meganaut524

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By meganaut524 • 15 years ago

sexist cover, accurate headline

(PRNewsFoto/NEWSWEEK)
Sarah Palin hit back at Newsweek today for using a photo of her in running shorts (pulled from a shoot she did for Runner’s World) on the cover of their latest issue. Palin said that it was sexist to use a photo of her in such an informal outfit with her legs exposed out of context. I agree with this. I think it is incredibly sexist to expose her in this way, especially since they aren’t talking about her running routine, they are talking about her as a politician, her policies, her professional life. This is wrong. She is not the first panned politician in the world, and were it a man in this position (say…George Bush, Rod Blagojevich, etc.) would they ever be put on the cover of a news magazine in shorts? Don’t think so.
Although I agree with Palin’s argument about the use of the photo, I don’t agree with most anything else she says. Even the fact that she decries this photo as sexist and yet is against reproductive rights for women and other feminist-based policies is a contradiction to me. Just another example of conservatives conveniently co-opting feminist ideologies when it suits their agendas. Sorry, in my book you are not allowed to rail against sexism only when it serves your political aims and then completely drop it (or totally reject it) when dealing with policies that actually affect real women. I say, FAIL to ...

By meganaut524 • 15 years ago

going to the doctor sucks, especially when you’re a fat woman

I am a fat woman and I have been fat most of my life. I have my issues with my weight, but overall I believe that fat people (especially women) are unfairly treated in western culture, and the health care system is no exception. I have suffered the humiliations of going to the doctor as a fat woman more times than I care to remember. For me, going to the doctor – even if it is for something completely unrelated to my body size, like a hurt shoulder – means being stripped down to nothing more than body fat. I am reduced to a child; a complete moron who must not know anything about weight loss or nutrition or exercise ...

I am a fat woman and I have been fat most of my life. I have my issues with my weight, but overall I believe that fat people (especially women) are unfairly treated in western culture, and ...

By meganaut524 • 15 years ago

from bikini baristas to prostitutes?

I came across this bit of news today and it reminded me of the posts on Feministing not too long ago about “Java Jugs,” the chain of coffee houses in the Pacific Northwest where the baristas wear bikinis to work. It seems that at a similar coffee house in Washington state, some women were accused of prostitution for charging customers to feel their breasts and asses, and to strip down and/or lick whipped cream off of each other.
I think the most interesting thing about this is that none of the customers were charged or arrested in this investigation, which involved undercover officers posing as patrons. Of course the women would be blamed and painted as whores who ...

I came across this bit of news today and it reminded me of the posts on Feministing not too long ago about “Java Jugs,” the chain of coffee houses in the Pacific Northwest where the baristas ...

By meganaut524 • 15 years ago

Drag Me to Hell – A Lesson for Ambitious Women Everywhere

After seeing the astonishingly good reviews for Sam Raimi’s new horror film Drag Me to Hell, I decided to check it out this weekend because I do love me a good scary movie and nothing worth seeing in the genre has come out in such a long time. It has been hailed as “hilarious” and a “roller coaster thrill ride” and I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about. What I got instead was to witness an hour and a half of the brutal punishment – and ultimate damnation – of a woman for the crime of trying to advance her career.
The main character, Christine Brown, is a loan officer at a local bank branch ...

After seeing the astonishingly good reviews for Sam Raimi’s new horror film Drag Me to Hell, I decided to check it out this weekend because I do love me a good scary movie and nothing worth ...

By meganaut524 • 15 years ago

summer reading

My fellow Feministing friends,
Currently compiling my summer reading list, and I couldn’t think of a better group of folks to ask for suggestions! I would love to get an idea of what you plan to read this summer or what you have recently read and loved. Please share in comments.
Here’s my summer fiction (wish)list so far:
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Beloved by Toni Morrison
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
What’s on yours?

By meganaut524 • 16 years ago

What does my lip balm have to do with cancer?

About two-and-a-half years ago, when I began working at an environmental health organization, I discovered something that has changed the way I look at everything around me, especially those that go in or on my body. What I realized is something that I think I had always known but never taken seriously or really considered before. I found out that most of the things I put on my body, eat, and use contain lots of chemicals, many of which are extremely hazardous to my health and the health of the planet.
I learned through the work of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics (my organization is a founding member) that the FDA’s testing standards for personal care products are limited. ...

By meganaut524 • 16 years ago

Disney Launches Channel for Boys

Disney XD, a new Disney offshoot channel that is targeted directly at young boys, launched last week to soaring ratings. Of course, anything that attempts to tell either sex what it should (and thereby should not) be interested in watching/doing/being instantly gets my attention, so I decided to check out the programming. The shows on the station are all about active, adventuresome boys. Aaron Stone is a show about a video gamer who becomes a real crime-fighting character. There’s a show about two teenage boys who set out to become the world’s best skateboarders, a number of animated adventure shows featuring boys who fight alien cats, battle with robots and become dragons, plus plenty of other “male-oriented” shows ...

By meganaut524 • 16 years ago

I was harassed today

Some asshole in a suburban yelled at me today while I was walking to get my lunch. All he said was “How Much? How Much?!” I didn’t know what to do at first. I just cocked my head and tried to give him a dirty look through my sunglasses. Then, it came to me.
Usually in these situations, I freeze up and walk away thinking of all of the clever things I could have said. This time, I thought of it lightning fast, and before I could even consider whether or not it was dangerous to insult this pea-brained neanderthal, it was coming out of my mouth:
“Oh honey, you have to have a dick for that!”
He looked simultaneously ...

Some asshole in a suburban yelled at me today while I was walking to get my lunch. All he said was “How Much? How Much?!” I didn’t know what to do at first. I just cocked my ...