Cherchez La Femme
Are Anti-Health Care Astroturf Groups Using Pro-Lifers to Drum Up Support?
The abortion debate in this country is a complex one, for sure. Dr. George Tiller's brutal murder earlier this year is evidence that there is a sense of vigilanteism that pervades a fair amount of self-proclaimed pro-lifers. In light of that hate crime and...She's a Lady?
Over at Townhall.com, columnist Eva Lorraine Molina offers some advice for the female conservatives out there. The simple, four-word solution for these a-changin' times where a conservative woman no longer knows who she is or how she should behave: Act like a...The Real Women of Mad Men: “I am so high.”
This week's episode of Mad Men, paid a lot of attention to women's issues. After the Don-centric last half of season two, it seems that the writers are returning to what made the show so dynamic and addictive in the first place: an analysis of the tension...It Must Be Hard to Defend Mother China…
…when they make you wear cowboy boots and '80's aqua blue power suits.The Real Women of Mad Men: “Bill it to the Kid”
In this week’s episode, we saw a few storylines the writers left open come to some sort of fruition: Sal’s latent homosexuality, Sally’s relationship with her grandfather, and the Patio ad campaign. Parent-Child relationships were examined, as were...Fortune Telling
Fortune recently released their lists of highest paid men and women. The women make way less, topping off at $42.4 million, while the highest paid man makes $112.5 million. What does this say about the state of equal pay?This theme was touched on in this week's...The Real Women of Mad Men: “Your wife's on the boat. You're on the shore.”
It was harder to find a steady stream of theme(s) in this weeks episode than it has been lately. In some ways, the producers were more heavy-handed with the symbolism, slipping in quick, David Lynch-like shots lasting only a few frames, combining wakefulness and...A Real Dowd-er
In May, I blogged about this article by NYT Op-Ed columnist Ross Douthat. It and many other trend pieces about the unhappiness of women were spawned by a study conducted by UPenn Economists called The Paradox of Declining Female Happiness. It's about how women are...The Real Women of Mad Men: “One minute you're on top of the world, the next minute some secretary's running you over with a lawn mower.”
This week on Mad Men, the writers played a big joke on us. In fact, the title of the episode even referenced a popular joke structure. It was called, "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency." The Guy in question is Guy MacKendrick. He's the big change...A Distracted Woman?
This is Lisa MacLeod. MacLeod is a 34-year-old Canadian politician. She recently testified against Ottowa Mayor Larry O'Brien in his recent hig-profile, influence-peddling trial. Her testimony was deemed unreliable by the judge presiding over the case, Douglass...The Real Women of Mad Men: “His master's voice?”
This week on Mad Men, various characters gave in, not the least of which was Don. Betty's complex with men who tell her what to do was developed. And Joan was gone. As in, not there. Not even one little peek.I love how the Mad Men writers are so focused on time,...The Childless Woman UPDATE
Us humans tend to praise motherhood. Even on this site, my fellow-blogger Sarah Buttenweiser writes a mommy-centric blog, complete with personal essays about the trials and tribulations modern mothers in the modern world face from breastfeeding to playground...Ex-Future-Palin-in-Law Eats Nuts
For many reasons, this commerial makes no sense. First of all, how is eating pistachios like having unprotected sex as a teenager? And how is a burly bodyguard dressed in black like a condom? And why would one need protection from eating nuts? And is Levi Johnston...House Updates Hate Crimes Bill to include Sexual Orientation
The House of Representatives voted to include sexual orientation under the scope of the hate crimes bill. The law was enacted in 1968 after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. The changes bring about major changes to the law. Supporters of the bill have been...The Real Women of Mad Men: “They said you were ugly.”
I should have known that something was afoot when this was the first image we focused on in this week's episode, called "Souvenir." Suggesting that he hasn't let go of his quest to understand the "Negro" market, Pete "The Weasel"...“It's an exciting movie!”
