I sometimes wonder if the cultural obsession over weight, physical appearance, and body-shaming is something new — something that may have emerged in the past couple of decades as a trend that will crest, and then, hopefully, diminish. Unfortunately, this hope was dashed when I came across a string of old advertisements that were published during… Continue Reading →
Ring in the new year without body shame
The New Year is upon us, and with it comes the pervasive, and often heavily marketed, promise of a better tomorrow. About 40% of American adults make at least one New Year’s resolution. Goals range from drinking less to reading more books, but unsurprisingly, in our body-conscious culture (in which rates of both eating disorders… Continue Reading →
Can the Radio City Rockettes be revolutionary?
The Rockettes have long been revered as a glorified group of long-legged eye-candy, but recent changes to their traditional dance numbers claim to be challenging the show’s status quo. A recent New York Times piece “Rockettes: Rebooted for a New Era” highlights an attempted shift in the theme of the famed showcase and the function of its… Continue Reading →
Does eating Dove chocolate really have to involve “confession”?
On rare occasion, the media isn’t blatantly in-your-face sexist, racist, or ageist. In fact, it’s the more subtle messages, especially those which appear to be about female empowerment, that are harder to scrutinize. Take this Dove® chocolate commercial, for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUBchloHPmM
Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” video makes the psych ward seem hot
By now, Lady Gaga fans have probably already seen her latest: a fourteen-minute opus that is allegedly a music video for her song “Marry the Night”. I say “allegedly” because the song itself doesn’t even start until nearly nine minutes in, after an extended sequence where Gaga narrates about trauma and we get to witness her… Continue Reading →
H&M heralds the dawn of the “virtual mannequin”
Between print media, TV ads, and virtual promotions, we media watchdogs have seen it all — rib cages, spines, cleavage, you name it. Though the women portrayed in most catalogs are typically white, unhealthily underweight, and sexualized, we could at least find solace in the fact that their bodies were their bodies — a.k.a, not… Continue Reading →
NBC’s Parks and Recreation promotes feminism for everyone
As a media consumer, I usually have more to criticize than praise. Our televisions are constantly filled with stick-thin celebrities, diet ads, and negative messages about women’s bodies. So when a show has a woman-positive, even feminist message, it deserves recognition. Enter Parks and Recreation, a sitcom about small government in the fictional town of… Continue Reading →
Lesbian storylines make a desperate grab for Sweeps Week TV ratings
Sweeps Week, the week(s) during the television season when Nielsen ratings data is collected (most recently at the end of November), is not known for quality. What it is known for are live episodes, celebrity cameos, character deaths, cliffhangers, and of course, the infamous shark jump. But beyond these trivial stunts, a disturbing trend has… Continue Reading →
AskMen.com: The ultimate sexist ploy
With all the super-sexist advertisements that are in the media on a daily basis, there are few things that really, truly shock me. I’ve seen a lot of screwed-up stuff, but this article in particular really takes the cake. I present to you, from Askmen.com: Top 10 Subtle Ways to Tell Her She’s Getting Fat… Continue Reading →