Fox Nation cannot take a joke.
US government defends deportation of 4 yr old citizen, reigniting debate over anchor babies
Some thoughts on Libya.
Help some students put together a trans* zine for their women’s college. I will say that as the proud graduate of a women’s college that I think it’s possible for a women’s college to be a safe space for transgendered students without diluting its mission of educating and empowering students who are marginalized in traditional classrooms/campuses because of their gender identity (or the fluidity there of). I know a lot of alums express concern over that — particularly because sometimes the campus resources that would otherwise go to “women’s” issues like sexual assault prevention, etc., seem to go to “protecting” this new identity. This is a trick — it’s part of the competitive rhetoric people in positions of authority use to keep marginalized groups divided and not talking to each other or working towards solidarity. We aren’t in competition for bites of a slice of pie — we’re trying to make sure EVERYONE gets pie and to demand more if the pie we have been provided with is not enough.
Speaking of collegiates: this Native student group could use a little moral support.
The Hunger Games has some early casting and fandom fail.
Getting an abortion is SECRETLY a tax issue. Also: grammatical. Also: take a nap, pregnant chicks, or you can get arrested. Regardless of your arrest history, you still will realize less professional success and make less money once you spawn. You’ll also probably be more stressed. Great!
Sarah Monohan comes forward about child sexual abuse and the film industry.
From ChronoCatfish: The most damning promo of all time.
From Casey: The 100 “best” female characters of all time.
Reflections of a frustrated woman gamer
OMG THE NEW WONDER WOMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!
Animorphs WTFery — why re-do the covers anyways??
Jesus, it’s been a race-bendy week.
An ebay auction goes horribly right! <3
David and Goliath, Hot Topic, and one particular Etsy seller all steal the shit out of other people’s designs.
Knut the polar bear died.
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Good points. I guess my ex-pat childhood gave me the sense that I could live *there* for a few years, and then I could live *there* for a few years, and then I could live *there* for a few years! — Which of course was and is possible only because I have a UK passport and an ocean of socioeconomic privilege. It’s just such a flagrant injustice that, because I was born into those things, I can go pretty much anywhere I want, whereas people who don’t have them are so often prevented from even having a shot at getting them.
Rainicorn(Quote) (Reply)
That’s how I figure most superheroes should be. I don’t get the point in having a costume–bad guys will, what, wait while you put it on or pull off your old clothes? It seems better to have armor on under street clothes with maybe some form of one-layer outer-wear and a mask if you want your identity hidden–it’s not like a bright flashy costume is BETTER than that for keeping a secret identity. Especially if the biggest change is you put on glasses as a “normal” person.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
VERY good points. And I am definitely like Rainicorn, but with the USA passport.Traveling between countries and back to the states with my handy dandy USA passport on my trip to Namibia and Zambia made it really apparent to me.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
Forgot to add: supposedly it’s hard to get jobs in Namibia if you’re not from Namibia because they have an unemployment rate above 50%, but I honestly doubt that, at least if you’re doing anything at all related to tourism–every guide, pilot, paragliding instructor, etc. etc. were all foreign, most German or Austrian with a few people we met from the UK.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
(Sorry for all the posts I keep forgetting things)
Edit: Foreign and WHITE. All of them were white. Only the artists selling along the beach and people cleaning and running the hostels were black locals.
It also made me ashamed to speak only one language fluently with barely passable usage of French and Japanese, which I’ve never used outside a classroom (except when the boys we met from the township in Swakop poked fun of us because they all spoke four or more languages, one fluent in 9). So even more than just the passport, it’s so easy for native speakers of English in many, many countries.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
I always thought of Superman as exemplifying one of knapsack points about white privilege… when you’re a heterosexual middle class white male working a white collar job, you get the privilege of being an individual… to the point where no one notices you look EXACTLY THE SAME as Superman except for the glasses.
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
Deliberate and not at all practical. How can a woman battle evil if she’s constantly having to shove her breasts back into place? Or maybe she tapes them in and OUCH, think of the chafing and adhesive burn.
Also, Adrianne Palicki is like a billion feet tall. Heels not needed. Actually, heels wouldn’t be needed even if she were 5′ nothing.
sbg(Quote) (Reply)
In some cases I can see the need for special outfits–think of Edna Mode’s design lecture in The Incredibles. And I can see the same point in an unusual outfit/costume as a military uniform–let the good guys (cops, army, civilians, etc.) know who is on their side: “Don’t shoot the guy in green spandex!” But guys can get different options: witness Superman’s spandex versus Iron Man’s armor. Women, however, always somehow tend to end up in super tight, shiny spandex with perfectly molded individual breast cups and tons of cleavage.
ninjapenguin(Quote) (Reply)
The Invisibles’ issues with sex aside, one of the issues has a character get the crap kicked out of her because she was wearing heels (in her defense, she was not expecting to be thrown into combat). It’s the only comic book acknowledgement I’ve ever seen that heels are a stupid thing to wear into a fight.
Shaun(Quote) (Reply)
And much less of it too.
SunlessNick(Quote) (Reply)
I never thought of it like that (though I liked how the Lois and Clark series would occasionally refer to people noticing they looked alike). Intriguing point.
