Image via gameranx.
I first became conscious that my opinions and values prompted others to categorise me as a feminist in my mid-twenties. I paid it no more mind than I had the continual references to my ‘tomboyish-ness’ when I was growing up . If my choice of clothing and compulsion to collect vinyl, play videogames and write peculiar stories caused others to tag me thusly, I paid it no mind.
Lately, I’m beginning to feel that is a luxury I can no longer afford.
Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima. Because images of female compliance do not always have to involve underwear… Image via fanpop.
My murky, cynical dungeon style office was lit by a flare of optimism last week, and it came from the most unexpected of sources.
Victoria’s Secret had reportedly thrown their weight behind a campaign highlighting a rising area of concern for many people – the issue of implied sexual consent – by offering alternatives to their range of underwear emblazoned with messages like ‘Sure Thing’ and ‘Unwrap Me‘. The new collection apparently included motifs like ‘Ask First’, ” and ‘No Means No’, and managed to do so in a witty manner that was not an immediate turn-off to all concerned.
I don’t wear Victoria’s Secret underwear, but their habit of throwing nubile young models down the world’s catwalks and high streets while draped in bits of lace and elastane have made their once niche product virtually ubiquitous, and therefore unavoidable. If they deemed this growing campaign worthy of their attention, the message would reach millions.
I blinked, then peered around my newly enlightened den of doom-mongery with wonder and awe.
…and now, so does Jack Stuef. Image via contentconverts.
If you’re going to post a harsh critique of an individual with a significant web presence and following, you better make damn sure you get your facts straight. If you don’t, and the target of your ire is sufficiently pissed off, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a public flaming that will leave your reputation (and your clothing) carrying the sharp smell of smoke for the duration of your career.
Even more so, it seems, when you’re calling out a guy who made a rape joke.
Mormons Building Bridges at Utah Pride parade in June this year. Image via gayldsactor.
With an eternal perspective, a person’s attraction to the same sex can be addressed and borne as a mortal test. It should not be viewed as a permanent condition. Though some people, including those resisting same-sex attraction, may not have the opportunity to marry a person of the opposite sex in this life, a just God will provide them with ample opportunity to do so in the next.
This, gentlepeople, is the Mormon church’s attempt to cope with the reality of gay marriage. Historically, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints has bitterly opposed same sex unions, heavily contributing to campaigns against it. But having realised that this stance is affecting individuals already committed to the church, they appear to be softening their approach. Their new website, mormonsandgays.org, advises that if one simply can’t resist their gay urges, they can make up for it by marrying a member of the opposite sex in the afterlife.
Alright, it’s early days. But at least they’re making an effort, no?
Torrill and unfortunate companion at the ‘Edge Of Salvation’ premiere in Los Angeles last night. Image: Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic.
There’s something about staring into those cold, dead eyes that sends a shiver down my spine.
But enough about Norwegian singer Torrill. Let’s just hope that thing around her neck is dead. You don’t want stunned wild animals wandering around a dark movie theatre when you’re trying to watch a film, do you?
According to feminist writer Julie Bindel, if women aren’t prepared to toe the party line and consciously define themselves by a set of rules imposed by other people, they should be treated as second class citizens.
Image via facebook.
Holding a woman by the throat is a perfectly acceptable means of restraint in Brazil. Just be really, really careful to cover her body with a towel first.
We wouldn’t want to offend anyone, would we?
Maria Santos Gorrostieta. Image via golpepolitico.com.
At another stage in my life, perhaps I would have resigned from what I have, my position, my responsibilities as the leader of my Tiquicheo.
But today, no. It is not possible for me to surrender when I have three children, whom I have to educate by setting an example, and also because of the memory of the man of my life, the father of my three little ones, the one who was able to teach me the value of things and to fight for them.
Maria Santos Gorrostieta made this statement in 2010, days after she was wounded when a vehicle she was travelling in was attacked by a gang of men armed with machine guns. It was the second attempt on her life in just over three months. During the first, her husband was killed.
Continue reading “Maria Santos Gorrostieta: Short Term Memory”
When they released their cautionary video, “Gay Men Will Marry Your Girlfriend” a week or so ago, collegehumor.com were presumably attempting to bring some light relief and positive publicity to the still contentious issue of gay marriage in the United States. In this they succeeded – the video went viral, everyone laughed, felt a bit better and then returned to the work some poor unsuspecting employer was paying them for.
Sadly, the same cannot be said of the response.
Continue reading “Masculinity Misfire: Team Gay 1 Team Straight 0”
Whether some of those boundaries need to be challenged is another matter. The fashion industry is frequently blamed for providing us with unrealistic imagery that lead to problems such as eating disorders, negative self-image and obsessions with personal appearance that border on the narcissistic, as well as dispassionately using controversy to promote a message or product.
Kelly Welles 