The important point here is that we shouldn’t accept superficially casual dismissals of ‘vocabulary wars,’ ‘fetishization,’ or ‘language policing.’ We should look closely at the words people cling to with the most tenacity, even as they try to sound blas? about it..
In time for International Women’s Day in Australia the first of Anita Sarkeesian’s Tropes vs. Women in Video Games has been released. This one is the Damsel in Distress trope.
Prime Minister Gillard’s looks would be irrelevant except that everything about her, including her appearance, has been represented in the media in such an incredibly hostile manner that you’ll be genuinely taken aback when you meet her. And it’s depressing, as a woman, to see this for yourself – the contrast between the Prime Minister as she appears, in person, and how you think she looks based on her appearance in the media.
Eva Cox in The Conversation: Tony Abbott: a confused, conservative sexist, but not a misogynist.
Milanda Rout in The Australian (paywalled): Feminist insists Abbott no misogynist.
Quelle surprise.
Society sets us up to judge the choices of others, creating “wars” and “catfights” rather than encouraging us to press for change.
Being a feminist is not a merit badge you pin to your sash one time or an achievement you unlock; it’s a journey outside the borders of ingrained belief and a process of self-correction.
history – the process of writing down and preserving of the facts, not the facts/events themselves – was looking the other way
[Evolutionary psychology hardly covers] the evolution of morality, the evolution of politics, of cuture, of the artistic sense, etc … There is instead an obsessive focus on gender roles.
The latest report from the Geena Davis Institute is the very detailed “Gender Roles & Occupations: A Look at Character Attributes and Job-Related Aspirations in Film and Television”. Most people are aware that women and girls are underrepresented as speaking characters in film and television, but you may still be shocked by how much.
Basically, they reckon all women suck, all the time.
Hoyden About Town 