociolinguistics | 1 Comment

“Chess For Girls” from SNL around 1997 – Has anything changed?

Posted on March 21, 2010 by Ann Bartow

via videosift.com

Posted in Feminism and Culture, If you're a woman, Sexism in the Media | Comments Off

Georgia judge obstructs effort by Hustler to pornify photo of murdered hiker; Georgia law preventing distribution of certain crime scene photos has also been proposed.

Posted on March 13, 2010 by Ann Bartow

From CNN: Photos of the nude and decapitated body of a murdered hiker, sought by a writer on assignment for Hustler magazine, will not be released, a judge in Georgia ordered Wednesday. The decision came as state lawmakers considered legislation … Continue reading →

Posted in Acts of Violence, Feminism and Culture | 4 Comments

“Pop culture’s suddenly full of tweeniuses – but why are they all boys?”

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Ann Bartow

That is the question addressed by Bitch magazine in this article.

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminist Blogs Of Interest | Comments Off

In honor of “The Hurt Locker’s” Kathryn Bigelow, who became the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director last night, and International Women’s Day, a list of pioneering women movie directors.

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Ann Bartow

From “Movie Mom” Nell Minow: 1. Penny Marshall, who started as an actress (“Laverne and Shirley”), went on to direct films that included “Awakenings,” “Big,” and “A League of Their Own.” 2. Amy Heckerling is the director of “Clueless” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Firsts | Comments Off

HuffPo post asserts Stephen Colbert treated Sean Hannity “like a prostitute.”

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Ann Bartow

The post is here, along with a video clip. Below is the appalling text: Last night Stephen Colbert sat down with Sean Hannity, who “joined [him] live from stuff [he] could edit together,” and with some crafty splicing, proceeded to … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Sexism in the Media, Sociolinguistics | 1 Comment

Women’s History Month at Sarah Lawrence: The Message is in the Music: “Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More”

Posted on March 4, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Women’s History Month Conference The Message is in the Music:  Hip Hop Feminism, Riot Grrrl, Latina Music, and More Twelfth Annual Women’s History Month Conference  at Sarah Lawrence College Bronxville, New York Friday & Saturday, March 5 & 6, 2010 … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Upcoming Conferences | Comments Off

Susan J. Douglas, “Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message that Feminism’s Work is Done”

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Ann Bartow

Described here. An essay by Douglas entitled “Girls Gone Anti-Feminist” that touches on the book’s themes is available here. Below is an excerpt: … Enlightened sexism is a response, deliberate or not, to the perceived threat of a new gender … Continue reading →

Posted in Feminism and Culture, Feminists in Academia, Recommended Books | 2 Comments

Fighting Your Oppressor

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Ann Bartow

versus: Via. –Ann Bartow

Posted in Feminism and Culture, It's satire, in case that requires pointing out | Comments Off

Just in Time for February 14: “Hip Hop’s Languages of Love”

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Women and Language.  There’s a whole journal with that name: WOMEN AND LANGUAGE, an international interdisciplinary research periodical, serves as a forum for innovative studies and critical conversations among feminist theorists and gender scholars. Women and Language accepts submissions of … Continue reading →

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Wonder Woman: From Non-Killing Superhero to “Bullet Breasts”

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Bridget Crawford

Artist Linda Stein breaks it down in this video.  [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-xMFvGSPH4[/youtube] In an article for the most recent On the Issues Magazine (here),   Stein writes: Created by William Moulten Marston in 1941, Wonder Woman was the”invincible enemy of injustice.”She … Continue reading →

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Mr. Deity and the Help-Meet, Or, Explaining the Politics of Housework In Three and a Half Minutes

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Christine Corcos

I’ve discovered “Mr Deity and the Help Meet,”  in which Lucy (aka Lucifer) takes Mr. Deity to task 3 days before the Creation for changing male and female roles (and the balance of power).  Giving birth? Breast feeding? The women … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Feminism and Culture, Feminism and Religion, It's satire, in case that requires pointing out | Comments Off

Great cartoon by Judy Horacek

Posted on February 5, 2010 by Ann Bartow

Via her website.

Posted in Feminism and Culture | Comments Off