Posts Tagged quick hit

By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: Why are runways so white?

Spoiler: the answer is racism.

BuzzFeed invited five fashion show casting directors to talk about why almost every model we see walking down the runway are white. Some of their answers, like James Scully’s, won’t make you want to vomit: Scully’s conception of diversity is more meaningful than the common tokenism he calls out, though he seems more market- than ethics-driven. Inevitably, there are also the responses that will lead you screaming into the street.

My favorite (read: least favorite) is Barbara Nicoli’s lovely little explanation of why Asian women aren’t sexy:

It’s also true that, for example, Caucasians have a specific body type, black girls have a specific body shape, and Asian girls have a specific body shape. So I guess there ...

Spoiler: the answer is racism.

BuzzFeed invited five fashion show casting directors to talk about why almost every model we see walking down the runway are white. Some of their answers, like James Scully’s, won’t make you want ...
By Lori Adelman • 11 years ago

Quick hit: Moving forward from past reproductive injustices against black women

Dr. Vanessa Cullins (Vice President for External Medical Affairs at PPFA) and Eleanor Hinton Hoytt (Black Women’s Health Imperative President and CEO, featured in the video above) have co-authored an important piece on The Grio framing recent progress in civil and women’s rights in proper historical context which includes reproductive injustice against women of color. This topic is especially timely because of recent revelations by the Israeli government that Ethiopian women were coerced into accepting long-acting birth control shots, likely Depo-Provera. Cullins and Hoytt write (all emphasis mine):

“As we reflect on how this progress was born from injustice, we are reminded of the many black women whose lives or deeds led the way and changed history. Fannie Lou ...

Dr. Vanessa Cullins (Vice President for External Medical Affairs at PPFA) and Eleanor Hinton Hoytt (Black Women’s Health Imperative President and CEO, featured in the video above) have co-authored an important piece on The Grio framing ...
By Lori Adelman • 11 years ago

Quick hit: Obama named TIME 2012 Person of the Year

The completely warranted if somewhat safe pick is accompanied by a lovely longform profile that manages to add new dimensions to a now well-worn story of Obama’s journey from Chicago community organizer to re-elected president and historical icon.The profile emphasizes the role that women, minorities, and young people played in electing Barack Obama both times.

Also notable: Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani activist who was shot in the head by the Taliban for her crusade for better girls’ education, was named runner up.

Check out the whole feature here.

The completely warranted if somewhat safe pick is accompanied by a lovely longform profile that manages to add new dimensions to a now well-worn story of Obama’s journey from Chicago community organizer to re-elected president and ...
By Sesali B. • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: 10 things I want my daughter to know before she turns 10

I usually shy away from lists like this out of fear that they are extremely heteronormative, fat-shaming, sexist, etc. But this one… This one was beautiful and perfect. Not only did it remind me of the things I’d like to share with my daughter one day, but it made me think of things I wish my mom shared with me.

I’m particularly fond of numbers 1, 6 & 9.

“1. It is not your job to keep the people you love happy.  Not me, not Daddy, not your brother, not your friends.  I promise, it’s not.  The hard truth is that you can’t, anyway.”

“6. Reading is essential.  It is the central leisure-time joy of my life, as you know.  I am immensely ...

I usually shy away from lists like this out of fear that they are extremely heteronormative, fat-shaming, sexist, etc. But this one… This one was beautiful and perfect. Not only did it remind me of the ...
By Lori Adelman • 11 years ago

Quick hit: Nathaniel Frank on the AP’s misguided ‘homophobia’ ban

Yesterday the Associated Press announced that it will drop the term “homophobia” along with “Islamophobia” and “ethnic cleansing” from its Style Book.  Politico reports that the reasoning behind dropping the term is largely semantic, citing AP Deputy Standards Editor Dave Minthorn’s rationale that a phobia, or “an irrational, uncontrollable fear, often a form of mental illness” should not be used “in political or social contexts,” including “homophobia” and “Islamophobia.” It also calls “ethnic cleansing” a “euphemism,” and says the AP “does not use ‘ethnic cleansing’ on its own. It must be enclosed in quotes, attributed and explained.”

This is a big deal because the AP Style Book is very influential and could impact journalistic standards across the field.

While I ...

Yesterday the Associated Press announced that it will drop the term “homophobia” along with “Islamophobia” and “ethnic cleansing” from its Style Book.  Politico reports that the reasoning behind dropping the term is largely semantic, ...
By Alexandra Brodsky • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: An interview with Kate Zambreno

It’s worth checking out The New Inquiry‘s interview with Kate Zambreno, author of popular blog Frances Farmer is My Sister and the recently released critical memoir Heroines. She’s got some very precise–and very beautiful–thoughts on “wives and mistresses,” mental illness, fears of female emotional excess, and redeeming the diary.

That emotion in a work of literature cannot be excessive, has to have an appropriate source. I mean these philosopher-writers – they were concerned with the Hamlets. I’m more concerned, I guess, with the Ophelias. I don’t see why Ophelia’s rent and rage is not as serious as Hamlet’s. But her madness, her unraveling, is perceived as comic, strange, a joke. Eliot: “I distrust the Feminine in literature.” … Gilbert and Gubar in Madwomen in ...

It’s worth checking out The New Inquiry‘s interview with Kate Zambreno, author of popular blog Frances Farmer is My Sister and the recently released critical memoir Heroines. She’s got some very precise–and very beautiful–thoughts on “wives and mistresses,” mental illness, ...
By Maya Dusenbery • 11 years ago

Quick Hit: Why don’t more American women use IUDs?

Y’all already know that I am an IUD evangelist. While more American women are jumping on the bandwagon these days–8.5 percent of female contraception users in the US now choose long-lasting reversible contraceptive methods like the IUD and implant–we still seriously lag behind other countries.

At Mother Jones, my colleague Maddie Oatman reports on why it’s “been hard for young women in the United States to get their hands on this type of birth control”–and how that could be changing thanks to no co-pay birth control and a growing awareness among doctors that the IUD can be a good option for women of all ages. Check it out.

Y’all already know that I am an IUD evangelist. While more American women are jumping on the bandwagon these days–8.5 percent of female contraception users in the US now choose long-lasting reversible contraceptive methods like the ...

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