On “The Help”
Haven’t read/seen it, won’t read/see it* and was generally squicked out by the whole premise of the book to begin with — let’s tell a story that is kinda-sorta about race but more about how these nice black ladies helped white women Find Their Voice, from the perspective of white women of course — but [...]
...read moreIn Defense of the Movie That Needs No Defending (But Which I Will Nonetheless Defend For Various Psychological/Gender-Justice-Seeking Reasons)
This is a guest post by Rebecca Katherine Hirsch.
[A League of Their Own] is direct, fun and shows women as free, smart agents in a world that does its darndest to harass and humiliate them into silence. And hey! The humor holds up AFTER ALL THESE YEARS.
Why Roger Ebert is the best
He is hilarious, and also such a stealth feminist: “No Strings Attached” poses the question: Is it possible to regularly have sex with someone and not run a risk of falling in love? The answer is yes. Now that we have that settled, consider the case of Emma (Natalie Portman) and Adam (Ashton Kutcher), who [...]
...read moreLast-minute Monday Fluff: Mysterious As The Dark Side Of The Moon
In which I talk about my really like disproportional, somewhat inexplicable, and frankly kind of embarrassing love of Disney films! …again. Y’all, I swear, I think about things other than this! Like all the fucking time! Like, I HAVE semi-substantialish posts in the works, I do! Buuuut none of them are going to get done [...]
...read moreNot a Fish, Not Yet A Human
So one time, Chloe at Feministing posted about Disney’s The Little Mermaid, calling it “a feminist’s worst nightmare,” because it’s literally the story of a woman who gives up her voice to get a man, which: sort of true, but also no, because in a universe where you can VERY EASILY read the moral of [...]
...read moreMuslim Women on Sex and the City 2
In light of yesterday’s discussion of SatC, I thought I’d direct your attention to Muslimah Media Watch’s discussion of the film. If any non-Arab, non-Muslim readers are itching to say (or repeat), “Well, I don’t think it’s racist, and my opinion is valid, too, and also you’re just looking for stuff to complain about!” just [...]
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Defending Sex and the City (sort of, not really).
I haven’t seen the latest Sex and the City movie, and I don’t plan to because I’m sure it will be terrible. It also sounds a little bit racist! And, like the rest of the franchise, shallow and kind of silly. However, Choire makes some good points here: It used to be that we loved [...]
...read moreIn case you needed another reason to be disgusted by Woody Allen
Funny movies? Check. Creative and talented guy? Check. Shockingly abhorrent human being? Double triple check. First there was the creepy marrying-his-stepdaughter thing. But that’s old news. More recently, Allen gives us this New Yorker article, which I understand was supposed to be humor piece about Warren Beatty’s sexual prowess but which is actually a really [...]
...read moreShame on you.
Gabe says so perfectly what I also think about tea partiers, after one of them — Caleb Howe, a right-wing writer regularly featured on sites like RedState.org — taunted Roger Ebert for having cancer: But I will also say this: come on, tea party movement. I have worked really hard to remain open to the [...]
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Oscars Open Thread
So the Oscars were last night, and a woman won Best Director for the first time ever! And that same woman’s movie won Best Picture! Which is exciting, especially since the next big contender was Avatar, which I have not seen mostly because I hate James Cameron and I really hate colonialist masturbatory pet-projects. Lauren [...]
...read moreGender-Neutral Oscars?
Kim Elsesser from the Center for Study of Women at the UCLA poses this question in the New York Times: Why is it considered acceptable to segregate nominations by sex, offering different Oscars for best actor and best actress? The editorial is well worth a read. I agree with her in principle, but what of [...]
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