Scanner : feminism

Bearded Man of the Week: Aidan Moffat

Colleen Kane — Fri, 08 May 2009 18:14:00 GMT

Aidan Moffat, formerly of the Scottish indie band Arab Strap, is our Bearded Man of the Week for his sexy singing voice and his recent work as a non-expert sexpert. Read his column on The Quietus as he non-expertly fields questions about post-coital sleep, pregnancy horniness, whether women can be both feminist and masochist, and more. We don't know how helpful his advice is, but picturing it uttered in his Scottish accent makes it that much more ~~indecipherable~~ sexy.

Related:

Bearded Man of the Week: Kris Kristofferson

Bearded Man of the Week: Joe Bernardi

Arizona University Paper Hosts Sex Advice Column, Silly Questions Ensue

Sex & The City Made "Mindless Twits" of You All?

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:58:00 GMT

We've been enjoying Slate a lot more than we used to. This is due, in part, to the presence of smartass movie critic Dana Stevens, who gave the new Jim Jarmusch movie a careful, calculated, and expert drubbing.

But it's a quote we found by her regarding the Sex And The City movie that really woke us up to her thinking:

The show's values are reprehensible, its view of gender relations cartoonish, its puns execrable. I honestly believe, as I wrote when the series finale aired in 2004*, that Sex and the City is singlehandedly responsible for a measurable uptick in the number of materialistic twits in New York City and perhaps the world. And yet … and yet … there's a core truth to the show's depiction of female friendship that had me awaiting the big-screen version with exactly the kind of cream-puff nostalgia the movie's marketers are bargaining for. I want to know how the girls are doing, what's happened to them in the four years since I last joined them at brunch, and what in the name of God they're wearing.

In real life, Carrie's narcissism would make her a terrible friend, but Sarah Jessica Parker makes bottomless self-absorption look like such fun.

She followed up her comments on the movie, which weren't entirely negative, with an appearance on WNYC radio, in which she used the word "mindlessly" before "materialistic twits."

We have to kind of agree that, while the show is meant to be a comedy, far too many single women in New York (and probably elsewhere) took it seriously and, to this day, still act like extras on the HBO series. Many a guy friend has used the phrase "Sex and the City syndrome" when describing why they decided one date with a new female was enough. Now, with the followup film just announced, are we wrong to think SJP's star vehicle has hindered rather than helped people find love?

Via Slate.

Related:

"Sex and The City" Sequel: Mr. Big is Back!

Whatever You Do, Don't Pack Lingerie for a Trip to England

Scanner Highs and Lows: In Which You Did Not Dangle Your Balls in Our Face

While You Were Sleeping: Nudist Hotel

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 07 May 2009 15:19:00 GMT

A new series on Hollywood film directors appears tonight and it looks pretty good, if you're into that sort of thing.

Donald Trump says a decision on Miss California will come today-- as The Dirty prepares to followup with a second topless photo.

The X-Men movies are being spun off into a new series of stories starring, ugh, Ryan Reynolds.

Ladies, where were you? Nate Silver went to a party and had to stand there... all alone.

A forty-five-year-old woman may become the oldest person to have a boxing championship title.

Germany is planning its first nudist hotel.

Feministing discussed the attacks on Carrie Prejean and whether they are justified or just mean ol' "slut shaming."

Kiefer Sutherland will be charged with misdemeanor assault for head-butting a designer who decked Brooke Shields.

And Katy Perry once got (fake) married in Vegas.

Related:

How To Piss Off Perez Hilton

Crazy "Opposite Marriage" Lady Strikes Back

Sloppy Seconds: Free Boobs!

10 Sexiest Women Over 50 (Part Two)

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 20:56:00 GMT

We continue our two-part series with some of the screen's top stars... some of whom are still box office draws, despite what the media wants you to believe...

Helen Mirren, 63

Helen Mirren never has to worry about studly husband/director leaving her for one of his younger leading ladies, since none of them can hold a candle to her talent, classiness, sex appeal, and status as an Academy Award-winning screen legend. The above photograph of the star in her bikini last year lit up internet wires across the globe-- for example, our traffic went through the roof the day we posted it. Thank you, Helen Mirren, for being our muse.

Carly Simon, 63

It's been a long time since James Taylor spotted Carly Simon's "incredible long legs" passing by on a summer day in a small Massachusetts town. Since then, she wrote a song about him, "You're So Vain," (or was it Warren Beatty?), won several Grammy's, topped the charts a million times over, and developed a solo career that has long outpaced her (now ex-)husband's. Simon and her gloriously pretty teeth and, we're guessing, still-dynamo gams continue to record and tour... but not often enough.

Susan Sarandon, 62

Tim Robbins whined about not being able to vote as his regular polling site last November, which must've made him feel really ridiculous when he woke up the next morning and realized, "Holy balls! Forget all my troubles-- I'm still sleeping next to the babe from Bull Durham any Playboy's best boobs 1981!" Speaking of those marvelous mams, it's difficult to pull off a dress like that at any age, let alone hers, without causing a media (i.e. tabloid journalism) firestorm, but here she is in all her glory...

Meryl Streep, 59

If anyone out there worries about how their "looks" will hold up at the age of 59, just take a gander at the Before and After photos of Streep depicted above. She is one of the greatest actors of all time, rivaling Olivier and Hepburn, and draws hundreds of millions in box office every year as one of the biggest names on the planet. But more importantly, at least for our purposes here, Streep is somehow more beautiful than even in 1977, when we first saw her in Julia. Can a nude, comic romp in a "getting old and falling in love" movie with Jack Nicholson be far behind?

Pam Grier, 59

Can you believe there's an African-American actress in her fifties who made a major comeback more than ten years ago and is still a major star, albeit on television, as she approaches her 60th birthday? Well, you wouldn't know it from the media. The announcement that she was joining the cast of the Showtime series the L Word was met with little tongue-wagging. Of course, that all changed the moment we saw how drop-dead gorgeous she remains-- not to mention the collective sigh of relief when it turned out the show's writers weren't going to blaxploitate her into irrelevancy. We eagerly await her next career move now that the show is sadly off the air.

Crush of the Week: Lisa Batiashvili

Cindy Crawford: Still Naked At 43

Top 10 Feminist Icons... From A Male (Part One)

Top 10 Feminist Icons... From A Male (Part Two)

While You Were Sleeping: Lindsay Lohan's Facebook

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 13:59:00 GMT

The feminist porn awards sounds like a show somebody forgot to e-mail us an invite to.

Real-life lawyers working in Second Life law-- is there anything funnier?

A woman is suing her bank for telling her husband about her secret $150K account.

Question of the day: "If Dick Cheney believes he can prove that torture saved us from terrorist attacks, why does he oppose a full investigation?"

How funny is it that a major movie studio is remaking a movie as fucked up as Videodrome?