My friend sent me an email linking to this video of a three-year-old giving a synopsis of Star Wars Episode IV. Before clicking, I assumed the child was a boy. I was wrong.It's That Time Again: Sexy Halloween Costumes are Bad for Us All
Since Halloween is around the corner, various ladyblogs have been doing posts about the inevitable hoards of women wearing "stripper shoes," fishnets, bunny ears and/or lingerie and claiming the outfits are costumes. It has become the overwhelming trend for...The Real Women of Mad Men: “I'm Deeply Disappointed”
Although he's been dutiful (as much as he could be) Don Draper finally broke this week, in the episode called "The Wee Small Hours." And, indeed, much happened in the hours between midnight and morning in this episode, or in small, dark rooms. By putting...Right-wing Radio's Sexist Attacks
Maine’s two senators are ladies. They are also Republican. So when Sen. Olympia Snowe voted for the health care reform bill, saying, “When history calls, history calls,” and Sen. Susan Collins cast approval on health care reform, the attacks made by...No Boys Allowed: Mexico's Pink Taxis
In Puebla, Mexico a fleet of government-backed taxis has hit the streets. The taxis are painted Pepto pink, and each is equipped with a GPS system and alarm button. Oh, and a beauty kit. The taxis cater to women only and don't stop for men. Following a world-wide...WWII Vet Urges Mainers to Approve Gay Marriage
More touching words have never been spoken by a "life-time Republican." If his clarity of vision stems from the fact that he has a gay son, then what's wrong with Dick Cheney?Stella!
This is the new commercial from Stella Artois' "Thing of Beauty" ad campaign. Is it me, or are they saying beer is like a lady? Or a lady is like beer? Judging from the parallel imagery, it seems that's the case. Aesthetically, I like this...The Real Women of Mad Men: “Julius Ceasar had epilepsy. He ran Rome.”
I apoligize that this post is a couple of days later than usual. It's due to a little essay published in the latest issue of The Atlantic. Ben Schwartz, that magazine's literary editor and national editor (telling titles for the way he approaches this piece),...Halloween in Crazytown
Randall Terry, infamous anti-abortion nutcase, is at it again. This time, he's actually encouraging his followers—some of whom belong to his organization called Operation Rescue Insurrecta Nex—to create flaming effigies of Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and...HPV Makes Girls Sexually Cautious
Despite the rantings of the conservative right, the HPV vaccine, which protects against a virus known to cause cervical cancer in women, makes girls who get it cautious when approaching sexual situations. According to a study published recently in the British Journal...Guam Archbishop Condemns Homosexuals, Relates to Suicide-Bombers
Anthony Apuron is the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Agana, Guam. He went to college in New Hampshire and studied seminary in New York. Recently he made a statement that condemned homosexuality in such a way that illustrated a keen misunderstanding of...Anti-Abortion Movement Obstacle in Health Care Reform, House Dems Attempt to Ban Abortion Coverage in Private Sector
The Washington Post ran an article today that outlines the hard-headed tactics some House Democrats are using to hold up the Health Care Bill for their own political agendas. The Anti-Abortion movement has long been apostrophizing lawmakers to establish language that...A Halloween Retrospective: The Sexiest Costumes Don't Have Cleavage
Halloween is about pretending you are something you're not. It's about playing a character and having fun with it. And how much acting can one do as a sexy environmentalist? I propose that women who dress in costumes that don't necessarily expose their...Controversial Program Pays Teens to Avoid Pregnancy
"College Bound Sisters," a controversial program run by the Guilford County health department in North Carolina, pays it's members a dollar a day to put towards college if they stay un-pregnant. While the program does not advocate abstinance-only...Vintage Men
Life Magazine just released a list of the "Sexiest Men of the 50s, 60s, and 70s." It's hard to disagree with most of their selections. Of Warren Beatty, writer Eva Marie Saint wrote in 1961: "Some guys come at you like a Mack truck. This one is...Flash in the Palin
