I used to peruse the makeup section every time I entered a pharmacy. The rows of products would stare at me when I walked in, glinting and sparkling, until I would give in and buy an unneeded new mascara or my bajillionth bottle of nail polish. I didn’t even wear makeup most days! But I… Continue Reading →
An A+ for Teen Wolf
Let’s talk about MTV’s Teen Wolf. As a feminist and lover of pretty much all things pop-culture related, I feel like I can easily take in a television show or film and inadvertently “grade” it on how well it measures up in its representation of women and other minority groups. Such a habit comes from being… Continue Reading →
The false empowerment of naked dresses
In May 2015, I wrote a blog for About-Face about Taylor Swift’s recently-released video for “Bad Blood.” In the post, I argued that the scantily clad women in the video were “devalued from being strong warriors to being traditionally sexy females with bodies that exist to be objectified.” I posted it to my personal social media pages, and… Continue Reading →
Media proves what we’ve known all along: It’s easy to be trans!
(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following article contains extreme instances of sarcasm and satire.) Trans awareness is on the rise, especially now that a member of the Kardashian clan has publicly come out to the world as transgender. This heightened exposure of transgender individuals brings attention to the trans community, and since mainstream media is known to portray topics so… Continue Reading →
Why I love Amy Schumer’s new music video, “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup”
The other morning, while eating my breakfast, I found this: comedienne Amy Schumer’s new music video, “Girl, You Don’t Need Makeup.” I watched it thinking it would be a silly remake of some song. I was wrong. It is so much more. I have since sent this to all of my best girl friends. I… Continue Reading →
Hello Flo’s “Postpartum: The Musical” has us laughing and learning
Hello Flo, the creative genius behind the hilarious Camp Gyno and First Moon Party videos, has a new story to tell. Introducing Postpartum: The Musical. The mockumentary uses Hello Flo’s usual hilarious wit and blunt openness about messy subjects to advertise their New Mom Kit, which includes things like pads, nipple cream, a postpartum survival guide,… Continue Reading →
Living in an age of celebrity feminism
The Oscars are like prom for Hollywood: a time for glitz, glamour, and celebration of (debatably) the best films of the year. They’ve also steadily gained a reputation as a hub for sexism disguised as admiration, as women on the red carpet are inevitably asked, “Who are you wearing?” and consequently criticized or applauded all… Continue Reading →
Cause for celebration? Sports Illustrated discovers plus-size women
Yesterday, About-Face’s executive director, Jennifer Berger, was published in the San Francisco Chronicle with an op-ed (that is, “opinion editorial”) about the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. In it, Jennifer praises Sports Illustrated for running the images of the larger models, but also states: On the other hand, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue is really just… Continue Reading →
Why the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover brought me to tears
Why did the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover bring me to tears? (Hint: It had nothing to do with wanting to look like the model.) It was because I have no idea how I’m going to explain the image to my two sons (ages six and eight), who love sports and are about to be… Continue Reading →