Police broke up a drug dealing operation... run by fifth graders.

The Flaming Lips won-- their biggest single is unofficially officially the state song of Oklahoma... or something.

Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard are finally tying the knot next month.

Felony Franks-- the world's most badass hotdog stand.

And Lindsay Lohan may be back together with that DJ girlfriend of hers.

Don't Use Facebook on Your Sick Day, Silly

The PETA Empire Strikes Back

Nothing Golden Can Stay: Bea Arthur, RIP

Colleen Kane — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:30:00 GMT

Bea Arthur, best known for her Emmy-winning roles on Maude and Golden Girls and her ongoing role in our hearts, died on Saturday after a battle with cancer. (Might we refer you to the January Scanner post Famous People We're Afraid Will Die in 2009. Bea is the first from that list to kick off.)

Bea's commanding presence and acerbic wit-via-man-voice combo will never be duplicated, although many drag queens will come close. Unlike the case with some older comic figures, Bea still made us LOL into her final years, like doing her turn on Comedy Central's celebrity roast of Pamela Anderson, as she placidly read aloud a sodomy-themed excerpt from Pamela's book Star Struck (of course we have this for you after the jump). She was a feminist icon, a gay icon, and an animal rights supporter. What was not to love?

Let's look at some Scanner-appropriate moments from Bea's career.

The Golden Girls buy condoms.

And then there's Maude considering abortion.

Sniff Swig Puff, with Rock Hudson

The Sex and the City Parody.

Finally, that reading on Pamela's celebrity roast.

*Sigh* We've lost a great. Bea Arthur will be missed.

And then there were two...

You're Golden, Baby: Estelle Getty Leaves Us Laughing At Age 84

Sloppy Seconds: Happy Bea Day!

Top 10 Feminist Icons... From A Male (Part Two)

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:33:00 GMT

Continued from Part One.

Mary Pickford. Mary Pickford, one of the biggest movie stars of the Golden Age, was so powerful she was able to create her own film studio. Along with her husband, Douglas Fairbanks (full disclosure: yes, we're related, but that's beside the point) and Charlie Chaplin, she founded United Artists, an early attempt to give creative people more control of Hollywood, and began producing her own films. These two leaps made her the most powerful woman in the business. (Back in 1916, Pickford accepted a record-shattering salary and went on, via her box-office take, to prove women could be just as-- and more-- profitable than men.) She went on to cause a major scandal in the sound era by cutting off her long curls, then a "sign of female virtue," for Coquette, a real which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress.

Bella Abzug. Did you know her husband wrote trashy dime novels whose covers are now available as fridge magnets? We know because our ex-girlfriend has one-- not because we buy those things. Anyway, Abzug was the Congressional Rep who coined the phrase "a woman's place is in the House." Seeing as how we've included her on a list of iconic feminists, you know to which house she was referring. "She was one of the first members of Congress to support gay rights, introducing the first federal gay rights bill, known as the Equality Act of 1974." Abzug narrowly missed out on becoming a Senator from New York in 1976 (one of the reason's Hillary Clinton wanted that seat) and went on to lose several other high-profile races, including one for New York City Mayor. Undeterred, she headed Jimmy Carter's commission on women and even appeared in Woody Allen's Manhattan.

Amelia Jenks Bloomer. You know why they call 'em "bloomers" now? Amelia Jenks was a publisher, distributing The Lily, a pre-Bust periodical covering her views on social issues and other topics of the day-- that day being the late 1800s. "In her publication, Bloomer promoted a change in dress standards for women that would be less restrictive in regular activities." She suggested women wear a specific costume, which she described in print, to help make their leisure activities more, well, leisurely. "Articles on the clothing trend were picked up in The New York Tribune. More women wore the fashion which was promptly dubbed The Bloomer Costume or 'Bloomers'. However, the Bloomers were subjected to ceaseless ridicule in the press and harassment on the street."

Alan Alda. We're not kidding. Not kidding about including a male feminist on this list or about it being Alan Alda. According to his biography, Alda used his TV fame, in part, to champion the cause of equal rights: "His 'sensitive male' persona, derived in large part from his characterization on M*A*S*H, has lingered into the 1990s and continues to be sustained by public awareness of his efforts on behalf of women's rights. An ardent feminist, Alda campaigned extensively for ten years for the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and in 1976, was appointed by President Ford to serve on the National Commission for the Observance of International Women's Year. Alda's status as a feminist led a writer in The Boston Globe to dub him "the quintessential Honorary Woman: a feminist icon."

Sojourner Truth. Born into slavery, taken from her family and sold at age 9, and beaten with rods for much of her childhood, Sojourner Truth went on to become what I consider feminism's greatest icon. She was certainly the earliest one on our list and all others must acknowledge she helped start the wave. Her first major move was to become the first African-American woman to go to court against a white man and win-- in this instance, for the custody of her son, who had been sold illegally. But it was her speech at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in 1851 that made her an historical figure. "Ain't I A Woman?" is part of many a high school curriculum for its eloquence, passion, impeccable craft, and lasting power. No other speech made on behalf of women's rights has ever been as effective in waking up the populace. You can read more about it here.

All quotes via Wikipedia entries for these great figures.

Behold: the Feminist Bridezilla?

Some Kind of Monstrous Documentary

Am I a Bad Feminist?

Top 10 Feminist Icons... From A Male (Part One)

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 20:10:00 GMT

This is Scanner Brian-- and Scanner Brian alone-- with a list that needed to be done. Males have something against admitting they are feminists, perhaps because they mistakenly believe the term applies only to women.

Today, I decided to set out to right that wrong-- much as these women (and one man) did over the course of their very interesting lives. The result is pure history-filled entertainment and not meant to be definitive by any means. For one thing, Gloria Steinem, Virginia Woolf, and Sylvia Plath should be on a list of the great feminists, to be sure, but I found that so much has been written about them already and decided it was best to spare you my half-assed attempts to say something original about them. (By the way, we excluded Susan B. Anthony from this list because of her staunch anti-abortion stance-- these ten, in no particular order, were the ones we personally appreciate the most...)

Karen Silkwood. In her lifetime, nuclear plant whistleblower Karen Silkwood was not known as a feminist, but that doesn't matter to us. She stood up to those (men) who tried to put her in her place, who told her she couldn't have a romantic relationship with another woman. They told her she should keep quiet about being contaminated by plutonium at the plant where she worked, even though incompetent management had caused the exposures. But she didn't listen, even when there were numerous threats on her life. As you may already know, Silkwood was killed in one of the great unsolved murder cases in American history. Of course, everyone knows she was run off the road by agents of Kerr-McGee and/or the US Government-- although she crashed into a guardrail en route to deliver documents to a New York Times reporter, documents that were missing from the wreckage, damage was also found to her rear bumper, suggesting she was actually hit from behind. Nora Ephron scripted and Mike Nichols film of Silkwood, which was nominated for several Academy Awards in 1984.