I can't decide whether or not to read Going Rogue. Part of me wonders if the inevitable frustration is worth it. Part of me thinks that in order to engage responsibly in conversations about her, or even to criticize her (arguably, the most recognizable American...Funny Girl: SNL Hires New Female Writer
According to "Jezebel," funny-lady Jessi Klein, whose most impressive CV bullet point is a behind the scenes gig on Chappelle's Show, has just been hired as a staff writer on Saturday Night Live. Lindsay Robertson, a blogger who writes for...NY's Unsuccessful Gay Marriage Bill Reveals No-Nonsense Female Politician
Leave it to a broad from New York to speak plainly. During a debate in which even her Democratic collegues shied away from voting yes on the gay marriage bill that was defeated yesterday, NY State Senator Dian Savino made an impromptu speech, the video of which has...It's Been a Long Haul for Afghan Women…
…and it's not going to be over any time soon, it seems.President Obama invoked eerily W-like rhetoric in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech today. Granted, his inflections were more subtle than Bush's; one sees easily that Obama's view of the...Crimes Against Womanity: The 30 Worst Lady Mag Covers of the Aughts
I was hoping that BuzzFeed's list of the 30 Worst Women's Magazine covers of the 2000s would be a skewering of the Ladymag industry's tendency to literally distort women's bodies to impossible proportions via Photoshop. About one-half of the list kind...Down the Street from Disaster
I'm going to take a break from lady-issues to talk a little bit about what it's been like to live in Ward 3, Northampton these past couple of days. I don't think the topic is all that thoroughly unrelated to what I usually write about, since the motivation...Cover Your Head
Today The Washington Post published a column written by an Iraqi woman named Dalya Hassan. In it, she describes how she went from wearing Western clothing to donning a hijab, the traditional head covering many Muslim women wear. She started doing so because her...Feminists Can't Vote for Scott Brown
And that statement has nothing to do with Martha coakley being a woman. Especially since she's a candidate I can't throw myself behind 100%.However, Brown's voting record is offensive to me, to women, and to humans at large, I believe. His supporters are...There's Only One Woman on Forbes 10 Most Trusted Celebrities List
Coming in at number one on Forbes Magazines' "10 Most trusted Celebrities" list, released Monday, is Darth Vader himself, James Earl Jones. Behind him are Tom Hanks, Michael J. Fox, Mike Rowe (cause he picks up poop?), Morgan Freeman, Ron Howard, Will...Scott Fujita: Standing up for a Woman's Right to Choose, Linebacking, Taking Names
On Wednesday, the New York Times ran a profile on New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita. the article focused largely on Fujita's outspokenness about reproductive and gay rights. Recently, abortion has become a hot topic in buzz around the Superbowl due to the...Obama Poems, Hollywood Conservatives, I Missed You
Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted. A new full time job that fills up my days has severly limited my ability to troll the internet for interesting ladygendersexmajic news. But I’ve managed to cobble together a couple of items that may interest...Constance McMillen, Grand Marshall
Initially famous as the figurehead of a facebook page fast approaching half a million fans titled, “Let Constance Take her Girldfriend to Prom!” (supported by the ACLU), high school student Constance McMillen has just been named the Grand Marshall of this...Les Tourments de Gros Seins: in which I contemplate breast-size
There exists a never ending barrage of images constantly informing women about what men think is sexually attractive (and telling men to what they should be sexually attracted). This is why the “ideal” body type in 2010 is different from the cultural...The Anti-Gay Sex Candidate: or The Birth of the Bleeding-Heart Conservative
Big points for being transparent for West Virginian Bruce Barilla, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. In the grand tradition of the Christian right wingnuts, Barilla sort of tells the truth when he says that the man he is running against supported...R.I.P.: Rue McClanahan
The inimitable Rue McClanahan died today at age 76 after she suffered a major stroke. McClanahan’s character on Golden Girls (the sitcom ran from 1985-1992), Blanche Devereaux, was not only lovable for her zippy Southern tongue and manner of saunter, but kind of...Should the Mass. RMV Have Permitted Such a Polarizing Plate?
