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By Megan • 11 years ago

May the Odds Be Ever in Our Favor

A SYTYCB Entry

Ok, readers, I have a confession to make:

I am OBSESSED with The Hunger Games.  And by that, I don’t mean that I really really like The Hunger Games.  I mean obsessed.  I read the book in a day and saw the movie four times in theaters.  I’ve spent hours watching interviews with star Jennifer Lawrence.  And I regularly thrust out my hand and scream “I VOLUNTEER!!”  in response to simple questions (this did not go over well with the Applebees waitress, by the way).

So when the DVD was released last weekend, I was easily swindled into buying the special edition ($22.95) so that I could get extra features and a BOSS collector’s mockingjay pendant (pictured below).

For those unaware, The Hunger Games is about a dystopian future America, which has been split into twelve districts united under the ruthless Capitol.  Each year, as penance for their previous rebellion, each district is required to send two children to compete in a televised fight-to-the-death called the “Hunger Games.”  Katniss Everdeen, our heroine, volunteers to take the place of her sister when her name is called in District 12’s lottery.

Plenty has already been written about what a complex, realistic, feminist, and, let’s be frank, badass character Katniss is, so I’ll defer on that topic (see here, and here).  Yet, after watching 4+ hours of interviews and the behind-the-scenes DVD footage, I am especially aware of just how well the movie stayed true to ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

Breast Regards: The “I (heart) Boobies” Bracelet Ban

A SYTYCB entry

In 2010, Eastern Area Middle School in Pennsylvania suspended several middle school students for wearing the “I (heart) boobies” breast-cancer fundraising bracelets. The students then did what any self-respecting tween with money will do– took the school district to court, claiming the ban on the trendy wrist-wear violated their freedom of speech. While the federal judge ruled in their favor last year, the school district appealed to the federal circuit court, which recently determined it will hear the case in front of the full 14-judge court.

As a former teacher of young teens (which Science has proven to be the most annoying age EVER), I empathize with the teachers and administrators at this school. There is nothing like ...

A SYTYCB entry

In 2010, Eastern Area Middle School in Pennsylvania suspended several middle school students for wearing the “I (heart) boobies” breast-cancer fundraising bracelets. The students then did what any self-respecting tween with money will do– took ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

Framing the Issue: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Domestic Violence Discourse and Services

Originally posted on www.carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Finally acknowledging the causal links between lack of preventative care, poor health outcomes, and soaring healthcare costs, the Women’s Preventative Care Amendment of the Affordable Care Act went into effect last week. As of August 1st, 2012 insurance companies must provide for several essential women’s services free of charge, including annual woman-care visits, gestational diabetes screenings, STI and HIV counseling, breastfeeding support, HPV DNA testing, and, that holy grail, contraception.

As we joyously bid adieu to copays, we cannot underestimate the revolutionary significance of these provisions. For the first time in this country, women’s mental, reproductive, and sexual health are being recognized as essential components of the overall health and well-being of women and their families.

One among ...

Originally posted on www.carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Finally acknowledging the causal links between lack of preventative care, poor health outcomes, and soaring healthcare costs, the Women’s Preventative Care Amendment of the Affordable Care Act went into effect last week. As ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

On Doing “Good Work”: Reflections on Feminist Brunch

Originally posted on carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Last weekend, my friends, Lucy and Carolyn, organized a small “feminist brunch” for a few of us politically minded women in our mid-twenties. The agenda of the morning was clear: eat delicious assorted breakfast foods, drink mimosas, and talk social justice shop.

We arrived early on Saturday morning, passions and appetites ablaze. Over the next 3 hours, the four of us talked about everything from national news to trashy literature to community development. If I had to summarize our unwieldy conversation— which, oddly enough, never really landed on anything explicitly feminist– I would say it revolved around what it takes to do “good work” in the world, and the specific personal and organizational challenges to pursuing ...

Originally posted on carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Last weekend, my friends, Lucy and Carolyn, organized a small “feminist brunch” for a few of us politically minded women in our mid-twenties. The agenda of the morning was clear: eat delicious ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

Happy Father’s Day weekend!

Originally posted at www.carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

One of my favorite essays is Lisa Bloom’s “How to Talk to Little Girls.” In it, she describes the propensity for people to speak to little girls only about physical beauty (you’re so pretty! Isn’t that a cute dress?) at the expense of encouraging young girls’ intellectual development.

She describes the problem:

Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What’s missing? A ...

Originally posted at www.carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

One of my favorite essays is Lisa Bloom’s “How to Talk to Little Girls.” In it, she describes the propensity for people to speak to little girls only about physical beauty (you’re so pretty! ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

(S)He Works Hard for the Money

Originally posted at carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Men are increasingly entering traditionally female-dominated professions, according to recent analysis. Shaila Dewan and Robert Gebeloff reveal that

An analysis of census data by The New York Times shows that from 2000 to 2010, occupations that are more than 70 percent female accounted for almost a third of all job growth for men, double the share of the previous decade. Dewan and Gebeloff offer a variety of plausible explanations for this trend, including “financial concerns, quality-of-life issues, and a gradual erosion of stereotypes.” They hypothesize that the stigma of entering female-dominated professions is lessoning, while, at the same time, the stability of female dominated professions compared to male-dominated professions is increasingly attractive in the current economy. Whatever the reason, I ...

Originally posted at carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Men are increasingly entering traditionally female-dominated professions, according to recent analysis. Shaila Dewan and Robert Gebeloff reveal that

An analysis of census data by The New York Times shows that from 2000 to 2010, occupations ...
By Megan • 11 years ago

(S)He Works Hard for the Money

Originally posted at carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Men are increasingly entering traditionally female-dominated professions, according to recent analysis. Shaila Dewan and Robert Gebeloff reveal that

An analysis of census data by The New York Times shows that from 2000 to 2010, occupations that are more than 70 percent female accounted for almost a third of all job growth for men, double the share of the previous decade.

Dewan and Gebeloff offer a variety of plausible explanations for this trend, including “financial concerns, quality-of-life issues, and a gradual erosion of stereotypes.” They hypothesize that the stigma of entering female-dominated professions is lessoning, while, at the same time, the stability of female dominated professions compared to male-dominated professions is increasingly attractive in the current economy.

Whatever ...

Originally posted at carlsonsalon.blogspot.com

Men are increasingly entering traditionally female-dominated professions, according to recent analysis. Shaila Dewan and Robert Gebeloff reveal that

An analysis of census data by The New York Times shows that from 2000 ...