Louise Brooks. Brooks was a dancer and movie actress who told the studios to stuff it when they wanted to force her to perform in lame "sound pictures." She ignored the "You'll never work in this town again" threats and decided she didn't need those control freak men in Hollywood. Instead, she moved to Germany and starred in the first film to ever feature a lesbian character, Pandora's Box, now regarded as a classic. Her sexually-charged performances in German cinema were all censored or remained unreleased for years. "By her own admission, she was a sexually liberated woman, not afraid to experiment, even posing fully nude for "art" photography, and her liaisons with many film people were legendary, although much of it is speculation."

Crystal Lee Sutton. A sadly overlooked feminist icon if there ever was one, Sutton is known as "the real Norma Rae." In the early 1970s, Sutton worked at a textile plant in South Carolina, making $2.65 folding towels. She soon got union fever and stood up to harassment and sexism to become the spiritual leader of the entire labor movement in this country. Of course, a few years later, Sally Field starred as a character based on Sutton's early work with the ACTWU.

Kate Chopin. Missouri native Chopin wrote the Awakening at the turn of the 20th century, and it couldn't have been better timed-- from the perspective of history. In 1899, it couldn't have been met with more of an out-of-touch backlash. Chopin's novel about a woman's struggle with societal standards, motherhood vs. self, and "the woman as property" norm took America by storm, with the outcry so great that her publisher delete the book before most members of the public were able to purchase it. Nonetheless, its "unwholesome" attitude toward sex was one of the key factors in sparking the century's feminist movement.

Shirley Chisholm. What didn't this feminist superhero accomplish in her life? (We didn't want you to actually answer that, but if you're looking for a torch-bearer, see Bella Abzug, below.) Chisholm, who would be my Congresswoman were she still alive to represent my district, was the first African-American woman of Congress, the first on a major-party ballot for President and the first woman on the Democratic ticket. Chisholm went on to receive more than 150 votes for President at the 1972 DNC. (The best anecdote about her is one unrelated to her feminism. When racist Governor George Wallace was shot and very nearly assassinated during that same Presidential campaign, Chisholm caused a huge uproar for visiting him in the hospital.)

Continue reading in Part Two.

Vintage Video of the Day: Riot Grrrls On 'Roseanne'

Emily Farris — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:54:00 GMT

When Roseanne was on the air, we watched it religiously, but we were too young to really appreciate what an amazing show it was—plus, we were too busy crushing on David and trying to be less like Becky and more like Darlene. Each time we catch a repeat, though, we're amazed at how well it portrayed the every-family (at least according to Scanner Emily). One episode we don't remember (probably because we were more Becky than Darlene) is the one where Jenna Elfman appeared on the show as a Riot Grrrl and gave housewife Roseanne a "wake up call."

Related:

Sloppy Seconds: Guess Who Has a Brand New Vagina!

C-Love in HEEB's Wasted Issue

Am I a Bad Feminist?

Behold: the Feminist Bridezilla?

Colleen Kane — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:01:00 GMT

When Jessica Valenti of the Feministing blog announced her engagement earlier this year, it touched off a firestorm of comments about such an outspoken feminist entering the instution of marriage: patriarchy, wearing of white, changing of the name, hyphenating kids' names, father giving her away, marriage as slavery, heteros marrying when homos aren't allowed, and so on and so forth.

She responded to those concerns and announced further wedding plans on Wednesday, which predictably sparked plenty of scuttlebutt in response in the comments, on Salon's Broadsheet and elsewhere, where the National Review online broke out the dreaded term "bridezilla."

I think that giving consideration to the many different angles of your wedding hardly constitutes being a bridezilla. But does everything really need so much analysis? When I got engaged last year and found myself showing off my bling while visiting the offices of BUST, I felt the need to joke, "I'm still feminist, right?" But when you break it down, I don't care. I doubt many facets of my life would hold up to the scrutiny some commenters can do online from the comfort of anonymity.

I think of my upcoming wedding as a short ceremony followed by a longer party. To me, getting married as a feminist is a case of, if you try to please everybody, you end up pleasing nobody. Also, any talk of a feminist getting married is bound to bring the misogynists out of the woodwork (oh and it has, in the comments on the above-linked posts) and reinforce the stereotype that "feminism" and "fun" are mutually exclusive terms. Case in point on the latter is this comment: "Not to be a wet blanket, but lame is a really awful ablist term. :o( " (Cue the sad horns/ Debbie Downer sound effect.) But whatevs. That's how the internet goes.

Related:

Am I a Bad Feminist?

Get Your Lesbian Feminism On

Some Kind of Monstrous Documentary

Let's Settle This Ridiculous First-Date Pay Debate Once And For All

Brian Fairbanks — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:09:00 GMT

Last week, there was a column on CNN.com (via the Frisky) which confronted the incredibly annoying and unsettled question: "Who should pay on a first date?"

Besides the stock answer ("the asker"), there was remarkably little of substance in the story's "debate." Since we could care less about offending people with honesty, we'll now respond with a comment that hung over the proceedings: the discussion is incredibly sexist.

While we agree that the noble thing for the "asker" to do is at least offer to take care of the check and tip and to just deal with it if the other person doesn't take the bait by offering to pay half, that's not really the issue here.

First, we have to address this crazy reaction women gave the Frisky writer for even considering a guy who offered to split the check on a first, second, third, and even fourth date:

In my personal experience, if a woman is in any way visibly or audibly bothered by the suggestion to split the tab at the end of a date, there are two possible outcomes for the relationship...

1) she will be revealed as a person who has unrealistic expectations, what we call the "fairytale model." This person may have an extensive list of specific requirements for a relationship, a list that will limit her to only men who will do anything to prove they are worthy, while all others will move on and avoid the hassle.

2) the woman is looking for an excuse to go back to her friends and tell them "he did this one single thing that pissed me off, never mind the rest of the date was amazing, and so, therefore, I won't return his calls again." This is what we refer to as the "fear of rejection" model. In other words, and I know we may be stretching a bit, some women see a man's desire to pay for dinner as proof of interest, while an offer to split means the guy is either a jerk, a stingy jerk, or a not-interested jerk. In many cases, they may be correct.

These are all, of course, pulled out of my ass and are entirely debatable, but keep in mind they are impressions and we decide whether to call based on these impressions.

Second...

What really annoys us guys about this "first date" debate is unrelated to why women get upset about an offer to split the tab instead of the guy just paying outright. It's actually because of comments like this:

And if you [ladies] don't pay for the whole thing, you should at least offer to split the tab. Incredibly (to me), most women I spoke to thought I was an idiot and firmly believed the dude should always pay on a first date -- though for some this was a recent change of heart.
Kate, a 33-year-old writer told me, "I tend to try to pay for myself, but as I get older and more comfortable with my awesomeness, I kind of wish and hope that the other person will be a little more old-fashioned about it." Good point. If someone's eating opposite Amazing Me, shouldn't she or he pay for the privilege? After all, I'm entertaining and cute and if you let me order dessert there may be some smooching in your future.

