Activism
Stage Left: Thoroughly Modern Racism, or, the problem with MILLIE
Thoroughly Modern Millie has all the makings of what could be an incredibly charming, silly film: it has tap-dancing in elevators, inexplicably well-choreographed impromptu dances, and Carol Channing making what may be the greatest entrance in movie history. However, what it also features... Read more »
Top Gear and Sexism: Video Remix!
Bitch reader and video editor Ashley Bischoff, inspired by the Homophobic Friends remix Kjerstin posted last week, made a similar video exposing the sexism and homophobia of Top Gear. And all of... Read more »
Stage Left: Age on Stage in Stephen Sondheim's Follies
Perhaps no show serves as a better celebration of the older actress than Follies. The show is set at a reunion of former Follies showgirls in the theater they once performed, which is about to be torn down. The core cast features numerous older women “recreating” the numbers that, in the... Read more »
Stage Left: Mental Illness and Treatment in NEXT TO NORMAL
As a mentally ill musical theatre fan, depictions of characters who share that trait with me typically fall into one of two categories: they a) don’t exist or they b) make me rage. next to normal comes closer than most shows to getting it right, in a lot of ways. But where it fails,... Read more »
Sexual Inadequacy: The FAIR Education Act
One of the first squares I always fill in “Hateful Conservative Press Release Bingo” is the one devoted to references to child abuse or to the claim that queers are more likely to abuse children. This perpetually debunked claim is almost always trotted out in national debates about providing queer-... Read more »
Douchebag Decree: Ray Wieczorek and the New Hampshire Executive Council
Ray Wieczorek says of Planned Parenthood, “If they want to have a party, have a party, but don’t ask me to pay for it.” What a douchebag.
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Stage Left: Flipping the Script on "One Hundred Easy Ways to Lose a Man"
I am in a fairly light mood today, so I thought I’d match that with a pretty light post. One of my favorite things to do is to play with music or other media by mentally flipping the script, changing the context in which it operates. Today I want to flip the script…WITH FEMINISM
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Murder, She Blogged: Castle
Castle is a guilty pleasure for me. I once watched four episodes of the show in a night because it’s well-written, witty, and fun—and has some “strong” female characters front and center—so I want to be able to say, just go and watch it right now, don’t even bother reading... Read more »
Spilled Milk: No, Everything You Do is Sexist
Yesterday, the California Milk Processor Board launched a new pro-dairy campaign based on the old premise that PMS turns women into insufferable turds. The message,... Read more »
Stage Left: "Die, Vampire, Die!" Reflections on Self-Doubt and Advocacy Work.
The part of [title of show] that resonates most closely with me is probably the song I’ve included in this post—”Die Vampire, Die!”. This song is, within the context of the show, about defeating doubts and obstacles to creative-sector work—writing, painting, singing. But I think the... Read more »
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