Celebrities are people, too… or are they?

More and more, celebrities are taking to social media to convince us that they are people, too. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and more have become the new platforms via which huge stars can undermine the paparazzi and post details of their “real” lives. Yes, those are quotes around the word “real.” This year’s Emmy Awards brought Continue reading

Pitch Perfect: fat-friendly, fat-phobic

I was excited to see the movie Pitch Perfect, based solely on my love of a capella and a single clip from the trailer. The clip shows Australian actress Rebel Wilson introducing herself as “Fat Amy.” “You call yourself Fat Amy?” another character asks, and she replies, “Yeah, so twig bitches like you don’t do Continue reading

NBC takes a step forward in gender and race representation with Revolution

On September 17, NBC aired its newest television series Revolution. The premise of the show is pretty simple: One day, every single piece of technology completely blacks out, permanently. Fifteen years later on the outskirts of Chicago, families are living feudally, relying on farming and hunting to sustain themselves. We learn that Ben Matheson may Continue reading

Top model Karlie Kloss has no ribcage

What happens when Photoshopping is done to hide a model’s extreme thinness? Jezebel took the words right out of our mouths with their article last week regarding Numéro magazine’s release of a Photoshopped image of model Karlie Kloss. This particular model hasn’t been Photoshopped to appear thinner (as we so often see in the world of Continue reading

When did nude become news?

Kate Middleton’s breasts got suddenly famous, and the uproar ensued. As you know by now, on September 14, the French magazine Closer printed photographs of Kate Middleton sunbathing topless on a vacation with Prince William — without Kate’s knowledge or approval. Consumers of gossip mags know that this is hardly unusual. We fawn over pictures Continue reading

Groundbreaking D.C. campaign shows that trans people are people, too

If you live in Washington, D.C., you may soon see an advertisement with a cheerful, smiling person pointing out some things they like to do in D.C. One woman says she likes going to the Smithsonian. A smiling man in a button-down shirt claims to like “playing basketball with the guys.” Believe it or not, Continue reading

Barney’s + Disney = Scary-skinny makeovers

High-end retail department behemoth Barney’s New York announced its holiday collaboration with The Walt Disney Company, wherein our beloved characters get the “runway treatment” (Read: slimmed to scary proportions). The front runners? A truly Skinny Minnie, a drastically dieted-down Daisy Duck, hipster Goofy, and more irritatingly altered versions of the iconic clan. In the short Continue reading

What we learned from the Olympics’ coverage of female athletes

This year’s Olympics in London provided some notable victories for women. It was the first Olympics where there were female athletes from all participating countries. And as always, the Olympics put strong, capable women in the spotlight. In a media landscape where female celebrities are often reported on for their fashion, hair style, or fluctuating Continue reading

Axe does it again – disembodiment and sexism galore

Unsurprisingly, media critics have always had a tough time with Axe advertisements. Their overtly sexual nature and not-so-subtle caress of the male ego make it hard to believe that they’re selling body sprays and hair gels. But the commercial “Office Love,” just out on August 20th, takes Axe’s advertising to a whole new level. And Continue reading

The Price Is Right: Equal opportunity objectifier?

TV’s longest-running game show is boldly breaking sexist barriers by announcing its plan to hire its first-ever male model. That’s it. Just one. The Price Is Right has announced its plans to hold a male model search as part of a five-episode web series where contestants are judged on their verbal skills, posing proficiency, and Continue reading