gender & feminism

But why are women so worried about their looks?

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I took a lot of flak in a recent discussion elsewhere for suggesting that women who have cosmetic enhancement surgery might be responding to just a little bit more than their own psychological insecurities about attracting a mate – that there might actually be some much larger social issues about why women choose to be surgically enhanced i.e. that it’s not just about getting sex, even if the surgery they are having is aimed at increasing their sexual appeal (by certain widely acknowledged to be fucked up standards).

Here’s just one high-profile example of how women are trained from a very young age to believe that their looks matter more than anything else about them, not just when it comes to finding a sexual partner, but also in terms of recognition and reward in other aspects of life:

From the reading pile: Barrayar (contains spoilers)

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I’m enjoying “Barrayar” right now, from Lois McMaster Bujold, and I thought I’d share an excerpt. Bujold is a keen observer of human interactions, and readers with complicated medical problems might relate to some of this.

Commander Cordelia Naismith (also known as Lady Vorkosigan), a former Betan military commander, is in a doctor’s office on Barrayar. She is being checked out after a series of traumatic experiences.

Friday Hoyden*: Michelle Gomez

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Gomez is an actor I’ve enjoyed watching for some time, and when I read that she had chosen to play Katharine in a new RSC staging of The Taming of the Shrew I wondered why on earth she had agreed to be in that monstrously misogynist play, whose enduring popularity relies solely on the comedy fireworks in the early scenes between Petruchio and Kate, and the ability of the Kate to gloss over the humiliations she receives. I was disappointed by the idea that Gomez’s glorious abilities in physical comedy were going to be used simply to mask the horror of Katherine’s annihilation yet again. I should have had more faith.

Canine femininity on Etsy: the “Sassy Wench Corseted Dog Dress”

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When you’ve had enough of dressing your newborn in leopard-print high-heeled shoes for shits and giggles, what’s next?

Well, why not start on your dog? If it’s a boy dog, of course, you’ve already got your Neuticles Ultra Plus (now with Epididymis!). But if it’s a girl dog, the Etsy Pampered Pooch Boutique has just the thing for those moments when you’re mortified by blundersome passersby asking “Is it a boy dog or a girl dog?” Avoid those gender-neutral faux-pas and announce your pooch’s vulva-possession to the whole world. Just because she’s spayed doesn’t mean she can’t be feminine.

Olympics Special: Forced Abortion in China

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say no to violence against women Olympic Rings logo

The Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony is about to start.

In all the protests about Tibet and about internet censorship (important issues both), there is an enormous humanitarian crisis in China at risk of getting pushed into the background. That crisis is the systematised, legalised, horrific violence against women and girls.

Through Olympics time, I’m planning to post roundups and linkdumps on a series of these topics. Be warned – they’re all likely to contain triggers.

First up: forced abortion.

Newsflash! Gans and Leigh: Still no evidence that women are harming their babies for cash.

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Back in November 2007, tigtog and I discussed at length the paper on the baby bonus introduction by Andrew Leigh and Joshua Gans, “Born (Again) on the First of July: Another Experiment in Birth Timing”[1]. The paper has now been revised for international publication, this time with mortality data.

Their thesis back in 2007 was there was an introduction effect “delaying” births around the time of the baby bonus introduction, and their data does show a clear change in pattern.

A few questions for Hoydenizens

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Todays guest poster is Liz, who is generally a Lurker. Liz asked us “Would you be willing to throw a few questions to the readers of Hoyden About Town for me?”, so Liz’s questions are now this post.

I’m wondering if you could help me out here? I’m doing a write-up on feminist blogs and online communities for this

Musing on male contraception

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Until now both technical and psycho-cultural barriers have prevented the development of effective chemical male contraception, with the psycho-cultural barriers being the primary reason that there does not exist a sufficient potential market to drive investment in R&D to overcome the technical barriers. Even the MRAs who so bemoan women trapping them into unwanted paternity appear oddly unwilling to consider funding the R&D for an effective Male Pill