The 67th primetime Emmy awards happened this past Sunday, and while I opted out of watching it live in favor of the premier of the last season of Downton Abbey (many tears!), a tweet that night from CNN contributor Rachel Sklar was cause enough for me to drop my cup of tea back into its saucer and… Continue Reading →
Does sex really sell?
Today, more than ever, sex is rampant in marketing, bolstered by the notion that “Sex Sells”, but a new study reveals that this may not in fact be the case. Since the beginning of modern advertising, sexual themes and imagery have been used to sell products. Some of the earliest sexual ads were created by tobacco companies in the late 1800s…. 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 →
I’m not pregnant: A big woman in a small world
The subway is hot and crowded and I mop my forehead with a cloth. A woman in her 80s is having a friendly chat with the stranger next to her. When she sees me, standing squarely on my two feet to keep my balance and dressed in a sundress with an empire waist, she assumes… Continue Reading →
Why women athletes deserve your support
If you’re a female athlete like me, you know the drill when it comes to wanting people to take you seriously (For everyone else: people tend to not take us seriously). That’s why, when the U.S. women’s national soccer team won the World Cup this summer, I was over the moon about the amount of… Continue Reading →
A sorority girl’s take on the Alpha Phi recruitment video
If you follow women in the media— and, honestly, even if you don’t — you’ve probably seen the recruitment video members of Alpha Phi at the University of Alabama released in August 2015. The video, which quickly went viral and was taken down due to backlash, featured dozens of Barbie-esque women gallivanting through their campus, promising the viewers they, too,… Continue Reading →
Why are filmmakers erasing girls?
Fan fiction culture is unique (and not just because it’s one of the only spaces you’ll find dramatic YouTube readings of stories starring characters like “Enoby”, “Vlodemort”, and “Dumblydore”). It is also one of the few online spaces that is primarily female. This is a realm in which girls and women can mold popular culture to their… Continue Reading →
Embrace your grey: Society’s double-standard for aging men and women
Does anyone else feel exasperated with the whole “women must cover their grey hair” message? Daily, we are fed images of grey haired men, being told they are distinguished, successful, powerful and that they are even sexy, mature “silver foxes”, yet at the same time we women are taught to be horrified at the thought… Continue Reading →
Adventures in feminist wedding planning
I’m getting married, and I want to share with you just some of the ways that wedding planning has highlighted pesky gender expectations and body image pressures. We always said we’d never do it. “What would it add to our relationship?” we thought. Then one night, on a romantic whim (he was gone to Italy… Continue Reading →