Culture
BitchTapes: Happy Ladyween!
Well, Ladyween weekend is officially upon us! (And yes, we're still trying to make Ladyween happen around here. It'll catch on before you know it—trust us.) Here are some holiday jams to get you in the mood. Listen IF YOU DARE! (BEWARE: Scary track list after the jump!)
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The H-Word: She Works Hard For the Money (So You Better Treat Her Right.)
I did it for the money but it was also true that I enjoyed it. Like no job I’d had before, stripping took skills. Yes, it was physically strenuous, but it was not only physical. Interacting with customers required intelligence and personality. I was free to be myself—or, at least, a part... Read more »
Isn't He Lovely: Androgyny Is So Haute Right Now
Pejic distances himself from queries about gender and sexual identity. When speaking to New York, he referred to his androgynous beauty as “the situation,” (which is a “situation” far preferable to Mike Sorrentino’s six pack, yes?) and clearly is more focused on climbing the... Read more »
Preacher's Daughter: Jenny Lewis on the Absence of God
I have never understood why reporters so rarely ask Jenny Lewis about the rich religious critique that has pervaded her work since the earlier days of Rilo Kiley. There is just so much there. I think I will scream if I hear another reporter ask her what it’s like to look hot in indie music,... Read more »
Preacher's Daughter: Sexual Violence and Discourses of "Purity"
I have spent a lot of time thinking about the silliness of “True Love Waits”-style campaigns, but it never really occurred to me to think about how a child who has been raped might experience these shaming “abstinence-only” discourses. That is to say, this would be particularly cruel, painful, and... Read more »
Douchebag Decree: ChapStick: It's On Everyone's Lips (When They Are Talking About D-bags)
Not only does the ad offensively use women’s bodies to sell a product it, also needlessly sexualizes a non-sexual product. It’s ChapStick for god’s sake! And now I have to think of this lady’s ass every time I rub it on my lips? What? I didn’t want that!
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Bringing Up Baby: The Traumatic Birth Scenes of Ye Olden Days
Nothing instills a fear of pregnancy more than watching childbirth scenes that take place during the Medieval period.. or the Renaissance… or during the Enlightenment… or any time, really, before the twentieth century. Screaming mistresses/courtesans/queens/princesses lay flushed in... Read more »
The H-Word: Q & A with Tits and Sass!
Tits and Sass is a blog written and run by sex workers who saw a void when it came to a smart, witty response to the public image of the sex industry. The ideas promoted about sex workers in the public eye have as much an impact on the realities of the... Read more »
Isn't He Lovely: The Trouble with "Machismo"
Earlier this year, the Los Angeles Times reported on the hottest new marketing demographic for the personal care industry: Latino men. Considering that Hispanics are the fastest-growing ethnic... Read more »
Don't Mess Up When You Dress Up: Cultural Appropriation and Costumes
Halloween is a notorious time for offensive outfits. If you’re still not sure what your costume is going to be this year, make sure you don’t go the culturally appropriative route. Dressing up as “another culture,” is racist, and an act of privilege. Fortunately, thanks to some college... Read more »
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