Afghan Women Fight to Not Have Their Rights Bargained Away in ‘Peace Unveiled’ in ‘Women, War & Peace’ Series

This is a guest post by Megan Kearns. She also contributed reviews of Part 1 and Part 2 of Women, War & Peace. For the past year, revolutions swept across North Africa and the Middle East. Despite their vocal presence, the media didn’t initially display women’s involvement in the protests. The same could be said … Continue reading “Afghan Women Fight to Not Have Their Rights Bargained Away in ‘Peace Unveiled’ in ‘Women, War & Peace’ Series”

Guest Writer Wednesday: A Review in Conversation of Twin Peaks

Welcome to Twin Peaks. This is a guest post by Cynthia Arrieu-King and Stephanie Cawley. Cynthia’s take:  Why do I like Twin Peaks? I remember dialing through Netflix Streaming back in May of this year as a way of breaking up the cooking of several chopping-intensive dishes. The show was totally unappealing to me when … Continue reading “Guest Writer Wednesday: A Review in Conversation of Twin Peaks”

Why Facebook’s "Occupy a Vagina" Event Is Not Okay

Last week, a Change.org petition urged Facebook to remove pages that promote sexual violence. Some of the offending pages included, “Kicking Sluts in the Vagina,” and “Riding your Girlfriend softly Cause you dont want to wake her up.” The following passage from the petition explains the overall goal: First, Facebook needs to clarify that pages … Continue reading “Why Facebook’s "Occupy a Vagina" Event Is Not Okay”

Swiffer Reminds Us that Women Are Dirt

We’ve all been here before: watching a television show, cut to commercial break, and on comes that particular ad that you absolutely loathe. You switch the channel, mute the TV, or just rant through the entire thing…again (I’m not the only one, right?). Not too long ago, I wrote about the spate of “man up … Continue reading “Swiffer Reminds Us that Women Are Dirt”

Some Scattered Thoughts on Detective Shows and Geniuses

I often joke here about my obsession with streaming Netflix television shows from 1992. Sometimes I find myself wondering what I actually did during the nineties that made me miss so much television, and then I remember I was hanging out with truancy officers, drinking Zima underage, angsting over my first boyfriend, and coming one … Continue reading “Some Scattered Thoughts on Detective Shows and Geniuses”

I Feel Like Hell …

I went to the doctor, and she tried to convince me I’m only developing allergies, but I told her I don’t understand how allergies can make my entire face, head, neck, and body feel like they might simultaneously explode, but you know, what do I know. So I’m slacking off today while I get my … Continue reading “I Feel Like Hell …”

Occupy Wall Street and Feminism and Misogyny (Oh My?)

  I’ve been 100% on board with Occupy Wall Street since it began almost a month ago. I wrote about my experience protesting with them on October 5, and—leading up to the Times Square Occupation—I almost had goose bumps. I was ready to take the square. And then, it happened—I browsed Facebook. In my defense, … Continue reading “Occupy Wall Street and Feminism and Misogyny (Oh My?)”

Movie Preview: Tomboy

I don’t have much to say about this film: it looks amazing, and I can’t wait to see it. Here’s the movie synopsis from Rotten Tomatoes: A French family with two daughters, 10-year-old Laure and 6-year-old Jeanne, moves to a new neighborhood during the summer holidays. With her Jean Seberg haircut and tomboy ways, Laure … Continue reading “Movie Preview: Tomboy”

Quote(s) of the Day: Geena Davis and Abigail Disney

At the Social Good Summit a couple of weeks ago, a panel was held called, “Women and Girls Lead: Where Storytelling, Gaming, and Public Media Converge,” and the entire thing rocked my world. It’s moderated by Aaron Sherinian, Vice President of Communications and Public Relations of the United Nations Foundation, and the members of the … Continue reading “Quote(s) of the Day: Geena Davis and Abigail Disney”

Tropes vs. Women Spotlight

Anita Sarkeesian of the Web site Feminist Frequency, a site that analyzes pop culture from a feminist perspective, recently completed her fabulous, six-part video series on Tropes vs. Women. She explains that, “A trope is a common pattern in a story or a recognizable attribute in a character that conveys information to the audience. A … Continue reading “Tropes vs. Women Spotlight”

Quote of the Day: Barbara J. Berg

Visit Barbara J. Berg’s Web site for more information. Yesterday, I wrote a piece analyzing two misogyny-filled reviews of I Don’t Know How She Does It. The process got me thinking quite a bit about the ways in which reputable movie critics choose to evaluate films, particularly woman-centered films. Most critics loved Bridesmaids, but that … Continue reading “Quote of the Day: Barbara J. Berg”

Ripley’s Rebuke: ‘Whitney’ versus Whitney

Even the promo shots for Whitney attempt retro, but come off as regressive. After the season premiere of Parks and Recreation (Knope 2012!) and The Office last Thursday night, I left the TV on and caught the series premiere of Whitney, the new sitcom created by and starring comic Whitney Cummings. I was first taken … Continue reading “Ripley’s Rebuke: ‘Whitney’ versus Whitney”