While the Frisky writer is probably kidding about those followup comments, "Kate" clearly let some serious sexism slip out in her remarks. We're going to have to do a lot better than this if we're going to have equality between the sexes-- if women want to stop being thought of as sex objects, which men can "rent" by paying for dinner (again, this is the male thinking-- he's paying for dinner, what is he getting out of it?), why would they be so stubborn about a split check?

Even worse, the Frisky story suggests it's practically outrageous to split the check until at least the fourth date. On a personal note, we once dumped a woman for having to pay for her for four dinners in a row: it made her seem like a) she was a conservative and that the real her was still to emerge, b) she was seeing me for the free salmon sandwiches and Chianti. (Matter of fact, that combo should have been a big red flag to begin with....) Or it could've been c) all of the above.

Here's another way of putting it: if you changed the phrase "old-fashioned about it" to "pre-feminist about it," what would you have? You'd have an individual making a complete ass of herself on cnn.com in order to justify their cheapskate point-of-view.

Ladies, we understand why you don't want to split the check-- it's a rough economy out there and dating is extremely expensive, especially when you are still trying to find someone to involve yourself with. But there's only one word for your position on this issue: sexist.

From CNN, via the Frisky.

Related:

'Playboy' Picks Its Ninth Play Boy

Colorado Kids Want to Write About Sex and No One Can Stop Them

WIRED Analysis: Playboy's Incredibly Shrinking Women

Australians Fight Back Against Potential Topless Sunbathing Ban

Spirit Airlines Releases Sex Commercial, Pisses Everyone Off

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 16:12:00 GMT

The economy is in such dire straits, it seems, companies aren't perturbed in the least to hear that their employees are furious about the new marketing plan...

According to the Huffington Post, pilots and flight crew alike are furious at Spirit Airlines for forcing employees to wear aprons with Bug Light's logo on them. Oh, and there's this ad, which has garnerned a whopping 1.5 stars on YouTube since its release and is Spirit's new lead commercial:

As one union spokesperson put it:

"I feel as though I have entered a time warp and am reliving the battles for respect and justice for women that we fought for 40 years ago," Friend said.
Some of Spirit's ads invite customers to enjoy its DD's (deep discounts) and "MILF" (many islands, low fare) specials _ double entendres that also refer to large breasts and a crude acronym popularized in the 1999 movie "American Pie" that describes an attractive mother. [HuffPo]

This may be even sadder than American Apparel using full frontal nudity to sell its... clothing. Correction: this is definitely sadder, because at least those were porn stars.

Freaky FAA Tapes Reveal Obama's Plane Nearly Crashed On July 7th

American Airlines Baggage Debacle: Yet Another Reason Why Flying Sucks

Vintage Stewardesses Hotter Than 2008 Supermodels

While You Were Sleeping: Sarah Palin Is A Big, Whiny Phony

Some Kind of Monstrous Documentary

Colleen Kane — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 19:18:00 GMT

Feministing introduced us today to the trailer for the documentary -- or should we say CROCKumentary AH HA HA HA-- The Monstrous Regiment of Women, subtitle: "Extolling Feminity, Blasting Feminism." Naturally, it is most entertaining.

* Did you know, for example, that a woman who used to be in the abortion industry could go into a school and increase the pregnancy rate by 50%? That her goal as a member of this abortion industry was to get teenagers to have 3-5 abortions by age 18?

* Did you further know that a woman wanting to pursue a career is equivalent to Marxism and Socialism? And that Hillary Clinton, only having one child so she could maintain a career, means she has "absolutely no sympathy for the homemaker"?

From the equally entertaining website:

"Starting with the infamous 16th century essay written by the reformer John Knox against the reigning female monarch, the Gunn Brothers find plenty of application to America’s political landscape; where feminists vie for every possible office including the presidency."

Even the presidency? Why can't they stick to pregnancy? Somebody stop them!

Here's that trailer.

Hilarious! Thanks, Gunn Brothers, whoever you are.

By the way, that phrase of this great week, "wrong side of history"? Yeahhhh.

Get Your Lesbian Feminism On

Those Who Can, Do; Those Who Can't, Teach Porn Techniques...

Image: Bunns Brothers

Disney Denied Work to "Girls"

Colleen Kane — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 23:27:00 GMT

It's encouraging to know that even though the publishing world in which I attempt to make a living is imploding, like many other industries lately, at least in some ways it's better for a working girl than it used to be. A 1938 rejection letter from Disney has been getting passed around online, and among the points it makes to a one job-seeking Mary Ford are: You can't be considered for Disney training school, because only men do the manly creative work on the cartoons (such as drawing Bambi sniffing pretty flower blossoms). But you might have a chance at tracing some drawings for us, though! But probably not.

You really must take a look.

Also, it's written by a woman smart enough to try out for a ladylike job like secretary.

Australian Troop Scandal Is The Epitome Of Sexism

Sexism in the Movies Is Such a Bitch!

Via Buzzfeed

How Do You Like Your Hair Down There?

Brian Fairbanks — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:13:00 GMT

The Frisky and Divine Caroline posted a somewhat obnoxious story yesterday about the vagina. (It would've been much better without trying to be cutesy and likable.)

Never mind that-- although it did give us the idea to ask the ladies how they keep their hair down there... and if dudes on Scanner prefer it trimmed, hairy, or-- um-- waxed to the skin at all times. Ouch...

Here's a scenario for you to start with: We asked a ladyfriend if she wouldn't mind trimming a bit, mainly because of access and hair-in-mouth issues during oral sex. But considering we'd rather a woman had little hair there at all than a rain forest to rival the Amazon, we confess to having ulterior motives as well. It just looks hotter this way to us, sorry. (We're also strongly against hair on the legs and under the arms-- sorry again.) Are we totally out of line on this? On the asking and/or the secretly wanting almost no hair there at all?

Just so you know, we fully admit to this very airbrushed/Hollywood/male chauvinist mentality (or whatever you want to call it) about what we're turned on and off by when it comes to a woman's body hair. But try to find a woman that likes a hairy back and ass on a man...

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Khloe Kardashian Looks Weird Naked

The Latest Kool Kid Kraze: Vodka Tampons

Ad Agency Sex Scandal Claims One Victim: The Cameraman

Dita Von Teese in German Playboy - the Sequel

Guitar Hero. Then Guitar Hero: World Tour. And Now: Vagina Hero!

