Culture
We're All Mad Here: Joanna is Mad! Isn't it Romantic?
Women whom history has deemed as “mad” play an interesting role in pop culture. Some of them are viewed as romantic figures, their stories revered and retold as tragic love. Others are viewed as passive objects, mostly used as props in men’s stories. Still others are retroactively diagnosed... Read more »
Sexual Inadequacy: SNL and K-Y
Last week K-Y released an ad featuring two ladies talking about their sex lives, and lubricant, and “special moments” represented by tasteful coital fireworks. They are both sitting on their bed in drab, comfortable clothes. And they have the following exchange:
(... Read more »
Isn't He Lovely: The Cult of Muscularity
While I’m dubious that the Western female body ideal can be reliably found within in the pages of Playboy, a similar evolution has occurred in the sister (?) publication, Playgirl. A team of psychologists... Read more »
Preacher's Daughter: St. Vincent's "Cruel" Take on Labor
Over the weekend, St. Vincent’s upcoming album, Strange Mercy, started streaming on NPR. The woman behind the band,... Read more »
Douchebag Decree: Billy Corgan Decides Transphobia is the Only Way to Get Attention
Billy Corgan continued his downward trajectory towards irrelevancy (wrestling, anyone?) last week by not only insulting, slandering and threatening violence against Portland-based guitar pedal maker Devi Ever, but by making some incredibly transphobic statements for all of the Internet to see.
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American Apparel's Next XL Top Model
Nancy’s tumblr (called extra wiggle room in response to AA’s message to women who “need a little extra wiggle room where it counts”) is full of photos of her posing in various levels of dress with various levels of dressing... Read more »
We're All Mad Here: Parenting While Crazy
One particularly interesting, troubling, and recurrent depiction of mental illness in pop culture comes up in the handling of of mentally ill or cognitively impaired parents, where the traditional parent/child roles are reversed to advance a storyline. It is notable that this often involves a... Read more »
Isn
Pop culture’s image ideals for men come with their own complications and double standards, which are worth addressing as thoroughly as those leveled toward women. Just as Western female beauty ideals are modeled around straight, white women, Western male beauty standards worship at the altar... Read more »
Preacher's Daughter: An Introduction
My name is Kristin Rawls, and, yes, I am a preacher’s daughter. I’m in my early 30s, and I was raised in an unusual blend of Protestant traditions. The preacher (my dad) grew up in the Southern Baptist church, got “saved” during the Pentecostal-influenced “Jesus movement” of the 1970s... Read more »
We're All Mad Here: Case Studies in Crazy Cartoon Characters
Television stations in the US are required by FCC regulations to have a minimum of three hours a week of “educational programming” aimed at children. This actually began in the 90s, and initially television stations met the... Read more »
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