SunlessNick(Quote) (Reply)
Are there going to be any articles about Sucker Punch, which is supposedly an empowering for women movie? I’d like to see what you guys have to say about that. Ha ha – don’t know if you guys take requests.
That said, I love the urine-bear-suit-auction thing, but when looking on the links it seems that the auction fell through, and it’s now become a raffle. http://www.bearsdontwearwetsuits.com/raffle.asp
Cassandra(Quote) (Reply)
Leigh and I are planning a dual one. I really liked it and she’s ambivalent.
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
We take ideas but not requests – we’re not your feminist blogging monkeys, after all!! :]
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
I can’t wait to read it! I’m ambivalent too – “well, true, they did this, but then they also did that…”
Sylvia Sybil(Quote) (Reply)
In the original version, it wasn’t just the glasses–he was wearing a badly cut suit and acting like a milquetoast, so he was (supposedly) just another anonymous (white) schlub toiling in an office. Not “the privilege of being an individual,” but the privilege of disappearing at will into a sea of anonymous white men–the norm. The privilege of moving freely about the city because nobody would notice him as unusual in most neighborhoods or other public settings.
Didn’t Captain America originally get to do that too? Wasn’t he originally the beefy and dimwitted Private Rogers peeling potatoes on KP when he wasn’t in the loud suit?
Jenny Islander(Quote) (Reply)
Niiiiiiiiiiice. Good point!
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
Agreed with Maria. Very good point.
The Other Anne(Quote) (Reply)
A passable grasp of Japanese being my only claim to knowing a language other than English enough to carry a (small) conversation, I feel the same way. It reminds me of when I went for my ESL certification. My professor told us a lot of stories about some of the crazy stuff he had to deal with when it came to dealing with mainstream teachers, and, several times, he related how, sometimes, those teachers looked down at ESL students like they were less intelligent, when, in reality, many of these students were on their 3rd (or more) language!
I think one of the things that compounds the immigration issue even more is that a lot of people are not educated on the issue, and end up getting their information from soundbites made by politicians who are only trying to pander to a specific set of voters. I realized this even more as I was reading the comments in that article (bad idea). >.<
Dani(Quote) (Reply)
Make it an idea then, not a request! Ha ha! I will look forward to it, then.
Cassandra(Quote) (Reply)
But don’t JT and RPattz just scream Kaneda and Tetsuo to you? /sarcasm. Seriously, when I first read about the casting decisions it made me so angry. I get the age issue, when a filmmaker tries to smooth the process of a production by casting actors over 18, but neither one of these actors is particularly young looking. And I am so fed up with casting of the names instead of casting the best suited actors (regardless of race, but as we do not live in an ideal world, I prefer to insist on race-true casting), because it destroys the movie for me from the get-go (as opposed during the viewing, hur-hur). So much love for racebending-site, so happy to get the updates on fb (I have them added).
And re: everything must happen in America – I think, I am by now more familiar with US-american geography than with geography of my own country. How pathetic is that?
Elee(Quote) (Reply)
I am always so torn when filmmakers (or writers tapping into the original franchise for that matter, like JMS) want to change the iconic look. On one hand, of course I see all the issues with superheroines’ costumes – they are not practical, counterproductive in a fight and much more likely to get them into fights than to make them intimidating enough to end those, they are usually so revealing and tight, they might as well be featured in porn mags. On the other hand, these superheroes usually have several decades!!! of character development and their costumes and bios are iconic. A blond Superman who is a dashing ladykiller in RL just isn’t Superman/Clark Kent, WW in a full-body armor or in a green bustier isn’t WW. So, I am actually pretty impressed with the new costume, it is more sensible, but still has the iconic WW-look; it would look even greater if the bustier had straps and was a bit higher and still be recognisable.
Elee(Quote) (Reply)
From what I heard Sucker Punch pretty much sucked. Haven’t seen it myself so I’m quite curious why you like it when everyone else seems to think it’s a sexist shitty movie.
Sabrina(Quote) (Reply)
LOVE these designs. The armor, including the use of a pteruges rather than a wonder-thong, is what I’ve always wanted to see.
Patrick McGraw(Quote) (Reply)
I made the mistake of reading the comments for the Wonder Woman link. I should know better by now.
Patrick McGraw(Quote) (Reply)
:really regrets reading them too:
Maria(Quote) (Reply)
For a small-but-significant difference, I like this: http://blog.hawkstudios.net/post/3955495143/colortweak
It’s much less shiny, pinup-esque, and a little closer to the original Lynda Carter. Still not perfect, or particularly practical for crimefighting, but less obnoxious. I’d be even happier with it if it had, say, shoulder straps or even the rest of the material that would make a full shirt out of the bustier.
Robin(Quote) (Reply)
I stopped at “BOOBIES~!!1one”
V_V
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
Thanks, Casey. Now I’m not tempted to go read them myself anymore. (and I mean that sincerely.)
Sylvia Sybil(Quote) (Reply)
Good, ‘cuz the FIRST comment is a trans-misogyny joke, the SECOND comment is about boobs.
Casey(Quote) (Reply)
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