Happy Early 65th Birthday, Joni Mitchell

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:34:00 GMT

This is a great day for the peace movement that flowered (pun intended) in the 1960s. One person who must be thrilled at the prospect of an Obama presidency is the great Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, one of our personal heroes, whose birthday is on Friday but is for some reason is celebrated in a story in today's Wall Street Journal.

Joni Mitchell fun facts, because they're easier to write than a full-on biography:

1) The CSNY cover of "Woodstock" was one of the biggest songs of the 1970s, with massive airplay throughout the early part of the decade, despite only reaching #11 on the charts. Camille Paglia wrote that the Mitchell-penned tune is "possibly the most popular and influential poem composed in English since Sylvia Plath's 'Daddy'."

2) The Clintons named Chelsea after the Joni Mitchell song "Chelsea Morning," which isn't all that memorable otherwise.

3) That Counting Crows song that tortured you for years about "paradise" and "parking lots?" That's "Big Yellow Taxi," see below.

4) "The Circle Game," which helped put her on the map, was inspired by Neil Young's "Sugar Mountain."

5) "Sex sells everything and sex kills," she sang in 1994. We have to disagree with at least part of that.

Here's a special playlist which we selected just for those of you who don't know what the hell we're talking about:

You Turn Me On I'm A Radio

Cactus Tree

The Circle Game

All I Want (Live LP Version)

Woodstock (Live LP Version)

Big Yellow Taxi

The album to get is Blue, which is one of the ten best English-language records ever, no question. All you'll need is a bottle of wine and a record player and you won't ever require anything else again...

Here's a story about Joni featuring an interview with David Crosby in today's WSJ.

Related:

I Love Myself For Loving You: Amy Ryan

Crush of the Week: Jim Vokac

Cloris Leachman Makes Bad Reality Show Halfway Watchable, Sexy

I Love Myself For Loving You: Patricia Clarkson

Crushes of the Week: The Ladies of Mad Men

More Girls Say "Yes"

Emily Farris — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:38:00 GMT

The hullaballoo surrounding the "Girls Say Yes to Boys Who Say Obama" poster inspired some lovely ladies in Minneapolis to make one of their own, and they sent it to us.

Pictured above are writer Andrea Swensson, actress and photographer Alexa Jones and photographer Stacy Schwartz.

We'd love to start a collection of these. And perhaps we'll sit down with Scanner Nicole and Scanner Brian to make one of our own.

[Flickr]

Related:

Am I a Bad Feminist?

Yes Girls for Obama

Apparently We Were Supposed to Be Upset By This Poster

Am I a Bad Feminist?

Emily Farris — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 15:34:00 GMT

Over the summer, when I was putting together publicity material for my cookbook, my publicist told me to add "Can a casserole be a feminist object?" to my author Q&A. I thought it was kind-of a silly question. I'd always considered myself a feminist, just as I'd considered myself not a racist or not a homophobe. I listened to Ani DiFranco in the nineties. I carried a sign in the March for Womens' Lives, I subscribe to "BUST" and I'm sexually liberated. I also grew up with parents who told me I could do whatever I wanted, as long as I put my mind to it. And I believed them. At five, I wanted to be a "fireman." At 13, I wanted to be president. No one ever told me I couldn't do either and I never doubted that if I wanted to, I could do both (though one would require a title or sex change). How could I not be a feminist?

But when it came time to answer the question, I realized I didn't even really know what feminism meant to me, a single woman in my twenties, in 2008.

I actually had to look it up. And all I learned was what I already knew: feminism has meant many things to many women over the years—which didn't help me figure out how I could convince anyone else that me bending over an oven while wearing a push-up bra, hand-stitched apron and red lipstick made me a feminist.

I wondered if I was really even a feminist. I'm quick to post pictures of Sarah Palin in an American flag bikini and often use my ability to flirt to get in and out of just about anything, but I'm ready to call bullshit from the rooftops when a man makes more money than his female counterpart and I want to claw the eyeballs out of any guy who tells me to smile when I'm walking down the street.

I didn't want anyone to think I was shilling eyeball casseroles, nor did I want to come off as Suzy Homemaker. So to appease my publicist, I wrote: "[Casseroles are feminist objects] in as much as anything else I make or own is a 'feminist object.' I am a feminist who wears make-up and bakes. I can also fix my own toilet and re-wire an electrical outlet (while I have a casserole baking in the oven)."

I didn't feel like I'd really answered the question. Gloria Steinem probably wouldn't have let me get away with that answer, but I knew my publicist would. I clicked send and hoped no one would want to revisit the topic, given my half-assed attempt at an answer.

Months later, during a live radio interview, someone asked me how casseroles could be feminist foods. Usually very articulate in radio interviews, I stammered through my explanation, eventually admitting that it's a really hard question to answer in 2008 but that I wasn't making casseroles to please men or because there were no other opportunities presented to me, but because I wanted to. When I got off of the phone, I realized that while that answer might have been appropriate in 1968, it sure wasn't forty years later.

I thought about what I should have said and couldn't. So I tried to forget about it. But a few days later, a recreation of the iconic protest poster of Joan Baez and her sisters taken by Larry Gates in the 1960’s hit the web. It featured four girls sitting on a couch with a caption that read "Girls say yes to boys who say Obama." I thought the poster was cute. And I said so online. But other female bloggers didn't agree. Some were outraged and one found the image disgusting, interpreting the poster as a promise of sex in return for political action.

At this point, I was forced to again confront my feminism—or lack there of.

So here I am. Wondering out loud if, in fact, I'm a feminist.

Even after hearing why I should think the poster is sexist, I don't.

Am I wrong for thinking it was cute political satire? Or am I part of the problem? Is it even okay for feminists to have a sense of humor about things, that if truly vetted, are probably not best for the advancement of women?

To be continued...

Yes Girls for Obama

Boobs for Barack

What's The Difference Between Misogynists and Sexists?

Oxymorons of the Day: Feminist Porno Makers?

Video of the Day: Ms. Pac-Man: Feminist Hero

Apparently We Were Supposed to Be Upset By This Poster

Emily Farris — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:51:00 GMT

Remember this poster—a recreation of a Joan Baez poster from the 60's—we posted yesterday? Well, we thought it was all in good fun, but apparently it's pissed off quite a few female bloggers, including some of our old friends.

Over at Salon the women of Broadsheet had a heated discussion.

Rebecca Traistor despises the poster, and says that "the idea of any kind of political action is being taken to impress the opposite sex — or that guys would only vote a certain way if a woman promised sex at the end (that's also totally the only way you get them to pay for dinner, incidentally) — sort of makes me want to drown myself."

While we get where Traistor is coming from, we can't imagine anyone would actually vote a certain way just to impress the opposite sex. And if he did, we surely wouldn't have sex with him—we're not attracted to men who aren't passionate about their own politics.

