Posts Tagged Guilty Pleasures

Château de Chambord, Centre, France (Chambord Castle, Loire Valley)

(Un)feminist Guilty Pleasures: Can The Bachelor’s fairy tale be fixed?

Until last week, I hadn’t watched The Bachelor since Trista and Ryan. I avoided the show partly because it’s rife with sexism, heterosexism, and racism. It’s also just a bad TV show. Unfortunately for me, however, the current bachelor, Ben Higgins, is from Warsaw, IN. Warsaw is about 45 minutes away from the tiny town where I grew up, and given that Indiana is never of pop culture relevance, I had to watch. It was my Hoosier duty.

Until last week, I hadn’t watched The Bachelor since Trista and Ryan. I avoided the show partly because it’s rife with sexism, heterosexism, and racism. It’s also just a bad TV show. Unfortunately for me, however, the ...

Happy almost-weekend, ears!

It’s Friday morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty sluggish. And you know what gets me out of bed when I’m feeling sluggish? One Direction.

Sometimes, after I’m done dancing around my apartment, I feel bad about doing it to One Direction, yikes, some of their lyrics. So after I’m done listening I always say ten Hail Glorias.
Today, though, I encourage you to join me in playing some saccharine boy band pop, dancing at your desk, and then reading this really smart piece about why they might be “the first gay boy band,” by friend of the blog Rachel Hills:

No sooner had the band’s Kiss You video hit YouTube than a parody emerged with jokes ...

It’s Friday morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling pretty sluggish. And you know what gets me out of bed when I’m feeling sluggish? One Direction.

Sometimes, after I’m done dancing around my apartment, ...

(Un)feminist guilty pleasure: I don’t want to critique Magic Mike

Feministing used to run an “(Un)feminist guilty pleasure” series. I liked it – the posts inherently acknowledged the complexities of living as a feminist in an overwhelmingly anti-feminist world. There’s an increasing preasure in the blogosphere to always get it right, to be the perfect feminist, which is impossible and unrealistic – and frankly dangerous for a movement that’s supposed to move in reality. So I’m bringing it back.

Cause I don’t want to overthink Magic Mike.

There’s a ton of critique out there. I’m sure some of it is on point (though not the ones I skimmed). Yes, equal opportunity objectification is actually a problem. Sure, there are no real lady characters except The Kid’s sister, who only registers because ...

Feministing used to run an “(Un)feminist guilty pleasure” series. I liked it – the posts inherently acknowledged the complexities of living as a feminist in an overwhelmingly anti-feminist world. There’s an increasing preasure in the blogosphere ...

Make libraries, not unsafe lovin’

Girls Inc. just released important data about girls’ sexual behavior and attitudes based on a comprehensive study conducted in conjunction with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
The demographic surveyed included 79% girls of color, 63% of whom received free or reduced-price school lunches, so it’s apt for cross-ethnic, cross-class comparisons. For example, Girls Inc. reports:

There is no difference between the rate of early sexual activity among girls considered “at risk” and the general population of girls. In the study, 28 percent of girls in ninth grade reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. This finding is very similar to that of the Youth Risk Behavior survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which found that 29 ...

Girls Inc. just released important data about girls’ sexual behavior and attitudes based on a comprehensive study conducted in conjunction with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
The demographic surveyed included 79% girls of color, 63% of whom ...

The Wire’s gender problem


Stringer Bell is confused. “Whaddaya mean The Wire’s not feminist?”

The Wire, the HBO series that ran for five seasons, will apparently live on, despite its shelf life, in a class at Harvard. And Professor William Wilson, the self-admitted “huge fan” who will be teaching the class, is high off of The Wire’s Kool-Aid:

“I do not hesitate to say that it has done more to enhance our understanding of the challenges of urban life and the problems of urban inequality, more than any other media event or scholarly publication,” Wilson told the audience before poking fun at himself, “including studies by social scientists.”

As a racial justice advocate who loves politics and sexually diverse representations of people ...


Stringer Bell is confused. “Whaddaya mean The Wire’s not feminist?”

The Wire, the HBO series that ran for five seasons, will apparently live on, despite its shelf life, in a class at Harvard. And Professor ...

(Un)Feminist Guilty Pleasures: Wedding Blogs

As a lot of you already know, I’m getting married (this Saturday, eek). And I’m not going to lie, while there was definitely a lot of feminist-minded thought behind my planning process, there was also a lot of…well, other stuff. I succumbed to buying wedding magazines despite their gross consumerism, bought a pair of nearly-unwearable – though fabulous looking – shoes, and decided to have flower girls even though I didn’t want a wedding party simply because I think my cousins’ kids are adorable. It doesn’t surprise me that I bought into some wedding culture stuff – after all, some of it is fun – but it was wedding blogs that did me in. ...
As a lot of you already know, I’m getting married (this Saturday, eek). And I’m not going to lie, while there was definitely a lot of feminist-minded thought behind my planning process, there was ...

America’s Got Talent- and, Apparently, Race Issues

Others have written before about their (un)feminist guilty pleasure of watching television shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent, and the problematic practices these shows often have behind the scenes. Despite the obvious cheesiness, as well as the more problematic and unfeminist aspects of these shows, there’s something about them that keeps me tuning in. I don’t know if it’s the dramatic story-line videos that make me feel like I am actually getting to know the contestants and identifying with their struggle, or just the reminder that there are other people out there who are pursuing their dreams without letting the threat of criticism or rejection prevent them from doing so. Or maybe it’s watching people sweat ...

Others have written before about their (un)feminist guilty pleasure of watching television shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent, and the problematic practices these shows often have behind the scenes. Despite the obvious cheesiness, ...

Professor Foxy: Anal, Woman on Top and Teaching

As I move into my third week of Professor Foxying, I realize I’ve been doing some pretty heavy, relationship-type stuff. Since lord knows sex is not all about relationships, I’m going to do a couple of pure sex questions. And FYI – I always change the names. Hope you enjoy!
Professor Foxy,
I feel sort of silly asking this. I have heard so often how the woman on top position, in male/female sex is often the best way for the woman to reach orgasm through intercourse. I just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Do I move up and down? Rock? I feel like I can’t relax into it up ...

As I move into my third week of Professor Foxying, I realize I’ve been doing some pretty heavy, relationship-type stuff. Since lord knows sex is not all about relationships, I’m going to do a couple of ...

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