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The “Doofy Husband” Trope

A SYTYCB entry

My dad constantly points it out, especially when we’re talking about sexist tropes in media. There are countless cartoons and sitcoms where the husband is an idiot. In fact, there are movies like that too nowadays. It’s pervasive, it’s definitely a problem, and it’s a clear example that sexism against men does happen.

Al Bundy on Married with Children is often acknowledged as the first “doofy” TV husband, turning the tables and starting the trend. However, the show still had a similarly lazy and stupid, frivolous and shallow – albeit conventionally pretty – wife and mother.

But I realized something the other day. These idiot husbands – often also fat, lazy, and completely immature – are often accompanied by incredibly mature, gorgeous, and often overbearing wives. The women run the household and make all the tough decisions, they’re always “right,” their husbands are always “wrong,” and it is their job to be the smart, mature, responsible spouse because their husbands are incapable of doing so. They’re also often emasculating dream-squashers. The kind men routinely complain about in comedy routines when they insist that marriage is the worst thing ever.

The Simpsons continued this trend, but with the Simpsons the trope evolved to include a tolerant and nurturing wife who may have gotten peeved at him, but at the end of each episode reminded him that no matter how much of a lazy moron he was, she’d ...

Ginny McQueen, cosplay strip teases, and the fetishization of female cosplayers

A SYTYCB entry

(crossposted)

NOTE: To “cosplay” is, essentially, to wear a costume. It’s short for “costumed play” and usually refers to people who wear costumes to nerdy conventions.

Today I came across a story on Jezebel about a cosplayer who was solicited to strip at an anime convention in Las Vegas. I’ve never been a real fan of the growing cosplay burlesque/strip tease trend, but this took it way too far.

Ginny McQueen in one of her many amazing costumes

Ginny McQueen is certainly known for her work with cosplay. She’s won numerous awards, she works for cosplay.com – she’s very good at what she does. She’s also attractive, slender, and often flaunts it with sexy, tight-fitting costumes. Still, to ...

A SYTYCB entry

(crossposted)

NOTE: To “cosplay” is, essentially, to wear a costume. It’s short for “costumed play” and usually refers to people who wear costumes to nerdy conventions.

Today I came across a story on Jezebel ...

Still Frustrated with Criticisms

Cross-posted from http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com

I wrote about this before, albeit briefly, but it’s still frustrating me to no end so I shall write about it some more!

I’m tired of being called a “bad feminist,” or a “fake feminist,” because of the decisions I make and the insecurities I feel as a woman and as a human being. This time people criticized me for planning to wear a sexy outfit for Halloween. First I said I’m going to be sexy jellyfish, which I am, it’s a plan I’ve had for months – to me it’s more funny, almost satirical, than a strict adherence to a patriarchal norm – but not everyone saw ...

Cross-posted from http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com

I wrote about this before, albeit briefly, but it’s still frustrating me to no end so I shall write about it some more!

I’m tired of being called a “bad feminist,” ...

Men Only Clubs

Cross-posted from  http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com

This weekend I was taken to a trout club in Vermont, and while I was able to get a little hiking and kayaking in, there was one big damper on the whole getaway, and it wasn’t the rain: the club, in 2011, will not let women join. Well, let me clarify, some women have been able to join, but women aren’t allowed to become voting members. Why? Oh, well same reason they don’t allow electronics, they just want to maintain tradition.

Now, I get that it’s a private club, and they don’t HAVE to change their rules. They have a right to bar whoever they want from joining ...

Cross-posted from  http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com

This weekend I was taken to a trout club in Vermont, and while I was able to get a little hiking and kayaking in, there was one big damper on ...

Swooning Over Sexism

Cross-posted from http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com/

The main defense I’ve heard regarding gender roles in relationships between men and women is that they’re “romantic.” It’s romantic to have a guy pay for everything and take care of the girl, it’s romantic to have a guy ask your father to marry you, it’s romantic for a guy to be over-protective, it’s romantic to save your virginity for your wedding night. Yes, it’s totally romantic to be treated like property and regarded as being incapable of taking care of yourself.

I have to wonder, we’ve supposedly come a long way in abolishing traditional gender roles and making strides towards gender equality, yet so many ...

Cross-posted from http://arrowsofartemis.blogspot.com/

The main defense I’ve heard regarding gender roles in relationships between men and women is that they’re “romantic.” It’s romantic to have a guy pay for everything and ...

I’m Leaving My Lady Bits Alone, Thank You Very Much

Yeah I’ll say it; I leave my pubes mostly in tact. I neaten up the edges for bikini season, and any time I might be wearing a skirt – a practice dating back to when an old boyfriend told me people noticed my pubic hair sticking out of my panties and it was embarrassing. He was generally obsessed with trying to get me to shave it off completely, or at least get a landing strip. I once decided to compromise and trim a little, doing the “good girlfriend” thing, but it just didn’t feel right. After we broke up, he flat out told me my pubic hair was gross.

I remind myself of this when I start to regret dumping ...

Yeah I’ll say it; I leave my pubes mostly in tact. I neaten up the edges for bikini season, and any time I might be wearing a skirt – a practice dating back to when an old ...

Vaginismus

I can’t have sex. When I’ve tried in the past, it has either hurt like hell or was pretty much impossible. There have been a few times where it didn’t hurt and was actually pleasurable, but for the most part, it has hurt. This is due to a condition known as vaginismus, where the pelvic muscles tighten.

This could be out of fear, maybe a reaction to my sexual assault last year, or the emotional abuse I endured in high school, I don’t know. I do know it needs to be solved because it’s wreaking havoc on my sex life.

Not only do I want to have sex, I’m all about the intimacy. I’m an old-fashioned, hopeless romantic who wants to make ...

I can’t have sex. When I’ve tried in the past, it has either hurt like hell or was pretty much impossible. There have been a few times where it didn’t hurt and was actually pleasurable, but for ...

“Never Give Up Your Dream Of Being Fake”

Old Navy Supermodelquin ads campaign has gone from creepy to just plain awful. Their ads now spoof America’s Next Top Model, only they’re booting girls off if they’re less than perfect, plastic mannequins.

Look, I know it’s supposed to be funny, but the line about being fake really drove me over the edge. Oh noes, her hair moves in the wind and got in her face! Oh my god, a girl winced when she was hit in the face with a frizbee! They’re less than perfect.

Which is odd because they’re trying to sell clothes that really have nothing to do with that. Still, the ads seem to promote a level of perfection than can only be explained as being, well, ...

Old Navy Supermodelquin ads campaign has gone from creepy to just plain awful. Their ads now spoof America’s Next Top Model, only they’re booting girls off if they’re less than perfect, plastic mannequins.

Look, I know it’s ...

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