Small note from SBG: Nick wrote this post ages ago, when the topic was all over the tabloids. Due to technical errors (read: my slow-on-the-uptakedness), I didn’t get this until late last week. It’s still topical and worth discussing!

I’ve been reading posts on Jessica Simpson’s alleged entry into the company of fat people. In the thread to the latter post, someone commented: “It shouldn’t matter what her weight is, but seriously, on what planet is Simpson even remotely … READ MORE

This hit the screens a couple of weeks ago in Britain, and I understand it just has just come out in the US. It has the distinction of being the first James Bond film I was actually excited to see (I was interested in seeing Casino Royale because I knew it was a reboot and they planned several changes in tone; but it wasn’t until after, when I knew what they had done with it that real excitement could … READ MORE

The interminable Simpsons repeats on some of my local channels recently worked their way round to the one where Bart gets a vision of the future where he’s a dropout with a pretend band, and Lisa is President. Anyway, the US is in deep financial trouble and Lisa is having trouble placating the other countries it owes money to. Until Bart swoops in and saves the day with his mad putting-off-creditor skillz.

The daughter of my recently … READ MORE

It’s making the rounds – over at Shakesville,The Curvature, Feministing, and Hoyden About Town – as it should be. Most of the sites I’ve linked to have the video of McCain puting scarequotes round the notion that the health of the mother should be a consideration for abortion; as if women’s health is such a joke to him that he can’t even make it through the words.

You’re probably expecting me to call that misogynistic, but really, what’s the point? … READ MORE

**SPOILERS for Heroes season 3**

Heroes season 3 has just started in the UK (3 episodes in).  Purtek has written before about its issues with female characters in her articles Heroes: Do Better and Heroes Season 2: You can still do better; the third season has kicked off with a couple of half-steps forward but some big steps back.

All New Ali Larter:  Nikki’s apparent death at the end of season 2 really was her death, but it turns out she has a twin (or … READ MORE

Well sort of. The latest ad I’ve seen from the delightful studio of Burger King is for the so-called “polygameat” – a burger made up of more than one kind of meat – the ad can be seen here.

In an ordinary village, a mob is hounding a man whom they accuse of committing “polygameat” – the mob is mostly made up of women (and of course, they are the only ones to actually speak about how outraged they are … READ MORE

A recent CSI Miami episode focussed on cyber-stalking. Briefly, a school swimming star (Candace Walker) is the subject of a website devoted to stalking and photographing her – consequently, she is being followed by dozens of amateur paparazzi – and at the beginning of the episode, her boyfriend is shot and killed with an arrow. A number of things stood out, and taken together, they left me with a very sour taste.

Candace Walker: For most of the episode, … READ MORE

One of my favourite TV historians is Bettany Hughes. But as a presenter, she gets hit from the opposite angle to actresses, being criticised for (what boils down to) looking too hot, and thus cheapening her subject in some way.  On the other hand, Michael Wood, my other favourite TV historian, gets to be the “man who made history sexy.”  So why is a historian and history presenter too hot, while if she were a Hollywood actress would be under … READ MORE

A recent book I was reading re-introduced me to the folklore of vagina dentata, the notion that women once had – or Sinister Women have now – teeth in their vaginas. A common variant (found in Europe, Africa, and the Americas) being “witches” whose vaginal bite robbed men of their power and virility, and made slaves of them – unless the teeth were broken – of course no one here is going to miss the level of misogyny inherent … READ MORE

I’ve posted before about how the writers of CSI: New York have handled stories involving Stella. The most recent episode I’ve seen, “The Thing About Heroes,” is another example – it finishes a couple of running arcs through the season – and includes what I found an excellent exploration of a couple a common tropes in stories about women.

First is the “next relationship after the psycho.” For a few episodes, Stella has been courted by Drew, a man she’d … READ MORE