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Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior: Why Roxana Shirazi

 

In the many years that I've been editing book reviews, I've never been pitched so hard on a title as I was for Roxana Shirazi's The Last Living Slut: Born In Iran, Bred Backstage. The book's PR trumpeted that it "is sure to be one of the most-talked-about and controversial books of the year…the rock and roll version of The Satanic Verses." Weekly e-mails and phone calls...

B-Sides: Surf's Up!

Even though August showed up faster than product placement on Bravo, summer's not over yet, and you can get your sun on with this sampling of bands bringing back garage and surf rock to a town near you....

Mad World: Rule the (Hot) Air

Verizon doesn’t exactly have a reputation for being an organization that’s empowering its users. After all, it is Verizon that’s leading the fight against net neutrality, which would amount to an Internet that is basically the opposite of user-friendly. Perhaps that’s why they’ve launched a new ad campaign designed to convince us that, through powerful...

Genderlicious: Zack Snyder and Sucker Punch

You know, I would really like to enjoy Snyder’s films. Because they look nice. And also, I enjoy going to the theatre, turning my brain off, and being dazzled. But he keeps on having to throw these wrenches in my brainless enjoyment…

…My heart just cannot take any more films or TV shows (or books or whatever) that try to turn into entertainment our culture’s (...

Adventures in Feministory: Bessie Coleman, Queen of the Skies

What’s that in the sky? It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s Bessie Coleman, the first black woman in history to hold an international pilot’s license!

Size Matters: But You Have Such a Pretty Face

As there seems to be a basic lack of understanding of fat acceptance among many readers here, I think it's appropriate to take some time out and illustrate some of what I consider the main lessons taught by the fat positivity and fat acceptance movements. I recognize that Bitch does not regularly deal with issues of size and fatness, so we'll just discuss some key points and then we...

Push(back) at the Intersections: Transgressive or Fauxgressive?

Truly transgressive art should make us uncomfortable. It should challenge us. Yet, a lot of supposedly transgressive art is created within very safe boundaries, by creators in positions of power, and it often reinforces harmful social attitudes and beliefs at the same time. People living in marginalized bodies who could produce groundbreaking work are only allowed to enter the pop culture...

The Dating Game: Sluts Don't Get to Be Happy

If you haven't heard, there's only one possible result when you're a "slut"—particularly if you have the audacity to do it without shame and—clutch your pearl, ladies—talk about it in a public forum.

NO RING FOR YOU!

Who would want the cow when he can have the milk for free, we're told (because, like cows, we women apparently have no intrinsic value—we're just about what we can...

BitchTapes: Prop 8 Ruling Celebratory Wedding Mix!

Hooray for the Prop 8 ruling! Sure, we have to wait to see what the Supreme Court says, but in the meantime I thought we could celebrate with a special BitchTapes (the way all important political events should be celebrated, obvs). A mix filled with fun songs about weddings, complete with some same-sex marriage jams! So, without further ado, I now pronounce you feminist and mixtape. (Track...

Genderlicious: Video Weekend

Jessica MacCormack explains this video on her website:

During the summer of 2007, while on a residency with Modern Fuel Artist Run Centre/The Artel, I worked on an art project with the women in The Isabel MacNeil House (the only low security federal prison for women in Canada). For three weeks I met with the women three times a week to paint and draw with them with the...

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