Archive
by Cherchez La Femme | Jul 27, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Fox News' Neil Cavuto and guest Michael Karolchyk recently debated whether Dr. Regina Benjamin is too fat for the "symbolic" position of Surgeon General. Neil introduced the segment like this:Brilliant, dedicated, experienced and, oh yeah, fat. The...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jul 29, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
According to Sarah Palin, one of the reasons she chose to resign, a year shy of the end of her term, is “the media” and all the attention “it’s” been paying to her family and personal life. To this I say, of course many involved in...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jul 29, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Yesterday, CNN counted down to Sarah Palin's farewell speech by showing this y2k-style countdown clock in the corner of the screen, complete with a grinning Sarah Palin head. This was frustrating to me, because it confirms that CNN has been influenced by Fox, and...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 3, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
The tabloid-style media coverage in Great Britain and Australia frightens me. They take the worst elements of TMZ, mix them with a little Jerry Springer, throw in a dash of self-righteous indignation, and add a syrupy pun or two. It's really quite fascinating. The...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 5, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Bebe Gluton, literally "gluttonous baby," is a new doll that was recently introduced in Spain. The inoccuous looking baby doll also comes with a little girl sized halter-top with pink daisies that represent nipples. The doll makes sucking noises when it...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 10, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Officials in Seoul, South Korea will paint almost 5,000 parking spaces throughout the city pink, indicating they are for women only. The proximaty of the spaces is designed to help high heel wearing women navigate Seoul, which would boost employment mong women and...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 17, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
"There is something about the mix of television, women and professional sports that is almost toxic, and it appears to numb the sensibilities of otherwise civilized men," says Susam Remier for the Baltimore Sun. The thesis of her recent piece is that nothing...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 19, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Last night's third season premire of Mad Men was an event. The break between seasons was painfully long. It left fans with unanswered questions–the main one, of course: who is Don Draper? In the first few minutes of last night's show, we got a little...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 21, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
The town meetings on health care have left me flabbergasted. Barney Frank has had much the same reaction. This woman is the second in two days who I've become aware of who's invoked Hitler at one of these town meetings. The first was based in Las Vegas. Her...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 26, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
This Virginia gentleman expresses his views on abortion. He claims that he is not pro-life, and that he supports the abortions of fetuses conceived by Democratic and liberal parents. "I could think of nothing worse," he says "than to have these people...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 27, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
I didn't anticipate Ted Kennedy's death last night, which I learned about after I re-watched Sunday's episode of Mad Men in order to write this post. His involvement in the government since the era of the show, however, and the tragic themes of his life...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 28, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
Perhaps the most maligned creepy crawly known to man, the spider invokes irrational fear in many people, and women are four times as likely to fear spiders than men. But a new study conducted by a developmental psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh,...
by Cherchez La Femme | Aug 31, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 1, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 8, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 10, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
…when they make you wear cowboy boots and '80's aqua blue power suits.
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 16, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 17, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 21, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 23, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 28, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Sep 29, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 2, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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,...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 5, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 7, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 9, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 9, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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"...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 12, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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.
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 15, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 19, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 20, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 22, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 23, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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?
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 26, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 26, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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),...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 28, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Oct 30, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Nov 3, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Nov 4, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Nov 5, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Nov 18, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
"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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Nov 19, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Dec 1, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Dec 3, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Dec 10, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Dec 22, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
…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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Dec 28, 2009 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jan 4, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jan 19, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jan 27, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Feb 4, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Mar 5, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Apr 15, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Apr 23, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | May 5, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jun 3, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jun 18, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jun 22, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
by Cherchez La Femme | Jun 27, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
Naomi Wolf on Ali G. It is what it is. She can’t really keep up.
by Cherchez La Femme | Jul 21, 2010 | Cherchez La Femme
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...