Sometimes I just don’t understand this state. It is full of contradictions: high academia vs. proud ignorance; a Democratic legacy (Kennedys) vs. a history of Republicans in positions of high political power; comprehensive social benefits vs. a rise in...Classic Feminist Analysis
Naomi Wolf on Ali G. It is what it is. She can’t really keep up.Desperate Romance
Blogger Almie Rose over at Apocalipsick recently wrote a post arguing that grand, sweeping, dramatic gestures made in the name of romance are only okay if a man is making them. When a woman does it, it’s just plain creepy. Psychotic even. Having recently gotten...Mad (Wo)Men: That's what she said…
Season four of Mad Men premieres on Sunday, and I can hardly wait to start judging these fictional characters from a bygone era with which I am entirely familiar through television. (I don’t know if my epic reviews of last season will be on the docket [new...God Most Likely Doesn't Approve of Fred Phelps, Gets a Chuckle from Comic Fans
That’s it. All day yesterday and today celebrity nerds tweeted about ComicCon in San Diego and made me jealous, and after this latest news, I’ve decided. I am going next year. Because everyone knows superheroes are gay—what with their tights and...Down the Shirt Vs. Up the Skirt: Policemen, Civil rights Lawyers, and Victims' Rights Advocates in Fight Over Sneaky Subway Snaps
In an article published this morning, Richard Weir of the Herald calls it creepy, but police in Boston aren’t sure if sneaking pictures of women’s cleavage while they ride the subway is a crime. (Taking shots up a woman’s skirt is a clear-cut crime,...Here's Some Good News: California's Proposition 8 Has Been Ruled Unconstitutional
Check it: “Plaintiffs have demonstrated by overwhelming evidence that Proposition 8 violates their due process and equal protection rights and that they will continue to suffer these constitutional violations until state officials cease enforcement of...Focus on the Family promotes Anti-anti-bullying, Cautions against “Cute, Furry Animals”
“Huffington Post” reported today on a video that Christian group Focus on the Family released a completely sensible and warranted video about what parents should watch out for when they send their kids back to school. Current TV responded to that video...Jane Fonda Dusts off the Leg Warmers
There’s nothing quite as serendipitous as a google image search of something or someone that provides a wide spectrum of varied yet illustrative images spanning a decades long history or career. Jane Fonda’s is the best. Regular-google her name, and...Canadian Teen Raped, Peers Callous on Facebook
A 16-year-old girl was allegedly drugged and raped bu multiple men and boys at a reve in a field last weekend. “But that’s not the most disgusting part” police say. The girls classmates, many of them male, are accusing the girl of exaggerating the...foxnews.com Does Something Worthwhile, Panders to the Mad Men-Watching Liberal Elite
foxbews.com assembled what seems to be a pretty funny collection of vintage ads featuring sexist copy (among various other facepalm-isms). Granted, the accompanying criticisms of the adds include such gems as, “”Hmmmm…” and “Ah the...It's All Relative: Handshaking First Ladies on the International Stage
Does one’s adamant support of women’s rights get to edge out her aspirations towards cultural-sensitivity and tolerance towards religious/culture points of view she may not understand because they are different from her own? It’s a hard line to tread...Lady Gaga, Russians, and Self-depricating Office Humor
The following video is a remarkable collision of poor production quality, awkward lip-synching, some middle-manager’s idea of team-building, and a foreign language. God bless the internet.Dear FDA: Just listen to the bunnies UPDATED
Currently, the morning-after pill is accessable over the counter to women over the age of 17. Albeit, one still must go to the pharmacist counter and ask for it (they do this with Sudafed, but that’s only because people use it to make crystal meth), and provide...E-Edition
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