The Feministing Five: Peggy Orenstein

Peggy Orenstein is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. Orenstein’s book (her fourth – she also wrote the bestseller Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self Esteem and the Confidence Gap) is an exploration of our cultural fixation on pink and princesses and everything else we associated with girliness. Orenstein is herself the mother of a seven-year-old girl, and it was when her daughter went off to pre-school that Orenstein first became aware of how pervasive the princess obsession is, and just how aggressively it is marketed to very young girls.

What Orenstein found, when she began researching the reach and power of princess culture, and when she ...

Peggy Orenstein is the author of the New York Times bestselling book Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture. Orenstein’s book (her fourth – she also wrote the bestseller Schoolgirls: Young ...

Nissan ad is offensive, not much else

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoMA39lh3U

Transcript after the jump.

What is this craptastic ad even about? It just feels like a bunch of offensiveness strung together.

“Model vs. Model.” Oh I get it, cause car model, and also women are like objects so haha no. Also drag is hot, that’s just a fact, some things can’t be argued. So now we get the dude in a bikini punchline right? Oh no, they couldn’t even follow through on the transmisogyny right because there’s a woman they definitely want us to think is cisgender. And then there’s some more objectifying. Yay.

I don’t think this ad’s doing men any favors either by suggesting selling them a car is as easy as: Drag joke! Boobs! Buy something!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoMA39lh3U

Transcript after the jump.

What is this craptastic ad even about? It just feels like a bunch of offensiveness strung together.

“Model vs. Model.” Oh I get it, cause car model, and also women are like objects so haha ...

What We Missed

A reminder that we have a lot more to lose in this budget fight than just Planned Parenthood.

Congrats to Community Blogger Chloe, whose video about why Planned Parenthood’s funding shouldn’t be cut was picked up by CBS!

In case we haven’t had enough news about terrible anti-choice laws around the country, the Virginia legislature yesterday approved a bill to force abortion clinics to conform to the standards of hospitals. This is very obviously an attempt to limit access to the procedure. Mind you, clinics that do breast implants and plastic surgery aren’t being subjected to these requirements.

Saturday is a big day for progressive political action! In addition to the reproductive justice rallies happening around the country ...

A reminder that we have a lot more to lose in this budget fight than just Planned Parenthood.

Congrats to Community Blogger Chloe, whose video about why Planned Parenthood’s funding shouldn’t be cut was picked ...

Death, taxes, heartbreak

I got my heart broken last week. Badly. Worse than it’s ever been broken in my admittedly short life. I’m not even really sure how I’m writing this, because I’ve spent the week in a fog of tears and panic and anguish and shock. I’ve barely been functional, I’ve barely been coherent. The morning after the break up, when I woke up and remembered what had happened the night before, I cried so hard I think I pulled a muscle in my chest.

I’ve survived the first few days. I’m still breathing, even though sometimes I feel like I’m gasping for air. I’ve left the house, and held conversations, and gotten a bit of work done, even though it takes an ...

I got my heart broken last week. Badly. Worse than it’s ever been broken in my admittedly short life. I’m not even really sure how I’m writing this, because I’ve spent the week in a fog of ...

If Georgia criminalizes miscarriage, will used tampons become evidence?

You know a bill is bad when completely outlawing abortion is not even the worst of it.

The Georgia bill, proposed by Rep. Bobby “rape victims aren’t victims” Franklin, would make abortion a felony, potentially punishable by death, and require that all miscarriages be investigated to ensure they were not caused by any “human involvement whatsoever.”

Now Franklin is known as an extreme fringe politician and, obviously, a bill that makes a legal, medical procedure a crime punishable by death is going nowhere fast. (I hope, at least–these days it really does feel like any fresh new horror is possible.)

But I still think it’s important to highlight bills like this because they illustrate ...

You know a bill is bad when completely outlawing abortion is not even the worst of it.

The Georgia bill, proposed by Rep. Bobby “rape victims aren’t victims” Franklin, would make abortion a felony, potentially ...

Where are the women comics? SXSW edition

Last week, when South by Southwest announced the initial comedy lineup at this year’s massive festival in Austin, it included 30 men and just one lonely woman. While SXSW claimed to be “disappointed” and blamed the lack of women on scheduling conflicts and low application numbers, others called “horseshit.”

Andrea Grimes, funny lady and female comic expert, wrote:

“Horse. Shit. This is akin to making yourself a bitter cup of coffee, staring at the sugar bowl, and complaining your coffee doesn’t have enough sugar in it. SXSW’s booking agent, Charlie Sotelo, has said he was “heartbroken” at the responses to the paucity of women on his bill. Well, quit being heartbroken, Charlie. I figured a guy ...

Last week, when South by Southwest announced the initial comedy lineup at this year’s massive festival in Austin, it included 30 men and just one lonely woman. While SXSW claimed to be “disappointed” and blamed the ...

Canadian judge writes the book on victim-blaming

“No jail for rapist because victim ‘wanted to party’”

With an headline like that, you just know it will be good!

“A convicted rapist will not go to jail because a Manitoba judge says the victim sent signals that “sex was in the air” through her suggestive attire and promiscuous conduct on the night of the attack.

Kenneth Rhodes was given a two-year conditional sentence last week that allows him to remain free in the community in a decision likely to trigger strong debate.

The Crown wanted at least three years behind bars.

Queen’s Bench Justice Robert Dewar called Rhodes a “clumsy Don Juan” who may have misunderstood what the victim wanted when he forced intercourse along a ...

“No jail for rapist because victim ‘wanted to party’”

With an headline like that, you just know it will be good!

“A convicted rapist will not go to jail because a Manitoba judge says the victim sent ...

Nissan ad is offensive, not much else

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoMA39lh3U

Transcript after the jump.

What is this craptastic ad even about? It just feels like a bunch of offensiveness strung together.

“Model vs. Model.” Oh I get it, cause car model, and also women are like objects so haha no. Also drag is hot, that’s just a fact, some things can’t be argued. So now we get the dude in a bikini punchline right? Oh no, they couldn’t even follow through on the transmisogyny right because there’s a woman they definitely want us to think is cisgender. And then there’s some more objectifying. Yay.

I don’t think this ad’s doing men any favors either by suggesting selling them a car is as easy as: Drag joke! Boobs! Buy something!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saoMA39lh3U

Transcript after the jump.

What is this craptastic ad even about? It just feels like a bunch of offensiveness strung together.

“Model vs. Model.” Oh I get it, cause car model, and also women are like objects so haha ...

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