"There is difference and there is power. And who holds the power decides the meaning of the difference." --June Jordan

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Betty White = Awesome

If you didn't see 88-year-old Betty White receive her Lifetime Achievement Award from The Screen Actor's Guild last night, you missed out. Hopefully, these YouTube clips stay online so you can all enjoy it (the Betty stuff starts at 2:50 in the first video clip, and her hilarious speech starts around 4:50 in the second one):


White guys, white guys, white guys.

Even though I agree with the feminist critiques of late-night TV, we still DVRed and The Tonight Show all this week, because the drama ended up making for some really interesting television and provided endless fodder for good comedy. Not only were the jokes especially funny, but Conan made a big deal about all of the amazing guests who were coming on the show in what might be (and was eventually confirmed to be) its last week on the air. As we watched it night after night, I couldn't help but notice a pattern in these guests.

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That's right. With the exception of a Cirque du Soleil performer (who didn't speak) and Joss Stone (who also just performed), it was white guys, white guys, white guys.

Doesn't do much to trouble the stereotype of the late night TV boys club, huh?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Vintage Ad of the Day

The classic man-loves-car-more-than-you story:

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Copy reads:
"The Eternal Triangle.

You would think Ralph's new love would have been curtains for me. I mean, it was all he talked about. Well, I learned to live with it. As it turned out, I think his Charger R/T really brought us closer together. He's taught me how to shift the 4-speed syncromesh. He lets me pick out the stereo tapes. And clean the vinyl buckets. It's not all bad. He even mentioned marriage once."

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Vintage Ad of the Day

Another one for the "here's why you can't catch a man" files:

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Thursday, January 14, 2010

The Problem with Using Female Orgasms to Sell Condoms

Via AdFreak, I just saw this (not safe for work) Durex condom ad from China which consists entirely of orgasm noises:



But the problem with using female orgasm noises to sell condoms is the fact that a great deal (possibly even the majority) of women do not achieve orgasms from activities (i.e. penis-in-vagina intercourse) that involve condoms. Some do, sure. And maybe a great deal many others make similar pleasure-evoking noises during intercourse even if what they're feeling isn't exactly an orgasm. But somehow, I feel like this ad perpetuates the myth that this one over-valorized sexual act is THE (one and only) way to pleasure a woman. Or that it contributes to the idea that the act that is generally considered the most pleasurable for men drives all women absolutely bonkers with orgasms, reinforcing this idea that it's the only thing anyone ever needs to do.

Or maybe I just dislike the ad for the way it takes the sounds of women's pleasure and uses them to communicate to men: "See what you can make women DO if you use our product?" Depictions of women experiencing sexual pleasure are rather hard to come by in the media, and I'm amazed by how this ad was able to take something that could have been progressive and manage to make men the actors and women the objects of their action.

Solidarity for Practical Laziness!

In a discussion on the politics of housework in one of my classes today, my professor was naming off a list of house chores that always seem to be assigned to women. And when she got to bedmaking, she barked, quite bluntly:

"Well, I would argue that no one really has to make the bed, anyway. What a waste of time for something you just get back into and mess up again. Pointless!"

And I knew right then and there that we were going to get along just fine.

Vintage Ad of the Day

Because without that morning facial, your husband may not even come home at night!

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Friday, January 8, 2010

Vintage Ad of the Day

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To women with pear-shaped bodies: Feel bad about yourselves! Your body is weird and unnatural! So weird and unnatural that you need extra padding to balance out your disgusting figure!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Oh, look.

Some people can make "top ten" lists of notable women and not resort to including horses! Check this out:

Kotaku: The Ten Most Influential Women In Games Of The Past Decade

Pretty awesome. Just avoid the comments section unless you want to be schooled by a bunch of assholes on what makes one "influential" and on what sexism is.

Monday, January 4, 2010

"Grade 'A' Pink"

When I see this subway ad photo a reader sent in to Shakesville:

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All I can picture is this:



We've come a long way, baby.