Sarah Hepola, formerly Salon Sarah, seems to be somewhere between us, and Traistor, but still dislikes it:

"It doesn't bother me as much, but it's kind of gross. Are the women in this photo going to say yes to every boy who says Obama? Because if so, they are going to be very, very tired. And sore!

Considering this poster was made, according to Bust, by 'a couple cheeky ladies in Brooklyn" —where I (and Rebecca and Judy! [and Scanner Emily]) proudly live -- I would suggest it should be tweaked to read, 'Girls say yes to boys who say Obama and also wear skinny jeans and have scruffy hair and buy me Stella Artois while I crochet an adorable bong cozy.'"

So, so right, Scanner Sarah. But of all the things to get pissed off in the world, this poster isn't one of them. We don't have the energy (you know, especially since we're only halfway through the Democratic men in Brooklyn).

What do you think? Good fun or highly offensive?

Related:

Yes Girls for Obama

Sloppy Seconds: Barack Obama's Hip Hop Cameo

Trojan Girls Try To Get Republicans To Wear, Learn Uses Of Condoms

Today in WTF: PG Porn

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:10:00 GMT

It seemed like a decent YouTube video idea at first, like SFW porn: make a porn movie, with porn stars, that features no actual on-screen sex. (It's called "Hollywood," stupid.) Hilarious, right?

Well, not only does PG porn come off as a complete waste of time, but it's now being attacked as being-- ironically enough-- more misogynist than actual porn...

Nailing Your Wife

We're not sure why he had to kill her with a nail gun-- is that the only way the filmmakers could think of cutting the "porn" short before it got to Actual Pornography? In any case, Theresa Darklady Reed, a feminist blogger on Huffington Post has already attacked the Gunns for their exploitation of women, namely the part where the guy shoots the woman in the head with a nail gun.

The Gunn brothers apparently consider violence against women to be not just acceptable but sexy, so long as nobody actually gets laid or engages in any wet spot to erogenous zone contact.

Actually, it's supposed to be a joke, we're pretty sure, and even if it were an offensive one, it's clearly not James Gunn's intention to look down on the female gender for its "cheating ways." However, we're not sure what the point of the video is either, besides an attempt at a goofy internet video gone wrong...

Via News.au.com.

Related:

Porn and Pasties: We Missed Out

The Top 5 Hollywood Players Who Did Porn

HGTV Star Prevented From Talking To Media Because He's Gay... Or Because He's In Gay Porn?

Busted: Identical Twin Gay Porn Stars

The Internet: No Longer for Porn

The Most Brilliant Cop-Impersonating Porn Addict in the World

24 Things Guys Do That Keep Them From Getting Laid

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 14:19:00 GMT

#21: see above tan.

Megan, who is guest blogging on Jezebel these days, has been stirring up the comment section's hornet nest over there, starting with her post "Men and Sex: A Guy's Guide to Getting It On." The list is almost totally spot-on... although we always have to wonder where girls find these guys... and why there weren't red flags before the guys made these glaring faux pas...

Don't pre-emptively tell me you have a small penis.
Don't drop the n-bomb during a discussion on the walk back to your place.
Don't ever say to me, "Your breasts don't look like the ones in my magazines."
Don't call it "my junk" or any pet names when asking me to touch it.
In fact, don't ask me to touch it. I know you want me to touch it. I will do so when and if I want to. If we are in a public place, I don't want to.
Don't text me on a Tuesday night after midnight "I could totally eat ur puss now if u r interwssetted." I'm not.
Don't lick my face. I get flashbacks from Silence of the Lambs.
If we are friends on a social networking site, I strongly recommend not joining groups that I can see that identify you as someone looking for anonymous NSA hook-ups. There aren't thick enough condoms in the world for me to dip my toe into that pool.
Don't tell me you and your wife have "an arrangement." Unless you can provide a signed, notarized affidavit to that effect, I don't believe you and if you can, see the previous answer.
Don't ask me if my friend might be interested in a threesome.
I don't care if you and your friend are interested in a threesome.
Telling me how hard you are going to fuck me is only hot when we are a) naked and b) on the verge of fucking. In a well-lit bar in front of 10 of our colleagues at a work event, it's presumptuous and gross.
Don't keep offering to buy me more alcohol to work the odds when I've indicated a desire to leave. The odds are that I will drink your damn alcohol and still not want to have sex with you.
Don't try to guilt me into something. You are not my mother, and you don't have her skills.
Don't offer to Saran Wrap my genitals to eat me out because you are scared of disease. You should be. You probably have one, but we both know it's not from eating a lot of pussy.
Don't ask if it's okay to fuck me up the ass because you don't have condoms and are "scared" of getting me pregnant.
Don't hit on my friend(s) first. Yeah, I saw that.
Don't "neg" me. That works on insecure little 20-somethings that think they have something to prove. Me it just annoys and you are not remotely hot/smart/rich/powerful enough to intimidate me into thinking I want you to have sex with me.
Don't use a stupid euphemism for fucking. If The Bloodhound Gang used it in a song, it should not be called that if you're trying to actually get laid.
Never, ever utter the word or attempt to motorboat.

The post caused an immediate sensation that even woke up the cultural latecomers at the New York Times. Yesterday, Megan posted a followup that defended her choices:

It also inspired a response from The Times' Sathnam Sanghera, who said that "modern man is an impossible position when it comes to seduction." Um, actually, that's sort of the point. Seduction, is after all, by definition the act of convincing a woman to do something she doesn't want to do.

We thought, in a show of solidary with Megan and to add a voice to the communication meltdown that's threatening our very civilization, that we should round it out at a solid two dozen...

21. See above tan. If you look like that, go back to Square One and regroup.

22. Quit while you're ahead. If she's going for you, take it easy, settle in and enjoy the evening. Don't over do it.

23. Don't discuss the bill for more than two seconds. As Megan puts it, some people want to pay, some want to be paid for. With that in mind, feel her out on the check, then accept whatever vibe she's giving off.

24. Avoid creating controversy just to keep things interesting. Bringing up politics for the sake of keeping the conversation going ties back to 22.

Via Jezebel.

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Lookin' For Asian Women

Scanner Roundtable: Could You Date a Bisexual Man? (A Question for the Ladies)

MTV Launches Sex Talk Show, We Relive Our Awkward Youth

Cutie With Big Brown Eyes Seeks Mate for Play or Serious Relationship

Ellen and Portia's Wedding Video Makes Us Cry All Over Our Keyboard

Hero Of The Day: Woman Who Reversed Her Menopause

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:58:00 GMT

Margaret Lloyd-Hart was twenty-nine-years-old and going through menopause.

Instead of going childless and suffering through an early so-called "old age," she went and did something about it. Something that kicks major ass: she underwent an experimental ovarian graft procedure and made world history...

What more needs to be said than this, Newsweek's report on the procedure:

Last year surgeons removed Margaret Lloyd-Hart's second ovary after problems with cysts, but the Arizona ballerina, now 30, wasn't ready to give up on fertility. So doctors froze the tissue. With both ovaries gone, she was menopausal. She started hormone-replacement therapy, but was unhappy with side effects. So doctors at New York Methodist Hospital thawed her ovary, threaded strips of it onto a biodegradable "frame," and inserted it near her fallopian tubes. After a whopping dose of hormones, the eggs embedded in her ovarian tissue were back in action: she ovulated and menstruated, a groundbreaking result. Her surgery was the first to restore ovulation through ovarian tissue transplant. Although Lloyd-Hart says she isn't trying to get pregnant, the new technique could one day help other women overcome infertility.

Ah, piece of cake, right? Yep, all in a day's historical work at New York Methodist and Lloyd-Hart walks out with her whole life turned around for the better. "Cocktail, doctor?" "Yes, doctor, why not?"

Lloyd-Hart is the first woman to see her menopause reverse, which is indeed cause for celebration. Even more so is the realization that this woman has had a rough life and this may be the best thing that has happened to her in ages:

The 30-year-old who lives in Arizona, had an ovary removed last year to treat a benign medical condition. Her other ovary had been taken out when she was 17 because of a cyst.
Experts at Leeds and elsewhere were keen to stress that the release of an egg did not mean that Ms Lloyd-Hart could have a successful pregnancy. [However, the] new procedure also opens up the possibility of donor ovaries being transplanted into infertile women.

Well, we're still holding out hope for our girl MLH. Read more at the BBC.

Related:

Mopey Teenagers and Persnickety Doctors Rejoice!

Video of the Day: Thai Doctors Lead The Way in Penis Reattachment

She'd Have Me Wrapped Around Each of Her 20 Fingers

Name That Politician: "A really strong body..."

The Rule... If You Don't Want to End Up Watching Die Hard 4 This Weekend

Nicole Pasulka — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:57:00 GMT

"The Rule" is the brainchild of cartoonist and creator of Dykes to Watch Out For Alison Bechdel. It's supposed to make sure you're movies have meaningful female characters concerned with something other than men -- if that's what you want out of a movie. If not, well, see you at the 7:30 showing of Babylon AD.

The finer points of the rule are flushed out in the rest of the strip, after the jump.

A bunch of other disgruntled movie-goers have created other versions of "The Rule", as we learned from this NPR story.

For example there's the Deggans Rule from Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times:

1. At least two nonwhite characters in the main cast ...
2. in a show that's not about race.

And the Morales Rule from Natalie Morales on ABC Family's The Middleman.

1. Nobody calls anybody Papi.
2. No dancing to salsa music.
3. No gratuitous Spanish.

Anyone else have rules for movies?

RNC Day Three: Sarah Palin Makes Dick Cheney Look Like Al Gore

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:52:00 GMT

Last night, we were sitting in the press section at the Excel Center in Minneapolis, wondering if the woman sleeping next to us had been flopped out in that chair since the night before. A woman with a large cup of coffee greeted us while jerking her head up and down. On stage, a droning religious figure mumbled through some sort of sermon. The general vibe on the floor was, "How soon will this be over?"

That all changed when Sarah Palin took the stage. All of a sudden, the arena was jam-packed: the concession area cleared out, the press stopped answering their cell phones, and the crowd was on its feet more often than not. To say Palin was well-received was like saying Hillary Clinton would've been only lightly toasted at the stake. Okay, that sounds harsh, but it was clear that there's a new #1 female American political figure on the scene and that, no matter what happens in this election, Sarah Palin will not soon be forgotten.

With her relentless attack on Barack Obama, Palin proved she has the anger and determination necessary to offset attacks on her ethics, family problems, inexperience, and radically conservative positions. The mood at the RNC went from fear that this was the beginning of the end to "how will Barack-Biden top this?!"

We ran into Ron Paul outside. He said he doesn't know which candidate he'll back... but definitely not McCain.

Palin's triumph was not so much one of oratory or intelligence or originality, but rather of carefully-calculated political maneuverings masquerading as a speech. Kudos to Palin for her many devastating one-lingers. Kudos to her for realizing the soccer mom angle is going to play very well, and playing it up to the max.

McCain could clearly be seen to be glowing with vindication as he took the stage. (He had to come out a night early-- after all, Obama did the surprise appearance thing last week and McCain has never been one to allow a preemptive one-upping.) His advisers were downplaying our expectations for the speech tonight, although that's utter nonsense: John McCain can real knock a public appearance out of the park if he has a script.

And, after hearing Palin's fiery words, we're pretty sure McCain's is going to be packing a wallop...

All photos by the author.

Related:

RNC Day Two: Eloquence No Substitution For A Record... Of Temper Tantrums

RNC Day One: Total Anarchy

Our Crazy RNC Photo Essay

Against Our Better Judgment, We're Reporting From The RNC This Week...

What'll Happen To Sarah Palin?

Real or Fake: Nude Sarah Palin Photo?

EXCLUSIVE: McCain-Palin Internal Talking Points Memo Leaked To Scanner

Palin's Grandbaby Daddy: Self-Proclaimed F*cking Redneck

We're Glad Levi Johnston Took This Opportunity To Start a College Fund for Baby

Rest in Peace, Lesbian Trailblazer Del Martin

Nicole Pasulka — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:14:00 GMT

Remember the cuteness that was the first legal gay marriage in California between Del Martin (left) and her partner of 55 years Phyllis Lyon? No? Look at this picture and let it wash over you.

We're sad to report that Del passed away Wednesday in San Francisco at the age of 87. Lyon said in a statement:

“I am devastated, but I take some solace in knowing we were able to enjoy the ultimate rite of love and commitment before she passed.”

Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon were founding members of Daughters of Bilitis the first lesbian social and political organization in the US and quite the groundbreaking hotness.

Related:

The Sweetest Thing You'll See All Day

The Gay Marriage Revolution

While You Were Sleeping: The Cancer Scares

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:19:00 GMT

The Rolling Stones song "Satisfaction" technically saved one Englishman's life.

Jossip has a photo from the Ellen wedding.

Heidi Montag's new song "Overdosin'" was met by a steady stream of sales yesterday. Not really, it was made fun of mercilessly online:

Whoever wrote that song was overdosing on something.

overdosin' on stupidness

i agree this song and all of her other songs make me want to overdose too!! [Defamer]

Hayden Panettiere instructed her mom not to sell the star's panties online.

An 85-year-old woman apprehended a 17 year burglar, then made him call 911... at gunpoint.

Christina Applegate no longer has cancer, although Patrick Swayze, who still smokes, continues to battle it.

And the same idiot who sued nightclubs for discriminating against men with Ladies' Nights apparently didn't make enough money ripping off small businesses: he's now suing Columbia for teaching a history syllabus that blames men for the world's "ills."

UPDATE: Link fixed.

Related:

While You Were Sleeping: Who Looks Best In A Bikini?

I Hate Myself for Loving You: Hayden Paniettiere

Heidi Montag Endorses McCain; Alarmed GOPers Head For the Hills

While You Were Sleeping: The Madonna-Guy Ritchie Separation

Sony Video Game To Feminists: "Let Them Eat Cake" (Literally)

Brian Fairbanks — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 14:59:00 GMT

Sony apparently forgot that there are, surprise, women who play video games. More importantly, they forgot that feminists play video games and can raise a big stink on the interblogs if they they think your game is unfunny, sexist, and more out of touch than George W. Bush...

Fat Princess is a capture-the-flag game with a twist: you can thwart capture attempts by locking the once-thin princess in a dungeon and stuffing her full of cake, thereby increasing her girth and making her harder for your enemies to haul back to home base.

The ladyblogs had trouble deciding what to attack first...

Melissa McEwan of Shakesville writes: "Congrats on your awesome new game, Sony. I'm positively thrilled to see such unyielding dedication to creating a new generation of fat-hating, heteronormative assholes."

Zing! Wait, what does that mean?

Feminist Gamer's "Mighty Ponygirl" suggests a simple gameplay switcheroo would solve the problem (and change the title). "Instead of running out into the forest to find cake to fatten up the princess with, why not go out and find gold (which is a lot heavier than cake) to stuff into a treasure chest," she says, adding, "The more gold in the chest, the heavier it would be, and the harder it would be to carry."

That's a great idea! Then again, Sony isn't interested in having their video games make sense or insulting fewer than half the population of the world. Nope, they just say "let those feminists eat cake-- literally." And male gamers are apparently backing them up-- check out the comments on Joystiq:

Fat women would be better served by getting up and exercising and eating less. They would have more energy, better self image and feel more confident. They might find a boyfriend, even perhaps, love. But you know, its like hard to do that stuff, and its easy to complain on the internet!
Women will cry about anything.
They are piss because they lack a penis.
If it were "Fat Prince" and you had to carry an obese dude around nobody would care. Except maybe Prince.

However, a female commenter had a reaction similar to ours:

If anything, I think they're attacking the wrong concept. Who cares if she's fat or gets fed? It's way more offensive that the princess is treated as an object (in replacement of a flag) and helpless (she can't even move on her own) and unable to do anything about her situation (or refuse food). But I know that the designers weren't being pig-headed, they were just trying to be creative, and they succeeded.

There are far too many memorable (but not necessarily intelligent) comments to post here, so check out the original post.

Via Joystiq and Yahoo!

Running in Heels: It's Hard Enough Just Walking, Moscow

Brian Fairbanks — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:30:00 GMT

Ladies, we have to give it to you-- there's no way we'd be able to walk around in those things for more than thirty seconds without massacring an entire post office full of people in a blind rage. They probably look as uncomfortable to us as they are to wear.

That being said... what in God's name is going on with this new trend of street races in heels? We were hoping the one sponsored by Glamour in March was some sort of sick marketing scam/joke, but whatever it is, alas, it's catching on...

Apparently this isn't even the first time. The middle photo is from 2006-- in Russia... and sponsored by Glamour Magazine.

A girl attends a high heels race in Moscow, capital of Russia, July 8, 2006. Girls took part in the race wearing high heels with required minimum height of 8 centimeters to compete for a total bonus of 100.000 roubles (3,726 dollars). The race was held by a Russian fashion magazine.

This year, it went up to a minimum of 9 centimeters. NINE CENTIMETERS! Ladies, would you take 100.000 roubles, excuse us, three thousand bucks to run in heels? Oh wait... nope, no more prize money... it's just...

This year it took place near the GUM store by Red Square. The closeness of shops seemed to have raised the participants' spirits, as the main prize was a shopping certificate.

A crowd of onlookers gathered at the event scene to support the competitors who had spent more than two hours preparing for the race and making sure they look glamorous enough. Whilst some girls were queuing up to get fashion stylist’s service, more experienced racers were taping their shoes to their legs.

Some of the runners fell down and dropped out of the race just three seconds after the start. For the leader, however, it took only 12-14 seconds to reach the finish line.

Luckily, this year no heels were broken.

Via Russia Today.

Related:

What's Wrong With This Picture? Women Racing in High Heels

Albanian Women Dress and Act Like Men--If Men Were All Hardcore, Tough-Guy Bad*sses

Nicole Pasulka — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:46:00 GMT

For centuries in Albania, young, unmarried, virgin women living in households where all the men had died or been imprisoned, swapped genders and lived as men--becoming "sworn virgins." With changing gender roles and modernization, the practice is dying out, but some sworn virgins still remain.

Take 78-year-old Pashe Keqi, for example, who became a sworn virgin at 20 after her father was killed. Pashe had a a housefull of women to take care of and a buring desire to carry a hunting rifle in public. According to this totally amazing New York Times article:

When she stepped outside the village, she enjoyed being taken for a man. “I was totally free as a man because no one knew I was a woman,” Ms. Keqi said. “I could go wherever I wanted to and no one would dare swear at me because I could beat them up. I was only with men. I don’t know how to do women’s talk. I am never scared.”

But living as a man isn't all fun, games, barking orders and beating people up (OK, well, it seems in Albania it may involve a fair amount of beating people up)...

Being the man of the house also made her responsible for avenging her father’s death, she said. When her father’s killer, by then 80, was released from prison five years ago, Ms. Keqi said, her 15-year-old nephew shot him dead. Then the man’s family took revenge and killed her nephew. “I always dreamed of avenging my father’s death,” she said. “Of course, I have regrets; my nephew was killed. But if you kill me, I have to kill you.”

Right. The moral of this story is: If a woman is going to live like a man in Albania, she'd better be willing to kill people after holding 50-year grudge. Otherwise, get back in the house and make dinner.

How Would You Rate in 1939?

Brian Fairbanks — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:59:00 GMT

The American Psychological Association has just republished a chart from the ancient era of the 1930s, which they say provides a glimpse of that time's "social norms" and was produced by the man who, in a way, is the godfather of internet dating.

George W. Crane

ran a counseling practice, wrote a syndicated national newspaper column called "The Worry Clinic" and started his own matchmaking service.

Here's his chart, which was apparently used by ancient Neanderthal male-prototypes to determine whether said Neanderthal's long-suffering wives had suffered enough:

This kind of retro conservatism would be charming if it weren't still being used, in many a man's head, to this very day... before he gets married. Thank God every decent guy we know allows plenty of leeway for a woman's quirks-- although who doesn't take demerits from a backseat driver?

How do you stack up? And guys, do you still hold women to these kinds of pre-feminist standards?

Via the Monitor.